Latest news with #KerryMcCarthy
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Government officials announce $20 million plan that may redefine energy production: 'Secure the … energy of the future while supporting jobs today'
In a bid to attract private-sector funding for clean energy, the UK government has made a £20 million (about $26.6 million USD) commitment to establish Starmaker One, the world's first government-affiliated private fusion investment fund. In January of this year, the British government announced a record £410 million ($545.6 million USD) investment in its Plan for Change, a fusion energy research and development strategy to help the country become a clean energy superpower. Now, in hopes of bolstering these efforts, it's seeking private sector capital to accelerate the commercialization of fusion energy tech with this limited partnership, where the government is a cornerstone investor, as Interesting Engineering reported. The promise of fusion as a source of nearly limitless energy is growing as projects across the globe race to try to solve the enormous complexity involved in harnessing it. Fusion reactors work by heating Earth-abundant and hydrogen-rich deuterium and tritium fuels to temperatures hotter than the core of the sun. This creates a superheated plasma, and through methods including magnetic confinement, researchers hope to sustain an environment in which two nuclei can fuse to form a single heavier nucleus, giving off energy in the process. Fusion is an environmentally friendly energy-generating process and doesn't release carbon dioxide or any other planet-warming gases through its operation. Global leaders believe that fusion is one of the key solutions for future energy security, but as IE explained, private UK firms working on developing the technology have had limited access to capital in order to scale up their work. The UK government believes that a British private investment fund like Starmaker One can help these new fusion start-ups grow their businesses and begin to commercialize at scale, as a press release detailed. Not only would the success of any of these projects help add a new renewable energy resource to the grid, complementing solar and wind investments, but it would also help support the job economy. Will America someday get all its energy from renewable sources? Yes — very soon Yes — by 2050 Yes — by 2070 Probably never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The funding boost would allow these companies to train employees in key areas such as physics, engineering, and chemistry, creating new jobs in the renewable energy sector. Additionally, the government believes it would support fusion-adjacent technologies like magnetics, industrial AI, robotics, transportation, and energy storage. "This investment is our Plan for Change in action — we are backing British pioneers to secure the clean energy of the future while supporting jobs today, from scientists and welders to engineers and construction managers," as energy minister Kerry McCarthy stated in a press release. McCarthy added, "As countries around the world recognize the huge potential of fusion, breakthroughs in this technology are happening thick and fast, and we want to keep the UK at the forefront of the global race by helping projects to innovate and grow here, in turn driving economic growth." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Mystery as Britain hit by unexplained power outages hours before Spain and Portugal blackout
Unexpected power plant failures hit Britain's electricity system hours before Spain and Portugal were plunged into widespread blackouts, it was revealed today. Control room staff at the National Energy System Operator (Neso) noticed unusual activity on two occasions on Sunday, in the early morning and the evening. The first incident saw the power frequency shift unexpectedly at 2am due to an outage at the Keadby 2 gas-fired plant in Lincolnshire, reported The Telegraph. This was followed by the unexplained failure of the Viking Link interconnector, a power cable which runs for nearly 500 miles between the UK and Denmark. The power frequency shifted again at 6pm but the cause is unknown - and officials at publicly-owned Neso, which manages the British grid, are now investigating. But Neso said there is no suggestion at this stage that the outages were linked to each other or the system failure yesterday in Spain, Portugal and southern France. A Neso spokesperson said: 'As a prudent system operator we review all generator trips and events on our network as standard practice. We are still reviewing operational events across the weekend. 'However, it is highly unlikely that these events are connected to each other or related to the events on the European electricity network on Monday. 'Great Britain's electricity network was not affected by the power system incident on the European electricity network on Monday. 'We are working closely with our counterparts across Europe to understand the cause of today's power system incident and to offer our support. It is too early to comment further on today's events and whilst investigations are still ongoing.' It comes as thousands of UK travellers are trying to return home today after being stranded overnight because of the widespread power cuts in Europe. Much of the two countries were brought to a standstill yesterday after the power cut switched off traffic lights and left people unable to access cash machines. Power is returning to Spain and Portugal today but flight disruption is continuing as many aircraft and flight crew are out of position. Back in Britain, an Energy Minister said that the power cuts in Spain and Portugal had 'no effects in the UK' but the UK Government is monitoring the situation and 'any lessons learned from this event'. Kerry McCarthy told the Commons: 'Well, first of all, I think the whole House will want to send support to Spain and Portugal following the incidents yesterday. 'There were no effects in the UK but we do continue to closely monitor the situation and any lessons learned from this event. 'I'm not going to speculate as to the causes of that event but what we need to do is to ensure that our own systems are as resilient as possible.' Also today, the Home Secretary said that the UK has been looking at how to deal with 'different kinds of challenges and threats'. Asked whether the power cut there had triggered a fear that British infrastructure could be affected in the same way, Yvette Cooper told Sky News that the UK has a 'continued approach' to 'resilience' and 'security issues'. She added: 'We've been looking, as part of wider security reviews across the country, how we deal with both resilience and also different kinds of challenges and threats. 'Some of which can be the traditional security challenges, some of which can be the kinds of resilience - things that we're talking about in Spain and Portugal - and we obviously support them and the governments there in the work that they're doing.' Spanish power distributors said this morning that more than 99 per cent of power has been recovered. The blackout saw train passengers stranded and millions of people left without phone and internet access after the outage yesterday. Spain's grid operator Red Eléctrica admitted today that solar power could be to blame, but it was to early to say for sure. The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Centre said there was no indication that it was caused by a cyber attack. It comes just weeks after Heathrow Airport was forced to halt operations for most of a day after a power outage caused by a substation fire. The airport was closed to all flights until around 6pm on March 21, which disrupted more than 270,000 air passenger journeys. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said at the time that the Government will 'have to look hard' at the 'resilience' for major institutions such as Heathrow.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Housing developer appointed for beauty spot
The government has appointed a developer for a controversial project to build 260 homes on a beauty spot. Homes England announced on Monday that Keepmoat Homes is expected to begin work on Brislington Meadows, in Bristol, next year. The government's land and property agency won an appeal over the planning application in 2023 after Bristol City Council missed a deadline to make a decision. Campaigners have argued the site should not be built on for ecological reasons and local Labour MP Kerry McCarthy has vowed to try and halt the development. More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol The council designated the 22.5-acre site for housing in 2014. Homes England paid a total of about £15m to the council and private owners to buy the site in 2020. The current council has tried to protect the site, citing its ecological significance, including the habitat its trees, grassland and hedgerows provide for protected species. A spokesperson for Homes England said: "At Brislington Meadows, we are committed to delivering an exemplary scheme that will provide much-needed, high-standard homes, 30 per cent of which will be affordable, while delivering a 10 per cent biodiversity net gain, in an area that is close to local shops, community facilities, employment areas and public transport infrastructure." In a statement on the Brislington Meadows website on Monday, the agency added: "(Keepmoat) will now prepare a Reserved Matters planning application, which will include public consultation later in the year. It is currently anticipated that work will start on-site in 2026." Danica Priest, from campaign group Save Brislington Meadows, said: "It's not a large site - it's not going to make a difference to the housing stock in Bristol. It kind of feels like spite that Homes England is going forward with it. "There is so much brownfield land in that area that could be developed instead." She pointed out that the site only has outline permission and plans may be blocked when the developer submits more detailed ones. It is also being taken out of the council's Local Plan. "It has opposition from every single political party in Bristol which is quite rare," she said. "It's just really unethical to be building on a site of Nature Conservation Interest." Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East, said: "I remain of the view that the meadows development should not go ahead. "As well as being a site of Nature Conservation Interest, the meadows is a key green lung for Brislington and developing it would have a detrimental impact on local residents." She added: "I will continue to look for realistic ways to prevent the development - if this isn't possible then I will be pushing as strongly as I can to reduce the development's footprint, to ensure access to local people to the wider meadows, and a promise that any biodiversity net gain remains in the local area." Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Developer wins right to build on meadowland Planning reforms will end development chaos, says Rayner Inquiry starts into green space development Homes England -
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Housing developer appointed for beauty spot
The government has appointed a developer for a controversial project to build 260 homes on a beauty spot. Homes England announced on Monday that Keepmoat Homes is expected to begin work on Brislington Meadows, in Bristol, next year. The government's land and property agency won an appeal over the planning application in 2023 after Bristol City Council missed a deadline to make a decision. Campaigners have argued the site should not be built on for ecological reasons and local Labour MP Kerry McCarthy has vowed to try and halt the development. More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol The council designated the 22.5-acre site for housing in 2014. Homes England paid a total of about £15m to the council and private owners to buy the site in 2020. The current council has tried to protect the site, citing its ecological significance, including the habitat its trees, grassland and hedgerows provide for protected species. A spokesperson for Homes England said: "At Brislington Meadows, we are committed to delivering an exemplary scheme that will provide much-needed, high-standard homes, 30 per cent of which will be affordable, while delivering a 10 per cent biodiversity net gain, in an area that is close to local shops, community facilities, employment areas and public transport infrastructure." In a statement on the Brislington Meadows website on Monday, the agency added: "(Keepmoat) will now prepare a Reserved Matters planning application, which will include public consultation later in the year. It is currently anticipated that work will start on-site in 2026." Danica Priest, from campaign group Save Brislington Meadows, said: "It's not a large site - it's not going to make a difference to the housing stock in Bristol. It kind of feels like spite that Homes England is going forward with it. "There is so much brownfield land in that area that could be developed instead." She pointed out that the site only has outline permission and plans may be blocked when the developer submits more detailed ones. It is also being taken out of the council's Local Plan. "It has opposition from every single political party in Bristol which is quite rare," she said. "It's just really unethical to be building on a site of Nature Conservation Interest." Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East, said: "I remain of the view that the meadows development should not go ahead. "As well as being a site of Nature Conservation Interest, the meadows is a key green lung for Brislington and developing it would have a detrimental impact on local residents." She added: "I will continue to look for realistic ways to prevent the development - if this isn't possible then I will be pushing as strongly as I can to reduce the development's footprint, to ensure access to local people to the wider meadows, and a promise that any biodiversity net gain remains in the local area." Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Developer wins right to build on meadowland Planning reforms will end development chaos, says Rayner Inquiry starts into green space development Homes England -
BBC News
15-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Developer appointed for Brislington meadowland homes
The government has appointed a developer for a controversial project to build 260 homes on a beauty England announced on Monday that Keepmoat Homes is expected to begin work on Brislington Meadows, in Bristol, next government's land and property agency won an appeal over the planning application in 2023 after Bristol City Council missed a deadline to make a have argued the site should not be built on for ecological reasons and local Labour MP Kerry McCarthy has vowed to try and halt the development. The council designated the 22.5-acre site for housing in 2014. Homes England paid a total of about £15m to the council and private owners to buy the site in current council has tried to protect the site, citing its ecological significance, including the habitat its trees, grassland and hedgerows provide for protected species.A spokesperson for Homes England said: "At Brislington Meadows, we are committed to delivering an exemplary scheme that will provide much-needed, high-standard homes, 30 per cent of which will be affordable, while delivering a 10 per cent biodiversity net gain, in an area that is close to local shops, community facilities, employment areas and public transport infrastructure."In a statement on the Brislington Meadows website on Monday, the agency added: "(Keepmoat) will now prepare a Reserved Matters planning application, which will include public consultation later in the year. It is currently anticipated that work will start on-site in 2026." Danica Priest, from campaign group Save Brislington Meadows, said: "It's not a large site - it's not going to make a difference to the housing stock in Bristol. It kind of feels like spite that Homes England is going forward with it."There is so much brownfield land in that area that could be developed instead."She pointed out that the site only has outline permission and plans may be blocked when the developer submits more detailed ones. It is also being taken out of the council's Local Plan."It has opposition from every single political party in Bristol which is quite rare," she said."It's just really unethical to be building on a site of Nature Conservation Interest." 'Green lung' Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East, said: "I remain of the view that the meadows development should not go ahead."As well as being a site of Nature Conservation Interest, the meadows is a key green lung for Brislington and developing it would have a detrimental impact on local residents."She added: "I will continue to look for realistic ways to prevent the development - if this isn't possible then I will be pushing as strongly as I can to reduce the development's footprint, to ensure access to local people to the wider meadows, and a promise that any biodiversity net gain remains in the local area."
