Alex Lyons’ Post

Top stories today 💧 Thames ‘hobbling on’ in hope of government intervention https://buff.ly/3SvhmpD An intervention from government is now the only realistic way for Thames Water to solve its financial woes. That is according to a source close to the situation, who added that investors are increasingly unlikely to put more money into the company in its current guise. It comes after another bruising week for the UK’s largest water company. 🧑⚖️ GB Energy launch proves ‘Siemens Law’ always wins https://buff.ly/4d2bLzt “Siemens Law” may continue to reign supreme in UK energy policy, but factories aren’t the only game in town. Writing for Utility Week, former Downing Street advisor Tara Singh argues that the challenge ahead for the government lies in crafting policies that balance job creation with cost-effectiveness and rapid implementation. 💷 Government’s 2030 targets ‘still unlikely’ despite beefed up CfD budget https://buff.ly/46wwKrn The government’s ambition for a clean power grid by 2030 is still unlikely to be realised despite a beefed up Contracts for Difference (CfD) budget, industry experts have warned. It comes as the government announced that it is boosting the budget for allocation round six (AR6) by £500 million compared to the overall budget originally set by the previous government in March. Yet analysts at Aurora Energy Research believe the increased budget is unlikely to fully deliver The Labour Party's manifesto pledge around increasing renewable generation.

Some interesting points in here: my two questions would be: 1) If Government intervention is the only way that Thames Water can survive, why are the directors not facing wrongful trading charges if that does happen, as technically it's failed and the only solution being a government bailout? 2) When will people wake up that fully decarbonising the grid by 2030 is impossible? The grid infrastructure will simply not be there, I heard of a 32MW BESS site being told just last week that their initial connection date of no sooner than 2029 was being pushed back to 2037, and it's not even gone into NGESO PP yet. This is all down to under investment in NGESO over decades - mark my words there's going to be a call to take NGESO into state ownership - then we'll see that the bill to bring it up to standard for Zero Carbon will be £100Bn or even £200Bn, and we (the taxpayer) will have to pick up the tab.

And so it begins! Key takeaways from Chancellor, Rachel Reeve’s inaugural speech in a nutshell (to be picked up in revisions to the NPPF immenintely): - restoration of manadatory housing targets. - prioritising brownfield (nothing new there!) and the release of ‘grey belt’ (e.g. poor quality green belt). - removal of the effective ‘ban’ on onshore wind (alongside a general focus on energy schemes). - more resource for LPAs. - more national (rather than local) decisions for key infrastructure. - a target delivery of 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament (with a focus on affordable homes). Reading between the lines, developers should expect more call-ins/recovered appeals over the next few months. More generally, given the house building statistics over the last decade, it’s clear that significant steps will need to be taken if this government is to get anywhere near its proposed housing target.

And there we have it, the first major announcement from Rachel Reeves on how to get Britain building again. 🔴 Review of the planning system including rewriting the NPPF by the end of month 🔴 Ending of the ban on onshore wind farms 🔴 300 new planning officers 🔴 Mandatory local housing targets 🔴 Deputy PM to write to all local authorities to review green belt boundaries 🔴 "Brownfield and grey belt land" will be prioritised for housing, where needed 🔴 Reform of planning for infrastructure projects It'll be interesting to see how the reforms and reviews work out, the country is in desperate with the currently housing crisis. Its great to see that Rachel Reeves acknowledge the critical role the private sector will play in delivering the new housing targets (a number that's not been met since the 1950s) and that councils can now just say no to new developments but will it be enough? #HousingCrisis

A decent and not unconvincing speech by @RachelReevesMP on housing supply, growth and infrastructure. But, the new Chancellor hopefully understands that it’s not government that actually builds houses - it’s house builders. In particular, the top 10 companies build most of Britain’s new homes. No amount of planning reform and government fluffing will *make* them build 50% more if they decide that doesn’t suit them from a P&L point of view. https://lnkd.in/es3Z3BKN

Learn here how proposed regulations for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program aim to enhance access to bonus credits for clean energy investments benefitting Tribal lands, affordable housing, and more. 

Learn here how proposed regulations for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program aim to enhance access to bonus credits for clean energy investments benefitting Tribal lands, affordable housing, and more. 

Learn here how proposed regulations for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program aim to enhance access to bonus credits for clean energy investments benefitting Tribal lands, affordable housing, and more. 

Learn here how proposed regulations for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program aim to enhance access to bonus credits for clean energy investments benefitting Tribal lands, affordable housing, and more. 

Learn here how proposed regulations for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program aim to enhance access to bonus credits for clean energy investments benefitting Tribal lands, affordable housing, and more.