Blog - Guest Blogs & Editorials

Xlinks: financing a nationally significant infrastructure project

  • 5 days 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

  • 27 days 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

  • 30 days 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  

  • a month 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

  • a month 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

  • 2 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

  • 2 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

The impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on the global solar market

  • 2 months ago (2024-02-05)
  • Junior Isles

Although the introduction of the US Inflation Reduction Act IRA incentivises solar manufacturing, local production capacity is currently only around 13 GW. This falls far short of government ambitions, and pales in comparison to the 1000 GW that China could produce if its factories were running at full capacity. The figures reflect how serious the oversupply situation is for the Chinese market, while the US faces mounting pressure to translate planned projects into reality. 

By Brian Crotty, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Dow Jones Energy

Maximising clean investment for UK energy independence

  • 3 months ago (2023-12-29)
  • Junior Isles

The UK must find a way of taking the renewable energy it is producing from remote locations to towns and cities throughout the UK. This requires greater investment in the National Grid, which currently faces a considerable backlog to connect renewable energy projects.

By Chris  Neilon, Partner, EMEA Energy Consulting Leader at Infosys Consulting

Innovation funding: What the energy industry really needs from COP28

  • 4 months ago (2023-12-11)
  • Junior Isles

Innovation funding is the crucial missing piece of the puzzle needed to start driving clean energy technologies forward at the pace required.

By Andrew Keen, Head of Content, Energy & Resources, Industrials at Edison Group