Brian Sibthorp, Director at WSP comments: “The announcement today that the UK capacity market will enter a ‘standstill period’ due to the ruling of the European Court of Justice on state aid is a big blow to investors and developers. The capacity market was intended to deliver secure energy supplies at the lowest cost and this year’s T-4 auction saw a big upturn in interconnector and battery energy storage projects. The standstill puts these projects and others currently under construction or in operation at risk.
“The postponing of the planned T-4 2019 auction and the intention to run an additional T-3 auction in 2020 could also result in a reduction of projects able to take part in that auction due to reduced construction timeframes.
“There will be significant short term disruption due to this ruling, but in the longer term the result should be a level playing field for all providers of capacity, including distributed generation, storage and demand side response. This should help the move towards a smarter lower carbon future.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Katie Brown on [email protected], 02030572228 / 07899776923
Notes to editors
About WSP
WSP is one of the world's leading engineering professional services consulting firms. We are dedicated to our local communities and propelled by international brainpower. We are technical experts and strategic advisors including engineers, technicians, scientists, architects, planners, surveyors and environmental specialists, as well as other design, program and construction management professionals. We design lasting solutions in the Property & Buildings, Transportation & Infrastructure, Environment, Industry, Resources (including Mining and Oil & Gas) and Power & Energy sectors as well as project delivery and strategic consulting services.
With 7,800 talented people in the UK and more than 43,600 globally, we engineer projects that will help societies grow for lifetimes to come. WSP has been involved in many high-profile UK projects including the Shard, Crossrail, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Manchester Metrolink, M1 Smart Motorway, the re-development of London Bridge Station, and the London Olympic & Paralympic Route Network.