The freeze will affect 5 million UK households, and will be financed by £100m of cost-cutting measures, including 500 job losses. The UK’s second-largest electricity and gas supplier, Scottish & Southern Energy, has announced the domestic energy sector’s longest ever ‘unconditional price promise’ at 26 months, having last raised its prices in November 2013. The company says the move will … Read More
Is public opinion on shale gas changing?
Shale gas is an environmental and political hot potato. This article studies how the country’s feelings towards shale gas have evolved. It’s probably the hottest topic in energy at the moment – ‘fracking’ for shale gas. As with any new source of energy, it has drawn protests from hard left groups at exploratory drilling sites and the HQ of energy … Read More
Wind farms continue to get massive subsidies
Ministers increase “strike price” paid to onshore and offshore wind farms for each megawatt-hour of electricity they generate. Onshore and offshore wind farms are to receive subsidies on the energy they generate of at least £100 and £155 per megawatt-hour (MWh) respectively, with the going rate for electricity currently at around £50/MWh. The subsidy will be in place for the … Read More
FiT charges to inflate business electricity bills
Due to the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) costing more than expected, all companies that pay a business electricity bill could face extra charges. Since the 1st April, any household or business that generates their own renewable energy receives a subsidy for every unit of energy they produce. This subsidy is paid for through the bills of those who choose not to … Read More
Fracking ‘could be fast tracked’
The Growth and Infrastructure Bill, currently going through the House of Lords could give shale gas the go-ahead faster than expected. Shale Gas is the reason many parts of the U.S. are seeing their economy boom. Energy prices have halved in some areas, as their planning and drilling regulations have allowed shale exploration to progress to commercial extraction and sale … Read More
A 2013 UK Shale Gas Revolution? Unlikely.
Natural gas prices in the US have dropped by almost two thirds since they started ‘fracking’ for shale gas. Could we see a similar boost to the UK economy any time soon? Shale Gas – probably the only hope we have of producing a significant amount of useful, home-grown energy in the next decade or two. Some say it is … Read More
2012 Energy Bill Omits 2030 Carbon Target
Details of the government’s new energy bill have now been released, with plans to keep the lights on and keep carbon emissions down. Labour are calling it a “humiliating failure” for the Lib Dems and Greenpeace say David Cameron has given in to “militant tendencies” in his own party. However you look at it, the lack of a binding ‘decarbonisation’ … Read More
Minister: “Wind farms; enough is enough”
Conservative MP John Hayes has been in hot water recently for commenting on the vast number of onshore wind farms “peppered” across the UK. Mr Hayes has been publicly ‘slapped down’ by Lib Dem boss Ed Davey over comments he made in an interview with the Daily Mail. He was discussing a speech he was due to make the next … Read More
London 2012: The ‘greenest’ games ever
The day after the 30th Olympiad ended, the London 2012 Olympics has been hailed as the “greenest games ever”. The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 has hailed recycling and regeneration as a major success. However, they also noted that improvements can still be made for the next Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Shaun McCarthy, the Commision’s … Read More
Wind subsidies to be cut by 10%
Wind subsidy reduction hailed by Department of Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey as a “victory”. The government wanted to reduce it to 75% of current levels, but it has now been agreed that it will be reduced to only 90% of the current subsidy. The coalition announced its plans for the future of Britain’s energy security in its … Read More