So it has been a busy week in the world of politics and the energy sector seems to have been slightly put to one side, however three interesting bits of news have come out.
1. Hinkley C is now going to cost £37bn
A couple of weeks ago, we revealed that EDF were potentially getting cold feet over Hinkley C in light of the Brexit vote – well it was announced last week in DECC Major Projects Portfolio update that estimated cost of building this new nuclear power plant had now risen to just shy of £37bn. When the original costings came out in 2012, this figure was just £16bn. I think this will essentially be the final nail in the coffin, so it appears our ‘dash for (shale) gas’ has now become even more urgent. We need new capacity and we need it fast!
Also some nice trivia, if it does get built, Hinkley C would be the most expensive building ever built!
2. Energy price are now at a 9-month high
There has been a significant increase to wholesale energy prices, which has led to many energy suppliers here in the UK withdrawing their cheapest energy tariffs. At the end of April, energy prices were less than £35/MWh – now though it is almost £45/MWh – the same as it was last October.
This doesn’t mean you still can’t save on your energy bill by switching suppliers – we would always recommend switching because there potentially is a better energy deal out there, but who knows where energy prices will go now – although I think it is very unlikely the big six will be announcing any more energy cuts this Autumn!
3. Hillary Clinton would aggressively push the climate change agenda
With Bernie Sanders endorsing Hillary’s team, we are more certain that some of her clean energy goals will be implemented if she gets elected to the White House. The aims are quite ambitious, so that by 2025, America’s energy consumption profile could look radically different should these policies bear fruition. Her top 3 pledges are as follows: 1. Generate enough renewable energy to power every home in the US; 2. Cut waste across both private and public sector buildings by a third (schools, hospitals, police stations, etc); and 3. Reduce America’s oil consumption by a third with increased use of bio or alternative fuels.
Obviously key to all of this – Hillary needs to be elected! She also needs to have a by-and-large sympathetic Congress that won’t spend legislative time filibustering every climate change initiative that gets proposed – something President Obama has had much trouble with over his tenure in office. So watch this space!
Another busy week at GreenAge HQ!
In terms of here at the GreenAge, despite the summer months being our ‘quiet period’, it really does seem to be busier than ever!
Last week we sat down with Napit and did the final audit for a Polish Client to help them become PAS2030 certified. PAS2030 is a quality management system that addresses topics such as installation methods and quality control, installer operative competence, equipment, inspections, handover and corrective action procedures. It basically operates alongside the building works, ensuring that there is a paperwork trail backing up all the works that are carried out.
It probably isn’t that surprising that many builders just carry out their works, get paid and that is job done, but we are coming across more and more builders – often from eastern Europe – who carry out top notch building work, that are missing out on getting jobs because they don’t carry the necessary British recognised quality standards – PAS2030 is right now just about the most recognised quality standard in the building trade.
Anyway – we hope they will be even more successful going forward and if you are in the Essex area, give Pola building a call if you need solid wall insulation on your property and in fact general building works!
We have also been hard at work on a redesign on the Eco Store which went live over the weekend – we now have over 350 energy saving products – all tried and tested by ourselves, so go check it out! www.TheEcoStore.co.uk. If there are products you think we should be offering then please get in touch too and we will see if we can begin sourcing it.
James
No Comments yet! Be the first one.