Low carbon generation

  • Energy Market Design

    How does REMA impact energy generation, flexibility and consumers?

    The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) is the largest review programme of GB electricity market arrangements for a generation. It comes at a time when European energy markets are suffering extreme turmoil. Depending on the outcome there could be significant implications for generators, flexibility providers, and, indirectly, consumers. REMA...

  • Energy Market Design

    Short-term energy market interventions

    There is considerable concern about the availability and price of energy for this winter and those that follow.  Cornwall Insight has been contributing to the policy discourse through our widely-referenced domestic Default Tariff Cap analysis.  As prices continue to rise above what were considered unbelievable levels until recently, the signal from the market could not...

  • Energy Market Design

    REMA: electricity market design choices

    Electricity markets will serve as the foundation for the future GB energy system.  This article examines some of the market design decisions that will be considered by the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA). Market design goals At its most simple, a well-functioning market will attract enough potential “buyers” and...

  • Low carbon generation

    Head to Head: CfD vs RESS

    2022 has been busy for renewable developers in Great Britain and Ireland, with both the fourth allocation round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme and the second round of the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) concluding this summer. We compared the latest results of the CfD and RESS schemes...

  • Low carbon generation

    Energy System Reform: Ofgem shares plans for Britain’s energy system

    Against the backdrop of record high and volatile energy prices, Ofgem set out on 8 July its view on key aspects of the GB energy system where it considers significant reform is required to deliver a resilient, low cost, low carbon energy sector. Recent developments in the energy market, such...

  • Low carbon generation

    PSO Levy 2022/23: RESS to the Rescue

    This week we look at how renewable generation is putting money back in consumers’ pockets - a trend which, based on the power price forecast from our All-Island Forward Curve report, is expected to continue until 2027. Last week the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) published their final decision...

  • Low carbon generation

    Diversifying the Irish Energy Mix, could hydrogen be the answer?

    The recent news that Nord stream has resumed flows into Europe will ease some of the fears of supply shortages heading into the winter for us all and have associated knock-on effects pricewise. Although back flowing, the EU commission on Wednesday urged countries to cut gas use by 15% over...

  • Low carbon generation

    What’s in store? Our analysis of the co-location development pipeline

    Amid underlying volatility in wholesale power prices, opportunities for access to wider flexibility revenue streams, and the impact of price cannibalisation, the case for co-location for renewable energy assets is growing. As part of Cornwall Insight’s Renewables Pipeline Tracker service, a case study is included in each report’s release based...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Capacity, reform, and unlawful strategies: 5 things that happened yesterday

    Capacity, reform, and unlawful strategies: yesterday was a busy day for energy geekery. The developments encapsulate the shorter and longer term challenges and uncertainties present in the energy market presently: Read the full article here

  • Low carbon generation

    3G meets in-person| Lots discussed in our low carbon user group

    Last week I took a trip to sunny central London to attend Cornwall Insight’s Green Generators Group (3G), which is the user group for our low carbon generation service. In what felt like a novelty after a two-year hiatus of face-to-face forums, I was joined by my colleagues Dan Starman...

  • Low carbon generation

    A collection of resources on net zero – Net Zero Week 2022

    For Net Zero Week 2022, we released a range of resources to help you on your journey to net zero. For convenience, we have put them all together in a handy Resource Report. To read the full collection of resources, please log in to your account or sign up for...

  • Low carbon generation

    CfD Auction Secures Greatest Amount Of Renewable Capacity To Date

    Yesterday, the government released the results of the fourth round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, securing almost 11GW of renewable capacity across 93 projects, nearly double the 5.8GW awarded in Allocation Round 3 in 2019. The greatest capacity – at 7.0GW - has been secured from new offshore wind projects,...

  • Low carbon generation

    RESS 2 – Five key insights

    Higher costs drive up auction clearing price It’s been a tumultuous couple of years since RESS 1. As the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine continues, stresses and strains are being felt across many sectors of the economy, and infrastructure is no exception. Pent up...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    Key take-aways from the Low-carbon hydrogen roundtable

    Recent announcements from the UK Government have made it clear that the role for low-carbon hydrogen in the UK energy system is set to increase rapidly across the next decade. There was significant focus on low-carbon hydrogen in the Energy Security Strategy, including the doubling of the hydrogen capacity target...

  • Low carbon generation

    RESS 2 by numbers

    Last Friday, RESS 2 auction results were published, with nearly 2GW of new renewables projects successful in getting awarded a contract. We have put together an infographic that explains the auction outcome and what these projects will bring to our electricity system. We have also released a report with Wind...

  • Low carbon generation

    RESS for LESS

    We have also released a report with Wind Energy Ireland which is free to download. View the report here

  • Announcement

    2021/22 Australian energy insights report

    Analytics on key current developments in the Australian energy industry are available Cornwall Insight Australia has released a compilation of Australian energy insights, charts, and analyses. The report includes the topics of energy storage and flexibility, generation (all technologies), power prices, low carbon generation, FCAS, policy and regulation, and transmission...

  • Announcement

    The Energy Security Bill explained – from the Queen’s Speech

    On Wednesday 11 May, the Queen's Speech was delivered which announced that an Energy Security Bill will be introduced at some point over the next parliamentary session. What is the Energy Security Bill and what does the Government state the benefits will be? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLfmkM0mAqc What are the main elements of...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Cornwall Insight responds to the announcement of an Energy Bill in the Queen’s Speech

    The Queen’s Speech this week included a much-anticipated announcement that an Energy Bill will be introduced at some point over the next parliamentary session. The Bill is a logical conclusion of policy development in the period since the net zero commitment was made in the summer of 2019. It accommodates...

  • Low carbon generation

    Battery Storage Boom set to continue

    In our latest insight, GB Power Market Outlook to 2030, we estimate that in 2030, almost 10% of grid power comes from battery storage. Growth in the immediate future is set to be strong, in the T-4 2025-26 Capacity market auction, 2.5GW of new-build storage capacity was prequalified, of which...

  • Low carbon generation

    Reform in haste, repent at leisure: squaring electricity market reform with investor confidence

    The review of electricity market arrangements (REMA) signalled by the energy security strategy could impact wholesale & balancing markets, & there could be a need to examine the capacity market rules & CFD contracts. It is too early to know what options will ultimately be adopted or when changes would...

  • Low carbon generation

    Are renewables the answer to Ireland’s energy crisis?

    The current crisis in the energy markets may seem like it’s all doom and gloom, every week another electricity or gas supplier announces a price hike with the consumer powerless, at the whim of the global commodity prices. However, offshore wind presents a unique opportunity for Ireland, to both decarbonise...

  • Low carbon generation

    Germany tops the leader board with South Korea in second place

    The role of low-carbon hydrogen in achieving our net zero targets has been a hot topic of conversation of late, both within industry circles and in mainstream media and public conversation. As the discussion builds, Cornwall Insight has interrogated the policy and strategy frameworks presented by countries that have branded...

  • Low carbon generation

    What to look out for in Third Party Charges in 2022-23

    In recent months, the GB energy market has been exposed to extreme volatility as wholesale prices have grown rapidly, leading to a significant number of supplier exits and questions over consumer affordability of energy bills. This has resulted in notable movement across a number of non-commodity costs (also known as...

  • Low carbon generation

    High levels of offline generation capacity in the SEM prompts elevated near-term power prices

    With approximately 1.3GW of offline capacity at present, supply margins in the SEM are currently tightened by the reduced availability at some of these large thermal plants, supporting elevated near-term power prices of which rose strongly week-on-week. Outage trends: Offline capacity is forecast to increase substantially from the previous week,...

  • Low carbon generation

    Government opens consultation on Maritime Area Consent for ORE

    On 19 January, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD launched a consultation on important aspects of the new Maritime Area Consent (MAC) State consent regime for offshore renewable energy (ORE). This follows the publication of the full text of the Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Act...

  • Low carbon generation

    High and Volatile: Trends from our Q421 Green Power Forecast

    At the end of January we released our latest Green Power Forecast, projecting renewables generators revenues over a five-year horizon whilst also providing Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) pricing and benchmarking updates, and a survey to gauge the latest renewables market trends. Amid the current “energy crisis” arising from an underlying...

  • Low carbon generation

    Why is RAB being pursued for new nuclear

    Nuclear generation has experienced a stop-start approach to investment in GB since the then Labour government put it back on the policy agenda in the early 2000s. Even with the addressing of environmental and operational concerns to the satisfaction of policymakers and regulators, its high capital costs made it require...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    EU Commission publishes climate change mitigation taxonomy

    An excerpt from our European Weekly Bulletin, part of our Energy Spectrum Europe package. On Wednesday 2 February, the EU Commission presented its Taxonomy Complementary Climate Delegated Act on climate change mitigation and adaptation covering certain gas and nuclear activities. The commission states that it aims to prevent greenwashing and...

  • Low carbon generation

    Week-on-week day-ahead power price losses in the SEM

    The first reported week of February 2022 recorded week-on-week day-ahead power price losses in the SEM. Source: SEMO/Cornwall Insight Ireland Despite recent week-on-week price losses, day-ahead power prices remain significantly higher than the prices observed in the opening week of February last year, currently out turning 171.0% higher. Day-ahead power...