10 Key Features of the New UK Energy Bill
1. Fairer prices & more power to consumers OFGEM, which is the regulator for gas and electricity, is set to get sweeping powers to protect consumers from unfair increases in energy prices. It will be able to impose stricter fines and…
Who turned all the lights off?
Our Current Energy Picture In September 2012, the UK Energy regulatory body, OFGEM, speculated that the UK might suffer from blackouts as soon as 2015 – but why? The UK recently signed up to the Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD),…
Smart meters: An answer to the looming energy crisis?
The Problem and smart solutions We already know that the UK is heading for an energy crisis. By 2015, the closing of some coal power stations means the total capacity of the grid will be just a few percent above…
Forget about a third runway at Heathrow – let’s improve our railways!
Why might we need to build a third runway at Heathrow? The first public railways opened in the UK during the early 19th century, and ever since, they’ve been a key part of our transport infrastructure, allowing us to ferry…
The Severn Barrage – Might It Finally Happen?!
I heard some really good news this week that David Cameron has asked for a re-examination of the Severn Barrage business case. This ambitious construction proposal was killed off as a project back in 2010 due to the environmental concerns…
Self Sustaining Communities in Britain
‘Great’ Britain The suspension bridge, penicillin, first intercity railway. What do these things all have in common? Answer – they are all Great British discoveries, with varying degrees of desirable effects. More importantly, these inventions are synonymous with a time…
A Call To Arms
‘Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children’ I have a lot…
Tying up a few loose ends – Your Electricity Bill & The Electricity Mix
Before I got involved in TheGreenAge, it is fair to say that my electricity bill would arrive on a quarterly basis and I would eventually reluctantly pay it without really ever looking at it. I knew that in the winter…
Why Should 3rd World Countries Give a Hoot About the Environment?
Rio+20 summit is only days away, and hopefully we will see a way forward in the form of a joined-up, global agreement on emissions. However, I was reading about the reluctance of Asian countries to accept the EU’s air-traffic carbon…
Take Home Messages from the Draft Energy Bill 2012
On Tuesday 22nd May, Edward Davey, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change published the first draft of the Energy Bill that could define the electricity production market place for many years to come. In the following post…