MPs have voted to allow fracking under national parks although the ruling has caused some controversy amongst ministers after an underhand method of getting the measure through was used, avoiding a proper debate in the House of Commons. Despite the Conservative pledge to ban fracking in protected areas, 298 ministers voted for fracking against 261 […]
Will dependence on gas imports affect business energy rates?
As the price of brent crude plummets, pricing levels for UK wholesale gas prices are crushed and dependence on gas imports increases. Analysts say that Brent crude prices below $40/barrel could play a major factor in exerting strong downward pressure on the future cost of wholesale gas due to oversupply. Members of Opec (Organisation of […]
Fracking begins – how will it affect business energy prices?
The Task Force have released their final report on the process of shale gas fracking and have recommended that exploratory drilling begin as soon as possible. The Task Force on Shale Gas was launched in September 2014 to give careful consideration to public concerns, and to provide an impartial and transparent assessment of the potential […]
UK fracking on the rise but not in Scotland
It seems that government backing has helped to ramp up fracking planning as applications have risen. Ken Cronin, chief executive of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) has announced that he has “seen a significant increase in applications happening around the UK over the course of the last two or three months”. David Cameron has made […]
Shale fracking banned in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland’s environment minister Mark Durkan has banned shale fracking in the strategic planning policy statement (SPPS) for Northern Ireland. Durkan stated that this would not change unless the Department of the Environment is “satisfied that there is sufficient and robust evidence on all environmental impacts of fracking.” He said: “I have been consistently clear […]
UK government blasted over renewables cuts by Al Gore
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 […]
UK coal gasification gets planning go ahead
Despite the unknown impact on the environment and public health, the government has issued over 30 licenses allowing developers to plan coal gasification projects. The process, which resembles shale fracking, has been criticised after a lack of UK commercial testing, so much so, that Scotland have already vetoed it pending a public health impact assessment […]
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 […]
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 […]