The great carbon capture con: behold the wasted billions Burnham could claw back | George Monbiot

8 July 2026 at 09:10

There are far better ways to tackle climate breakdown, but successive governments have chosen to listen to the fossil fuel companies instead

The new prime minister will be looking for money? Well, here’s £21.7bn lying on the ground. The government could cancel its deranged, disastrous carbon capture and storage (CCS) programme at no cost to public welfare: in fact, it would greatly reduce the harm we will suffer.

Sorry, did I say £21.7bn? That’s the figure the government has been putting in its press releases for spending on this programme between now and 2050. But this covers only the first phase of the project. The climate experts Dr Andrew Boswell and Simon Oldridge worked through the data produced by the government’s Climate Change Committee, which was scattered across different spreadsheets, and discovered that the projected cost of the full CCS programme between now and 2050 is £264bn.

Low-cost loans for solar panels could save households hundreds on bills – thinktanks

The Guardian - Energy

By: Fiona Harvey Environment editor

7 July 2026 at 10:00

New Economics Foundation and Finance Innovation Lab suggest loan scheme backed by Bank of England could benefit up to 8m homes

Millions of UK households could save hundreds of pounds a year on their energy bills if the government were to approve low-cost loans for solar panel installation, research has found.

Solar panels with batteries are one of the cheapest ways to generate electricity and reduce energy bills, but with an upfront cost of about £6,000 they are still beyond the reach of most cash-strapped UK households while other countries forge ahead with installation.

‘Why take those jobs away?’: the unionized workers decrying Trump’s war on wind

The Guardian - Energy

By: Michael Sainato

6 July 2026 at 12:00

Workers proud of their efforts to grow renewable energy say US president pursuing ‘personal vendetta’ at their expense

Donald Trump has blamed everything – from “national security” issues, the deaths of birds and whales, and cancer – in his decades-long campaign against windfarms. But as the Trump administration continues to undermine the industry, what worries workers most are their jobs.

Since taking office for a second term, Trump has issued an executive order aiming to halt all wind-energy leases and permits, attempted to issue stop-work orders on wind projects under construction, and paid more than $2.6bn in settlements to buy out wind energy leases. And hundreds of workers have been affected.

‘It’s smoke and mirrors’: hope turns to fear in Scottish village chosen for AI datacentre

The Guardian - Energy

By: Aisha Down

6 July 2026 at 08:00

Suspicions grow in Lanarkshire that local people have been misled on supposed benefits of the huge development

The promise was that a Scottish community would be transformed by massive investment and empowered to chase “the jobs of the future”. Instead, local people in Lanarkshire fear they may have to sell their properties and lose green belt land because of the errors of a badly planned AI datacentre complex, even as those jobs and investments never arrive.

Late last year, representatives of Oakes Energy Services began to knock on doors in Newarthill, a village east of Glasgow. In letters reviewed by the Guardian, they invited residents to individual meetings. They told them about plans for a solar farm, say local people, and made offers: free solar panels, tree planting, or even cash for their properties.

Revealed: landmark Scottish AI project has no prospect of meeting renewables promise

The Guardian - Energy

By: Aisha Down

6 July 2026 at 08:00

Exclusive: Government and developers privately acknowledged Lanarkshire datacentre site had power provision ‘issue’

A landmark AI development billed as delivering jobs and prosperity has misrepresented its plans to channel a nuclear reactor’s worth of power to a site in rural Scotland, a Guardian investigation has found.

When it was announced in January, the government promised that an £8.2bn AI datacentre complex in Lanarkshire – built by the US firm CoreWeave and the Scottish company DataVita – would be powered entirely from on-site renewables and built by 2030.

What are Britain’s AI growth zones and are the plans feasible or ‘complete bunk’?

The Guardian - Energy

By: Aisha Down

6 July 2026 at 08:00

Lanarkshire datacentre run by renewables and creating thousands of jobs not achievable by 2030, Guardian investigation finds

Revealed: landmark Scottish AI project has no prospect of meeting renewables promise

‘It’s smoke and mirrors’: hope turns to fear in Scottish village chosen for AI datacentre

The Guardian has examined government plans to build Britain’s AI infrastructure for the future, finding some of these to be, in the words of one source, at best unclear and at worst “complete bunk”.

The plans in question are for AI growth zones, which are supposed to be regions where the government supports companies to build massive AI datacentre complexes, of 500MW or greater. These could be bigger than any now operating in the UK.

Why put solar panels on green space when we could put them over car parks?

The Guardian - Energy

5 July 2026 at 14:00

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions considers a hot topic within renewable energy

This week’s replies: Are there places on Earth where humans haven’t been?

I would like to know why we build solar farms over green space, when we could just put them over massive car parks as a popular current internet meme suggests. Chris, Middlesbrough

Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be published next Sunday.

Loch Ness hydropower project will damage shoreline and ancient woodland | Letter

The Guardian - Energy

By: Guardian Staff

1 July 2026 at 17:12

Neil Mackenzie on the environmental impact of the Loch Kemp project

Your article (First major hydropower projects in Great Britain in 40 years given go-ahead, 26 June) describes the proposal to build three pumped storage schemes in the Scottish Highlands. But it does not mention the huge environmental cost.

One scheme, the Loch Kemp project, will draw water from Loch Ness and pump it into the upper reservoir created by enlarging Loch Kemp. A giant power station is to be built in protected ancient woodland on the shores of Loch Ness. This woodland is a special area of conservation, an internationally recognised site, and will be partly destroyed by the power station and access road.

ScottishPower owes me £1,000 in solar panel payments

The Guardian - Energy

By: Anna Tims

1 July 2026 at 07:00

For months I’ve been trying to receive my FIT payment, which should be more than £1,000

I moved into my new house 14 months ago, and soon afterwards applied to ScottishPower, with whom the solar panels are registered for a feed-in tariff (Fit), for transfer of ownership of the panels and the tariff.

After many emails back and forth, I got a response saying they had all the information required.

Another Trump Administration Payment to Stop Offshore Wind Farm

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Maxine Joselow

29 June 2026 at 23:41

It was the fourth such deal struck by the administration to get companies to forfeit their offshore wind leases.

Duke Energy is one of the nation’s largest utilities. Here, a Duke Energy wind farm project in Rolling Hills, Wyoming.

Fans for fans: power demand surges as England viewers cope with heatwave

The Guardian - Energy

By: Jillian Ambrose

24 June 2026 at 16:05

Handful of gas plants paid £4m to generate electricity at half- and full-time in World Cup game

A handful of Great Britain’s gas power plants were paid almost £4m to generate electricity for just a few hours on Tuesday evening as millions of sweltering viewers turned to air conditioning, electric fans and icy drinks during England’s second World Cup game.

The heatwave has caused electricity prices across Europe to surge this week amid higher demand for cooling and a string of power plant outages due to the record high temperatures.

Solar Panels Overheat as Gas Power Stations Ordered to Fire Up

The Daily Sceptic

By: Will Jones

24 June 2026 at 13:12

Solar panels are overheating amid soaring temperatures, leading to gas power stations across the UK being ordered to fire up production to make up the shortfall.

The post Solar Panels Overheat as Gas Power Stations Ordered to Fire Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

“This is Not Winston Churchill”: Trump Hammers Starmer Over Immigration, “Windmills” and Iran

The Daily Sceptic

By: Will Jones

23 June 2026 at 11:23

"This is not Winston Churchill, that I can tell you," Trump said of Starmer as he hammered the exiting PM over immigration, "windmills" and not being there when he needed him in Iran.

The post “This is Not Winston Churchill”: Trump Hammers Starmer Over Immigration, “Windmills” and Iran appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Clean economy brings jobs and growth, says Miliband as £100bn invested in green energy

The Guardian - Energy

By: Fiona Harvey Environment editor

23 June 2026 at 08:00

Energy secretary hails £100bn milestone in this parliament and says it is ‘only the start of what we want to achieve’

Ed Miliband has hailed a boost to UK jobs and growth as government data reveals that private sector companies have pledged more than £100bn in investment into the green economy so far in this parliament.

Offshore wind, solar power and the electricity grid make up the bulk of the planned investment, most of it between 2024 and 2031, which will go to all regions of the UK and comes from a mixture of UK companies and overseas sources including the EU and Japan.

The Oxford Institute Letting Climate Ideology Bias its Research

The Daily Sceptic

By: Tilak Doshi

21 June 2026 at 07:00

The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies is one of the world's most respected institutions in energy economics. But its ideological commitment to the 'climate emergency' is now damaging its research, says Dr Tilak Doshi.

The post The Oxford Institute Letting Climate Ideology Bias its Research appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Net Zero Leaves Britain Paying France to Take Our Power

The Daily Sceptic

By: Will Jones

20 June 2026 at 11:00

The cackhanded pursuit of Net Zero by Ed Miliband and his predecessors has left Britain having to pay France and other countries to take excess power off our hands for a significant part of the year.

The post Net Zero Leaves Britain Paying France to Take Our Power appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Will Wes Streeting Really Ditch Ed Miliband’s Net Zero Targets?

The Daily Sceptic

By: Ben Pile

18 June 2026 at 07:00

Labour leadership hopeful Wes Streeting has said Labour should ditch Ed Miliband's Net Zero targets. Or has he? It's as clear as mud, says Ben Pile, with promises of yet more 'green growth' cakeism.

The post Will Wes Streeting Really Ditch Ed Miliband’s Net Zero Targets? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

£900,000 – The Price of An A-rated Energy Performance Certificate

The Daily Sceptic

By: Sallust

17 June 2026 at 15:00

A well-heeled homeowner has spent nearly £1 million converting his home so that it could achieve an Energy Performance Certificate with an ‘A’ rating – and demonstrated just how unaffordable Net Zero is.

The post £900,000 – The Price of An A-rated Energy Performance Certificate appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Retail giants join UK government drive to boost ‘plug-in’ balcony solar panels

The Guardian - Energy

By: Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent

16 June 2026 at 15:01

Asda, Amazon and B&Q among retailers in talks to sell devices that feed into household sockets and can cut electricity bills by 30%

Spanish homes save €10 a month via renewables expansion

Bosses of some of Britain’s biggest retailers are discussing plans with the government to start selling plug-in solar panels as part of a drive to encourage more UK homes to generate their own electricity.

Executives from brands including Currys, B&Q and Amazon met Martin McCluskey, the minister for energy consumers, on Tuesday to discuss guidelines for selling “balcony solar panels” to the British public.

Spanish households save €10 a month thanks to renewables expansion, report finds

The Guardian - Energy

By: Ajit Niranjan Europe environment correspondent

16 June 2026 at 08:00

Thinktank says decoupling electricity from gas prices has also helped shield Spain from hikes caused by Iran war

Spanish households save €10 a month on electricity bills because of wind turbines and solar panels installed in the last five years, a report has found.

Typical energy bills would be 19% more expensive if electricity costs were still as tightly coupled to gas prices as in 2021, according to Ember, a climate thinktank. It found Spain’s “strategic” expansion of renewables since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 has shielded Spanish households from the latest rises in fossil fuel prices caused by the Iran war.

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