Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 09/05/23.
News: Thousands of companies facing failure without new energy contracts, FSB warns – ITV News
9 May 2023. More than one in 10 small companies signed up to a fixed-price energy deal during peak prices last summer leaving them with bills well ahead of what the market is offering today, an influential group has said:
Research briefing: Energy Bill [HL] 2022-23: Overview – House of Commons Library
5 May 2023. The Energy Bill [HL] is scheduled for its Commons Second Reading stage on 9 May 2023. This briefing provides an overview of the bill and links to the five Library briefings have been published covering the provisions of the Bill in more detail:
Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9693/
News: Offshore wind target could be blown off course – Energy UK
3 May 2023. Energy UK has warned that the forthcoming Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction will fall well short of delivering the expansion of offshore wind needed to hit the Government’s 2030 50GW target:
Link: https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/news/offshore-wind-target-could-be-blown-off-course/
Press release: End the gridlock: Octopus Energy report reveals how to speed up green grid connection – Octopus Energy
3 May 2023. Queue-jumping, sunset clauses and a data-driven can-do attitude are simple ways to connect renewables to the grid faster, a new report by Octopus Energy’s generation arm outlines:
Research briefing: Energy Bill – provisions on heat networks, smart appliances, load control and energy performance of buildings – House of Commons Library
4 May 2023. The Energy Bill [HL] 2022-23 is scheduled for its Second Reading stage in the Commons on 9 May 2023:
Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9787/
Open consultation: Green Gas Support Scheme 2023 annual tariff review: call for evidence – Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
2 May 2023. Evidence sought on biomethane plants, and views of the biomethane market outlook for the annual review of Green Gas Support Scheme tariffs. This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 31 May 2023:
Report: Decarbonisation of the power sector – Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee
25 April 2023. Eleventh Report of Session 2022–23 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report:
Link: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/39325/documents/193081/default/
News: Bumper BP profits of £4bn in three months spark criticism – BBC News Online
3 May 2023. Oil and gas giant BP has reported strong profits for the beginning of the year as energy prices remain high:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65453952
News: LionLink: North Sea power line to connect wind farms to UK – BBC News Online
24 April 2023, Georgina Rannard. A huge electricity cable project in the North Sea could provide green power to 1.8 million UK homes in plans announced by the UK and Dutch governments:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65375943
News: Hospitality trade bodies join forces in call on government to intervene in energy scandal – Hospitality & Catering News
28 April 2023, Angela Green. The British Beer & Pub Association, UKHospitality, and the British Institute of Innkeeping have written to Amanda Solloway MP, the Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability, calling for urgent government support for hospitality businesses on the brink of collapse:
Briefing: Getting Britain’s fuel poverty scheme on track to deliver – Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Group
April 2023. Following delays to the introduction of the fourth phase of Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the scheme is yet to reach its full potential. The previous phase of the ECO scheme version (ECO 3) was replaced by the ECO 4 in April 2022. Since then, the number of installations made under ECO have fallen off a cliff-edge:
Link: https://www.theeeig.co.uk/media/1135/eco-delivery-briefing-eeig.pdf
Report: ‘Drop the Crops: Why the UK’s biofuel mandate needs reform’ – Centre for Policy Studies
April 2023, Dillon Smith. ‘Drop the Crops: Why the UK’s biofuel mandate needs reform’, by CPS Energy and Environment researcher Dillon Smith, argues that the UK’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) needs a post-Brexit, post-Ukraine refresh:
Link: https://cps.org.uk/research/drop-the-crops/
News: Energy suppliers are sitting on almost £7 billion of households’ money – U Switch
26 April 2023, Ben Gallizzi. New research from Uswitch has found that more than 16 million households have around £6.7 billion in energy credit with their suppliers coming out of the 2022-23 winter period: