MPs concerned about UK green bank’s proposed sale

MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) have raised concerns about the proposed sale of the Green Investment Bank to an Australian bank. They have sent a letter to Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clark, seeking assurances as to how ministers intend to ensure any future sale guarantees the green purposes of the […]

GIB to create ‘special share’ to protect green mission

The Green Investment Bank (GIB) is to create a “special share” to protect its green mission. It is part of the government’s privatisation process of the institution. The special share will be held by a separate company independent of the GIB and the Tory administration. The bank will not be able to make changes to […]

UK’s green bank to be part-privatised

The UK Government has announced the Green Investment Bank (GIB) will be part-privatised. It was set up in 2012 to support investment in the nation’s green infrastructure and has committed £2 billion so far. The funding has helped finance 50 green infrastructure projects, including wind power and bioenergy. In a speech at the bank’s Annual […]

GIB funds £2m for Scottish sewage heat systems

The Green Investment Bank (GIB) is investing £2 million in sewage heat recovery systems across Scotland. It will be the first time the technology will be deployed in the UK. The investment is GIB’s 50th transaction since its formation in 2012. The Equitix-managed fund, Energy Savings Investments (ESI), is investing £2m in the project. The […]

UK green bank refinances offshore wind farm share

The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) and Japan’s Marubeni Corporation have refinanced part of their joint 50% share in the Westermost Rough offshore wind farm. A consortium of lenders, including Siemens and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, are to invest £370 million in refinancing the project being built off the Yorkshire coast. Developer DONG Energy holds the […]

$210m fund to jump start New York’s ‘green’ bank

New York’s first bank aimed at boosting clean energy projects is set to launch early next year after an initial $210 million (£128.4m) of funding was unveiled. Called the NY Green Bank, it is expected to capitalise with $1 billion (£0.6bn) in total and serve as a financial engine to scale up low carbon and […]

Huhne says energy crunch could rival credit crunch

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne today warned that “an energy crunch is coming” and its scale and impact “could rival the credit crunch”. And he added that “if we are still hooked on oil, there will be no bailout”. Mr Huhne was delivering a speech to the TUC’s annual climate change conference, and he used to […]

Coalition parties have ‘missed opportunities’ on climate change says FoE

Friends of the Earth believes the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have both “missed great opportunities” on climate change since they formed their coalition government. In a review of the government’s performance so far, FoE’s head of climate Mike Childs said that the Lib Dems should have stuck to their pre-election target of a 42% […]

Lack of renewable investment will speed energy crisis

The UK will suffer an energy crisis by 2020 if investment is not released by commercial banks for renewable projects, according to a sustainable finance expert. And key to bringing this about is helping the banks better understand and overcome the risks in financing renewable energy projects. Aniko Dobi-Rozsa told a conference that a change […]