Hitachi, Ltd. is a Japanese multinational conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in a range of industries, including digital systems, power and renewable energy solutions, railway systems, healthcare products, and financial systems.
The Electricity Supply Board is a state owned electricity company operating in the Republic of Ireland. While historically a monopoly, the ESB now operates as a commercial semi-state concern in a "liberalised" and competitive market. It is a statutory corporation whose members are appointed by the government of Ireland.
The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), commonly known as the State Grid, is a Chinese state-owned electric utility corporation. It is the largest utility company in the world. As of 2022, State Grid is the world's third largest company overall by revenue, behind Walmart and Saudi Aramco. In 2022 it was reported as having 871,145 employees, 1.1 billion customers and revenue equivalent to US$460 billion. It is overseen by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks, and in the Northeastern United States, where as well as operating transmission networks, the company produces and supplies electricity and gas, providing both to customers in New York and Massachusetts.
Iberdrola is a Spanish multinational electric utility company based in Bilbao, Spain. Iberdrola has a workforce of around 40,000 employees serving around 30 million customers. Subsidiaries include Scottish Power and a significant part of Avangrid, amongst others. As of 2023, the largest shareholder of the company is the Qatar Investment Authority, with BlackRock and Norges Bank also holding significant interests.
A virtual power plant (VPP) is a system that integrates multiple, possibly heterogeneous, power sources to provide grid power. A VPP typically sells its output to an electric utility. VPPs allow energy resources that are individually too small to be of interest to a utility to aggregate and market their power. As of 2024, VPPs operated in the United States, Europe, and Australia.
The smart grid is an enhancement of the 20th century electrical grid, using two-way communications and distributed so-called intelligent devices. Two-way flows of electricity and information could improve the delivery network. Research is mainly focused on three systems of a smart grid – the infrastructure system, the management system, and the protection system. Electronic power conditioning and control of the production and distribution of electricity are important aspects of the smart grid.
Moneypoint power station is Ireland's largest electricity generation station and its only coal-fired power station. Commissioned between 1985 and 1987, it is located on the River Shannon, near Kilrush in County Clare, and was constructed at a cost of more than £700m. The station operates largely on coal, making it both unique in the context of Irish electricity production and the country's single largest emitter of greenhouse gases. It is capable of meeting around 25% of customer demand across the country. It has two Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) storage tanks with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes which can be used as a back-up fuel if required.
The West Offaly Power Station was a large peat-fired 135 MW power station in Shannonbridge from 2005 to 2020, in the Republic of Ireland. The station was capable of generating up to 153 MWe of power, thus ranking as the largest peat-fired power station in the country. The power station was constructed adjacent to the ageing 125 MWe peat Shannonbridge Power Station, which operated in stages from 1965 to 2003, and demolished in 2005.
Electricity North West Limited is a British electricity distribution network operator, responsible for the administration and maintenance of the network, that distributes electricity to the North West of England excluding Merseyside and parts of Cheshire.
Electric Ireland is an Irish utility company that supplies electricity and gas to business and residential customers in Ireland. It is the supply division of the Electricity Supply Board, the former monopoly electricity company in Ireland. The company now operates in an open market competing for the supply of retail electricity to residential customers. Electric Ireland sells a variety of smart technology, including Electric Vehicle Home Chargers, solar PV panels, battery storage, which are also sold by Electric Ireland's online shop. Other major suppliers include Airtricity and, more recently, Bord Gáis Energy.
Ireland is a net energy importer. Ireland's import dependency decreased to 85% in 2014. The cost of all energy imports to Ireland was approximately €5.7 billion, down from €6.5 billion (revised) in 2013 due mainly to falling oil and, to a lesser extent, gas import prices. Consumption of all fuels fell in 2014 with the exception of peat, renewables and non-renewable wastes.
Variable renewable energy (VRE) or intermittent renewable energy sources (IRES) are renewable energy sources that are not dispatchable due to their fluctuating nature, such as wind power and solar power, as opposed to controllable renewable energy sources, such as dammed hydroelectricity or biomass, or relatively constant sources, such as geothermal power.
The Energy Networks Association (ENA) is the industry body funded by UK gas and electricity transmission and distribution licence holders. Its current Chief Executive is Lawrence Slade.
Enphase Energy, Inc. is an American energy technology company headquartered in Fremont, California, that develops and manufactures solar micro-inverters, battery energy storage, and EV charging stations primarily for residential customers. Enphase was established in 2006 and is the first company to successfully commercialize the solar micro-inverter, which converts the direct current (DC) power generated by a solar panel into grid-compatible alternating current (AC) for use or export. The company has shipped more than 48 million microinverters to 2.5 million solar systems in more than 140 countries.
Turkey uses more electricity per person than the global average, but less than the European average, with demand peaking in summer due to air conditioning. Most electricity is generated from coal, gas and hydropower, with hydroelectricity from the east transmitted to big cities in the west. Electricity prices are state-controlled, but wholesale prices are heavily influenced by the cost of imported gas.
A battery storage power station is a type of energy storage power station that uses a group of batteries to store electrical energy. Commonly known as Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), these systems offer the capability to store energy, allowing for the separation of energy production and consumption. This feature provides significant flexibility in managing energy resources. Battery storage is the fastest responding dispatchable source of power on electric grids, and it is used to stabilise those grids, as battery storage can transition from standby to full power in under a second to deal with grid contingencies.
Neoen is a French producer of exclusively renewable energy headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 2008, it develops, finances, builds and operates solar power plants, wind farms and energy storage solutions. As at 30 June 2023, the company's total capacity was 7 GW, made up of 47% solar, 34% wind and 19% battery storage. Neoen aims to attain 10 GW in operation or under construction by 2025.
The Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) is a group of 180 countries, cities, regions and organisations aiming to accelerate the coal phase-out of coal-fired power stations, except the very few which have carbon capture and storage. It has been described as a "non-proliferation treaty" for fossil fuels. The project was undertaken with financial support from the Government of Canada, through their environmental department known as Environment and Climate Change Canada.
