Zero net energy

Energy: Mike Foster warns of ‘horrible choice’ Get pensions news and advice plus latest money alerts for FREE now SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Kona Energy, a UK based company that is focused on developing grid-scale battery energy storage projects, has been granted planning approval to build one of Europe’s largest battery storage facilities. The firm will build a 200MW battery storage facility in Heysham, Lancashire, that is set to save 45,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum, which is the equivalent of taking 15,000 cars off the road per year. Related articles Putin's horror nuke plot exposed: 'Justify using his own!' UK exporting record levels of energy to France... as bills to SOAR. The startup … [Read more...] about Energy crisis: UK to build huge battery storage to slash £1bn ‘waste of energy and money’

The windfall tax announced by the chancellor will be "damaging" for the UK's net zero plans and energy security, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said. Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief economist, said the tax "sends the wrong signal to the whole sector at the wrong time", pointing to a "backdrop of rising business taxation". Chancellor Rishi Sunak said oil and gas firms will pay a 25% levy on profits , which will be phased out when energy prices return to normal - but companies will get 90% in tax relief for any profits they invest. The funding will be used to help families with soaring energy bills. Cost of living latest: Martin Lewis responds to Rishi Sunak announcement Oil and gas companies are being targeted because they have enjoyed bumper profits as a result of soaring energy prices. Advertisement But Ms Newton-Smith said the government needs to work with businesses on a "genuine" plan to increase investment and "get growth … [Read more...] about Windfall tax ‘damaging’ for net zero plans and energy security, businesses say

The Government has faced widespread calls to invest in insulating homes and shifting from fossil fuels to renewables to combat soaring energy prices. Rishi Sunak has been forced to unveil emergency measures to counter the cost-of-living crisis, including £400 off energy bills for millions of households, but was accused of having “missed the memo” on energy efficiency. Fuel poverty and green campaigners and politicians called on the Government to invest in home insulation, efficient electric heat pumps and renewables to cut the reliance on fossil fuels whose costs have soared. Many welcomed the new support for households – and the £5 billion windfall tax on oil and gas company profits also announced by the Chancellor – but said money should have gone into a widespread programme to make homes cosier and cheaper to run. Recommended What Rishi Sunak announced to tackle the cost of living crisis More Tory MPs withdraw support from PM over … [Read more...] about Insulate homes to curb soaring energy bills, Government is urged

By Daniel Thomas Published 3 hours ago comments Comments Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Every household in the UK is to get an energy bill discount of £400 this October as part of a package of new measures to tackle soaring prices. The poorest households will also get a payment of £650 to help with the cost of living, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said. It follows warnings that millions could be left struggling if energy prices rise again in October as expected. Mr Sunak said he had offered "significant support" for households who were facing "acute distress". The package of new measures, worth £15bn in total, will also offer more targeted help to pensioners and the disabled. The cost will be partly offset by 25% windfall tax on oil and gas firms' profits, which have soared in recent months. It comes a day after Sue Gray's critical report into … [Read more...] about Every household to get energy bill discounts of £400 this autumn

The Queen's property empire and the Duke of Westminster are lobbying for an overhaul of listed building rules that would allow them to install heat pumps in swathes of historic properties across London. The Crown Estate and the Duke’s property business Grosvenor Group are pushing for new regulations so it is easier to make green energy upgrades to premises with protected status. As well as the pumps - an alternative to gas boilers which use electricity to draw heat from the ground or air - reform would also pave the way for the installation of double glazing and insulation. At present, these upgrades require listed building consent, which can take eight weeks to complete using a process that varies hugely between different councils and can cost thousands of pounds in consultancy fees. Grosvenor and the Crown Estate own swathes of London around St James, Soho and Regent Street. If existing rules are overhauled, then they will be able to make changes that will affect the … [Read more...] about Royal request could bring heat pumps to London’s historic buildings

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £15bn package of cost of living support including a £400 discount on energy bills for all and a £650 one-off payment to the poorest eight million households. The measures will be partly funded by a temporary levy on oil and gas companies which are enjoying bumper profits, as a result of soaring prices, that is expected to raise £5bn over the next year. It comes after inflation soared to a 40-year high, with energy bills set to climb by a further £800 in the autumn, and the Bank of England warning of "apocalyptic" food price rises as a result of the war in Ukraine. Announcing the policy in the House of Commons, Mr Sunak acknowledged that people were struggling. He said: "We will get through this, we have the tools and the determination we need to combat and reduce inflation. We will make sure the most vulnerable and least well off get the support they need at this time of difficulty Advertisement "We know that … [Read more...] about Sunak unveils £15bn package and U-turns on windfall tax to help Britons ‘hit hard’ by cost of living surge

Let's begin with perhaps the most important question: will this make a difference? The short answer is yes. The stimulus the chancellor announced today is big - very big. It will affect all households and some - especially those on lower incomes, benefits and many pensioners - will get outsized one-off cash payments. For the "average" household, such as it is, the fact that the energy bill rebate has been doubled will mean bills are no longer in totally unprecedented territory; instead they are only likely to hit the highest level since the early 1980s. In short, this package will not prevent the coming year from feeling painful; however, it will certainly mean it is less painful in the short run than it would otherwise have been. And the fact that a lot of this money is dedicated to lower income households who are hardest hit by the cost of living crisis is especially important. For one of the iniquities of inflation is that it is a very regressive economic … [Read more...] about Cost of living: Chancellor’s aid will help you and make things worse at the same time

Rishi Sunak, a devotee of Nigel Lawson, believes in a smaller state, curbing borrowing, lower taxes and combating inflation. Yet again, he delivered a major fiscal announcement where he did the opposite. Today's £15bn spending splurge expanded the role of the state with the advent of one-off financial transfers, could stoke inflation, add to borrowing, and contains a multibillion-pound tax rise. One day he will be able to give the budget he wants; though maybe not while Boris Johnson is prime minister. Today's targeted, progressive package left the opposition Labour Party and think tanks that worry about the low paid cheering. Advertisement Almost inevitably, it divided Tory MPs. Most were happy it delivered palliative care for voters facing unprecedented squeeze - Mr Sunak did get gratitude for reaching into his pocketbook once more. But some immediately worried it amounts to "socialism" while others fear Mr Sunak is at risk of permanently higher … [Read more...] about Why Rishi Sunak’s dream budget may be forever out of sight so long as Boris Johnson’s PM

Published 2 hours ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing A new 25% windfall tax on offshore oil and gas operators will "drive away" investors and cut UK energy production, an industry body has warned. Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) was reacting to the chancellor's announcement of a new Energy Profits Levy . Rishi Sunak said the oil and gas sector was "making extraordinary profits". But OEUK said the levy "undermined trust and created long-lasting uncertainty over future investment". Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirms U-turn on windfall tax How would a windfall tax on energy firms work? Every household to get energy bill discounts of £400 this autumn The government had previously opposed a windfall tax, which is expected to raise £5bn over the course of the next year to help tackle rising household bills. But on Thursday, Mr Sunak said his one-off levy … [Read more...] about Windfall tax will drive away North Sea investors, says industry body