Bidding to start for £700m Irish Sea Interconnector Work:
Organisations have been notified of the key work packages on the planned £700m sub-sea electricity interconnector between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The project developed by Transmission Investment will provide up to 700 MW of capacity between the Irish Single Electricity Market and the British wholesale electricity market.
Regulator OFGEM has recently awarded the project an ‘in principle’ cap and floor, which provides a guarantee of how much money the developer will make.
It provides developers a minimum return (floor) and a limit on the potential upside (cap) for a 25-year period. The project is targeting a financial close in autumn 2027.
UK Treasury eyes spending at GB Energy:
The UK Treasury is drawing up plans to reduce funding for GB Energy in June’s spending review. The Labour government set up GB Energy as a publicly owned company with a mission to invest in the generation and supply of clean energy to accelerate the decarbonisation of the electricity grid.
The company had been promised £8.3bn in taxpayer money over the five-year parliament, but was only given an initial £100mn in October’s Budget to cover the first two years.
Ahead of the spending review, ministers are weighing up whether they can review if they can afford to give GB Energy the full £8.3bn, amid mounting pressure on the government finances and a pivot towards greater defence spending.
UK Launches consultation on clean energy transition in the North Sea:
The UK government has launched a consultation on the role of the North Sea in its plans for clean energy and the transition away from fossil fuels.
In a statement, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the consultation “will support private investment in technology that will deliver jobs, investment, cut carbon emissions and help the UK become energy secure.”
The consultation sets out the next steps in the government’s overarching objective for the North Sea to make it a “world-leading example of an offshore clean energy industry, building on the UK’s world-class oil and gas heritage.”
UK emissions reach lowest since 1872:
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions last year fell to their lowest since 1872 as coal-fired power generation ended and electric vehicle use jumped.
Analysis by Carbon Brief found that the UK’s emissions are now 54% below 1990 levels, while GDP has grown 84%.
It said about half of the drop-in emissions in 2024 was due to a 54% reduction in UK coal demand, which fell to just 2m tonnes – the lowest level since 1666.
Another third of the drop in 2024 emissions was due to falling demand for oil and gas, with the remainder down to ongoing reductions in non-CO2 greenhouse gases.
Oil demand fell 1.4% despite increased road traffic, largely due to the rise in the number of electric vehicles which now number 1.4m in the UK.
However, Carbon Brief said UK would need to cut its emissions by a larger amount each year than it did in 2024, to reach its international climate goal for 2035, as well as its national target to reach net-zero by 2050.
Public wants UK to be global climate leader:
More than two-thirds of respondents believe it is important that the UK is a global leader in tackling climate change, according to the latest Government survey.
The Public Attitudes Tracker, which assesses views on energy and climate change, also found that awareness of the 2050 Net Zero target stood at 91%, The question on the UK’s role as a global leader was posed for the first time in the latest survey which continued to show strong support for renewable energy.
The poll also questioned respondents on the Government’s launch of Great British Energy. While 60% said they were aware of it, only 12% reported knowing ‘a lot’ or a ‘fair amount’ about it.
UK and China sign clean energy Memorandum of Understanding:
On 17 March, Wang Hongzhi, administrator of China’s National Energy Administration, and Ed Miliband, the UK secretary of state for energy security and net zero, co-chaired the 8th China-UK Energy Dialogue in Beijing.
This marked the first visit to China by a UK energy minister since 2017. Miliband said he hoped to strengthen exchanges in the energy sector between the two countries through mechanisms such as the China-UK Energy Dialogue and to jointly contribute more to global efforts in addressing climate change. Following the meeting, Wang Hongzhi and Miliband signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the China-UK Clean Energy Partnership, which outlines key cooperation areas, including power market reform, grid, battery storage, offshore wind power, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), and green hydrogen.
The two sides exchanged in-depth views on topics such as clean energy technologies, energy transition pathways, energy security, and international energy governance.
The two countries will also host three side events: The China-UK Power Market Seminar, the 10th Annual Meeting of the China-UK Offshore Wind Power Industry Cooperation Steering Committee and the 10th Anniversary Symposium on Cooperative Development, and the China-UK CCUS Seminar. These events aim to further exchange experiences in relevant fields and explore opportunities for pragmatic cooperation.
That concludes this issue of the UK Energy Industry News Update, highlighting key developments shaping the energy sector. For further details or to discuss how these changes may impact you, please contact us.