Friday, 14 March 2025

Boost to EV charging

 Much needed! Repost from Edie.


Government announces £40.8m boost for EV charging in the Midlands

Government has announced a major expansion of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the Midlands, with more than 16,000 new chargepoints planned.

Published 7th March 2025

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Government announces £40.8m boost for EV charging in the Midlands

The UK’s public chargepoint network currently stands at around 74,000 available chargers.

The Department for Transport has confirmed today (7 March) that 13 local authorities, supported by Midlands Connect, have secured £40.8m from the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to support the rollout.

The LEVI Fund aims to accelerate the commercialisation of, and investment in, the local charging infrastructure sector.

The new funding will improve access to charging, particularly for those without off-street parking, and will extend infrastructure into smaller towns and rural areas.

It forms part of Labour’s pledge to allocate £2.3bn to ease the UK’s transition to EVs, while creating create jobs and strengthening the UK’s clean energy sector. Last week, it announced £120m to help businesses and individuals buy zero-emission vans, taxis and electric motorcycles.

Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “Making charging as seamless and as easy as possible is crucial to making the switch to electric a success and rolling out over 16,000 chargers across the Midlands will make driving an EV cheaper and easier, especially for those without a driveway.

“EVs will power growth, cut emissions and improve lives in the Midlands and beyond as we continue to deliver our Plan for Change.”

The UK’s public chargepoint network currently stands at around 74,000 available chargers, of which nearly 20,000 were added in the past year.

Charging hubs for HGVs

In a related development, Innovate UK has announced that 54 new charging hubs for zero-emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will be built under its Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Programme.

The hubs will be located at depots, motorway services and key transport routes across the UK, providing charging and hydrogen refuelling for freight operators.

The announcement was made at the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrations summit in London, where more than 400 businesses discussed the future of the freight sector.

The charging hubs will be developed through four key partnerships—Project Electric Freightway, eFREIGHT2030, ZENFreight and HyHAUL—to establish a nationwide network for zero-emission freight transport.

The Government says the investment will ensure EV drivers and freight operators have reliable access to charging, regardless of location.

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Innovate UK’s knowledge transfer manager for zero emission mobility Simon Buckley said: “The announcement of 54 new infrastructure hubs marks a transformative moment for the UK’s freight industry.

“By strategically placing these hubs across the country, we are addressing one of the biggest barriers to zero-emission HGV adoption: reliable infrastructure.

“This programme not only accelerates the transition to cleaner transport but also strengthens supply chain resilience, ensuring businesses can move goods sustainably without compromising efficiency.”

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Another pathetic supine US company

 Is there no end to the list of a***-licking, supine US companies? Reposted from Edie.

An outrageous abdication of responsibility’: Wells Fargo drops net-zero targets

Banking giant Wells Fargo & Co has abandoned a commitment to reach net-zero financed emissions, stating that it will instead “meet clients where they are in their chosen energy and transition strategies”.

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Published 3rd March 2025

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‘An outrageous abdication of responsibility’: Wells Fargo drops net-zero targets

The US-based bank confirmed late last week that it will no longer strive to deliver net-zero financed emissions by 2050. It is also scrapping interim 2030 targets on financed emissions, which had been set on a sector-specific basis for several high-carbon sectors including steel, automotive manufacturing, aviation and oil and gas.

Financed emissions – those generated by the companies and projects which a bank supports – are the largest source of any large financial firm’s climate footprint. For example, Standard Chartered last week confirmed that its financed emissions account for more than 98% of its total emissions.

A statement from Wells Fargo said it is “adjusting our approach to focus on doing what banks do best – providing financing and expertise to help clients pursue their own objectives”.

The statement argues that the bank has always been clear that achieving its financed emissions targets would depend on “many factors outside our control”, including “public policy, consumer behavior, and technology changes”.

“Many of the conditions necessary to facilitate our clients’ transitions have not occurred,” it adds.

Market conditions will likely deteriorate further in the US in the coming years as President Donald Trump seeks to undo predecessor Joe Biden’s work to scale investment in renewable energy, electric vehicles and nature while unlocking more opportunities to expand fossil fuel production.

Trump has pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement for a second time, starkly reducing the proportion of global GDP covered by national-level climate targets.

Following last November’s US election, Wells Fargo and several of its peers withdrew from the Net Zero Banking Alliance. This trend also impacted similar collaborative initiatives including the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative (NZAM), which in January suspended its activities as a result of the fallout.

Wells Fargo is maintaining an ambition to deploy $500bn in financing for low-carbon and otherwise sustainable activities by 2030. To date, $178bn has been deployed.

Environmental organisations have slammed Wells Fargo for its decision, which is the first of its kind from a bank of this scale. While HSBC weakened its net-zero targets last month, it ultimately kept some 2050 ambitions.

Sierra Club’s sustainable finance campaign director Ben Cushing said: “Wells Fargo’s decision to abandon its net-zero targets is an outrageous abdication of responsibility.

“Instead of using its significant influence to drive the energy transition and address the climate crisis, the bank is hiding behind the excuse that it can only passively follow its clients’ actions. Real-world decarbonization must happen across the economy, but banks play a critical role in shaping market dynamics through their financing and client engagement decisions.

“As the world’s fifth-largest financier of fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement, Wells Fargo has actively fuelled the climate crisis while now attempting to shift the blame onto everyone else. This retreat is both cowardly and shortsighted.”

Reclaim Finance’s senior analyst Paddy McCully added: “Wells Fargo is cravenly following the extreme anti-climate agenda of the Trump regime.

“While its emission targets, like its overall climate policies, were extremely weak, the bank at least recognised that it had a responsibility to act on climate. By saying now that it will just help its clients do their own thing, Wells Fargo is abdicating all of its climate responsibilities and saying that if its clients want to go ahead and cook the planet, Wells Fargo will be there for them.”

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Tuesday, 29 October 2024

Response from Jeremy Hunt

 I recently contacted Jeremy Hunt about proposed changes to alcohol duty (see link). His response is below. It's a pity he didn't actually address to main thrust of my email. Hey ho! That's politicians for you!


Dear Richard, 

I completely understand how important it is to support alcohol producers and our small local pubs – indeed, as Chancellor I froze alcohol duty and announced a 75% reduction in the business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. I will be very disappointed if the Chancellor does not prioritise pubs and small businesses in the Autumn Statement and I will certainly press Labour to build on my work to address the challenges faced by the hospitality sector. 
 

Finally, if you do not already receive it, would it be helpful for you to receive my weekly update of events in Westminster and locally? You can sign up here and can unsubscribe at any time.  

Best wishes,

Jeremy
------------------------------------
Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP
Member of Parliament for Godalming and Ash
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Free Electrcity

 Interesting! Reposted from Edie:


Octopus to offer free electricity during periods of low demand, excess renewable generation

Electricity supplier Octopus Energy is set to provide customers with free electricity during periods of low demand and high generation, in a bid to stop renewable generation from being curtailed.

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Published 15th August 2024

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Octopus to offer free electricity during periods of low demand, excess renewable generation

Image: Octopus Energy

The ‘Free Electricity Sessions’ have been made available this week to customers already registered under the ‘Octoplus’ rewards scheme. Scheme membership requires a smart meter.

Under the scheme, customers will benefit from free electricity when the wholesale price of electricity drops to or below £0. This typically happens during periods of low demand and high renewable generation, led by offshore wind.

Octopus has recorded 14 days out of the past year where wholesale electricity prices dropped below £0. In these instances, wind farms are often paid by the Government to shut down to prevent grid overload, due to a lack of energy storage capacity and built-in system flexibility. This is called curtailment.

The result is higher costs for taxpayers and wasted potential for decarbonising the UK’s electricity mix. It has been estimated that wind curtailment costs topped £1.5bn in the 18-month period leading up to April 2023.

Curtailment costs could grow significantly unless more is done to build storage, flexibility and grid infrastructure by the new Labour-led UK Government – which aims to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030.

It made manifesto pledges to quadruple offshore wind capacity, treble solar capacity and double onshore wind capacity this decade.

Octopus wants to showcase how demand-side interventions could ease this transition while also saving businesses and homes money on their energy bills.

Customers will be made aware of Free Electricity Sessions a day ahead. When the Sessions begin, they will get another notification encouraging them to use energy-intensive appliances such as washing machines and tumble driers. They may also want to benefit from free electric vehicle charging or digital device use.

Flex appeal

Around 1.7 million energy customers are signed up to ‘Octoplus’ at present. The scheme also offers ‘Savings Sessions’ incentives for customers to use electricity outside of peak times during winter, as part of the National Grid ESO’s Demand Flexibility Service (DFS).

DFS was first launched in late 2022 on a trial basis. After a total of 1.6 million homes and businesses took part in the trials, with 83% stating that they would participate again, the ESO expanded and extended the Scheme for winter 2023/2024.

The UK Government last year started consultations with Ofgem on how best to encourage homes and businesses to flex their energy use around peak times beyond the DFS.

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Initial consultation results, and a further set of plans, were unveiled in April under Rishi Sunak’s Government.

Policymakers were told that adding flexibility to the UK’s energy grid will generate savings of up to £50bn by 2050, largely through avoiding the need for new infrastructure such as pylons and backup gas-fired power plants. Some estimates are higher, at £70bn.

Ministers recognised the role of flexibility from homes and offices as well as industrial hubs.

It now falls to the new Government to shape new consumer protection rules and interventions to scale the market. Ofgem recently chose Elexon as a new flexibility market operator, promising a ‘one-stop-shop’ for the registration of flexible energy devices.

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