Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 08/03/22.
Research briefing: Large solar farms – House of Commons Library
7 March 2022. A debate on large solar farms will be held in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 9 March at 2.30pm. The debate will be opened by Brendan Clarke-Smith MP:
Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2022-0051/
News: Charities call on government to support the vulnerable as 8.5m face fuel poverty – Current News
7 March 2022, Molly Lempriere. The End Fuel Poverty Coalition (EFPC) issued the call as predations the price cap could go over £3,000 for the winter period emerge due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine:
News: Committee warns UK to miss net zero as policy and financial incentives don’t match ambition – Current News
5 March 2022, Molly Lempriere. The Industry and Regulators Committee has said the UK is likely to miss its net zero by 2050 target, as the goal has not been matched by the policies and the clarity over financial incentives needed:
News: Charities warn fuel poverty could double in a year – BBC News Online
5 March 2022, Kevin Peachey. The number of fuel poor households in the UK will double in a year if the crisis in Ukraine leads to higher energy bills, charities are warning:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60619726
News: Energy Hedge Fund Eyes $200 Oil on Potential Russia Export Ban – Bloomberg Quint
4 March 2022, Nishant Kumar & Ben Bartenstein. The prospect of restrictions on Russian energy exports could send oil prices above $200 per barrel, according to Westbeck Capital Management:
Formal meeting (oral evidence session): Energy security in the UK – Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee
8 March 2022. Oral evidence. Work Energy security in the UK (Non-inquiry session):
Link: https://committees.parliament.uk/event/13072/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/
Research briefing: Fuel poverty in the UK- House of Commons Library
2 March 2022. This Library briefing note summarises the levels of fuel poverty across the UK, policies to address fuel poverty, and stakeholder comment on the issue:
Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8730/
News: Energy costs extremely volatile as impact of Russian invasion of Ukraine reverberate through market, says Cornwall Insight – Current News
2 March 2022, Molly Lempriere. The cost of energy is extremely volatile currently due to Russia invading Ukraine, said Cornwall Insight. Its modelling for the default tariff cap sees its prediction for the winter cap jumping by hundreds of pounds from day to day. For example, it increased by over £200 from 23 February to 24 February, before falling on 25 February and rebounding again on 28 February:
Notice: Proposed Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator Programme – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
28 February 2022. This proposed Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator Programme would provide funding for innovation projects that can demonstrate end-to-end industrial fuel switching to hydrogen:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-hydrogen-accelerator-programme
In-depth Q&A: The IPCC’s sixth assessment on how climate change impacts the world- Carbon Brief.org
28 February 2022. The threat that climate change poses to human well-being and the health of the planet is “unequivocal”, says the latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):
News: Centrica’s profit soars 112% amid high oil and gas prices – Current News
25 February 2022, Molly Lempriere. Centrica’s adjusted profit has soared by 112%, jumping from £447 million to £948 million following the surge in oil and gas prices. This led the company’s upstream adjusted operating profit to increase by £573 million for the year ending 31 December 2021:
Link: https://www.current-news.co.uk/news/centricas-profit-soars-by-112-amid-high-oil-and-gas-prices
News: Half a million households trapped in unregulated heat networks as energy prices soar – Your Money.com
25 February 2022, Emma Lunn. Soaring bills are worrying enough for households protected by the energy price cap. But more than half a million households are exposed to unrestricted prices and unable to switch energy supplier:
News: BEIS unveils nearly £7m long duration energy storage funding – Current News
23 February 2022, Andy Colthorpe. The UK government has unveiled nearly £7 million in funding to help “turbocharge” long duration storage:
Link: https://www.current-news.co.uk/news/beis-unveils-nearly-7m-long-duration-energy-storage-funding
News: T-4 Capacity Market clears at record high of £30.59/kW/year marking ‘watershed moment’ – Current News
23 February 2022, Molly Lempriere. The T-4 Capacity Market auction has cleared at a record high of £30.59 /kW/year, due largely to the decommissioning of old assets and higher capacity needs:
News: Government climate advisers say cut fossil fuels to lower energy bills – BBC News Online
24 February 2022, Roger Harrabin. The best way to ease consumers’ pain from high energy prices is to stop using fossil fuels rather than drill for more of them, the government’s climate advisers say:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60497058
Press release: Government boost for new renewable energy storage technologies –
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and The Rt Hon Greg Hands MP
23 February 2022. Nearly £7 million awarded to turbocharge UK projects that are developing innovative energy storage technologies:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-boost-for-new-renewable-energy-storage-technologies
Platform: Wanted – a politically and economically viable path to low emissions – Conservative Home
23 February 2022, Steve Baker MP. No serious person doubts that CO2 is a greenhouse gas or that human emissions of it have contributed to our changing climate. Our legal target of Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 is water under the bridge, nodded through without a division in parliament despite the scale of the implied changes to all our lives: