Latest news with #lowcarbon
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
British billpayers saved £300m through energy flexibility in 2024, figures show
British billpayers saved more than £300 million through the UK's growing energy flexibility market, according to figures released by the industry body for network operators. The Energy Network Association (ENA) said the savings were driven by lower contributions to infrastructure costs, reduced connection charges and the increased use of low-carbon energy sources. Households and businesses also reduced their bills by changing the time or day they used electricity – such as by cooking or washing earlier or later in the day, or setting electric cars to charge at specific times. In the past when most of the UK's electricity generators were fossil-fuel power plants, supply of electricity adapted to demand. Today as the wind and the sun influence when renewables are being produced, incentivising users to adapt their demand to when there is a lot of supply can help take pressure off the grid. Flexibility can also be a valuable tool to optimise capacity while longer-term infrastructure upgrades are planned and delivered. The ENA on Thursday said electricity networks in Great Britain secured a record high of 9 gigawatts (GW) of flexibility last year. In turn, a total of 22 gigawatt-hours of flexibility was harnessed across the network – enough to power almost 7,000 average UK households for a full year, according to the figures. It represents a three-fold increase since the previous year, which is the biggest jump since data collection began in 2017, ENA said. The industry group also revealed that flexibility is projected to deliver over £3 billion in savings over the next three years. Dr Avinash Aithal, head of open networks at ENA, said: 'It's been tremendous to see the boom in the flexibility market over the past year. 'Flexibility is becoming more mainstream thanks to industry efforts to remove barriers to participation and simplify the market processes overall. The outcome of our efforts are now clear to see, with significant savings for consumers and the wider energy industry. 'Great Britain is now a global leader in energy flexibility,' he added. 'Together, ENA and industry have paved the way for the whole of Great Britain to participate in and benefit from the energy flexibility market.' Last year, a majority (80%) of flexibility came from non-fossil fuel sources – 10 times the capacity of the UK's largest solar farm, ENA said. While the majority of flexibility services came from commercial organisations, householders can also reap the benefits of using electric car chargers and heat pumps, for example, at non-peak times. It comes as Ofgem said the energy market needs more complex time-based tariffs to encourage consumers to use power at different times. The regulator's chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, told MPs that the tariffs would in some cases 'dramatically reduce bills'. The tariffs, also called time-of-use (TOU) tariffs or multi-rate tariffs, offer cheaper electricity at times when there is lower demand on the National Grid.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Gresham House CEO sees US clients looking to Europe for green investments
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - U.S. and Asian investors are looking to Europe after a pullback in U.S. government support for domestic projects linked to the transition to a low-carbon economy, Tony Dalwood, CEO of investment manager Gresham House, said. Since taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump has moved to cut various environmental initiatives, regulations and standards championed by his predecessor, including ending tax credits for green energy projects years earlier than planned. Pressure to slow down the transition to net-zero emissions is also growing in other countries, but many governments remain committed to investing more and making it easier to invest in projects such as hydrogen and solar power. "What we're seeing is (U.S.) ... investors wanting to come to Europe and talk about it a bit more," across infrastructure, energy transition investments and natural capital, Dalwood said on Thursday at a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event during London Climate Action Week. "And that's applying elsewhere across the globe; Asia thinking should they invest in Europe more than they did previously, when they would have gone to North America. That's definite, talking to (investors) globally in the last six months." Dalwood said the British government's action to commit to green energy in an Industrial Strategy released this week was an important signal. Under the plan, the government wants to increase investment in clean energy to more than 30 billion pounds ($41.23 billion) a year by 2035, although in a nod to political pressures over the costs of the transition, it said it aimed to cut green levies for business. For Gresham House, which has around $12 billion in assets under management and is Britain's biggest commercial forestry manager, the UK's support for green energy was particularly important for the growth of the market for so-called "natural capital", Dalwood said. This includes investments in sustainable forestry and agriculture, biodiversity gains, carbon sequestration and water management, which investors see as ways to meet sustainability goals. "Some of our clients have gone from zero to 4% allocations in their asset allocation over the last 12 months in natural capital, and forestry is a big part of that," Dalwood said, adding he expected it to grow "to a much larger number". ($1 = 0.7276 pounds)
LBCI
2 days ago
- Business
- LBCI
World Bank, IAEA to cooperate on nuclear power development, safety
The World Bank and the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Thursday launched a new agreement to cooperate on the safe development and financing of nuclear power for developing countries, including extending the life of existing reactors. World Bank President Ajay Banga and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi were due to sign the memorandum of understanding in Paris that is part of the bank's return to nuclear energy financing. The IAEA and the World Bank said in a statement that they agreed to work together to build knowledge in the nuclear field, including expanding the World Bank Group's understanding of nuclear safety, security, energy planning, and waste management. The institutions also said they would work together to extend the lifespan of existing nuclear power plants as a cost-effective source of low-carbon power and accelerate the development of small modular reactors, saying that they have the potential for widespread adoption in developing countries. Reuters
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
World Bank grants South Africa a $1.5B loan for infrastructure upgrade and green energy transition
JOHANNESBURG — The World Bank granted South Africa a $1.5 billion loan to upgrade transportation infrastructure and help it transition toward a low-carbon economy, the country's National Treasury said Monday. Deteriorating rail systems, jammed ports and frequent blackouts have hindered vital industries like mining and auto manufacturing in South Africa , contributing to slow economic growth over the last decade in Africa's most developed economy.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
World Bank grants South Africa a $1.5B loan for infrastructure upgrade and green energy transition
The World Bank granted South Africa a $1.5 billion loan to upgrade transportation infrastructure and help it transition toward a low-carbon economy, the country's National Treasury said Monday. Deteriorating rail systems, jammed ports and frequent blackouts have hindered vital industries like mining and auto manufacturing in South Africa, contributing to slow economic growth over the last decade in Africa's most developed economy. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his coalition government have pledged to tackle corruption and decades of poor management as well as pursue reforms to get the country out of its economic rut and ease its extremely high unemployment rate. While it did not give specifics, the South African government said it expects the World Bank loan will enable inclusive economic growth and job creation by assisting in the removal of important infrastructure bottlenecks, especially in the energy and freight transportation sectors. 'This agreement reinforces the strong and constructive collaboration between the World Bank and the government of South Africa,' said the National Treasury. 'This partnership marks a significant step toward addressing South Africa's pressing economic challenges of low growth and high unemployment." Additionally, because the financing has better conditions than conventional borrowing, such as a three-year grace period, it should reduce escalating debt-service expenses, it added. South Africa's 2025-26 budget has allocated over R1 trillion over the next three years toward critical transportation, energy, water and sanitation infrastructure while improving access to basic services. However, real gross domestic product was revised downward to 1.4% in 2025 from 1.9% previously projected by the Finance Ministry projected in March because of the worsening global outlook and the persistence of logistics constraints and higher borrowing costs. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said government debt is projected to stabilize at 77.4% of GDP in 2025/26. Earlier this year, the dismantling of USAID by the Trump administration cut around $436 million in annual funding to South Africa for HIV treatment and prevention, putting the program and thousands of health care jobs on the line. Godongwana said the country doesn't have the funds to cover the more than $430 million shortfall caused by the Trump administration's cuts in foreign aid, which have threatened the vast network of support for one of the world's largest HIV-positive populations. ___
