Businesses to get more choice over their water supplier

The Government is expected to announce changes to legislation that could mean more businesses around the country will be able to find a better deal for their water supply. Currently, only businesses that use more than fifty megalitres of water a year can switch from their existing water supplier to a new one. The plans […]

Government to halve solar subsidy

The Government is slashing the subsidy for solar in a bid to keep its rapidly spiralling payouts within budget. DECC says that the rewrite of the Feed in Tariff (FiTs) “won’t come as a surprise” to many in the industry. Under new proposals announced by Energy Minister Greg Barker, the tariff for schemes up to […]

Consumer body welcomes npower fine

Consumer Focus has backed Ofgem’s £2 million fine of npower over customer complaint issues and said it is important the regulator has confidence in dealing with the Big Six. Adam Scorer, Director of External Affairs at Consumer Focus said: “This is the second of the Big Six to be fined this year for problems with […]

npower fined £2m over complaint-handling

Energy firm regulator Ofgem has slapped a £2 million fine on Big Six producer npower for failing to adequately deal with complaints it received back in 2008. The regulator says npower has sufficiently addressed and remedied all the breaches of the regulations identified. Last year Ofgem found that npower had failed to record all the […]

International nuclear team surveys UK safety

A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency has visited the UK’s nuclear facilities to assess their civil nuclear security arrangements. The visit fulfils a UK pledge to curry favour with the President Obama-led Nuclear Security Summit in Washington last year. The International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission team went to the Sellafield plant […]

BG Group bags 20-year deal for US gas

UK-headed gas explorer and producer BG Group has signed a 20-year deal to buy 33.5million tonnes of gas from US firm Sabine Pass Liquefaction, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy. The deal is the first long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchase agreement from a project on the US Gulf Coast. Gas exports from the soon to […]

Floating offshore wind project nabs £25m funding

An innovative project to put offshore wind turbines on floating platforms could receive up to £25million of funding. The Energy Technologies Institute announced plans to back a two year trial of the new system.Offshore wind has been criticised for high costs at the expense of the public purse. The ETI, a partnership betwee industry and […]

Pat on the back for Cow Power

A 700 acre farm is fuelling an AD plant with its homemade cow pats. The Greenhill farm in Northern Ireland uses grass and animal waste from some 600 cows to fuel the plant, which produces 430 kilowatts of electricity per hour. After extracting methane from the manure and grass, the gas is then piped into […]

Climate policy pushing UK manufacturers’ bills higher than German levels

Climate policy is pushing major energy users’ bills higher than German levels, claims a leading UK manufacturers’ group the EEF. It warns that UK firms are paying significantly more than their European rivals. A recent survey of over 200 manufacturers by the group also found that only one in eight think current policy will boost […]

Industry response to potential FiT cuts

The solar industry has been left confused and concerned following the Government’s plans to change their levels of subsidy in the Feed-in Tariff. Speaking at the Solar Power UK event in Birmingham, Climate Change Minister Greg Barker told manufacturers: “I’m personally committed to ensuring that your industry can prosper in the longer term, sustaining green […]