Energy firms including SSE and Drax have written to chancellor Philip Hammond urging him to keep the UK’s carbon price support. The tax, held at £18/tonne by George Osborne, could be scrapped in the Autumn Statement. Such a move would be welcomed by large industrial firms, who have long argued that unilaterally taxing carbon is Read more…

Government has given the green light to new nuclear at Hinkley Point. The decision has received a mixed reaction but ends uncertainty around bill payer support for the project. EDF can now begin work proper on the project, which, if successfully constructed, could deliver up to 7% of the UK’s baseload power. It will receive an index-linked Read more…

In this sponsored post, Stuart Lloyd-Evans, director of risk and trading operations at Opus Energy, asks what Brexit means for the energy and FM market. Despite the summer lull in headlines, and even though the vote was several months ago, the shape of ‘Brexit’ remains the ‘known unknown’ in the future of our island. As if Read more…

EU 2020 targets on renewable energy and heat should be ditched because they are wasting money. There are more cost-effective ways to decarbonise energy, particularly heat, according to a new report by an influential think tank. It also calls for government to make energy efficiency a national policy priority. Policy Exchange’s Too hot to handle? report Read more…

Treasury aims to cap payments to individual local communities where shale development takes place at £10 million over 25 years, equating to £400,000 per annum. Setting out its initial views on how revenues from the Shale Wealth Fund might be allocated, Treasury also seeks further views on how any money raised from taxes on profitable Read more…

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has confirmed that Nick Hurd is minister for climate change and industry while Jesse Norman is minister for industry and energy. Hurd’s previous role was a stint as minister at the department for international development, his remit including climate and environment. Prior to entering government, Hurd Read more…

Ofgem has indicated it will move quickly to first cap and then reduce the payments earned by generators connected to the distribution network. The outcome of its review could have significant implications for companies with on-site generation. The regulator was asked earlier this year by the then department of energy and climate change to review the Read more…

Business secretary Greg Clark has said the government will decide “in early Autumn” whether to go ahead with its commitment to pay EDF an index-linked £92.5/MWh for 35 years to build a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point. The announcement follows EDF’s board narrowly voting to build the plant yesterday. EDF’s shares spiked 10% Read more…

Treasury’s decision to axe funding for carbon capture and storage (CCS) could lead to higher carbon costs for businesses and further erode investor trust in the UK government. The National Audit Office’s assessment of the decision to scrap a £1bn competition for CCS last Autumn also warns that delaying the deployment of CCS may mean Read more…

A fall in energy demand as a result of a Brexit-related economic downturn will see businesses paying more for their energy. Meanwhile, even a 150% increase in capacity market payments, which will weigh heavy on bills, may not be enough to incentivise new gas plants, according to Cornwall Energy. Managing director Jo Butlin said that Read more…

The prime minister’s office has confirmed that the department of energy and climate change (Decc) is to be abolished. Responsibility for energy policy will now be the remit of an expanded business department. Greg Clark, former head of the department for communities and local government, is the new secretary of state for the department of Read more…

The Committee on Climate Change has called for an urgent delivery plan for carbon capture and storage (CCS). Without CCS, gas cannot be used for power generation in twenty years time if the UK is to hit its 2050 emissions reduction goals, according to the Committee. The Committee’s shale gas report warns that emissions from UK Read more…

Updated: Carlton Power has been given an extension by energy secretary Amber Rudd after receiving a termination notice for its capacity market contract for Trafford power station, a proposed new combined cycle gas turbine plant. The termination date has been extended from 26th September to 19th December 2016 to enable the project to achieve financial Read more…

As the European Commission kicks off Sustainable Energy Week, Toby Crewe, Sustainability Director, Schneider Electric, Energy and Sustainability Services, looks at the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the associated obstacles and barriers businesses face in achieveing these targets.  The UN has set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve by 2030, addressing challenges Read more…

Scotland hit its 2020 greenhouse gas targets in 2014, the government announced today.  Its data suggest a 12.5% year on year reduction in adjusted emissions to 41.9 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2014, a reduction of 45.8% from the 1990 baseline. In terms of source emissions, the year-on-year fall was 8.6%, with Scotland down Read more…

EDF is pushing for market rule changes that would take money away from small generators with capacity market contracts, rendering them much less able to make low bids within the auction. The outcome would likely drive up capacity market clearing rates. The energy company wants Ofgem to make a decision in September this year on its proposed Read more…

Support rates for small biomass will be cut by a further 10% next month. The department of energy and climate change (Decc) said that forecast commitments under the renewable heat incentive (RHI) had breached its budget cap for the financial year. Small biomass is classified as installations up to 200kW thermal (kWth). The digression comes Read more…

District heating networks could require no subsidy by 2021 if government made three changes to policy, according to the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE). In a paper published today, the ADE called on government to extend its existing support for Local Authorities beyond feasibility studies to the point where networks are ready for financial close. Read more…

A Brexit vote may have implications for transparency, energy integration and renewable energy. But what does it mean for energy managers, asks Stuart Lloyd-Evans, director of risk and trading operations at Opus Energy in this sponsored post. The news agenda at the moment is dominated by politics and the future of our island. ‘Brexit’ discussion Read more…

The department of energy and climate change (Decc) has offered little comfort to operators of diesel generators hoping to earn capacity market contracts. Its consultation response states that the department of environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) is working on strict rules to limit hours of diesel generators, which it said would come into force Read more…