Ofgem’s recently announced goals and developments and changes to the post-Brexit state aid regime will have important implications for market players. By John D Colahan, Stephanie Adams, and Anuj Ghai 2020 is set to be a an important year for competition law-related enforcement in the UK energy sector not least as it waits for the … Continue Reading
By Beatrice Lo and Heeran Caselton The Expert Finance Working Group on Small Nuclear Reactors (EFWG), an independent group convened in January 2018 by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, recently published its report with recommendations for a market framework to enable the development of small nuclear projects in the UK with private … Continue Reading
By John Balsdon and Matthew Brown By Way of Background Gas to power (G2P) projects provide an effective solution to power shortages around the globe. As the global demand for power continues to rise, outstripping supply in many nations across the world, existing power generation facilities cannot meet the needs of fast-growing economies and available … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Bridget Rose Reineking and Andrew Westgate At the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, President Xi Jinping asserted his country’s emerging leadership in environmental stewardship and pledged to build a “beautiful China”. In his speech to the 2,300 delegates and guests assembled for the Congress’s opening session, President Xi lauded China’s … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green The UK government has announced that it is bringing together a new taskforce led by senior financiers in order to encourage the growth of “green finance”. The taskforce, which will be chaired by Sir Roger Gifford, former lord mayor of London, has six months to develop proposals aimed at … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Michael Green and Ei Nge Htut On 8 July 2017, the G20 summit in Hamburg issued a Climate and Energy Action Plan for Growth (the Plan). The Plan reaffirms the commitment of the countries (excluding the United States (US) — which announced its intended withdrawal from the Paris Agreement) to work together to … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced during a speech at the White House that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, fulfilling a campaign pledge to end the agreement that the President argued would harm the U.S. economy. Supporters of the Paris Agreement had lobbied for … Continue Reading
By Jörn Kassow and Patrick Braasch Emissions from approximately 2,900 large combustion plants in the EU, including coal-fired power stations as well as peat, oil and gas power plants, are now likely to be subject to stricter environmental performance standards. These updated standards (“Best Available Techniques Conclusions for Large Combustion Plants” – BREF LCP), based on … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Michael Green and Kristof Ferenczi The Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) is the main EU instrument that regulates emissions from industrial installations (including power stations) and came into force on 6 January 2011. Its objective is to achieve a high level of protection for the environment and human health by reducing harmful industrial … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Fiona Maclean and Stuart Davis Blockchain is more widely recognised as the underlying software technology used for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. This technology is also being increasingly applied to alternative opportunities, including in the energy sector. In its simplest form, a blockchain is a shared, and continually reconciled, database. No central repository of the … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Antonio Morales, Jörn Kassow, Joachim Grittmann and Cesare Milani The year ahead presents a series of challenges and opportunities for the development of environmental law across Europe. Notably, the Paris Agreement came into effect on 4 November 2016 and is now binding upon the signatory countries. The European signatory countries will therefore be … Continue Reading
By Antonio Morales and Leticia Sitges Last month, the European Commission presented a package of measures, known as “the Winter Package”, to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness in adopting and leading the clean energy transition. In addition to promoting energy efficiency, the clean energy transition will continue to offer a wide range of investment opportunities. During 2015, … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green France adopted an ambitious energy transition package in August 2015 that sets out various targets designed to achieve the gradual de-carbonisation and increased sustainability of its economy. The package includes consumption reduction targets, energy production cuts and provisions for a long-term programming scheme for public authorities to manage the … Continue Reading
