Energy Policy
Last week saw the publication of a review by Conservative MP John Penrose into how the UK’s approach to competition and consumer issues could be improved, to strengthen consumer protections and stimulate competition. Penrose has previously called for existing sector-specific regulators such as Ofgem [...]
This is the final post in my series on the energy performance of buildings. The first two (here and here) dealt with issues relating to the fabric of buildings, while in this post I will look at the behaviour of occupants and how their [...]
This is the second post in my series on the energy performance of buildings. The first looked at the Government's primary building energy target, measured by the flawed Energy Performance Certificate. This post will look at the wider issues around the factors driving the [...]
Buildings are the second largest contributor to UK emissions at just under 20% of the total. There are two elements to the energy performance of buildings: energy is used in the running of the building, primarily heating and lighting, and energy is used by [...]
On 1 January 2021, the UK left the EU's internal energy market (“IEM”), meaning that trading over the interconnectors between GB and the EU us no longer be managed through market coupling (except for Northern Ireland which remains part of the Single Electricity Market [...]
December saw the publication of the long-awaited energy white paper, which built on Boris Johnson’s 10-point energy plan. In 170 pages, the white paper describes in high level terms how the Government plans to achieve its 2050 net zero carbon target, but provides little [...]
In July 2020, National Grid published its 2020 Future Energy Scenarios (“FES-2020”), its annual update on the four scenarios describing what it sees as the “credible pathways for the future of energy over the next thirty years.” They are not intended to be firm [...]
Despite being forced to self-isolate having come into contact with a covid-positive MP, Boris Johnson has finally unveiled his 10-point plan for a “green industrial revolution”. With his familiar flamboyance, he describes a new utopia full of clean air and rainbows: “Now is the [...]
As we begin to emerge from the covid lockdown there is a lot of talk about a “green recovery” and “building-back green”, with a renewed focus on hydrogen. Last week the Confederation of British Industry (“CBI”) with the University of Birmingham called on the [...]
To provide some light relief from the pervasive discussions of the novel coronavirus, I thought it might be nice to look at an interesting aspect of the Brexit negotiations. Brexit sentiment has swung significantly if perhaps not yet decisively towards a “no-deal” Brexit, and [...]