Wales

With metropolitan-borough and city councils in England and Wales already driving decarbonization initiatives, local government bodies could do so much more if given adequate powers and funding.

Some 66 solar projects secured 15-year contracts-for-difference (CfDs) in a procurement exercise hailed a success despite undershooting its capacity targets.

A mixture of home-grown fossil fuels, possibly including fracked shale gas; clean power; nuclear; hydrogen; and smarter grids, apparently in that order, will make up the UK’s proposed energy security response in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The nation accounted for almost a quarter of the UK’s clean energy generation in a Covid-hit year as renewables accounted for 61.8% of its power mix, according to a study produced by the UK government.

Queequeg Renewables says it has formed a joint venture with an Italian private equity investor to fund the first slice of a planned 1.3 GW solar-plus-storage portfolio in Britain.

Plus, as the European Commission prepares to present its ‘Fit for 55’ climate change package tomorrow, European companies are continuing to develop hydrogen plans, including Shell in Norway and Siemens in Germany.

Enso Energy and the former U.K. national Green Investment Bank now owned by Australian investor Macquarie, have revealed plans to develop an extensive solar project portfolio across England and Wales that will reportedly include tracker and bifacial technology and will be financed by power purchase agreements.

The Welsh Government, together with a number of local organizations, is calling for the U.K. Government to renew its support for solar and onshore wind development. In addition to reducing costs, it says these industries will help it survive a post-Brexit world.

The U.K.’s National Grid has published data showing that summer 2017 achieved a new landmark for clean energy, with the electricity powering the nation’s homes and businesses the “greenest ever”.

The U.K. solar PV market has grown by 900 MW in the first half of the year to reach 12.7 GW, according to preliminary statistics published by the government.