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The Wire Thursday 5 November |
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The Wire · Thursday 5 November Good morning. Here is today's Energy & Infrastructure news. 👇 | Ten items overnight, every one dated, opened at the primary source and checked before it went in, with our read on each. Three minutes with your coffee and you are up to speed. | |
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The Pulse · figures to 4 Nov · the full board → |
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01 |
 Housing · Construction Enquirer · 5 November 2026
Morgan Sindall says 2026 profit will beat forecasts again
Released by Construction Enquirer |
Housing |
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Morgan Sindall Group said strong trading and a healthy run of secured orders mean full-year 2026 results will come in slightly ahead of previous expectations. Its Construction division is expected to grow profit by double digits on revenue of nearly £4 billion, Fit Out is on track to beat last year's £140 million profit, and Infrastructure is expected to deliver more than £37 million in profit. The group said it goes into 2027 with a strong order book.
| | Our read Morgan Sindall has upgraded its guidance for the second time running. That points to the firm picking up more higher-margin infrastructure and fit-out work, while several peers report thinner order books. |
Read the source → |
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02 |
 Transport · Construction Enquirer · 5 November 2026
Lendlease and Crown Estate set out 26-year Euston redevelopment plan
Lendlease and The Crown Estate's Impact Partnership is the government's master development partner for the 60-acre site above and around Euston station. It submitted an environmental scoping report to Camden Council setting out plans for up to 650,000 square metres of development, including around 1,500 homes, offices, research space and shops. The Crown Estate expects to submit a planning application in spring 2027, with construction due to start in 2028 and the development completed by 2054. Network Rail and HS2 will build platforms above the railway and stations to carry much of the new district, and the Department for Transport's Euston Delivery Company is overseeing the wider transport redevelopment.
| | Our read Contractors and investors will need to stay committed to one London site for about 26 years, while the preparatory work has to fit cleanly around HS2's own Euston programme. |
Read the source → |
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03 |
 Energy & Grid · SSEN Transmission · 4 November 2026
SSEN Transmission opens new Glasgow office as Scotland workforce grows
Released by SSEN Transmission |
Energy & Grid |
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SSE opened a new office for around 640 staff, including SSEN Transmission, SSEN Distribution and the Eastern Green Link joint venture with National Grid, at 120 Bothwell Street in Glasgow. The office is part of the hiring behind SSEN Transmission's £29 billion north of Scotland grid investment plan, which has taken its workforce from about 400 in 2019 to more than 3,000 across Perth, Inverness, Aberdeen and Glasgow.
| | Our read Grid operators are hiring at this scale because regulators have already approved the investment plans behind it, and the operators now have to keep delivery moving at the same pace. |
Read the source → |
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04 |
 Water · Uisce Éireann · 4 November 2026
Uisce Éireann opens second consultation on Lahinch wastewater plant
Uisce Éireann launched its second public consultation on a proposed wastewater treatment plant for Lahinch and Ennistymon in County Clare, which would replace two existing plants dating from 1971 and 1937 that are overloaded and no longer meet environmental standards. A public information event is set for 19 November at the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon.
| | Our read Uisce Éireann is replacing two ageing, overloaded plants with one facility, the kind of unglamorous consolidation it needs to keep working through to meet EU wastewater rules. |
Read the source → |
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05 |
 Renewables · SSE · 4 November 2026
Dogger Bank wind farm hires second ship to install turbines
Released by SSE |
Renewables |
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Dogger Bank Wind Farm, owned by SSE, Equinor and Vårgrønn, has contracted Cadeler to supply a second turbine installation vessel for Dogger Bank C, the third 1.2 gigawatt phase of the 3.6 gigawatt North Sea project. The newbuild vessel, Wind Apex, is expected to join the installation campaign in the third quarter of 2027. It will work alongside the existing vessel Seaway Ventus to install Dogger Bank C's 87 turbines.
| | Our read Dogger Bank has locked in a second vessel this far ahead because the installation-vessel market is tight, with several North Sea offshore wind projects reaching construction at the same time. |
Read the source → |
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06 |
Energy & Grid · Energy & Utility Skills · 4 November 2026
UK energy sector needs 360,500 more workers by 2032
Energy & Utility Skills' new Workforce Demand Estimates project that the energy and utilities sector needs 360,500 people by 2032, made up of 246,200 new jobs plus 114,300 replacements for retirements. That would take the workforce from 676,100 in 2025 to 922,400. Demand is heavily front-loaded, with 74,200 people needed in 2026 alone.
| | Our read If the sector hires at that pace through 2026, training capacity, not funding, becomes the real constraint on delivering UK clean-power infrastructure. |
Read the source → |
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07 |
 Rail · HS2 Ltd · 4 November 2026
HS2 completes tunnelling between London and Birmingham
HS2 tunnelling crews broke through into the underground chamber built for Old Oak Common station in west London. That finished all deep-bore tunnelling on the route between London and Birmingham, after crews dug out around 100,000 tonnes of material. Two tunnel boring machines are now heading toward Euston, where they are expected to arrive in mid-2027.
| | Our read HS2 has cleared one of its largest technical risks by finishing the deep-bore tunnelling. Engineers can now focus on the Euston approach and station works, which have driven much of the project's cost growth. |
Read the source → |
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08 |
Water · DEFRA · 5 November 2026
New regional councils give communities a say on sewage, flooding and drought spending
DEFRA announced eight new regional water councils on 5 November 2026, where local leaders, customers and businesses will set investment priorities for sewage, flooding, drought and water supply in their area. Mayors will also get new powers under the strengthened Water Bill to hold water companies to account. Local leaders must submit proposals by the end of the year.
| | Our read Investment priorities for billions of pounds of water infrastructure now move to eight regional tables instead of one national one, so regional schemes will need to be argued for at council level first. |
Read the source → |
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09 |
Energy & Grid · DESNZ · 4 November 2026
Energy Independence Bill introduced, scrapping gas standing charges for 23 million homes
DESNZ introduced the Energy Independence Bill to Parliament on 4 November 2026. It scraps gas standing charges, saving around 60% of gas account holders £45 a year on average, and speeds up grid connections for new clean power projects. The Bill also ends new North Sea oil and gas exploration licences and gives communities a stake of up to 20% in nearby renewable projects.
| | Our read The line worth watching is the 20% community stake alongside the grid connection reforms, which together could reshape the economics of onshore renewable projects now in development. |
Read the source → |
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10 |
 Waste · DEFRA · 4 November 2026
Environment Secretary launches crackdown group to seize assets from waste crime gangs
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle launched the Waste Crime Crackdown Group on 4 November 2026 to get police, regulators, mayors and local authorities working together against organised illegal dumping. The Environment Agency says more than 30 arrests have been made since April, and it will get new powers to seize cash, cars and other assets bought with the proceeds of waste crime. The government already fines illegal dumpers up to £5,000.
| | Our read The new asset seizure powers are the sharpest change here, since they move enforcement from fines that organised operators can absorb to taking the vehicles and property the waste crime actually pays for. |
Read the source → |
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