Auction

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    From zero to hero: Can CfDs split markets and reduce costs this winter?

    Given media comment on the imposition of a revenue cap for low carbon generators instead of migration of existing projects onto a CfD, please find below a blog published by Cornwall Insight three weeks ago. Not only did this note the possibility of the revenue cap being a fall back...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Glory Days – T-1 auction clears at £45/kW

    To say the T-1 Capacity Market (CM) auction clearing at £45/kW per year was a surprise feels like an understatement. It looks like a major windfall for successful participants in the auction –  many are asking just what happened? Easy money Until February, it looked like prices would clear at...

  • Low carbon generation

    Editor’s Pick | The green shoots of the Capacity Market auctions

    A pivotal year for the Capacity Market (CM) draws to a close, with the first long-term auctions for capacity since 2018. But for once the CM is the least interesting thing happening in the market, and the scheme itself seems out of step with the net zero future. In this Energy...

  • Low carbon generation

    Will the neighbourhood get a windmill?

    With the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) auction scheduled to kick off this June, community projects have been given a special preference category as part of the auction design. The question remains, will this be enough to spark a change in how we develop, operate and own assets in the...

  • Low carbon generation

    Always sunny in RESS: The gang gets an auction

    With the excitement around the potential for a rejuvenated renewable market, it is easy to overlook just how few projects could get a RESS contract at the auctions this June. With between 1GWh – 3GWh available, the competition could be high. Here, James Goldsmith looks at the size of the...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Editor’s Pick | Lower procurement targets recommended for 2020 CM

    National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) has issued its updated recommended procurement targets for the upcoming Capacity Market auctions. For all three auctions, the recommended capacity level was lower than the target previously confirmed by the Secretary of State (SoS). A series of reports, published on 9 January, set out...

  • Low carbon generation

    Financial opportunities in RESS-1

    The proposed new Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) will provide support to renewable electricity projects in Ireland. The scheme will be a competitive auction based funding mechanism with a primary focus on cost effectiveness. The RESS-1 auctions are actively targeting between 1TWh – 3TWh of renewable energy that can be...

  • Low carbon generation

    Editor’s Pick | Talkin’ bout a revolution: What next for the CfD?

    This article was originally published in Energy Spectrum Issue 685 on 7 October 2019. The Contract for Difference (CfD) results for Allocation Round 3 (AR3) once again provided some striking results for the industry to ponder. In this Energy Perspective, we reflect on the success and consider what the results mean for...

  • Low carbon generation

    Coming in hot: Final T-4 CRM results published

    On 7 May, the System Operators released the final results of the 2022-23 T-4 capacity auction, setting out the winners of agreements. While previous T-1 auctions are not comparable, the System Operators were satisfied that prices between the auction had been stable. The clearing price was €46,150/MW, for a total...

  • Low carbon generation

    One step beyond: First T-4 auction results

    The CRM T-4 Capacity auction is one of the new procurement processes being rolled out in SEM that will determine the future make up of the generation portfolio. The other auctions that will have an impact over the coming year will be the DS3 capped procurement and the Renewable Electricity...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Clarity on Capacity Market renewable ratings, but gap in government policy remains

    On 7 January, National Grid ESO published its consultation on the new de-rating factor methodology to be used for renewables participating in the Capacity Market (CM). The document forms a key part of the five-year review of the CM, for which a government call for evidence was published in August 2018.   In previous...

  • Low carbon generation

    Thunderstruck: participant behaviour and auction outcome

    The move to I-SEM was ultimately intended to create a level playing field for all market participants to result in more competition. Nothing drives competition quite like a constrained auction and, for many developers, the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) Auction in 2019 (hopefully!) and thereafter will be their first...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    What the T-1 auction does and doesn’t tell us about the upcoming T-4 auction

    The T-1 Capacity Market (CM) auction cleared on Thursday 1 February 2018 in round 14 at £6/kW. 5.78GW of capacity won an agreement for delivery year 2018-19 at an estimated cost for the consumer of £34mn. This is the second one-year ahead auction that has cleared lower than expectations; what does this...