2025 got off to a turbulent start. Spain and Portugal suffered Europe’s largest blackout in over a decade, sparking considerable debate over the causes and solutions. The US imposed, then partially revoked, tariffs on all countries. Stock markets and oil prices slumped over fears of a global recession and reduced trade. Natural gas prices in the UK have fallen by [...] The post Introduction first appeared on Electric Insights.| Electric Insights
UK is being held back by its creaking planning system. Examples are abundant, from spectacular delays and cost overruns of HS2 to the nationwide shortfall of 4 million homes. The power sector faces similar challenges. New projects are waiting more than 10 years for a grid connection, which threatens to derail our energy transition. Britain has made strong progress on [...] The post Will planning reform help the UK meet its clean power targets? first appeared on Electric Insights.| Electric Insights
Solar PV has raced from a green fringe technology to a global front-runner. The world spent close to half a trillion dollars on solar panels last year, more than every other generating technology combined. Since 2010, solar PV has leapt from just 7% to over 70% of all new power capacity added globally. Even Britain, more famous for drizzle and [...] The post The sunniest start to spring increases solar power 40% first appeared on Electric Insights.| Electric Insights
Britain’s electricity mix is well on its way to becoming low carbon; in 2024 clean sources delivered 68% of generation, and wind edged ahead of gas for the first time. So far, this has mostly relied on building renewables to replace fossil fuelled generators, but decarbonising the grid is an up-hill battle. Getting from here to 80%, then to 90% [...] The post Focused roles for hydrogen in the UK first appeared on Electric Insights.| Electric Insights
The UK is electrifying at a record pace. Last year, 382 thousand electric vehicles rolled onto our roads, just shy of 1 in every 5 cars sold. The UK took Germany’s crown as Europe’s largest market for electric vehicles (EVs) for the first time, after withdrawal of the ‘Umweltbonus’ made German sales plunge. It was a similar story for heat [...] The post Electric vehicles and heat pumps are reshaping power demand first appeared on Electric Insights.| Electric Insights
Gas was the largest source of Britain’s electricity as the first quarter of the year was punctuated by long spells of calm weather. Offshore wind output will continue growing, as the 0.9 GW Moray West came online in April, and the 1.2 GW Dogger Bank A is scheduled for completion later this year. However, Ørsted cancelled their plans to expand [...] The post Capacity and production statistics first appeared on Electric Insights.| Electric Insights
The first quarter of 2025 saw relatively few records broken on Britain’s power system. Wind and solar power both edged upwards in March, with wind producing more than 72% of demand on 30 March, and solar smashing its previous record of 10.7 GW by producing 12.2 GW on 18 March. Biomass had both a record daily output and record month in February, producing close to 3 GW averaged over the month.| Electric Insights
Oracle maintains its top-ranking spot; persistent growth trends from PostgreSQL and Snowflake highlight Q1 2025 rankings analysis.| Redgate