Planning application for Cumbria coal mine dropped after legal setbacks April 5, 2025 The company behind a proposed development for the UK’s first coal mine in 30 years has withdrawn its planning application. The government confirmed on Friday that West Cumbria Mining (WCM) withdrew its application for the site near Whitehaven after years of legal and regulatory setbacks. Then-housing secretary Michael Gove first granted planning permission for the [...]
Oil prices plummet as Saudis lead supply drive April 4, 2025 Oil prices are falling to their lowest close since 2021 as eight countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia surprised market leaders by announcing an increase to production. The shock decision by the OPEC+ alliance, delivered via a video conference on Thursday, came less than 24 hours after President Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcements intensified global [...]
‘It’s tragic that Britain hasn’t made Greg Jackson a national hero’ March 31, 2025 The billionaire founder of Octopus Energy, Greg Jackson, should be recognised more for his achievements in business and made a national hero, according to marketing veteran Rory Sutherland. The vice chairman of Ogilvy added it’s “tragic” that the UK doesn’t “make more heroes of our really innovative business successes” in the way the USA does. [...]
Shell: FTSE 100 giant vows to boost investor returns after £19bn pay day March 25, 2025 Shell has vowed to reward its shareholders even further after the FTSE 100 giant handed almost £19bn to its investors in 2024 while also revealing plans to cut spending and reduce costs Ahead of its capital market day event today, the oil giant told investors it also plans to ramp up cost savings and cut [...]
Grid operator to ‘urgently investigate’ Heathrow power outage after fire March 22, 2025 Energy secretary Ed Miliband has ordered the National Energy System Operator to “urgently investigate” the power outage caused by a substation fire that shut Heathrow Airport on Friday. He is working with Ofgem and using powers under the Energy Act to formally launch the grid operator’s investigation. “We are determined to properly understand what happened [...]
Grangemouth: Green future for oil refinery needs £3.5bn, report finds March 19, 2025 Delivering a green future for the Grangemouth oil refinery will require around £3.5bn in private investment, a report has found. The long-awaited Project Willow study, which itself cost £1.5m, sets out nine options for the future of the industrial cluster in central Scotland. Hundreds of jobs are set to be lost this year when the [...]
British Gas: Centrica CEO’s pay slashed in half at FTSE 100 giant March 18, 2025 The boss of Centrica, the FTSE 100 parent company of British Gas, has seen his pay slashed by almost half for the group’s latest financial year. Chris O’Shea took home £4.3m for the 12 months, down from the £8.2m he received in the prior year. O’Shea, who has been CEO of the FTSE 100 company [...]
Kemi Badenoch: Tories to look at ‘achievable solutions’ for clean energy March 18, 2025 Kemi Badenoch has said net zero is “impossible” for Britain to achieve by 2050 and that her party will look at “achievable solutions”. The Conservative Party leader outlined her plans for the Tories to renew their policy programme at a speech in London, as she set out her stall ahead of the May local elections. [...]
Drax ‘misled’ government over wood sourcing, ex lobbyist alleges March 7, 2025 Drax’s former public affairs lead has accused the company of “misleading the public, government and its regulator” over its sourcing of wood for biomass pellets. Rowaa Ahmar was employed by Drax in 2022 amid allegations in a BBC Panorama documentary it had sourced wood from environmentally important forests in Canada instead of using sawdust and [...]
Net Zero: weak economic growth, high energy prices and stagnant productivity? March 5, 2025 How many times have we heard the argument that there is no trade-off between pursuing Net Zero and economic growth? The argument lies at the heat of the country’s economic, climate and environmental policy debate. The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, repeats the mantra at every opportunity – “clean energy and Net Zero equals good jobs [...]