Tag: energy

UK fuel industry denies govt claims crisis is easing

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — UK petrol stations are still running out of fuel, a retailers’ group warned on Thursday, contradicting government claims that a spate of panic-buying is ebbing. Queues continued to build at refuelling stations, especially in London and southern England, including at one site in Hampshire where a transport truck carrying a military helicopter was sighted. Troops are expected to be deployeed within days to help ease the crisis, with Prime Minister […]

$80 oil sparks mixed fortunes for world economy

by Benoît PELEGRIN Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Oil prices jumped above $80 this week for the first time in almost three years, handing a major boost to producers — but fuelling more inflationary pain for consumers, analysts say. The price of European benchmark Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November hit $80.75 per barrel on Tuesday, attaining the highest level since October 2018, but edged lower on Wednesday. The market has […]

OPEC sees oil demand growing over next two decades

VIENNA, Austria (AFP) – OPEC said Tuesday it expects oil demand to rise between now and 2045, and remain the dominant source of energy despite warnings that it must fall to combat climate change. The cartel’s world oil outlook goes against the vision of the International Energy Agency, which warned in May that demand must fall over the next decades for the world to meet its climate goals. Oil demand and prices fell sharply as […]

UK puts army on standby as fuel pumps run dry

by Ben PERRY Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Britain on Monday put the army on standby to help with the ongoing fuel crisis as fears over tanker driver shortages led to panic buying, leaving many of the country’s pumps dry. “Limited number of military tanker drivers to be put on a state of readiness and deployed if necessary to further stabilise fuel supply chain,” the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said […]

Fuel ‘panic-buying’ in UK could see army to rescue

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain experienced further ‘panic-buying’ of motor fuel Monday as a shortage of lorry drivers on Covid and Brexit fallout could reportedly prompt the government to use the army to make deliveries. The Petrol Retailers Association claimed that almost half of the UK’s 8,000 fuel pumps had run out of petrol on Sunday, as desperate drivers formed long queues to fill up tanks. PRA chairman Brian Madderson told the BBC that […]

Britain runs coal power stations amid energy crisis

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Britain, which faces soaring natural gas prices, has been forced to run coal-fired power stations in order to secure energy supplies, electricity generation company Drax said on Thursday. The country is particularly exposed to Europe’s ongoing energy crisis due to its reliance on natural gas to generate electricity. The price of European gas futures has more than doubled since May. “These facilities have fulfilled a critical role in keeping the […]

US, UK welcome China end to coal funding but seek more

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – The United States and Britain on Wednesday welcomed China’s promise to end funding for coal projects overseas, but voiced hope the world’s largest emitter would also do more at home on climate change. President Xi Jinping told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that China will stop backing coal overseas, all but drying up the world’s foreign assistance to the dirty form of energy in developing countries after similar […]

Down on the farm, UK energy crisis looms large

by Joe JACKSON Agence France-Presse MALDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – The tranquil landscape of flat farmland and small villages in the Essex countryside in southeast England seems a world away from Britain’s escalating energy crisis. But fertiliser and carbon dioxide shortages are beginning to bite at places like Wicks Manor Farm, which rears pigs for pork and grows crops. “We’ve got some real concerns (and) quite frightening consequences to farming, as an industry throughout the […]

UK reaches deal to boost CO2 production after shortage

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Britain has signed a deal enabling it to restart production of captured carbon dioxide for three weeks, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said Tuesday, after a shortage of the gas had sparked renewed food supply concerns. Two UK fertiliser plants accounting for up to 60 percent of Britain’s CO2 supply — which is vital for the food industry — shut last week due to spiking natural gas costs. But Kwarteng announced […]

S.Africa regulator approves controversial floating power plants

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) – South Africa’s energy regulator on Tuesday approved generating licenses for three controversial floating power plants, stoking environmental concerns as Africa’s most industrialised nation grapples with electricity shortages. Turkey-based Karpowership, one of the world’s largest floating power plant operators, in March won a government tender to supplement South Africa’s fragile electricity supply with gas-to-power projects at three ports. But the environment ministry subsequently blocked Karpowership’s permit application over concerns about the environmental […]

UK rules out gas supply emergency as prices soar

by Véronique DUPONT Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Britain’s government does not expect a gas supply emergency during the winter as soaring prices threaten energy groups, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisted on Monday. “We have sufficient capacity, and more than sufficient capacity, to meet demand and we do not expect supply emergencies to occur this winter,” Kwarteng told parliament after holding an emergency meeting with gas and electricity suppliers and consumer groups. Kwarteng […]

Bill Gates raises over $1 billion for clean energy

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Bill Gates’s nonprofit group Breakthrough Energy announced Monday that it has raised more than $1 billion from seven major companies, including ArcelorMittal and General Motors, to fund clean energy development. Early participants in the initiative, dubbed “Catalyst,” also include American Airlines, Bank of America, BlackRock, Boston Consulting Group and Microsoft. The amount raised so far tops $1 billion and has been given in the form of grants, shares and […]