UK approves Chinese-backed megabattery project after national security review September 1, 2024 The British government has approved a major battery storage facility in the UK, which is backed by a joint venture involving US investment giant Blackrock and KX Power, a UK-registered asset manager with ties to Chinese investors. The UK launched a national security review of the proposed 80-megawatt project, led by former Chinese diplomat Zhe Zhang, [...]
Why we bought a decommissioned nuclear power station August 30, 2024 Seventy years since a Brit first split the atom, it’s time to re-energise our nuclear industry and reclaim leadership in the technology of the future, says Lord Grade Down an unassuming country lane in Gloucestershire, out of the market town of Berkeley and toward the Severn Estuary, lies the site where Britain’s next nuclear power [...]
Future of Rosebank in doubt as UK drops challenge to judicial review August 29, 2024 The future of Britain’s largest untapped oil field, Rosebank, has been thrown in to doubt after the new government said it would not challenge a judicial review. The decision affects the field which is just off the Shetland Islands, as well as Jackdaw, another untapped site 150 miles east of Aberdeen. Legal challenges against the [...]
Drax: Renewable power operator agrees to pay £25m as Ofgem shuts probe August 29, 2024 Power station operator Drax has agreed to pay £25m after an investigation by energy watchdog Ofgem found it failed to report data adequately. Drax, which receives hefty Government subsidies from burning biomass wood chips, lacked the necessary data governance and controls in place, according to Ofgem. This meant it did not give the regulator accurate [...]
Ofgem’s energy price cap to increase by 10 per cent from October August 23, 2024 Households will pay £12 a month more for their gas and electricity bills starting in October after Ofgem announced it would lift its price cap. The energy price cap for the final quarter of 2024 will rise 10 per cent to £1,717 for a typical household in the UK, the energy regulator confirmed today. That [...]
Labour’s North Sea windfall tax plans branded a ‘blunt response’ that will hammer businesses across the UK August 22, 2024 The government’s plans for North Sea oil and gas are a “blunt response” that could jeopardise hundreds of thousands of jobs not just in the energy sector, several of the industry’s leading figures have warned. In an open letter to the Treasury, over 40 companies with operations in the North Sea voiced their “grave concern” [...]
Riverstone Energy share buyback programme marches on after £158m spending spree August 21, 2024 Riverstone Energy’s underlying assets per share ticked up seven per cent over the last six months, as the company continued an aggressive share repurchase programme. Riverstone’s monster share buyback programme has helped the energy-focused investment trust outperform its peer group over the past one and three years. The trust’s share price has returned 42.2 per [...]
Gran Tierra Energy pounces on i3 Energy in £175m deal August 20, 2024 Oil producer Gran Tierra Energy has announced a £175m deal to acquire its London-listed peer i3 Energy. Under the terms of the deal, which was announced in the early hours of this morning, Gran Tierra said it would offer one new Gran Tierra share for every 207 i3 Energy shares held as well as 10.43p [...]
The state is bad at picking winners. GB Energy will prove that August 19, 2024 GB Energy is likely to prove to be another example of how the state can't pick winners, writes Eliot Wilson.
UK water firms could face £2bn in fines over next five years, Moody’s warns August 15, 2024 UK water companies could be hit with a total of roughly £2bn in fines over the next five years, Moody's has estimated, warning that more demanding proposals from the industry regulator increase risk in the sector.