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The Government has announced its intention to buy a significant volume of electrical generation capacity in the Capacity Market auctions this winter. But what is the Capacity Market and what does it mean for energy generators? The delivery of secure, sustainable and affordable electricity: an ambitious goal set by the UK Government. In order to achieve this it is recognised that there needs to be massive investment in new generation projects, innovative technologies but also the utilisation and management of existing assets on the network. On 8thJuly 2016, the Government announced its intention to buy an increased amount of electrical capacity in the forthcoming Capacity Market auctions. The Capacity Market is billed as the most effective device in dealing with the issues faced by the network by capitalising on existing capabilities as well as introducing new technologies and investment in the most cost effective manner. Importantly, the Capacity Market will

With an increase in government and private funding in research and development in battery technology for electric vehicles, the Innovation team at TNEI has reviewed V2G technology, the challenges it faces, and explored ongoing V2G trials and potential applications. What is Vehicle-to-Grid Technology? Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) is the technology which allows battery powered electric vehicles (EVs) to act as mobile energy storage units. This means that as well as importing, electric vehicles can export power onto the electrical network when required, via a bidirectional charging unit. The Benefits of Vehicle-to-Grid Technology Electric vehicles currently represent a small fraction of the entire global automotive market, but their market penetration is increasing. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) forecasts that by 2040, 35% new global car sales will be electric vehicles, resulting in EVs comprising 25% of the total global car fleet by 2040 (Bloomberg Energy Finance, Advanced Transport ““ Research Note, 25 Feb

TNEI Senior Consultant Dr. Muhammad Ali,presented at the recent Renewable Energy Conference on Grid Code and Planning of Renewable Energy in Taipei. He was invited to present on the topic of grid code compliance requirements in the UK and lessons learnt. Taiwan aims to achieve 20% of total power output by renewable energy by 2025, and to reach this target, offshore wind is regarded as one of the most attractive renewable energy sources. It is expected that 3GW of offshore wind capacity will be installed by 2025. This conference aimed to share the knowledge and experience gained in Europe for large-scale integration of renewables into the electrical network. Ali’s presentation began with a discussion on the basic design of an offshore wind farm, and briefly touched on the importance of a robust reactive power strategy. The presentation then discussed in detail, some of the technical Grid code connection requirements for

Defra’s consultation on the implementation of the EU’s Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) in England and Wales closed on 8th February 2017. The Scottish Government ran a parallel consultation process until 10th March with new legislation transposing the directive having to be in place across the UK by 19th December 2017. There will be a phased introduction with installations with a thermal input of over 5MW needing to be registered by 2025 and those less than 5MW benefiting from an extended deadline of 2030. The Directive is aimed at improving air quality and fills the gap in coverage of the Industrial Emissions Directive by stipulating regulation of plant with a thermal input of between 1 and 50MW. Currently plants of less than 20MW thermal input are not covered by the Environmental Permitting Regulations in England and Wales or the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations in Scotland. Under the Directive, all

Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) who were once inundated with connection applications for renewable energy projects are now becoming inundated with applications for energy storage projects. Speculative applications for high numbers of sites and “‘capacity hoarding’ add further strain to the DNOs’ resources. DNOs are seeking new ways in which to address the challenges they face as they attempt to cope with this surge in applications. The ENA’s Distributed Generation (DG) ““ DNO Steering Group provided Ofgem with high-level principles on how DNOs could withdraw offers for capacity on DG projects that aren’t progressing. These principles have been designed to underpin the use of project milestones. These milestones would be tools to allow DNOs to remove capacity that is no longer likely to be required from the connection queue and to avoid capacity hoarding. The first of those principles emphasises the importance of obtaining planning consent. It suggests that, generally, early