Octopus wraps tentacles around US with Evolve Energy purchase September 29, 2020 Challenger energy brand Octopus has today continued its international expansion with its first foray into the massive US market. The firm, which has grown rapidly since launching four years ago and now boasts 1.7m accounts in the UK, has bought American supplier Evolve Energy in a $5m (£3.9m) deal. The acquisition is the first step [...]
Boris Johnson: UK can be ‘launchpad’ for green industrial revolution September 24, 2020 Boris Johnson has said that the UK will lead the world in the world in the transition to a net zero economy, saying that climate action cannot be “another victim of coronavirus”. Speaking to a United Nations roundtable on climate change this afternoon, the PM said that the UK will serve “as a launch pad for [...]
BP takes first step into offshore wind with $1.1bn Equinor deal September 10, 2020 BP will make its first foray into offshore wind power after it today announced a $1.1bn (£845m) deal with Norwegian energy giant Equinor to buy 50 per cent of its US offshore operations. The acquisition is the latest step in the oil giant’s push into becoming a “integrated energy company”. It plans to develop 50 [...]
Greencoat Wind to buy SSE wind farm stake for £350m September 1, 2020 Renewable investment fund Greencoat Wind will buy SSE’s 25.1 per cent stake in two wind farms off the coast of Cumbria for £350m. The Walney wind farms, which are situated nine miles off the Cumbrian coast, have a capacity of 367.2 megawatts. Danish power company Orsted holds a 50.1 per cent stake in the assets, [...]
Amazon unveils $2bn net zero venture capital fund June 23, 2020 Tech giant Amazon today announced a $2bn (£1.6bn) venture capital fund to help the firm reach its commitment to be carbon neutral by 2040. The Climate Pledge Fund, as the initiative is known, will be used to back sustainable services and technologies that will allow Amazon and other countries to meet their climate targets. Last [...]
National Grid secures £580m loan for Viking Link power cable June 16, 2020 The National Grid has today secured a $734m (£580m) loan to help build a new €2bn power link between the UK and Denmark. The Viking Link, which is expected to be completed in 2023, will be able to provide renewable power to 1.4m households. The 1400 megawatt cable is being developed in a joint venture [...]
Will hydrogen fuel the UK’s net-zero coronavirus comeback? June 12, 2020 As the UK begins to take its first cautious steps out of the lockdown that has precipitated the worst economic crisis in modern history, thoughts have inevitably begun to turn to the question of what comes next. For some, the devastation wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic gives the UK a chance to fundamentally reset its [...]
Total acquires 51 per cent stake in Scotland’s largest wind farm June 3, 2020 French oil giant Total has taken a 51 per cent stake in SSE Renewables’ £3bn Seagreen 1 wind farm, which was today greenlit for construction. The 1 gigawatt wind farm, which will be located in the Firth of Forth, will be Scotland’s largest renewable energy project. Once completed, it will provide enough electricity to power [...]
UN confirms November 2021 date for landmark COP26 climate summit May 28, 2020 The United Nations has tonight confirmed that the so-called COP26 climate summit will be held from 1 to 12 November 2021, a year later than originally planned, due to coronavirus. The talks, which will be held in Glasgow, are widely tipped to be the most critical since 2015’s landmark Paris conference, with world leaders expected [...]
Seize the opportunities of carbon capture technology March 23, 2020 Right now, the government’s only focus is getting the country through the current coronavirus pandemic. But once we are through the worst, we will turn once again to tackling another global crisis: climate change. That the government claims to take the climate crisis seriously is impossible to deny. The 2050 target for carbon neutrality is [...]