Blog - Guest Blogs & Editorials

Watching and learning: how the UK is teaching others how to upgrade the grid

  • 8 days ago (2024-07-18)
  • Junior Isles

This may at first glance make the outlook for the UK’s energy transition appear gloomy. However, the challenge posed by intermittency can be managed and the result of the UK’s heavy investment in wind power has been matched by efforts to upgrade its power network.

By Steven Hardman, CEO, Conrad Energy

The need to weave agility throughout an energy business

  • 10 days ago (2024-07-16)
  • Junior Isles

With geopolitical tensions, more extreme weather events and the legacy of a global pandemic still filling the air, it remains extremely difficult for energy suppliers to preserve their margins and continue to be competitive. To thrive in the current climate, it is imperative that an energy supplier can make marginal gains wherever they can. One way to ensure this is to weave agility into the very fabric of the organisation.

By John Craig Swartz, SVP of Risk360 at POWWR

Leveraging energy storage solutions to lower oil and gas drilling emissions

  • a month ago (2024-06-12)
  • Junior Isles

Oil and gas drillers and operators are now benefiting from energy storage solutions that have powered critical equipment in other sectors. Leveraging energy storage with a lower-carbon fuel such as gas is a field-proven way to achieve operational efficiency, enhanced performance and lower emissions simultaneously.

By Chris Berrie, Caterpillar Oil & Gas Drilling & Completions Sales Manager

Xlinks: financing a nationally significant infrastructure project

  • 3 months ago (2024-04-15)
  • Junior Isles

If the UK’s infrastructure ambitions are to be realised, a considerable increase in investment is required from private sector investors over the next couple of decades and beyond. It is important for the UK authorities to do all they can to ensure that Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects such as Xlinks achieve the required backing to realise their investment needs.

By Kirk Glenn, senior associate at Browne Jacobson

UK withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty has important implications for investors

  • 4 months ago (2024-03-23)
  • Junior Isles

Given the growing number of countries withdrawing from the ECT, investors would be well advised to consider structuring or restructuring their investments to benefit from, and maximise, protections that are available under other international investment treaties.

By Philipp Kurek and Pietro Grassi, Signature Litigation

A rise in renewable energy is futile if our grids can’t keep pace with the growth

  • 4 months ago (2024-03-20)
  • Junior Isles

The switch to clean energy can only happen if grids are upgraded to connect to more renewable projects, and store excess energy for later use, rather than curtail it. But bureaucratic processes are causing major delays to key renewable energy projects.

By Frédéric Godemel, EVP Power Systems and Services at Schneider Electric

Flattening the curve: the need to eradicate energy supply volatility  

  • 4 months ago (2024-03-17)
  • Junior Isles

Energy cost and supply volatility presents serious financial and operational challenges for retail energy providers. Incorrect hedging or pricing for any length of time during a price event, the ramifications could be catastrophic. They, therefore, need to flatten the curve. Luckily, help is at hand with recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, technology.  

By Daniel Cross, Sr. Director of Load Forecasting, POWWR

Energy security: positive action is desperately needed for carbon-free energy infrastructure

  • 5 months ago (2024-02-19)
  • Junior Isles

It is encouraging to see both the current government and the opposition include nuclear energy firmly at the centre of their net zero strategies But although the ambition is certainly there, the question that remains is whether the money is too.

By Vince Zabielski, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

How to keep demand and supply in balance through the energy transition

  • 5 months ago (2024-02-16)
  • Junior Isles

One of the most significant challenges posed by connecting more renewable energy to the grid is intermittency. Balancing the potential energy shortages or oversupply requires a flexible approach.

By Steven Hardman, CEO, Conrad Energy

At a crossroads: Unpacking the potential and roadblocks of hydrogen blending

  • 5 months ago (2024-02-15)
  • Junior Isles

The gas industry is preparing for an energy future that includes hydrogen in some capacity, but there are significant obstacles that the industry must overcome to guarantee hydrogen’s place in the sustainable energy future.

By Victoria Mustard, Decarbonisation Strategy Lead at Xoserve