Our beloved Government seem to be dropping more balls than Scottish goalkeepers of the 1980’s. It has become so regular that the excuses all sound equally rediculous: “most schools won’t fall down” and “the CfD’s are enabling more projects”. Strewth. COMPANY NEWS H2 Green Steel raises €1.5b for ‘world’s first green steel plant’In the largest … Read More
solar
Airship/recycled steel/heat pumps & focus on next gen solar
I hope that in times to come it will be seen as one of the scandals of our age that governments continued to subsidise fossil fuels even though they were well aware of the damage to climate and health. COMPANY NEWS Octopus acquires Shell EnergyShell has reached an agreement to divest its home energy businesses, … Read More
Solar & storage/heat pumps/white hydrogen/solid state batteries & focus on natural carbon stores
Every week there seems to be a story telling us how the UK is squandering its lead in the race to net-zero, or, at least that we are falling behind our targets in most areas. So as to avoid depressing you all I am away for a couple of weeks, so next episode will be … Read More
Renewables co-op/heat pump/waste-to-fuel/Texas/deforestation & focus on the CCC report
One of the great pioneers of the digital and clean energy age, John Goodenough died this week, aged 100. He won the Nobel Prize in 2019 for his work developing the lithium-ion battery, a transformative technology if ever there was one. He also became the oldest winner of the award and quipped that he was … Read More
Smart tariffs/CofE/biodiversity credits/phytoplankton/flywheel & focus on doom loops and tipping points
The whole spctrum of the energy transition in one week: Renewables – storage – smart grids – hydrogen planes – ethical investing – biodiversity & carbon credits – air pollution plus more. COMPANY NEWS Adaptogen’s battery fund nets £207m, over-subscribed by 18%Adaptogen Capital said this morning it has attracted £207 million of investors’ pledges to … Read More
Grid connections/FFR/electrified road & focus on IRA
This newsletter peddles many and various stories, but none as big as the Inflation Reduction Act. It is not a stretch to imagine that the next generation will point to Joe Biden’s initiative as the moment that the energy transition got its wings. COMPANY NEWS Ørsted Posts All-Time High Offshore Wind EarningsEarnings from the company’s … Read More
UK-Morocco cable/EV fires/solar & battery/hot rocks/Shanghai Auto Show & focus on UK energy transition
The top two stories suggest that there is a reasonable secondary market in renewable assets. More mature projects being sold into long term funds. That is encouraging. COMPANY NEWS NextEnergy Solar Fund to sell some PV farms to invest in storageNextEnergy Solar Fund has announced plans to sell a 236MW portfolio of subsidy-free UK solar … Read More
Battery recycling/CCS/folding solar/algae & focus on Geothermal Energy Storage
Two stories today about drilling holes in the ground: This is just my view, but I suggest that the Government would be better advised to support Enhanced Geothermal that CCS. If CCS was really the answer it would have been built years ago. I shall watch with interest to see how enthusiastically the Harbour/BP venture … Read More
Green Day/solar/aquifer thermal storage/hydrogen/clothing & focus on SMR nuclear
Looking forward to “Green Day” where the Government responds to Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review and, less directly to the USA’s Inflation Reduction Act. It must be said that the IRA has raised the bar for Government involvement in Net Zero spending, first in the US, then the EU and now, hopefully, the UK. It … Read More
CfD/budget/biodiversity/IMF & focus on hemp
The budget wasn’t all bad (see below), but it is quite depressing that the two industries that got the big bucks were CCS and nuclear. It suggests that the Treasury really don’t understand the priorities of the energy transition, and got swayed by the best funded lobby groups. A missed opportunity. COMPANY NEWS Dunelm launches … Read More