Related insights: Energy and Natural Resources
Spring Budget 2024: top tax takeaways
07 Mar 2024
Following the Chancellor's Spring Budget announcement on 6 March 2024, Ronan Lowney, Tax Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson, shares his top takeaways from his area of expertise.
Changes to UK Intellectual Property Office address for service rules
04 Mar 2024
On 1 January 2024, the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) updated their rules governing address for service (AFS) requirements for comparable UK trade mark and design registrations. Guidance on the changes can be found here. Briefly, if any contentious proceedings are lodged on or after 1 January 2024 against a comparable UK trade mark or design, appointment of a UK, Gibraltar or Channel Island address for service is required.
The new queue management process: go like the wind or gone with the wind?
28 Feb 2024
The new quick-fix process will remove “zombie” projects from the long queue clearing the way for “viable” projects to connect.
What you need to know about heat networks
15 Feb 2024
Andrew Hirst and Rebecca Cowley discuss the heat networks revolution, how it will work and the effect on all stakeholders, from owners to investors.
Heat networks provide relatively low cost, low-carbon heat which can help the UK to meet its legally binding targets to slash greenhouse gas emissions. In the UK, there are currently 14,000 operational networks, although they tend to have a relatively low public profile.
In July 2018, the Competition and Market Authority’s heat networks market study calculated that heat networks provide just 2% of UK buildings’ heat demand. The independent Committee on Climate Change has estimated that to meet carbon targets, around 18% of the UK’s heat needs to come from heat networks by 2050. This could require investment of between £30bn and £50bn.
Heat networks provide relatively low cost, low-carbon heat which can help the UK to meet its legally binding targets to slash greenhouse gas emissions. In the UK, there are currently 14,000 operational networks, although they tend to have a relatively low public profile.
In July 2018, the Competition and Market Authority’s heat networks market study calculated that heat networks provide just 2% of UK buildings’ heat demand. The independent Committee on Climate Change has estimated that to meet carbon targets, around 18% of the UK’s heat needs to come from heat networks by 2050. This could require investment of between £30bn and £50bn.
The Energy Act 2023 – what does it mean for manufacturers and Teesside?
31 Jan 2024
The Energy Act 2023, a landmark piece of legislation, has been enacted following a rigorous 16-month review in Parliament. This Act, hailed by both the public and private energy sectors, aims to address the energy trilemma: transitioning to net zero emissions affordably and securely.
Womble Bond Dickinson has written a number of detailed analysis pieces about this legislation and its component parts which can be found here and on our website.
We caught up with Sarah Daun and Peter Snaith, partners in our manufacturing sector team, to find out what they think about the Energy Act and what it might mean for manufacturing and for the Teesside region.
Womble Bond Dickinson has written a number of detailed analysis pieces about this legislation and its component parts which can be found here and on our website.
We caught up with Sarah Daun and Peter Snaith, partners in our manufacturing sector team, to find out what they think about the Energy Act and what it might mean for manufacturing and for the Teesside region.
Energy Act: Implementing the Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package
19 Dec 2023
The UK has set ambitious targets of reaching 50 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 while it maintains a high level of environmental protection. The Energy Act (Act) helps to achieve this target by integrating in its Part 13 provisions on the offshore wind environmental improvement package (OWEIP).
Sustainable progress made as Womble Bond Dickinson named in The Legal 500 Green Guide for 2024
01 Dec 2023
International law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has been again recognised as a specialist firm in clean and renewable energy projects that’s helping lead the discussion on climate change, governance, and sustainability after being named in The Legal 500's Green Guide for 2024.
Energy Act 2023: The countdown to net zero
21 Nov 2023
The Energy Act 2023 (the Act) is finally here. After sixteen months of consideration in Parliament including a short ping-pong round between the houses of Parliament and Lords, one of the biggest pieces of energy legislation in recent years has been received with enthusiasm in the public and private energy sector.
UK CCUS - building the framework
14 Nov 2023
In our article, 'Energy Act 2023: The countdown to net zero', we flagged that the Energy Act 2023 (the Act) has put in place more building blocks for the carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) regime in the UK. After a number of false starts, the UK government is now well-advanced in developing a statutory framework for CCUS and the first four industrial clusters have been identified for hosting transportation and storage networks. Much needs to be done though if the UK government is going to reach its target of capturing and storing 20–30 MtCO2 (including removals) per year by 2030.
UK hydrogen - the pace picks up
14 Nov 2023
As flagged in our article, Energy Act 2023: The countdown to net zero', the regulatory framework for hydrogen production, transport and storage in the UK has taken a large step forward. The introduction of this framework took longer than had been hoped by hydrogen developers. It is however a welcome milestone on the journey to providing a stable regime for attracting the investment needed if the UK government is to reach its target of delivering up to 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. The Energy Act 2023 (the Act) was followed quickly by publication of the draft Hydrogen Production Revenue Support (Directions, Eligibility and Counterparty) Regulations 2023 as the UK government starts to bring in the implementing regulations.
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