Latest news with #energydepartment
The National
11 hours ago
- Business
- The National
UK drops mega-project to transport energy underwater from Morocco
The UK has decided to abandon a mega-project intended to bring solar and wind energy from Morocco for use by domestic consumers. It stepped back from a plan to transmit power generated in Tan-tan province in Morocco's south through what would have been the world's longest underwater power cable and is pivoting to other projects seen as less risky, British energy officials said. The British government, which is aiming to largely decarbonise its electricity sector by 2030, said it would no longer support the £25 billion ($33 billion) scheme due to a 'high level of inherent risk, related to both delivery and security". It said it believed domestic projects could offer better economic benefits. "The government has concluded that it is not in the UK national interest at this time to continue further consideration of support for the Morocco-UK Power Project," energy department minister Michael Shanks said in a written statement to parliament. He added the project did not clearly align strategically with the government's mission to create home-grown power in the UK. The project had originally been designated by the previous Conservative government as being of "national significance" but faced funding and regulatory hurdles. The Morocco-UK Power Project was announced by British company Xlinks in 2021 as part of a drive to create a global energy grid and ship power from places where it is cheap to produce to high-demand markets. Xlinks said the scheme would provide an equivalent of 8 per cent of Britain's current electricity needs, or about seven million homes. According to Xlinks, the project would have lowered wholesale electricity prices by 9 per cent and reduced the UK sector's carbon emissions by about 10 per cent. 'There are stronger alternative options that we should focus our attention on," Mr Shanks said, noting the inherent risk for taxpayers and consumers. The UK relies heavily on natural gas for its energy needs and aims to generate all of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. It closed its last coal-fired power plant last year and offered some financing to a string of wind, solar and energy storage projects to help meet its goal. Such large-scale infrastructure projects typically rely on some government support or fixed prices per megawatt-hour. Xlinks had sought government backing with a 25-year contract guaranteeing a fixed price for the electricity, and has already received loans from investors including France's Total Energies and development bank Africa Finance Corporation. Xlinks board chairman, former Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis, said the company would continue pursuing the project despite the government's decision. 'We are hugely surprised and bitterly disappointed," he said, noting the company believed its project would offer electricity at cheaper rates and more quickly than other proposals, including to expand nuclear power. 'Over £100 million from leading energy sector players has already been spent on project development and demand from lenders to participate in the construction phase is greater than we require," he said. "We are now working to unlock the potential of the project and maximise its value for all parties in a different way." The Xlinks scheme is one of several projects that reflect how European countries are looking to North Africa for clean energy, testing whether it is cheaper to generate renewable power in ideal conditions far away and ship it, or to produce it domestically. The project would transmit electricity through nearly 4,000km of underwater cables encased in protective plastic and steel, with minimal transmission loss. If completed, it would be the world's largest interconnector, though smaller subsea cable networks already link the UK to neighbouring European countries. In addition, transmission projects in Tunisia and Egypt aim to link solar and wind farms to Italy and Greece. Britain is one of the leading players in renewable energy in Europe due to onshore and offshore wind power but still trails behind Scandinavian countries, which draw a large part of their electricity from wind and hydroelectric dams. The UK has set a target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81 per cent by 2035 compared to 1990 levels and is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050. The government recently pledged more than £30 billion to relaunch nuclear power as an essential step for energy security and its climate ambitions.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
RTS meter switch-off is pushed back
Hundreds of thousands of households who may have been left without hot water and heating at the end of June will not immediately have their old meters switched off, the government has will instead be a "cautious and targeted phase out" of Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meters, it switch-off will begin on a smaller scale, and affected homes and businesses will be contacted by suppliers "well ahead of time", the energy department poverty campaigners said the switch-off process had been "doomed to failure" after it became clear that the 30 June deadline was "simply unachievable". As of last month, about 314,000 households were using the RTS meters, and having them switched off could have meant they lost heating - or had it stuck on a third of those households are in meters use a longwave radio frequency to switch between peak and off peak rates, and can also be used to turn heating and hot water systems on and have been in use since the 1980s, but are now becoming have been replacing the meters, but not quickly enough to meet the most cases, meters will be replaced with a smart meter, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero consumers minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said "thousands of vulnerable consumers" with RTS meters would not now experience any "sudden disruption" at the end of this month. Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said ministers were "right to be getting a grip on the situation and holding Ofgem and the energy industry to account".He called for a plan "that sets out how the gradual switch-off will take place, including which regions will be affected and when"."Crucially, we also need firm and binding reassurances that no customers will be left without heating or hot water, and that no household will face higher bills as a result of the changes," he added. Regulator Ofgem said it had been "clear that customers must be protected at every stage of the phased area-by-area shutdown, and we are spelling out to suppliers key requirements that must be met before an area loses its RTS signal".Charlotte Friel, Ofgem's retail pricing director, said it "remains crucial that these meters are replaced urgently so it's vital to engage with your supplier when offered an appointment". Industry group Energy UK said installation rates had increased from 1,000 per month to 1,800 per day."This momentum needs to continue and we urge customers to engage with their supplier to book an appointment prior to their meter being phased out," said Ned Hammond, the group's deputy director for customers.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Emergency Order Halts Second Power Plant From Closure
(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration ordered another power plant to remain operational by invoking emergency powers for a second time, a day before the facility in Pennsylvania was scheduled to close. Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry Now With Colorful Blocks, Tirana's Pyramid Represents a Changing Albania NYC Congestion Toll Brings In $216 Million in First Four Months The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Constellation Energy Corp.'s Eddystone Generating Station, which was set to shut down its last remaining units on Saturday, will be required to remain online under a Energy Department order, which invoked a section of federal law typically reserved for emergencies such as extreme weather events and war. The plant located just south of Philadelphia began operations in 1960, and has two remaining units that can burn either natural gas or oil during periods of high power demand, according to Constellation. The Energy Department said the decision followed recent testimony from the area's grid operator that its system faces a 'growing resource adequacy concern' because of increasing power demand, plant retirements and other factors. The department last Friday ordered the aging J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan, to remain operating past its May 31 shutdown date. The move, which the Trump administration said was necessary due to factors that included a shortage of electricity, drew criticism from analysts as well as the chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission, who said no emergency existed. 'The Department of Energy's move to keep these zombie plants online will have significant public health impacts and increase electricity costs for people in Michigan and Pennsylvania,' said Kit Kennedy, a managing director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. 'These dirty and expensive fossil plants were slated to close because they could not compete with cheaper, cleaner alternatives.' The Energy Department's second order Friday came after PJM Interconnection LLC, the region's grid operator, accepted Constellation's retirement notice for its Eddystone plan after studying if such a move would threaten grid reliability. But in a statement Saturday, PJM, which manages the largest US grid roughly spanning from Washington DC to Illinois, said it supported the Energy Department's order. Constellation said in a statement Saturday it was taking immediate steps to continue to operate the remaining units at its Eddystone power plant throughout the summer and would 'investigate the possibility' of operating them for longer until it can complete work to restart Pennslvania's shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear plant. The company said it was working with PJM to accelerate the restart of that nuclear reactor, with a goal of putting it online in 2027. Previously, Constellation has said it expected the reactor to be online in 2028. --With assistance from Naureen S. Malik. (Updates with NRDC comment in sixth paragraph.) YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce AI Is Helping Executives Tackle the Dreaded Post-Vacation Inbox How Coach Handbags Became a Gen Z Status Symbol Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
