Yesterday, Spectator editor Andrew Neil Tweeted his disappointment in the UK’s solar power performance after it was announced that a coal-fired power plant was put on standby to provide more electricity. One reason for the use of coal was that “Last Thursday the North Sea Link interconnector (between Britain and Norway) tripped losing 1.4GW
One of the clichés of climate change reporting is climate scientists claiming to be ‘surprised’, ‘shocked’ or ‘baffled’ by extreme events happening so much faster than predicted by their models and research studies. These consistent underestimations are often explained by their ‘cautious’ approach which sounds reasonable, until you realise this has led the Intergovernmental
Octopus Energy has called on the National Grid ESO to stop burning coal and instead use consumer energy consumption flexibility to reduce demands on the energy grid. The company implemented its ‘Saving Sessions’ – enabled by the National Grid ESO’s Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) in October 2022. The scheme offered financial incentives for consumers to reduce electricity demand over peak
A new study maps the relationship between human-caused warming and California’s summer fires over the past five decades. In the past six years, California has logged three of its five deadliest fires on record, and eight of its 10 biggest. More than 100 people have died, tens of thousands have been displaced, and millions
The UK Government has received a petition with almost 12,000 signatures calling to end the “senseless ban” on onshore wind farms in the UK. The petition was handed to Rishi Sunak by Sam Richards, a former advisor on energy and environment advisor for the Prime Minister. Pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade – set up by
The UK Government is consulting on whether VAT on batteries installed for solar panels should be zero-rated for homes and small businesses, following a long campaign by MPs. MPs on the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) wrote to the Government earlier this month, warning that the UK would likely not meet its target to host
The Office for National Statistics’ latest Climate Change insights data has revealed that 2023 has been a “warmer than average” year as consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions fall by only 2% from 2018. According to the paper, UK provisional mean temperatures for January and February 2023 were 1.7 degrees Celsius above the 2020 average. As
British homes will send an average of £5,700 abroad to foreign gas producers to heat their homes and water and cook food by the middle of the next decade, new analysis suggests. The average home could be buying foreign gas worth around £500 a year by 2035, unless efforts are made to reduce the country's
After centuries of dominance, fossil fuels are set to lose their spot at the top of the energy podium. According to Jeremy Oppenheim, Partner at systems change company Systemiq, “We are hitting peak oil. Over the next 20 to 30 years there will be a rewiring of the economy on
Trade association Solar Energy UK has welcomed a letter sent by MPs from the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) demanding that the Government should tackle long grid connection waiting lists for solar and battery projects. As part of the EAC’s latest enquiry, 'Enabling Sustainable Electrification of the UK Economy', committee chair Philip Dunne MP sent