Rob Horgan

Construction has begun at the UK’s first operational ozone wastewater treatment plant. Contractors working for Severn Trent have begun work on the £78 million ozone wastewater treatment plant in Warwickshire. So far three gas cylinders that hold ozone (O3) gas have been installed at the Frankton wastewater treatment site.

The chief executive of the Energy Systems Catapult has suggested that it is time to review the grant level offered through the boiler upgrade scheme (BUS). Guy Newey said that decreasing heat pump installation costs coupled with greater uptake from the public indicates that it may now be time to…

Construction of the Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) transmission project has begun. Often dubbed as an “electricity superhighway”, the £4.3 billon project involves the installation of a 525kV 2GW subsea connection between Peterhead in the north-east of Scotland and Drax on the east coast of England. It is the first…

It’s official: Emma Pinchbeck will be the next chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). Energy UK has confirmed that Pinchbeck is leaving her post as chief executive at the trade body. It comes three months after rumours began to circulate about Pinchbeck being lined up for the…

Current charging rules disincentivise suppliers from upgrading old smart meter communication hubs. Failing to urgently change the rules risks a delay to the planned 4G rollout, with around 7 million devices needing to be upgraded to stay online before the 2G and 3G networks are shut off in 2033. That…

The government has named six locations across the UK set to host heat network ‘zones’ which will share a £5.8 million funding pot. The zones – in Leeds, Plymouth, Bristol, Stockport, Sheffield, and two in London – will use data to identify the best spots to install heat network technology…

The government has repeatedly refused to disclose assessments carried out before delaying the introduction of the Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM), often referred to as the “boiler tax”. Despite being ordered to release the information by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) - following a freedom of information (FoI) request by Utility…

EDF has announced a partnership with electric vehicle (EV) charge-point manufacturer and software provider Hypervolt. The collaboration will explore how Hypervolt’s UltraGrid software can be leveraged to enable a frequency response service from EVs, which EDF claims will be a first for the industry.

The way the UK measures the energy efficiency of buildings should include a metric which captures flexibility capacity. That is according to the Centre for Net Zero and Energy Systems Catapult, who have called for a new flexibility metric to be included as part of government’s plans to reform Energy…

Castle Water has taken the unprecedented step of going to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to appeal a code modification ruling made by Ofwat. The water retailer is appealing Ofwat’s decision to reject a code modification request relating to the Wholesale Retail Code, claiming that the regulator made an…

The next two contracts for difference (CfD) auction rounds (AR7 and AR8) can be delivered at competitively set prices, despite the pressure that Clean Power 2030 targets put on the rounds being a success. That is the view of Aurora advisory senior associate Nick Civetta, who said that there is…

Eon, EDF and Octopus have been named among the top 10 best very big organisations to work for in the UK. Eon has also been named as the best place to work for people aged 16 to 34. Meanwhile So Energy, Yu Energy and Octopus subsidiary Octopus Electric Vehicles are…

Thames Water is seeking tunnelling contractors to deliver its Teddington Direct River Abstraction project. The company has launched a tender notice worth £242 million for the delivery of tunnels and connections. The Teddington Direct River Abstraction project has been deemed a nationally significant project.

In our latest round-up of sector coverage in the national press, lenders vying to take over Thames Water have reportedly demanded that the struggling company and its management be granted immunity from prosecution for serious environmental crimes as a condition of acquiring it. Elsewhere, chancellor Rachel Reeves is said to…

The National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) in its current guise could increase the risk to assets and workers without changes, according to safe digging experts. Research conducted by the safe digging platform LSBUD found that concerns remain around the use of the NUAR. In particular, experts have raised concerns about…

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has called for a long-term support mechanism to facilitate a major increase in biomethane production. Within its Future Energy Scenarios (FES) 2025, NESO forecasts production of up to 64TWh/year by 2050 - more than doubling the UK government’s expectations. NESO also calls for an…

With a record amount of capacity tipped to secure contracts at the upcoming CfD auction, industry analysts put forwards their best cost estimates for AR7. While some have suggested as much as £2 billion could be spent on offshore wind alone, others have indicated that the auction could still be…

SGN has demonstrated that the existing gas network can be safely repurposed for carrying hydrogen. In a UK first, SGN has repurposed a stretch of the Local Transmission System (LTS) to carry hydrogen. The company said the project offers a blueprint for repurposing the entire 11,600km LTS to hydrogen.

In our latest round-up of sector coverage in the national press, Octopus CEO Greg Jackson claims that the way the UK is doing net zero is leading to a public backlash. Elsewhere, The Drinking Water Inspectorate is taking South West Water to court over last year’s cryptosporidium outbreak, and water…

Octopus has confirmed that it will spin off its Kraken arm into a standalone company. It comes after months of speculation that a demerger was on the cards. In July, financial experts estimated that the separation of Kraken from the rest of the Octopus group could be worth £10 billion.