News
News
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Waitrose stocks up on woodchip to power and heat store
UK Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker opened a new woodchip-fuelled energy centre at supermarket retailer Waitrose’s Bracknell store in the south of England this week. The low-carbon energy centre developed by energy services company MITIE, which will also operate the energy centre, uses local sustainable woodchip to generate power, heat and cooling for […]
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Scotland on track for best renewables year yet
Official figures indicate that Scotland is on track to have the best renewables year yet with electricity generation up 13% for the first half of the year. The statistics from the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) show that renewable generation topped 806 GWh for the first two quarters of 2012, 12.8% higher than […]
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Clegg vows to hold Conservatives to environmental promises
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg used his speech at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Brighton yesterday to highlight his party’s commitment to green policies. In an attempt to distinguish the Lib Dems from their Conservative coalition partners, Clegg vowed to hold them to their promises on the environment. “Going green means going forward,” he said. […]
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UK coal power station closes as gas gets going
Energy company RWE npower has confirmed that its Didcot and Fawley power stations in the south of England are to close under new European regulations. The EU Large Combustion Plant Directive requires high-emitting power stations to cease operations by the end of 2015 or whenever they have completed 20,000 hours of operation for coal-fired power […]
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Toyota scales back all-electric plans to focus on hybrids
Japanese carmaker Toyota, which has been researching and developing electric vehicles for 40 years, says it is going to focus on hybrids for the foreseeable future. Its first electric vehicle, the RAV4 EV, which was launched in 1997, has only sold 1500 models in the US. Now the company is ready to launch its iQ […]
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Lib Dems and Labour back binding decarbonisation target
The Liberal Democrats have been defending their green credentials in the UK Coalition Government this week, with Energy Secretary Ed Davey backing a binding decarbonisation target for the power sector. Speaking in a keynote address to the Lib Dems annual conference in Brighton on Sunday, Davey said he wanted to see a decarbonisation target for […]
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US bill threatens to revoke environmental standards
The US House of Representatives approved a bill on Friday that would remove much of the regulation of the coal industry, threatening the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) power to curb emissions from power plants. The Stop the War on Coal Act won by 233 votes to 175, including 19 Democrats, would also do away with […]
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Wind drives energy link between Ireland and Britain
A new undersea cable linking Ireland and Britain was opened last week that will enable the UK to benefit from Ireland’s wind resources. The €600 million EirGrid East West Interconnector is the first electricity link between the two nations and will be able to transport enough power to supply 300,000 homes. The two-way 260 km, […]
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EU and China to tackle climate change together
The European Union (EU) and China have signed an agreement promising to work together on reducing China’s greenhouse gas emissions and moving toward a low-carbon economy. European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, and Chinese Minister of Commerce, Chen Deming, signed a financial agreement in Brussels last week that will see the EU will contribute some […]
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EU signals U-turn in biofuels policy
European Union climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard has signaled a U-turn in policy on biofuels, promising a cap on food-based biofuels. The region currently has a target of 10% renewable transport fuels by 2020, but the policy has attracted criticism from environmental groups over the less than green credentials of some biofuels. A recent report from […]
Quotes
The cheapest kWh of energy is the one you don't use Delvin Lane, Head of Energy 360, British Gas