NEWS UPDATE LOCAL POWER GENERATION In Brief


● Baxi has reported an 11.97% reduction in electricity consumption at its Preston manufacturing site between 2024 and 2025 and a further 7.18% reduction in electricity use in Q1 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Baxi continues its operational efficiency drive through smart energy data analysis and its application of World Class Manufacturing principles.


● Achieving the highest EcoVadis distinction for the first time, the Zumtobel Group has been awarded Platinum status, ranking among the top 1% of assessed companies. The milestone reflects the lighting group’s ongoing sustainability progress, driven by transparent reporting, net-zero goals, circular economy initiatives and responsible business practices across its value chain.


● Marking its 500th battery energy storage system (BESS) sale, Socomec has announced a 10MWh project in Mutterstadt, Germany, combining solar generation and storage to increase on-site renewable consumption, reduce peak demand and improve resilience at a large industrial cold- storage and logistics site with continuous electricity demand.


● Legrand UK & Ireland is offering free commissioning services to anyone purchasing CP Electronics lighting control systems for an education building this summer, with the return of an offer designed to help facilities managers achieve compliance within limited budgets. Available until the end of 2026, the offer follows a successful pilot of the scheme in 2024 and is aimed at helping schools and other education buildings meet recommendations from CIBSE.


● JA Solar has announced a global rebrand to JA, marking the company’s evolution from a solar module manufacturer into a fully integrated green energy ecosystem partner dedicated to empowering industries worldwide through reliable, sustainable clean energy solutions.


● AVK has confirmed plans for its first standalone UK manufacturing facility in Haydock, Liverpool City Region, to assemble its modular LV/ MV PowerPods. The pre-engineered, transportable power systems support hyperscale data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure, helping meet growing demand for reliable power solutions across the digital economy.


08 Community stake in renewables should rise, MPs say


Community-owned energy projects risk being left behind unless government takes urgent action to support them, according to a report by a parliamentary committee. The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee said it was not convinced the government was on course to increase local and community energy generation from 411 MW in 2025 to its target of 8GW by 2030, warning that an opportunity to strengthen public backing for the wider shift to clean power could be missed. The report said the current regulatory


system places community schemes at a disadvantage compared with commercial developers. It argues that the cost and complexity of obtaining a supply licence, together with rules governing electricity retail markets, prevent smaller projects from offering cheaper locally generated


power to nearby consumers. The committee called for a series of


reforms, including giving community energy projects priority in the grid connection queue and creating rules allowing them to sell electricity directly to local customers within six months. It also urged the government to implement an existing right allowing communities to take a stake in nearby onshore and offshore renewable


developments. The report said the minimum share offered by developers should rise from 5% to 20%. Other recommendations included changing procurement rules to make it easier for local authorities and community energy groups to work together, introducing a new export guarantee to help projects secure finance and setting out clear responsibilities for organisations involved in meeting the 8GW target. Bill Esterson, chair of the committee,


says: “Communities are an important part of the energy transition if the government is going to hit its targets. Across the UK, communities are putting in huge effort and resources to host large-scale renewable projects. But they face a system stacked against them, and too often they don’t share the benefits.”


North Sea hydrogen storage could power UK for 7 years


New research suggests the UK could store enough green hydrogen in depleted North Sea oil and gas fields to meet future electricity demand for up to seven years. Scientists from the Durham Energy Institute at the


University of Durham modelled hydrogen storage scenarios using half-hourly electricity supply and demand data, combining historical records with future energy system projections. The analysis considered factors including the growth of electric vehicles, heat pumps and data centres, alongside planned renewable energy expansion. The study found that surplus wind and solar power


could be used to produce hydrogen through electrolysis, which could then be stored underground in former oil and gas reservoirs and converted back into electricity when required. Researchers estimate these offshore fields could theoretically hold more than 3,500 TWh of energy. The modelling tested a range of storage scenarios, from


projects already in development to larger-scale deployment across a wider selection of North Sea sites. Lower-storage pathways quickly reached capacity limits, while expanded


storage improved the system’s ability to capture excess renewable generation and provide long-duration flexibility during extended periods of low wind and solar output. The researchers found that all scenarios significantly


reduced reliance on gas generation, with gas power falling to around 1% of electricity supply by 2030. However, only high-storage scenarios enabled the system to fully manage seasonal energy shortages, with gas-fired generation eliminated by 2040.


Ukraine investment boosts renewables and energy security


Ukraine’s electricity system is becoming far greener, thanks to interventions by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Its regional managing director, Arvid Tuerkner, has revealed that the EBRD’s wartime energy financing has evolved from its initial role, keeping electricity utilities across Ukraine afloat after the 2014 seizure of Crimea, and repairing damaged infrastructure. Now the EBRD is financing decentral-


ised energy generation that is proving a great deal harder to damage. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, the EBRD has sent Ukraine €3.5 billion for energy security. Tuerkner says: “EBRD-financed


projects are expected to bring around 700 megawatts of new electricity


military action ever since. In contrast, the obvious lesson,


Tuerkner states, is that concentrating upon decentralised renewable energy is inherently far more resilient than larger power stations: “It is very hard to knock all these out with drones and missiles entirely.” The EBRD was originally founded


generation and 400 megawatts of heating capacity online this winter. That won’t erase Ukraine’s power deficit, but it will narrow the gap.” Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s nuclear


power station, is the largest in Europe, and has been occupied by Russian troops since 2022. It has been regularly reported as vulnerable to damage via


after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, and set up in London in 1991. Uniquely for a development bank, it has a distinct political mandate. It assists only countries “committed to and applying the principles of multi- party democracy and pluralism” and is committed to ensuring that “all projects are fully aligned with the Paris Climate Change Agreement of 2015.”


EIBI | JULY / AUGUST 2026


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