• UK Export Finance support will help construct Turkey’s largest solar facility that will power 2 million households
• £217 million support is UKEF’s largest-ever guarantee for a solar project
• Backing delivers on the UK’s commitment at the COP26 to level up support for international climate action

The International Trade Secretary has today (Monday, November 15) announced over £217 million worth of government backing for the largest solar facility in Turkey as the UK starts to deliver on pledges made at COP26.

UK Export Finance’s backing for Kalyon Enerji’s 1.35GW Karapinar solar project is the largest-ever guarantee it has provided for a solar project. UKEF’s guarantee will help support over 100 British jobs as the integration of the solar technology and the assembly of the solar power station will occur in the UK.

Equivalent to over 4,600 football pitches in size, the facility will deliver clean electricity to approximately two million Turkish households when completed in late 2022.

International Trade Secretary and UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 Presidency, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said:

UK Export Finance is putting the UK at the heart of the global green energy transition. With over £200 million pounds worth of backing, we are helping to bring solar energy to 2 million Turkish households. Firm action from the UK alone is not enough to fight the climate crisis. UKEF’s financing encourages other countries to invest in renewable energy and opens new markets for UK businesses that will power a recovery underpinned by green jobs.

GE Energy Financial Services supported UKEF to agree the deal, with the UK’s export credit agency set to guarantee a £217 million (US $291 million) Buyer Credit Facility. This will enable GE to deploy its first FLEXINVERTER solar technology outside the US, supporting Turkey’s clean energy goals and facilitating trade for UK suppliers.

The project is part of the first Turkish solar YEKA tender launched by the Turkish Ministry of Energy under the Renewable Energy Resources Zones (YEKA) programme. The project will help Turkey to continue its expansion of renewable energy resources and commission 10 GW of solar capacity between 2017-27, according to IEA.

Guto Davies, Global Public Capital Leader at GE Energy Financial Services, said:

GE is proud to be partnering with UKEF again to deliver one of Turkey’s most significant renewable projects and GE’s first FLEXINVERTER solar power station technology outside the US. Our relationship with UKEF enables us to offer GE customers access to diversified and competitive financing for GE projects that deliver sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy.

This announcement comes on the heels of the UN Climate Conference, COP26, where governments and businesses committed trillions of pounds in green investments and more than 40 countries quitting coal. The UK government made new commitments to eliminate climate harm from global finance and take action to support the global energy transition.

The UK’s green exporters will also be at the centre of International Trade Week (November 15–19), where the government is seeking to level up British exports. Over the week, trade exports, ministers and parliamentarians will be hosting events and workshops aimed at everyone from seasoned exporters to those looking to sell to the world for the first time.

Prakash Chandra, CEO Renewable Hybrids at GE Renewable Energy, said:

There is tremendous potential for solar energy in Turkey which can be addressed through smart solutions that will help integrate this natural energy source into the grid in a reliable way and at utility scale. We are thrilled to be partnering with Kalyon Enerji on these projects and look forward to more opportunities to increase the penetration of renewable energy in Turkey.

Financing for the project will be structured on a project finance basis and raised through J.P. Morgan as acting lead arranger and lender supported by the UKEF guarantee.

About GE Energy Financial Services

GE Energy Financial Services is a global energy investor with 35-plus years managing assets through multiple energy cycles. Drawing on its technical know-how, financial strength and strong risk management, GE Energy Financial Services invests in and provides capital solutions for long-lived and capital-intensive projects and companies that help meet the world’s energy needs.

It is headquartered in Connecticut with regional hubs in London, Houston, Washington D.C. and Singapore. For more information, visit GE Finance Services follow us on Twitter @GEEnergyFinServ.

About GE Renewable Energy

GE Renewable Energy is a $16 billion business which combines one of the broadest portfolios in the renewable energy industry to provide end-to-end solutions for our customers demanding reliable and affordable green power. Combining onshore and offshore wind, blades, hydro, storage, utility-scale solar, and grid solutions as well as hybrid renewables and digital services offerings, GE Renewable Energy has installed more than 400+ gigawatts of clean renewable energy and equipped more than 90 percent of utilities worldwide with its grid solutions.

With nearly 40,000 employees present in more than 80 countries, GE Renewable Energy creates value for customers seeking to power the world with affordable, reliable and sustainable green electrons. Follow us at GE Renewable Energy, on LinkedIn, or on Twitter.

About Kalyon Enerji

Kalyon Enerji is established as a result of being directed to energy investments by the vision of providing increasing energy needs of next generations as the population consistently increases every year in Turkey and in the world.

Accordingly, Kalyon Enerji, which concentrates on R&D and innovation works to make clean and renewable energy resources available in a manner to meet all energy needs, concentrates the investments in energy sector on Solar Energy (GES) and (RES) Wind energy as Gas, Hydroelectric, Thermic.

The Kalyon Karapinar Solar Power Plant will prevent 1.5 million tons of carbon emissions annually and, by the end of 2022, increase the share of solar energy in Turkey’s total energy production by 20%. It will ultimately serve the needs of 2 million people.

About UK Export Finance

UK Export Finance is the UK’s export credit agency and a government department, working alongside the Department for International Trade as an integral part of its strategy and operations.

Established in 1919, it exists to ensure that no viable UK export should fail for a lack of finance from the private market. It provides finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil and get paid for export contracts.

Contact

Muneef Ihsan, 26 from Rotherham, was director of three companies between 2019 and 2020. All three, Porthart Ltd, Bargain Basement 90 Ltd and Bargains Basement 90 Ltd, were registered at the same residential address in Rotherham, and were each placed into voluntary liquidation by Muneef Ihsan in September 2020.

The liquidations triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service, which found that Muneef Ihsan opened a bank account for each company in June 2020, after the pandemic began, for the sole purpose of fraudulently obtaining three £50,000 Covid-19 Bounce Back Loans.

As there was no evidence that any of the companies had ever traded, none of them were eligible for the loans, which the government made available for genuine firms that were struggling keep going during lockdown.

Upon receiving the funds, Ihsan made cash withdrawals from each of the companies’ bank accounts totalling £24,342. He then set about transferring the remainder of the Bounce Bank Loan funds to companies controlled by Mahir Towid Ul Haque, who he described as ‘a close friend’, as well as other third parties.

Mahir Towid Ul Haque (21), also from Rotherham, was appointed director of Hiitness Ltd in May 2020, which Ul Haque claimed was an online sports good retailer.

The company was placed into voluntary liquidation by Ul Haque in November 2020, which again resulted in an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators uncovered that similar to Muneef Ihsan, Ul Haque opened a bank account for the company in June 2020 and took out a £50,000 Covid-19 Bounce Back Loan.

Further enquiries established that Ul Haque used the loan funds by purchasing a Rolex watch, transferred £16,050 to his personal account, withdrew £8,410 in cash from the company bank account and transferred £12,500 to other third parties.

There was no evidence that the Bounce Back Loan had been used for the benefit of Hiitness Ltd or that it had ever traded during Ul Haque’s time as a director of the business.

The Secretary of State accepted disqualification undertakings from both directors, with Muneef Ihsan banned for 13 years, and Mahir Towid Ul Haque banned for 6 years.

The pair cannot, directly or indirectly, be involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company without the permission of the court.

Robert Clarke, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:

Abuse of Covid-19 support schemes, which have provided essential financial assistance to millions by helping businesses trade during the pandemic and protecting jobs, cannot be tolerated.

The Insolvency Service has sent out a clear message that where a company is being used to facilitate fraudulent activity, action will be taken to remove the directors from the corporate arena for a lengthy period of time

Notes to editors

Muneef Ihsan is from Rotherham and his date of birth is November 1996.

Porthart Limited (Company Registration number 11437142).

Bargain Basement 90 Limited (Company Registration number 12371641).

Bargains Basement 90 Limited (Company Registration number 12385533).

Mahir Towid Ul Haque is from Rotherham, and his date of birth is January 2000.

Hiitness Limited (Company Registration number 11229420).

All directors have a duty to ensure their companies maintain proper accounting records. The use of a Bounce Back Loan must be for the benefit the business and never for personal use. Failure to account for how a Bounce Back Loan was used, or using it for personal payments, can result in being disqualified as a director or the extension of bankruptcy restrictions.

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

Contact Press Office

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Summary

On 4 December 2020, six trains exceeded a reduced speed limit which was temporarily in force between Laurencekirk and Portlethen, Aberdeenshire. A 40 mph (64 km/h) ‘blanket’ emergency speed restriction (BESR) had been imposed from the start of service on that day until 09:00 hrs, because of a forecast of heavy rain with the associated risk of an earthwork failure obstructing the line. In some instances, trains travelling through the BESR reached the normal maximum permitted speeds which varied along this length of line up to 100 mph (161 km/h) for the trains involved. In other instances, the reduced permitted speeds were exceeded for only parts of the BESR. The actual amount of rainfall was not sufficient to cause any earthwork failures, and no accident occurred.

The investigation found that some drivers were unaware of the BESR as they approached it, and others were unaware of its exact extent. A notice, displayed in the late notice cases at the locations where the drivers reported for duty, was the only information about the BESR provided to drivers. This notice did not convey information in a way that could be readily understood and remembered when drivers needed to apply it. Lineside signage is not used for BESRs and no other reminder was provided as trains approached the restriction. The BESR notice gave the limits in terms of both mileages and lineside features, but these did not correspond to each other. ScotRail had not recognised that use of the late notice case was an unreliable way to implement BESRs. However, some managers had improved reliability by local additions to the formal system. Although not directly relevant to the incident, RAIB observed that the BESR form contained in Network Rail procedures, and variants used in Scotland and on other routes, had shortcomings compared with good practice in human factors.

RAIB has concluded that the railway industry has more work to do to establish a suitable method for the imposition of speed restrictions, in response to extreme weather that has the potential to endanger infrastructure.

Recommendations

RAIB has made two recommendations and identified two learning points as a result of this investigation. The first recommendation seeks an improvement to the BESR notices provided to drivers and the second seeks a review of the methods used to implement blanket emergency speed restrictions. The learning points cover the importance of drivers being aware of information contained in late notices, and the need for safety critical communications to provide clear and unambiguous information.

Simon French, Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents said:

RAIB is concerned at the number of overspeeding incidents which occur at speed restrictions on the mainline network. Network Rail’s national daily report has recorded 7 cases so far in 2021, up from 5 in the whole of 2020, and some of these involved speed limits being exceeded by over 80 miles per hour.

This report highlights some of the causes of overspeeding. It shows how important it is to convey information to train drivers about emergency speed restrictions in a way that they can understand and retain. This is particularly vital where, as in this case, there are no lineside signs to mark where the restrictions begin and end. As we saw in an incident at Sandy in 2018 (RAIB report 10/2019), it is possible for a driver who has not been given advance notice of a speed restriction to take their train through it much faster than is safe. Since then, the tragic accident at Carmont in 2020 has resulted in the introduction of a new process which Network Rail uses to impose speed restrictions over areas affected by severe weather, such as heavy rain, which might cause the failure of earthworks.

The railway industry has more work to do to establish a suitable method for the imposition of speed restrictions which are needed in response to extreme weather that has the potential to endanger infrastructure. In this case the industry’s processes were ineffective, and it is fortunate that the weather was not as bad as feared and that no accident occurred.

Notes to editors

1. The sole purpose of RAIB investigations is to prevent future accidents and incidents and improve railway safety. RAIB does not establish blame, liability or carry out prosecutions.
2. RAIB operates, as far as possible, in an open and transparent manner. While our investigations are completely independent of the railway industry, we do maintain close liaison with railway companies and if we discover matters that may affect the safety of the railway, we make sure that information about them is circulated to the right people as soon as possible, and certainly long before publication of our final report.
3. For media enquiries, please call 01932 440015.

Newsdate: 15 November 2021

As part of the programme for COP26, Low Carbon Logistics was developed to celebrate innovation in the rail freight sector and showcase its environmental benefits.

The UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) brings governments, experts and scientists together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The new green design for Direct Rail Services’ (DRS) 68006 showcases the superb environmental benefits of rail freight and how a diesel locomotive is able to significantly reduce its carbon emissions when using HVO fuel.

Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), is a direct replacement for traditional diesel and is one of the cleanest fuels on the market. Supplied by Crown Oil, this second-generation, synthetic, advanced renewable diesel alternative eliminates up to 90 per cent of the carbon (CO2e) and significantly reduces nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions.

Seth Kybird, NTS CEO, said:

We’re launching this new livery as a real visual reminder that rail is the most environmentally friendly way to transport goods and using this fuel its carbon dioxide figures are amazingly low.

Rail is already 76 per cent less polluting than road and if successful this trial will show that using this type of fuel rail can play a huge part in the UK in achieving net carbon zero.

We already have our excellent Class 88 bi-mode electric locomotives but this fuel could provide an alternative where the overhead electric wires are not available, which opens up 62 per cent of the network to extremely low CO2 freight.

The locomotive also has a new name – Pride of the North as a tribute to all of DRS’s work in Scotland and northern England, where it will spend much of its life.

Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), is currently running a trial of the fuel using traditional Class 66s and now also in this special Class 68 – the UK’s most advanced diesel locomotive – to showcase the steps it is taking to towards achieving Net Carbon Zero.

In the groundbreaking six-week trial the trains will travel across Scotland from Inverness to Mossend delivering vital supermarket goods, travelling the 340-mile round trip, with hugely reduced carbon dioxide emissions. They will travel over 12,000 miles, delivering over 1,440 containers in the trial’s duration.

Steve Hardy, Director of Environment for the NDA, said:

This trial of a diesel replacement has the potential for a very large reduction in carbon footprint and is an important part of our carbon reduction plans.

It’s extremely exciting, and the learning from the trial will be shared with all our other business in the NDA group. These trials, which may lead to different ways of working, are vital as part of our route to carbon net zero.

Seth went on to say:

In the trial we estimate a saving of over 284,203 kg CO2e when compared to diesel fuel. This is a significant saving and represents a huge step towards net carbon zero rail freight using existing locomotives.

This could revolutionise how we operate and ensure DRS is at the forefront of environmentally friendly transport, completing the cycle of low carbon electricity when transporting spent nuclear fuel, or ensuring supermarket goods are transported with minimal carbon emissions.

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris added:

This is what building back greener is all about, boosting British business while cutting carbon.

Rail is one of the most eco-friendly ways to transport goods and this trial helps make it even cleaner, helping us hit our net zero targets on transport.