REA

U.K. Chancellor, Phillip Hammond’s Spring Statement was delivered to the House of Commons earlier this afternoon. While the announcement did include provisions for greener products and services, and support for cleaner vehicles, solar and renewable energy were not mentioned specifically.

The National Grid is planning to support the installation and development of ultra-rapid, directly connected EV charging points along the U.K.’s major motorways.

Fossil fuel sources received the most back-up generation power capacity, according to the provisional results of the latest Capacity Market Auction, released today by the U.K.’s National Grid. The country’s Renewable Energy Agency (REA) has criticized the results, stating the government is blocking new renewable energy projects.

Lessons learned from solar failures could propel battery storage market to 12 GW by 2021, argues report by All-Party Parliamentary Group on Energy Storage, which implores government to be “on the front foot” when it comes to seizing ways to ensure energy security for the nation.

Study carried out by Bloomberg New Energy Finance on behalf of Eaton and U.K.’s Renewable Energy Association finds economic drivers key to increased uptake in solar and wind, although back-up capacity required by 2040 likely to be similar to today’s levels.

Confirmation of sizeable financial support for offshore wind, marine power, biomass CHP and energy from waste welcomed by renewable energy groups, but government’s solar blind spot continues.

In the first year energy storage and electric vehicle sectors are included, REA’s annual publication reveals a 2.5% YoY increase in the number of jobs in the renewable energy industry, but also a significant decline in growth from two years previous when it was at nearly 9%. The Association points to negative policy changes as the reason behind the downward trend.

The Renewable Energy Association’s energy storage conference that took place in London this week affirmed the U.K.’s immense energy storage potential. To unlock this potential, however, the sector is waiting for policymakers to unveil new policies that will make country’s energy much more storage-friendly.

Policy changes have slowed the U.K.’s progress towards 2020 renewable energy goals as the country wrestles with the forthcoming Brexit turmoil. France and Netherlands also on watchlist, says Commission.