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- 30 November 2011
Tax Relief for High Energy UsersBusiness Interest will overrule Environmental Goals says George Osborne. The Chancellor who introduced the green investment bank and the carbon floor price has just sent a clear message during the Autumn Statement 2011 yesterday: “where green goals are in conflict with economic concerns, business interests will win”. Which means energy intensive industries will get their carbon taxes reliefs.
Amongst many schemes and measures announced by the Chancellor George Osborne to protect the UK’s economy from the eminent European recession, even though he was forced to concede that the UK risks falling into recession in the coming months, was the one that the energy industry and environmentalists were waiting for – carbon taxes reliefs for heavy industries. In a bid to make British companies more competitive internationally the Government will put forward £250m in the form of relief from carbon-related taxes and compensations for heavy business electricity users affected by the upcoming carbon price floor. The Chancellor also announced that these high energy users companies will be protected from upcoming electricity market reforms. “I am worried about the combined impact of the green policies adopted not just in Britain, but also by the European Union, on some of our heavy, energy-intensive industries. We are not going to save the planet by shutting down our steel mills, aluminium smelters and paper manufacturers. All we will be doing is exporting valuable jobs out of Britain.” – stated The Chancellor. The message couldn’t be clearer, environmental aims should always come second to economic concerns and if they are in conflict, business interests will always overrule green’s. Green activists were quick to respond to Osborne’s announcements, Greenpeace policy director Doug Parr said: “Energy intensive users already received a huge windfall when they were handed free pollution permits under the emissions trading scheme. Now is not the time for George Osborne to be caving in to the special pleading of vested interests.” Head of environment at The Guardian, Damian Carrington wrote on his blog on Monday: “The chancellor is showering yet more taxpayers’ money on energy-intensive mega-businesses, who create just 1% of GDP. Worse, those businesses already crippled and then profited from the very carbon taxes they attack” Should the Government be favouring economic interests over environmental goals? Share your thoughts on Tax Relief for High Energy Users in our comments or join the discussion on our Facebook Page. There is also a discussion happening on Twitter tweet your opinion with to @CatalystEnergy. Remember to follow us first. If you would like more information on our range of business gas services or would simply like to find out how we could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.
- 22 November 2011
Chris Huhne shares his views on shale gas and the future of Britain’s Energy Industry.On an exclusive article for The Telegraph Britain’s Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change shared his views on shale gas and what are the plans to keep the lights on in the UK. He made it clear that shale gas in not high on his agenda but it didn’t dismiss it completely and stated that wind turbines are here to stay.
Mr. Huhne believes that the best way to increase Britain’s energy security is to do what canny investors do: spread the risk by investing in an energy portfolio flexible enough to withstand the high winds of global commodity markets. We have to agree with the Energy Secretary and his plan of action. We can’t bet the farm on only one energy resource even though that source has proven to be cost effective in other countries. “Our aim is a policy that is technology-neutral. We want to encourage competitive tension between all forms of generation, to get the best deal for the consumer. So we are reforming the electricity market, to allow us to use whatever blend of low-carbon energy turns out to be cheapest.” (Chris Huhne, 08 Nov 2011, The Telgraph – Britain can’t afford to bet its future on shale gas – wind turbines are here to stay) In America shale gas revolutionised the gas and energy market cutting gas prices to half of European levels. According to a report from an unlisted energy company it is estimated that there could be 200 trillion cubic feet of gas in the shale under Lancashire. If these figures are confirmed it would change the whole scenario of Britain’s energy market cutting wholesale gas and energy prices by at least one quarter of what they are today. “We don’t yet know the full extent of the shale gas in the UK. We don’t know how economically or environmentally viable it will be to extract. At best, it is years away. As last week’s report on the Lancashire earthquakes showed, there remain issues to be addressed about hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”. And Britain is not the US. Our planning and regulatory frameworks, and our land ownership laws, are quite different: in particular, underground oil or gas does not belong to the landowner, but to the Crown.” (Chris Huhne, 08 Nov 2011 – Britain can’t afford to bet its future on shale gas – wind turbines are here to stay) “Yes, shale gas may be significant. If it comes good, we must be ready to take advantage of it. That is why we need a diverse and balanced energy portfolio; to provide us with secure and affordable heat and electricity for decades to come.” (Chris Huhne, 08 Nov 2011 – Britain can’t afford to bet its future on shale gas – wind turbines are here to stay) The Government must be very careful with shale gas extraction, it must analyse thoroughly the costs and not rely to much on market predictions. A classic example is the White Paper published in 2004 that estimated that oil would reach $23 a barrel by 2010 when it actually went over the $100 mark. “If we were to tie ourselves to one big bet, we would run unacceptable risks with our future.” – Chris Huhne One thing is for sure, the reserves of shale gas discovered in Lancashire will only help Britain diversify its energy resources making the energy industry more secure and less reliant on outside factors. There is no doubt that shale gas could help bring more stability to business electricity and business gas prices in the near future. Have your say in our comments or join the discussion on our Facebook Page or Tweet about it using the hash tag #CatalystEnergy. If you would like more information on our range of business gas services or would simply like to find out how we could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.
- 15 November 2011
2010-2011 CRC League TableManchester United Tops CRC Performance League Table while Virgin Atlantic is amongst worst performers. The Environment Agency has published its first Carbon Reduction Commitment Performance League Table (CRC League Table) ranking 2,000 registered organisations on how they manage their business electricity usage and carbon emissions. According to EA’s data more than 60% of the registered companies have installed smart meters or gained good energy management and Carbon Trust accreditation.
Out of the 2,000 organisations 22 ranked joint first with a weighted score of 202.95 while 800 organisations ranked in the lowest possible position of the CRC League Table with a weighted score of 402. At the top highlights to Red Football Limited, popularly known as Manchester United, energy regulator OFGEM, UBS, British American Tabacco and the Department of Energy & Climate Change. On the opposite side of the table there are well known organisations that failed to improve their business energy efficiency or cut down on their carbon emissions. They include Centrica, Virgin Atlantic, Peugeot, the Zoological Society and London and Zurich Financial Services. The Environment Agency did not disclose information on those organisations that failed to comply with the legislation and will now face fines starting from £45,000. How the PLT is compiled The Performance League Table (PLT) ranks the relative performance of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme participant against the three weighted metrics: Early Action Metric, Absolute Metric and Growth Metric. Participants with the same weighted score are sorted alphabetically. Weighted Score – The sum of the score for each metric multiplied by the weighting for that metric. The weighting applied to each metric is dependent on the compliance year to which the Performance League Table relates. The higher the score the better the ranking in the PLT. Emissions (Tonnes of CO2) – Your “CRC Emissions”. These are the CO2 emissions associated with the CRC supplies of a participant for an annual reporting year. Early Action Metric (%) – The average percentage of i) the proportion of non-mandatory CRC electricity or gas supplies which are measured through voluntarily installed “automatic meter reading” meters or dynamic supply in year 1 and ii) CRC emission coverage by the Carbon Trust Standard or equivalent. Absolute Emissions Metric (%) – The percentage change in the CRC Emissions of a participant (not applicable for the first reporting year). Growth Metric (%) – The percentage change in CRC Emissions per unit turnover or revenue expenditure for an annual reporting year (not applicable for the first reporting year). Those interested in the CRC League Table can download the PLT here. If you would like more information on our range of business energy services or would simply like to find out how we could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.
- 8 November 2011
The Shale Gas RushCan Shale Gas Solve Britain’s Energy Security Issues? Or is it to Risky?Once again shale Gas is subject of debate between conservatives and non-conservatives about whether it can solve Britain’s energy and gas crisis. On one side we have the Energy Select Committee, lead by Tim Yeo, who advocates on the potential benefits that shale gas could bring the UK economy. On the other side we have environmentalists, backed by Lord Redesdale, who believe anaerobic digestion is the way forward.
It’s hard to say who is right and who is wrong in this debate. Both parties are defending what they believe is the best solution to put Britain in the right tracks towards an economy, with low carbon emissions and long term energy security. Lord Redesdale, who is also Chairman of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA), predicted that “20% of UK domestic gas needs, could be met by organic waste over next 10 years” using AD. Not to mention that with anaerobic digestion, more waste is diverted from landfills and climate change issues are also addressed at the same time. Meanwhile, Tim Yeo chairman of the energy select committee, advocates that the government should consider the potential benefits shale gas can generate to Britain. He emphasised that there are legitimate concerns about the environmental impact and those concerns must not be ignored. However if shale gas companies follow the guidelines outlined by the committee, these possible environmental issues will be minimised if not extinguished. The biggest concern with shale gas is its extraction method, known as hydraulic fracture stimulation or more commonly known as fracking. Such process is known to cause earth tremors of small magnitude and could contaminate underground aquifers. But according to Mr. Yeo, shale gas extraction in the UK will be done way below the water table which more or less eliminates the risks of contamination. With Regards to earthquakes, Yeo noted that the recorded tremors of magnitude 2.3 and 1.5 “probably” caused by shale gas exploration near Blackpool, posed no threat to the population what so ever. “To put that into context, the European microseismic standard classifies a magnitude 1 earthquake, as one that is not felt, a magnitude 2 earthquake as scarcely felt, and a magnitude 3 earthquakes as weak.” Overall the shale gas revolution received a guarded welcome by Parliament and other members of the government, the statement made my Energy Minister Charles Hendry clarifies that: “I think that it is too early to know how significant shale gas may prove to be as a contributor to future UK energy supplies.” The recent discoveries of shale gas reserves near Blackpool present a major step forward in diversifying and securing Britain’s energy supply. There is no doubt that shale gas could help bring more stability to business electricity and business gas prices in the near future. We want to hear from you now, what are your views? Can Shale Gas Solve Britain’s Energy Security Issues? Is it to Risky? Have your say in our comments or join the discussion on our Facebook Page or Tweet about it using the hash tag #CatalystEnergy. If you would like more information on our range of business energy services or would simply like to find out how we could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.
- 7 November 2011
Energy Market Report November 2011
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Tax Relief for High Energy Users:
