Britain to build electricity ‘superhighway’ – plus other top energy stories

Britain’s energy regulator has approved a $4.35 billion 2 gigawatt electricity ‘superhighway’ from Scotland to Yorkshire, England.

The project, the biggest single investment for electricity transmission infrastructure in Britain, will quickly deliver new offshore wind energy to the market.

At 436 kilometres, the subsea power cable will be the longest in Great Britain, and will be able to power up to 2 million homes, the regulator, Ofgem, said. Construction is expected to begin later this year, and the line will be in operation by 2029, it added.

The ‘superhighway’ is the first of 26 large energy grid projects planned by Ofgem to enable more homes to benefit from the UK’s rising number of offshore wind farms. Between 2009 and 2023, the cumulative installed capacity of offshore wind in the UK rose from 951 megawatts to more than 14,700 megawatts.

The regulator is expected to approve record levels of power cable projects in the near future in order to carry enough renewable electricity to meet Britain’s climate goals.

The Dutch government will hold a $1.1 billion (€998 million) green hydrogen subsidy auction in October.

The auction, previously approved by the European Commission, will provide state aid for Dutch hydrogen production and support the construction of at least 200 megawatts of electrolysis capacity.

Projects must be at least 0.5 megawatts in size to receive funding, with a maximum grant of 50% of the total budget per project.

Successful bidders will receive direct grants covering 80% of upfront investment costs, plus additional support over 5 to 10 years.

Recent data shows no Dutch hydrogen projects have yet reached the final investment decision stage. However, forecasts predict production capacity could reach 17 gigawatts by 2040, with nearly three-quarters online by 2035, H2 view reports.

A group of almost 80 Nobel Prize winners and world leaders have called for a specific mention of fossil fuels to be included in a UN climate pact at the centre of a summit in New York next month.

Demand for power in Texas, US, reached a record high in August as a heat wave swept the state, leading homes and businesses to turn up their air conditioners.

Australia has approved a project to export solar power from a huge solar farm in the north of the country to Singapore.

After years of strong growth, US crude oil export gains are expected to plateau amid slowing supply growth and easing demand.

New drilling technology will put up to 5 billion barrels of previously inaccessible oil in reach, Reuters reports.

A Saudi-controlled real estate company plans to build a first-of-its-kind clean hydrogen-powered skyscraper in Egypt.

China's new clean power production in H1 2024 was equivalent to the UK’s output from all energy sources over the same period last year, according to The Guardian.

Latin America can leverage its solar, wind and hydroelectric resources to become a global clean hydrogen player. Accelerating the Clean Hydrogen Economy in Latin America, a new Forum report, examines how.

Colombia has abundant renewable resources but must accelerate its energy transition to meet ambitious emissions targets. Read more in the Forum paper Mobilizing Clean Energy Investments in Colombia: Community Solutions to Help Accelerate Financing.

From supply and demand to critical minerals and economic equity, there’s a lot to know about the energy transition. Get up to speed with this piece, which rounds up some of the Forum’s research in these areas.