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Energy

Scarcity of global resources and depletion of carbon fuel sources has been driving the energy sector towards efficiency and alternative sources of energy. The cost inflation in the energy sector have also made more expensive technology relatively more accessible.

This economic driver is twinned with the need to reduce the human effects on global warming, the adoption and ongoing development of technologies to facilitate sustainable energy, power which can be replenished within a human lifetime.

Within the energy sector the generation of power grabs the headlines. Alongside this the upgrading of infrastructure to aid distribution and the need to improve storage are key areas requiring significant engineering and manufacturing. Renewable sources including wind, solar, hydro-electric, tidal all require manufacturing solutions and supply chain opportunities for manufacturers.

In addition, the nuclear energy industry is streamlining to offer small modular reactors (SMRs), moving away from large installations to ‘commoditise’ nuclear generation facilities. This is a major manufacturing challenge and will offer opportunities going forwards.

Manufacturing of substructures, castings, forgings, componentry, turbine blades, substations, cabling, and all elements of the construction process are at the heart of this sector.

Energy News

Nuclear News – Late January 2025

A future powered by limitless clean energy is a step closer to reality, as researchers developing cutting-edge fusion energy receive a record £410 million investment, helping to kickstart economic growth as part of government’s Plan for Change. The funding will support the rapid development of the UK fusion energy sector over 2025 to 2026 with…

Energy News – Early January 2025

National Grid has set out plans to invest up to £35bn in infrastructure over a five-year period beginning April 2026, helping more renewables and energy storage come online. The company is proposing investments of some £11bn to maintain and upgrade existing network infrastructure, including 3,500km of overhead lines.  Innovative power control devices and dynamic power…

Net Zero News – December 2024

Peel Ports Clydeport has secured permission for a £150m redevelopment of the Hunterston marine yard in Ayrshire.  The former coal terminal at Hunterston is being prepared for renewables infrastructure. The redevelopment works, which are expected to start in early 2025 and take two years, will include infilling the dry-dock basin and the construction of a…

Nuclear News – December 2024

Workers building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station have installed Britain’s first new nuclear reactor for more than 30 years. The first of two 13-metre-long reactor pressure vessels has been manoeuvred into place at Hinkley Point C by cranes, jacks and gantries.  This milestone comes less than 12 months after the huge steel dome…

Energy News – December 2024

Derby-based manufacturing giant Rolls-Royce is set to benefit from a £1bn investment in climate technology into the UK by Qatar. The Government has hailed the “groundbreaking” deal, which it says will create thousands of skilled jobs and see the launch of world-leading climate technology hubs across the UK and Qatar to accelerate development in climate-friendly…

Energy News – Late November 2024

Ofgem wants to introduce a new investment fund of between £5bn and £8bn to help prevent delays to the construction of grid infrastructure that will be crucial to decarbonising Britain’s electricity grid. The regulator is striving to launch the Advanced Procurement Mechanism (APM), which will provide allowances for transmission owners to buy essential equipment further…

Power Generation News – Early November 2024

Turbine blades for ScottishPower’s £4bn East Anglia TWO offshore windfarm will be built in Hull, after the green energy company formalised a turbine supply agreement with Siemens Gamesa worth more than £1bn. The agreement will see Siemens Gamesa supply 64 of its flagship SG 14-236 DD* offshore wind turbines, which have a rotor diameter of…

Net Zero News – Late October 2024

Energy ministers have tasked the newly established National Energy System Operator with creating a strategic spatial plan that maps where net-zero infrastructure such as renewables generation and storage should be located across the UK. Last month, the Government announced the establishment of the National Energy System Operator (NESO), a new publicly owned organisation aimed at…

Nuclear News – Late October 2024

ČEZ Group, the Czech-based power generation conglomerate, has taken a 20% stake in Derby-based Rolls-Royce SMR. Rolls says the move will form a strategic partnership to deploy up to 3GW of electricity in the Czech Republic using Rolls-Royce SMR power plants. On 18 September, Czech Prime Minister Fiala announced that CEZ and Rolls-Royce SMR would…

Energy News – Late October 2024

One of the largest factories in the global offshore wind sector will expand and support even more jobs after UK Export Finance worked with Korean investors to secure new financing. Based in Teesside, one of the world’s largest offshore wind technology factories will become even bigger after new government support for a South Korean investor.…

Energy News – Early October 2024

Work has begun on a £4.3bn five-year electricity infrastructure project which will deliver clean energy to around two million homes in the North of England. At peak periods of construction, the project is expected to support hundreds of local jobs in Yorkshire, through supply chain and construction activity. https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/2129554-construction-starts-on-electricity-superhighway-between-scotland-and-yorkshire?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Yorkshire_30th_Sep_2024_Daily UK coal-fired electricity production will stop…

Nuclear News – September 2024

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Holtec, the United States’ largest nuclear components exporter, have signed a formal partnership agreement. It will see them collaborate on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and large-scale nuclear fusion in civil and defence sectors. AMRC and Holtec have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for “Co-operation…

Energy News – September 2024

The government has awarded nine offshore wind farm contracts after last year’s auction failed to attract any bidders at all. The contracts are part of a wider slate of green energy projects the government has announced that include tidal and solar power which, it said, will be enough to fuel the equivalent of 11 million…

Nuclear News – Early August 2024

Rolls-Royce has taken another step towards introducing mini nuclear power stations in the UK after its reactor designs were submitted for consideration by the Government. The Nuclear Industry Association has applied for a justification decision for Rolls-Royce SMR’s reactor design. https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/eastmidlands/news/2088333-rolls-royce-edges-closer-to-nuclear-goal?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EastMidlands_31st_Jul_2024_Daily

Energy News – Early August 2024

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has applied to expand its wind turbine factory in Hull. Planning documents show the move would create an additional 40 full-time jobs at the plant at Alexandra Dock.  A multi-purpose manufacturing building is proposed along with a small staff welfare building.  Hull City Council will decide whether to grant permission for…

Power Generation News – Late June 2024

A project is to develop the use of low CO2 steels from Tata Steel’s Port Talbot site to build platforms for floating offshore wind structures and strengthen local supply chains has won nearly £1 million of innovation funding. The Launchpad project is a collaboration between Marine Power Systems (MPS), Tata Steel UK, Swansea University, Associated…

Power Generation News – Early June 2024

National Grid is starting work on a new 275kV substation on IAMP to enable new gigafactories and other businesses on the site to plug directly into the electricity transmission network. IAMP is a scheme being brought forward thanks to a joint venture between Sunderland and South Tyneside Councils. The Hylton Castle substation will provide a…

Power Generation News – Late May 2024

The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has launched a new innovation grant funding competition that will see a total of £1m awarded to supply chain companies to develop new products and services for the sector. Click here to read the full article

Energy New – Late May 2024

In a significant boost for the UK green energy supply chain, Sumitomo Electric has commenced construction of its state-of-the-art subsea transmission cable factory in the Scottish Highlands. The factory will supply critical elements for the reinforcement of the UK electricity transmission grid and for connecting renewable energy production facilities to the grid. Click here to…

Power Generation News – Early May 2024

The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) has launched a new innovation grant funding competition that will see a total of £1m awarded to supply chain companies to develop new products and services for the sector. Click here to read the full article

Energy News – Early May 2024

In a significant boost for the UK green energy supply chain, Sumitomo Electric has commenced construction of its state-of-the-art subsea transmission cable factory in the Scottish Highlands. The factory will supply critical elements for the reinforcement of the UK electricity transmission grid and for connecting renewable energy production facilities to the grid. Click here to…

Nuclear News – Late April 2024

Rolls-Royce has secured additional funding from the UK Space Agency to advance nuclear-powered projects within the space industry. Some £1.2m has been allocated to Rolls-Royce Submarines and BWX Technologies, a US-based nuclear supplier to utilise fission nuclear systems for space exploration missions. Click here to read the full article

Power Generation News – Late March 2024

The University of Nottingham has secured more than £70m to establish new world-leading and open-access research facilities and programmes that will decarbonise future transport. The funding is secured based on a £14m award from the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF). This is augmented by both public and private co-investment that will allow the university…

Energy News – Late March 2024

The National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) has unveiled a new £60bn investment plan to fast-track Britain’s transition to a net-zero power grid by 2035 by boosting clean energy jobs and growing the offshore wind sector. The new £58bn investment plan proposes a set of financial levers that would enable the electricity grid to meet…

Nuclear News – Early March 2024

In a historic day for the UK’s energy security, Great British Nuclear (GBN) is buying land for new nuclear development from Hitachi at both Wylfa in Ynys Môn/Anglesey and Oldbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire. GBN also announced today that the six companies in Great British Nuclear’s (GBN) Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Technology Selection Process can now access…

Power Generation News – Early March 2024

The boss of a Hull turbine manufacturer has said the UK is not moving fast enough to build offshore wind farms. Darren Davidson, head of Siemens Energy, said with the present speed of development, the target of 50 gigawatts of offshore power “won’t be achieved”. The firm employs 6,000 people across the country, including more…

Energy News – Early March 2024

The UK needs to build new, gas-fired power stations to ensure the country’s energy security, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday.  The new stations would replace existing plants, many of which are aging and will soon be retired. But the government says the plans do not include measures for climate change-limiting carbon capture. That…

Nuclear News – Late February 2024

Sheffield Forgemasters has signalled a global leap in welding technology with completion of the first full-sized Small Modular Reactor (SMR) nuclear vessel demonstrator assembly. The firm has pioneered the industrialisation of Local Electron-Beam Welding (LEBW), and complete weld-assembly of the vessel marks a pivotal moment in global welding development, taking less than 24 hours to…

Energy News – Late February 2024

H2H Saltend has been granted planning permission by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, strengthening its case in forthcoming Government competitions. Equinor’s H2H Saltend is a 600-megawatt low-carbon hydrogen production plant with carbon capture, one of the first of its kind and scale to be granted planning permission in the UK, helping to establish the…

Power Generation News – Late January 2024

Energy Security and Net-Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho has approved Drax’s £2bn plans to install carbon capture and storage technology at its power plant in Selby, Yorkshire. Drax’s power station was originally completely coal-fired but, over the past ten years, the facility’s six generating units were converted to run on biomass. The final two units were…

Energy News – Late January 2024

Greater Manchester has signed an agreement to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology with Japanese tech giant Panasonic. Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Mitsutoshi Shigeta, Managing Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation, Chief Green Transformation Officer (CGXO), signed the agreement on Monday (15 January). They were joined by representatives from SSE Energy Solutions, Electricity North…

Energy News – Late January 2024

Greater Manchester has signed an agreement to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology with Japanese tech giant Panasonic. Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Mitsutoshi Shigeta, Managing Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation, Chief Green Transformation Officer (CGXO), signed the agreement on Monday (15 January). They were joined by representatives from SSE Energy Solutions, Electricity North…

Nuclear News – Early January 2024

The UK will become the first country in Europe to launch a high-tech HALEU (high-assay low enriched uranium) nuclear fuel programme, strengthening supply for new nuclear projects and driving Putin further out of global energy markets. The landmark £300 million investment is part of plans to help deliver up to 24GW of clean, reliable nuclear…

Energy News – Early January 2024

Up to 500 jobs are set to be created through the construction of a waste energy plant in Walsall. The Walsall Energy From Waste facility will be built, owned and operated by energy recovery specialists Encyclis on eight acres of derelict land on Fryers Road. It will work alongside the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA)…

Power Generation News – December 2023

The King’s Crown Estate has set out details for huge floating windfarms of the coast of the South West. The royal landowner said floating turbines are to be deployed on a commercial scale for the first time in the Celtic Sea. The organisation, which owns the seabed around England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, said the…

Power Generation News – Late November 2023

The price paid to generate electricity by offshore wind farms has been raised by 66% as the government tries to entice energy firms to invest.  It comes after an auction for offshore wind projects failed to attract any bids, with firms arguing the price set for electricity generated was too low.  The government has lifted…

Energy News – Late November 2023

Billpayers, charities and businesses are being urged to give their views on daily standing charges on energy bills, as part of a review.  Regulator Ofgem said it wanted to open the debate over the charges, including opinions on how to change the system. Currently, energy customers pay a fixed daily charge covering the costs of…

Nuclear News – Late October 2023

Thousands of people across the UK will have the chance to train for careers in innovative fusion technology, under government plans unveiled today (Monday 16 October). Speaking at the IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, Nuclear Minister Andrew Bowie set out details of the new £650 million Fusion Futures Programme – part of the UK’s updated Fusion…

Power Generation News – Late October 2023

Scotland’s biggest offshore wind farm has begun operating at full capacity, removing emissions from power supply.  Seagreen, off the Angus coast, can generate enough electricity to power two-thirds of Scotland’s households. The £3bn project, comprising 114 giant turbines, has been more than a decade in the making.  But operator SSE says the consenting time needs…

Energy News – Late July 2023

The Prime Minister will today (Monday 31 July) confirm that Scotland will continue to be at the forefront of UK Government plans to strengthen the UK’s long-term energy security. During a visit to the North East of Scotland, the Prime Minister will highlight the crucial role that the region will play in enhancing and delivering…
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