BBC quotes Huhne on energy price rises and what we consumers should do about it. No mention of the effect of green taxes, of course.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13740903

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/-Sticker-Shock-On-Supermarket-skynews-3081381375.html

Why our food bills are so expensive. Except there is no mention of bio fuels, farm land for wind turbines and solar farms or increased fuel costs being passed through to the consumer. Fortunately comments are open but I will see if mine gets published.

Snow on Snowdon in June:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-13731216

We're reassured that it's just weather though. Unlike droughts apparently.

We had the Ironic headline from the Guardian about Teeside closing due to Green taxes, now they are getting their knives sharpened for an email release from a person holding public office, why no comment on Dr Mann's emails.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/jun/10/sarah-palin-emails-live-coverage

Just received this gen from Regen SW:

"Government has released the conclusion of the Fast Track Review of the Feed in Tariff - see www.decc.gov.uk for details.

Regen SW has welcomed the opportunity to hold today a private briefing session for members with Hugh McNeal, CEO of the Office for Renewable Energy Deployment in DECC.

Not signed up yet? Click through to www.regensw.co.uk and go to members tab.

The key points of the Review are set out below.

DECC claim that budgetary constraints have left them with little option but to reduce the tariffs for new 50kW+ PV projects from the 1st August 2011, with no transitional arrangements for anyone with sunk investment. The new tariff levels will be:
Band (kW Total Installed Capacity - TIC) ............................. Tariff (p/ kWh)

>50 kW - 150 kW TIC ............................................................... 19.0p/ kWh

>150 kW - 250 kW TIC ............................................................. 15.0p/ kWh

>250 kW - 5 MW TIC and stand-alone installations ..................... 8.5p/ kWh

Very little has changed as a result of the consultation.

Government remains adamant that the intended beneficiaries of the FiT should be individuals, householders, organisations, businesses and communities, but apart from preventing large scale solar developments, have done little to demonstrate this. The changes to the PV tariff will not affect individual consumers installations, but larger community scale schemes are unlikely to go ahead now with the current level of support offered by the FiT. It is however not just the impact of the FiT review, but also the withdrawal of the EIS relief for community companies and the reduction in capital allowances that all conspire together to make community and business scale projects very challenging.
Regen SW does, however, welcome the Coalition's intention to increase Anaerobic Digestion tariffs as proposed in the consultation to:
Band ( kW TIC) ................................................ Generation Tariff (p/ kWh)

250 kW .................................................................................. 14.0p/ kWh

>250 kW - 500 kW ................................................................... 13.0p/ kWh

In a response to this opportunity and member requests, Regen SW is seeking partners to work with us on an acceleration programme for AD, following the success of our Bioheat project on woodfuel. For more information contact Hazel Williams at hwilliams@regensw.co.uk .
The Government has confirmed that they will not act retrospectively and any changes to generation tariffs will only affect new entrants into the FITs scheme. Installations which are already accredited for FITs at the time the changes come into force will not be affected. There is a little more clarification as to what 'accredited' actually means, however, there is still significant room for confusion.
We are expecting a number of other policy documents to emerge from Government soon, so keep an eye out for the:
Details of the Renewable Heat Premium payments very soon
Microgeneration Strategy which will set out the Coalition Government's vision for microgeneration
Renewables Roadmap which will explain how we will deliver the UK's legally binding target of 15% of energy consumption from renewables by 2020 and the work we are doing to remove barriers to renewable energy deployment.
Coalition's forthcoming AD strategy
Finally Regen's next major event is our Renewable Solutions conference on 5 July in Bristol with speakers include Defra, CLG and business leaders on the public and private sector working together to deliver renewable energy- details at www.regensw.co.uk/events.

Kind regards,"

It would appear that the Government has increased the tariff for Anaerobic Digestion plants and see the response from Regen SW; a mad swing to that as a form of renewable. And, presumably, away from solar PV, now that the FIT has been reduced. So, all subsidy led, then.

@ John Lyon

Somewhere I have lots of info on own-power consumption and have used it in evidence at public inuiries. Of course, there is great reluctance by vendors and owners to give out that information. Some information is here http://www.aweo.org/windconsumption.html

http://www.farming.co.uk/articles/view/4153

FAO sums up effect of climate change on farmers

Re warming windmills. I thought the point was that the powers that be do not divulge the input energy to keep these things safe in cold weather. When Littlejohn actually mentioned it (when Booker as far as I know has never made that conection), I wondered if someone had actually managed to ferret the information from somewhere.
John Lyon

More problems for wind farm owners and developers. On this occasion it's SSE - no surprise there then!

http://www.northern-times.co.uk/News/Exasperated-planners-shut-wind-farm-down-6934757.htm

@John Lyon. It's a well-known fact that operational wind turbines continuously draw power from the grid. In very cold weather, when the turbines are not turning, it doesn't help the grid and means conventional power stations have to produce more power than if the trubines hadn't been built. More renewable lunacy..

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2011/0509/Fracking-for-natural-gas-is-polluting-ground-water-study-concludes

This has a familiar ring to it:

"Researchers said that while they lacked base-line data, the higher levels of methane within one kilometer of nearby gas wells were so strongly correlated statistically that it would be difficult to conclude that they were caused by anything else."