EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs welcomed today the creation of European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E). The 42 European Transmission System Operators responsible for running the highest voltage interconnected grid signed an agreement to establish this new organisation which could become the TSO organisation foreseen by the 3rd internal market package.
The package is under discussion between the Council and the Parliament in view of its final adoption in Spring 2009. Existing associations such as ETSO, the Union for Coordination for Transmission of Electricity (UCTE) and Nordel will be dissolved and their tasks and functions will be moved to the new organisation.
"Given the challenging targets Europe has just agreed upon to combat climate change and to increase the share of renewables, we now need to focus on the implementation. Upgrading the existing grid, building new infrastructure and introducing new technology in large scale is needed in order to transport electricity from where it is produced to where it is needed. Transmission System operators have a major role to play in this" said EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
Challenges for the electricity grid come from connecting large amounts of wind power, often far away from consumption, increased volatility of production and increasing share of generation in the distribution networks. In addition to increasing capacity of the grids to meet these challenges, control systems and electricity markets need to be reshaped to allow for secure, efficient and economically optimal output of the European electricity system.
Once the 3rd package for the internal energy market has been adopted (the Council and the Parliament need to agree on it) the Commission and the Agency for Cooperation of the Energy Regulators (which also has to be created) will have to give their opinion on the list of members and the statutes of the ENTSO-E. However the Commission welcomes the establishment of this new body which will accelerate the decision taking and the coming into force of the necessary institutions for the effective functioning of the internal energy market.
The regulators have also been very active and they are currently having a public consultation on the implementation of the 3rd internal energy market package.
The 42 European TSOs signed Articles of Association for founding European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E). The new structure will be in place from the beginning of 2009 and functions of the existing associations will be transferred to the new ENTSO during the first half of 2009.
Preparatory work has already started to perform the tasks foreseen for ENTSO in the 3rd package: planning of the European transmission grid, analysing whether generation and network infrastructure is sufficient even in extreme circumstances, developing common network operation tools, coordination of research activities in the field of transmission and drafting network codes in close collaboration with the Agency of Cooperation of Energy Regulators, the new regulator's organisation foreseen in the 3rd internal market package.
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European Commission
EU welcomes creation of Europe-wide electricity transmission organisation
value of the contract was several hundred million pounds.
UNITED Utilities has been selected as preferred bidder for a substantial municipal solid waste treatment contract in Derbyshire in a joint venture with Interserve.
Dec 22 2008 by Neil Hodgson, Liverpool Echo
Confirmation of the contract award is expected in January.
The contract, due to run from April 2010 for 27 years, will include the design, build and operation.
Warrington-based United Utilities said the value of the contract was several hundred million pounds.
Scottish renewables need £10bn by 2020
Scottish renewables need £10bn by 2020
09 December 2008
Scottish renewables need £10bn by 2020 An investment of £10 billion is needed for Scotland to meet its renewable electricity targets, which a report claims is achievable.
The Scottish Council for Development and Industry's (SCDI) report claims that Scotland can generate 50 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2020 and continue exporting to England and Northern Ireland.
Meeting that target will require the installation of 450 megawatts of new wind power a year until 2020, according to research consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Of the renewable energy that will be added by the deadline, wind power will account for 80 per cent, while marine, biomass and hydro will grow at one tenth of new wind.
Iain Duff, SCDI's chief economist, said: "With £10 billion of investment in new generation over the next twelve years, there is a real opportunity for Scotland to lead the global renewables industry. We now have to make sure that Scotland's businesses are ready to win a significant amount of the design, manufacture and construction renewable generation."
"To do that we need to build a stronger Scottish supply chain to the renewable industry, and deliver the skills that the industry needs."
The Committee for Climate Change's Building a Low Carbon Economy report claimed that wind power could deliver 30 per cent of the UK's electricity supply by 2020.
http://www.scdi.org.uk/mg/pr/PR091208.pdf
EU "very close" to climate package deal; Lord Turner: UK climate targets will push up electricity prices by 25%
EU "very close" to climate package deal;
Lord Turner: UK climate targets will push up electricity prices by 25%
Reuters reports that Poland's Prime Minster Donald Tusk yesterday said that EU ministers are "very close" to a deal on the controversial EU climate package. Poland has opposed planned revisions to the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, which it claims would raise electricity prices to unacceptable levels. However, Warsaw said it would be willing to accept the deal should it be given more "free" pollution allowances after 2013.
Euractiv reports that French President and EU Presidency holder Nicolas Sarkozy will this weekend attempt to convince eastern EU member states to sign up to the climate package. Sarkozy will meet with leaders from Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia.
However, Reuters notes that Italy says that it will veto the agreement unless the package is watered down to reduce costs for industry and consumers. "If the climate package passes as it stands it will lead to a 17 percent hike in electricity bills for every Italian," Andrea Ronchi, Italy's European Policy Minister, told reporters in Brussels.
According to the FT, the Commission has taken a softer stance on the share of pollution allowances that will allocated for free as opposed to auctioned - one of the most controversial aspects of the proposal. The Commission has long favoured making industry pay for allowances, but is now willing to revise its position in light of opposition from member states and the economic downturn.
It is reported that Germany has led an effort to ensure that manufacturers - including those in chemicals, glass, steel and cement - receive free allocations if they are forced to compete against companies from non-EU countries. The German government has proposed that no company should have to buy more than 20 percent of its allowances at auction - regardless of "carbon leakage".
The package will require the unanimous approval of all 27 heads of state and government at an EU summit in Brussels on 11-12 December.
Meanwhile, there is widespread coverage of a report from the Government's Committee on Climate Change on how the UK could meet its pledge to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. The report recommends an interim target for 2020 of 34%, or 42% if there is a global deal to cut emissions.
The Telegraph notes that Lord Turner, the Committee's chair, admitted the cuts would shrink the UK economy by one per cent by 2020. The biggest impact will be on electricity prices which are expected to rise by 25 per cent for the average family, pushing 1.7 million people into fuel poverty. On Newsnight last night Lord Turner argued that Britain had opted for a more expensive renewable option than Germany and Spain, choosing to deploy more off-shore wind generation as opposed to cheaper on-shore wind generation.
The report recommended the use of renewable electricity is increased from the current five per cent to more than 30%, which would mean a massive increase in wind generation capacity.
The requirement to expand renewables to account for 30 to 40 % of UK electricity generation is contained in the EU climate package, which proposes binding targets for renewable energy use.
Telegraph Tuesday, December 2, 2008
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Building firms meet with UK PM on real estate market
Building firms meet with UK PM on real estate market
Filed under: Business, UK — OPPE News @ 11:24 am
Just passing
Creative Commons License photo credit: Hiddenloop
Construction bosses have held crunch talks with the UK prime minister in an effort to secure help for the real estate market.
Richard Diment, director general of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) met with Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.
Also in attendance was housing minister Margaret Beckett, and Ian Pearson, minister for construction.
But little was given away as to the prime minister’s reaction to demands for a VAT cut on repair and maintenance work.
Mr Dimnet said:
“At a time when the building industry is facing its biggest challenges for many years, the meeting was not a moment too soon.
“I was able to tell the Prime Minister that the Government must provide further incentives to free up the moribund building market.”
Dimnet warned the pace of new homes construction is under threat as 41 per cent of the FMB’s members say they will make redundancies over the next few months.
He also said Gordon Brown was “listening to concerns” and wanted to meet again in the New Year.
In November Mayor of London Boris Johnson unveiled a housing strategy for the capital which includes a £5 billion cash injection to boost the number of affordable homes for sale.
