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Tim Watkins

UK oil: selling worthless paper to chumps

North Sea oil crash

Remember that shiny new multi-billion barrel oil discovery someone found off the coast of Scotland?  It turned out to be a damp squib. This, more or less, has been the story of UK oil and gas for the last decade.  The myth is that there is still a vast quantity of …

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How secure is your smart meter?

Smart meters vulnerable to hacking

We can add hacking to a growing list of threats from the smart meters being rolled out by energy companies around the world. For the time being, the threat is minimal because the smart meters will only send information one-way – providing energy supply companies with our usage information.  But …

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Peak green technology

Peak green technology

Given the number of crowd funding green energy scams that make their way across social media, you would be forgiven for thinking that green technology is in its infancy.  Worryingly, though, there are signs that genuine progress in green technology may be slowing. This, at least, is a concern raised …

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The choice you won’t be offered on 8 June

Democratic Money

Between now and June 8th, the most common question posed by politicians, journalists and drunk men down the pub will be some variant of “how are you going to pay for it?”  From defence spending to international aid and from energy price caps to social care, every electoral promise will …

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A coal-free publicity stunt?

Coal Power

News that Britain enjoyed its first coal free day since the start of the industrial revolution was broadly welcomed last week.  But check behind the headlines and it is not clear that the UK really was coal-free after all. Most obviously, industrial users including the UK’s steelworks were still burning coal, …

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British banking collapse predates Brexit

City of London

Forget Brexit, it’s much worse than that according to Paul J. Davies at the Wall Street Journal: “Banks in Britain are still languishing in the doldrums brought on by the financial crisis of 2008. Weak banking activity and low investment returns have caused revenue to shrink, leading to widespread cost-cutting …

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National Grid not fit for electric vehicles

EV parking

For individual motorists, the lure of electric vehicles (EVs) is growing by the month.  A 56 percent increase in global EV sales last year is helping to push the price down below that of equivalent petroleum vehicles.  Government grants and tax breaks are also pushing prices down in the short-term.  …

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Tories poised to destroy Britain’s energy industry

Disused transformers

In a move straight out of the failed Ed Miliband play-book, Theresa May has announced plans to introduce a price cap on energy bills.  May’s proposals are intended to cut £100 off the average annual bill.  However, the proposal has been met with disapproval by investors and energy insiders. The …

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The killer problems that politicians dare not even mention

Existential crises

Once again the people of Britain have been forced into an election that they did not want.  Facing opposition from her own party, observing the early indicators of a coming recession, and faced by a divided opposition, British Prime Minister Theresa May has chosen to trigger an early general election. …

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America’s bloody future

Second US Civil War

Conventional wisdom has it that all new governments get to enjoy a “100 days” honeymoon in which they can implement the most pressing of their campaign promises.  After that, all bets are off because of what former UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan supposedly called “events dear boy, events.”  For Donald …

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