Former US vice president Al Gore has been left “puzzled” by the recent cuts to renewables subsidies by the UK government. In their short time in power, the Renewables Obligation scheme has been scrapped, subsidies for wind farms and solar projects have prematurely ended, cut Climate Change Levy (CCL) exemptions and the Feed-in Tariff scheme […]
New shadow head of energy policy appointed
Shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy, has cemented her reputation as a campaigner for green energy with the appointment of an ex-Greenpeace director as her new head of energy. Joss Garman, former deputy political director for Greenpeace, will leave his current role at IPPR as associate director for energy, transport and climate change. The Labour party […]
ECCC to review drop in renewables investment
The Energy and Climate Change select committee (ECCC) has agreed to investigate whether there has been a drop in investor confidence towards the energy market since the entrance of the new government. ECCC chair Angus MacNeil said: “Energy projects like offshore wind farms and nuclear power stations can take years from planning to completion, so […]
DECC to shut down coal plants by 2023
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will vow to shut down all coal-fired power plants by 2023. The UK still has 10 remaining coal-fired power stations and these will either be closed or converted to alternative fuels. This came about after the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) ordered plants to reduce the amount of […]
Investment in UK renewables falls dramatically
The recent cuts to renewables subsidies and green schemes, has dramatically affected the number of investors in the UK renewables market. A worrying time to be losing investment as EU carbon targets loom in the distance and the government seems to be more focused on fracking than wind and solar energy. EY energy corporate finance […]
Nandy says no to nationalisation of energy industry
Despite Jeremy Corbyn’s previous controversial ‘personal wish’ to nationalise the energy industry, Lisa Nandy, the new shadow energy secretary has stated they will not be pursuing this. “Jeremy and I don’t want to nationalise energy. We want to do something much more radical. We want to democratise it,” Nandy announced. She instead plans to focus […]
Corbyn appoints experienced shadow energy ministers
Jeremy Corbyn has been busy since he was elected Labour leader by creating a six strong team for shadow Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) made up of the most experienced ministers. Energy and climate change committee (ECCC) member Alan Whitehead has been named, as well as former shadow water minister Barry Gardiner. Both […]
Tories to allow fracking in nature reserves
The government pledged to restrict fracking in national parks, yet in July it reneged on it’s pre-election promise to protect the thousands of wildlife sites in the UK. Nearly 300 sites of special scientific interest (SSSI), home to rare animals and plants, have now been opened up to fracking by the Tory government. This is a far […]
Climate change education required to stop global warming
Energy secretary Amber Rudd has called for a new approach to tackling global warming after she stated that the climate change debate was ‘dictated by left-wing anti-capitalists.’ Rudd says she can understand why people see tackling global warming as “cover for anti-growth, anti-capitalist, proto-socialism.” “It cannot be left to one part of the political spectrum […]
Energy secretary backs nuclear for the short term
Energy secretary Amber Rudd announced support for nuclear power in order to back up unreliable renewable sources and provide the UK with a steady supply of electricity. She stated: “The requirement for nuclear is absolute if we want to have renewables as part of the mix because, until we get storage right, renewables are unreliable. […]