renewables

  • 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...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    AEMO: new markets & standards to help integrate renewables

    The below sample has been taken from our second edition of Energy Spectrum Australia, and if you have enjoyed reading this article and want to read more about the latest developments in the Australian energy market, please contact Ben Hall, b.hall@cornwall-insight.com,  for more information. On 1 October AEMO published an...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Editor’s Pick | Letter on America: Massachusetts and Clean Peak

    This article was originally published in Energy Spectrum Issue 691 on 18 November 2019. The energy policy narrative in Great Britain has treated incentivisation of renewables and flexible resources as separate activities, with inevitable lags and imperfect scaling of system flexibility to meet the new system demands created by variable, low carbon...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Editor’s Pick | Belgian capacity support to take novel form

    This article was originally published in Issue 22 in Energy:2030. On 12 September, the Belgian Federal Commission for Electricity and Gas Regulation (CREG) issued a note on the implementation of a scarcity pricing mechanism in Belgium. Explaining that renewable generation may cause massive overcapacity in future with difficulties for generators relying...

  • Low carbon generation

    Renewables Obligation Mutualisation Looms again

    The end of October marks the end of the annual Renewables Obligation (RO) compliance period, where electricity suppliers that have not already fulfilled their obligation must make payments into the ‘late payment fund’. As we saw last year the spate of supplier exits from the market created a shortfall in...

  • 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...

  • Regulation and policy

    D:Ream: EirGrid’s new strategy

    EirGrid unveiled their new strategy for 2020 – 2025 at a blockbuster event last week in Dublin. Headlining the event was the legendary Brian Cox and the EirGrid choir who both made fantastic appearances. Amongst the glitz and the glam of it all however, there were serious announcements from EirGrid...

  • Low carbon generation

    The long and winding road: Ireland’s renewable energy target

    The 12 and 13 September marked the 11th Citizens Energy Forum, held in Dublin. The forum is held annually and is playing an increasingly important role in the EU energy retail market. This year the spotlight was on the role of consumers in a clean energy transition, bringing into focus...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Five things we learned in our new Flexible PPA Market Report

    Cornwall Insight has been examining the fast-developing market for flexible asset Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with a new report, The Flexible PPA Market Report, specifically launched to cover this. Through our leading market research and regulatory expertise, complemented by in-depth discussions with a range of market participants, the report encapsulates...

  • Low carbon generation

    Under pressure: Price cannibalisation in the SEM

    After the publication of Project Ireland 2040 and Climate Action Plan 2019, it looks increasingly likely that renewables will be a significantly larger proportion of the generation mix. This development has and will increasingly see renewable projects look to the wholesale power market to underpin investment, a complicating factor of this...

  • Low carbon generation

    Corporate PPAs: Signed, sealed… delivered?

    Back in April of this year, following Amazon’s announcement of Ireland’s first unsubsidised corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA), we asked if this Amazon deal signalled growth in this sector or whether this would be an isolated example. Since then, the Irish Government published the Climate Action Plan (CAP) in June,...

  • Low carbon generation

    Constrained development: Scottish wind and the issues of network charging

    Northern Scotland is home to a significant proportion of GB renewables, particularly onshore wind capacity. The region is also likely to be a leader in new capacity developments and we are working directly with a number of developers looking to finalise new subsidy-free projects here. Under subsidy schemes, there is...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Operating the 2030 system: To 90% SNSP and beyond!

    Last week the Department of Communication, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) published the Climate Action Plan 2019, which sets out ambitious targets for Ireland to meet its decarbonisation obligations. For the electricity sector, this means 70% of all electricity generated will come from renewable sources by 2030. In this blog, we look at what...

  • Low carbon generation

    Ireland’s Climate Action Plan – closing the carbon gap

    On 17 June, Ireland’s Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) published the Climate Action Plan 2019. The report sets out cross-sector objectives aimed at reducing the nation’s carbon emissions. In this week’s blog, we look more closely as to how this may be achieved. Click here to view full...

  • 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...

  • Low carbon generation

    Go with the flow: Estimating Celtic Interconnector use

    Last week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and French President Emmanuel Macron signed a letter affirming plans to build a new 700MW Celtic Interconnector. With the increasing penetration of renewable generation across Europe, discussion of the viability and benefits of interconnectors is also rising. In Ireland, just one interconnector is currently in...

  • 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

    Easter weekend – a glimpse into the future for wholesale power?

    In what has previously been a rare occurrence on the GB transmission system, the minimum daytime demand dropped below night time minimum demand twice in succession over the Easter weekend, as high levels of embedded solar generation reduced the need for grid connected energy production. In this blog we look...

  • Low carbon generation

    Good thing: 70% renewables and the looming shortfall

    The government has recently announced that Ireland will no longer be behind the rest of Europe when it comes to climate action. The announcement that 70% of electricity generated would come from renewables by 2030 was welcomed by many. It’s a great ambition but how realistic is it? In this...

  • Low carbon generation

    Lumos: Shining a light on the Irish fuel mix

    This week, the government committed to raising the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources from 30% to 70% by 2030. Minister for Communications and Climate Action Richard Bruton said the commitment would require “significant changes” that will require strengthening the grid. In this week’s blog, we take a closer...

  • Low carbon generation

    Through the dark: Transformation for community energy

    Community energy generation in Ireland is currently at a nascent stage, but developments in 2019 could see it become a major player in energy generation. Most community energy funding is spent on energy efficiency rather than energy generation. Our research indicates that there is as little as 6MW of community-owned...

  • Low carbon generation

    When the Wild Wind Blows… time for offshore wind?

    On 22 January 2019, an announcement was made that ESB and Parkwind, which has been developing the Oriel Offshore Wind project off the coast of Louth, have entered into a partnership for the Oriel project, as well as ESB’s Clogherhead project. This has been a welcome announcement in light of...

  • Low carbon generation

    Cornwall Insight’s CfD floor price proposal gains traction as STA calls for government to adapt policy

    The STA issued an updated cost assessment of PV on Tuesday 11 December and also called on BEIS to introduce a technology-neutral floor-price Contract for Difference to help renewables investment come forward in a subsidy free environment. The CfD floor price structure is a proposal we developed in early summer, and we...

  • Low carbon generation

    Clarity urgently needed to unlock Ireland’s offshore wind potential

    Ireland has some of Europe’s best wind resource. And yet, the large-scale deployment of the technology has fallen behind other markets largely as a result of a lack of strong policy support – it is more than 14 years since Arklow Bank, the country’s only operational wind farm was fully...

  • Low carbon generation

    As the witching hour approaches, RO mutualisation looms

    Halloween is just a week away, and it is rapidly taking on a rather other-worldly significance for suppliers. This is because Ofgem reported yesterday that, based on supplier compliance under the Renewables Obligation for 2017-18 (CP16), there has been a significant shortfall by suppliers who have not submitted ROCs and...

  • Low carbon generation

    Cornwall Insight: evaluating drivers of low-carbon investment in a subsidy free world event

    On 17 October 2018 Cornwall Insight hosted a successful and well attended event where the future of support for renewable power generation, against the backdrop of the significant gap between current deployment levels and what must be delivered to meet decarbonisation goals, was discussed. Cornwall Insight experts discussed how although...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    This week’s Energy Spectrum overview | 29 May 2018

    Energy Perspective In this week’s Energy Perspective, we look ahead to this summer, a period that we believe could prove to be ground-breaking in terms of testing some long-held theories about flexible power systems. With the electricity market in rapid in transition we explore a range of emerging market phenomena...

  • Low carbon generation

    Q118 FiT costs confirmed at £290mn

    Suppliers were invoiced for Q118 (January – March) Feed-in Tariff levelisation on 25 April, confirming total scheme costs for the quarter at just under £290mn. This consisted of £281.7mn in generation payments, £7.7mn in deemed export payments and £0.3mn in qualifying costs that help cover the supplier cost to administer...

  • Low carbon generation

    Into the great wide open: evaluating Irish offshore wind

    Renewables growth in Ireland has been a story with one key protagonist – onshore wind. Its offshore cousin has not progressed beyond a single operational project – the 25MW Arklow Bank installation. This development lacuna has occurred despite the significant resource available offshore in Irish waters. The Strategic Environmental Assessment...

  • Low carbon generation

    PPA market interviews: 5 key trends in the renewables market

    As a part of Cornwall Insight’s Green Power Forecast report, we interviewed a number of suppliers, offtakers and generators in the market to identify key trends in the renewables Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) market. Here we detail five key trends that came from our interviews and research. The PPA market...