Wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa has announced plans to build a manufacturing facility in the Port of Leith. If the project gets the go ahead, it could be worth up to €150 million (£125m) of investment and is expected to support between 800 and 1,000 jobs. The factory will make blades and the generator units that […]

The Federation of Master Builders says last week’s Budget “failed to ignite the forthcoming Green Deal programme to retrofit our nation’s homes”. The trade group has attacked George Osborne and the government for not introducing incentives such as a cut in VAT for energy efficient repairs. FMB director general Richard Diment said: “The Chancellor missed […]

Nuclear power looks set to play a vote-swinging role in the Scottish elections in May following the Japanese reactor accidents. This week the Scottish Labour Party will launch its manifesto which will include a return to nuclear as an energy source. Currently there is a ban in Scotland on the building of new nuclear stations, […]

Perhaps the biggest surprise of today’s Budget was that the government is to make oil companies pay for a new fuel stabiliser when prices are high. And this has been branded a “huge blow to the oil industry” by international consultants KPMG. The Fair Fuel Stabiliser, which motorists, campaigners and many in Parliament have been […]

The Renewable Energy Association says today’s Budget has failed to seize green growth opportunities. Chief executive Gaynor Hartnell said there was “nothing really significant in theBudget to alleviate growing anxiety about the pace of delivery across the UK renewables industry”. She added: “Renewables presents such a growth opportunity, it’s a shame not to see Britain […]

Leading consultancy KPMG says there is a lack of clarity over the government’s plans for the Green Investment Bank. In today’s Budget, Chancellor George Osborne unveiled another £2bn of funding for the bank, which he said would be up and running next year. He also said that in 2013 the UK would introduce a carbon […]

Renewables and nuclear will be the long-term winners of the introduction of a UK carbon price floor. And the phase-out of coal and older gas plant could be accelerated by the floor price. These are the claims of London consultants Redpoint Energy, which helped the Treasury and DECC with carbon price analysis. After today’s Budget […]

The government’s moves on fuel in today’s Budget “will increase the UK’s oil addiction”, according to Friends of the Earth. The environmental group attacked the Budget as doing “little to help people cope with long-term rising fossil fuel prices, capitalise on the UK’s huge green job potential or tackle climate change”. Friends of the Earth’s […]

The introduction of a carbon price floor in today’s Budget has won praise from EDF boss Vincent de Rivaz. He said the government had shown “leadership and commitment” to a low carbon Britain with its announcements on the carbon price floor and the Green Investment Bank. “It is important that the UK maintains momentum for […]

The Green Investment Bank will start trading next year with a total start-up fund from the government of £3bn. And the UK will become the first country in the world to introduce a floor price for carbon. These were the two green headlines from this afternoon’s Budget. As predicted, Chancellor George Osborne revealed that the […]