Matthew Collinson

This Practice Note introduces what combined heat and power (CHP) projects are and the key contracts involved, the revenue streams typically available to CHP projects, and provides an explanation of the key contractual and regulatory issues faced by CHP projects. Produced in partnership with Sushma Maharaj of Shakespeare Martineau LLP.

This Practice Note provides an explanation of what the Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance scheme (CHPQA) is, where to find scheme documentation, and the benefits to combined heat and power (CHP) projects of obtaining CHPQA certification. This note includes a detailed explanation of the way in which the CHPQA is relevant to CHP projects in the context of renewable subsidy provided under the Renewables Obligation, the Renewable Heat Incentive, and the Contract for Difference.

This Practice Note outlines the key legal and policy issues involved in community energy projects. It explains what community energy is, highlights the challenges for community energy projects, the key legal issues when advising on community energy projects, government policy on community energy, the community energy strategy and access to funding and advice.

This Practice Note covers guidance on consents for onshore renewable generating stations. It considers what permissions are required for a wind farm application above or below 50 MW including under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and environmental impact assessment (EIA).

This Practice Note covers the statutory powers available to Electricity Act 1989 licensees (most notably Distribution Network Operators (DNOs)) in respect of street-opening and so called necessary wayleaves (or ‘statutory wayleaves’) to put down electricity wires, the circumstances in which these DNO street-opening and statutory electricity wayleaves powers can be used and the potential defences for landowners to refuse a DNO necessary wayleave for electricity wires.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. The move away from Renewables Obligation support to Contracts for Difference (CfD) support for new renewable electricity generation projects in Great Britain (GB) created the need for a transition period between the two schemes. This Practice Note sets out the context for this transition period and how the transition period was dealt with.

This Practice Note provides a consolidated summary of the key emissions controls that apply to fossil fuel powered electricity generation in the UK. It includes coverage of the Emissions Performance Standard, the closure of existing unabated coal generation, environmental permitting requirements under the Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU and Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, and carbon pricing by virtue of the application of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the UK Emissions Trading System, the Climate Change Levy’s carbon price support (CPS) mechanism (sometimes referred to as the carbon price floor (CPF)) and the European Commission’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM).

This Practice Note provides a snapshot on the Energy Act 2016 (EnA 2016), which includes the background to EnA 2016, a summary of its key provisions, and tracks the status of its implementation. It was produced in partnership with Matthew Collinson.

This Practice Note explains the procedure for applying for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. It includes: pre-application requirements and good practice, the environmental statement, making and giving notice, consideration and determination of the application, post-decision conditions and the timescale of events.

This Practice Note explains when consent is required under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for onshore and offshore generating stations. It is of particular relevance to consents for renewables projects, specifically consents for offshore wind farms and marine projects in Great Britain and onshore wind farms in Scotland. This Practice Note also describes the relationship between section 36 consent and planning permission, the role of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), factors which must be considered before applying, the duration of such a consent and how it can be varied.

This Checklist highlights issues commonly arising during the negotiation, drafting and due diligence review of power purchase agreements (PPAs) entered into between a renewable generator and a licensed electricity supplier (although many of these issues would arise in relation to power purchaser/power supply agreements entered into between a generator and a direct consumer of the electricity in a licence-exempt supply arrangement). It covers the duration, export volume, renewable benefits, power price and GuOs, exclusivity, long-stop dates for construction of the plant and registration of the supply point, output forecasts, meter accuracy and access rights, guarantees, and assignment. It is relevant for PPA review by either developers or lenders.

This Practice Note provides a detailed introduction to the role and statutory basis of the Renewables Obligation (RO) and Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs). It explores the RO’s and ROCs’ role in the context of Great Britain renewable electricity generators and electricity suppliers. It also discusses the closure of the RO to new renewable generation, the ‘grace periods’ associated with this, and the evolving position on co-locating battery storage with accredited RO generation projects.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note sets out the Renewable Obligation (RO) process for obtaining accreditation. (The RO is now closed to new accreditations, and therefore this is a process, historically, renewable generators would have gone through while the RO was still open to new project applications.)

For RO accredited generators who use solid biomass, biogas or bioliquids to fuel their electricity generation, the RO imposed certain requirements around the provenance of the fuel used and green house gas emissions levels; these requirements are broadly referred to as ‘sustainability criteria’. This Practice Note provides an overview of these requirements.

This Practice Note explains how third parties can obtain access to electricity networks that are not owned or operated by licensed electricity companies, sometimes known as ‘private wires’. It covers the legal requirements and procedures for third parties to access private electricity networks. The Practice Note was produced in partnership with Matthew Collinson.

This Precedent provides basic ‘market’ architecture for the connection to and use of an electricity distribution network by an electricity generator, where the network is operated under an exemption from the requirement for a licence under section 6 of the Electricity Act 1989 (a ‘private wire’). As is usual for connection agreements, this Precedent does not provide for the construction of the connection—only the on-going physical interface between the generator’s equipment (‘Customer’s Installation’) and the private wire (‘Distribution System’).

This Precedent is a fuel supply agreement for the purchase of fuel by a generator from a fuel supplier. It was drafted on the basis that the generator is a biomass generator but can be adapted for other fuels. It was produced in partnership with Matthew Collinson. Key provisions include commencement and duration, purchase of fuel, delivery and offloading of fuel, conformity of fuel with a specification, payment, termination and liability.

This Precedent is a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) or power supply agreement for the sale of electricity by a generator to an offtaker for consumption rather than resale (private supply). This type of PPA is also commonly referred to as a ‘private wire power purchase agreement’ or ‘private wire PPA’. It is drafted on the basis that the generator benefits from an exemption from the requirement to have an electricity supply licence under section 5 of the Electricity Act 1989. Key provisions include commencement and duration, commercial operations date, sale of electricity, operation of the facility, metering, payment, termination and liability, termination and breakage costs.