Japan’s Hitachi buys Horizon for £696m

Just when the future of nuclear in the UK was looking a bit shaky, npower and E.ON sold their Horizon Project to Hitachi for £696m. Vice President of the Japanese electronics manufacturer, Tatsuro Ishizuka speaks with ELN over issues surrounding the future of nuclear in the UK.

Industry “shock” at Hayes anti-wind jibes

The wind industry is in “shock” after new Energy Minister John Hayes’ reported anti-turbine comments in a daily newspaper this morning. The minister is reported as criticising wind turbines for “peppering” the landscape, the day after he attended a renewable energy conference in Glasgow. Industry figures said the minister had been “warm” towards them at […]

Blog: As Japan rescues nuclear, kamikaze Brit plots grisly end to wind

Sometimes energy politics is more bizarre than fiction. Today’s latest twist in the saga, courtesy of new Energy Minister John Hayes, comes straight out of a comic book cartoon. You couldn’t make it up. The week began on a triumphant superhero high – as these things always do. The nation which brought us Godzilla, the […]

Low energy tariffs only ‘short-term boost’ for consumers

Prime Minister David Cameron’s proposal to force energy suppliers to offer their lowest tariffs to customers “won’t make any difference” in the long term. An energy professor claims the “underlying issues” in the energy industry will ensure prices will continue to rise in the future and the Prime Minister’s move won’t keep energy prices down […]

Renewables to produce 50% of Scotland’s energy

Scotland aims to generate 50% of the nation’s electricity demand from renewable sources by 2015. First Minister Alex Salmond announced the new target yesterday at the RenewableUK conference in Glasgow based on the sector’s rapid progress. It comes after DECC’s statistics showed Scotland met 35% of its electricity demand from renewables last year, beating the […]

Wind blows Hayes into hot water

Energy Minister John Hayes is in trouble with his boss after telling the Daily Mail the Government is turning its back on onshore wind. The newly appointed Tory minister has been wrapped over the knuckles by his Lib Dem boss Ed Davey with a terse response saying there’s been “no change” in Government policy. The […]

Four projects shortlisted for £1bn CCS competition

DECC has announced four bidders for the next phase of the UK’s £1 billion Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) competition. The four were shortlisted from eight bids following an evaluation process, which looked at project deliverability, value for money and the Government’s target to deliver a “cost-competitive CCS industry in the 2020s”. The funding is […]

€4.2m EU fund for ‘green’ power plant

A UK University has received a grant worth €4.2 million (£3.4 million) from the European Development Fund for an experimental “green” power plant. The cash for the University of Greenwich is part of an innovative cross-channel project to fund sustainable sources of green energy. Staff and students at the university will carry out research on […]

Horizon a ‘risky and expensive gamble’ for Hitachi

The Horizon nuclear project is a “risky and expensive gamble” for Japanese giant Hitachi. That’s according to Friends of the Earth whose comment follows yesterday’s news about Hitachi’s deal to buy the nuclear project from E.ON and RWE. The Japanese firm plans to build reactors at each of Horizon’s sites at Wylfa, Anglesey and Oldbury, […]

The Market Report – October 30th 2012

npower gives you the latest on the markets