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Onshore wind: Truss and Johnson join group of rebel Tories calling for ban to be lifted

Posted on November 29, 2022 by dishanth

An amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill was first tabled earlier this week by Simon Clarke, the Conservative MP for Middlesborough South and East Cleveland, in a bid to end the de facto ban on new onshore wind. It has gained the backing of more than 20 Conservative MPs, with Clarke confirming the support of Johnson and Truss earlier today (25 November).

Clarke’s amendment would oblige the UK Government to alter planning rules for onshore wind farms within six months of the bill passing into law. These changes would permit onshore wind in communities where there is a high level of support. It has been extremely challenging to develop new onshore wind farms in the UK since 2014, due to a tightening of planning restrictions under then-Prime Minister David Cameron.

The Government did add onshore wind back into the Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction rounds’ eligibility criteria in 2020 under Johnson but planning restrictions were kept in place. Hence, it is very significant that Johnson is backing Clarke’s amendment.

Truss has repeatedly stated that she would support more onshore wind development despite her opposition to solar farms, particularly on agricultural land.

Clarke has stated that his amendment would result in a “pro-growth, pro-green policy at a time when we need both”. The UK Government is notably undertaking a review of its pathway to net-zero at present, in recognition of the fact that its current Net-Zero Strategy is unlawful and given Truss’s wish for a “pro-business, pro-growth, economically efficient” approach. Chris Skidmore MP is heading up this review.

Also of note is the fact that the UK published a new Energy Security Strategy this spring, headlined by a pledge for 95% of Britain’s electricity generation mix to be from low-carbon sources by 2030, rising to 100% by 2035. There was precious little support for onshore wind or solar, despite major capacity target increases for offshore wind, nuclear and hydrogen, plus a swathe of measures designed to boost North Sea oil and gas production.

Clarke has stated: “Whether or not to proceed with onshore wind [development] is a decision that should be made by local communities, rather than top-down from Westminster. It is the cheapest form of energy generation bar none. It will boost our energy security, help us on the path to net-zero and ease the cost-of-living squeeze just when we need it most.”

The Conservative Environment Network is supporting Clarke’s work here. Its Parliamentary Caucus now includes more than 100 Tory MPs.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill was introduced in May and is currently in the report stage and third reading stage. The next meeting on the Bill will take place on Monday (28 November).

Another amendment that has caused drama this month was brought forward by former Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers. She, and around 50 other Tory MPs, want the Bill to include measures that would scrap mandatory housebuilding targets for local authorities in favour of an advisory-only measure.

Source edie

British energy transition ‘an opportunity to train 200,000 workers this decade’

Posted on August 9, 2022August 8, 2022 by dishanth

PwC’s research paper on jobs in the energy transition concludes that, by 2030, 270,000 skilled workers from the fossil fuel sectors will likely be leaving as the net-zero transition continues. At the same time, 400,000 jobs will be needed in low-carbon energy sectors including nuclear, renewables and hydrogen. With one-fifth of the fossil fuel leavers set to retire, there could be an overall gap of 200,000 skilled workers for the clean energy sectors.

This raises questions about whether the Government, public and private sectors have ambitious and joined-up enough plans to reskill and upskill the existing workforce and to grow the pipeline of fresh talent.

Under Boris Johnson, the Government created a Green Jobs Taskforce featuring representatives from businesses, trade bodies, education and NGOs. The Taskforce’s has published one major briefing with another due this year. However, no fully updated careers and/or skills strategy has been created.

The Government’s overarching ambition is for the UK to host two million green-collar jobs in 2030, up from around 208,000 in 2020. Shortly after the publication of the Net-Zero Strategy last October, MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) warned that it only detailed the creation of a further 440,000 green jobs by 2030. The High Court has since ruled that the Strategy is unlawful as it does not properly detail how the UK will achieve its legally binding climate targets.

PwC’s head of regions Carl Sizer said: “The big challenge will be finding additional workers outside the energy sector to build the clean energy labourforce needed for net zero. The opportunity is to create highly skilled jobs in locations that may currently lack these.”

To his latter point, the energy transition may well present opportunities for the Government to deliver on its levelling up rhetoric, as distribution networks will need upgrading across the country and as small-scale nuclear and renewables grow.

Sizer also noted the opportunity to get more women, and others from demographics currently under-represented in the UK’s energy sector, trained up. One 2021 report from PwC found that women hold just 21% of executive positions in the energy sector and that. When positions at all levels are covered, less than 19% are estimated to be held by women. The sector is also lagging on ethnic diversity, with 93% of staff being white compared with 79-82% of the general population.

PwC is proposing the development of new energy apprenticeship programmes and technical training schemes that can be taken mid-career, along with targeted communications. The report states that “a range of interventions” should be considered to encourage under-represented demographics to consider energy jobs.

Allaying job loss fears

The paper emphasises that, while job losses in the coal sector are forthcoming, with the UK’s remaining plants needing to come offline by autumn 2024, job gains in other sectors will more than offset the reduction of jobs in the fossil fuel space.

PwC states that up to 90% of roles in oil, gas and coal are transferable, meaning that job losses this decade are likely to be minimal – particularly if the private sector increases efforts in upskilling as the transition plan mandate is rolled out. Net job gains are driven by the nuclear and offshore wind sector, which the Conservative Government have increased targets for through the recent Energy Security Strategy. The Strategy also increased targets for hydrogen, presenting another major reskilling and upskilling opportunity.

“While the shift to green energy is as significant as the industrial revolution, job loss should be far less this time round,” said PwC’s Sizer. “Rather than face an abrupt cliff edge, workers will see their roles become greener over time, many should be able to stay in the same company, while others will reach retirement age.”

Many firms, the report notes, are already advertising for jobs in functions and sectors that can reduce emissions. It states that 24.6% of job adverts in the electricity and gas sector were in these roles in 2021, up from 21.1% in 2020.

Source Edie

Offshore wind jobs set to more than treble by 2030 in boost to Boris Johnson’s levelling-up agenda

Posted on June 17, 2022June 15, 2022 by dishanth

The UK’s offshore wind workforce is set to more than treble over the next eight years to reach 100,000 employees by the end of the decade, according to industry predictions seen.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants the UK’s offshore wind capacity to jump five-fold by 2030 in a push to wean the UK grid off gas. The target will see dozens of huge new wind farms erected around the British coast over the coming years.

However, there are concerns that recruiting enough skilled workers will be difficult to achieve. Already there are shortages in some key areas such as consenting, data analysis, and electrical connections.

Such a massive expansion in capacity will require a huge increase in the industry’s workforce, with the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) predicting headcounts will grow from 31,000 employees today to more than 97,000 by 2030.

The figures are based on assessments of the current workforce and analysis of projects in planning and under development. Investment in new projects is expected to total £155bn over the next eight years, according to OWIC, delivering 47GW of new offshore wind capacity by 2030.

With the UK economy in turmoil, the predictions will be a major boost for the government’s levelling up agenda – particularly as most jobs are expected to be concentrated in regional manufacturing hotspots such as the Humber Estuary and Teesside.

“This report demonstrates the extraordinary potential of renewable energy to create jobs, drive investment and secure cheaper clean electricity,” said energy minister Greg Hands.

“We have ambitious plans to go even further as the UK becomes a global renewable energy powerhouse”.

The Government wants industry to build dozens of new wind farms around the UK coastline to help wean the British power grid off gas (Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty)

The offshore wind industry insists it is prepared for the recruitment challenge. Siemens-Gamesa, one of the world’s largest turbine manufacturers, is currently doubling the size of its factory in Hull, creating 200 new jobs over the next 12 months.

“There’s a real head of steam and momentum building, and there’s going to be a lot more jobs for the future, that’s for sure,” said Andy Sykes, director of the Siemens-Gamesa Hull plant.

But the growth in jobs depends on a steady supply of new wind farms winning approval and government contracts.

Ministers have promised to speed up the planning process and to hold annual offshore wind auctions to ensure new wind farms are rolled out quickly, however, the 50GW target is still seen by developers as hugely ambitious.

“These [job] numbers will only work if all of those projects go ahead, and go ahead in a timely fashion,” warned Melanie Onn, deputy chief executive of trade body RenewableUK.

Diversity is another major challenge. The offshore wind industry prides itself on being ethical and progressive, but currently, almost 80 percent of the workforce is male and 96 percent is white.

It has a target for women to women to make up at least one-third of the workforce by 2030, and for black, Asian and ethnic minority people to account for at least nine percent of the workforce by the same date.

“Now it’s an absolute concerted effort to try to encourage as many women and people from ethnic minorities… to come into the sector,” Ms Onn told i. “It’s a challenge, there’s no denying it”.

Source iNews

Boris Johnson confirms mandatory EV charging points for new buildings in England

Posted on November 23, 2021November 23, 2021 by dishanth

Johnson delivered a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) today (22 November), where he made the announcement.

The mandate will apply to developers of new residential housing, office blocks and retail sites, as well as to the developers of renovations where there are ten or more parking spaces.

An exact implementation date is set to be confirmed following consultation. To support SMEs in meeting the requirements, a new three-year loan programme with a £150m funding pot will be operated through Innovate UK.

The UK Government estimates that the requirement will prompt the installation of up to 145,000 extra charging points each year through to 2030 – the point at which the national ban on new petrol and diesel car sales will come into effect.

It has been known for several years that rates of current and planned charging point installations in the UK are being outpaced by the growth of the nation’s EV stock. The 2020 Budget saw Chancellor Rishi Sunak reveal that the government was developing plans to ensure that EV drivers are never more than 30 miles away from a rapid charging point, amid a growing body of evidence that there is a “postcode lottery” for charging infrastructure in the UK.

Speaking at the CBI event, Johnson said: “This is a pivotal moment – we cannot go on as we are. We have to adapt our economy to the green industrial revolution.

“We have to use our massive investment in science and technology and we have to raise our productivity and then we have to get out your way.”

“We must regulate less or better and take advantage of new freedoms,” he added, alluding to Brexit.

Before this announcement, developers of new homes were preparing for charging infrastructure mandates from 2025, under the Future Homes Standard.

Johnson confirmed that the Department for Transport (DfT) is also set to announce plans for making public charging points more accessible for those wishing to charge away from home. MPs have repeatedly urged the implementation of simplified payment systems and greater consumer protections for public charging points, as well as appropriate competition measures for this rapidly expanding sector.

Additionally, Highways England announced plans to invest £11m in battery energy storage systems at service stations this decade, to assist with the uptake of EV charging points in areas where grid constraints can hamper installations.

The news comes days after a project working to map out the future of EV charging infrastructure in the UK’s rural regions, trialling solutions in Devon, received grant funding from Innovate UK.

Industry reaction

The Energy Networks Association’s director of external affairs Ross Easton said: “This is great news for those living in new homes, but we must make sure access to charging points is not exclusive – charging points must be accessible to everyone. To truly ‘level up’ charging point access and deliver on the COP26 electric vehicle pledges requires strategic planning at all levels of government, nationally and locally.”

Eversheds Sutherland’s head of UK transport Dominic Lacey said: “The EV charging network needs a huge stimulus that goes beyond ‘on-the-go’ charge points across our roads and highways. Boosting charging availability through planning and building control for new and refurbished commercial and residential sites is a logical step. However, access to cheap and convenient EV charging remains a social and infrastructure challenge for the bulk of traditional urban sites, which lack the capacity, facilities and space to support multi-EV charge points.”

Energy Saving Trust’s group head of transport Tim Anderson called the announcement “important”. He said: “This is a pivotal moment in the decarbonisation of transport and a significant step towards ensuring charging infrastructure is accessible for all. Today’s pledge demonstrates the government’s commitment to build on the ambition of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan and pledges made at COP26.”

The REA’s transport policy manager Jacob Roberts said:“Making sure as many people as possible are able to charge at home is key to ensuring that the full cost-saving benefits of EVs are spread fairly across society. Installing EV chargers during building construction is cheaper and less disruptive than retrofitting them later, particularly for shared and communal car parks. This approach will also go a long way to ensuring that grid connections are futureproofed to accommodate the recharging requirements of tomorrow’s EV users.

“However, this is only the tip of the iceberg, and our focus now needs to turn to the existing housing stock, particularly for blocks of flats, rental properties and leasehold properties, where higher costs and complex approval processes need to be overcome.

“We must also continue to develop a network of cost-effective and convenient public charging infrastructure for those living in properties without off-street parking. The REA are aiding the Government as they develop new grant supports targeted at installing EV chargers in such settings. Lastly, increasing the accessibility of charge points will be immaterial if we cannot improve the affordability of electric vehicles too. The REA have long argued for ZEV mandates in the UK and hope that the Government will bring forward these regulations as soon as possible.”

Source Edie

UK to offer £265m in subsidies for renewable energy developers

Posted on September 13, 2021 by dishanth

Renewable energy developers will compete for a share in a £265m subsidy pot as the government aims to support a record number of projects in the sector through a milestone subsidy scheme later this year.

Under the scheme, offshore wind developers will compete for contracts worth up to £200m a year, and onshore wind and solar farms will be in line for their first subsidies in more than five years.

Alongside the £200m funding pot for offshore windfarms, there will be a further £55m available to emerging renewable technologies such as tidal power, of which £24m will be earmarked for floating offshore wind farms.

The government will also make £10m available to developers of onshore wind and solar farms for the first time since it slashed subsidies in 2015, or enough to deliver up to 5GW of renewable energy capacity.

Dan McGrail, chief executive of the trade organisation Renewable UK, said the scheme could bring forward private investment of over £20bn in a boost to jobs and the UK supply chain, while reducing energy bills and helping the UK to meet its climate targets.

“The sector had called on government to increase the ambition for new renewable energy capacity at the upcoming auction and that is reflected in today’s announcement,” he said.

The government has referred to the upcoming auction as the “biggest ever renewable support scheme” – despite offering less than the £325m and £290m offered in 2015 and 2017 respectively – because the falling cost of renewables means it may secure more renewable energy capacity than the government’s first three auctions combined.

Renewable energy developers will compete for the funds in a reverse auction scheduled for December, in which the lowest-cost projects will secure a contract that guarantees the price for the clean electricity they generate.

In the last auction, offshore wind costs tumbled by a third to record lows of about £40 per megawatt-hour, well below the price of electricity in the wholesale energy market, meaning households are unlikely to face higher charges on their energy bills.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the energy minister, said the latest round of the support scheme would “support the next generation of renewable electricity projects needed to power our homes” and help meet the UK’s climate targets.

Boris Johnson set out plans almost a year ago to support 40GW of offshore wind farms by 2030, or enough to power the equivalent of every home in the UK, as part of the government’s plan to “build back greener” from Covid-19.

The prime minister’s “10-point plan” also includes funding for low-carbon hydrogen and millions of electric vehicles on British roads, as well as a goal to replace gas boilers by installing up to 600,000 electric heat pumps a year by 2028.

Heat pumps are considered an important tool in cutting carbon emissions from the UK’s housing stock, which is responsible for about 14% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, mostly due to a reliance on gas heating and poorly insulated homes.

But the UK’s rollout is “seriously lagging” behind other European countries including Poland, Slovakia and Estonia, according to a recent analysis of industry data by Greenpeace.

Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK’s policy director, said that if the government “wants a chance to catch up, it needs a proper strategy and enough cash” to make the cost of installing a heat pump – and upgrading energy efficiency – the same as replacing a gas boiler.

A government spokesman said the strategy paper will set out how the government plans to help the upfront costs of heat pumps to fall in the coming years while keeping “fairness and affordability for both households and taxpayers at the heart of our plans”.

Source The Guardian

Rishi Sunak could set out green taxes for imports to help UK hit net-zero target

Posted on July 13, 2021 by dishanth

Ministers are drawing up plans to impose carbon taxes on imports from abroad as part of efforts to hit Britain’s net-zero target by 2050, i understands.

The proposals emerged as a “civil war” broke out between ministers over the best way to ensure the public pays for the carbon emissions they produce.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to lay out new carbon taxes this autumn to help the country meet its obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also raising money to repair public finances damaged by Covid.

Among the proposals being looked at is a carbon border adjustment tax, which will slap levies on goods arriving from abroad. Such taxes aim to prevent wealthy countries such as the UK from outsourcing their carbon emissions to the developing world – known as “carbon leakage”.

One minister told i: “Carbon border adjustment tax is definitely in the mix. Eventually people will have to tackle the question of consumption – they are going to need to decide if they are willing to consume less stuff imported from China or not.”

For any domestic industry that has a carbon price placed on it, the same price would be placed on imports to prevent cheaper goods flooding the market.

Which products would be targeted has not been undecided, but the EU’s plans for carbon levies on imports will focus initially on the most carbon-intensive sectors, such oil refineries, steel and other metals, and cement.

The measures are under consideration ahead of the UK hosting the COP26 UN Climate Change Council in November. Experts have warned that the Government currently has an “alphabet soup” of carbon taxes and urgently needs to fill the policy vacuum ahead of the meeting in Glasgow.

With the UK welcoming world leaders to COP26, the Chancellor will have little choice but to spell out plans for environmental taxes in an autumn Budget and Comprehensive Spending Review.

Westminster sources said, however, that any move towards a carbon border tax would have to consider the implications it would have with major trading partners, such as the US, and how problematic it would be for post-Brexit Britain to go out and strike trade deals.

Ministers are increasingly at odds over the best way to ensure the public pays for the carbon emissions they produce, with the Treasury in a stand-off with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and No 10.

One source said: “There is a civil war raging between departments as to how the Government can meet its commitments.”

i understands Mr Sunak is pushing for a simpler carbon pricing approach, which would set baseline prices according to which sectors carbon emissions are coming from, while Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is eager to focus on regulation.

Boris Johnson is keenly aware he needs to lead the way on the issue, but “the PM likes to spend money more than he likes to tax people”, as one well-placed source put it.

What has become clear is that the burden of who will pay for carbon emissions is shifting from the corporate sector to consumers.

It is widely accepted that petrol and gas will become more expensive, and the idea of taxes on meat and dairy products have also been floated. At the same time, the Government’s attempts to persuade people to upgrade their homes to make them more energy-efficient have largely failed.

There is a growing recognition that ministers will have to do more to allow people to make greener decisions. One Whitehall source said that the Government was “looking at ways to help ‘fuel-poor’ families and incentivise a switch to low-carbon heating”.

A minister said that the Government may end up introducing new rules to speed up the retrofitting of old homes, if existing incentives do not prove enough. They told i: “Retrofitting is really hard. One option is that we could say that old houses have to be redone every time they go on the market, or every time they’re bought.

“But eventually, you’ll probably find that people just don’t want to live in draughty homes anyway.”

Experts have warned, however, that the Government can only hope to raise taxes to generate much-needed funds, while nudging people towards more environmentally friendly choices if there are “viable alternatives”.

Rachel Wolf, Founding Partner of policy institute Public First and co-author of the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto, said it suggests why a “meat tax” is a long way off.

“Agriculture and certainly meat will be the very last thing they price,” Ms Wolf said. “The problem the Government has is if they want to take people with them to reach net zero, they will have to make the costs bearable and there have to be viable alternatives right now, as there could be with electric cars. Telling people to just eat less meat is not viable.”

Source i News

Climate change: UK to set into law world’s most ambitious target for reducing emissions

Posted on April 22, 2021 by dishanth

The UK government is to set in law the world’s most ambitious climate change target, cutting emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels.

And, as reported by Sky News earlier, the UK’s Sixth Carbon Budget will incorporate, for the first time, the country’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions.

It will mean an increase in ambition on the international pledge made by the UK government last December to reduce emissions by 68% by 2030.

In line with the recommendation from the independent Climate Change Committee, this Sixth Carbon Budget limits the volume of greenhouse gases emitted over a five-year period from 2033-2037, taking the UK more than three-quarters of the way to reaching net zero by 2050.

This will ensure Britain remains on track to end its contribution to climate change while remaining consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goal to limit global warming to well below 2°C and pursue efforts towards 1.5°C.

The Paris Climate Agreement commits signatory countries to help limit global warming to well below 2°C, ideally to 1.5°C

The new target will become enshrined in law by the end of June, with legislation setting out the UK government’s commitments laid in Parliament on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the bold move was because he wanted to “continue to raise the bar on tackling climate change” hence “the most ambitious target to cut emissions in the world”.

Source Sky News

Boris Johnson pledges to protect 30% of UK land as world leaders sign commitment to act on climate crisis

Posted on September 29, 2020September 29, 2020 by dishanth

Boris Johnson will pledge to protect 30 per cent of the UK’s land by 2030, which will see an additional 400,000 hectares of land in England protected to support the recovery of nature.

The prime minister will make the pledge during a virtual United Nations event on Monday, where he is set to warn that countries must act to reverse the loss of biodiversity.

He will sign the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature at the event, alongside other world leaders including Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau and Jacinda Ardern, who are among 64 leaders from five continents warning that humanity is in a state of emergency due to the climate crisis.

The 10-point pledge aims to counteract the damage done to systems that underpin human health and wellbeing.

Currently, 26 per cent of land in England comprises of national parks, areas of outstanding beauty and other protected areas. Mr Johnson’s commitment will see an additional four per cent being protected, equivalent to the size of the Lake District and South Downs national parks combined.

Commitments outlined in the pledge include a renewed effort to reduce deforestation, stop unsustainable fishing practices, eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies and begin he transition to sustainable food production systems and circular economy over the next 10 years.

The pledge has been described as a “turning point” by which future generations will judge world leaders’ willingness to take action on the climate crisis.

Mr Johnson will say during the virtual event: “We must turn these words into action and use them to build momentum, to agree ambitious goals and binding targets.

“We must act now, right now. We cannot afford to dither and delay because biodiversity loss is happening today and it is happening at a frightening rate.

“Left unchecked, the consequences will be catastrophic for us all. Extinction is forever – so our action must be immediate.”

Environmental groups welcomed the commitment, but called on the UK government to invest in existing protected sites and put the new pledge into law.

Dr Richard Benwell, chief executive of The Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “Just eight per cent of England is currently protected for wildlife, so designating 30 per cent of land to restore nature would be a tremendous step forward…

“Of course, designation alone isn’t a guarantee of change. As with marine protection and existing terrestrial protected sites, strong management and investment are also needed.”

WWF-UK chief executive Tanya Steele said the announcement must be “backed up by urgent ambition”, calling for “strong legislation to avoid damaging trade deals and to stop the food we eat from destroying the environment”.

“Only then can we meet our climate targets, put nature on the path to recovery and set our sights on global leadership at Cop26,” she added.

Earlier this month, the UN announced that the world had failed to meet a single target to stop the destruction of nature. The WWF and the Zoological Society of London also released damning reports and studies in recent weeks, revealing the global populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles plunged by 68 per cent on average between 1970 and 2016.

By Kate Ng

Source: Independent