Europe’s largest ever battery storage facility has commenced operating in Northern Scotland, The Times has reported. The site’s location, midway between Inverness and Aberdeen, was carefully selected by Zenobe to take full advantage of an area where huge amounts of wind power are fed into the National Grid from offshore wind farms. The project already […]
STEP forward for Nuclear Fusion Sector as Government invests £410 million
Construction News has reported that construction companies are currently competing to work on a new nuclear plant, to be known as the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) facility. The companies bidding include Balfour, Kier and Ferrovial and the new job could be worth up to £20bn, according to UK Industrial Fusion Solutions (UKIFS). For […]
Sizewell C projected to start up in 2035, Times reports
The Times Newspaper has revealed that the much anticipated Sizewell C nuclear power plant is due to commence operating in 2035, if approved, although concerns are still being voiced about progress on Hinckley Point C. Despite a projected start date of late 2025, construction works on Hinckley Point C have been subject to costly delays, […]
A new era of clean electricity is promised. Speed is of the essence in the Government’s new Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.
An encouraging read for our energy and housebuilder clients. With only six years to implement, this is a call to action across the industry. Delivery will require fundamental changes to the planning system and new connections process. Click on the link to read all about it: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-power-2030-action-plan-assessment-of-the-clean-energy-skills-challenge
Today marks the end of the UK’s coal burning era – but is the National Grid prepared for it?
The last coal power station in the country will close down today at Ratcliffe-on-Soar, marking the end of the UK’s 142 year reliance on coal as a fossil fuel. Given that coal is regarded as the dirtiest fossil fuel, producing the highest amount of greenhouse gases when burnt, the power plant’s demise marks a major […]
China launches world’s largest solar farm
The Xinjiang solar farm in China, which went online last month, has taken first place as the largest solar farm in the world, with a capacity of 5GW, pushing the Golmud Solar Park, also based in China, into second place in the process. The new facility, believed to be roughly the size of New York […]
15,000 New Homes delayed due to shortage of grid connections
A third of housing developers across the UK are struggling to deliver housing schemes due to a shortage of grid connections, a survey has found. The survey of 50 housebuilders and developers, undertaken and published by Knight Frank, has found that around 15,000 new homes are currently still unavailable because utility firms are failing to […]
Tata Group announces plans for multi-million pound UK battery factory
Last month Tata announced plans to build a 40GW battery cell gigafactory in Somerset, UK, a venture that is expected to create up to 4,000 new jobs and provide a major boost for the UK’s transition to electric mobility. It will be Tata’s first gigafactory outside of India. Tata is proposing to invest over £4 […]
Ofgem looks to civic chiefs for increased local input into energy planning
Ofgem’s CEO, Jonathan Brearley, has hosted a summit bringing together city leaders and mayors to discuss proposed regional energy planning reforms. Ofgem is seeking local support in terms of energy planning, with the introduction of Regional Energy Strategic Planners (RESPs), who will work with local authorities, gas and electricity distributors to plan cable and switch […]
Levelling up and the Regeneration Bill: What this means for planning
Town planning has risen up the Government agenda and will play a central role in the aspiration to ‘level up’ the country. The property profession can expect a huge increase in activity over the year; fasten your seatbelts! The reforms will have wide ranging implications in all corners of the system: the way that development […]
