Tata Steel, one of Britain’s largest electricity users, says UK green policies are putting it at such a disadvantage to its rivals in Europe that its future operations are likely to be affected. The main reason was that the UK lagged behind other countries’ efforts to cap or ease the burden of renewable energy incentives on industry, he said, handing a big advantage to Tata’s rivals. --Pilita Clark, Financial Times, 8 March 2012 [Registration Required]
Pressure on Britain to cut its carbon emissions cost 1,500 jobs yesterday – and they will not be the last, the Government has been warned. Tata Steel announced the redundancies at its Scunthorpe and Teesside plants, blaming climate change legislation required by Brussels and the UK’snew Climate Change Act. The prospect of higher energy costs aimed at reducing carbon emissions by imposing limits would push the price of British steel to uncompetitive levels. --Sarah O’Grady,
Sunday Express, 21 May 2012
Steel giant Tata is cutting 900 jobs and closing 12 sites under plans to improve competitiveness, the firm announced today. Most of the job losses will be in south Wales, including 500 at the Port Talbot plant, under restructuring of management and administrative posts. A total of 580 jobs will be cut in Wales, 155 in Yorkshire, 120 in the West Midlands and 30 on Teesside… A Welsh Government spokesman said: “This is very disappointing news, and a massive blow to those who will be losing their jobs. Tata’s decision reflects the serious and ongoing challenges faced by manufacturing industries during these very difficult economic times. In addition to these challenges, it is clear that high energy costs and uncertainty over UK Government energy policy are having a significant impact on business investment decisions. As a Government, we have warned for some time of the need for these costs to be reduced.” -–Rhodri Evans,
Wales Online, 23 November 2012
Some of Britain’s biggest companies may be forced to move to the US or Eastern Europe, where energy costs are dramatically lower, the Energy Intensive Users Group is warning this weekend. Jeremy Nicholson, director of the powerful lobby group that campaigns for companies in the steel, chemical and glass industries, said that British companies could not compete against US groups because their energy costs were four times cheaper. --Tom McGhie,
Mail on Sunday, 11 November 2012
Energy bills are poised to rise by up to £178 a year under a deal struck between George Osborne and the Liberal Democrats to pay for a series of wind farms and nuclear power stations. Under the biggest reforms to the energy market in decades, households and businesses will have to pay £7.6billion a year towards the cost of building “greener” power stations by 2020. This is three times the current level of £2.35 billion per year, as bill-payers are forced to remunerate companies for several new nuclear plants, thousands of wind turbines and potentially “green” fossil fuel stations. --Rowena Mason,
The Daily Telegraph, 23 November 2012
George Osborne should be worried this morning that Tim Yeo is heaping praise on his defeat by the LibDems. The government have given two fingers to the public by sticking them with around £180 per year on top of their bills to fund green vanity projects like wind farms. While Osborne has gained a long term win in scrapping pie in the sky decarbonisation plans, Guido is fairly sure voters, already fuming at the cost of energy, are not going to see it like that. The winners? With a planned £5 billion hike in renewable subsidies up to £7.6 billion from the £2.6 billion currently, the Big 6 energy giants and Nick Clegg’s standing in his own party. The losers? Everyone else. Vote Blue, go Green, end up in the Red… --
Guido Fawkes, 23 November 2012
The government has published details of its long-awaited Energy Bill, designed to keep lights on and emissions down. The government will allow energy companies to charge households an extra £7.6bn, to go towards low-carbon electricity infrastructure by 2020. A decision about setting carbon emission targets for 2030 has been delayed until 2016, after the election. Labour said this was a "humiliating failure" by the Lib Dems, who want gas banished from the electricity system. Environmentalists also condemned the bill, saying it would make it very hard to meet the UK's law on climate change. It is clear from the announcement that the Lib Dems have lost the battle over the clean energy target. --Roger Harrabin and Anthony Reuben,
BBC News, 23 November 2012
Green groups were last night furious that the “decarbonisation” target has been scrapped. Andy Atkins, executive director of Friends of the Earth, said Mr Osborne’s move “banged the final nail in the coffin of David Cameron’s pledge to lead the greenest government ever”. –-Rowena Mason,
The Daily Telegraph, 23 November 2012
The future of the Government’s flagship Green Deal programme hangs in the balance after an intensifying tax dispute with the European Commission. If, as threatened, Europe sticks to its ruling it means the Green Deal will be grounded because it will no longer be financially viable. --
Green Click, 23 November 2012
