Plans for UK’s first coal mine in 30 years quashed by High Court September 13, 2024 The decision to grant planning permission for what would have been the UK’s first coal mine in 30 years at Whitehaven in Cumbria has been quashed by a High Court judge. The Government first granted permission for the new coal mine in December 2022. Then-levelling up secretary Michael Gove greenlit the Whitehaven mine, in line [...]
National Grid agrees sale of Electricity System Operator to government September 13, 2024 National Grid has struck a deal to sell its Electricity System Operator (ESO) to the government for £630m, paving the way for the division to transition into public ownership. The FTSE 100 utility said on Friday that it expected the transaction to be completed on 1 October, when the government and regulator Ofgem aim to [...]
GB Energy: Bill criticised as ‘blank cheque’ as MPs debated flagship policy September 6, 2024 The government’s Great British Energy bill has been criticised as a “blank cheque” and for having “barely anything in it” as MPs debated the flagship policy in the Commons. Energy security secretary Ed Miliband introduced the legislation to the chamber on Thursday for its second reading – when the main Commons debate was held – [...]
Lack of wind dents profit at one of EDF’s biggest UK windfarms September 3, 2024 A lack of wind has dented profit at EDF’s Dorenell Windfarm in Scotland, with turnover dropping by more than £20m in 2023, according to newly-filed documents. Dorenell Windfarm, a 59-turbine site south of Dufftown with the capacity to power more than 106,000 UK homes, saw its turnover slump to £56m during the 12 months, down [...]
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” [...]