Latest news with #EnergySecurityandNetZero
Morocco World
2 days ago
- Business
- Morocco World
UK Government Rejects £25 Billion Xlinks Morocco-UK Renewable Energy Project
Marrakech – The British government has decided to reject the major renewable energy project that would have imported solar and wind power from Morocco to the United Kingdom. According to Sky News, Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband has chosen not to proceed with formal negotiations with Xlinks, a privately owned company seeking a 25-year price guarantee agreement. The £25 billion project, chaired by former Tesco chief executive Sir Dave Lewis, promised to deliver enough renewable energy to meet nearly 10% of the UK's electricity demand. The decision comes as a surprise to energy industry executives, as Xlinks had pledged to provide large quantities of power at approximately half the price of electricity generated by new nuclear power stations. A Whitehall insider indicated that the government's decision was partly motivated by a desire to focus on 'homegrown' energy supplies. This position was reinforced when Miliband stressed the government's 'pragmatic determination' to free itself from fossil fuel market fluctuations through local, clean, and less expensive energy that the country can control. Xlinks had been seeking to agree a 25-year contract for difference with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which would have guaranteed a price for the power generated by the project. The company was looking to secure its business model through this mechanism, also known as a 'compensatory gap contract,' particularly for financiers and funders. The project involved the construction of a 4,000-kilometer cable between Morocco and the Devon coast. It aimed to provide 3.6 gigawatts of clean, on-demand energy from solar, wind, and battery installations in Morocco to the UK, reducing the UK's carbon emissions by 10% and lowering wholesale electricity prices by 9.3%. Market-testing for the project's financing had been significantly oversubscribed, according to sources, with investors including Total, the French energy giant. The company had raised about £100 million in development funding so far. In an interview with Sky News in 2022, Sir Dave said Xlinks enjoyed low geopolitical risk because of Britain's centuries-old trading relationship with Morocco and the north African country's ambitions of growing the energy sector as a share of its exports. 'The Moroccan government has recognized that exporting green [energy] is a very important part of their economic plan going forward, so they have an export strategy,' he said at the time. 'The Sahara desert is probably one of the best places in the world to generate renewable energy from… so you have a very long period of generation. And if you're capturing that energy and adding some battery storage, you can generate energy to cover a little bit more than 20 hours a day, which makes it a fantastic partner for the UK.' Sir Dave had also noted that modern high-voltage cables meant energy could be transported 'over very long distances with very, very few losses.' He explained that the technology risks were relatively small, citing examples of much longer cable links being planned elsewhere in the world. 'The benefit here is that it's proven technology with a very committed reliable partner with a cost profile… that we will never [be able to] match in the UK,' he added. Earlier this year, Sir Dave told The Sunday Telegraph that Xlinks would switch its focus to another country if the UK government did not agree to support the project. The company is now expected to explore other commercial opportunities. In late May, Xlinks requested a pause in the procedure to obtain the Development Consent Order (DCO) while awaiting a response from the British department of energy security and net zero regarding the Contract for Difference. In its letter, Xlinks cited 'exceptional circumstances beyond control' and believed that a pause 'would allow the review process to proceed in the most efficient and rigorous manner possible, while ensuring that the DCO could then progress quickly.' It is worth noting that the Morocco-UK project was integrated into the UK's strategic energy vision in 2022 and recognized as a project of national importance in 2023. A ministerial statement confirming the decision to reject the project is expected later today. Tags: Morocco and UKrenewable energyXlinks project
Ya Biladi
2 days ago
- Business
- Ya Biladi
UK snubs Xlinks' Morocco-UK power project over focus on homegrown energy
The British government is reportedly halting formal negotiations with Xlinks, the company behind an ambitious £25 billion (310 billion dirhams) renewable energy project designed to import solar and wind power from Morocco to the UK via a 4,000-kilometre undersea cable. According to British media, Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband has decided not to move forward with discussions over a 25-year price guarantee agreement with the company. Government sources cited a desire to prioritize «homegrown» energy, a position Miliband reiterated during a speech at the Climate Innovation Forum, part of London Climate Action Week, on Wednesday. In his remarks, Miliband said the UK government has a «hard-headed determination to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets with cheaper, clean, homegrown energy that we control». Sensing hesitation The decision, expected to be confirmed in a ministerial statement later on Thursday, comes despite strong investor interest in the project. Notably, Xlinks Chairman Sir Dave Lewis, the former CEO of Tesco, had already anticipated a possible government pullback. «If the UK government does not agree to support the project, we will switch our focus to another country», he warned earlier this year. Moreover, the company requested in May a temporary pause in its application for a Development Consent Order (DCO), a legal requirement for major infrastructure projects in the UK, while awaiting a decision on its Contract for Difference (CfD) bid, which would determine the electricity sale price. It is worth noting that the Morocco–UK Power Project aims to deliver 3.6 gigawatts (GW) of dispatchable, clean energy from solar, wind, and battery facilities in Morocco to the UK. The project is expected to reduce UK carbon emissions by 10% and cut wholesale electricity prices by 9.3%. In 2022, the project was included in the UK's strategic energy vision and recognised as a project of national significance in 2023.
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Energy costs to be cut for industry as Starmer seeks economic ‘turning point'
The Prime Minister said the plan marks a 'turning point for Britain's economy' by supporting key industries where there is potential for growth. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the plan would offer long-term certainty for key industries (Andy Buchanan/PA) Manufacturers have warned 'crippling' power costs are far higher for UK businesses than competitors overseas. From 2027, a new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will cut costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour for over 7,000 manufacturing firms by exempting them from levies on bills including the renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs and the capacity market. Around 500 of the most energy-intensive firms, including the steel industry, chemicals and glassmaking, will also see their network charges cut – they currently get a 60% discount through the British Industry Supercharger scheme, which will increase to 90% from 2026. The plan also promises measures to speed up the time it can take to connect new factories and projects to the energy grid. Sir Keir said: 'This industrial strategy marks a turning point for Britain's economy and a clear break from the short-termism and sticking plasters of the past.' He said the decade-long plan would deliver 'the long-term certainty and direction British businesses need to invest' during an 'era of global uncertainty'. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband blamed 'our reliance on gas sold on volatile international markets' for the high electricity costs for businesses. He said 'doubling down' on wind and nuclear power would 'bring down bills for households and businesses for good'. The industrial strategy focuses on eight areas where the UK is already strong and there is potential for further growth: advanced manufacturing, clean energy, creative industries, defence, digital, financial services, life sciences and professional and business services. Plans for five of the sectors will be published on Monday, but the defence, financial services and life sciences strategies will come later. Other measures include: – Increasing the British Business Bank's financial capacity to £25.6 billion, including £4 billion for sectors in the industrial strategy. – Raising research and development spending to £22.6 billion a year by 2029/30. – An extra £1.2 billion a year for skills by 2028-29 to train Britons to do jobs in growth industries and reduce reliance on foreign workers. – Attracting 'elite' overseas talent through visa and migration reforms. – Cutting the administrative cost of red tape by 25% and reducing the number of regulators. – Reducing the time it takes to get planning permission by hiring more planners, streamlining pre-application requirements and combining environmental obligations. – Increasing the supply of locations for investment around the country with a £600 million strategic sites accelerator. Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband said relying on gas from volatile markets had driven costs sky-high for businesses (Kin Cheung/PA) The strategy comes after the latest figures indicated the economy shrank by 0.3% in April, the biggest monthly contraction in gross domestic product for a year-and-a-half, as businesses felt the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs and domestic pressure as a result of hikes to firms' national insurance contributions. There are also concerns in industry about the impact of the Government's Employment Rights Bill, which could add to business costs. Confederation of British Industry chief executive Rain Newton-Smith said: 'More competitive energy prices, fast-tracked planning decisions and backing innovation will provide a bedrock for growth. 'But the global race to attract investment will require a laser-like and unwavering focus on the UK's overall competitiveness.' Manufacturers' organisation Make UK's chief Stephen Phipson said the three major challenges facing industry were 'a skills crisis, crippling energy costs and an inability to access capital for new British innovators', and the strategy 'sets out plans to address all three'. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: 'We welcome ministers taking action to reduce sky-high energy costs for manufacturers – something unions have been calling for as a matter of urgency. 'For too long, UK industry has been hamstrung by energy prices far above those in France and Germany. It's made it harder to compete, invest, and grow.' Acting shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie said: 'It is astonishing that Labour are finally admitting that the costs of net zero are so high that they're having to spend billions of pounds of taxpayers' money subsidising businesses' energy bills to stop them going bust.' Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has written an open letter to firms warning they are being 'sleepwalked into disaster' by the Employment Rights Bill. He said: 'When it comes to business, it's actions, not words, which count, but this Government is stepping on the accelerator and the brake at the same time.'
Scotsman
16-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
It's time for the tale of lost North Sea jobs to stop - and Acorn carbon capture is a start
Support for Acorn was an important step for industrial Scotland and a reminder of the home-grown advantage we still hold. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Last year, the UK relied on imports for nearly 40 per cent of its energy needs – a record high. And yet the North Sea remains an untapped strategic economic asset. Offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture projects aren't as advanced as hoped when COP26 took place in Glasgow. Volumes of oil and gas produced in UK waters continue to decline faster than expected in the face of policy uncertainty. In an uncertain world, that is not the place to be. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The loss of sovereign capability is not only a tale to be told of our North Sea, but also of our manufacturing bases. From shipbuilding on the Clyde to chemical processing on the Firth of Forth, many of us of a certain age have watched Scotland's manufacturing significantly shrink. Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband during a visit to St Fergus, Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, to welcome funding to progress the Acorn project as confirmed in the Spending Review. Picture: PA That isn't good news for our economy, for our jobs or for our communities. Carbon capture and storage is a catalyst to tell a different story. Located at St Fergus near Peterhead, Acorn will capture carbon from high-emission sectors like glass, cement and power generation, compress it, and store it deep beneath the North Sea in depleted oil and gas reservoirs. A repurposed network of more than 200 miles of pipeline, including links from Grangemouth, will transport these emissions for storage. The UK government's £200 million investment announced this week, part of a wider £9.4 billion commitment, sends a clear and welcome signal. The Scottish Government, too, has long championed carbon capture and Scotland's role in leading the transition. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad For communities like Falkirk and Aberdeen, Acorn represents real, long-term opportunity. Once the development is sanctioned, the project is expected to support around 10,800 construction jobs and create up to 4,700 long-term roles. As the Chancellor said last week, where things are made, and who makes them, matters. For too long we have watched the decline of industry, imported many of our basic needs while exporting jobs and economic value. The support for the Acorn project provides an important signal. Critical decisions in the coming months lie ahead that will shape Scotland's industrial future.
Scotsman
10-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
The signs from Labour are more welfare cuts in Spending Review
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (centre), Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (right) and Ed Miliband, Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary (left), during a visit to St Fergus Gas Terminal, a clean power facility in AberdeenshirePicture: Jeff J Mitchell/PA Wire This week's UK Spending Review presents a stark choice: a continuation of Westminster austerity or a long-overdue shift toward investment in people, services and the economy. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... So far, signs from the Labour Government suggest more of the same cuts that have already failed families for over a decade. As always, it is the most vulnerable in our society who will pay the price. With household bills high and public services already stretched, now is the time for serious, compassionate action. Yet Labour has refused to rule out real-terms cuts to affordable housing, police recruitment, and local government funding. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At the same time, the UK Government is pressing ahead with damaging welfare reforms – including proposed cuts to disability benefits, the continuation of the two-child benefit cap, and delays to anti-poverty action like the long-promised child poverty taskforce. All of this risks worsening the cost-of-living crisis and driving already struggling families into deeper hardship, especially in communities already hit hardest by past austerity measures. The SNP has laid out a clear and achievable alternative. The Chancellor must fully reverse planned welfare cuts, protect public services and unlock investment in clean energy and economic growth. In particular, Labour must finally deliver full and immediate funding for Scotland's Acorn carbon capture project – a vital climate initiative that has faced years of Westminster delay. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The UK Government must also fully cover the cost of its increase to employer National Insurance, which threatens to drain frontline budgets in areas like health, social care and education. Scotland is already delivering targeted, effective support – and the evidence speaks for itself. According to new House of Commons Library research, nearly two million families across the UK would be lifted out of poverty if Labour adopted SNP policies: a UK-wide rollout of the Scottish Child Payment, scrapping the two-child cap, and ending the bedroom tax. Under the SNP, Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is falling. The Scottish Child Payment alone delivers £27.15 per eligible child per week – a direct boost to family incomes that is helping to turn the tide on child poverty across our communities. By contrast, the UK Government's own impact assessment shows that proposed cuts to disability benefits could push a further 250,000 people – including 50,000 children – into poverty. Families affected stand to lose £4500 a year on average. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And despite repeated calls from campaigners, Labour MPs have failed to back even basic reforms, like abolishing the two-child limit, voting against it in the House of Commons just last year – a decision that remains indefensible in the face of rising need. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has made clear that, without new revenue, the UK Government's current fiscal rules mean public spending will fall in real terms across most departments. That includes justice, local government and housing – all critical areas already under severe strain. If the Chancellor refuses to invest and clings to outdated austerity thinking, the consequences will be felt in every community across the UK for years to come. In Scotland, the SNP is focused on lifting people out of poverty and building a fairer, greener, more resilient economy. But we cannot shield families indefinitely from the consequences of Westminster choices. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Labour must use this Spending Review to deliver the funding and flexibility Scotland needs – not double down on the failed cuts that brought us here in the first place. MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary
