Estimated energy output from wind farms should be subject to independent checking, according to MPs, after claims that operators overestimate production to reap financial benefits. Wind farm operators are often paid to switch off their turbines when generation outstrips demand to prevent the electricity grid from being overloaded. These curtailment payments are based on the…
The government has pledged an additional £1.3 billion in funding for a second new nuclear plant in Britain. A total £2.5 billion has now been committed by the government to develop the Sizewell C plant in Suffolk, which could generate enough energy to power six million homes. The money will be put towards pre-construction preparation…
The price households pay for electricity from new offshore wind farms could almost double after the government increased the subsidies on offer to reflect surging costs. Offshore wind developers are to be offered contracts in an auction next year guaranteeing them a fixed price of as much as £73 per megawatt-hour (MWh), up from £37.35/MWh…
Britain is approaching an energy security “crunch point” as a consequence of delays building new power plants running up against growing demand. The overrun in completing the construction of Hinkley Point C, the only new nuclear capacity being built in the UK, and decommissioning of existing nuclear power stations will contribute to the shortfall in…
The UK has a wind problem. At times, we have too much of it, and our wind turbines spin uselessly with their energy having nowhere to go. One solution is to capture that energy in batteries and release it when it is needed. So far the lithium battery tech used in electric cars has not…
Balfour Beatty, Britain’s biggest building group, is still counting the cost of lying to the US military three years ago about repair work on thousands of soldiers’ homes. Operating profits at the FTSE 250 group dipped 4 per cent to £77 million in the six months to the end of June, down from £80 million…
In 2021 Boris Johnson boldly declared that “Britain will become the Qatar of hydrogen” as part of his government’s strategy for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The plan was for hydrogen to supply up to 35 per cent of Britain’s energy needs, but was the promise a load of hot air? No, according to key…
Hello and welcome to our daily digest of business, financial and economic news from around Scotland. 1. Scottish Renewables has welcomed plans to increase the amounts offshore wind projects can receive for electricity generation. The UK government is raising the sums available in next year’s contracts for difference auction, with offshore wind getting as much…
The site of the former power station at Blyth, Northumberland, is not much to look at, but the future of this windswept expanse of cleared rubble and scrubland is hotly contested. This was to be home to a £4 billion gigafactory, making hundreds of thousands of car batteries each year, under the auspices of a…