Monthly Archives: October 2018

As many as 28,000 jobs will be lost in the north of England in the next 12 years under the government’s drive towards a low-carbon economy, a thinktank has warned.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said in its report that the region could be at the heart of a “clean energy revolution” – with a potential for 46,000 new green jobs – but instead faced economic decline under current plans.

Luke Murphy, an associate director at IPPR and co-author of the report, said: “With nearly half of the UK’s renewable energy being produced in the north, it is clear that the region is ideally placed to deliver a green jobs revolution of 46,000 new jobs by 2030.”

Murphy described the move towards a low-carbon economy as an “urgent necessity” to limit the impact of global warning. He urged ministers to commit to a more ambitious decarbonisation policy “where communities are protected from decline” which he said must be at the heart of its industrial strategy.

The north of England produced 48% of the UK’s renewable electricity between 2005 and 2014, the report said, yet the region is also home to the largest number of coal and gas power stations in England.

The report, published on Monday, calls on the government to “learn from the mistakes of the past” and avoid a repeat of the catastrophic economic decline that followed the closure of coal, steel and shipbuilding industries across the north since the early 1980s.

Fracking will start again despite it triggering earthquakes in Lancashire. Energy firm Cuadrilla started drilling for shale gas last week, for the first time in seven years that it has happened in the UK. The company called a halt due to the tremors, but says it will start again on Thursday. They had stopped after the latest – and biggest – tremor was detected on the grounds of their Preston New Road site, Lancashire.

The seismic event, measuring 0.48 on the Richter Scale, was described as a ‘tiny’ tremor by Cuadrilla and within operating expectations. Campaigners, who lost a High Court bid to stop fracking, have demanded the firm stop following the latest set of quakes.

A spokesman for Frack Free Lancashire said ‘Who knows what is happening under our feet? ‘This is the earth giving out a warning, as predicted by geologists following the previous failures of fracking in Lancashire. ‘The increased risk of larger magnitude quakes is serious. Cuadrilla must stop now, for all our sakes.’ In 2011, fracking was halted for seven years after experts said two Lancashire tremors – one registering 2.3 magnitude – were caused by shale gas test drilling.

The 0.4ML tremor on Tuesday was classed as an amber event as part of the traffic light system in place for monitoring seismic events during operations. Cuadrilla said it was required to reduce the rate at which it was pumping fracturing fluid once the seismic event had been detected, but it had ‘adopted extra caution’ and had stopped pumping for the day in response. Work got under way again on Wednesday morning, however fracking had already stopped before the second tremor was detected. Caudrilla said earlier this month it would spend at least three months fracking two horizontal wells, and then it would test to see if the gas flow was commercially viable. Anti-fracking campaigners tried to stop the process with an attempted injunction but failed in their bid.

Drilling began on Tuesday and the first three tremors happened on Thursday, according to the British Geological Survey. On October 18th, the seismic events were small, measuring -0.2, 0.8 and -0.3 respectively. On Friday, the quakes went into positive territory, which is considered an Amber event under a ‘Traffic Light System’ of safety monitoring. Friday afternoon saw 0.3, followed by a 0 quake on October 20th and yesterday’s at 0.4.

‘But it was classed as an amber event as part of the Traffic Light System (TLS) in place for monitoring operational activity. ‘As such we are required to reduce the rate we are pumping fracturing fluid once it has been detected. ‘In fact we have adopted extra caution and have stopped pumping for the day. ‘Seismicity will, as always, continue to be monitored closely around the clock by ourselves and others and we plan to continue hydraulic fracturing again in the morning.

‘Local residents should be reassured that the monitoring systems in place are working as they should. ‘These are tiny seismic events being detected by our monitors as we fracture the shale rock and are not capable of being felt much less cause damage or harm.’

Fracking, or Hydraulic Fracturing, involves pumping vast quantities of water and chemicals into unstable rock to release combustible gas. Drilling for shale gas is still at an exploratory phase. However, reserves of shale gas have been identified across large swathes of the UK, particularly in northern England. More than 100 licences have been awarded by the government, allowing firms to pursue a range of oil and gas exploration activities in certain areas. A government-appointed panel said there could be more tremors as a result of fracking, but they would be too small to do structural damage above ground.

It recommended greater monitoring with a ‘traffic light’ regime, with tremors of 0.5 or above triggering a ‘red light’ and an immediate halt. The Government has been pro-fracking despite concerns over climate change. When Theresa May came to power, she announced householders living near shale wells would enjoy a ‘frackpot’ payout of up to £10,000 each.

However the UN’s Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change launched a new report only two weeks ago bringing forward the dangerous limits of climate change and calling on world leaders to take immediate action to bring global warming under control by 2040. The extensive list of measures required includes a diverse energy mix of 85 per cent renewables and practically no coal, oil or gas. Pro-fracking lobby group ‘Lancashire For Shale’ said: ‘A 0.4 magnitude event like this is so small it is only possible to detect it using very sensitive instruments like those deployed locally by Cuadrilla and the British Geological Survey. ‘The very open manner in which this event has been reported, and Cuadrilla’s reaction to it, demonstrates just how robust the new controls are and that the Traffic Light System is working effectively.’

Consumers face further price increases if the pound falls further, says Pure Planet

Brexit has had a “massive bearing” on UK energy bills and consumers face further price rises if the pound falls further, according to a BP-backed energy startup.

Steven Day, a co-founder of Pure Planet, an app-based renewable energy supplier, warned that the UK’s departure from the EU was the biggest political issue facing the energy sector at the moment.

“The very short-term stuff is the fog of Brexit. That is causing a major problem in terms of what costs consumers will face in 2019. If the pound gets devalued further, energy prices will go up again. That is unequivocal,” he said.

The UK only imports a small amount of electricity, around 6% of supplies, but imports more than half its gas, meaning the country pays more for the fuel when sterling weakens. The pound has repeatedly fallen at signs that a no-deal Brexit is more likely.

Day, a former telecoms executive, said there was “no doubt” the pound’s devaluation was a key factor behind a series of price increases that have hit millions of households this year, as suppliers blamed rising wholesale prices.

Further increases in wholesale costs were likely, he said, which would prove a challenge for the government’s price cap that takes effect at the end of the year.

The co-founder said the market was very different from when he launched his green energy supplier a year ago because the cost of energy was now a “big barrier” for anyone considering joining the market’s 60-plus suppliers.

“The days of the independent sector expanding are over, at least temporarily, while the market consolidates a little bit,” he said.

Day said he was concerned that an exemption in the price cap, which allows green tariffs to breach the limit, could hold back the UK’s switch to renewables.

It is not yet clear if any firms will apply for the exemption but if they did it could affect the perception of green energy, he suggested. “It reinforces the idea that green has to be more expensive … and that will slow down the shift to green energy.”

BP holds a 24% stake in Pure Planet, which is on track to hit more than 75,000 customers by the end of the year.

Scottish Power has become the first major UK energy firm to completely drop fossil fuels in favour of wind power, after selling off its remaining gas and hydro stations to Drax for £702m.

While customers will still get some electricity from non-green sources that the company has purchased from other operators, the firm indicated it would now be freed up to invest more in UK renewable energy sources like sunlight, wind, rain, tides and waves.

It plans to invest £5.2bn over the next four years to more than double its renewable capacity.

Calling it a “pivotal shift”, the company’s chief executive Keith Anderson said: “We are leaving carbon generation behind for a renewable future powered by cheaper green energy. We have closed coal, sold gas and built enough wind to power 1.2 million homes.”

The firm is the first of the “big six” energy suppliers, which also includes British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Npower and SSE, to make such a switch.

The government has already decreed that coal power should be phased out by 2025.

Some smaller energy suppliers like Ecotricity and Good Energy already offer totally renewable tariffs, with their power generated from wind turbines, solar panels and hydro sources.

Scottish Power has already closed all of its coal plants and has 2,700MW of wind power projects operating or in the pipeline.

The firm’s Spanish parent company Iberdrola is aiming to reduce emissions by 30 per cent by 2020, and 50 per cent by 2030 compared to 2007. Its goal is to be completely carbon neutral by 2050.

The move also marks a further step away from coal-burning stations for Drax, which has already converted four of its six stations to burn wood pellets instead.

Although the company has been criticised for the level of air pollution coming from these sources, the firm has insisted that pollution levels were “well within” legal limits.

Its continued use of comparatively clean power sources such as gas and biomass would allow it to fill in any gaps left when solar and wind production is too low to completely supply the UK with electricity, the company said.

After the sale was announced, the company’s chief executive Will Gardiner said it was “a critical time in the UK power sector”.

He added: “As the system transitions towards renewable technologies, the demand for flexible, secure energy sources is set to grow.”

Kate Blagojevic, head of energy at Greenpeace UK, said the move by Scottish Power was part of a much larger trend.

“Big utilities across Europe have been shedding their dirty fossil fuel infrastructure because it makes economic and environmental sense,” she said. “This move by Scottish Power shows that the same maths adds up in the UK too. Climate science could not be clearer that renewables are the future for powering our world.

“We need the government to give renewable energy industry its full backing rather than propping up the fossil fuel and nuclear companies.”

A renewed focus has been placed on renewable energy since a major United Nations reportannounced that major changes would be needed across the world to limit the worst effects of climate change. This included a recommendation of a 45 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2030.

Britain’s government asked its climate advisers to prepare recommendations for the changes needed across the nation’s energy sector, as well as industry, transport, buildings and lifestyles, to meet the strict limits outlined in the report.

Two of the UK’s Big Six energy suppliers have been given the all clear to merge their retail businesses by the competition watchdog.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said consumers would still have “plenty of choice” on standard variable tariffs (SVTs) after Npower and SSE’s proposed tie-up.

MPs and consumer groups have criticised big gas and electric firms for profiting from loyal customers by switching them to expensive SVTs when their initial tariff ends.

But the CMA said SSE and Npower are “not close rivals” on the tariffs, which had been an area of particular concern for the regulator.

The Big Six suppliers, which also includes British Gas, E.On, Scottish Power and EDF, have already lost hundreds of thousands of customers to newer competitors and are predicted to shed another 2.4 million in 2018, according to industry trade body Energy UK.

Price comparison site uSwitch said in August that it had seen a 40 per cent rise in customers changing utility suppliers this year suggesting that households have become more savvy.

Anne Lambert, chair of the CMA inquiry group, said: “With many energy companies out there, people switching away from expensive standard variable tariffs will still have plenty of choice when they shop around after this merger.

“But we know that the energy market still isn’t working well for many people who don’t switch, so we looked carefully at how the merger would affect SVT prices.

“Following a thorough investigation and consultation, we are confident that SSE and Npower are not close rivals for these customers and so the deal will not change how they set SVT prices.”

Rik Smith, an energy expert at uSwitch, said the merger would affect up to 9 million households.

He added: “With regulatory intervention due to be in place by the end of the year, how will the new supplier engage those customers who are still on poor value standard variable tariffs and get them onto better deals?”

The merger announcement comes after the government has pledged to help customers harmed by a lack of competition in the energy market.

Prices have soared this year, with the average dual-fuel energy bill now £1,138 a year, after the main suppliers all hiked tariffs.