New Power

Uniper has named Worley as preferred EPC contractor for its proposed new power station at Connah’s Quay in Deeside. Worley was one of two contractors selected in December 2024 to design and submit plans for the site as part of the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) competition. If consented and developed, the plant would be constructed on land next to Uniper’s existing power station.

Energy-from-waste-wood operator Evero has submitted a planning application to add carbon capture technology to its Ince power plant at Peel NRE’s energy and resource hub in Cheshire (Protos). The wood-fuelled power plant has operated since 2018 and now the company is taking forward plans under the government’s ‘greenhouse gas removals’ (GGR) Business Model. The plant has been selected as one of two priority projects on the DESNZ’s Track-1 expansion Project Negotiation List.

First Hydro, which operates the Dinorwig hydro pumped storage plant in Wales, has announced the next phase of a modernisation programme that will extend the plant’s life by at least 25 years. The programme includes the replacement of key plant components across all six generating units, as well as other infrastructure upgrades. Now First Hydro (a joint venture between Engie and La Caisse) has announced an agreement with GE Vernova to replace two pumped storage units.

Alpiq, an energy services provider and electricity producer based in Switzerland, has acquired a 90% stake in battery developer and operator Harmony Energy. Alpiq said the acquisition will expand its asset base – adding 400 MW of batteries under construction to Alpiq’s existing footprint in Europe – and its presence across the battery value chain. The acquisition includes a UK project expected to be connected to the grid in Q3 2026, and a project pipeline.

As the budget approaches, and a potential restructuring of government departments, the question arises: what to do about climate change – or, more specifically, the Department of Climate Change that was absorbed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, along with the ‘Energy’ half of the Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc) in the previous restructuring. I detect a bit of nostalgia for Decc around; sometimes even a wish to have things back as they were.

West Northamptonshire has promised more than 3,000 on-street EV charging points across the region after appointing Char.gy to lead a rollout funded through the Government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund and backed by private investment. The programme focuses on increasing access to charging for residents who rely on on-street parking and lack home-charging options.

Good Energy has signed its largest power purchase agreement (PPA) in its history, with Ørsted. Good Energy will source electricity from Ørsted’s Walney 1 and Walney 2 offshore wind farms off the coast of Cumbria. Under the two year agreement, which runs from October 2026 to October 2028, Good Energy will purchase 200GWh of UK sourced renewable electricity each year, around one-sixth of the wind farms’ output.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has promised an independent investigation into its actions during the recent heat wave. It will be run by an independent external legal firm reporting to the Chair of the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee and its conclusions will be published.

Abu Dhabi is set to host what is described as a ‘gigascale 24/7 renewable energy project’ after Masdar announced that the project has reached financial close. The project is being developed in Abu Dhabi by Masdar and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC). It will integrate a 5.2GW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant with a 19GWh battery.

Waste heat from data centres could be used to provide district heating in Italy. Digital infrastructure company Equinix and A2A, are collaborating on the project in Milan. It will recover thermal energy produced by servers housed in Equinix’s campus in Settimo Milanese, and transfer it to a new Energy Centre built by A2A. The energy centre has four large heat pumps totalling 72MW, two thermal storage systems with a capacity of 6,000 cubic meters, and its connects to the local heat network.