Electricity Markets News

How the Maximum Contingency of 2,200 MW Was Recast to a 1,200 MW CeilingAs policy makers and energy developers look to develop and interconnect large offshore wind projects in the most economically efficient and least environmentally impactful way, an issue has developed. A relatively recent limit, set in place by the grid operator in New England in a planning process document, states that no single system loss of energy, or “contingency”, can be larger than 1,200 megawatts (MW). This 2016 addition to ISO New England’s (ISO-NE) Planning Procedure No.

UK energy regulator, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), has selected Diamond Transmission Partners as the preferred bidder for the offshore transmission of the 1200MW Hornsea Project One wind farm in the UK.Diamond Transmission Partners  is a consortium of Mitsubishi Corporation and Chubu Electric Power. Hornsea One is an offshore wind farm is in 120km off the Yorkshire Coast. The project was commissioned in January when it became the world’s largest offshore wind farm.Diamond Transmission Partners has to establish the necessary arrangements to provide offshore transmission services for the wind farm, including having all relevant contractual…

Energy regulator Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has been "unable to approve" plans for two huge subsea cables to take energy from the Scottish islands to the mainland.The transmission links from Shetland and the Western Isles were proposed by Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) to connect planned new wind farms on the islands to the national grid.In March 2019 Ofgem said it was minded to approve the estimated £709 million link.The proposal from SSEN for a 600MW transmission link was based on the largest planned project, Viking Energy Wind Farm, securing subsidies through the UK Government’s Autumn Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction.The award of these subsidies would have provided confidence that the wind farm is likely to progress…

The 700MW COBRAcable interconnector linking the Dutch and the Danish grid will be available for the electricity market as of delivery day, 7 September, Dutch high-voltage grid operator TenneT said."After three years of construction, including the laying of the submarine cables as well as the construction of two onshore converter stations, and a successful test phase earlier this year, COBRAcable will be available for the electricity market as of the delivery day of 7 September, which is exactly on schedule," it said.The first direct connection between the electricity markets of Denmark and the Netherlands was jointly realised and is operated by the two TSCNET shareholders Energinet…

The government regulator for gas and electricity markets in Great Britain Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has granted TC Dudgeon OFTO plc a licence for the link to the Dudgeon offshore wind farm.The licence allows Dudgeon to own and operate the GBP297.9 million (USD 391 mln) high-voltage transmission link to the Dudgeon offshore wind farm for the next 20 years.Transmission Capital Partners, a consortium comprising International Public Partnerships Limited, Amber Infrastructure Group and Transmission Investment, was selected by Ofgem through a tender process in which bidders compete to become Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTOs).The Dudgeon wind farm is the first project from the fifth tender round of the regime for which Ofgem has granted an OFTO licence.

By extracting a $13 million penalty and imposing tough restrictions on future oil trading by Arcadia and others, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) this week sent a powerful signal that laws against market manipulation still have teeth. The case challenges a now famous view expressed in 1991 by commodities lawyer Jerry Markham that manipulation of commodity futures prices had become an unprosecutable crime. "Under present law the crime of manipulation is virtually unprosecutable, and remedies for those injured by price manipulation are difficult to obtain," Markham wrote in an article published in the Yale Journal of Regulation.

In a review of Finnish energy policies launched, the International Energy Agency praised Finland for its commitment to a sustainable energy future. With its energy-intensive industries and its cold climate, Finland’s energy consumption per capita is the highest in the IEA. Yet the IEA noted that Finland’s energy policy framework was broad and coherent, covering all sectors and paving the way for a more sustainable energy system in the longer term. “Finland is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels, making security of supply a priority,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said as she presented the report in Helsinki. The report…

Denmark is a leader in implementing well-designed policies for renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate change, according to a review of Danish energy policies published today by the International Energy Agency (IEA).<http://www.iea.org> The review applauded Denmark's long-term vision for a low-carbon future - all Danish energy supply is to come from renewable sources by 2050 - and its achievements to date, but also sounded some notes of caution regarding the implementation of such an ambitious strategy. "The IEA commends Denmark and its people for the scope of their vision and their many successes in adopting sustainable energy policies," said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven as she presented the review.

Norway  is  pursuing  ambitious,  forward-thinking  energy  policies,  but  could  go  further  in  its efforts to become a low-carbon economy, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has concluded in a review published today. Energy Policies  of  IEA Countries  - Norway  2011 Review  says  that  it will  be  challenging  for Norway  to meet  its 2020  target of  reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% compared with 1990  levels,  because  both  the  country’s  electricity  supply  and  its  energy  use  in  buildings  are already essentially carbon-free due to hydropower use.