UK Energy

Britain wasted £649m already this year powering down wind farms as there is not enough grid capacity to send renewable energy where it is needed, utility finds

The UK’s solar farms and rooftops generated more electricity than ever before in the first five months of 2025, as the country enjoyed its sunniest spring on record.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59254732

Heads up, one of the largest U.S. consulting firms with a complicated relationship to Musk's DOGE is set to shape the future of your electricity market.

There is little middle ground in the battle over zonal pricing – and the energy secretary has only months to settle dispute

The UK and Ireland have announced closer collaboration on subsea energy infrastructure to “harness the full potential” of the Irish and Celtic seas as part of ongoing efforts to reset post-Brexit relations.

The countries will enter into a new data-sharing arrangement to lay the groundwork for connections between the growing number of offshore windfarms and onshore national energy networks. They say it will cut red tape and minimise “the burden of maritime and environmental consent processes for developers”.

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The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, are expected to outline the deal on Thursday morning at an inaugural British-Irish summit in Liverpool intended to reduce the trade barriers that Brexit created.

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Martin said the cooperation would also include a joint initiative to map the sea basin to improve the interoperability of energy interconnectors.

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He also announced closer cooperation on the EU’s Horizon Europe science research programme to identify joint initiatives with Northern Ireland on energy, climate, water and food sustainability research.

BP has announced it will cut its renewable energy investments and instead focus on increasing oil and gas production.

The energy giant revealed the shift in strategy on Wednesday following pressure from some investors unhappy its profits and share price have been much lower than its rivals.

BP said it would increase its investments in oil and gas by about 20% to $10bn (£7.9bn) a year, while decreasing previously planned renewables funding by more than $5bn (£3.9bn).

The move comes as rivals Shell and Norwegian company Equinor have also scaled back plans to invest in green energy and US President Donald Trump's "drill baby drill" comments have encouraged investment in fossil fuels.

Murray Auchincloss, BP's chief executive, said the company had "fundamentally reset" its strategy to focus on boosting returns for shareholders.

He added the energy giant would be "very selective" of investment in businesses working on the energy transition to renewables going forward, reducing funding to between $1.5bn and $2bn per year.

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The environmental group Greenpeace UK has warned BP could expect "pushback and challenge at every turn if it doubles down on fossil fuels - not just from green campaigners but from its own shareholders".

Senior climate adviser Charlie Kronick said: "Government policies will also need to prioritise renewable power, and as extreme weather puts pressure on insurance models - policymakers will be looking to fossil fuel profits as a way to fund extreme weather recovery. BP might want to seriously put the brakes on this U-turn."

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It is over 20 years since former chief executive Lord John Browne said BP could stand for "Beyond Petroleum" as he launched the company's first tentative moves away from oil and gas.

Today's strategy shift could be dubbed "Back to Petroleum" - to the delight of some shareholders and to the dismay of others.

Eileen West has a strange object in her home in Aberdeenshire - a scale model of a huge electricity pylon, built as part of a local campaign against the "monstrous" metal structures.

A new pylon line is proposed just a few hundred metres from her home. The steel towers will typically be 187ft (57m) high - significantly taller than most pylons in Scotland. Some could be as high as 246ft (75m).

They are part of a planned 66-mile (106km) route - between the town of Kintore and the village of Tealing - to transfer power from wind farms off the north-east coast of Scotland to where the electricity is needed.

"I think we're being sacrificed," says Eileen, a member of Deeside Against Pylons.

The plans are part of one of the government's key missions, a drive to decarbonise the UK's electricity system by 2030. Just over half of our power currently comes from wind, solar, nuclear and biomass - organic matter. The government wants to raise that to 95% by 2030 - just five years' time.

The target is ambitious, and controversial. Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, told the BBC it is essential to "cut bills, tackle the climate crisis and give us energy security".

But are local concerns being overlooked to meet national objectives?

BBC Panorama has travelled across the UK - to Aberdeenshire, Lincolnshire and Suffolk - to hear from people in landscapes bracing for change, including Oscar-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes.

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In Aberdeenshire, Eileen West denies she is a Nimby, she says the pylons should not be built anywhere.

"These things will be standing for another 100 years. That's not a legacy we want to leave our future generations."

While not against green-energy ambitions, she argues that the government should be exploring alternatives that are less disruptive to the landscape.

"This is outdated, archaic technology. In Europe they do better, investing in proper, modern undergrounding and offshore," Eileen says.

People living in some of Britain's most picturesque villages have been divided by plans for a one of the biggest solar parks in the country.

Developers want to build solar panels on 2,000 acres of farmland near Malmesbury in the Cotswolds, producing enough energy for 115,000 homes.

Rosie Clark is one of hundreds of local campaigners who believes it will "decimate the local area".

But supporters of the scheme, including the former mayor of Malmesbury Lesley Bennett, accused opponents of being "well-connected people" whose leaflets are "full of mistakes".

The government wants to quadruple the amount of solar power generated in the UK. But wherever developers propose new solar farms, opposition springs up.

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Meanwhile, Lesley Bennett is one of a few people who will speak up for the solar scheme.

"It's nimbyism, it's perfect nimbyism," she said.

"We need clean energy. We need to be energy independent."

The campaign to Stop Lime Down is well organised. Hundreds of people have been signed up, leaflets printed, there are signs everywhere in these north Wiltshire villages.

But Mrs Bennett thinks there are many silent solar supporters, who dare not speak up.

"It's a few well-connected rich people who've created a brilliant campaign," she says.

"But it's an illusion. This leaflet is full of mistakes."

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/22853681

A proposed law requiring all new homes to have solar panels suggested by Cheltenham's MP has been rejected.

The New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill, brought by Liberal Democrat Max Wilkinson, was debated in parliament on Friday during its second reading.

The so-called "Sunshine Bill" could help the country tackle the "twin crises" of the cost of living crisis and climate change, Mr Wilkinson said.

But while minister for housing and planning Matthew Pennycook said the government was "extremely sympathetic", it was rejected by officials.

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Similar changes have been signalled by the government which could become part of new building regulations to be amended later this year.

Just seen this and though it was worth sharing here.

I totally feel for this guy. But the real crime here is successive governments that have completely failed in holding the housebuilders to account with tougher specs for new build houses.

Why the hell a 2020 newbuild house needs any space heating at all is beyond me. Should just be passive, with electric heater for the shower.

The big picture is that we are shipping great wealth to fuel-producing countries because politicians are too lazy or corrupt to insist on modern building methods and standards that are properly enforced.

Plunging temperatures and high demand for gas-fired power are the main factors behind the low levels, Centrica said, adding that the need to replenish stocks could lead to rising prices ahead.

The UK is heavily reliant on gas for its home heating and also uses a significant amount for electricity generation.

National Grid data on Friday showed that natural gas accounted for 53% of power in the UK's system, with renewables offering just 16% of the country's needs.

Following the UK's decision to ditch carbon intensive coal from its energy mix, extra strain is heaped on gas during cold snaps because wind generation can often be lower due to high pressure weather systems.

Earlier this week, the UK's electricity grid operator issued a rare notice to power firms that sought higher output to prevent a greater risk of blackouts within the network.

As of 9 January, UK gas storage sites "were 26% lower than last year's inventory at the same time, leaving them around half full," Centrica said.

"This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store."

I'm on an electricity tariff with dynamic pricing. The last week has been pretty rough in fairness, but generally it's really rewarding on most days and sometimes, on days like this, it's amazing.

Based on my past calculations, whenever the cost is below ~20p, I'm paying less for heating than I would with a gas boiler. Where the cost of energy is negative, I'm essentially getting paid to use surplus energy.

source: grid.iamkate.com

Previous record was 21.81GW - at time of posting we're generating 21.85GW and rising

When the mass roll-out started, the decision to use radio signals across northern England and Scotland - rather than the mobile technology further south - was because it was thought the signals would be able to travel far across the hills and mountains, reaching more rural communities more easily.

But Energy UK admits there are problems regarding how the radio signals transmit. “There are issues in the north,” chief executive Dhara Vyas told us.

She said there were “live conversations” within the industry about increasing the network range in the north of England and Scotland.

This technological divide has been experienced by smart meter engineers who have spoken anonymously to Panorama.

One engineer, “Ahmed” told us there were more problems in northern England and Scotland on average, adding that the technology further south was more up to date.

“You can end up going to someone’s house at the bottom of a mountain in the north and the radio frequency can’t get through. But there could be a good 3G signal nearby and that could get through - the customer doesn’t know that,” he said.

Another engineer, “Steve” working for a major energy supplier in Merseyside, who has experience of installing meters in homes on both sides of the regional divide, told us it was “far easier to complete a successful installation” in the south and Midlands where he could use the cellular network.

About 1,000 London buildings including the Houses of Parliament and the National Gallery could soon be warmed by low-carbon heat sourced from the River Thames, London Underground and sewer networks.

Plans to develop the UK’s biggest heat network to supply decarbonised heat to buildings across Westminster were set out on Wednesday by the government as part of its pledge to back seven heat network zones with more than £5m of public funding.

The plan will involve a network of pipes constructed to carry excess heat captured underground to power hot water and central heating systems in the area.

The £1bn scheme will be developed by a joint venture – between heating specialists Hemiko and Vital Energi – known as the South Westminster Area Network partnership, designed to save the area about 75,000 tonnes of CO2 each year, the equivalent to planting 1.2m trees.

Nearly 620 miles (1,000km) of new power lines need to be built to meet the government's clean energy plans, official energy planners have concluded.

In a report, the body in charge of linking new projects to the grid said Labour's target to decarbonise electricity by 2030 was "achievable" but a "huge challenge".

It will warn that infrastructure for the electricity network will need to be built much faster than it has been over the last decade to meet the pledge.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said ministers were committed to "significant reforms" of the planning system to speed up new connections.

We've been counting down to this for years now and we're finally on the other side of coal power. Great! 🥳

Update: it produced its last energy on 30th Sept and now the uk is officially coal-free :D

Energy customers are being short-changed by “perverse” government targets to install electronic smart meters in homes across the UK, according to the consumer campaigner Martin Lewis.

Lewis, the founder and chair of MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE), has written to Ed Miliband, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, warning that installations are being prioritised over repairs, leaving thousands of households facing shock bills because their meters have malfunctioned.

Last December, the artist Grayson Perry reported that his monthly electricity charge had soared from £300 to £39,000 because of a faulty smart meter. Lewis wants suppliers to be incentivised to fix faulty meters as well as installing new ones.

“I am writing to you […] to warn of the brand damage that risks making the government’s targets framework perverse,” Lewis said in his letter. “A rethink is needed – specifically I’d suggest shifting firms’ targets from smart meter installations to the overall number of ‘working’ smart meters, which would incentivise firms to do both installations and repairs.”

The UK’s first new deep coalmine in 30 years will not be allowed to go ahead after a ruling in the high court.

On Friday morning, Justice Holgate ruled that plans to build the facility in Whitehaven, Cumbria, would not proceed, in what campaigners called a “victory for the environment”.

New fossil fuel projects are thought to be on shakier legal ground after the precedent set by a landmark supreme court decision that quashed planning permission granted for an oil drilling well at Horse Hill on the Weald in Surrey. The judgment found the climate impact of burning coal, oil and gas must be taken into account when deciding whether to approve projects. This was the first court decision on plans for a new fossil fuel development since the Horse Hill ruling.

Holgate agreed with Friends of the Earth that Michael Gove, when he was secretary of state for levelling up, acted unlawfully in accepting a claim by West Cumbria Mining (WCM) that the mine would be “net zero” and have no impact on the country’s ability to meet the emissions cuts required under the Climate Change Act 2008, because it was relying on offsetting through purchasing carbon credits from abroad. UK government policy does not allow for reliance on international offsets to meet carbon budgets.

The new Labour government this year withdrew its support from the Whitehaven mine in the Cumbria legal case. Lawyers acting for Angela Rayner, the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, said there had been an “error in law” in the decision to grant planning permission for the mine in December 2022.

The UK government has agreed to take control of the National Grid unit tasked with keeping the lights on in a £630m deal that takes effect from next month.

Great Britain’s electricity system operator (ESO) will be transferred into public ownership to create a new national energy system operator (Neso), which will also oversee the gas system.

The government hopes that by bringing together the separate units involved in planning Great Britain’s electricity and gas networks under one publicly owned company, the system operator can adopt a more strategic approach to achieving a net zero energy system by 2030.

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The decision to remove the ESO from National Grid’s ownership was made under the previous Conservative government because of concerns over a conflict of interest relating to the operator’s role providing strategic advice to government officials. The deal was expected to take place in July this year but it was delayed until 1 October because of the general election.

So this was going to happen anyway?

Councillors have narrowly approved the construction of an electricity substation which one described as a "monstrosity".

The substation in Runcorn, Cheshire, has been designed to provide power to about 850 homes on the Sandymoor South and Wharford Farm estates being built by government agency Homes England.

The agency’s application had been previously criticised with local politicians citing concerns that the substation would impose on existing homes in the area.

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The developments attached to the substation are part of a wider scheme, which has seen about 1,500 homes either built or proposed.

However, the structure itself will stand in neighbouring Norton, close to existing homes that will not be powered by it, and lead to the loss of green space and trees.

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Other councillors expressed concerns over the choice of site, which was designated as green space in the authority’s delivery and allocations local plan, a blueprint which sets out the borough’s planning policy up to 2037.