UK natural gas prices are very strong this month, with 1-month forward up 16.3%. The system continues to remain tight due to volatility in Norwegian flows with the ongoing maintenance season as well as weak inflows from LNG terminals. Moreover, maintenance at Qatar LNG and the North Sea also help the prices.
Qatargas are taking their 3 largest LNG trains down for 2 weeks each between September and mid November. Will disrupt UK LNG supplies, which are nearly all uncontracted from Qatar, at the same time as Statoil was putting the Troll field (31BCM per annum) into maintenance through September (3 to 10 days). http://energyandmoney.blogspot.com/2011/09/uk-gas-prices-rocketing-implications.html#Friday, 2 September 2011
UK Energy Profile: Now A Net Importer Of Natural Gas And Crude Oil – Analysis
The United Kingdom (U.K.) is the largest producer of oil and second-largest producer of natural gas in the European Union (E.U.).
After years of being a net exporter of both fuels, the U.K. became a net importer of natural gas and crude oil in 2004 and 2005, respectively.
Production from U.K. oil and natural gas fields peaked in the late 1990s and has declined steadily over the past several years, as the discovery of new reserves has not kept pace with the maturation of existing fields.
The U.K. government, aware of the country’s increasing reliance on imported fuels, has developed key energy policies to address the domestic production declines. These include: enhanced recovery from current and maturing oil and gas fields, ensuring energy security, promoting cooperation with Norway, and decarbonizing the U.K. economy by investing heavily in renewable energy.
Licensee to pay £14,509 electricity bill
A licensee in Cornwall has reached an out-of-court settlement with energy company Opus to pay electricity bills worth over £14,000.
Gary McNaughton, Trust Inns tenant of the New Inn, Goonhavern, said he was left with no choice but to accept the settlement after Opus told him they would demand £30,000, payable over two weeks, if he lost the case.
In January The Publican’s Morning Advertiser reported how McNaughton claimed he was "grossly mis-sold" his contract in 2004 as he was led to believe it would last one year at £319 per month. He was tied into four years and his monthly bill rose to £2,200 in January 2009 as he was put on a “rollover contract” when Opus block-ed a bid to switch supplier.
Farmers to benefit from £100m fund in renewable energy
Farmers in the UK will now be able to access a new £100 million fund to support the costs of installing large-scale renewable energy systems.
Barclays, with the help of the National Farmers Union (NFU), will provide loans to fund new solar panels, wind turbines and hydro electricity on farmland.
According to figures compiled by the bank, 37 per cent of farmers plan to invest in renewable energy, many of whom will be installing renewables in the next year, with the hope to generate returns of around £25,000 a year through the feed-in tariff (FIT).
However, the move also comes at a time when the government reduces the payment level that farmers can get through FITs, so the loan could be an additional incentive and help to reach the UK's renewable energy targets.
Thursday, 1 September 2011
NUS Consulting Acquires Viking Energy
NUS Consulting Acquires Viking Energy
The acquisition of Viking Energy Management will not only complement NUS Consulting Group's existing staff and services, but will also provide us with a strong ...www.telegraphindia.com/pressrelease/prnw/CG61685.html
Barclays Creates 100 Million Pound Fund for Renewable Energy Projects
According to new reports, Barclays has just recently created a 100 million-pound fund to support renewable energy farm projects in the UK. For those that do not know, Barclays is actually the UK’s second-largest lender by assets. Thus, it is good to see the renewable energy industry get support from a company that is as big as Barclays.
Just recently, the UK started to reduce the incentives it pays to developers of large solar projects. This is because the UK is starting to focus more on smaller residential and commercial projects. Overall, the government would like to generate about 15 percent of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2020.
The product and marketing director of Barclays, Travers Clarke-Walker, said that farmers are looking forward to many more years of lower energy costs. Not only that, but some may be able to look at the possibility of generating some additional income by selling their energy back to the grid.
According to experts, the average size of solar projects that are likely to receive any kind of financing through this fund will be 44 kilowatts. The same will apply to wind and hydroelectric projects as well. A spokesman for Barclays, Michael O’Toole, said that the bank expects the cost of wind and solar projects to fall by half in the next three to five years.
Electricity market reform encourages new investment
In this opinion piece, Trade and Investment Advisor at the British Embassy in Madrid, Marianne Carlin, discusses the British government’s plans to reform the electricity market – which will affect more than a quarter of the UK's generating capacity – in its transition towards a low carbon economy. She believes the reforms will provide significant opportunities for renewables.
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