
06 July 2007
Coal plant is in decline but guessing how steep this decline is, can be very difficult.
Powerisk has mentioned that LPCD is a new government scheme aimed at reducing our reliance on coal plant, so much so that in 2008 they start by reducing the amount of hours coal plant can run, extimates put this at around 20,000 hours, which for current capacities would mean that load factors would drop by around 20%. This in effect limits coal plant to generating at the peak, and of course also means that the demand for EUA's drops.
More importantly this plant willhave to be decommissioned by 2015 or converted to gas or biomass. Some are already doing this by ensuring that the conversion takes place sooner by 2009 10% of Drax's fuel will be biomass.
It is very difficult to model how the coalers will perform under these new conditions, they are clearly very valuable assets and players are keen to try and extract as much value as possible. Not surprisingly, the world must try and assess these effects soon.
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Ofgem liaise with Darling
 
07 January 2008
Darling thinks that Ofgem may hold the answers but Ofgem rightly do not interfere with markets something which Darling should be aware of.  
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Winter 11 - A Slippery Slope
 
06 May 2011
While March was a month of shocks and gains, April seems to have marked the start of a downward trend in the UK power market. The WInter 11 contract is just one example.  
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Where's the certainty?
 
23 December 2009
There was a time when you could quite comfortably forecast the running order of generation plant in the UK - but 2009 has seen a dramatic turn in the stack!  
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A sliding Prompt
 
14 November 2008
A comfortable system in terms of supply margins left the prompt power market sliding.  
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Solar in the UK - Not So Bright
 
01 November 2011
DECC has published the Comprehensive Feed-in Tariff (FiT) document and at the same time, many say, put a nail in the coffin for the Solar Industry in the UK. With the FiT rate for Solar Power to be cut by more than 50%, and with a proposal that eligibility to the scheme should be linked to a minimum energy efficiency requirement - many fear that this will be the end for the industry  
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Carbon Floor Price Announcement: The Market Reacts
 
25 March 2011
The tensions seen in the markets last week, as participants assessed the impact of Japan and nuclear withdrawal in Germany, appeared to have eased when the market started trading on Monday. The Government's mid week budget Carbon Floor Price announcement soon changes that though  
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We're borrowing less than expected....
 
20 August 2010
As the government prepares its spending review it will no doubt welcome the latest figures that show net borrowing for July at £3.8bn. While still sizeable, this is £1.2bn less than forecast and well down on the £6.1bn that was borrowed in the same month last year.  
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Energy Secretary gives the first annual energy statement to the Commons
 
28 July 2010
Chris Huhne, the coalition government Energy Secretary yesterday gave the first annual energy statement to the Commons. He set out plans to secure energy supplies and cut carbon emissions. In all 32 measures were outlined all with the aim of helping the UK achieve the legally binding target to cut emission by 80% by 2050.  
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What's in the Mix?
 
24 September 2010
While gains may have been seen in both the power and gas markets this week – the gains were not equal causing a big shift in the generation mix  
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Unseasonal Temperatures help to melt prices
 
16 November 2009
Middle of November but no sign of wintery temperatures. The effect was to soften the prompt power market, which also felt the pressure from weak commodity curves. The downward trend fed through the power curve.  
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What's Happening in the Back-End?
 
19 June 2009
The back end of the curve is extremely difficult to trade. Those dipping their toe in tend to be Producers (with excessive length adjusting their risk positions) and Banks looking for some exposure. At the same time Retailers tend to be short-termist.  
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