Government ministers will today publish the Coalition's much-anticipated draft Energy Bill, which is to set out the measures to encourage new investment in both cleaner and greener types of energy. In what marks the biggest shake-up of Britain's electricity market ever since privatisation, the Energy Bill is to lay out the framework for the decarbonisation of the UK’s energy infrastructure, while attempting to keep costs down to a minimum for consumers. These plans are seen as vital if the UK is to 'keep the lights on’ while ensuring that the nation meets the carbon reduction targets set for itself. Insiders have commented ... Full Story

Ex-Energy Secretary Chris Huhne warned on a news website last week that Britain's economy risks sliding deeper into recession if it doesn't invest in green growth. Huhne's comments, which were published on the Guardian's website, see him arguing that Britain has been left with no other choice than to go green - simply due to commodity price rises that he says are stalling "resource-hungry" growth. Huhne wrote that economic debates imply that the government must make a choice between either going green or going for growth. The intervention comes after recent figures showed how Britain has fallen back into its recession, while at the ... Full Story

A green trade mission that was organised by the British government will head to southern US states and try to and drum up new business for a group of British firms while encouraging US green investment in the UK. Greg Barker, the energy and Climate Change Minister, is to lead a four-day-long green trade mission focusing on green energy, as well as energy efficiency. He will leave Britain on Sunday and visit the southern US states of Texas and Georgia. At least five British companies will join the mission. This includes blue-chip firm Rolls-Royce, Jupiter Asset Management, the leading fund manager, Kiwi ... Full Story

The amount of solar panels that have been installed ever since the subsidy for small-scale PV, or photovoltaic, systems has fallen dramatically - as highlighted by official figures. DECC - the Department of Energy and Climate Change has released statistics that show how in  April's first three weeks, the amount of solar PV installations meant for systems lower than four kilowatt in size reached just over 1500. While figures for the whole month of April are yet to be released, 25,500 installations were completed per month over the previous nine months that have been studied. April's figures thus far suggest that the ... Full Story

The renewables industry currently employs around 110,000 Britons and has a value of around £12.5 billion to the United Kingdom's economy, alleges the first report that has taken a look at the amount of jobs across the sector and its overall value. These figures are to grow to around 400,000 jobs with a whopping turnover of £50 billion should the UK meet renewable energy targets it must hit by 2020, according to the Renewable Energy Association's report and the prediction of consultants Innovas. The report, entitled 'Renewable Energy: Made in Britain’ will be published this week and looks at both employment ... Full Story

Chancellor George Osborne today tried to shake off the anti-green image that has been built of him, but it was the fossil fuels – especially gas – which came out as the main winners in his Budget this week. In a bid to ease green energy concerns over the Coalition's commitment to renewables, Osborne said that the sector is to play an integral role in the UK’s future energy mix. He also gave full backing to the fossil fuels as well promising North Sea oil and gas tax breaks while confirming support for all gas-related plans. While Osborne acknowledged that sky-high oil ... Full Story

New research by General Electric has suggested that this year's London Olympic Games are yet to convince the British public of the sustainability legacy the event will supposedly have. In spite of London 2012 already being dubbed history's greenest ever Olympic Games before the competition has even started, just five per cent of British consumers believe that the Games will improve green credentials in the UK or reduce environmental impact, as alleged  by a GE report that was published today. This study also finds just 12 per cent of people in the UK believe that the Olympics are to leave behind sustainable ... Full Story

A last-ditch attempt from the Government to get the High Court ruling overturned on its plans to slash the Feed-in Tariff for solar electricity is to be presented to the highest court in Britain for appeal today. DECC, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, confirmed that it will lodge its appeal bid directly to the Supreme Court before the end of the week. Ministers have until next Wednesday to request an appeal. A spokesperson representing the DECC told reporters that the appeal will be launched and newly-made Energy Secretary Ed Davey has already given the decision his backing. Apparently, an official ... Full Story

The amount of small to medium-sized enterprises in Britain investing in the generation of renewable energy will increase by at least third by 2017, alleges Opus Energy. In its survey, Opus found that 38 per cent of British SMEs believe they will be generating their own personal renewable energy before 2017. The survey of 500 firms revealed that eight per cent of UK SMEs have plans to make renewable energy generation investments by the end of 2012. Additionally, 10 per cent of British SMEs said that they would do it by the end of 2013 while 12 per cent said that they would ... Full Story

The world's largest offshore wind farm was opened today in the centre of the Irish Sea. There are 102 turbines now connected to Walney wind farms, which cover 73 square-kilometres between them. The huge project has a 367/3 MW capacity and provides green electricity to over 300,000 homes. Every one of the turbines, which were provided by Siemens Wind Power, has a generating capacity of 3.6MW. While opening the new billion pound wind farm at an official opening ceremony, Secretary of State Ed Davey stated that the UK has much to be proud of as its offshore wind sector continues to grow. ... Full Story

UK greenhouse gas emissions dropped significantly during 2009 at the peak of the economic recession. Government statistics out today revealed that the GHG emissions fell at least 8.7 per cent from 2008 figures. Carbon dioxide, the most common GHG, went down 9.8 per cent. UK GHG emissions, which fall under the Kyoto Protocol, were recorded at 566.3 million tonnes in 2009 compared to a total of 620.5 million tonnes during 2008. The figures, published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), indicate that UK emissions have dropped 26.5 per cent since the 1990s. In order to ... Full Story

Popular UK retailer Tesco has encouraged employees to cut down on carbon emissions by providing touch screen energy monitors. After a pilot programme ran successfully in the nine of the grocer’s stores, Tesco will roll out the scheme in 500 stores across the country. The energy boards are placed around staff areas in the store and show, which sections are helping to reduce energy usage. On the touch screen, employees can see, by section, such as bakery, lighting, petrol, which station is using the most energy. This marks the first time that the technology has been used in ... Full Story