Category Archives: Gas

People in Cheshire village will not be forced to join hydrogen energy trial

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Backlash prompts companies to give residents option of keeping natural gas rather than joining pilot project

Energy firms will no longer force people in a village in Cheshire to stop heating and cooking with natural gas and swap to lower-carbon hydrogen after a local backlash to a planned government-backed pilot.

British Gas and Cadent had been prepared to cut off gas supplies to nearly 2,000 homes in the village of Whitby, just outside Ellesmere Port on the south bank of the Mersey, as part of their proposals to create the UK’s first hydrogen-fuelled village.

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Gas shortages possible during bouts of extreme weather over next four years, Aemo warns

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Customers could face supply gaps if cold weather coincides with low levels of renewable energy generation, report says

South-eastern Australia faces possible gas supply gaps for at least the next four years during bouts of extreme weather, potentially requiring exports to be diverted south, according to the gas outlook from the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo).

Aemo’s gas statement of opportunities (GSOO) report found that gas output in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania would meet demand until 2027. However, customers could face shortfalls particularly if cold weather coincided with low levels of renewable energy generation.

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Labor meets Greens demand for ban on reconstruction fund investment in coal, gas and native logging

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Deal secures passage of NRF bill through lower house and provides likely pathway to pass it in Senate

The Albanese government has agreed to the Greens’ demands to ban the national reconstruction fund from direct investment in coal, gas and native logging projects.

The deal secured the passage of the NRF bill through the lower house on Thursday and gives Labor a likely pathway to pass it in the Senate with the support of the Greens and crossbench in late March.

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Officials believe pro-Ukraine group may have sabotaged Nord Stream – reports

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Kremlin dismisses tentative intelligence from European and US agencies as a bid by the perpetrators to divert attention

European and US intelligence officials have obtained tentative intelligence to suggest a pro-Ukrainian saboteur group may have been behind the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year, according to reports in the New York Times and German newspaper Die Zeit.

German investigators believe the attack on the pipelines was carried out by a team of six people, using a yacht that had been hired by a company registered in Poland and owned by two Ukrainian citizens, according to Die Zeit.

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US firm to bid to turn DRC oil permits in Virunga park into conservation projects

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Exclusive: company plans to sell carbon and biodiversity credits in endangered gorilla habitat and Congo basin rainforest as alternative to drilling for fossil fuels

A New York investment firm is to launch a $400m (£334m) bid for oil concessions in the Congo basin rainforest and Virunga national park with plans to turn them into conservation projects, the Guardian can reveal.

EQX Biome, a biodiversity fintech company, has sent an expression of interest to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government for 27 oil exploration blocks put up for auction last July, some of which are in critical ecosystems.

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Teal independents join farmers in Liverpool Plains to oppose Santos gas development

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Sydney-based MPs Kylea Tink and Sophie Scamps meet locals fighting coal seam gas project and Hunter pipeline

City-based teal independents have crossed the great dividing range to support Pilliga and Liverpool Plains farmers and traditional owners fighting a Santos coal seam gas project and the accompanying Hunter gas pipeline.

North Sydney MP Kylea Tink, who grew up in Coonabarabran on the edge of the Pilliga, returned to NSW’s north-western slopes on Wednesday with fellow independent Sophie Scamps to hear the concerns on local landholders.

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Profits of British Gas owner Centrica triple to ‘obscene’ £3.3bn

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Figure angers campaigners calling for tougher windfall taxes and follows prepayment meter scandal

The profits of the scandal-hit owner of British Gas have more than tripled to a record £3.3bn, boosted by soaring wholesale gas prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as many households in Britain struggle with the cost of living.

Centrica’s “monster” profits immediately angered campaigners who are calling for tougher windfall taxes, lower bills and better treatment of vulnerable customers against the backdrop of the prepayment meter scandal.

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EU tipped to avoid recession after gas crisis eases

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Economic growth forecast to be 0.8% in 2023 but households still face cost of living pressures

The EU is predicted to narrowly avoid recession as a result of a milder-than-expected energy shock, although households face difficult times ahead as cost of living pressures ease only gradually, the European Commission has said.

Economic growth for the 27 countries of the EU is forecast to be 0.8% in 2023, compared with a 0.3% projection last autumn, when fears of winter power outages and the rising cost of living ran high. In the 20-country eurozone, the economy will expand by 0.9% in 2023, boosted by a better-than-expected performance in Germany and Italy, as well as relatively stronger growth in Spain.

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UK must quit climate-harming energy charter treaty, experts say

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Secret international court system enables fossil fuel firms to sue governments for lost future profits

Experts have urged the UK to leave the controversial energy charter treaty (ECT), a secret court system that enables fossil fuel companies to sue governments for huge sums over policies that could affect future profits.

The European Commission said this week that remaining part of the treaty would “clearly undermine” climate targets and that an exit by EU countries appeared “inevitable”. Seven EU countries, including France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, have already said they will quit the ECT.

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Britain’s biggest gas supplier accused of ‘profiteering’ from energy crisis

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Climate campaigners hit out at Norwegian state-owned Equinor’s record £62bn profits as household bills rise

Britain’s biggest gas supplier, the Norwegian state-owned oil company Equinor, has been accused of “profiteering” from the energy crisis and higher household bills after posting record annual earnings of £62bn.

The oil and gas producer said on Wednesday that adjusted profits hit $15.1bn (£12.5bn) in the final three months of last year, bringing total annual profits to $74.9bn, the highest in its 51-year history.

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Billionaire investor Křetínský and trader Vitol eye fortune in British power plant subsidies

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Exclusive: Looming auction to earmark £1.5bn to put power generators on standby and keep the lights on

The billionaire West Ham United investor Daniel Křetínský and Swiss commodities giant Vitol are among bidders hoping to land hundreds of millions of pounds in subsidies to keep the lights on in Great Britain.

National Grid’s electricity system operator is preparing to announce successful bidders in a “capacity market” auction this month for 2026.

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Teals and other NSW independents seek to kill controversial Pep-11 gas permit

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Exclusive: Candidates hoping to hold the balance of power to push for state-level development bans

The “kingmaker” Sydney MP, Alex Greenwich, and a coalition of independent political hopefuls will attempt to kill the controversial Pep-11 gas exploration licence by banning development of the area through a change in New South Wales law.

The six independents, who could hold the balance of power in under two months, will on Saturday unveil a bill that would amend the State Planning Act to ban certain types of development on land and at sea, negating possible future federal approval.

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US renters worry about living with gas stoves amid new air pollution concerns

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Lack of choice over appliances is acutely felt in low-income housing as new research reveals extent of indoor air pollution

New research has revealed the extent of indoor air pollution caused by gas stoves. Switching to alternatives like electric or induction stoves is the best way to reduce the health risk of burning fossil fuels in the kitchen – but that is rarely an option for renters, who typically can’t choose the type of appliances installed in their apartment.

People stuck with gas stoves in rentals are grappling with the reality of living with an appliance that may be leaking dangerous pollutants like methane and benzene even when it’s turned off. The lack of choice over appliances is acutely felt in low-income housing.

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Celebrities call on UK banks to stop financing new oil, gas and coalfields

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Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson and Mark Rylance add their voices to Richard Curtis’s Make My Money Matter campaign

Famous names including Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson and Mark Rylance have joined activists and businesses in calling on the UK’s big five banks to stop financing new oil, gas and coal expansion.

Make My Money Matter, a campaign set up by Richard Curtis, the screenwriter, director and Comic Relief co-founder, has written to the chief executives of HSBC, Barclays, Santander, NatWest and Lloyds to urge these banks to “stop financing fossil fuel expansion”.

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Wood banks emerge as vital source of heat while US gas bills still on the rise

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Wood banks distribute firewood to people in need as the average US gas bill goes up by 28% this winter

Inflation may be going down in the US, dropping to 6.5% from last month’s 7.1%, but the cost of keeping a home warm this winter is still on the rise. The average gas bill will increase by 28% this winter compared to last, according to estimates from the Energy Information Administration.

In some places across the country, people are returning to a surprising source of heat to keep costs down: wood. In areas where wood is more widely available and used for heating – such as forested parts of New England – wood banks are emerging as a vital way to stay warm this winter.

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UK energy bills to fall to about £2,200 from July as wholesale gas costs drop

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Mild weather in Europe reduces gas demand but bills will remain higher than 2021 energy price cap

Annual energy bills are expected to fall to about £2,200 from July in a fillip for the government and households struggling with ballooning costs.

The energy consultancy Cornwall Insight has predicted that, excluding government subsidies, typical annual household energy bills will have fallen from £4,279 now to £3,208 from April, and then will ease to roughly £2,200 for the remainder of the year.

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Australian energy users call gas industry ‘a bunch of bullies’ amid claims of supply shortages

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Producers argue Albanese government’s price cap intervention has ‘paralysed the market’

Strains in the gas market have not been eased by the Albanese government’s price caps imposed late last year, with an industry group claiming supply shortages remain while the peak gas lobby is warning the sector has become “virtually paralysed”.

One month on from the government’s rare intervention to limit domestic gas prices to $12 a gigajoule and black coal to $125 a tonne, big commercial gas users are hoping new compliance guidelines to be released soon by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will force suppliers to provide an adequate supply.

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Hopes of sharp fall in household energy bills as HSBC cuts gas price forecast

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Bank slashes predicted 2023 European wholesale price by 30% as mild weather reduces demand

HSBC has slashed its forecasts for future wholesale gas prices in response to mild weather in Europe – raising hopes of a sharp decline in household energy bills.

The bank cut its 2023 forecasts for the price of gas traded in Europe by about 30% and its forecast for 2024 by 20%.

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MPs to hear plan to get rural households to run heating on vegetable oil

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George Eustice says adapted kerosene boilers can run on ‘hydro-treated vegetable oil’ and cut emissions by 88%

A proposal to incentivise households in rural areas to run their heating systems on vegetable oil is to be put to parliament.

The former environment secretary George Eustice will introduce a bill proposing the removal of duties on renewable liquid heating fuels and incentives to replace kerosene in existing boilers.

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Australia’s big polluters must cut emissions by nearly 5% a year, but can use offsets to get there

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Plan that is key to Albanese government’s 2030 target will focus on emissions intensity to encourage cleaner practices rather than cutting production

Australia’s big polluting sites will have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 5% a year but will face no limits on the use of carbon offsets under the Albanese government’s plan to deal with industrial emitters.

The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, on Tuesday released the government’s plan to revamp the safeguard mechanism, a Coalition policy that was promised to limit emissions from more than 200 industrial facilities, but in practice has failed.

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