Energy Bill 2012: Ed Davey sets out reforms

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Plans were outlined today for the future of Britain’s energy security, with nuclear, gas and renewables all to have essential roles in our energy mix in the coming decades. The Department For Energy & Climate Change today released a draft of the long-awaited energy bill, with the three goals of “Keeping the lights on, consumers energy bills down and creating … Read More

David Cameron speaks at the Energy Summit

Web MasterInternational, Utilities Market Regulation, Wholesale Utilities Markets

Renewable energy sources must be “financially sustainable” if they are to meet the world’s needs, the Prime Minister David Cameron has said. A meeting of international Ministers was held last week when Mr Cameron welcomed the investment of £350 million to create 800 jobs in the energy sector, but he says the main challenge is to drive down costs. Mr … Read More

David Cameron: wind farms ”over subsidised”

adminBusiness Electricity, Energy Efficiency, Utilities Market Regulation

In his most vociferous criticism of green energy yet, the Prime Minister has declared that wind farms have been “over subsidised and wasteful of public money”. Mr. Cameron plans to cut the subsidies for wind turbine construction, forcing them to be built in an economically viable way. He said during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions “We’re cutting the subsidy to … Read More

Fracking for shale gas regulations sufficient

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A report published by the European Commission has declared that the current rules regarding fracking for shale gas are sufficient The controversial new method of extracting gas by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of rocks deep below the Earth’s surface is already covered by existing water and drilling regulations, and no new rules are needed until the technology reaches a commercial scale, … Read More

5,000 Solar firms go bust in Germany in 2011

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Germany’s once booming solar power industry is declining at an alarming rate, with 20,000 jobs being lost in 2011 alone. Germany once had the biggest solar industry in the world, providing around 150,000 jobs by 2010, but that bubble seems to be starting to burst, as demand for solar technology drops, government subsidies are cut and competition from cheaper Asian … Read More

The main problem with wind turbines

adminBusiness Electricity, Energy Efficiency, Utilities Market Regulation, Wholesale Utilities Markets

32,000 new turbines are planned, but how many understand the major flaw with the UK’s most popular renewable energy source? It seems at first glance to be the perfect solution to an ever-growing problem. Like the sun, the wind never ‘runs out’, and each turbine we build in the UK provides a little bit more energy to meet our needs. … Read More

Chris Huhne attacks critics

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The Energy & Climate Change Secretary has called renewable energy critics ‘curmudgeons and faultfinders’ and says they are ‘selling Britain’s ingenuity short’. Chris Huhne seems to never be out of the spotlight. A couple of weeks ago he was slamming those who doubt the cost-effectiveness of renewable energy sources, such as wind power, and last week he wrote a controversial … Read More

Fracking caused 50 earthquakes – report

adminBusiness Gas, Utilities Market Regulation, Wholesale Utilities Markets

Cuadrilla Resources, the company responsible for drilling for shale gas underneath Blackpool, has released the findings of an independent report it commissioned earlier this year. On April 1, a tremor reaching 2.3 on the richter scale was recorded, followed by another of around 1.4 on May 27th after drilling at the Preese Hall-1 well in Lancashire. The company has even … Read More