low carbon

  • Commercial and market outlook

    The latest quarterly updates from our Benchmark Power Curves

    Long-term, technology-specific power price forecasts are crucial for making sound investment decisions. But with the rapidly changing market landscape, obtaining credible, comprehensive insights can be a challenge. That's where Cornwall Insight's Benchmark Power Curves step in to deliver the forecasting expertise you need.  Backed by our deep market knowledge and...

  • Low carbon generation

    A year of progress: Low-carbon Hydrogen Policy Index findings

    Since publishing the previous iteration of the Low-carbon Hydrogen Policy Index in April 2023, the global hydrogen market has continued to grow and develop as both national governments and industry stakeholders have sought to expand the role of hydrogen in their decarbonisation plans. See what changes have happened since the...

  • 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...

  • 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

    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

    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...

  • Regulation and policy

    Just the bill please – who picks up the costs of market exits?

    This article is an extract from our Energy Spectrum Nutwood. find out more about a subscription to Energy Spectrum here. Between 9 August 2021 and 19 November 2021, 22 energy suppliers exited the market impacting more than 2mn mainly domestic customers. Supplier exits result in a number of costs being...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    The new face of frequency response – 1 year of Dynamic Containment

    In October 2020, National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) implemented the soft-launch of the Dynamic Containment (DC) service, the first in a new suite of faster-acting frequency response services. Since its launch, the DC service has been the most lucrative response service and has grown considerably in the past year....

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Be the change you want to see – my takeaway from this year’s BIEE conference

    On 13 September, I spoke at the British Institute of Energy Economics (BIEE) Energy for a net zero society conference. The conference considered the legacy of the Covid pandemic and how the means of recovery will influence the pace and direction of the net zero transition. The timing of the...

  • Low carbon generation

    BEIS Hydrogen Strategy

    The flagship Hydrogen Strategy paper was unveiled by BEIS on 18 August and confirmed that hydrogen will form a crucial part of the UK’s net zero economy. Perhaps disappointingly, the paper only reaffirms the 5GW of production capacity by 2030 commitment as set out in the Ten Point Plan with...

  • Heat networks

    Reallocating electricity policy costs to incentivise low carbon heating technologies

    Funding the cost of decarbonising the power system has mainly been through the consumers' electricity bills. In fact, in 2020-21 these costs amounted to a whopping £10bn. But is this method of raising revenue for decarbonisation still fit for purpose when faced with the need to decarbonise the nation's heat?...

  • Low carbon generation

    Nuclear energy and its potential importance for net zero

    This article was originally written as a longer piece in Energy Spectrum on 21 March 2021. To find out more about a subscription to Energy Spectrum, please contact Nick on n.palmer@cornwall-insight.com. Nuclear energy has been an integral part of the UK’s electricity system for many decades. Currently, nuclear provides around...

  • Net zero corporates and ESG

    Sleeving Pools could enable local authorities to procure local energy

    This blog post is adapted from an article in March’s issue of Energy net zero, published on 31 March. To find out more about a subscription to Energy net zero, please contact Veronica at v.truman@cornwall-insight.com. For many local authorities and corporates, development of small-scale renewables and consideration of generation production...

  • Announcement

    GB consultancy: Our 2020 highlights

    We are independent commercial advisors to over 300 energy companies from generators, project developers, energy suppliers, network companies, investors, government departments and professional firms. Our team has over 40 years of energy market experience and works across the whole energy chain. Here is a small selection of our work in...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Flight of the Phoenix – could green investment point the way forward post-COVID?

    As economies around the world move from “disaster preparation” to “recovery preparation”, the low carbon and renewable sector has been earmarked as a means by which to target government support in a manner consistent with medium and long-term policy targets – such  the UK’s own net zero 2050 objectives. While...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Let’s talk about flex: The flexibility dilemma

    In this week’s blog, we consider the recent refusal of planning permission for the construction of a 208MW open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) "peaker" power plant in Co Meath. While the project would assist in ensuring and maintaining the security of supply in the region, the plant was intended to...

  • Low carbon generation

    Editor’s Pick | IRENA investigates future market enabling technologies

    This article was originally published on 30 September 2019 in Energy:2030. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) published an Enabling Technologies: Innovation Landscape report in early September, highlighting innovations in emerging technologies. The report builds on an extensive report called Innovation Landscape for a Renewable-powered Future: Solutions to Integrate Variable Renewables,...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Rocket man: powering up the white paper

    On 17 June 2019 our CEO Gareth Miller spoke on the panel at a joint event with law firm TLT on Clean Energy Growth. Many of the key themes set out by Gareth were echoed in this week’s Energy Spectrum, in which he discussed the government’s decision last week to...

  • Home supply and services

    Smart export guarantee

    This summary outlines Cornwall Insight’s response to BEIS’ January consultation on the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). It expresses support for the broad thrust of the SEG proposals and identifies key issues for further consideration. Overview The proposals set out in the 8 January document The Future for Small-scale Low-carbon Generation...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Insights from the latest Energy:2030

    Perspective In this issue we look at the community energy sector. We focus on possible impacts of the end of Feed-in Tariff (FiT) subsidies in the UK and call for retention of a guaranteed route to market for small-scale renewable generation, at least until levelised costs fall further and necessary...

  • Low carbon generation

    Low-carbon levy costs to peak later than government expects

    Cornwall Insight's new paper - Static Electricity: New Controls for Low Carbon Levies - has found that despite the efforts to control the costs of supporting low-carbon deployment, a continued overspend is locked in well into the next decade. Alongside the 2017 Autumn Budget the government issued details of a...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    This week’s Energy Spectrum overview

    Energy Perspective This week’s Energy Perspective explores BEIS’s latest Energy and Emissions Projections (EEP) published in January 2018, uncovering what the forecasts can tell us about the shifting official view of the energy systems of the future. We focus on the changes since the last EEP’s publication. We highlight how...