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Following a legal appeal, by Tempus Energy, and a subsequent ruling by the EU General Court in February 2019, the EU commission has been conducting an in-depth investigation into whether the Capacity Market (CM), in place in GB since 2014, contravened EU state aid regulations. On the 24thof October of this year, The Commission’s investigation concluded and confirmed that the Capacity Market scheme, covering the period 2014 ““ 2024, complies with EU State aid rules, in particular with the 2014 Guidelines on State Aid for Environmental Protection and Energy. The investigation confirmed that”the scheme is necessary to guarantee security of electricity supply in Great Britain, is in line with EU energy policy objectives, and does not distort competition in the Single Market.“Notably, the Commission did not find any evidence that the scheme would put demand response operators or any other capacity providers at a disadvantage with respect to their participation

This month we are delighted to welcome Joanne Plant MRTPI to TNEI. Working primarily in our Environment and Engineering team, Jo brings 20 years of consultancyexperienceand will be responsible for providingplanningsupportand advice to clientsanddrivingthe growth of thecompany’senvironmental and consentingservices. She is a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute with considerable planning and environmental experience gained primarily within the private sector. Jo is involved in all aspects of planning consultancy including site finding and initial feasibility studies; pre-application consultation with planning officers, statutory consultees and the wider public;EIA (Environmental Impact Assessments)co-ordination and preparation of robust supporting documents such as Planning Statements andPre-ApplicationConsultation Reports; advising on developer contributions and the content of legal agreements;andpurification of planning conditions. She also has experience of undertaking due diligence work for both developers and lenders. Jo joins TNEI’s wellestablishedEnvironmental and Engineering team which, as well as planning andEIA capabilities, includesspecialists in acoustics,geotechnical andcivil engineering.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has awarded its Technical Third Party Support contract for the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, “‘Lot 5 ““ Energy Generation and Distribution’ to a team led by systems, engineering and technology company, Frazer-Nash Consultancy. This £4.3 million, three-and-a-half year contract will see the team providing technical support to critical Net Zero Innovation Portfolio projects contributing to the development of new energy technologies, systems and processes. Frazer-Nash Consultancy is supporting the following technical areas within the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio: Hydrogen Nuclear Offshore wind Onshore wind Bioenergy Heat pumps and retrofit Heat distribution Biomass boilers Solar heating By 2035 the UK aims to be powered entirely by clean electricity and by 2050 have net zero carbon emissions. BEIS is investing over £1 billion through its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio to achieve both these goals. In collaboration with the other Lot holders, Frazer-Nash Consultancy

TNEI is proud to officially launch our Data Science team! Over the past several years, our dedicated data scientists have been busy building up our capabilities and exploring the different ways we can support our core power systems services with more data-driven expertise and analysis. Now, with a clear direction of travel within the energy sector towards the adoption of highly sophisticated analytical methods and model development, the time has come to officially launch the team. Data Science is Becoming Essential Data is currently a hot topic in the energy sector. The joint BEIS, Ofgem and InnovateUK programme on Modernising Energy Data, which is leading activities to develop best practice and promote visibility of data, is a great example of the level of activity going on in the area, and signifies the strategic importance of data by policy makers and Government. Ofgem is also reflecting these ambitions within the next

Are you yet to submit your application to National Grid ESO for Phase 3? Phase 3 will assess technical and commercial submissions alongside solutions submitted by Network Operators. What is Network Option Assessment (NOA) Stability Pathfinder Phase 3 focused on? Phase 3 is focused on increasing inertia and short circuit level in England and Wales. Inertia is the mass of the system used to control frequency, while short circuit level is the amount of current that flows on the system during a fault. As traditional coal and gas plants are phased out from Britain’s energy system, the transmission system inertia and short circuit levels are falling. Renewable generators like wind and solar connect to the grid in a different way, which doesn’t provide the network the same stabilising properties. So, we need to find new providers to help support the system. TNEI has been involved in multiple stages of the

Sarah Sheehy, Technical Consultant at TNEIhas been selected to volunteer atthe 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties(COP26)in Glasgow on 31 October ““ 12 November 2021. In the lead up to the conference we asked Sarah a few questions on her role at TNEI in helping the UK achieve Net Zeroand what she is most looking forward toat the event. Where is your favourite place in Glasgow? For the last year it has been theparks and walkways. Glasgow has a lot of green space for a large city. I have walked many, many miles along the Forth and Clyde canal over the last year. I’ve enjoyed it in every season! Even when I fell over in the snow. What is your favourite Glaswegian saying? Let’s go with “the boke” ““ when something gives you that feeling like you’ll be sick, it gives you the boke. It was completely new