Industry News
March 9, 20233 February 2023MaresConnect Limited (MCL) welcomes the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) consultation on Capacity Market published on 9 January 2023 (the Consultation).We set out below some general points relating to interconnectors and their important contribution to the Capacity Market and request BEIS considers these points in making any changes to the capacity markets arrangements.Penalty regimeThe UK generation market continues to be dominated by six large players, whose large portfolio of generation assets and balance sheets places them in an advantageous position to manage penalties in the event they fail to meet the requirements of the capacity market rules. Any changes in the penalty regime should be designed to avoid increasing the dominance of the Big 6 and foster an environment where small or new entrants to the market can successfully compete. We note BEIS’ proposal to increase the size of the nondeliverability penalty in the future and suggest a review after implementation to ensure the penalty increase does have unintended or negative results in achieving net zero.Single-year capacity market contracts support little, if any, debt finance. Multi-year contracts are bankable under the right conditions. This can provide the stimulus for new build green CMU plant. In some cases, a long-term capacity market contract will provide the support to debt finance new build generation. Lenders will be cautious of a penalty regime that can lead to breaches of normal bank covenants or failure to meet debt service.This can lead to higher lending costs or lenders refusing to advance funds under a new penalty regime. We recommend that any changes to the penalty regime is reviewed in the light of existing financing arrangements and its potential impact on future financing of generation projects.Aligning the Capacity Market with net zero Since the commencement of the Capacity Market in 2014, the Government has materially changed its environmental targets leading to a net zero commitment by 2050. The commitment is at odds with a policy to stimulate the development and prolongation of carbon emitting generation to feed into the Capacity Market. Changes to the Capacity Market should be consistent with the Government’s overarching objective of decarbonisation and focus on developing sunset provisions for existing fossil fuel generation and avoid providing support for new build carbon intensive generation. Long-term Capacity Market contracts should be reserved to stimulate investment in renewable power generation and related infrastructure, including storage and interconnectors, and to deliver it to the network at moments of stress.Carbon intensive generationWe recognise that there will need to be some legacy provisions for carbon intensive generation to ensure consumers are protected during the transition to net zero. The recent rise in carbon and gas prices is expected to reduce the proportion of capacity allocated to gas fired power generation from its dominant 67.5% of the total capacity allocated in the last auction, however, to ensure a structural shift away from carbon the Government will need to send clear pricing/support signals.This can be achieved through the reduction of multi-year contracts offered to the most polluting generators and an increase of the same to renewable generators and infrastructure. Interconnectors, which represented 15.9% of the total capacity of the auction, have been able to compete successfully in auctions with single year contracts. The Cap & Floor regime has been helpful in providing the support to the build out of interconnector capacity, however interconnectors such as ElecLink and IFA, who do not benefit from a regulatory support regime, are also successful participants in the GB Capacity market auctions.Secondary tradingTo date the market has seen a small number of secondary trades of capacity agreements, allowing units to transfer their secured CMU agreements to other parties, usually when the unit holding the agreement has decided to retire earlier than planned. [1]However, the frequency of secondary trading could be expected to increase for tworeasons:as more capacity reaches the end of its life, the probability of capacity closingprematurely and at short notice increases; andthe introduction of severer penalties discussed earlier is likely to see CMU’s want the option to lay off positions of excess risk in the secondary market.In addition to facilitating the management of a CMU’s capacity agreements, a wellstructuredsecondary market could allow new, qualified third parties to enter the capacity market rather than participating in the auctions and benefit from a transparent market. Frontier Economics and LPA noted in their May 2021 paper another possibility, being explored through a BEIS funded project, to automate the process of transferring capacity and allowing local Distribution System Operators who have not secured CMU contracts, to be offered the same in the secondary market.A platform to facilitate these trades would lead to a more efficient Capacity Market. CMUs would have greater confidence bidding in an auction knowing that if excess capacity is won and/or market fundamentals change (e.g., a sharp increase in gas prices), there is the option to sell excess capacity to other CMUs who can better manage such risk and additional capacity.There are numerous entities that would be qualified to run secondary market auctions and maintain liquidity. BEIS’s 2021 consultation suggested the ESO as one potential candidate, however, market participants may find an existing established commodity exchange that is independent and already trading energy products as a more logical platform. Such exchanges already operate robust system infrastructure to run auctions and maintain liquidity. In many cases the potential auction participants are already existing exchange customers. This would obviate the need for the ESO to develop a new system and potentially the requirement to obtain financial licences both in the UK and abroad.CMU De-rating factorsWe note at section 2.1 of this Consultation that the “The government is also continuing to consider a range of approaches to the derating process and has therefore not brought forward proposals as this time.”De-rating factors have a material impact on the cost of Capacity Market and should be considered as part of a future review of the CM market. We note FTI’s note on behalf of National Grid Ventures highlighted that “reducing interconnector capacity in the most recent auction by a further 1GW would have cost consumers over £80 million” [2]. The note concludes that historically, interconnectors would be available 75-95% of the time during moments of stress. Current de-rating factors are considerably lower than this and restrict the capacity interconnectors can offer the capacity market thereby creating an inefficiency to GB consumers.We are available to discuss further any of the points made above.Yours sincerely,Simon LudlamCEOMares Connect Limited3rd March 2023[1] Following the closure of RWE’s Aberthaw coal fired power station in March 2020 the station’s existing Capacity Market agreements for the years 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 were transferred to other market participants and a small proportion to other units within RWE’s fleet.[2] FTI: Securely Connected: The contribution of electricity interconnectors to GB security of supply [...] Read more...
February 28, 2023Dublin, 28th February 2023We are pleased to announce that MaresConnect has passed Ofgem’s interconnector Cap & Floor Window 3 eligibility criteria alongside six other projects. MaresConnect will now progress to the next stage which will involve a needs case assessment to determine which projects are in the interests of UK consumers.MaresConnect is expected to play an important role in enabling further integration of renewable energy sources on both sides of the Irish Sea that will make material contribution to UK and Irish decarbonisation targets.We look forward to Ofgem’s consultation process in the latter half of 2023.Read Ofgem’s decision here [...] Read more...
February 8, 2023The five interconnectors, which connect Great Britain with France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway, transported almost 12 per cent more power than in the same period last year, at an average of 91 GWh per day.National Grid reported that a total of 2.6 TWh of power was transported through its cables in January alone, which is almost 12 per cent more than the same time last year and 39 per cent higher than two years ago.Great Britain’s interconnector capacity reached its highest level last month with 8.4 GW, with National Grid’s IFA link to France returning to full service on 27 January.National Grid’s portfolio now totals 6.4 GW, said to be enough to power around six and a half million British homes. “We’ve seen this winter that interconnectors are supporting security of supply in both Britain and the EU by doing exactly what they were designed to do, move large volumes of power quickly to where it’s needed most,” said Nicola Medalova, Managing Director of National Grid Interconnectors.“Our interconnectors help to make Britain’s energy system more secure, enabling system operators to access electricity at the flick of a switch to respond to sudden changes in demand and supply. As we move toward a zero-carbon economy, the cooperation with our neighbours that we have seen this winter will be increasingly important, which is why it’s so wonderful to see such strong performance in a difficult period.”On 2 January, the UK broke its import record for a single day with interconnectors making up 19 per cent of generation. Over the evening peak (5.30pm) interconnectors were importing 91 per cent of their potential capacity.By 2030, it is estimated that interconnectors will have saved the UK around 100 million tonnes of CO2.National Grid’s sixth interconnector is currently under construction and expected to be complete by the end of the year. Viking Link, which will join Lincolnshire with Revsing in Denmark, will stretch for 475 miles and have the ability to bring in enough clean energy for a further 1.4 million homes. Original article – https://www.offshore-energy.biz/uk-national-grid-reports-busiest-january-on-record-for-its-subsea-interconnectors/ [...] Read more...
January 31, 2023Record additions of new wind and solar in 2022 helped Europe survive a “triple crisis” created by restrictions on Russian gas supplies, a dip in hydro caused by drought and unexpected nuclear outages, the analysis says. Around 83% of the dip in hydro and nuclear power was met by wind and solar – and falling electricity demand. The rest was met by coal, which grew at a slower pace than some had expected amid a drop in fossil fuel supplies from Russia. Solar generation across the EU rose by a record 24% in 2022, helping to avoid €10bn in gas costs, according to the findings. Some 20 EU nations sourced a record share of their power from solar, including the Netherlands, Spain and Germany. Wind and solar growth is expected to continue this year, while hydro and nuclear generation is likely to recover. As a result, fossil fuel power generation could drop by an unprecedented 20% in 2023 – double the previous record observed in 2020, the analysis projects. Record renewables Wind and solar generated a record 22.3% of EU electricity in 2022, for the first time overtaking nuclear (21.9%) and gas (19.9%), according to the analysis and shown in the chart below. It comes after wind and solar overtook hydro power in 2015 and coal in 2019. The new landmark reflects both record growth in wind and solar in Europe and an unexpected dip in nuclear power in 2022. Last year, Europe faced a “triple crisis” for its energy supplies, the report says. The first driver was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which sent shockwaves through the global energy system. Before the attack, Europe sourced a third of its gas from Russia. But the outbreak of war saw Russia restrict gas supplies to Europe and new EU sanctions on oil and coal imports from the country. Despite the upheaval, EU gas generation remained stable in 2022, when compared to 2021. This is largely because gas was already more expensive than coal in most of 2021, says analysis lead author Dave Jones, head of data insights at Ember. He tells Carbon Brief: “There was no further gas-to-coal switching possible in 2022.” The other major contributors to the crisis were dips in supplies of both nuclear and hydro power, the report explains: “A one-in-500 year drought across Europe led to the lowest level of hydro generation since at least 2000, and there were widespread unexpected French nuclear outages just as German nuclear units were closing.” This created a gap in generation equal to 7% of Europe’s total electricity demand in 2022, the report says. Around 83% of this gap was met by wind and solar generation – and a fall in electricity demand. (Electricity demand fell by 8% in the last quarter of 2022 compared to 2021 – driven by a combination of mild weather and public efforts to reduce energy use, according to Ember.) Solar generation increased by a record 24% in 2022, helping to avoid €10bn in gas costs, according to Ember. This was due to record installations of 41 gigawatts (GW) in 2022 – nearly 50% more than was added in 2021. From May to August, solar provided 12% of the EU’s power – exceeding 10% for the first summer in history. Some 20 EU countries sourced a record share of their power from solar in 2022. The leader was the Netherlands, which produced 14% of its power from solar – overtaking coal for the first time. Elsewhere, Greece ran solely on renewables for five hours in October 2022, according to Ember. The country is also expected to reach its 2030 solar capacity target of 8GW by the end of this year – seven years early. No role for coal As countries scrambled to replace fossil fuels from Russia in early 2022, several EU nations signalled that they were considering increasing their dependence on coal-fired power. However, the new report finds that coal played a minimal role in helping the EU tackle its energy crisis. Just a sixth of the fall in nuclear and hydro in 2022 was met by coal, according to the analysis. And in the final four months of the year – as temperatures began to drop – coal generation fell by 6%, when compared to the same period in 2021. This was primarily driven by falling electricity demand, the report says. It adds that the 26 coal units brought back as emergency standby ran at just 18% capacity in the final four months of 2022. Nine of the 26 coal units did not provide any generation at all. Overall, coal generation rose by 7% in 2022 compared to 2021, increasing EU power sector emissions by nearly 4%. The report says: “It could have been much worse: wind, solar and a fall in electricity demand prevented a much larger return to coal. In context, coal’s rise was not substantial: coal power remained below 2018 levels and added only 0.3% to global coal generation.” 2023 outlook The growth of wind and solar is projected to continue this year, according to industry estimates, the report says. At the same time, both hydro and nuclear power are expected to recover – with EDF forecasting that many of its French nuclear plants will come back online in 2023. As a result of these factors, fossil fuel power generation could drop by an unprecedented 20% in 2023 – double the previous record observed in 2020, the analysis projects. The report says: “Coal generation will fall, but gas generation, which is expected to remain more expensive than coal until at least 2025, will fall the fastest.” The chart below demonstrates how growth in wind and solar – as well as a continued fall in electricity demand – could prompt fossil fuel generation to fall in 2023. Jones adds that the findings show that the energy crisis has “undoubtedly sped up Europe’s electricity transition”. He says: “Not only are European countries still committed to phasing out coal, they are now striving to phase out gas as well. Europe is hurtling towards a clean, electrified economy and this will be on full display in 2023. Change is coming fast, and everyone needs to be ready for it.” Original article – https://www.carbonbrief.org/wind-and-solar-were-eus-top-electricity-source-in-2022-for-first-time-ever/ [...] Read more...
January 11, 2023A huge amount of wind and solar power came online around the globe last year, and several advances were made across a variety of different renewable energy sources. Energy firms across North America, Europe, and Asia established plans to develop major green hydrogen facilities, hydropower plants, and new tidal and wave operations; as well as to boost the connectivity across different regions to fulfill energy-sharing objectives. While there is still a long way to go if governments want to realize their pledges to reduce global emissions, greater investment in renewable energy over the last year from public and private players is likely to help accelerate the green transition over the coming decades.Wind power continues to be one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sectors. In the U.K., the National Grid ESO stated that a record level of wind energy was produced in the last week of 2022, with 20.918GW of electricity produced in the half-hour period between 6:00 pm and 6.30 pm on 30 December 2022. This means that wind energy contributed 61.4 percent of the U.K.’s energy supply that day. The previous record was set with an output of 20.896GW on 2nd November 2022.The CEO of trade body RenewableUK, Dan McGrail, stated of the achievement: “The fact that the UK’s onshore and offshore wind farms keep setting new electricity generation records shows just how important this technology has become in our modern energy system.” He added, “Wind is now the UK’s cheapest source of new power, so every unit of electricity we generate from it helps consumers by reducing ultra-expensive gas imports.”The U.K. has some of the best conditions in Europe for wind power generation, with 74 terawatt hours (TWh) of wind energy generation achieved by late December 2022, producing enough energy to power 19 million homes. In August last year, the U.K. reached 25.5 GW of wind power capacity, an increase of 10.5 GW from 2017. This comes from both onshore and offshore wind farms. And the new 1.1-gigawatt Seagreen project from SSE Plc and TotalEnergies SE is expected to come online next summer. Overall, the U.K.’s pipeline for wind projects, both in operation and development, totals 129 GW, of which 93.3 GW are offshore.In Germany, a new renewable energy production record was set last year, with the country producing 256 TWh of electricity from renewable sources in 2022. Better weather conditions allowed the output of solar power to increase by 23 percent compared to 2021. Renewables contributed to 46 percent of Germany’s power consumption in 2022, an increase from 41 percent the previous year. However, experts suggest that Germany must bring significantly more renewable energy projects online to meet its climate aims. To achieve its target of 600 TWh of renewable energy capacity by 2030 – equating to 80 percent of its power consumption – the 2022 green energy output should have totaled around 270 TWh.In 2022, China was on track to break both fossil fuel and renewable energy production records, with significant government investments in the development of its green energy sector. Solar power for electricity generation increased by 30 percent between January and October, compared to the same period in 2021. And the contribution of wind power for electricity increased by 25 percent. And China continues to be the largest renewable energy producer in the world.Overall, the global electricity demand increased by 3 percent in the first half of 2022, compared to the previous year. Renewable energy operations were able to meet the entirety of this demand rise, with wind and solar providing 77 percent and hydrogen the rest. In China, the rise in wind and solar generation provided 92 percent of its electricity demand rise; in the U.S. it met 81 percent, and in India, it was 23 percent.As well as putting many countries on track to meet renewable energy and climate pledges in the coming decades, the increase in the global green energy capacity has had a more immediate effect in Europe. As Europe faced gas shortages and sharply rising energy prices, several countries turned to renewable energy to meet demand. Between May and August last year, the EU generated 12 percent of its electricity from solar power sources, an increase of 9 percent from 2021. This is equivalent to €29 billion in gas imports saved thanks to solar power projects. Meanwhile, wind contributed around 12 percent of Europe’s generated power while hydro provided 11 percent.While there is still a long way to go to achieve the ambitious Paris Agreement and COP27 climate pledges through the development of the world’s renewable energy capacity, several noteworthy achievements were made in 2022. Both Europe and Asia saw huge advances in their green energy development, with almost 33 percent of the world’s electricity expected to come from renewables by 2024 compared to 29 percent in 2020. Original article – https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/renewable-energy-had-banner-2022-200000339.html [...] Read more...
December 19, 2022Rystad Energy’s current base case forecast has Europe adding as much as 530 gigawatts (GW) of solar PV and onshore and offshore wind between 2022 and 2030, more than 66 GW per year on average. Furthermore, the share of solar and wind combined as a share of total installed capacity surpassed 10% in 2010 and more than tripled in 2021, reaching 34%, according to Rystad Energy research.Growth is not expected to slow down anytime soon, as European countries are planning huge additions of renewables over the next few years. If Europe is to remain a leader in the energy transition, a huge amount of grid capacity will need to be developed, both to integrate new generation capacity into respective countries’ power mixes and to better connect European countries so that electricity can flow in the most optimal way.The staggering amount of new solar and wind capacity expected to come online in Europe in the coming years means that grid interconnectivity will be the bottleneck to both the more efficient use of energy sources as well as overall slower decarbonization of the power sector as more fossil fuels need to be used to compensate. Historically, this has been much less of an issue as Europe’s power system has been dominated by four large sources – coal, gas, nuclear and hydropower – all with varying degrees of dispatchability but none considered intermittent.With the pace of renewable energy development substantially exceeding the speed of grid upgrades and expansion projects in parts of Europe, policymakers and the power sector will need to carefully examine if a country’s development plans for new generation capacity match its development plans for both internal and cross-border transmission capacity. The timelines for new projects are very long and some countries in Europe are already curtailing renewable power that could be used elsewhere – for instance, Germany curtailed about 10.2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of wind power in 2017, the highest of any European country to date. The yearly average is around 5% of variable renewable energy curtailed, highlighting how bottlenecks are already an issue.“Europe’s increasingly connected power grid is one of the first globally to take on substantial amounts of renewable and intermittent power. Moving power around the continent to minimize the use of carbon-emitting fuels will only be possible if the grid is upgraded. This will not be simple, quick, or cheap, but it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy security. The race is now on to see if grid upgrades can match the staggering levels of new renewables set to come online in the next decade,” says Fabian Rønningen, senior analyst, power markets at Rystad Energy.Europe’s grid will need to connect northern winds and southern sunshineThe below chart shows how the existing capacity base and future capacity will be spread unequally between European countries, with the likes of the North Sea emerging as another European energy hub with hundreds of GW of capacity planned to come online in the coming decades. For a future energy system, in which Europe’s energy sources are utilized optimally, both policymakers and industry will have to think differently about grid development, compared to the status quo. Most of the new capacity that will come online in Europe in the coming decades will be solar and wind, with such resources varying significantly across the continent. Southern parts of Europe have better solar conditions than the north, while wind resources are highest in the northern and eastern regions of the continent, as well as all coastal and offshore areas. This means that Europe’s future energy system could have a much higher degree of electricity flows between countries than we see today, despite Europe already being considered well interconnected.Case study: SpainSpain has emerged as one of the European leaders when it comes to both solar and wind development, and currently has one of the largest renewables pipelines in Europe. Spain has the most economic solar potential of the large European countries due to its sizeable landmass and high yearly solar irradiation, while it has also been a pioneer in the European wind industry. Furthermore, due to its relatively weak coupling to the rest of continental Europe, Spain provides an excellent example of how internal European grid bottlenecks could hamper Europe’s energy transition.Although grid development within Spain is expected to grow rapidly over the coming decade, only three high-voltage interconnectors to France are currently planned, two of which are not expected to come online before 2027. This is just one example of potential bottlenecks Europe could face over the next decade, as hundreds of GW of solar and wind power come online, while the development of supporting grid infrastructure lags, especially cross-border interconnections. Policymakers need to ascertain whether grid development plans are in line with ambitious renewable energy targets to ensure transmission capacity does not constrain the energy transition.Installed capacity from renewable energy sources in Spain will more than double by 2030 in Rystad Energy’s current base case forecast. While installed capacity from non-renewable energy sources will drop from 54 GW in 2022 to 34 GW by 2030, capacity from renewable energy sources will grow from 64 GW to 151 GW. Solar will drive most of the growth in renewables, primarily driven by developments in central Spain. Expansion plans for transformer capacity are set to keep up with these ambitious growth targets in installed capacity. Spain’s transmission system operator (TSO), Red Electrica, has mapped out detailed plans for upgrades and expansions to its transmission network. Towards the end of this decade, these plans could see transformer capacity grow by more than 220% compared to 2022 levels. Although these upgrades to the network are planned across Spain, most capacity looks set to be added in southern and central Spain, particularly in communities such as Andalucia and Castilla y Leon (Figure 4). These are also the regions where most of the planned solar and wind capacity will come online in the next few years.The last time a high-voltage interconnector between Spain and France went operational was in 2015. In subsequent years, the countries acknowledged the mutual benefits of further integrating their power grids by projecting three other high-voltage direct current connectors across their shared border. One of the projects is a 400-kilometer link that will run between the Cubnezais substation (near Bordeaux, France) and the Gatika substation (near Bilbao, Spain), known as the Bay of Biscay project. The interconnector will mainly be laid subsea in the Atlantic Ocean with the rest buried underground, and will be the first submarine interconnector between Spain and France. The project has total transmission capacity of 2 GW and will lift total interconnection capacity between the two countries to 5 GW. The project is currently expected to be completed by 2027. Additionally, the countries are investing in reinforcements to existing interconnectors.When it comes to the use of France-Spain interconnectors, power has mainly flowed into Spain. Spain has been a substantial net importer of French electricity every year since 2016, with 12.4 TWh of net yearly imports at peak in 2017. This year will show a significant change with Spain a net exporter to France every month in 2022 except for February, amid a large shortfall in French nuclear generation. From 2016 to 2022, Spain was a large net importer of cheap French nuclear power, while in 2022 Spain had the flexibility to increase mainly gas-fired power generation to support French consumers amid the energy crisis. This further highlights the benefits of increased interconnectivity for both countries. Furthermore, Spain is currently one of the largest generators of renewable power in Europe and has an impressive pipeline of renewable energy projects, while a substantial proportion of electricity exported to France so far in 2022 has been solar and wind.Unlike Spain, France has not planned to increase the share of renewable energy sources in its power mix to the same extent. The situation with nuclear power in France is expected to improve in 2023, which will also benefit Spain. With more interconnectors between France and Spain, the two can rely on each other during periods when their power production is low. Given the abundant renewable energy power that will be produced in Spain, France will then be able to import clean, renewable energy when the sun shines and the wind blows. On the other hand, Spain will be able to import stable and dispatchable energy from France’s nuclear reactors to fill the intermittency gaps when the weather is less favorable. In other words, expanding high-voltage connections between the two power grids will benefit both countries and the wider European region.This begs the question: is enough interconnector capacity being developed in Spain and France compared to the pace of renewable installations? The timelines of the interconnector projects are very long, as shown by the Bay of Biscay project, which is expected to take 10 years from initial consultations started in 2017 until it is expected online in 2027. As an illustration, 5 GW of transmission capacity will be able to interchange roughly 40 TWh per year if used at very high utilization factors – a substantial amount, but relatively small compared to total power demand in both countries. Both countries’ power demand is also expected to increase rapidly after 2025, as the electrification of their economies continues. Furthermore, the Spain-France example is just one of many. Many of the same questions will arise in other parts of Europe, especially as the North Sea is emerging as another European energy hub with hundreds of gigawatts of capacity planned to come online in the coming decades. Therefore, both policymakers and the power sector should carefully examine if a country’s development plans for new generation capacity match with its development plans for both internal and cross-border transmission capacity. The timelines for new projects are very long and Europe simply cannot afford grid bottlenecks halting its energy transition plans. Original article – https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/grid-bottlenecks-could-derail-europe-220000664.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9zZWFyY2guYnJhdmUuY29tLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANjBBnlBm2NzS5QMqzh-S6NJFmsYjzP13iwys66RhLzyFfAQK8y3GdI6oaIT21uRyVqjfsen8ZhX-gytwaGXQeodG7u3x6TADZ0xnA2NPS8uhdmL_tvd_14jiQUQpwhotxBlXrfu6AVKaw3KNwQY4l5s9ZBoVzlYGJm5lgNzGZkH [...] Read more...
December 19, 2022The UK Minister for Energy and Climate Graham Stuart signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) forum on Sunday (18 December).The move forms part of the UK’s commitments under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and it will see the forum look to develop renewable projects across the North Seas.The countries involved include Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the European Commission.Minister of State for Energy and Climate, Graham Stuart, said: “I’m pleased to agree even greater energy cooperation with our North Seas neighbours, which will be vital in helping the UK meet it ambitious renewables target, including increasing offshore wind fivefold to 50GW by 2030.“The development of renewables in the North Seas is critical for accelerating our clean transition and boosting energy security for the UK and our European neighbours.”The UK currently sends and receives electricity through cables that are linked with EU states like France and the Netherlands. This latest agreement will help improve and increase interconnection, improving the reliability and access to electricity imports and exports.Indeed, the National Grid Electricity System Operator has previously claimed that better grid integration to offshore wind farms would deliver consumer-facing savings of around £3bn.The new agreement will also support the UK’s plans to increase offshore wind capacity fivefold to 50GW. The UK is also aiming to add more than 10GW of new interconnector capacity, rising from 8.4GW today, by 2030.It comes as the UK looks to rebuild the attractiveness of its renewables market. The UK has fallen one place to fourth in EY’s bi-annual ranking of the attractiveness of renewable energy investment markets.Despite strong investment in offshore wind over the past six months, Germany pipped the UK to third due to its pledge for an 80% renewable electricity mix by 2030.The RECAI notes that the UK continues to boast the UK’s largest offshore wind pipeline and states that increasing the 2030 target for installed capacity from 40GW to 50GW through the Energy Security Strategy has increased investment. It emphasises the success of the last Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction round and notes that the UK Infrastructure Bank’s confirmation of its funding priorities, including renewables, makes the market attractive to would-be investors.Nothing is said about concerns that the Government may yet move to make solar development on agricultural land more challenging – a leadership pledge from both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Original link – https://www.edie.net/uk-and-eu-sign-offshore-renewable-energy-agreement/ [...] Read more...
December 9, 2022The latest figures, published by Wind Energy Ireland, mean that wind energy has supplied 34 per cent of Ireland’s electricity demand this year to the end of November. This was the best November on record for the volume of electricity produced by Irish wind farms and the share of demand met by the country’s main source of renewable energy. Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said: “The data emphasises once again the contribution wind energy is making to insulate Irish families and businesses from the worst effects of the fossil-fuel energy crisis. “With one month remaining in 2022, wind farms across Ireland have provided over a third of the country’s electricity this year, making this one of the best years on record for wind energy. These are Irish generators producing power without burning imported fossil fuels, which means we can cut our carbon emissions at the same time as we cut our fuel imports.” Price of electricity November saw an average wholesale electricity price of €143.12 per megawatt-hour (MWh), with the average price at just €106.99 per MWh on the days with the most wind power on the system. Noel Cunniffe continued: “Our families, communities and businesses will be vulnerable to extreme electricity prices so long as we continue to rely on imported fossil fuels for our power. We must accelerate the development of our own, indigenous, sources of renewable energy to meet our carbon emissions targets and to protect consumers.” Total electricity demand in November 2022 was 3,337 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power and wind energy generated 1,612 GWh. Demand in November 2021 was 3,361 GWh and wind produced 1,106 GWh that month. The results of this report are based on EirGrid’s SCADA data compiled by MullanGrid and on market data provided by ElectroRoute. This is the eleventh in what will be a continuing series of monthly reports from Wind Energy Ireland. This series will play an important role in informing the development of wind energy in Ireland. Original article – https://www.windenergyireland.com/latest-news/7151-wind-energy-monthly-report-almost-half-of-ireland-s-power-provided-by-wind-in-november [...] Read more...
November 16, 2022Wholesale Electricity and Gas Policy Division,Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications29-31 Adelaide RoadDublin 2D02 X28528 October 2022Department of the Environment, Climate and CommunicationsBy email: energyconsultation@decc.gov.ieResponse to consultation onReview of the Security of Energy Supply of Ireland’s Electricity and Natural Gas Systems Dear Sir/Madam,MaresConnect Limited (MCL) welcomes the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications’ (DECC) consultation on Review of the Security of Energy Supply of Ireland’s Electricity and Natural Gas Systems 19 September 2022 (the Consultation).MaresConnect is a proposed 750MW electricity interconnector linking the power markets of Ireland (IE) and Great Britain (GB). MaresConnect has a GB interconnector licence and a GB grid connection agreement for 750MW interconnector at National Grid’s Bodelwyddan station in North Wales.MaresConnect is a near-term interconnector targeting commencement of operations in 2028 and is being developed by a highly experienced management team who have worked on 7 interconnector projects, including four connecting (or proposed) to Ireland. The Project is funded by a major shareholder, Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners (FEIP), with funding committed through the development phase.We set out below our response to selected questions set out in the consultation.Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you wish to discuss any aspect of this response.Yours sincerely,Simon LudlamCEOMares Connect Limited Click here to read response [...] Read more...
November 4, 2022Wind farms across Britain have set a second power generation record within the space of a week, producing 20,896MW of electricity on Wednesday 2 November.National Grid ESO said the milestone was achieved during a 30-minute period around noon when wind farms accounted for 53% of Britain’s electricity.On the same day, low-carbon sources – wind, solar, nuclear, hydro and storage – provided 70% of the country’s electricity.It comes just seven days after a previous record was set by onshore and offshore wind projects, when 19,936MW was generated over a half-hour period.RenewableUK chief executive Dan McGrail said: “Generating more than 20GW of electricity for the first time represents a new milestone for wind energy in Britain.“The fact that we’ve smashed the last record within the space of a week shows that wind is consistently generating vast amounts of clean power and becoming the backbone of our modern energy system.“This benefits hard-pressed billpayers too, because wind has become the UK’s cheapest source of new power.“It’s also strengthening our energy security at a time when generating our own electricity from home-grown sources has become vitally important.”The trade group noted that although the latest statistics represent a new electricity generation record, the highest percentage of electricity generated from wind in a half-hour period is 64% on 29 January this year. Original article – https://renews.biz/81580/british-wind-farms-set-another-new-generation-record/ [...] Read more...
November 1, 2022By 2037 there could be upwards of 5,000 jobs supported directly by the offshore wind sector located off the western seaboard, a new report has found. The sector could generate €400 million in gross value added (GVA) annually to the Atlantic region economy, according to the research commissioned by regional stakeholders and funded by Enterprise Ireland, local authorities and the Western Development Commission.The report confirms the “unprecedented opportunity” of offshore wind along the western seaboard embracing the northwest, west, and midwest regions over the next 20 years.The Government has set a target of 7 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030 with a view to achieving 30GW in the 2030s – with a significant portion of associated renewable power and green hydrogen being exported to Europe. This includes fixed turbine wind farms in the Irish Sea, but increasingly using offshore floating technology off the west coast.As offshore becomes more dominant over onshore, the impact on indirect employment will be equally transformative, the report concludes. The figures projected “are a direct correlation to wind farm delivery and the indirect benefits could be many times greater”.The report identifies positive downstream economic, environmental and societal impacts that would be likely following the direct impact of jobs and supply chain delivery.‘Huge opportunity’Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Dara Calleary said the report provided a basis for the Atlantic region to progress in developing its wind energy industry by “identifying the huge opportunity for the region in the onshore to offshore wind energy sector and the potential for thousands of high-quality, sustainable jobs that it brings”.He looked forward to “working with all of the regional stakeholders, public and private, in striving to deliver on the promise of this study”.The report by Dublin Offshore Consultants and Bigger Economics considers buildout scenarios across the region – from Donegal to Limerick – with projections under steady, rapid and aspirational outcomes. The offshore wind sector will overtake onshore in the Atlantic region within 15 years, it finds.The longitudinal economic model estimates the combined GVA of onshore and offshore wind in the region will be €2.85 billion up to 2037 in the rapid buildout scenario. In the steady scenario it is reduced to €1.86 billion and for the aspirational scenario it is €4.21 billion to 2037. By 2037 it is expected that in the Atlantic region the wind sector will annually generate €220 million GVA in the rapid buildout scenario; €170 million GVA in the steady scenario and €400 million GVA in the aspirational scenario.The report underlines Irish wind energy resources are among the best globally: “Wind projects onshore can avail of wind speeds of 7 metres/second (m/s), which are high in global terms. The wind speeds available off the Atlantic coastline, are far higher at up to 11m/s within Irish territorial waters (12 nautical mile limit) and up to 15m/s in the Irish exclusive economic zone.”It calls for delivery of “a regionally inclusive national energy strategy to co-ordinate route to market, grid upgrades along the Atlantic region and developing new courses and centres targeting the wind energy sector, with a particular emphasis on floating offshore wind skills and expertise not currently offered by Irish educational bodies”.Clear signals from the Government are critical to deliver the full potential of the wind energy industry in Ireland and the Atlantic region, it underlines.‘Clear signals’“Specific targets for installed capacity of offshore wind post-2030 are required. Clear signals on a pipeline of wind energy activity in the Atlantic region will enable ports to finance and commence upgrades, project developers to develop construction schedules, and educational bodies and training providers to tailor courses and ramp up activity to support industry needs,” it adds.Almost 40GW of offshore wind projects are in development in the State, of which more than 10GW are in the Atlantic region. In early 2022, the first six commercial scale offshore wind projects comprising nearly 4GW were given “relevant projects” status to allow fast-track development. Five of these are in the Irish Sea, while the 400MW Sceirde Rocks project, is proposed for off the Galway coast.The majority of remaining projects in the Atlantic region are focused on access to the Moneypoint and nearby Tarbert grid connections, anticipated to become available from 2025. These are located off the Clare and north Kerry coasts and intend to use floating platforms.With the exception of those using Moneypoint and Tarbert grid connections, all other future installed floating offshore wind capacity will require upgrades in grid connection availability, battery storage, or alternative routes to market such as production of green hydrogen, it notes.When assessing skills needed for the industry to grow, it identifies engineering, applied sciences, logistics, digital and supply chain management as essential. Original article – https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2022/10/28/offshore-wind-in-atlantic-region-could-support-5000-jobs-by-2037-report/ [...] Read more...
October 14, 2022PRAGUE – European Union (EU) energy ministers held an informal meeting here on Wednesday to discuss solutions for high gas prices, preparing for the energy situation this winter, and a possible revision of the electricity market.Discussions aimed to define the European Commission’s legislative proposals on joint gas purchases and possible price capping, according to a statement issued by the Czech Presidency of the EU after the meeting.“In the first part of the meeting, we focused on the issue of high gas prices and the search for a quick (…) effective solution. The discussion on this topic is not easy, each country has different conditions, different rules, different interests, but is crucial because we must mitigate the economic impacts,” Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela said.“I expect the European Commission will take this discussion into account during the preparation of the legislative proposal on this issue. It should be published by the Commission next week, and I believe that we will be able to discuss it at the formal Energy Council on Oct 25 in Luxembourg,” he said.“Afterwards, we will most likely call another extraordinary meeting of energy ministers to seek approval,” he added.The main elements of the proposal should include a functional platform for joint gas purchases, increasing the transparency of the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) price index, and strengthening its resilience to speculative behavior.Joint purchases would help the entire 27-member bloc to achieve more favorable bulk prices for natural gas, which would help with soaring costs. This would especially help smaller countries gain market leverage, and could come into effect mid-way through next year.The ministers also discussed the energy preparedness of individual countries, the entire EU bloc and neighboring regions ahead of the winter season, as well as the functioning of the European electricity market.“We also discussed the way the market should be set up so that it can better respond to the current crisis situation and at the same time be prepared for the future energy mix. It will be low-carbon and more based on nuclear and renewable energy sources,” Sikela said.Inflation in the eurozone rose by 10 percent in September, a new record high since the launch of the single currency in 1999. Meanwhile, inflation in the Czech Republic in September rose by 18 percent year-on-year, primarily because of energy prices. Original article – https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/eu-ministers-discuss-joint-gas-purchases-electricity-market-reform-122101300095_1.html [...] Read more...
September 27, 2022Higher energy bills mean councils across Wales have £200m less to spend in 2023/24, the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) said.There are fears this could affect jobs and resources in areas like schools and homeless services.The UK government has said it will cut councils’ energy costs for six months.Bills for UK businesses – including councils – will be cut by about half their expected level this winter, with wholesale gas and electricity prices fixed for six months from 1 October, shielding them from crippling cost increases.But the WLGA said the scale of the challenge councils faced to keep services going “cannot be overstated”.Martin James, a volunteer trustee at the community-owned Narberth swimming pool, Pembrokeshire, said recent cost rises mean they were only just keeping their heads above water, and they feared what would happen if prices rose again.“The energy costs as with everyone have rocketed recently, chlorine costs have gone up considerably, it’s really tough, so we’re quite concerned about the future of the pool, and whether we’ll be able to stay open,” he said.“There are loads of children coming over from local schools, we have about 400 people in our learn to swim scheme, and it would be such a shame for that to happen,” he said.But it is not just community-owned services that are facing challenges. According to the council, schools and leisure centres are their biggest energy users.Tough times aheadLike many councils, Pembrokeshire has a fixed energy contract until April 2023, so the concern for them is what happens after that.The council fears bills could double when those contracts come up for retendering.At Milford Haven Community School, acting headteacher Nick Dyer is preparing for tough times ahead.“I think we are gearing ourselves up for a ‘gathering storm’, maybe it’s not raining yet, but we’re expecting it to,” he said.While the school had prepared for the rise in energy costs, he said the impact on next year’s budget could be considerable on resources and jobs.“What we don’t know is what’ll happen after April 2023, but already we’re looking at it, and thinking it could be 100% or more increase in costs, and of course we don’t know how that is going to be funded,” said Mr Dyer.“If schools aren’t funded for that we will really struggle, we’ll have nowhere else to go, and you’re starting to talk then about salaries, you’re talking about resources for children and other areas we can take from.”‘When costs go up, stress goes up’About three-quarters of the children attending the school live in poverty, with resources focused on providing extra support for struggling families. “What we do know is that when costs go up, stress goes up for families, and when stress goes up in families, the need for school to provide support, to look out for those children grows,” he said.“That means that schools are likely to be looking at how else we support these families, do we need to push our resource and our staffing towards that?”The school is putting in place more support for children, with more staff needed to help deal with social services. It is also setting up a school uniform hub to help families cut costs, but budget pressures could mean that next year it will have to do more with less money.The same is true for the local authority as a whole, deputy leader of Pembrokeshire council Paul Miller said: “When times get rougher, demand goes up, not down.”“People rely on local authority services more, the tougher it is out there in the general economy.”He added that social services, homelessness services, family services and schools all see a rise in demand in a difficult economic climate.“It’s pretty serious, lots of colleagues are talking about this being worse than the austerity years,” he said.“We’re talking about £5m in-year pressures, that’s costs that have come since we set the budget in March of this year, and next year, admittedly it’s projections, but we’re looking at about £18.5m deficit.”Local authorities have a statutory requirement to balance their books, and so deficits inevitably mean cuts to services, and according to Mr Miller, job losses cannot be ruled out.“Projections change rapidly in an environment like this, but a significant proportion of our costs are staff costs, and so we’re not in a position where we can rule [job losses] out, I think what I’d say is, it looks really tough going into next year’s budget setting process.”The WLGA said concerns like these were not isolated to Pembrokeshire, and Welsh councils face a £200m shortfall in their budgets next year.This week, the UK government announced an Energy Bill Relief Scheme that would cut energy bills for councils, as well as business for six months.Councillor Anthony Hunt, finance spokesperson for WLGA, said councils faced up to a 285% hike in energy costs, and more support was needed.“Aside from surging energy bills, pay costs and rocketing inflation are forcing councils to look again at their spending plans just to meet their legal duty to balance budgets,” he said.He called on the UK government to provide more adequate support to help councils help communities.A UK government spokesperson said: “We understand the pressure businesses, charities, and public sector organisations are facing with their energy bills, which is why the UK government is taking immediate action to ensure customers are protected over the winter period.“We will publish a review into the operation of the scheme in the months to inform decision on future support after March 2023.” Original article – https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-63010305 [...] Read more...
September 27, 2022The Powering Up Dublin Community and Business Forums bring together people and organisations from across the project area so that stakeholder, community and local businesses’ views can be discussed, understood and properly considered throughout the lifecycle of the project.This project will see up to 50km of cables being installed, with some cables replacing existing ones and some new cables being installed. These upgrades are necessary to help secure Dublin’s electricity future and bring more renewable energy onto the grid.To keep communities and businesses informed about the project, EirGrid is setting up a business forum and community forum, and these information events will provide more detail of the forums’ roles and how people can become a member.The information event for the business forum takes place on Tuesday, September 27 at Smock Alley Theatre, Temple Bar, from 9am to 10.30am. The community forum event takes place at the same location on September 27, from 7pm to 8.30pm.Speaking about the information events, Sinead Dooley, Head of Public Engagement with EirGrid said: “We understand the importance of people’s feedback when developing projects. Communities and businesses know their area and are best placed to provide feedback. We hope to work collaboratively with them so that this essential project is delivered in a timely fashion, with as little impact to businesses and communities as possible.”“These information events will provide greater detail on the role forums will play; from providing guidance on local needs and priorities, to making sure a local voice is heard and feedback is given to the project team,” added Dooley.To register for either event, visit www.eirgrid.ie/Dublin [...] Read more...
August 22, 2022The UK is the latest country preparing to implement emergency measures this winter as soaring gas and electricity prices fuel an energy crisis in Europe.The British government is prepared to trigger emergency measures in January to conserve gas as electricity imports fall, according to Bloomberg. A number of countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark have drawn up plans to deal with energy shortages over the winter, including switching to coal-fired power and even forms of rationing.UK measures could include organized power cuts affecting both businesses and households to avoid potential gas shortfalls, Bloomberg said.UK natural gas prices have surged 130% this year, compared with a rise of 200% in benchmark European prices so. Benchmark power prices on the continent have hit record highs, rising by almost 300% since the start of 2022.“Rationing can’t be ruled out in the colder months. This will impact everyone, but especially energy intensive industries like car makers, chemical companies and cryptocurrency mining,” Simon Tucker, global head of energy, utilities and resources at Infosys Consulting, said.“Fundamentally, there is huge demand for natural gas and especially liquid natural gas (LNG) in Europe. Even with a large increase in shipments of LNG from the Middle East and North America, supply is still limited and particularly cold spells in winter pose a serious risk,” he added.Gas and power costs are contributing to a cost-of-living crisis across Europe, with key benchmark prices soaring since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Red-hot inflation is forcing central banks to raise interest rates, delivering an additional blow to cash-strapped households everywhere.Part of the increase is down to a drop in flows of energy from Russia, which has traditionally been Europe’s go-to provider, supplying 40% of the region’s natural gas. EU sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine have resulted in Russian exports of gas slowing to a trickle through at least one major pipeline. Britain produces natural gas itself and gets additional supply in the form of super-cooled fuel that arrives on tankers. It often has a glut of unused gas because of a shortage of storage options, but its capacity to export any excess to the rest of Europe is constrained by the size of the pipelines that connect it to the mainland. Even so, it still imports much of its electricity from its neighbours in Norway and France. The entire continent is now scrambling to deal with an unprecedented rupture in energy security.Norway, a major exporter of electricity and natural gas, has warned it may ration power exports to the rest of the continent as it grapples with a lack of rainfall that has depleted the reservoirs it relies on for hydropower. Adding to the squeeze on available supplies is France – ordinarily a net exporter of power thanks to its fleet of nuclear power stations. But ageing infrastructure and overdue maintenance mean Europe’s second largest economy is now having to vie for electricity on the open market, as a large proportion of its nuclear facilities are offline.Even power stations in Europe’s manufacturing heartland of Germany are struggling to source enough fuel. A heatwave and record low rainfall across the region have driven water levels on the river Rhine to historic lows, which means the barges that would normally carry anything from coal to refined petroleum products are unable to pass through with anything close to full loads. Original article – https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/europe-energy-crisis-gas-prices-organized-blackouts-power-cuts-uk-2022-8 [...] Read more...
July 1, 2022Subsea interconnectors are a very discreet sector, it entails decade-long developments…but are developing fast and have become critical to increasing renewables penetration and enhancing energy security. They were originally developed around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea by TSO (Transmission System Operators) but have now caught the interest of large private infrastructure investors. Those HVDC cables, running for hundreds of kms under the seabed, can carry (in both ways) power equivalent to a nuclear plant.How are those projects being developed? What are their revenue models? What are the technical options? What does the future look like as pharaonic projects liking continents are now being considered? Gerard and Laurent provide an in-depth view into the beauty and sophistication of those projects with the “captain Nemo” of interconnectors, Simon Ludlam.Simon, a former investment banker, is the founding partner of Etchea Energy which currently provides the Management Team to the Irish MaresConnect interconnector project. Etchea Energy previously provided Project Director services to the €500m Greenlink Interconnector where it was successful in introducing Cap & Floor regulation in Ireland, securing PCI status for the project, and raising equity finance for the construction phase. Prior to Greenlink, Simon originated and led the development of the €600m ElecLink interconnector project through the Channel Tunnel. Original podcast can be found here  [...] Read more...
June 7, 2022This was the most power ever generated by wind in the month of May and over the first five months of 2022 wind has provided 37 per cent of Ireland’s electricity.Prices on the wholesale electricity market fell significantly to an average of €143.27 but market analysts believe this was likely a temporary fall due to a combination of an over supply of gas in Britain, lower than expected demand and better renewable energy performance.Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said: “Irish wind farms have delivered enormous amounts of clean energy over the first five months of the year, cutting our carbon emissions and helping to insulate Irish consumers from our dependence on expensive imported gas.“We expect to see new wind farms connected before the end of 2022 and with solar farms connecting to the grid this year for the first time too, the two technologies will increasingly be able to work together to push fossil fuels off the Irish electricity system.”Planning delaysHowever, the organisation warned that delays in the planning system are slowing the rate of connection of new wind farms. Although An Bord Pleanála has a statutory timeframe to decide applications from wind energy projects in 18 weeks the average time for a decision is over a year.Noel Cunniffe said: “Our planning system must be urgently reformed and properly resourced to ensure that the renewable energy projects needed to cut our carbon emissions and drive down electricity bills can get built as quickly as possible.”The results of this report are based on EirGrid’s SCADA data compiled by MullanGrid and on market data provided by ElectroRoute. This is the fifth in what will be a continuing series of monthly reports from Wind Energy Ireland. This series will play an important role in progressing the development of wind energy as an energy source in Ireland. Original article – https://windenergyireland.com/latest-news/6701-wind-energy-monthly-report-34-of-ireland-s-power-provided-in-may [...] Read more...
April 5, 2022The plan will aim to boost UK energy production, including from renewable sources, in a bid to move away from Russian oil and gas.Boris Johnson has been holding talks with figures from the nuclear, renewables, and North Sea oil and gas sectors ahead of the launch.Ministers are also under pressure over soaring energy bills facing consumers, amid rising gas prices.So what can we expect the strategy to say?NuclearSenior government sources have told the BBC the prime minister wants to make “two big bets” on nuclear and offshore wind in the strategy. He has previously indicated he’d like to see 25% of the UK’s energy generated by nuclear by 2050, though the Treasury has raised concerns about the costs of targets like this falling outside of the government’s current spending review period.At the moment, the UK has six plants that can supply about 20% of UK electricity demand, with 15% generated in 2020. Most of their reactors are due to cease operating and be shut down before 2030.Funding the construction of new plants has proved challenging in recent years, and complications over costs were a factor behind the energy strategy being delayed.Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has confirmed ministers will set up a new body to oversee the delivery of new nuclear plants.The government also recently acquired new powers to finance nuclear projects by allowing developers to add costs to customers’ bills during construction.Ministers argue this will prove less expensive for energy users than current funding models, where these costs can only be added after a station starts generating electricity. The government also plans to take a 20% stake in a £20bn project to build a new plant at Sizewell C in Suffolk.Wylfa, a decommissioned nuclear power plant on the island of Anglesey in north Wales, is among half a dozen sites already being considered for new stations.Welsh Secretary Simon Hart is set to visit the United States this week for talks with US firms Bechtel and Westinghouse about reviving plans for a new site, following the withdrawal of Japanese company Hitachi two years ago.WindMr Johnson has also expressed his desire for a “colossal” offshore wind farm to industry leaders.A senior source told the BBC he is looking for a “Kate-Bingham like” figure to lead the expansion of offshore wind – in a reference to the venture capitalist who led a government taskforce on buying Covid vaccines.The PM is said to have told industry leaders that if the UK “could create a vaccine in a year” then he wished to do the same with a large offshore wind farm. There have also been discussions about boosting onshore wind farms, which have faced greater hurdles for approval since planning laws in England were tightened in 2015.A senior government source has also told the BBC Mr Johnson was “horrified” when he was told that onshore wind turbines could take a “day” to put up, but “10 years” to approve in England.Some Tory activists have opposed their impact on the landscape, despite polls suggesting high public support for them, and cabinet ministers are split over whether planning laws in England should be relaxed.Energy bill help for people near turbines consideredCabinet split over onshore wind expansion planThe business secretary favours a relaxation, but has said any expansion of onshore wind would need community consent and benefits.Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said he did not favour “a vast increase” in onshore wind farms, calling them an “eyesore for communities”.But it’s possible the strategy may commit to just reviewing the planning laws – even if no decisions have yet been made.The BBC has been told incentives – such as cheaper energy bills – are being considered for people who live near new onshore wind farms, and these could be introduced whether planning laws in England are relaxed or not.That could mean those benefits are felt more acutely in Scotland and Wales, where planning rules are already less stringent.Oil and GasThe strategy is also likely to touch on increasing domestic production of gas and oil in the North Sea.However, ministers say they don’t want to burn more gas, but instead produce more of it domestically while they transition to renewables.Ministers are likely to “keep the door open” to the controversial practice of fracking – extracting shale gas from the ground – but a government ban on it remains in place.Some Tory MPs have pushed for the government to lift the ban, though it’s understood they have no plans to unless science changes and deems it safe.SolarSolar power is also expected to be part of the strategy – with incentives also being considered for people who live near new large solar farms constructed in England.Supporters say a new generation of farms say they could provide a source of renewable energy to power hundreds of thousands of homes.But plans for new farms have faced local resistance, with a number of Conservative MPs also voicing their opposition. Original article – https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-60982346 [...] Read more...
March 28, 2022Offshore wind can deliver “80 gigawatts” of power, almost ten times the size of Ireland’s grid of “5-and-a-half gigawatts,” CEO of Shannon Foynes Port Company Pat Keating declared.Mr Keating was addressing the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action.Committee Chair Brian Leddin, Green Party TD, noted that that the war in Ukraine has pushed to centre-stage the committee’s work on coastal renewable energy.“What we have is a huge natural energy resource in this country, that is obviously too big for local demand,” Mr Keating said.He pointed out that the 80 gigawatts is a known quantity, “a definitive resource”, unlike oil and gas, which depend on exploration to establish whether reserves actually exist.The Government’s target of five gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 “is based on local demand,” he said, adding it is “inconsistent with where the sector is going”.Those five gigawatts are to be generated off the east and south coasts, where shallow water suits wind farms built on a solid foundation, or fixed platform.However, the committee heard that the deep waters off Ireland’s west coast are suited to floating platforms.Mr Keating said that investors see those floating facilities as being more productive and efficient, also noting that they are “out of sight” from land.But he said investors looking at Ireland need a signal from the Government that it supports floating platforms.Without this, Mr Keating warned that “what is widely renowned as the best resource in Europe – if not the world – becomes un-investable”.He pointed to Ireland’s chief competitor in wind energy.“We can learn a lot from how the UK has approached this”, he said.Ireland is at least “five or six years” behind them, Mr Keating said, adding that companies now making a “once in a 25-year investment decision” are choosing places like Scotland.Those investments are funding the establishment of a supply chain outside of Ireland, which raises the danger that “what we end up with is a commodity resource, rather than a value-add resource,” Mr Keating added.Scotland has gone “straight to floating [platforms]”, rather than focusing on fixed platformed wind farms, he said.And its wind energy agency, ScotWind, has already held an auction for offshore licences, with most going to floating platforms.It secured £700 million (€841 million) for sixteen offshore wind projects, Mr Keating said.These are the types of revenue Ireland could be raising, he told the committee.“The market is more than willing”, he said, but warned that in Ireland “there is no process to engage the market”. Original article – https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0322/1287819-offshore-energy/ [...] Read more...
February 18, 2022Ireland’s aim is to become an energy exporter but it remains vulnerable currently because of its dependence on imported fossil fuels, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has declared.Speaking at a French summit of 40 world leaders, Mr Martin said Ireland’s “way out” of dependence on foreign supplies will rely on offshore wind, especially “floating” turbines, green hydrogen and greater storage.“So we see the sea is offering us solutions to deal with the wider challenge of course of climate change itself. What is critical as well is that we do all of this in partnership with our coastal communities and with our fishers.”The State must work with fishermen to ensure that they can “co-habitate” with offshore wind, and that sustainable fisheries are built in partnership with Atlantic and European Union partners.World leaders gathered in the city of Brest for the One Ocean Summit – billed as the first of its type – to discuss maritime issues, decarbonising shipping and reducing plastic pollution.Speaking during a session with French president Emmanuel Macron, Mr Martin said that Ireland wanted to move to a stage where the country was exporting energy but was currently vulnerable because of a reliance on imported fossil fuels. Original article – https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/taoiseach-tells-french-summit-that-ireland-aims-to-become-exporter-of-energy-1.4799676 [...] Read more...
January 22, 2022ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION BY data centres has more than doubled since 2015, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show.Between 2015 and 2020, data centres’ consumption of electricity in Ireland increased by 144%.Additionally, the proportion of Ireland’s total metered electricity used by data centres more than doubled between 2015 and 2020, rising from 5% to 11% – an increase of 1,783 Gigawatt hours.For the first time, the CSO has published a report on electricity consumption by data centres.Amid concerns about Ireland’s energy supply and efforts to reduce emissions, the impact of large-energy users like data centres on the grid has come under scrutiny.Late last year, Ireland’s energy regulator decided against a moratorium on new data centres connecting to the national grid, but said it reserved the right to implement one if it deems it a necessary move to “protect security of supply”.The CSO report released today shows that in the first quarter of 2015, data centres consumed 290 Gigawatt hours of metered electricity.In the last three months of 2020, they consumed 849 Gigawatt hours – a 193% increase, or almost triple.  Data centres’ share of metered electricity in 2020 was almost as large as consumption by rural homes, which accounted for 12%. Urban dwellings used 22%.Overall, consumption in Ireland rose by 10%, or 2,546 Gigawatt hours, between 2015 and 2020.Statistician in the CSO’s Environment and Climate Division Niamh Shanahan said: “The increase in consumption was driven by a combination of existing data centres using more electricity and new data centres being added to the grid.”“This is the first time the CSO has published figures on electricity consumption by data centres. The report shows the total metered electricity consumption by data centres by quarter for the period 2015 to 2020,” she said.Shanahan said that “data centre consumption increased from 290 Gigawatt hours in January to March 2015 to 849 GWh in October to December 2020″ and that the data “shows a steady increase from quarter to quarter”.‘Unlike anything Ireland has seen in 100 years’In October, an Oireachtas Committee heard that it “would not be prudent” to expand electricity demand with further large energy users.DCU Professor Barry McMullin told the Committee that it will be essential to “minimise society-wide energy demand for at least the next two decades” to significantly reduce fossil fuel use and emissions. He said it “would not be prudent to continue expanding our electricity demand with further large users such as data centres”.Aoife MacEvilly, Chairperson of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, said that “on the topic of data centres, electricity demand growth from this sector is unlike anything Ireland has seen in the past 100 years”.“At present, this demand is connecting to the grid more quickly and easily than it has proven possible to deliver the supporting transmission and generation infrastructure.” In 2020, an EirGrid report outlined that data centres and other large energy users could account for 27% of Ireland’s energy consumption by 2030. Original article – https://www.thejournal.ie/data-centres-electricity-use-5659789-Jan2022/ [...] Read more...
December 16, 2021Increasing demand and the retirement of older generating stations will likely create electricity supply challenges for the island of Ireland in the coming years, according to this year’s generation capacity statement (GCS). The GCS is published annually by EirGrid and examines the likely balance between electricity demand and supply in the period up to 2030. “The document considers the balance between supply and demand for Ireland and Northern Ireland between 2021 and 2030 and reports on our work as TSOs,” says David McGowan, the future networks team lead with SONI, Northern Ireland’s electricity transmission system operator (TSO) and part of EirGrid Group. “We consulted widely with industry and other stakeholders in preparing the statement.”The report finds that despite a short-term reduction in electricity use due to Covid-19, demand in Ireland is on the rise and, long term, will increase significantly due to the expected continued growth of large energy users.“That strong level of demand growth is a good sign,” says McGowan. “It reflects anticipated economic, employment and population growth. Also, the Irish government’s Climate Action Plan with its targets for electric vehicles and heat pumps, along with increased public demand for the electrification of other services and activities, will drive overall electricity demand upwards over the period.”Plants retiringThat demand growth will be accompanied by a reduction in conventional generating capacity. “The report predicts that over the course of the next five years around 1,650 megawatts [MW] of generation will retire in Ireland, with up to a further 600MW retiring in Northern Ireland,” he adds.The issue for the two TSOs is how to bridge that gap between rising demand and falling generation capacity. EirGrid and SONI do not generate any power themselves, their role is to manage the grids which transmit it from the generators to the users.“Our job is to understand where the surpluses and deficits will arise,” McGowan explains. “The report sends out a signal to the market in relation to what will be required to meet capacity needs between now and 2030.”And the clear message is that new conventional generating capacity will be needed. While most of the increased demand will be met from wind and solar energy as the power system is reshaped to meet the Government target of at least 70 per cent of electricity generation coming from renewable sources by 2030, there will still be a shortfall.“It is clear from the report that new, cleaner gas-fired generation plant is required now to address the issue, especially for when wind and solar generation is low,” says McGowan. “Appropriate volumes of dispatchable flexible gas generation are critical to support the transition to a low-carbon power system into the next decade, as we move to 70 per cent renewables by 2030 and, ultimately, a zero-carbon power system.”The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) concurs, and in its security of supply information note published in September indicated that it has developed a programme of work actions to address the situation. These actions include the delivery of more than 2,000MW of enduring flexible gas-fired generation capacity by 2030; the procurement of up to 300MW of temporary emergency; and extending the operation, on a temporary basis, of older generators to delay the loss of up to 1,200MW of existing capacity.Demand-side responseOther actions led by EirGrid will also play a role. These include demand-side response and the Celtic interconnector with France. In demand-side response large energy users can reduce their demand when the system is under stress. “They can have their own generation facilities to provide dispatchable power or they can switch demand to another jurisdiction. There is an opportunity for demand-side participants to sell into the market.”The data-centre sector cannot be ignored in all of this, and EirGrid estimates that it will grow to represent 23 per cent of demand in Ireland by 2030. “EirGrid recognises the important role that data centres will play in the future energy system and look forward to working with the industry and the CRU to implement the new policy in relation to the sector,” says McGowan.That new policy sets out criteria that EirGrid and ESB Networks are required to consider in assessing data-centre connection applications. The criteria relate to the location of the data centre applicant with respect to whether they are within a constrained or unconstrained region of the electricity system; the ability of the applicant to bring onsite dispatchable generation or storage capacity equivalent to or greater than their demand; and their ability to provide flexibility in their demand by reducing consumption when requested to do so.“The aim of the GCS is to create awareness of the situation and we are working with all stakeholders to create solutions to the problem. We have set up an alarm, but we hope it doesn’t go off.” Original Article – https://www.irishtimes.com/sponsored/innovation-partner-profiles/eirgrid-planning-for-decade-of-growth-in-electricity-demand-1.4755127 [...] Read more...
December 7, 2021The challenges facing Ireland’s energy supply can be summarised in four key points: (1) lower than expected availability from some existing power stations; (2) anticipated new power stations not being developed as planned; (3) expected growth in electricity demand, including from data centres; and (4) expected closure of some power stations in the coming years that make up almost 25% of conventional electricity generation capacity.Meanwhile, EirGrid noted in its Winter Outlook for 2021 that it expected Ireland’s electricity system to enter a state of “alert” at times over the coming Winter, which is most likely to occur at periods of low wind and low interconnector imports. Ireland currently faces elevated risk to its system entering an “emergency state” due to insufficient generation to meet demand, at least in contrast to previous winters. Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan has acknowledged the extent of the risks, and has acknowledged the “real issues with data centres”, noting that if “increased demand […] were to continue unabated, it would present real difficulties”. While Ireland’s Commission for Regulation of Utilities has decided against a moratorium on data centres, it too has acknowledged the need for rigorous assessment of applications from new data centres to gain access to the grid. Indeed, concerns regarding energy security stem beyond the energy usage of data centres.In response to energy concerns, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications have commissioned a long-term review of the Security of Energy Supply (Electricity & Natural Gas) that will focus from now to 2030 in the context of ensuring sustainable pathways to meet net zero targets by 2050, while considering options to address longer-term risks such as increased dependence on imported natural gas from Scotland’s Moffat terminal. While this review will be conducted with a long-term perspective, Minister Ryan last week published his Department’s new Government Policy Statement to Guarantee Security of Electricity Supply throughout Ireland. As per this new Policy Statement, the Government has committed to:1.     Supporting and permitting the development of new conventional generation (including gas-fired and gasoil/distillate-fired generation) given its being a national priority.a.     It is envisioned that this will not only ensure energy supply security but will also facilitate meeting renewable energy targets by 2030.2.     Retaining existing conventional electricity generation capacity until new conventional electricity generation capacity is developed.3.     Considering the connection of large energy users, such as data centres for example, on the basis of their potential impact on energy supply security and wider needs to decarbonise the electricity grid.4.     Noting the importance for additional electricity transmission and distribution grid infrastructure, electricity interconnection, and electricity storage to be permitted and developed with a view to supporting the growth of renewable energy.Speaking in relation to the Policy Statement, Minister Ryan stated: “secure supplies of electricity are vital for our economy and society as we increase the share of renewable electricity to up to 80% by 2030. They are also vital to attract new investment into Ireland and for people and businesses to have complete confidence when purchasing electric vehicles and installing heat pumps. This new gas-fired capacity will be flexible enough to balance our national grid as we expand solar energy and onshore and offshore wind, and will be more efficient than our older oil and coal-fired power stations”.It remains to be seen of course if the Government’s direction as outlined in this Policy Statement will allow for a seamless dual-track approach to securing Ireland’s energy supply while simultaneously helping Ireland meet its ambitious targets pertaining to reducing Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030, and to net zero by 2050. It is, however, symptomatic of what will be a bumpy journey as part of an overall energy transition and attempt to fight climate change. Original Article – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/irelands-energy-security-concerns-government-responds- [...] Read more...
November 23, 2021With the conclusion of Cop26 in Glasgow, focus switches to how countries can quickly start delivering on commitments to reduce emissions over the coming decade.A report published earlier this year by a team of energy researchers at University College Cork highlights how Ireland’s ongoing energy transformation – which is necessary to meet our decarbonisation requirements for 2050 – will predominantly involve a massive increase in the development of wind power.The report, Our Climate Neutral Future – Zero by 50, highlights wind energy as Ireland’s most abundant and easily tapped resource, with wind power supply accounting for up to five times that of solar by 2050.But the transition won’t be easy, facing issues such as the intermittent nature of wind and solar power, which are weather dependent, and therefore requiring the need for other energy sources, as well as a large storage capacity, increasingly in the form of battery technology.The publication was led by Dr Paul Deane at the MaREI SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and the Marine, at UCC.How big a part can wind power play in meeting our decarbonisation goals over the coming decades?Today we have about four or five gigawatts of wind power installed in Ireland, and under our projections, looking at population growth, and economic activity – looking at our energy demands in the future – we recognise that this is going to have to grow up to about 20 gigawatts, meaning a fourfold increase by 2050.This will involve a lot of onshore wind power, because it is the cheapest form of renewable energy that we have available to us here in Ireland. There are different estimates which one can make, but generally speaking we think that somewhere between 6GW and 10GW of onshore wind is available on the island. Thereafter the rest will be made up from offshore wind resources, which are a bit more expensive, relatively speaking. Offshore also makes a lot of sense in many regions, along the east coast for example, where it is close to the big demand centres, like Dublin.Do we think that offshore will ever becoming cheaper than onshore?No, I don’t think so. Onshore is currently cheaper per gigawatt and is the cheapest form of renewable energy that we have. No doubt there will be large decreases in the costs of offshore construction and maintenance over time, but onshore is also likely to get cheaper.Onshore construction costs are relatively manageable, and you’re not dealing with the harsh environments out at sea, where you also need a lot of cranes and barges. I’m not saying there is no place for offshore wind energy – we need it and it is a huge part of our future – but it just isn’t as cheap as onshore.How does wind fit in with other energy sources in our decarbonised future?We can’t be sure of the numbers because these are just projections – albeit based on our best future scenario modelling – but it looks like we should be aiming to have around four or five times more wind than solar in the long run.That’s around 4GW or 5GW of solar in the mix, with the 20GW of wind I mentioned earlier. That is a huge amount of solar, especially compared with what we have in place today. Solar panels are now very cheap – costs have tumbled – and they also work well with batteries, which are rapidly becoming cheaper.The challenge with solar, unfortunately, is that we just don’t get enough sunlight in the winter months. When we’re thinking about the future of these power systems, we often think about averages. But actually, power systems must be resilient to extremes, especially when we’re designing our systems of the future, or we are thinking about worst-case scenarios. When modelling these futures we include scenarios where, for example, we have five days with little wind or sun. In order to do that we have to look at things like long-term storage, from future battery technology, for example. It’s these kind of extreme scenarios which matter, even if they are rare, and ultimately provide the framework for designing our energy power system future. How likely is all this to happen in time to meet our national and EU decarbonisation targets by 2030 and beyond?The frustrating thing that we’re seeing at that moment, is that despite all the huge technological improvements, development, and innovation across the wind industry, the planning permission process here is rather fragmented and incoherent.There are all sorts of permits and licences required for the planning and construction of both onshore and offshore wind farms. It’s a real roadblock, which is just not being removed in time to reap the benefits of the rapidly improving technology.It’s a problem for two main reasons. Firstly, it creates extra risk for the developers. These projects are already very capital intensive – they are expensive – and increasing the risk of delay increases costs. Secondly, there can also be a negative impact to our national reputation. All over Europe, developers are looking to build large offshore wind farms, and in the UK and Denmark, for example, they can currently offer a much more attractive legislative process, with lower risk.What can the Government do to make this all happen faster?There has been a growing awareness around this problem for the past five or six years or so, and it’s been a credit to government that they’re at least trying to deal with it. They are now trying to create a unified planning procedure for offshore wind, and developing a new planning entity to govern offshore wind applications, to help deal with the process, to make it smoother.The main idea here is that instead of going to many different departments to get planning for offshore wind farms, we’ll just go to one. So it’s an effort to at least recognise the challenges of the fragmented nature of planning here, and it’s trying to address the issue by putting a more streamlined process in place.We need this to happen so that we can rapidly speed up the planning process and get access to our national wind power abundance sooner rather than later, when it will be too late to meet our decarbonisation requirements. Original article – https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/wind-energy-why-is-ireland-not-fulfilling-its-potential-1.4729335 [...] Read more...
October 28, 2021The wave of price hikes is not set to abate before next spring, and ministers discussed a set of short-term measures that have been put forward by the European Commission to help consumers and businesses weather the shock.The main reason behind the sharp spike is increased global demand for energy, and gas in particular. According to EU officials, gas prices in Europe have increased by more than 170% since the start of the year. Although most member states agree tax cuts, state aid and other measures put forward by the EU’s executive arm to help households and businesses are beneficial to bring immediate relief, they diverge on the long-term approach.A line has been drawn between the countries calling for a thorough and structural reform of the bloc’s energy market — among them France and Spain — and those who believe the crisis is only temporary and does not require radical market changes.Nine European Union countries, including heavyweight Germany, have joined forces to say they will not support an overhaul of the electricity market.Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia and the Netherlands said transparent and competitive markets are what guarantee better prices for users. They called for the deployment of renewable energy sources and “further interconnection.”Meanwhile, Spain is pushing for changing the way wholesale electricity prices are calculated, while France — which derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy — has called for decoupling electricity and gas prices. The French argue that the influence of gas in setting wholesale electricity prices is disproportionate.“The current functioning of the electricity market in Europe for retail prices has reached its limits,” said Emmanuelle Wargon, the delegate minister to the French minister of ecological transition. “It is absolutely essential that the prices faced by end consumers should reflect the energy mix.”Spain also has proposed setting up a joint program for obtaining gas reserves, but the idea has not gained much support so far. Europe depends heavily on imported gas, mainly from Russia.Poland suggested that Russia has tried to use gas as a political weapon by holding back supplies. The European Commission says Russia’s Gazprom has honored its long-term contracts but has not responded to higher demand for additional supply as it did in previous years.“From our side, we are monitoring what is happening on the gas market,” Kadri Simson, the EU commissioner for energy, said after the meeting. “The commission competition department has begun collecting evidence about market behavior of main gas suppliers in the view of detecting any anti-competitive behavior on the energy market.”In addition, EU countries have asked the commission to look into the bloc’s emissions trading program, which has companies pay for carbon dioxide they emit. The aim is to check whether manipulation of the market could have influenced carbon price increases.Longer term, the commission wants the EU to prepare for a repeat of such price shocks by accelerating investment in renewable energy sources and developing energy storage capacity.Slovenia’s minister for infrastructure, Jernej Vrtovec, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Council, said the crunch is an opportunity to strengthen the transition to renewables and a low-carbon economy.He noted that many member states see nuclear energy as a tool toward further energy independence and climate goals.The energy squeeze has reignited a debate about whether the EU should promote nuclear power projects as a way of becoming more energy independent. The bloc has yet to decide whether nuclear can be included in the so-called taxonomy, a classification system attempting to define what economic activities can qualify for sustainable investment while avoiding “greenwashing.”France recently asked for the inclusion of nuclear power in the framework by the end of the year, leading the charge with nine other EU countries. The group faces strong opposition from Germany and other countries that want nuclear power to be ineligible for green financing.Campaign group Friends of the Earth Europe said after the meeting that ministers showed “a complete lack of urgency” by failing to agree on joint actions. Original article – https://www.registercitizen.com/news/article/EU-ministers-debate-how-to-tackle-rising-energy-16564168.php [...] Read more...
October 17, 2021Ireland already has the highest share of onshore wind in its electricity mix of any country in Europe – 38%. But it wants to get 70% of its electricity from renewables by 2030. To deliver that the Government wants to add a further 4GW of onshore wind capacity by then – and build 5 GW of offshore wind.Today the Emerald Isle only has one small offshore wind farm. This is all set to change. The Government is designing its first offshore wind auction and has just issued a public consultation on it. They plan to run two auctions by 2025 to cover the 5 GW that would then be built by 2030. They will use two-sided Contracts for Difference (CfDs) – good. CfDs are cheaper for Governments and consumers than other support schemes. They act as a revenue stabilisation mechanism and they reduce the financing costs of new wind energy projects.Most of these first 5 GW will be bottom-fixed offshore wind. Beyond 2030 the Government wants Ireland to have a massive 35 GW of offshore wind by 2050, and this would require significant volumes of floating offshore wind too in the deeper waters off the south and west coasts.It’s important that the Irish Government provides clarity to the wind industry as soon as possible on how the first auction will run. And Ireland needs to start investing ASAP too in the infrastructure needed for the development of offshore wind. Ports in particular need immediate investments so that they’ll be ready to convey the equipment out to the wind farms. They need investments in space, heavy-loading quaysides and deep berths for the installation vessels.Ireland is developing a 700MW Celtic Interconnector to France, which will enable it to export some of its wind power. But most of its new offshore wind energy will support the direct electrification of the Irish economy. Offshore wind gives Ireland another opportunity: producing renewable hydrogen and ammonia.WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said: “Ireland’s already Europe’s number one in onshore wind. And it’s got great conditions for offshore wind too. So it’s excellent news that the Irish Government is going to have an auction for its first offshore projects soon. The industry are ready to go, but it’s very important the Government clarifies the rules for the first auction ASAP. And Ireland needs to start investing urgently in its port infrastructure so the ports will be ready for the first projects in a few years time.” Original article – https://www.evwind.es/2021/10/15/irelands-offshore-wind-energy-ambitions-are-starting-to-take-off/82826 [...] Read more...
October 17, 2021HighlightsEnergy Related CO2 emissions 11.5% lower in 2020Most significant emissions reduction since 2009 recession and is largely due to COVID-19 impactsTotal energy consumption down by almost 9%, largely due to reductions in transport useEnergy related CO2 emissions fell by 11.5% (4.3 million tonnes) in 2020, which is the most significant annual reduction since the height of the economic recession in 2009. The primary driver of this reduction was lower consumption of oil products for transport, which is mainly attributable to the change in national and international travel patterns due to public health measures.“The 2020 Energy Balance confirms that we achieved our EU transport target and came very close on the national renewable electricity target. It also confirms that we have not reached our overall 2020 renewable energy target, and that we achieved just half of our renewable heating and cooling target. Now more than ever, it is essential that we accelerate the deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, and increase sustainable energy practices across all sectors”, said William Walsh, SEAI CEO.The Government’s upcoming Climate Action Plan revision will set a new level of ambition to take fossil fuels out of our energy system. It will include an enhanced suite of actions to achieve targets contained within the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. These actions will ensure we stay within our carbon budgets and achieve our targets of 51% emissions reduction by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.Walsh concluded:“The data released today illustrates the effect of COVID-19 behaviours on our energy use and indicates the level of impact achievable when there is mass, collective and cohesive action. It is abundantly clear that dramatic change is needed if we want to meet the climate challenge. Business as usual simply won’t do. Nothing short of a societal movement to ultimately end the use of fossil fuels is now required. We must start that today and all act together where we can, with the support of Government, to get us on track with these ambitious targets.”While 2020 saw reductions in overall energy use, particularly in the transport sector, provisional data for 2021 suggests that both road diesel and petrol use, and their related CO2 emissions, have returned to close to pre-pandemic levels following the easing of restrictions.2020 Energy Balance – Key Facts and FiguresChanges in Energy Use and SupplyTotal energy consumption fell by 8.8% against a backdrop of a 5.4% contraction of the economy.Total transport energy use was down by over a quarter (26%).National energy use makes up just under 60% of Ireland’s total greenhouse gas emissionsOil-product use decreased by 16.5% – the largest annual reduction observed to date.The single largest reduction in oil-product use was the two-thirds drop in jet kerosene use for international aviation (64.3%).Consumption of road diesel and petrol were down 13.6% and 25.9%, respectively.Peat use fell by a third, mainly due to a halving of peat for electricity generation.The CO2 intensity of electricity improved by 8.1%, due to more renewable generation and less use of peat.Reductions in Energy-related CO2 EmissionsWhen international aviation is included, energy related CO2 emissions fell by 11.5%. (4.3 million tonnes of CO2)Almost half of the observed CO2 reductions are due to the drop in international aviation.Energy related CO2 emissions excluding international aviation decreased by 6.35% (2.2 million tonnes).The reduction in oil-product use lowered CO2 emissions by 3.6 million tonnes, with almost all these savings being made in the transport sector.Reductions in road diesel and petrol use lowered road-related CO2 emissions by 2 million tonnes.Reductions in peat use saved 1 million tonnes in peat-related CO2 emissions.Improvements in Renewable EnergyEnergy from renewable sources grew by over 8% in 2020.42% of all electricity generated in 2020 came from renewable sources, mainly wind energy.1Ireland reached an overall share of 13.6% renewable energy, against a 2020 EU-RES target of 16%.Ireland succeeded against its EU 2020 renewable energy target for transport (10.2% vs. 10%), and just missed its renewable energy target for electricity2 (39.1% vs. 40%).Ireland achieved just half its 2020 renewable energy target for heating and cooling (6.3% vs. 12%).[1] The normalisation calculation as prescribed in Annex II of the Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) applies to electricity generated from hydropower and wind power and is designed to even out the effects of weather variation. Note: SEAI also published two short companion documents to the National Energy Balance, providing further details on renewable energy and energy related CO2 emissions. These can be found at www.seai.ie/NationalEnergyBalance. [...] Read more...
September 25, 2021Wind farms deliver almost a fifth of Britain’s electricity, but a freak anticyclone has hovered over Western Europe since mid-August, bringing calmer weather and low wind speeds, sapping power production. According to energy consultant Cornwall Insight, wind typically accounts for 18pc of the nation’s power mix, a share which has dropped to just 2pc in the past month.“All other things being equal, a mild start to the winter with some windy weather would be peachy,” according to its lead analyst Tim Dixon.“Right now, eyes are going to be turning to medium-term weather forecasts for autumn and the start of winter. That will have a big role to play in gas demand.”But not all of the country’s energy difficulties will be gusted away even if the winds begin to blow again.Industry critics argue that the drive for greener energy has driven up costs, while previous decisions have exacerbated the dependence on imports and left Britain more vulnerable to geopolitical power plays as Russia’s Vladimir Putin starves Europe of gas. How did we get here? Pundits often reach for the hackneyed phrase of a “perfect storm” to describe a crisis, but when renewable energy accounts for 40pc of electricity generation – up from around 10pc a decade ago – Britain’s headaches are partly caused by an uncanny calm.The unfavourable weather conditions have forced Britain to turn to gas to fill the gap, but it comes at a time when demand for gas worldwide has never been higher. Faster growing Asian economies reawakening after the pandemic and filling storage sites after a harsh winter in 2020 are sucking up liquified natural gas, reducing the supplies reaching Europe. Freak weather is also playing its part elsewhere as droughts in Brazil and Argentina dent electricity output from their hydroelectric plants, forcing both to take up the slack in the gas market. At 164p a therm, gas prices are already around triple the average of the last decade.Other factors behind the spike in prices include the maintenance season for Britain’s nuclear fleet as it readies for rising winter demand. “There’s been about four or five nuclear reactors offline in the GB market of the 14 or 15 that are available,” Dixon says. Last week’s blaze in Kent will meanwhile close the main subsea electricity cable with France until March, again pushing up gas prices.As North Sea supplies dwindle, the UK imports almost half of its gas, mostly from Norway, with some from the continent. But the Kremlin is putting its foot on the throat of the European market in its bid to gain approval for the Nordstream 2 pipeline from Germany. State-owned Gazprom is supplying the bare contractual minimum to Europe, leaving storage sites just 70pc full weeks before the start of the heating season.Is the crisis temporary? Despite the prominent short-term drivers of the current spike, experts say policy decisions have also increased the UK’s energy vulnerability. In 2019, the Government U-turned on fracking – once described by Boris Johnson as “glorious news for humanity” – following a long campaign by environmentalists amid concerns over earth tremors near fracking sites.British Gas owner Centrica also closed the vast Rough offshore gas storage facility in 2017 on the grounds that it was uneconomic to run. But that decision cut the country’s strategic gas storage to less than 2pc of annual demand, leaving Britain more exposed to the vagaries of volatile wholesale markets. Andrew Large, chairman of the Energy Intensive Users Group, said the Noughties’ “dash for gas” has left the country with few options beyond expensive gas. “We’ve talked for a long time about potential grid instability due to reliance on intermittent renewables. We’ve been in a situation where our major sources of electricity are gas and wind. And when the wind doesn’t blow, as it hasn’t been for the last few weeks, then gas has to take up the slack.”Large adds that UK industry pays higher prices than Europe for its energy due to “political decisions about who pays the bills for the decarbonisation process”. Regulator Ofgem said in July that a raft of policy measures such as the Renewables Obligation and the Carbon Price Support meant that “Britain’s prices were consistently above the EU median and the most expensive overall”. How do we fix it?In the short-term, experts hope that big producers such as the US and Australia will respond to market signals by pumping more gas. “The question is whether the increase in production capacity can catch up with rising global demand levels,” Dixon says.But he adds that Britain faces a “transition period” in the power market as coal-fired plants are closed on green grounds and its nuclear fleet ages. That means more investment in nuclear energy and greater diversification, according to Large. “To my mind, if decarbonisation is the priority that the Government says it is, then we should be aiming for French levels of nuclear power investment.”He adds that “some of those decisions around UK energy security and sourcing are starting to come home to roost” and that politicians need to adapt to a more uncertain world.He says: “We have to go back to focusing on the fundamentals. And the fundamentals in this particular case, are ensuring that we have enough electrons under all conceivable sets of circumstances in order to be able to keep the lights on at reasonable prices. That therefore means gas storage, it means diversification of supply, it means greater autarky. “I’m not suggesting self sufficiency or closing international markets. But it means having greater control over your ability in matters like energy security.”In the longer term, KPMG’s energy chief Simon Virley says the Government should “double down” on green energy as it moves towards net zero by 2050: “This will help to reduce our growing dependency on imported fossil fuels, boost energy security and meet our carbon reduction goals.”What does it mean for the economy?The Bank of England is already in a tight spot as inflation hit 3.2pc in August, well above its 2pc target.That will jump further when the energy price cap rises more than 12pc in October, ramping up pressure on the Bank to rein in its ultra-loose policy of £3.4bn of quantitative easing every week and interest rates at the historic low of 0.1pc.George Buckley, economist at Nomura, predicts the Consumer Prices Index will hit 4.4pc in the final quarter of this year. But he expects inflation to fade relatively quickly through 2022, which means the Bank may ignore the burst of price hikes unless it feeds into demands for higher wages.“The Bank will be watching core inflation, inflation expectations and wages – all of those are absolutely crucial,” says Buckley, adding that so far there are few signs of a “wage-price spiral”.A further double-digit rise in the price cap looks likely next April although it is not clear what levers the Bank of England can pull to rein in energy prices driven by external factors such as global demand and low winds.Because higher bills drain funds from households, the economy could take a hit, says Andrew Goodwin at Oxford Economics, potentially prompting the Bank to keep rates lower for longer to boost family finances and support the recovery.“These sorts of increases in prices, which are completely divorced from the domestic economy, are likely to weigh on demand and on underlying inflationary pressures, so I would be surprised if the Bank used this as an extra reason to tighten policy – it is more an issue for the strength of the recovery and an added concern,” he says. Original Article – https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/inside-britains-energy-crisis-and-how-to-fix-it/ar-AAODOkU [...] Read more...
September 12, 2021Britain’s power grid has repeatedly fallen below its targeted frequency level this year, raising fears that it is struggling to cope with intermittent energy supplies.It comes amid rising international energy costs and a recent drop in wind power due to particularly still weather. Earlier this week the UK was forced to bring a coal-fired power plant back online to boost the grid.The grid’s level of frequency dipped to between 49.79Hz and 49.67Hz on 11 occasions between February and June, according to data analysed by The Sunday Telegraph from the Gridwatch database which measures frequency at five-minute intervals.This is within the legal limit of 49.5Hz but outside what National Grid sets as its own operational limits of between 49.8Hz and 50.2Hz.Frequency is determined by the balance between power supply and demand, which needs to be continuously matched. The British grid is set to run at 50Hz.There were national blackouts in August 2019 when a wind farm and gas-fired power plant tripped off, triggering a plunge in frequency to 48.88Hz and other local generators to disconnect. Generators are set to trip if the frequency falls too fast, to avoid damage.National Grid said it “operates one of the most reliable electricity systems in the world, and frequency deviations outside our required limits are extremely rare”.Matching power supply and demand can be more challenging when there are more intermittent sources of power on the system, such as wind and solar plants. These green sources of energy also lack the ability of fossil fuel generators such as coal and gas-fired plants to help stabilise the grid even if the generator has tripped, by providing inertia.Renewable power generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the UK in 2020 for the first time. During the year, 43.1pc of UK power came from renewables and 37.7pc from fossil fuels, with nuclear and imports making up the bulk of the rest. Britain now goes for long stretches without using domestic coal-fired power stations, and officials want to be able to run the grid without gas-fired generation for short periods by 2025.National Grid ESO, which balances Britain’s electricity supply and demand, has introduced new techniques to help it manage frequency even as the power system evolves, including technology to respond more quickly to frequency changes, and making generators less sensitive to falls in frequency.Tom Edwards, at Cornwall Insight, said giant power cables connecting the British power grid to the Continent are a growing cause of frequency changes.“Interconnectors are some of the largest plants that can trip,” he said. “It causes a large drop or rise depending on the direction in which power was flowing. We have seen a number of excursions outside the operational limits of frequency because of interconnectors.”The power cut in August 2019 was the first in a decade in Britain, affecting more than a million people as well as hospitals, airports, rail and road networks, from the South East to Yorkshire.Hornsea One, RWE and UK Power Networks were fined £10.5m in total by Ofgem. National Grid was not censured but Ofgem has since recommended that its role balancing supply and demand be handed to an independent body.The Nemo subsea cable to Belgium carries electricity to a plant in Kent where power is fed into the grid.As Britain battled record electricity prices last week, power continued to flow along the 720km new cable between Blyth in Northumberland and Kvilldal in south-east Norway.Officials were testing the North Sea Link that plugs Britain into Norway’s hydropower-rich electricity system, which should be able to supply up to 4.2pc of the UK’s electricity demand once fully up and running in October.It is among a growing number of giant underground power cables – known as interconnectors – between Britain and continental Europe, including a planned first-ever link with Germany which developers hope to start using by the mid-2020s.Officials on both sides are counting on such cables to play a key role in the energy system as the industry shifts towards renewables, helping to smooth out gaps in supply and demand from intermittent wind and solar power.The system means new ties with Europe – setting up opportunities for the country to make the most out of its vast offshore wind resources, yet also forming a new energy dependence in the renewable era.“Electricity generation is moving away from localised generation to generating in the most geographically optimal way,” says Hugo Lidbetter, partner at Fieldfisher law firm.“In the North Sea, that’s offshore wind; in southern Europe, it’s solar. Interconnection is one way of moving that power around to balance the markets.”Britain had its first power links to the Continent in 1961. Now there are six connected to the Irish single electricity market, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. Those cables supplied about 8pc of Britain’s power last year and several more are in development, including to Norway, France, the Netherlands. Another, the NeuConnect project to Germany, is backed by investors including Meridiam, Allianz Group and Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power. North Sea Link is a joint venture project between the National Grid and Norwegian operator Statnett to build a subsea electricity cable – seen here under construction – that will connect the UK and Norwegian electricity gridsNational Grid says projects are in place that will be able to supply 25pc of British power by 2024, while links further afield than Europe are also being looked at. Entrepreneurs led by Simon Morrish are exploring plans to build a cable bringing power from Morocco’s sun-drenched Sahara all the way to Britain.This Xlinks project echoes an aborted plan in the early 2000s known as Desertec, which aimed to create giant wind and solar parks in North Africa before ultimately failing amid political and practical concerns.In the current state British interconnectors are mostly used for importing cheaper power than is provided by domestic generators. Officials, however, expect Britain to become a net exporter of power by 2040 at the latest as its offshore wind capacity grows.Confirmed projects so far mean that British interconnector capacity is set to expand from about 4GW to 13GW by the end of the decade. That is still less than the 18GW the Government has said it wants in place by 2030 to coincide with the planned fourfold ramp up in offshore wind power.Projects are expensive, lengthy and complicated – though it remains an attractive investment area. Humza Malik, chief executive of Frontier Power, which is behind the Zeno interconnector project to the Netherlands and active on other developments including NeuConnect, is positive. He says the cap and floor regime introduced by Britain’s regulator Ofgem has provided “a level of certainty for investors without exposing consumers to unacceptably high prices.”Industry was spooked, however, at the end of 2020 by the threat of access to the EU’s single energy markets becoming a political tool amid Britain’s departure from the EU. The bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier reportedly threatened to block Britain from the market in an effort to attract concessions on fishing rights, while France’s President Emmanuel Macron wielded a similar threat.Both fishing rights and energy market access are up for renegotiation in 2026, raising the prospect of the threat rearing its head again. John Pettigrew, chief executive of National Grid, has tried to pour cold water on those concerns, telling the Financial Times in July that there has “never been much tension around the interconnectors” as they are seen as “of mutual benefit”. During a dispute over fishing rights, France’s President Emmanuel Macron threatened to cut off Britain’s access to power from its undersea cable CREDIT: AFPBrexit has, however, restricted access to EU development funding. Experts say it might also cut incentives for European countries to develop interconnectors with Britain now it is outside the EU’s own targets for interconnection.Regulators may think “if there’s no benefit for my consumers, and the only benefits are for British consumers, why should I bother?” says Tom Edwards at energy research firm Cornwall Insight. “There’s less quid pro quo.”Electricity prices between interconnecting markets do tend to converge and, currently, British power is typically more expensive than in Europe partly due to top-up prices on carbon in Britain. Cornwall Insight points to studies suggesting the North Sea Link between Britain and Norway will raise Norwegian power prices by between £1.7 – £2.1 per MWh, while reducing prices in Britain.The soaring prices in British and EU power markets last week provided a window into the opportunity for interconnectors – but also the risks. A global gas supply crunch and lull in wind power pushed power prices in Britain to all time highs of £285 per MwH on Thursday – more than four-times their normal rate. Two days earlier wholesale gas prices climbed to 136.6p per therm, compared to less than 30p one year ago, while on Monday National Grid spent a record £20m matching supply and demand as it paid over the odds to bring on new generation including coal-fired power stations.Many argue the chaos highlights the need for more flexibility in the system to help smooth out renewable energy supply and spiking gas prices. This can be provided by interconnectors and other sources such as car batteries plugged into the grid, storage batteries, hydropower and hydrogen.The large risks were also made clear as Ireland blocked power exports to Britain via the Moyle interconnector that links Northern Ireland and Scotland. It followed warnings of generation shortfalls in the Irish market, where it is believed the rise of power-hungry data centres are putting extra strain on the grid.Glenn Rickson, head of European power analysis at S&P Platts, says diversifying sources is important. “There will always be times of relatively tight supply. Britain struggles the most when wind generation is low. It tends to be the case that if wind is low in Britain it’s also low in the rest of Europe.“It helps that we are diversifying connection points to other countries, spreading around the risk of low wind supply and other factors.“But you need to build flexibility: interconnection is a tool in the armory, but you need other solutions as well.”The Nuclear Industry Association trade body, which published the analysis of National Grid’s record spending, insists that stable nuclear power is what is needed instead.Phil Hewitt, founder of market data specialist EnApSyss, says Britain is heading for a “tight winter” but that the same period next year will be possibly “even more interesting”, as more coal and nuclear stations retire in both Britain and Europe.“The key electricity market in Europe is Germany,” he says. “It sits in the middle and consumes a lot. And Germany start aggressively shutting their coal and nuclear power next winter, which might start driving prices higher in Europe.”Ireland’s decision to block power exports might not end up being an isolated event.“Europe has a single electricity market and generally power flows from the cheapest to most expensive markets. There are also the laws of physics which means that power doesn’t stop at borders,” said Rickson.“Under competition law there are rules against “hoarding” power by one country but when security of supply is at risk there are precedents for countries preventing exports to neighbouring markets where possible, and it’s not inconceivable we could see that happen again this winter in extreme circumstances.” Original Article – https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/09/11/power-struggle-europe-uk-grid-struggles-keep-lights/ [...] Read more...
August 13, 2021The energy watchdog said the increase will affect 15 million U.K. customers between October 2021 and March 2022. Around 11 million households on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see a GBP139 increase, to GBP1,277, compared with the summer 2021 price. Four million prepayment customers will see a GBP153 raise, to GBP1,309, it said.The wholesale energy cost component, which makes up for around 40% of the bill, will increase by 42%, or GBP155. it said. This has been partially offset by slightly lower costs elsewhere.Ofgem blamed a 50% rise in energy costs over the past six months for the increase, with gas prices reaching record highs.“Higher energy bills are never welcome and the timing and size of this increase will be particularly difficult for many families still struggling with the impact of the pandemic,” Ofgem Chief Executive Jonathan Brearley said.Mr. Brearley said the price cap means that suppliers only pass on legitimate costs, and he encouraged struggling customers to access available help and to shop around for a better deal if possible.Shares at 0737 GMT in Centrica PLC, the owner of British Gas, were down 0.5% at 47.77 pence. Shares in Telecom Plus PLC, another British energy supplier, were up 0.4% at 1,034 pence.Energy UK, an organization representing U.K. energy companies, said prices are increasing because of global factors that are out of retailers’ control.“Ofgem sets the price cap at a fair level for customers, but it also needs to reflect when suppliers face increased costs to allow them to keep operating in a market where most providers are making little or no profit at present,” Energy UK Chief Executive Emma Pinchbeck said. The GMB union said on Twitter that the price-cap increase is “outrageous,” and that it will pile pressure on the poorest households while increasing U.K. dependence on energy imports. Original article – https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-k-energy-price-cap-to-increase-by-gbp139-this-winter-as-gas-power-prices-soar-update-271628237369 [...] Read more...
Media Releases
March 9, 20233 February 2023MaresConnect Limited (MCL) welcomes the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) consultation on Capacity Market published on 9 January 2023 (the Consultation).We set out below some general points relating to interconnectors and their important contribution to the Capacity Market and request BEIS considers these points in making any changes to the capacity markets arrangements.Penalty regimeThe UK generation market continues to be dominated by six large players, whose large portfolio of generation assets and balance sheets places them in an advantageous position to manage penalties in the event they fail to meet the requirements of the capacity market rules. Any changes in the penalty regime should be designed to avoid increasing the dominance of the Big 6 and foster an environment where small or new entrants to the market can successfully compete. We note BEIS’ proposal to increase the size of the nondeliverability penalty in the future and suggest a review after implementation to ensure the penalty increase does have unintended or negative results in achieving net zero.Single-year capacity market contracts support little, if any, debt finance. Multi-year contracts are bankable under the right conditions. This can provide the stimulus for new build green CMU plant. In some cases, a long-term capacity market contract will provide the support to debt finance new build generation. Lenders will be cautious of a penalty regime that can lead to breaches of normal bank covenants or failure to meet debt service.This can lead to higher lending costs or lenders refusing to advance funds under a new penalty regime. We recommend that any changes to the penalty regime is reviewed in the light of existing financing arrangements and its potential impact on future financing of generation projects.Aligning the Capacity Market with net zero Since the commencement of the Capacity Market in 2014, the Government has materially changed its environmental targets leading to a net zero commitment by 2050. The commitment is at odds with a policy to stimulate the development and prolongation of carbon emitting generation to feed into the Capacity Market. Changes to the Capacity Market should be consistent with the Government’s overarching objective of decarbonisation and focus on developing sunset provisions for existing fossil fuel generation and avoid providing support for new build carbon intensive generation. Long-term Capacity Market contracts should be reserved to stimulate investment in renewable power generation and related infrastructure, including storage and interconnectors, and to deliver it to the network at moments of stress.Carbon intensive generationWe recognise that there will need to be some legacy provisions for carbon intensive generation to ensure consumers are protected during the transition to net zero. The recent rise in carbon and gas prices is expected to reduce the proportion of capacity allocated to gas fired power generation from its dominant 67.5% of the total capacity allocated in the last auction, however, to ensure a structural shift away from carbon the Government will need to send clear pricing/support signals.This can be achieved through the reduction of multi-year contracts offered to the most polluting generators and an increase of the same to renewable generators and infrastructure. Interconnectors, which represented 15.9% of the total capacity of the auction, have been able to compete successfully in auctions with single year contracts. The Cap & Floor regime has been helpful in providing the support to the build out of interconnector capacity, however interconnectors such as ElecLink and IFA, who do not benefit from a regulatory support regime, are also successful participants in the GB Capacity market auctions.Secondary tradingTo date the market has seen a small number of secondary trades of capacity agreements, allowing units to transfer their secured CMU agreements to other parties, usually when the unit holding the agreement has decided to retire earlier than planned. [1]However, the frequency of secondary trading could be expected to increase for tworeasons:as more capacity reaches the end of its life, the probability of capacity closingprematurely and at short notice increases; andthe introduction of severer penalties discussed earlier is likely to see CMU’s want the option to lay off positions of excess risk in the secondary market.In addition to facilitating the management of a CMU’s capacity agreements, a wellstructuredsecondary market could allow new, qualified third parties to enter the capacity market rather than participating in the auctions and benefit from a transparent market. Frontier Economics and LPA noted in their May 2021 paper another possibility, being explored through a BEIS funded project, to automate the process of transferring capacity and allowing local Distribution System Operators who have not secured CMU contracts, to be offered the same in the secondary market.A platform to facilitate these trades would lead to a more efficient Capacity Market. CMUs would have greater confidence bidding in an auction knowing that if excess capacity is won and/or market fundamentals change (e.g., a sharp increase in gas prices), there is the option to sell excess capacity to other CMUs who can better manage such risk and additional capacity.There are numerous entities that would be qualified to run secondary market auctions and maintain liquidity. BEIS’s 2021 consultation suggested the ESO as one potential candidate, however, market participants may find an existing established commodity exchange that is independent and already trading energy products as a more logical platform. Such exchanges already operate robust system infrastructure to run auctions and maintain liquidity. In many cases the potential auction participants are already existing exchange customers. This would obviate the need for the ESO to develop a new system and potentially the requirement to obtain financial licences both in the UK and abroad.CMU De-rating factorsWe note at section 2.1 of this Consultation that the “The government is also continuing to consider a range of approaches to the derating process and has therefore not brought forward proposals as this time.”De-rating factors have a material impact on the cost of Capacity Market and should be considered as part of a future review of the CM market. We note FTI’s note on behalf of National Grid Ventures highlighted that “reducing interconnector capacity in the most recent auction by a further 1GW would have cost consumers over £80 million” [2]. The note concludes that historically, interconnectors would be available 75-95% of the time during moments of stress. Current de-rating factors are considerably lower than this and restrict the capacity interconnectors can offer the capacity market thereby creating an inefficiency to GB consumers.We are available to discuss further any of the points made above.Yours sincerely,Simon LudlamCEOMares Connect Limited3rd March 2023[1] Following the closure of RWE’s Aberthaw coal fired power station in March 2020 the station’s existing Capacity Market agreements for the years 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 were transferred to other market participants and a small proportion to other units within RWE’s fleet.[2] FTI: Securely Connected: The contribution of electricity interconnectors to GB security of supply [...] Read more...
February 28, 2023Dublin, 28th February 2023We are pleased to announce that MaresConnect has passed Ofgem’s interconnector Cap & Floor Window 3 eligibility criteria alongside six other projects. MaresConnect will now progress to the next stage which will involve a needs case assessment to determine which projects are in the interests of UK consumers.MaresConnect is expected to play an important role in enabling further integration of renewable energy sources on both sides of the Irish Sea that will make material contribution to UK and Irish decarbonisation targets.We look forward to Ofgem’s consultation process in the latter half of 2023.Read Ofgem’s decision here [...] Read more...
November 16, 2022Wholesale Electricity and Gas Policy Division,Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications29-31 Adelaide RoadDublin 2D02 X28528 October 2022Department of the Environment, Climate and CommunicationsBy email: energyconsultation@decc.gov.ieResponse to consultation onReview of the Security of Energy Supply of Ireland’s Electricity and Natural Gas Systems Dear Sir/Madam,MaresConnect Limited (MCL) welcomes the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications’ (DECC) consultation on Review of the Security of Energy Supply of Ireland’s Electricity and Natural Gas Systems 19 September 2022 (the Consultation).MaresConnect is a proposed 750MW electricity interconnector linking the power markets of Ireland (IE) and Great Britain (GB). MaresConnect has a GB interconnector licence and a GB grid connection agreement for 750MW interconnector at National Grid’s Bodelwyddan station in North Wales.MaresConnect is a near-term interconnector targeting commencement of operations in 2028 and is being developed by a highly experienced management team who have worked on 7 interconnector projects, including four connecting (or proposed) to Ireland. The Project is funded by a major shareholder, Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners (FEIP), with funding committed through the development phase.We set out below our response to selected questions set out in the consultation.Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you wish to discuss any aspect of this response.Yours sincerely,Simon LudlamCEOMares Connect Limited Click here to read response [...] Read more...
October 24, 2022Dublin, 24 October 2022MaresConnect Limited has announced today that it has appointed the former Chief Executive of ESB, Pat O’Doherty, as Chairman and non-executive Director of its Board. MaresConnect is being developed by Foresight Group’s[1] energy transition fund, Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners, and Etchea Energy [2].MaresConnect is a proposed 750MW electricity interconnector linking the power markets of Ireland and Great Britain[3]. The cable route is approximately 245km under-sea and underground between Dublin in Ireland and Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire in Wales.As part of Europe’s 2022 Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP)[4], MaresConnect is considered one of a number of Europe’s most important energy infrastructure projects aimed at delivering significant improvement in cross-border electricity interconnection to boost security of supply and will facilitate the integration of Ireland’s abundant renewable energy resources into neighbouring energy markets.Pat O’Doherty – MaresConnect LimitedPat O’Doherty was Chief Executive of the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), Ireland’s state-owned electricity utility, between 2011 and 2021.  Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive, Pat headed up each of ESB’s main businesses as Executive Director ESB International, Managing Director ESB Networks and Executive Director ESB Power Generation.Richard Thompson, Partner at Foresight Group, said “We warmly welcome Pat to the Board of MaresConnect, and look forward to leveraging Pat’s wealth of experience to help drive this exciting project forward”.Simon Ludlam, partner at Etchea Energy and CEO for MaresConnect said “We are delighted to welcome Pat as Chairman of the Board. Pat’s experience and depth of knowledge of the energy market both in Ireland and the UK will be a great asset to MaresConnect.”“MaresConnect is critical and much needed energy infrastructure for both Ireland and the UK” said Pat O’Doherty. “In Foresight Group and Etchea Energy, we have the scale, commitment, and capability to make this project a real success for all stakeholders. I am very pleased to join the Board of MaresConnect Limited as Chairman, and I very much look forward to working with the Board and Management to bring this project to fruition”.MaresConnect has secured interconnector licence from Ofgem and a 750MW grid connection agreement at National Grid’s Bodelwyddan substation. MaresConnect intends to apply for Initial Project Assessment status in Ofgem’s third cap & floor window which closes 31 October 2022. MaresConnect is engaging with the CRU and EirGrid in Ireland to progress the Irish grid connection and regulatory process. MaresConnect is carrying out onshore and marine feasibility studies. Following the current development, the project is expected to have a three year construction programme leading to operations in 2027.ENDS Notes to Editors:[1] Foresight Group was founded in 1984 and is a leading listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager. With a long-established focus on ESG and sustainability-led strategies, it aims to provide attractive returns to its institutional and private investors from hard-to-access private markets. Foresight manages over 300 infrastructure assets with a focus on solar and onshore wind assets, bioenergy and waste, as well as renewable energy enabling projects, energy efficiency management solutions, social and core infrastructure projects and sustainable forestry assets. Its private equity team manages eight regionally focused investment funds across the UK and a SME impact fund supporting Irish SMEs. This team reviews close to 2,500 business plans each year and currently supports more than 130 SMEs. Foresight Capital Management manages four strategies across six investment vehicles with an AUM of over £1.6 billion.Foresight operates from 12 offices across six countries in Europe and Australia with AUM of £12.4 billion as at 30 June 2022. Foresight Group Holdings Limited listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in February 2021 https://www.fsg-investors.com/[2] Etchea Energy Partners LLP, based in London and Dublin, is a leading project development firm in the energy sector. Etchea Energy will provide the core management team to MaresConnect and leverage its broad experience in developing interconnectors in Northwest Europe.[3] MaresConnect is a proposed 750MW, subsea and underground cable interconnector (with associated converter stations) between the existing electricity grids in Ireland and Great Britain, operated respectively by EirGrid and National Grid Electricity Transmission. The project will link the Maynooth substation near Dublin (Ireland) and Bodelwyddan transmission substation in Denbighshire (Wales). Further details can be found at the project’s website: www.maresconnect.ie[4] MaresConnect has been recognised as a TYNDP 2022 project by ENTSO-E following support received from both the Irish and UK governments.About Pat O’Doherty Pat O’Doherty joined MaresConnect on 5 October as Chairman and Director on the boards of all three of the MaresConnect group companies.From 2011 to 2021, Pat was Chief Executive of ESB, the Irish State-owned energy company with €14Bn of Assets, 8,000 employees and annual operating profits in the region of €600m with operations across Generation, Transmission & Distribution and Electricity & Gas Supply in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Internationally. During this time, Pat:Oversaw the transformation of ESB and repositioned the company to lead the transition to a low carbon future powered by clean electricity.Led a capital investment programme of €1Bn per annum in electricity transmission and distribution networks and generation assets, raising over €5Bn of debt funding in the Euro bond marketAchieved a threefold increase in ESB’s investment in renewables including ESB’s first off-shore wind developmentGenerated over €1.5Bn in shareholder dividends.Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive, Pat headed ESB’s largest businesses as Executive Director ESB International, Managing Director ESB Networks and Executive Director ESB Power Generation.  Pat holds Primary and master’s degrees in Engineering from UCD and has completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme. He is a Chartered Engineer & Fellow of Engineers Ireland.Pat was formerly Vice President and President of Eurelectric, the Brussels-based industry association of the European power sector representing 3,500 electricity utility companies.  Pat was also formerly Director of Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry representing suppliers, generators and service providers across the UK. [...] Read more...
September 12, 20228 September 2022Department of the Environment, Climate and CommunicationsResponse to consultation on Electricity Interconnection Policy MaresConnect Limited welcomes the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications’ consultation on electricity interconnection policy published on 10 June 2022.We set out below our key points in response to the consultation and provide a detailed response to each of the consultation questions in the Schedule attached with supporting evidence where appropriate.Interconnection as a key enabler for energy and climate targets Ireland has been clear in its energy ambitions and strategic priorities, setting pioneering targets which are essential if Ireland is to address the current energy crisis, rapidly decarbonise, and leverage the island’s plentiful renewable resources to become a leading exporter of green power.   Further interconnector capacity (over and above the Greenlink and Celtic interconnectors planned to come onstream by 2030) will be a key enabler to addressing these issues and tackle the ongoing security of supply risk and climate emergency, and most importantly will be an immediate solution in avoiding heavy curtailment of wind power coming onto the system over the coming decade.  Protecting security of supply   Further interconnection should be prioritised as a central part of Ireland’s overall energy solution in the short and medium term, ensuring security of supply, particularly towards the back end of the decade when Ireland will rely on variable renewable energy to meet 80% of its growing demand and will substitute legacy fossil fuel generation to meet Ireland’s base load demand. As demand continues to grow, because of the rapid drive towards electrification and the ever-increasing number of large demand customers such as data centres, security of supply will continue to be the top priority, particularly for an islanded system such as Ireland. As a result, greater levels of interconnection will play a crucial role in maintaining a safe and secure supply.  Future changes in the energy mix, such as increasing renewable generation capacity (in particular wind power) will drive the need for additional reserve and frequency response to cater for the variability and intermittency of generation sources. It is therefore important for the System Operators to have access to additional tools and services provided by HVDC interconnectors to manage system frequency to minimise operating costs.  Reducing substantial curtailment   To meet its energy and climate targets, Ireland will require further interconnection to come onstream as quickly as possible, particularly in the context of the 2030 targets. Further interconnection must be prioritised as a vital part of Ireland’s overall energy solution; providing a route to market for offshore wind and solar, reducing curtailment costs associated with intermittent renewable energy sources, and allowing Ireland to become a net exporter of wind energy.   DECC’s latest target of an additional 7GW of offshore wind by 2030, on top of the planned 8GW of onshore wind by 2030, will result in substantial curtailment when there are medium to high levels of wind penetration.  TYNDP 2022 results for Irish interconnector projects demonstrate strong social economic welfare and decarbonization potential. Analysis carried out by our advisors indicates that interconnection plays a material role in reducing the curtailment of RES generation on those sunny, windy days. For example, in 2030 additional interconnector capacity of 750MW would half Ireland’s curtailment from 2TWh to 1TWh.  The reduction in RES curtailment is both a direct benefit to producers and specifically renewable generators as well as a benefit to consumers who gain from increased access to low-priced renewable generation.   Policy designed to attract private capital and protect consumers  Cap & Floor regulation is a viable route for development of future interconnection between Ireland and neighbouring countries. The regime is well defined, has been shown to be financeable by the equity and debt capital markets, and provides an appropriate balance between incentivising developer investment and protecting consumers. Cap & Floor has attracted private capital into the electricity transmission sector to invest in interconnector projects, often in excess of €500m, thereby freeing up state funds to invest in other parts of the economy.  Prioritisation of interconnector projects will require the investment of resource within the CRU and EirGrid, but when developed by private capital at zero upfront cost to the consumer and (subject to the appropriate scrutiny by the CRU) with a regulatory regime that protects consumers and bring significant social welfare benefits, there is an overwhelming case for prioritising these projects.   Address transition from PCI to PMI to avoid delay in securing new capacity for 2030  Since the United Kingdom exited the EU, interconnector projects between Ireland and Great Britain are no longer eligible for Project of Common Interest (PCI) status. PCI projects benefit from some minimum requirements for Member States to progress the projects as rapidly as legally possible and, importantly, are eligible for funding under the EU Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Since May 2022, these projects can apply for Project of Mutual Interest (PMI) status which will apply substantially the same minimum requirements to these projects. PMI status will be granted in the sixth PCI list expected to be published by end 2023. MaresConnect strongly recommends that Ireland does not wait for PMI status to be granted to prioritise these projects. Moreover, this status sets minimum levels of support, and for Ireland to meet its goals it will need to put in place national policy over and above these minimum levels.   Allocation of resources to EirGrid and CRU to maintain momentum of existing projects  DECC can make a clear policy statement that further interconnection is required as a matter of urgency, and that the relevant government, regulatory and other administrative bodies should treat applications from interconnectors as a priority. This will allow those bodies to allocate the necessary resources and establish work plans to reflect this. In particular, DECC can send a clear signal to CRU that more interconnection is a key priority for addressing Ireland’s energy crisis and should be included in current and future work plans, with dedicated resource to progress projects as they arise.   The timely development of interconnector projects would benefit from regular monitoring by DECC and the CRU to ensure any obstacles are identified and addressed at an early stage. In the short term, the CRU can address key priorities by putting the resources in place to progress an application from mature interconnector projects and direct EirGrid to progress a connection application as a priority in the similar way that EirGrid has been directed to progress connection applications from any PCI interconnector project. This will ensure that developers are provided clear signals in terms of the administrative roadmap to ensure development projects reach operation by 2030.  Our detailed responses to the Consultation questions elaborate on these key messages and are set out in the schedule to this letter.  Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you wish to discuss any aspect of this response.  Yours sincerely Simon LudlamCEOMares Connect LimitedSchedule MaresConnect’s Response to Consultation Questions  Please see below our response to the questions set out in the Consultation, together with supporting evidence where appropriate.   Ireland’s increased energy ambition  To what extent would a commitment by Government on delivery of further interconnection capacity, beyond the proposed Celtic and Greenlink interconnectors, impact achievement of Ireland’s 2030 and post 2030 energy objectives?  Ireland’s increased energy ambition is consistent with meeting its decarbonisation targets and its aim to leverage the island’s plentiful renewable resources to become a leading exporter of green power. At the same time, Ireland has unique security of supply challenges which are succinctly summarised in the recently published Project Ireland 2040 National Marine Planning Framework: “Ireland’s all-island electricity system is characterised by its peripheral island location, small size, large generation sets relative to market size, and comparatively limited interconnection, as well as high and rising volumes of intermittent renewables generation. Reflecting these characteristics, and with the objective of bolstering market competition and security of supply, to the benefit of Irish electricity consumers, as well as transitioning to a low carbon energy future, Ireland’s energy policy emphasises the significant role to be played by enhanced electricity interconnection.” Further interconnection capacity is a valuable tool for addressing both security of supply and facilitate the integration of additional Renewable Energy Source (RES) generation. Taking each of these key points in turn:  Renewable Energy Source integration  The key changes for the electricity sector are expected to be in the way electricity is generated as mentioned above and how it is consumed. The dynamic operation of the transmission system is dependent on the type of generation connected to it, as well as the nature of demand. Some of the key impacts of these changes to the system are:  a reduction in system inertia and system strength;  a greater variability of power flows; and  the mechanisms to restore the system following a potential blackout.  The ability to deal with the impact of these changes is dependent on the range of products and services available to the Transmission System Operator and HVDC interconnectors provide sophisticated, robust tools such as frequency response and reserve; black start; and reactive power reserve for managing these changes to ensure economic, efficient and coordinated system operation.  Future changes in the energy mix, such as increasing renewable generation capacity (in particular wind power) will drive the need for additional reserve and frequency response to cater for the variability and intermittency of generation sources. It is therefore important for the System Operators to have access to additional tools and services to manage system frequency to minimise operating costs.  Curtailment reduction EirGrid’s Tomorrow’s Energy Scenarios (TES) envisage total generation capacity to reach 12.8GW by 2030 [1]. This imbalance reflects the need to manage the intermittent nature of RES. On sunny, windy days Ireland’s generation satisfies local demand leaving a surplus to export or store. Conversely on still, cloudy days demand outstrips generation capacity requiring the import of electricity from Ireland’s neighbours through interconnectors, the release of storage or the despatch of fossil fuel generating units.   Analysis carried out by our advisors indicates that interconnection plays a material role in reducing the curtailment of RES generation on those sunny, windy days. For example, in 2030 additional interconnector capacity of 750MW [2] would halve Ireland’s curtailment from 2TWh to 1TWh.  The reduction in RES curtailment is both a direct benefit to producers and specifically renewable generators as well as a benefit to consumers who gain from increased access to low-priced renewable generation.   Realising Ireland’s export potential Ireland’s high-volume wind resource, particularly offshore, is now expected to reach 7GW by 2030 with the potential for further material increase as floating wind energy technology is deployed on Ireland’s west coast. Further interconnection will provide a direct route to GB and onwards to demand centres in northern Europe.  Access to liquid power markets outside of Ireland will optimise returns for domestic RES developers, maximise Government tax receipts as well as providing Irish consumers access to an abundant source of low marginal cost electricity.  In the context of Ireland’s increased climate and energy ambition, should Government establish future minimum interconnection targets, with capacity to be delivered by a specific point in time? If so, what should these targets be?  Interconnection targets set by the EU under the regulations for trans-European energy infrastructure [3] [4] and the report of the Commission Expert Group on electricity interconnection targets5 are important reference points in determining the future minimum interconnection targets for Member States. The EU has two meaningful targets which set a balance to meeting security of supply objectives without leading to the overbuild of capacity. The first is mandatory and the second a recommendation: 15% of Installed Generation Capacity (15% Generation Target): The European Council of October 2014 requires Member States to meet an electricity interconnection target of 15% of installed generation capacity by 2030 [6] [7].  Although Ireland now operates as a single electricity market (SEM), this test is applicable to the Member State and the calculation would exclude the Moyle interconnector (Northern Ireland to Scotland) and generation located in Northern Ireland. 30% of Renewable Installed Generation (30% RES Target): The EU Expert Group recommends that countries below the threshold of 30% of the ratio of its nominal transmission capacity to its installed renewable generation capacity “should urgently investigate options of further interconnectors”. The recommendation of the expert group reflects the penetration of intermittent renewable power in the energy mix and the need to ensure security of supply on days of low wind and solar production.  This test is not mandatory and the expert group recommends including interconnection with third countries to be considered as part of the calculation. It is therefore appropriate to make the calculation on the basis of SEM and all interconnectors including Moyle. EirGrid’s and Soni’s recent forecasts for Ireland’s mix of thermal and renewable generation (set out in its reports; Tomorrow’s Energy Scenarios, 2019 and Tomorrow’s Energy Scenarios Northern Ireland 2020, summarised in Table 1 below) provide a basis for determining if the tests are met, assuming Ireland will operate four interconnectors (Moyle, EWIC, Greenlink, Celtic and a further 750MW interconnector) by 2030. Table 1. European Interconnector Capacity Targets  Notes: Greenlink, Celtic and MaresConnect (or other new capacity) are assumed to commence operations before 2030. Moyle is assumed to remain at 250MW over all periods.Under EirGrid’s central cases of Centralised Energy (ROI) and Addressing Climate Change (NI) and including 750MW of new capacity from 2030 onwards, Ireland fails to meet either test under this scenario or any other TES scenarios.  The forecast growth in RES on the Irish system risks sending uneconomic pricing signals to wind and solar developers, raising the risk that RES project returns will be lower than forecast or worse, fail to materialise. In this context, it is crucial that Ireland progresses new interconnector capacity and takes immediate steps to support mature projects already in development to reduce curtailment costs and avoid RES developers taking projects to other jurisdictions. Regarding the location of future interconnection, should priority be given to developing further interconnection with Great Britain or the EU IEM, or both?Ireland’s geographical location limits the neighbours with which it can economically interconnect. To date the focus has been with Great Britain and latterly France. GB is a logical choice given its large generation base, some 10x that of Ireland’s, and its close proximity. Technically this provides interconnection with a diverse generation pool and low loss power transfers. GB is a natural steppingstone to give Irish RES access to the electricity markets in continental Europe and the Nordic countries.Ireland’s most recent projects; Greenlink and Celtic are both being constructed in a similar timeframe. A high-level comparison of the two projects suggest that careful thought needs to be given to the location of new projects and their economic cost to Irish consumers.Table 2. Comparison of key interconnector metrics between Greenlink and Celtic   France provides complimentary nuclear base load to Ireland’s intermittent RES and provides integration with another Member State. These advantages need to be set against the cost of Irish consumers shouldering 65% of the project’s high capital costs and power losses over the life of the project. The recent development of Cap & Floor regulation provides a framework for Ireland and the UK to attract private capital to invest in interconnector capacity thereby freeing up state funds to invest in other parts of the economy. Cap & Floor regulation stimulates the development of new projects by private developers rather than reliance on foreign transmission system operators who may have limited resources to develop numerous projects on different borders in parallel. The regulatory asset base model favoured by France provides a different risk model and transfers greater risk to consumers.  Regulated financial returns to the project owners are guaranteed under almost all circumstances.   GB support for further interconnectionOfgem has recently undertaken a lengthy review of the UK’s need for further interconnector capacity and concluded that now is the time to identify the next group of projects to connect with its neighbours. A third window opened on 1 September and closes on 31 October 2022 for projects to submit applications to be considered for Cap & Floor regulation. The last window was over six years ago and there is no guidance if there will be further windows in the future.As part of the review, Ofgem commissioned Afry, the economic consultant, to evaluate the need and location of further interconnection on all of GB’s borders. The draft report [8] identified the need for a further 1500MW on the Irish – GB border by 2030 over and above current planned projects to achieve net-zero targets in GB (see Table 3).Table 31. Extract from Afry December 2020 report The table above assumes Greenlink is included in the baseline and the additional projects are on the Irish – GB border only.Ofgem’s clear support of further interconnection with Ireland provides a near-term opportunity to develop further capacity within a favourable environment in the immediate future.What are the primary benefits associated with increased interconnector capacity? For instance, would the primary benefit relate to enhanced security of electricity supply or de-risking future renewables development?Increased interconnector capacity provides numerous benefits and to its host countries. For Ireland, additional capacity will provide substantial benefits, as outlined below;the risk of security of supply – potential risks to the supply of natural gas and associated gas-fired generation, variability of renewable generation, the ever-increasing electricity demand, and the age profile of the existing interconnectors, means further interconnection will be essential to ensure that a robust generation mix is in place towards the end of the decade.reduce curtailment costs – conversely when the wind output is high (anticipated 8GW onshore and 7GW offshore wind) the output will exceed the demand by some margin, so providing additional routes to markets will reduce substantial curtailment costs; andstimulate development of further RES – providing greater market capacity will stimulate the whole RES industry in terms of limiting forecast curtailments and constraints, and providing route to other markets. National legislation Is the existing legislative framework contained in the 1999 Act appropriate to secure future development of interconnector capacity?The existing legislative framework in the 1999 Act provides a robust legal basis required for securing future interconnector capacity, evidenced by the recent success of the Greenlink interconnector project reaching financial close. As a near-term project, MaresConnect does not propose any changes to the 1999 Act that would require new or amendments to primary legislation, as there are no legal impediments to making an application for regulatory support under the existing legislation and any amendments would take a long period of time to come into effect.If any amendments to primary legislation are made (including any amendments to facilitate hybrid interconnection), care should be taken to ensure that such amendments do not inadvertently cause delays to existing projects.In relation to EU legislation, we note that the introduction of PMI status will be implemented by way of a revision to the EU TEN-E Regulation and will automatically apply to Ireland, without needing to be transposed into national law. What amendments, if any, do you consider necessary to the 1999 Act?While MCL doesn’t propose any changes to the 1999 Act, as set out in this response, DECC and the CRU can utilise regulatory policy to promote and prioritise further interconnection to accelerate these projects which are crucial to meeting Ireland’s energy goals.There are a number of ways that DECC, and in turn CRU, policies could achieve this, including:   Planning and regulatory prioritization for interconnector projectsSending a clear policy direction to the CRU and planning authorities that further interconnection is required as a matter of urgency, and that applications from mature projects should be prioritised. This will allow those authorities to allocate the necessary resources to engage with the developers and progress applications as rapidly as legally possible when they are made. This may require adding further resources so that prioritisation of interconnection does not come at the cost of diverting resources from other vital energy goals, such as meeting the target of 7GW of offshore wind coming onstream by 2030. Ensure greater certainty of regulatory and planning timetablesDECC engaging regularly with the CRU to monitor the progression of interconnector projects through regulatory processes, including methods of prioritising these projects and target timescales for the relevant steps to obtain regulatory status and obtaining the consents required from the CRU for projects to reach final investment decision and commence construction.It is important for developers and NRAs to have clarity as to the expected timeframes for the regulatory processes in each connecting country so that human and financial resources can be efficiently deployed. The development of interconnector projects requires co-ordination between the multiple workstreams such as grid connections, planning and permitting, land acquisition, procurement of construction contracts, financing strategy and regulation. Uncertainties or undue delays in regulation can result in delays or suspension of other activities until greater certainty is obtained. A stop-start approach leads to cost and time inefficiencies which is contrary to the interests of consumers. Bridge the transition between PCI and PMI status Ensure near-term projects which are eligible for PMI status, and which are supported by Ireland in their applications for the same, are not delayed while waiting for that status to be granted at the EU level. For example, CRU could make a direction to EirGrid to progress grid connection applications from projects which are included in the then-current EU Ten Year Network Development Plan. Further detail in relation to PMI status and the requirement for a direction from the CRU to EirGrid to progress connection applications for non-PCI interconnector projects is discussed below. PMI statusGreat Britain is Ireland’s closest neighbour, with onward interconnection to the EU electricity markets. The introduction of PMI status will be positive for Ireland in recognising Ireland-GB projects at an EU level and making CEF funding available to those projects. However, there is a timing issue that projects which would otherwise have advanced more rapidly with the benefit of PCI (and now PMI) status, could be delayed due to a lack of prioritisation in regulatory and planning processes while waiting for the sixth PCI list to be released by the end of 2023.  It would be an opportunity missed if near-term mature projects which are included in TYNDP 2022, with positive TYNDP 2022 CBA results, and which are supported by DECC in their bid to obtain PMI status, are not supported within the Irish regulatory and permitting processes in the period prior to the receipt of PMI status simply because the revision of the TEN-E Regulation has lagged behind the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU.For example, the CRU has directed EirGrid to process applications it receives for electricity interconnectors with PCI status [9]. The connection process can take approximately 9 months from the date EirGrid commences processing the application. If EirGrid were to wait until the next PCI list is released to process any new interconnector connection applications, this could result in a delay of 18-24 months to projects which are currently under development. To ensure that near term projects such as MaresConnect are not delayed as a result, MCL suggests that the CRU issues a further direction to EirGrid to engage with such projects to progress the key aspects of the connection (such as confirming the connection point, which is an important dependency for a substantial amount of development work). This would allow projects to progress in the period until PMI status is available and mitigate the impact of potential delays to the benefits of further interconnection coming onstream. This approach to progressing projects even in the absence of PCI/PMI status is consistent with the statements from DECC that “the absence of priority EU infrastructure status should not preclude project development” [10] and the European Commission that “it should be stressed that the candidate projects for interconnection for Great Britain and with Northern Ireland remain very relevant for the Irish electricity system and the Commission agrees with Ireland on the continued importance of the projects concerned, independently of their PCI status” [11].  Brexit and future EU-UK interconnectionTo what extent will the development of future interconnection between Ireland and Great Britain be impacted by the removal of Great Britain from European Market Coupling?Prior to Brexit, Ireland’s Moyle (2001) and EWIC (2012) interconnectors traded successfully for many years under an implicit auction mechanism lowering wholesale prices to Irish consumers. The introduction of day-ahead, intraday and balancing markets (market coupling) in 2018 resulted in price driven trade flows, rather than the historic pattern of interconnector trade which was not reflective of price signals under the old SEM model. The introduction of market coupling and the development of contacts for difference on neighbouring power exchanges led to improvements in the use of interconnector capacity by ~5% [12]. Importantly, this also led to improved price signalling to the broader Irish and GB markets and in turn to consumers.The UK’s decision to exit the Internal Energy Market and market coupling has resulted in a return to the trading mechanisms used prior to 2018. As expected, this has reduced the efficiency of electricity trading with GB’s neighbours including Ireland but only marginally as seen by the recent cost and benefit analysis carried out by ENTSO-E and GB TSOs. For example, the reduction in efficiency of GB – French links without any coupling mechanism is estimated to be less than 5%.The proposed Multi Region Loose Volume Market Coupling (MRLVMC) agreed in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and EU (TCA) is intended to be a close approximation to replace full market coupling [13] and will reduce inefficiencies further. The GB power industry and regulator are working closely with their European counterparts to meet the TCA deadlines to ensure the implementation of MRLVMC in the coming months. Despite the recent inefficiencies of power market trading following Brexit, there is confidence that an efficient trading system will be in place by the time Greenlink and subsequent GB-Irish interconnectors commence operations. To what extent will clarity over the future energy relationship between the EU and UK be necessary in order to provide for future interconnection between Ireland and Great Britain?In addition to the comments on MRLVMC made above, further consideration should be given to a new administrative pathway to develop interconnectors between EU member states and the UK. Most of the recent EU interconnector projects, including those with a GB leg, have been successfully developed as PCIs [14]. This status is now no longer available to projects connecting to Third Countries and these projects can no longer benefit from access to CEF funding and accelerated planning procedures. This may lead to a slowing of projects with Third Countries which will disproportionately impact Member States on the periphery of Europe, including Ireland.The EU has partially addressed this concern in Regulation (EU) 2022/869 [15] updating guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure. The EU recognises that “The Union should facilitate infrastructure projects linking the Union’s networks with third-country networks that are mutually beneficial and necessary for the energy transition and the achievement of the climate targets, and which also meet the specific criteria of the relevant infrastructure categories pursuant to this Regulation, in particular with neighbouring countries and with countries with which the Union has established specific energy cooperation.”As part of the Regulation, the EU establishes PMIs that can demonstrate significant net socioeconomic benefits at EU level and at least one Third Country. PMIs will have similar rights to PCIs, however the EU does not intend to develop a list of PMIs until the end of 2023, as discussed above.  This delay puts at risk existing projects just at a time when stimulus is required to accelerate the EU’s response to climate change.The Irish government could consider local incentives and planning measures with its UK counterpart to maintain the momentum of existing interconnector projects and bridge the gap between PCI and PMI. The role of the CRU Are the technical criteria employed by the CRU in assessing interconnector development applications appropriate?The CRU’s assessment criteria set out in the Policy for Interconnectors: Assessment Criteria for Electricity Interconnector Applications [16] are appropriate and fit for purpose. The criteria were used for the assessment of the Greenlink and Celtic interconnectors and MCL is supportive of the same criteria being used for future projects. MCL is supportive of the CRU’s approach to consider projects on a case-by-case basis, which is important for taking an agile approach to assessing projects as they arise. This is particularly important in a market where the demand for further interconnector capacity far exceeds the capacity of interconnectors under development (see Chart 1 above).While the criteria are appropriate, earlier engagement and assessment by the CRU could facilitate a more rapid development stage for interconnector projects, particularly those being developed by private investors. The CRU’s current policy aligns the section 2A 1999 Act maturity threshold with the threshold for a cross border cost allocation assessment (CBCA) under the TEN-E Regulation, which includes that permitting procedures should have started in each of the connecting countries. A public interest determination by the CRU at an earlier stage would provide private investors confidence that a regulatory pathway is available when making investment decisions and committing to large development costs (typically in excess of €30m for interconnector projects). This would encourage greater investment at an earlier stage, and ultimately more rapid development timescales.  De-risking the project at an earlier stage is even more important for Ireland-GB projects in the period prior to PMI status being implemented as those projects are not currently able to access CEF funding that would otherwise be available to fund 50% of eligible development costs.As the CRU undertakes a more detailed assessment at a later stage of development, as was the case for the Greenlink and Celtic interconnector projects, the CRU retains the ability to ensure that the final project is not materially different to the parameters assessed when the public interest test was undertaken. This is commensurate with the process in GB where an initial project assessment focuses on ensuring that the project is credible, being developed by a team and shareholder(s) with the requisite expertise, and with a credible project plan, budget and funding structure. A cost benefit analysis is undertaken at this stage based on a high-level cost assessment, which sets a benchmark for a detailed cost assessment at a later stage when costs are firm following a procurement process for the major construction contracts.The CRU took a similar two-stage approach to assessing the Greenlink project; (i) an initial assessment that the project was in the public interest for the purposes of section 2A of the 1999 Act, and (ii) a final decision at which point the project was granted Cap & Floor regulation on the basis of a detailed review of the project and its costs prior to financial close. The CRU could consider updating its policy to make the first assessment at an earlier stage (and in a similar timeframe as the connecting country review) to provide developers the regulatory certainty to proceed with development on the basis that a regulatory regime is available in both connecting countries subject to a final project assessment when the project is closer to final investment decision or financial close.This is also necessary for supporting regulatory processes in the connecting country. For example, in GB Ofgem requires evidence of sufficient maturity in the discussions between the project and the regulator and government in the connecting country to show that “the developer’s views on regulatory steps and milestones are aligned with the views of the relevant NRA and government in the connecting country, and that there is broad agreement between the developer and the connecting NRA and government on the key regulatory hurdles, project interdependencies, and timescales” [17]. Failure to engage with projects at an early stage creates a risk that those projects do not obtain initial project assessment (IPA) status with Ofgem. As Ofgem operates on the basis of opening set windows for receiving applications for Cap & Floor regulation, the third of which will be open from 1 September 2022 – 31 October 2022 (the previous window was in 2016, some 6 years ago), failure to obtain IPA status could result in developers delaying or even abandoning the project due to a lack of access to a regulatory route. On the other hand, early engagement with projects to meet the requirements in the connecting country maintains the option for the CRU to progress the project at the appropriate time.To facilitate the earlier engagement and assessment of projects, the CRU workplan could be updated to include, and indeed prioritise, the assessment of further interconnector projects. This would have the additional benefit of sending a price-signal to the offshore wind market and encourage deployment of development capital in offshore renewable energy projects as discussed above. What of the above three regulatory models offers the most viable route for development of future interconnection between Ireland and neighbouring countries?MCL supports Cap & Floor regulation as the most viable route for development of future interconnection between Ireland and neighbouring countries. The regime is well defined, has been shown to be financeable by the equity and debt capital markets, and provides an appropriate balance between incentivising developer investment and protecting consumers.Throughout 2019 and 2020, the CRU undertook a thorough process to assess the request by the Greenlink interconnector to introduce the Cap & Floor regime in Ireland and apply it to the project, considering the various regulatory models available. We refer to the CRU’s consultation paper on the regulatory regime to apply to the Greenlink interconnector [18] and its decision paper on the Cap & Floor regulatory treatment for Greenlink [19]. As the CRU noted in its consultation paper, the aim of the Cap & Floor regime is “to support efficient investment in electricity interconnectors by underpinning financeability, while retaining performance incentives and limiting consumer risk exposure” [20]. MCL agrees with the CRU’s conclusion that Cap & Floor offers “a suitable balance between providing incentives for interconnector operators to minimise cost and optimise performance providing protection from consumers for excess costs and excess returns; and a protection for debt-holders to ensure project financeability”.Based on publicly available information, MCL understands that EirGrid does not currently have plans for further interconnectors after Celtic in the 2030 timeframe. Accordingly, near term interconnector projects, particularly those that facilitate Ireland’s ambitions for 7GW of offshore wind by 2030, will necessarily be privately developed and funded. The Cap & Floor regime has been proven to bring forward private investment in electricity interconnection, first in GB and Belgium and now in Ireland through the Greenlink interconnector project. The Cap & Floor regime is well-tested and proven to be capable of supporting project financing (with both Greenlink in Ireland, and now NeuConnect which connects GB to Germany, reaching financial close in 2022). Privately developed interconnectors are financed by private capital, with construction costs funded by a combination of equity and non-recourse project financing; and do not require government or consumer funding to develop and build the interconnector. By contrast, in June 2022 the Irish government approved a package of measures to help mitigate the rising cost of electricity bills and to ensure secure supplies to electricity for households and business across Ireland over the coming years. This included an increased borrowing limit of €3 billion for EirGrid to strengthen the Irish national grid and to deliver the Celtic Interconnector. [21]For interconnectors connecting Ireland with GB, Cap & Floor is the default option and has now been implemented for Irish-GB projects. The Cap & Floor regime in Ireland and GB is based on a 50/50 split of costs and revenues between the two jurisdictions, which protects Irish consumers from bearing a disproportionate level of risk compared to the consumers in the connecting country. A cross border cost allocation which allocates benefits between the two connecting countries and allows for asymmetric regulation is less attractive for Ireland but may be required by the governments and regulators in other connecting countries, such as for the Celtic interconnector which is based on a 65/35 Ireland/France cost split [22] but a 50/50 split of revenues. General clarification on cross border cost allocationMCL would like to make a general point of clarification in relation to the statement in the Consultation that “There is also no legal basis for cost recovery via cross border allocations for projects absent PCI status” (page 10). MCL understands this to be a reference to the ability for PCI projects to make an application under Articles 12 and 13 of the TEN-E regulation for a determination on cross border allocation, which is an alternative to applying under national legislation. The Greenlink interconnector project, for example, obtained Cap & Floor regulation and its authorisation to construct (under section 16 of the 1999 Act) and licence to operate (under section 14 of the 1999 Act) without making an application under Articles 12 and 13 of the TEN-E Regulation. To avoid any misreading of this statement, MCL suggests that DECC clarifies this statement to confirm that there is no legal impediment for non-PCI projects making an application under the 1999 Act. Hybrid interconnectionTo what extent can dual purpose hybrid interconnectors contribute to Ireland’s post 2030 climate and energy objectives?MCL is supportive of DECC’s proactive approach in assessing the benefits of, and considering how best to support, dual purpose hybrid interconnector projects which may play a key role in achieving Ireland’s post 2030 climate and energy ambitions. What is the appropriate policy and regulatory framework to provide for development and operation of dual-purpose hybrid interconnectors?The development of multi purpose interconnectors (MPI) has been discussed and consulted on at some length by Ofgem over the last 10 years. To date this has not led to a clear policy or regulation on the treatment of MPI revenues and costs due to the complexity of assessing an appropriate regulatory model.  Ofgem’s third window anticipates a TSO sponsored MPI with a member state will come forward as a pilot project for evaluation which may lead to a successful regulatory model going forward.  The broader market will review and comment as the project develops and this may provide a suitable proxy for Ireland, however many market commentators consider it is premature to define a policy framework today until the pilot project has been more fully assessed.The development of regulatory frameworks for MPIs are expected to take time to establish and require significant allocation of NRA resources to develop a model fit for purpose.  Given Ireland’s immediate energy challenges, CRU resources may be better channelled into developing additional point-to-point interconnector capacity to meet 2030 targets while maintaining a watching brief on the development of MPIs in the North Sea for implementation in the post 2030 period.______________________________________________________[1] The Irish government’s target for offshore capacity by 2030 has recently been increased from 5GW to 7GW[2] Greenlink and Celtic are assumed to be operational by 2030.  A further 750MW relates to additional capacity over and above that provided by Greenlink and Celtic.[3] Regulation (EU) No 347/2013[4] Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 addressing the Energy Union and Climate Action with regard to the Treaty of the Functioning of the EU[5] Towards a sustainable and integrated Europe Report of the Commission Expert Group on electricity interconnection targets, November 2017[6] Defined as import capacity over installed generation capacity in a Member State “for projects with significant cross-border impact, the impact on grid transfer capability at borders between relevant Member States, between relevant Member States and third countries “– Annex IV of Regulation (EU) No 347/2013[7] European Council (23 and 24 October 2014) ‒ Conclusions[8] Ofgem interconnector policy review – independent report, An AFRY report for Ofgem, December 2020[9] CRU Information Note CRU/17/300 published 24 October 2017[10] Footnote 19, Section 11.3.4 of the DECC Climate Action Plan published by DECC in 2021[11] European Commission Staff Working Document published on 19 November 2021 which can be found at https://energy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-11/fifth_pci_list_19_november_2021_swd.pdf[12] The Value of international electricity trading G. Castagneto Gissey, B. Guo, D. Newbery, G. Lipman, L. Montoya, P. Dodds, M. Grubb, P. Ekins, May 2019[13] Consultation on the proposed approach to costs for the multi-region loose volume coupling trading arrangements under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, Ofgem May 2021[14] Regulation (EU) No 347/2013[15] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32022R0869[16] CRU/18/221 published 27 September 2018[17] ‘Application Guidance for the Third Cap and Floor Window for Electricity Interconnectors’ published by Ofgem 7 July 2022. Refer to Appendix 1, paragraph 1.1.4. Guidance can be found at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2022-07/ApplicationGuidance_ThirdWindow.pdf[18] CRU20042 published on 26 March 2020[19] CRU20171 published on 18 December 2020[20] CRU20042 published on 26 March 2020[21] https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/5d9bc-government-announces-package-of-measures-to-secure-electricity-supplies-into-the-future-and-to-help-mitigate-rising-household-electricity-bills/[22] CRU decision on Celtic Electricity Interconnector EirGrid Regulatory Framework Request (CRU202213) published 11 February 2022 [...] Read more...
July 6, 2022Dublin, 06 July 2022 – Ofgem’s licence grants MaresConnect the right to own and operate an electricity interconnector project in the UK and provides certain associated powers as a statutory undertaker.MaresConnect is a proposed 750MW electricity interconnector linking the power markets of Ireland and Great Britain¹. The cable route is approximately 245km underground and under the sea between Dublin in Ireland and Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire in Wales.  As part of Europe’s 2022 Ten Year Network Development Plan (“TYNDP”)², MaresConnect is considered one of Europe’s most important energy infrastructure projects that will form part of a system that is secure, sustainable and affordable, and that integrates Ireland’s abundant renewable energy resources, thereby offering an essential contribution to the European Green Deal³.As part of the UK government’s energy policy to secure 18GW of electricity interconnector capacity by 20304, Ofgem will invite new interconnector projects to apply for Cap & Floor regulation in a third window over the summer.  Earlier this month the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications launched a consultation on Ireland’s electricity interconnector policy to address Ireland’s increased climate and energy ambitions5. Simon Ludlam, CEO of MaresConnect, said; “securing an interconnector licence is an important step for us to position the project for its application for Ofgem’s third Cap & Floor window and to advance our route planning strategy and engagement with community stakeholders. MaresConnect will increase interconnector capacity between Ireland and GB by 50% and make a material contribution to Ireland achieving its 2030 environmental targets as well as providing a cost-efficient export route for Ireland’s growing offshore wind sector.”  MaresConnect secured a 750MW grid connection at National Grid’s Bodelwyddan substation in 2018 and procurement for the major onshore survey contracts is currently under way. Following the current development, the project is expected to have a three-year construction programme leading to operations in 2027.MaresConnect is being developed by Foresight Group’s6 energy transition fund, Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners, and Etchea Energy7.ENDS  CONTACT FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES:MaresConnect:Deborah Gianinetti: deborah.gianinetti@maresconnect.ie / +44 (0)7932 811 594Foresight Group:Robert Woolley: rwoolley@foresightgroup.eu / +44 (0) 7557 885 044 Notes to Editors:MaresConnect is a proposed 750MW, subsea and underground cable interconnector (with associated converter stations) between the existing electricity grids in Ireland and Great Britain, operated respectively by EirGrid and National Grid Electricity Transmission. The project will link Dublin (Ireland) and Bodelwyddan transmission substation in Denbighshire (Wales). Further details can be found at the project’s website: www.maresconnect.ieMaresConnect has been recognised as a TYNDP 2022 project by ENTSO-E following support received from both the Irish and UK governments.European Green Deal – https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_enThe Energy White Paper, Powering our Net Zero Future, prepared by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, December 2020. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945899/201216_BEIS_EWP_Command_Paper_Accessible.pdfElectricity Interconnection Policy – Technical Consultation, prepared by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, 10 June 2022https://www.gov.ie/en/consultation/ca3b4-electricity-interconnector-policy-technical-consultation/6. Foresight Group was founded in 1984 and is a leading listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager. With a long-established focus on ESG and sustainability-led strategies, it aims to provide attractive returns to its institutional and private investors from hard-to-access private markets. Foresight manages over 300 infrastructure assets with a focus on solar and onshore wind assets, bioenergy and waste, as well as renewable energy enabling projects, energy efficiency management solutions, social and core infrastructure projects and sustainable forestry assets. Its private equity team manages ten regionally focused investment funds across the UK and an SME impact fund supporting Irish SMEs. This team reviews over 2,500 business plans each year and currently supports more than 200 investments in SMEs. Foresight Capital Management manages four strategies across six investment vehicles with an AUM of over £1.6 billion.Foresight operates from 12 offices across six countries in Europe and Australia with AUM of £9 billion as at 13 June 2022*. Foresight Group Holdings Limited listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in February 2021. https://www.fsg-investors.com *Unaudited Assets Under Management, as at 13 June 2022.7. Etchea Energy Partners LLP, based in London and Dublin, is a leading project development firm in the energy sector.  Etchea Energy provides the core management team to MaresConnect and leverages its broad experience in developing interconnectors in Northwest Europe. [...] Read more...
June 20, 2022MaresConnect welcomes the publication on 10 June 2022 by the Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications (DECC) on Electricity Interconnection Policy.  The consultation paper focuses on interconnection between Ireland and the EU and Great Britain, and is a key action coming out of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2021 (CAP21). CAP21 builds on Ireland’s 2020 Programme for Government which sets out a commitment to strengthen the existing policy framework for electricity interconnection to incentivise further interconnection and to commence planning for future interconnection with neighbouring countries.  In the consultation paper DECC recognises Ireland’s increased energy ambitions, in particular a target that up to 80% of Irish electricity consumption will originate from renewable sources by 2030, with 5GW of installed offshore wind capacity, up to 2.5GW of grid scale solar and up to 5GW of onshore wind. DECC is seeking stakeholder views regarding the potential contribution of increased interconnection towards meeting Ireland’s 2030 and post 2030 climate and energy objectives.  Further interconnection capacity with its neighbours will address Ireland’s pressing challenges of ensuring security of electricity supply and avoiding  costly curtailment of further renewable resources, in particular, onshore and offshore wind. The consultation paper can be found here. The closing date for submissions is 5:30pm 10 August 2022. Submissions can be sent by email to SMBX.OffshoreWind@decc.gov.ie.   #interconnection #energysecurity #renewables #netzero [...] Read more...
May 11, 2022  London, 11 May 2022• Funding secured for the project’s development to position MaresConnect as Ireland’s next interconnector• MaresConnect will make a major contribution to achieving Ireland’s 2030 environmental goalsForesight Group Holdings Limited¹, the listed sustainability-led infrastructure and private equity investment manager, has acquired a majority stake in the MaresConnect² interconnector project (“MaresConnect”), through its energy transition fund, Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners (“FEIP”). Etchea Energy Nominees Limited³ (“Etchea Energy”) will retain the remaining shareholding. The shareholders will work together to complete the development of MaresConnect through to financial close and the start of construction at end 2024.MaresConnect is a proposed 750MW electricity interconnector linking the power markets of Ireland and Great Britain4. The cable route is approximately 245km in length and will run underground and under the sea between Dublin in Ireland and Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire in Wales. As part of Europe’s 2022 Ten Year Network Development Plan5 (“TYNDP”), MaresConnect is considered one of Europe’s most important energy infrastructure projects that will form part of a system that is secure, sustainable and affordable, and that integrates Ireland’s renewable energy, thereby offering an essential contribution to the European Green Deal.Simon Ludlam, partner at Etchea Energy and CEO of MaresConnect, said; “We are delighted to welcome Foresight, a well-established and respected infrastructure investor, into the MaresConnect project and look forward to working toward realising the benefits for consumers, energy security and regional jobs and investment in Ireland and Wales. MaresConnect will increase interconnector capacity between Ireland and GB by 50% and make a material contribution to Ireland achieving its 2030 environmental targets as well as providing a cost-efficient export route for Ireland’s growing offshore wind sector.”Richard Thompson, Co-Manager of FEIP and Foresight Partner commented: “This investment represents another very exciting development for both Foresight and FEIP, which is seeking investments into infrastructure that will accelerate the energy transition. Given recent geopolitical events, the economic and social case for increased levels of interconnection has become even more compelling, enhancing European energy security, reducing power prices for consumers and accommodating more renewable energy on the system. We believe this asset will play a pivotal role in the transmission of clean energy between Ireland and Great Britain and are very much looking forward to working with the experienced management team to oversee its development.”MaresConnect secured a 750MW grid connection at National Grid’s Bodelwyddan substation in 2018 and procurement for the major onshore survey contracts is currently under way. The project will apply for cap & floor regulation in the UK under Ofgem’s third window which is scheduled to open over the summer. The project is expected to have a three-year construction programme leading to operations in 2027.ENDS CONTACT FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES:Etchea Energy:Deborah Gianinetti: deborah.gianinetti@etchea-energy.com / +44 (0)7932 811 594Foresight:Robert Woolley: rwoolley@foresightgroup.eu / +44 20 3763 6974Citigate (public relations adviser to Foresight):Caroline Merrell: caroline.merrell@citigatedewerogerson.com / +44 (0) 7852 210 329Toby Moore: toby.moore@citigatedewerogerson.com / +44 (0) 7768 981 763MaresConnect:info@maresconnect.ie / +353 1 913 1245Notes to Editors:Foresight Group was founded in 1984 and is a leading listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager. With a long-established focus on ESG and sustainability-led strategies, it aims to provide attractive returns to its institutional and private investors from hard-to-access private markets. Foresight manages over 300 infrastructure assets with a focus on solar and onshore wind assets, bioenergy and waste, as well as renewable energy enabling projects, energy efficiency management solutions, social and core infrastructure projects and sustainable forestry assets. Its private equity team manages eight regionally focused investment funds across the UK and a SME impact fund supporting Irish SMEs. This team reviews close to 2,500 business plans each year and currently supports more than 130 SMEs. Foresight Capital Management manages four strategies across six investment vehicles with an AUM of over £1.6 billion.Foresight operates from 12 offices across six countries in Europe and Australia with AUM of £8.7 billion as at 31 March 2022. Foresight Group Holdings Limited listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in February 2021 https://www.fsg-investors.com/The Foresight investment is in MaresConnect Holdings Limited, which is a holding company for MaresConnect Limited.Etchea Energy Partners LLP, based in London and Dublin, is a leading project development firm in the energy sector. Etchea Energy will provide the core management team to MaresConnect and leverage its broad experience in developing interconnectors in Northwest Europe.MaresConnect is a proposed 750MW, subsea and underground cable interconnector (with associated converter stations) between the existing electricity grids in Ireland and Great Britain, operated respectively by EirGrid and National Grid Electricity Transmission. The project will link the Maynooth substation near Dublin (Ireland) and Bodelwyddan transmission substation in Denbighshire (Wales). Further details can be found at the project’s website: www.maresconnect.ieMaresConnect has been recognised as a TYNDP 2022 project by ENTSO-E following support received from both the Irish and UK governments. [...] Read more...