renewables

  • 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

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Two thirds of energy industry professionals think the market needs to be drastically reformed

    A survey conducted of over one hundred leading energy market professionals from across the investment and advisory community, by Cornwall Insight, from the attendees of its Financing Net Zero forum, has shown nearly two thirds (63%) of people working in the energy industry1 believe the UK market needs to be...

  • 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...

  • Home supply and services

    Windfall taxes are not the only solution to the energy crisis

    The energy market is in a state of transition, with geopolitical concerns threatening to undermine energy security and subsequent wholesale energy rises pushing up bills. It is inevitable that policymakers will look at how best to deliver an affordable energy system for consumers. The temporary, targeted energy profits levy, or...

  • 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

    CfD Allocation Round 4 – let the competition begin

    2022 is set to hold what could be the largest Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction to date, Allocation Round (AR) 4, with government aiming to secure around 12GW of new renewables through the scheme. It will see the re-introduction of Pot 1 technologies (“established” technologies such as onshore wind and...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Cornwall Insight Australia develops 5-minute model for Benchmark Power Curve

    Cornwall Insight Australia has developed a 5-minute model for their Benchmark Power Curve (BPC), improving the granularity of their price forecasts from 30 minutes to 5 minutes dispatch for the first five years of the 30-year forecast. Cornwall Insight Australia’s BPC helps market participants understand trends in future prices and...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Five highlights from our latest PPA market research

    Recently, as part of both our Renewable PPA Market Share and Green Power Forecast reports, we have undertaken research into the renewables PPA market, hearing views from generators, offtakers and other renewables PPA market participants. Our recent Chart of the Week detailed the latest research from our Renewable PPA Market...

  • Announcement

    Cornwall Insight Australia’s Alba Ruiz Leon features in KPMG 30 Voices on 2030

    Alba Ruiz Leon, Managing Director of Cornwall Insight Australia, an award-winning international firm delivering comprehensive insight that enables businesses, markets, and policymakers to succeed in the net zero transition, features in KPMG’s 30 Voices on 2030 – The Future of Energy report. Cornwall Insight is a pre-eminent provider of energy...

  • 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...

  • Home supply and services

    “Green” tariffs in the spotlight as BEIS commences review

    With the announcement on 16 August of a call for evidence on Designing a Framework for Transparency of Carbon Content in Energy Products, consultant Josephine Lord looks at the issues being considered and what the future may hold for so-called “green” tariffs. The call for evidence is the first step...

  • Low carbon generation

    Our Renewables Pipeline Tracker: In with the new – scoping projects and progression through planning stages

    Our latest Renewables Pipeline Tracker was published on 11 June, and this blog provides a summary of some of the recent developments in our coverage of the pipeline for new build and repowering renewables assets in GB. What’s new? Seabed leasing rounds, scoping projects and CfD announcements Since our previous...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Data centres predicted to become prosumers of electricity

    In combination with Cornwall Insight and Bit Power, Host in Ireland published its Biannual report of Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry. The report highlights the importance of sustainability in Ireland’s digital transformation. The report confirmed the number of operational data centres in Ireland increased by 25 per cent over the past...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    In the midst of the Australian Energy Transformation Process

    Australia is in the midst of an energy supply and distribution transformation. This transition is twofold and includes not just bridging the gap from conventional fossil fuels to renewable technologies (due to their reduced carbon footprint, lower levelized cost of energy and improved reliability levels by comparation), but also requires...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Low carbon generation

    Renewables Pipeline Tracker: Higher, faster, stronger – the changing nature of offshore wind

    Having released our October 2020 Renewables Pipeline Tracker report, which covers the latest developments for pipeline renewables sites across GB, this blog explores our recent findings on the pipeline and in particular offshore wind. The Renewables Pipeline Tracker is updated quarterly and includes information across over 1,000 prospective renewables sites...

  • Low carbon generation

    Green Certificate Survey results | high availability, low demand, low prices

    The value for Green Certificates has fallen dramatically according to our quarterly Green Certificate Survey. The survey takes a snapshot of the Green Certificate market providing pricing views and trends for Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO), Guarantees of Origin (GoOs) and Renewable Gas Guarantees of Origin (RGGO) certificate markets....

  • Low carbon generation

    Yes, and..? Fast tracking Irish offshore wind

    The Irish Government’s announcement of seven offshore wind projects being able to apply for planning permission under the (yet to be enacted) Marine Planning and Development Management Bill, 2020 (MPDM) is positive for the Irish offshore wind sector. A consenting regime is one of the key pillars of any successful...

  • Low carbon generation

    Renewable energy hoped to be at the core of a post-COVID-19 economic recovery

    Transitioning energy systems towards net zero by the mid-century could lead to cumulative global GDP gains of US$98tn (£79tn) over the next three decades compared to a “business-as-usual” trajectory, according to a report published in April by the intergovernmental organisation, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). As per the Global Renewables...

  • Low carbon generation

    Power demand in Lockdown – Initial COVID-19 impact on the power market

    The power and gas systems are mirror images of the wider economy, entering practically every aspect of work and leisure. They naturally face challenges as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 virus on the way we work, travel and live. Electricity demand has reported to have fallen in...

  • Low carbon generation

    In from the storm: Record wind generation in February

    February saw wind generation reach its highest recorded output in the SEM. This came in a month that saw the island of Ireland hit by two storms within a matter of days. Storms Dennis and Ciara brought with them strong winds, helping to weigh upon wholesale power prices throughout the...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Wind Of Change: What’s this, more RESS talk!

    There’s no shortage of speculation regarding the upcoming Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) auctions, however, we should spare a thought for our friends in Eirgrid who own the challenge of operating this relatively highly dominated renewable energy saturated system. This challenge is getting tougher, with the forecasted additional wind and...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Storage story: a regulatory run-down

    While electricity storage has long been recognised as a crucial solution to mitigating the drawbacks of some types of renewable generation, it has taken some time for the regulatory and charging framework to catch up. It has taken years, but recent progress on the licensing and exemptions from some final...

  • Low carbon generation

    Editor’s Pick | A marathon and a sprint? What next for onshore renewables?

    This article was originally published in Energy Spectrum Issue 702 on 17 February 2020. For recent news and analysis on the energy market, find out more about our weekly publication, Energy Spectrum, here. In this week’s Energy Perspective, we take a look at the renewables pipeline and ask whether the volume of new...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    10 Manifesto Energy Policies

    With all the General Election manifestos now published, we have updated our infographic so you can easily see where the parties stand on certain energy sector issues. For further, more in-depth analysis and insight into what each of the parties are promising and how this could shape the future energy...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Editor’s Pick Ireland | Government’s €6 hike in carbon tax sees a mixed response

    This article was originally published on 12 November 2019 in Energy Spectrum Ireland.  Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton and Minister of State Sean Canney have unveiled the details of Budget 2020. Issued on 8 October, the budget highlights the government’s decision to raise the price of carbon to...