The REA represents around 500 UK companies & organisations working in renewables and clean tech.

Hutchings’ career includes working at Gemserv, the energy services provider, within Whitehall departments, and with the European Commission, leading climate and environment programmes, including policies to support Britain’s renewables market.  At WWF, the conservation NGO, he was director of advocacy, focusing on improving public policy and environmental governance.

Hutchings also chairs the Green Purposes Company, set up by the government to safeguard the green mission of the Green Investment Bank, following its 2017 sale to Macquarie, the global infrastructure investor.

His immediate priority will be to press the incoming Government to put the energy transition and net zero front and centre of its legislative programme.

In its Manifesto for Government, the REA has urged all UK political parties to promote and commit to policies that support sustainable energy growth, low carbon innovation, and the country’s legally binding net zero carbon emissions targets (see the REA’s Manifesto for Government.

Prior to taking over the chief executive role at the REA, Trevor Hutchings was Partner for Sustainability at international consultants BIP.   His career has been shaped across the public, private and NGO sectors in multiple roles supporting clean energy development, net zero, the environment and climate action.

Trevor Hutchings said: “I take up my role at the REA as the country goes to the polls, and we reach an inflexion point in the journey to a sustainable, low carbon future.

“Net zero is within our grasp and the actions taken by the next administration will determine whether we get the job done.   The businesses that make up the UK clean energy and technology industries – many of whom are our members – have the innovation, skills and expertise to cement the UK’s position as climate leader.”

“But the next Government must take vital steps in providing the policy and fiscal regimes that encourage, rather than deter, investment.  This is crucial in not only addressing the pernicious effects of carbon emissions but also reducing energy bills and providing domestic energy security.”

“While there is a moral imperative to emissions reduction, it is also an enormous opportunity for economic growth and international competitiveness.

“By 2035, jobs in British renewable energy could reach 210,000, while its contribution to the UK economy could double to £46bn. But there’s still much to be done to ensure that clean & green is at the heart of the country’s industrial growth strategy.  We must make sure that UK businesses are not shut out of the low carbon race by policies that fail to compete with the significant investment in clean technology from the US, Europe and China.”

REA chair Martin Wright said: “Trevor’s deep-rooted commitment to the environment and sustainability, combined with his career experience, will be invaluable to the REA.  The UK’s pathway towards net zero has reached yet another critical moment with a new Government soon to be elected. The REA, under Trevor’s leadership, will do everything to ensure that Government, across every department, delivers on its net zero commitments and that it fosters a business environment that can accelerate the growth of the UK renewable and clean tech sectors.”

Martin Wright added: “We are hugely grateful for Nina’s leadership over the past decade.  She strengthened the REA’s voice and influence in government, fostered greater collaboration within the energy industry and during her time as Chief Executive widened the breadth of REA’s membership to more than 500 companies.  We wish her well in the next stage of her career.”

Dr Nina Skorupska said: “I am thrilled that Trevor is succeeding me.  We have achieved so much in the past decade and under his stewardship, the REA will continue to have a major influence within government and an effective voice for its members. I wish Trevor the very best in the future and thank the REA team, past and present, the REA Board and all of the REA’s members for their friendship and the support given to me over the past decade.”

Dr Skorupska is joining the Electricity System Operator and National Grid Distribution as an advisor.  She will retain her non-executive directorship at Royal BAM Group, the construction and energy services company, and her place on the board of Transport for London.

In 2016, she received a CBE for her services to the UK renewable energy sector and for promoting diversity in the energy industry.

The post REA appoints Trevor Hutchings as CEO appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Delivering a major policy briefing yesterday in Bristol at the start of a probable election year, the Labour leader sought to allay doubts about the extent of the party’s green ambitions.

In recent weeks Labour figures including shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves – pictured with Starmer –  have rowed back from the £28 billion figure, which the party had first presented as an allocation made each and every year of a Labour government.

Conservative ministers have poured scorn on that formulation, saying it could only funded through big tax rises or increased public borrowing.

Starmer yesterday confirmed Labour’s scaling back of the notion, echoing Reeves’ framing of the figure as a goal to be sought as the economy recovers.

In a wide-ranging speech, Starmer stood by what he called the party’s ‘unapologetically ambitious’ targets for government, including

• adopting clean power technologies tasked to strip carbon from networks by 2030,
• launching GB Energy as a nationalised power developer, and
• pushing Britain’s economic growth to bee the fastest among the G7.

As a new public company, said Starmer, the low carbon developer GB Energy would “deliver cheaper bills.. using clean British power, not foreign oil and gas”.

The leader declared: “There is no question of pushing back on the mission – the mission is clean power by 2030”.

Labour’s new plan would, he promised, offer “a total overhaul in how we approach the economy and government”.

Presenting that new approach as “Mission Government”, Starmer repeated Labour’s commitment to existing cross-party Net Zero pledges.

Questioned by journalists about Labour’s £28 billion “Green Prosperity Plan”, Starmer said its existence would stimulates projects funded by private capital investment, and at an intended ratio of three to one.

The plan would be funded in part by borrowing, he confirmed, and would be ramped up from an initial sum over the life of a Labour government’s first Parliament.

“We’ve looked very carefully at the investment that’s needesd”, Starmer went on.  “The investment that we want to put in intended to trigger private investment at a ratio of one to three.

“We’ve had quite extensive discussions with global investors as to how that will work. And the date on which a cheque is written by the government is not the date the mission is delivered – the date the mission is delivered is 2030. That’s the mission.”

Precise levels of green investment would depend, Starmer conceded,  on current government spending and fiscal rules for borrowing.

“Obviously we pushed back the ramping up to £28bn,” Starmer said. “It doesn’t mean there’s nothing before that; it means it’s ramped up to £28bn, subject of course to money the government may already be putting in, and to our fiscal rules. But that is just sensible investment.”

Counting toward Labour’s intended pot of environmental investments, the leader made clear, will green funding already pledged by Conservative administrations. These include £6 billion recently granted for energy efficiency programmes run for three years from 2025.

“We’re trying not just to defeat the Tories”, he declared, “but to defeat their entire way of doing politics, a mindset that seeks out any differences between the people of this country, and, like weeds between the paving stones, will pull apart the cracks, so ultimately, they can divide and rule.”

The post ‘Unapologetically ambitious’: Labour will ‘ramp towards’ £28 bn Green Prosperity Plan, says Starmer appeared first on theenergyst.com.

nPower Business Solutions’ annual Business Energy Tracker seeks 100 big commercial users’ views on energy’s place among boardroom concerns.  The 2023 figures show it higher than last year, with 91% rating issues around bills and energy use as ‘concerning’ or ‘very concerning’.

Two years into record prices, 64% of organisations see energy costs as their biggest challenge over the next twelve months. Over 70% see the rises continuing into 2024.

75% of businesses want greater incentives from the government to reduce energy demand, respondents told pollsters.

A silver lining from the poll is that 44% believe high prices will focus directors’ minds on carrying out sound Net Zero strategies.  Bills at triple pre-Ukraine war levels or worse are pushing sustainability to the top of C-level agendas, the poll found.

Brought in last October as a 6-month protection for firms, the second phase of the scheme continues for a year from next month, albeit at reduced levels.

Organisations outside high-consuming categories such as cement, glass and other process industries will have costs capped, at a projected cost to tax-payers of no more than £5.5 billion.

Wholesale gas prices on world markets have almost halved in the six months of the EBDS, back to levels just before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Energy is the top concern for UK businesses for the second year running”, nBS Chief Operating Officer Anthony Ainsworth observed.

“The uncertainty over the past 12 months has naturally had an impact on business confidence, which is why they need policy clarity and consistency to help them plan ahead”.

“Despite such a challenging year, businesses still back Net Zero”, the nBS boss noted. “They recognise the environmental, commercial and reputational benefits it can bring”.

The post Government energy supports “misses out on big firms’ needs”, nPower finds appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Treasury minister James Cartlidge last night detailed cuts in the second phase of bill discounts offered to firms, charities and public organisations. He extended the present six months of support, to a full twelve months starting this April.

The new arrangements amount to discounts equivalent to up to £6.97 per MWh off retail prices of gas, and £ 19.61 per MWh off electricity costs. All discounts will be applied at source.

The minister confirmed the revised scheme is budgeted to cost £5.5 billion over its twelve months, against £18 billion already spent in the first phase’s six months.

The Federation of Small Businesses was quick to condemn the Treasury’s new measures.

National chair Martin McTague said: “(The government’s) decision to all but eliminate help through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) is a huge disappointment for small businesses. Many small firms will not be able to survive on the pennies provided through the new version of the scheme.

“Higher bills, on the government”

“This is so out of touch”, McTague continued. ”Two pence off a kWh of electricity and half a pence off gas is totally insignificant for small businesses, despite costing billions to the taxpayer. The Government will inevitably have to come back”, the FSB spokesperson went on.

“The current EBRS scheme provides certainty for a small business owner over their rates, and has made a material difference to the survival of many small businesses. The replacement scheme will do neither”, McTague charged.

The original EBRS scheme had suppressed inflation by 5% points, but its lower rates would cancel that effect, the FSB man added.

“Slashing support will drive higher inflation, just as we enter a recession”, McTague asserted.

Recent FSB research revealed a quarter of small firms planning to close, downsize, or else radically change their business model, after the government reduces energy support after March 2023, the lobbyist added.

““What’s certain from this catastrophic move is there’ll be a cliff edge after March, McTague went on.

“The small fish and chip around the corner, your local pub, and the family-run independent laundrette – all will see much higher bills. That’s on the Government”.

Representing the biggest employers, Tom Thackray, director for decarbonisation policy at the Confederation of British Industry voiced a resigned welcome to the Treasury’s extra help.

“The extension to the scheme will provide respite for many firms at the start of the year and help them plan ahead for the next 12 months with more certainty” said the CBI spokesperson.

“It’s unrealistic to think the scheme could stay affordable in its current form, but some firms will undoubtedly still find the going hard. The government has done much to protect businesses through the energy crisis. It must remain open, flexible and pragmatic in its approach to volatile wholesale energy markets as the year unfolds.

“Heavy energy users and those exposed to global trade are among some of the most impacted in the current crisis, so the additional support for these firms is a particularly welcome step”, the CBI man concluded.

Intensive energy users in some fields of manufacturing will continue to receive heightened levels of support. But the aid will apply only to 70% of volumes consumed, the minister specified.  For gas, the unit discount will be up to £40 per MWh from April, and £89.10 per MWh for electricity.

The Energy Intensive Users Group embraces trade associations for UK makers of materials such as cement and steel, ceramics, glass and fertilizers.

The body welcomed extending support as far as 2024, but pointed out Whitehall’s generosity to UK high consumers lagged behind aid offered by governments in Berlin, Paris or Rome.

“Competitive disadvantage”

The UK lobby group cited the German government‘s guarantee of net prices of €70/MWh for gas and €130/MWh for electricity, both payable on 70% of current energy consumption relative to 2021. And maximum discounts do not feature in the German scheme.

US energy prices too remain far below European prices, the EIUG added.

“Although welcome, the level of relief the UK Government proposes to provide from April still puts UK energy-intensive industries at a competitive disadvantage internationally”, said EIUG director Arjan Geveke.

For supplier nPower Business Solutions, its commercial director Anthony Ainsworth called for more government help for energy efficiency for commercial consumers.

“While a complete cliff edge has been avoided…. it is more important than ever that they also have the support to reduce consumption through greater energy efficiency”, Ainsworth commented.

“This is where we really need additional government policy, to help businesses proactively invest in measures to help protect them from energy risk and any future volatility. We are working with our customers to help them do this, but any further incentives from government would have a hugely positive impact, both in terms of reducing energy demand and lowering carbon emissions.”

The post One in four small businesses “will suffer”, says FSB, as Govt cuts energy bill support appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Treasury minister James Cartlidge, pictured, told the House of Commons that post-March support from government will be extended to twelve months, providing a ‘transitional bridge’ for commercial bill payers.

Support budgeted at up to £5.5 billion for businesses, charities and public organisations  will amount to discounts equivalent to up to £6.97 per MWh off retail prices of gas, and £ 19.61 per MWh off electricity costs. All discounts will be applied at source.

The minister presented those prices as saving £2,300 for an average pub over the full 12 months of the new arrangements, and £400 off for a small retail store.

For intensive energy users in manufacturing, higher levels of support will equate to discounts on all but the first 30% of volumes consumed.  For gas the unit discount will be up to £40 per MWh, and £89.10 per MWh for electricity.

An average manufacturing firm would save around £700,000 over the twelve months of the second phase, the minister said.

Such firms would continue to supported at source on the basis of average wholesale costs of 99 MWh for gas and £118 MWh for electricity.

Extending the second phase of support until April 2024 would give greater predictability & security than the phase it replaced, Cartlidge asserted.  Phase 2 ‘s budgeted £5.5 billion compares with the £18 billion confirmed by the Office of Budget Responsibility to have been met from public funds since October.

Short-lived energy secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg introduced his energy bill relief scheme in September, mimicking the energy price guarantee aiding domestic users.

Cartlidge this evening commended the government’s support for business energy as among the most generous in Europe. But it could not continue at current levels, in view of national debt standing now at £2.48 trillion, equivalent to 98.4% of GDP.,

Taxpayer exposure to volatile energy markets needed to be capped, said the minister. But the government was aware that businesses needed long-term horizons, including incentives to invest in energy efficiency. Continuing Government support contains an additional £ 6 billion of publicly funded measures intended to cut energy use, Cartlidge said.

Wholesale gas prices, the cause of turmoil in the setting of UK electricity generation tariffs as well as for direct end users, have in recent weeks dropped significantly below levels posted before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, begun on 24 February.   This morning spot prices on the EU Dutch TTF market were around Euros 75 per MWh, marginally lower than prices last seen in the week before Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine, and halved in only 30 days since early December.

Freakishly warm weather across northern & central Europe, allied to co-ordinated stock building, and accelerated mitigation such as Germany’s completion of a new floating LNG terminal at Wilhelmshaven, are among factors depressing gas prices.

Complicating Whitehall’s targeting of emergency support during the first phase has been brokers’ and suppliers’ frequent ignorance of the industrial sectors in which their customers operate.

In the chamber, Labour’s treasury spokesperson Abena Oppong-Asare asked whether the three monthly review among stakeholders had ever taken place in December, promised by by Rees-Mogg.

Her colleague Darren Jones, chair of the Commons’ backbench industry and energy select committee pressed that ministers should correct business energy support measures, as they had done with schemes support domestic bill-payers.

Scots Nationalist MP Joanna Cherry cited the example of a city farm charity in her Edinburgh constituency which faced likely closure after a 300% rise in its energy costs.

More details here.

The post Business energy bills: Treasury pledges £5.5 billion of support for twelve months beyond March appeared first on theenergyst.com.