
09 October 2006
The green lobby are beginning to get to the government, is it common sense or the fact that the leader of the opposition has parked his tanks on that particular lawn.
The government has hinted that it will look at the way in which the renewables obligation scheme is operating. A consultation process has been set-up with the intention of introducing banding. The current scheme does not allow for generation types and so biomass plant and wind turbine if they are of equal size get the same amount of RO. In reality the finances for biomass, tidal and solar are significantly more than wind and so the scheme indirectly punishes solar and tidal and encourages wind.
Under the banding process the scheme would encourage some of the less financially viable schemes to come on line. The review is set to be completed by next year and implemented in 2009/10. Furthermore Ofgem have asked suppliers to simplify the process of taking spill they feel that value is not being properly rewarded, mainly because unjustifiable risk premiums associated with sporadic generation are being asked for.
We're borrowing less than expected....
 
20 August 2010
As the government prepares its spending review it will no doubt welcome the latest figures that show net borrowing for July at £3.8bn. While still sizeable, this is £1.2bn less than forecast and well down on the £6.1bn that was borrowed in the same month last year.  
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Energy Secretary gives the first annual energy statement to the Commons
 
28 July 2010
Chris Huhne, the coalition government Energy Secretary yesterday gave the first annual energy statement to the Commons. He set out plans to secure energy supplies and cut carbon emissions. In all 32 measures were outlined all with the aim of helping the UK achieve the legally binding target to cut emission by 80% by 2050.  
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2nd Quarter Growth at 1.1%; What Role For Energy
 
23 July 2010
Preliminary figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests the UK economy grew by 1.1% in the second quarter, up from the previous quarter's 0.3%. While the figures are preliminary (and based on around 40% of the ultimate data), what they do show is that construction, a relatively small part of the economy, contributed significantly to this growth figure. With 6 out of 10 civil engineering firms looking to the energy and water sectors for their income streams, it seems energy has a role to play in underpinning the recovery.  
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A week of Positives
 
09 July 2010
This was a week for good news in the Financial markets; the IMF upgraded its forecasts for world economic growth and there was increasing confidence that European banks would pass their stress tests. Borrowers were pleased, though not surprised that UK interest rates remained unchanged. Overall world stock markets recorded gains across the week.  
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Investing in the Future
 
11 June 2010
The Wave and Tidal energy sector gets nervous ahead of the E-budget, concerned that funds will suffer as part of anticipated public spending cuts. Should this sector suffer?  
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Labour's Pre Budget Report - Good News for the Bingo Players!
 
09 December 2009
Labour's Darling delivered his (probably last) pre budget report which included a range of measures to "tackle" the country's balance sheet. Among a range of tax raising measures, it was heartening to see that the Bingo players out there will see duty fall 2% to 20%!  
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Falling Wholesale Prices but what about the tariffs?
 
18 September 2009
Even though the power wholesale market is following the falls seen in gas (Winter 09 Baseload closed the week down £0.20MWh at £38.70), and is now at levels where supplier tariffs must be under pressure, any tariff reduction announcements are unlikely to be made anytime soon.  
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