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Thousands of businesses face CRC scheme fines

Companies that fail to register in time could be hit with an instant £5,000 fine

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The deadline to register for the government’s new CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is approaching fast, but over 3,000 of the largest UK businesses have still not yet registered, and could face fines of up to £45,000.

As detailed on our CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme page, the deadline to register for the CRC Scheme is September 30th. All businesses with at least one half-hourly electricity meter must participate in the scheme, and those spending £500,000 per annum on electricity must become ‘full participants’. Continue reading →

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Gulf Oil spill has cost BP 3.8 billion pounds

BP says they have spent nearly four billion pounds since April, when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in Mexico.

Oil Spill
The staggering sums have accumulated in scarcely three months since the disaster. BP attribute the majority of the sum to their initial spill response, namely the 31,000 people deployed in the numerous containment attempts.

The gushing oil well was finally stopped on the 15th July 2010. The now plugged Macondo well in the Mississippi Canyon, is the first drilling relief well expected to start intercepting oil within the next week. Continue reading →

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Profits rise 98% at British Gas

British Gas profits show a 98% rise in first half of 2010

Centrica have announced that British Gas made operating profits of £585 million for the first half of the year.

Coin towers

Centrica, parent company of British Gas also released their profit increase of 65% to £1.56 billion

Being Britain’s largest domestic energy supplier, supplying power to half of UK households British Gas benefited from the cold winter with gas use rising by 8%.

The company also gained over 220,000 new customers when they cut their prices in February 2010. Continue reading →

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BT in Smart Meter Plan

British Telecom launches a bid to be included in the Smart Meter roll-out

The UK Government have set a target of rolling out smart meters – energy meters which will enable suppliers to take meter readings via a wireless network – to every home in the UK by 2020.

Electricity Meter

Traditional meters like this one are being replaced

This is a plan that is estimated to cost over £7 billion, with almost 50 million smart meters being installed over the next decade in 28 million homes and small businesses.

IT and communications giant British Telecom have launched a bid to partner this project in conjunction with 2 other companies, Arqiva and Detica. Continue reading →

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Recession responsible for emissions ‘illusion’

CO2 emissions fell by 8.6% last year.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has said that the economic downturn is responsible for the 8.6% drop in CO2 emissions experienced last year. Smoking Chimney

Major changes have been called for by The Committee on Climate Change in an annual review presented to the government.

The CCC’s annual report follows a year which has seen an 8.6% drop in carbon emissions, the highest annual reduction in carbon emissions experienced by the UK since 1990, mainly due to recession but also rising fossil fuel prices. Continue reading →

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The effects of the BP oil spill

BP hit hard in the aftermath of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico

It’s almost two months since the widely reported disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Deepwater Horizon BP oil rig exploded and was sunk on April 20, killing 11 workers and leaving a hole in the ocean floor spewing around 5000 barrels of crude oil a day into the sea. Oil Rig

The threat to the marine life in the area is substantial and protecting the environment is the job of British Petroleum, who have confessed to being “Ultimately Responsible” for fixing the mess.

The clean up operations along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and also the effort to repair the leak was costing BP a reported £4m per day. Continue reading →

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Study suggests positive renewable future for UK

Study shows renewable energy can fuel the UK and create thousands of jobs

The first full economic valuation of the UK’s renewable energy sector has suggested that renewable energy could power the UK and create thousands of jobs. Plane & Union Jack

The report even suggests that by 2050 the UK could be exporting electricity.

The study was carried out by the Offshore Valuation Group, and it says that even were the offshore renewable industry to work at just a third of its potential capacity, it could still see some 145,000 jobs created. Continue reading →

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E.ON unveils new wave power machine

E.ON UK has launched the UK’s first wave power generator

The Pelamis P2 wave power device is 180m long and weights 750 tonnes. It can generate 750kW of electricity.

The device is a first step into marine energy for the UK, with this device being the first of its kind to be tested anywhere in the world. The device was manufactured in Scotland, and the Scottish are confident they can become a big player in the renewable energy market by embracing innovative new renewable technologies such as this. Continue reading →

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Nuclear power & a new government

What is the UK Nuclear industry looking forward to under a new government?

Hung Parliament & Nuclear Power

Following the televised debates, polls are indicating that the chances of one party gaining enough of a majority to be elected has significantly dropped.

This has led to concerns that the nuclear power plans put in place by the Labour government could be under threat should a hung parliament be elected, due to the Liberal Democrats’ anti nuclear stance. Continue reading →

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Oil demand to rise

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has forecast that oil demand will hit an all time high this year.

This comes after recent news that oil prices went up to $87 per barrel, the highest it has been in the 18 months since October 2008.

The IEA has reported that due to a big increase in global oil demand including a substantial 20pc rise in China, the price of oil will in turn go up and could threaten the UK and Europe’s economic recovery following the recession. Continue reading →

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