Whatever Rishi Sunak says, the details of his changes in climate policy suggest he is thinking about politics, not the environment. In a year which is currently on course to be the warmest in human history, that's a pretty big risk to take. The prime minister denied that today's net zero intervention was about politics.
Britain now has more installed wind capacity than gas generation, according to data released by Drax Electric Insights. The data, provided by Imperial College London for Drax, found that for the “first time ever” installed wind capacity surpassed gas, reaching 27.9GW in June compared to the 27.7GW installed capacity of gas generation. This represents a
Octopus Energy has announced a number of initiatives to support EV drivers, including a new 15p per kWh export tariff, and a community energy EV charging partnership with Co Charger. Octopus EV is partnering with Co Charger to “unlock the potential of community charging”, by making it easier for people with private home chargers to
According to the latest national statistics the UK has a total installed solar capacity of 15.5GW from July 2023. This is an increase of 6.8% (977MW) since July 2022, demonstrating the highest annual increase since August 2017, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). According to the national statistics there were
The use of battery energy storage in power systems is increasing. But while approximately 192GW of solar and 75GW of wind were installed globally in 2022, only 16GW/35GWh (gigawatt hours) of new storage systems were deployed. To meet our Net Zero ambitions of 2050, annual additions of grid-scale battery energy storage globally must rise
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reportedly intends to revoke the ban on new onshore wind farms, according to an article published by The Telegraph yesterday (3 September). Under current planning rules, the development of a new onshore wind farm can be halted by the objection of a single resident. This de facto ban on onshore wind
The International Energy Agency predicts that 440 GW of renewable energy will be added by the end of 2023, potentially leading to peak fossil fuel emissions by 2025. Energy storage is essential for balancing the variable nature of renewable sources like wind and solar, and the sector could add 387 GW of new capacity
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) report has stated that solar photovoltaics (PV) increased its generation by 10% between 2021 and 2022. Solar PV generated 13.3TWh of electricity in 2022, an increase on the 12.1TWh generated in 2021. DESNZ stated that this increase was driven by longer average sunlight hours and
New research by Cornwall Insight has found that domestic flexible electricity technologies such as solar photovoltaics (PV) and battery storage would negate the need for four additional gas-fired power stations. This also includes the use of flexibile electricity initiatives such as the use of time-of-use tarriffs and smart meters. Using this domestic technologies would
Trade association Energy UK has called on the UK Government to introduce renewable investment measures to compete with the US’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). According to the firm’s Funding the Future report, the UK must scale its investment in the clean energy sector and incentivise its development to compete with other countries around the globe. Failing to