Government idiocy Green tech Net-Zero

Govt To Go “Further and Faster”!

3 days ago
Guest Blogger
51 Comments

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

h/t Doug Brodie

Talk about fiddling while Rome burns!

The Energy Secretary will today (Sunday 15 March) outline a package of measures to go “further and faster” in the pursuit of national energy security as a response to events in the Middle East. 

The Energy Secretary is today setting out an accelerated package of energy interventions to boost the UK’s energy security:

  • announcing that ‘plug-in solar’, low cost solar panels that families can buy at supermarkets and put on their balconies or outdoor space, will be made available in the UK for the first time
  • announcing that we intend to bring forward the government’s next annual renewables auction to July, inviting renewables companies to invest in UK energy. The most recent round was the biggest ever and alongside the previous auction, we have confirmed enough clean power to power the equivalent of 23 million homes
  • following the implementation of the Fingleton Review into speeding up the building of nuclear power stations, confirmation that the government will apply the lessons of the review to other infrastructure such as renewables

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-go-further-and-faster-in-becoming-energy-secure

Underwhelming hardly begins to describe it!

According to Grok, these plug in solar panels start at £600. Does the moron really think people have got that sort of money in their pockets to waste on his green nonsense? Potential annual savings for users are in the tens of pounds.

As for the next CfD round, the next lot of offshore wind farms won’t be up and running until at least 2030, by which time gas prices will be back to normal.

None of this will be of any help to energy users now.

In the meantime, he avoids taking the action which would – namely cancelling the Emissions Trading Scheme, AKA Carbon Tax.

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Bill Toland
March 17, 2026 2:11 am

We will be going further and faster over the cliff. It’s good that we will demonstrate to the world how wonderful it is to be the leading lemming.

30
oeman50
Reply to  Bill Toland
March 17, 2026 4:31 am

LNC, Lemming-in-Chief, Ed Miliband

5
Joseph Zorzin
Reply to  Bill Toland
March 17, 2026 5:48 am

The decline from world greatness continues for the UK. Once proud, brave, strong, wise – now sissified and stupid.

13
atticman
March 17, 2026 2:11 am

Yes, but what precisely does one plug them into?

12
Scarecrow Repair
Reply to  atticman
March 17, 2026 3:04 am

The description I heard was you plug them into a normal house outlet and somehow feed electricity back into the grid. I’m no electrician, nor do I play a climate scientist on television. But something seems … fishy … there.

17
AGW is Not Science
Reply to  Scarecrow Repair
March 17, 2026 3:53 am

“Oh I think that solar plug-in is working, luv. I heard the fridge pop on for about 5 seconds at lunchtime today.”

7
Tom Johnson
Reply to  Scarecrow Repair
March 17, 2026 6:01 am

The solar panel would have to be quite large in order to provide a meaningful amount of power. Only one or 2 square feet would be useless, particularly in the UK, were the latitude is mostly above 60 degrees. That’s assuming the homeowner has sufficient technical prowess to mount the panel facing the best direction and angle and won’t blow away in the first rainstorm.

Then, the inverter would have to be quite sophisticated, to be able to produce the proper voltage and frequency and be able to send excess power to the grid. Then, the power company would have to provide meters that run backward, in order to pay for the pittance of electrical energy that the panel would provide (on the dozen, or so non cloudy days in the UK). That’s assuming that the homeowner has a way of safely routing a power cord from outside to a decent power outlet.

10
GiraffeOnKhat
Reply to  Tom Johnson
March 17, 2026 7:12 am

Latitude is 55-57° for 99% of the population. But that won’t help overcome 50-70% loss from being behind a double glazed window, or the fact that they would need to be significantly misaligned during the summer season at near vertical to avoid falling off the windowsill.

3
isthatright
Reply to  Scarecrow Repair
March 17, 2026 6:30 am

PV panels produce DC. They need inverters to provide 220 50 Hz power. The problem is precisely matching the 50 Hz frequency of the grid. Frequency mis-matching is what brought down the Spanish grid. This is not a trivial issue.

12
AGW is Not Science
Reply to  atticman
March 17, 2026 3:50 am

Maybe they have an outlet next to the cord. 😆😅🤣😂

5
karlomonte
Reply to  atticman
March 17, 2026 5:57 am

They are regular DC PV modules with an inverter attached so that it generates AC electricity. Its an idea that has been around for a long (~30 years) but has never caught on. The problem is the DC-to-AC inverter — if it fails you toss the whole thing away. And inverters have a long history of dying.

6
B Zipperer
Reply to  atticman
March 17, 2026 8:43 am

attic:
It plugs into a regular electric outlet but does not feed back into the grid, so no net-metering payments from the power provider to the owner.
If you query an AI [and I did Gemini, Grok & Copilot] on first pass you will get back mainly the marketing gloss. Ask it to critique the answer just given and you’ll get a much better answer.
The answer should include using capacity factors of ~11-12%, positioning, payback times [years] and whether coupled to a battery back-up system [which raises the costs dramatically]
These devices are popular in Germany and can save ~10-15 euros per month IF:
1-you have a south facing balcony and no shading,
2-are in the more southern parts of the country
3-you are home during the day [when most of the power is produced]
4-it can help run small appiances, lights and charge your phone [but not an A/C].
Note most of the power [thus savings] is in the summer, not in the winter when need is higher, AND what power you get is intermittant; it is a supplement only.

PS – always, always ask your favorite AI to critique its first answer! Especially if the topic is even
remotely under debate. I am routinely appalled at how misleading the first reply usually is.

4
Randle Dewees
Reply to  B Zipperer
March 17, 2026 12:37 pm

How can it be plugged into a household circuit that is connected to the grid and not be “feeding back” into the grid?

2
_Jim
March 17, 2026 2:14 am

Are they (the UK govt) also going to make any assurances to the purchasers that adequate sunlight will be assured???? (/mild sarc)

Related, by our good friend Carl Benjamin of Akkad Daily (UK based) fame there is this:

“We Are A Circus” [the UK leadership]

8
strativarius
March 17, 2026 2:59 am

Further and faster… down the rabbit hole.

They love to talk about ‘democratising’ energy making everyone kind of equal and in a pipe dream that works, but life is very real and just as there are millions who do not have anywhere to charge an EV – tower blocks, apartment buildings etc – similarly they don’t have any ‘outdoor spaces’ Not all homes – shock – are alike, they are very varied…

Local landlords prosecuted for ‘beds in sheds’ – three people living in ‘appalling conditions’ 

Got to put them somewhere I suppose.

We might as well face the fact that we are doomed. Starmer is too politically weak to get rid of mad Ed and mad Ed has a new wheeze to bring down the bills for Labour’s comatose Hospitality sector… Serving warm beer. That’s right. You can reduce your energy bills by dispensing with those chiller units, and by turning off any ovens. Give the punters something to kick off about.

That’s an Oxford PPE for you. About as much use as a condom machine in the Vatican.

16
Tony Sullivan
Reply to  strativarius
March 17, 2026 3:52 am

“About as much use as a condom machine in the Vatican.”

😂

6
Junkgirl
Reply to  strativarius
March 17, 2026 3:59 am

Aren’t 15 Minute Cities supposed to solve the city problems? . Move more people into them. No one is supposed to be in the rest of the country outside anyway while they rewild it with………. Your guess is as good as mine.

6
strativarius
Reply to  Junkgirl
March 17, 2026 4:44 am

The countryside is problematic to say the least. I mean, who knew…

Wildlife and Countryside Link – a group of 80 organisations – [while] providing evidence to Parliament on connections between racism and climate change.
…
the countryside has been influenced by “racist colonial legacies”, leading to an environment “dominated by white people”. – LBC

Britain has white people?

11
Joseph Zorzin
Reply to  strativarius
March 17, 2026 5:53 am

token white people

4
Joseph Zorzin
Reply to  strativarius
March 17, 2026 5:51 am

“millions who do not have anywhere to charge an EV”

Supposedly most cars now sold in China are EVs. But, I thought most people live in huge apartment blocks. Where do they plug them in? Of course much of the electricity for those EVs is from coal.

10
Sparta Nova 4
Reply to  Joseph Zorzin
March 17, 2026 6:01 am

Recharging in underground garages is prohibited in China due to fires.

4
Joseph Zorzin
Reply to  Sparta Nova 4
March 17, 2026 6:04 am

So there must be dedicated charging centers. Must be a pain to use them. I’d bet most people in China don’t own any cars- they do have good train system. But, all the EVs in China is the kind of thing the Electric Viking brags about every day. I’ll have to ask him.

3
AGW is Not Science
March 17, 2026 3:49 am

we have confirmed enough clean power to power the equivalent of 23 million homes

For a few hours around midday on a rare sunny day in the summer time in the UK, perhaps. What utter morons.

13
Johanus
March 17, 2026 4:11 am

// … Energy Secretary will … go “further and faster” …

Quoting a certain speedy bunny: “What a maroon!”

6
MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 4:14 am

As for the next CfD round, the next lot of offshore wind farms won’t be up and running until at least 2030, by which time gas prices will be back to normal.

Until the next time the volatile fossil fuel prices go through the roof. Going renewable is already working out for Spain.

Spain’s renewables revolution will keep energy bills low even as gas prices soar

According to Grok

Peak journalism, even I can do that:

According to goggle whatever-its-name AI:

Balcony solar, often called “plug-in” or “plug-and-play” solar, is gaining traction in the UK as a potential way for renters and apartment dwellers to save money on electricity bills. These small, DIY-friendly systems can save households roughly 10%–15% of electricity bills—potentially £100 or more per year—with payback times estimated around 4 years.

And it thinks PV makes sense in the UK

Yes, photovoltaic (PV) solar panels make sense in the UK for many homeowners, despite the country’s reputation for cloudy weather. With over 1.6 million homes already using solar, the technology is a proven way to reduce electricity bills, improve energy independence, and lower carbon footprints.

-27
Bill Toland
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 4:18 am

According to the World Bank, Britain is the second worst country in the world to install solar power.

13
MyUsernameReloaded
Reply to  Bill Toland
March 17, 2026 4:31 am

Still viable. Even Iceland is using PV now.

-27
Bill Toland
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 4:36 am

In your bizarre world, the definition of viable obviously differs from the definition shown in the dictionaries I use.

19
strativarius
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 4:46 am

You’re running out of gags.

Do try to come up with something new.

14
Joseph Zorzin
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 5:58 am

They must- it’s part of being a self respecting “progressive”. Otherwise, their nation would be shunned. 🙂

1
Docrock117
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 7:20 am

Unless something has changed dramatically since 2025, Iceland reports no power from Wind, Solar, or Nuclear.

10
MarkW
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 7:41 am

The fact that politicians have installed it, doesn’t proved that it is useful, or even used.

As for it being viable, You keep using that word, but I don’t believe it means what you think it means.

8
Sparta Nova 4
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 8:51 am

“Current Infrastructure: Small-scale installations exist, including a 12 kW system on Grímsey island and a 1.125 MWp system at Iceland Foods’ headquarters.”

0
Joseph Zorzin
Reply to  Bill Toland
March 17, 2026 5:57 am

It’s about the same latitude as Labrador. Not promising.

1
Joseph Zorzin
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 5:55 am

“Until the next time the volatile fossil fuel prices go through the roof.”

There is such a thing as long term contracts. And, the UK is not willing to drill baby drill for nearby oil.

5
Joseph Zorzin
Reply to  Joseph Zorzin
March 17, 2026 5:56 am

canceled this one- in the wrong place

0
Jim Gorman
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 6:10 am

And it thinks PV makes sense in the UK

You aren’t an electrician are you? Nah, don’t answer it is obvious.

Do you have a clue about what ancillary equipment is needed to connect a solar panel directly to a grid? What do you think 10000 panels running asynchronously will do for the stability of the grid?

Do you have a clue about how measurements will be done so that you will benefit directly in having a “reduction” of your electric bill? Give us some facts instead of repeating stupid media consensus.

10
MarkW
Reply to  Jim Gorman
March 17, 2026 7:45 am

In the mind of a true believer, as long as his leaders say something can be done, it can, and it makes perfect sense to do so.

2
MarkW
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 17, 2026 7:43 am

Paying 600 in order save 10 to 20 a year is the kind of economics that would only appeal to an absolute moron. Especially considering the fact that panel won’t last more than 20 years.

8
Dave Andrews
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
March 18, 2026 8:49 am

Insurance company QBE said UK fire services faced blazes involving solar panels and their batteries once every 2 days in 2024 a 60% increase in the past two years. Analysis also showed that the fires had increased at twice the rate of new installations.

0
observa
March 17, 2026 5:28 am
  • announcing that ‘plug-in solar’, low cost solar panels that families can buy at supermarkets and put on their balconies or outdoor space, will be made available in the UK for the first time

Yeah and don’t forget to pick up a planter box potting mix and seed pack to grow your own vegies.

7
Joseph Zorzin
March 17, 2026 5:46 am

“solar panels that families can buy at supermarkets and put on their balconies or outdoor space”

Even if this was a good idea- how do you plug them into your house wiring? You’d have to have an electrician do it or try it your self and get electrocuted.

6
Oldseadog
Reply to  Joseph Zorzin
March 18, 2026 4:33 am

Might be worthwhile to get Mr. Milliband to give us a demonstration himself.
Without a tradesman as backup of course.

1
strativarius
March 17, 2026 5:46 am

Solving the energy crisis Miliband style – money no object

——————-

Miliband’s suggestions to pubs clinging on for dear life: switch off your fridges overnight, serve warmer beer, and turn off the ovens.  – And the taxpayer has coughed up £350,000 to produce these measures…

DESNZ pumped that cash into Zero Carbon Services’ ‘energy and carbon reduction tool’ which was rolled out to 525 pubs, restaurants, and hotels during a year-long trial. The government claims it “delivered behavioural change focused energy saving plans tailored to participants through the digital tool, providing real-time alerts to reduce unnecessary electricity use”.  – Never mind the North Sea, never mind cutting VAT on energy bills, just serve warmer pints…. – Guido Fawkes

We are in the hands of a certifiable lunatic.

12
Tom Abbott
Reply to  strativarius
March 17, 2026 6:16 am

Yes, you are.

Miliband is delusional and is doing great harm to the UK.

And he is doing so with the blessing of his political party.

9
GeorgeInSanDiego
March 17, 2026 7:01 am

Great Britain has seven trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves and more than one billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves. The UK already has “energy security”.

5
GiraffeOnKhat
March 17, 2026 7:06 am

The windfarms awarded in the last few auctions are still stuck in limbo due to the financial risks, overr runs and inflation.

None of that will be helped by disruption to the UAE supply chain that was crucial to getting several key components built by near slave labour.

All the bottlenecks will remain in place, while the UK’s native supply chain degrades further.

No matter how much Ed ukuleles while Britain burns.

5
Jeff Alberts
March 17, 2026 7:38 am

“Does the moron really think people have got that sort of money in their pockets to waste on his green nonsense?”

Homewood profoundly misunderstands the goal of this entire endeavor.

0
MrGrimNasty
March 17, 2026 7:57 am

Carol Vorderman was on Jeremy Vine (I think) discussing if celebs should comment on political causes (as she frequently does) and they got on to renewables.

Firstly she presented a completely wrong % of renewable contribution to the UK’s total energy consumption, usual issue, quoted just electric. But that’s an aside.

Now apparently she was a junior engineer on Dinorwig (hydro pump storage). She thinks the only reason we aren’t 100% renewable already is because the gov. has failed to pay for enough said schemes.

Dinorwig is 1.7GW with a total storage capacity of around 9.1GWh.

In winter if the UK needed 50GW for 2 weeks of anticyclonic gloom, how many Dinorwigs would we require!

For a maths genius, she ain’t very good at maths.

4
ToldYouSo
March 17, 2026 1:34 pm

. . .”announcing that ‘plug-in solar’, low cost solar panels that families can buy at supermarkets and put on their balconies or outdoor space, will be made available in the UK for the first time”

Good grief . . . and it’s not even April 1, 2026!

Would those plug-in panels . . . you know, the ones anyone can buy at a supermarket . . .
— plug into cell phones for recharging (requiring 5 Vdc), or
— plug into laptop computers for recharging (requiring about 9 Vdc), or
— plug onto a car battery for recharging (requiring about 14 Vdc), or
— plug into electric bikes or scooters for recharging (requiring anywhere from 42 to 67 Vdc, depending on specific battery used), or
— plug into home electrical systems for providing “supplemental house power” (in the UK, requiring about 230 Vac (single-phase) at a frequency of 50 Hz), or
— plug into an EV automobile for recharging (requiring 120 to over 900 Vdc, depending on Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 recharging circuity for the EV’s battery)?

Also, given that typical commercially-available solar panels today produce approximately 150 to 250 watts of power per square meter of area under peak sunlight conditions, will UK consumers be informed that they’ll need about 5 m^2 of such panels directly facing the Sun to provide just 10% of their home’s average peak power demand (~10 kW, per Google’s AI bot)?

Finally, will such panels be sold with this warning label:

****** CAUTION: for use only in bright sunlight and when facing the Sun ******
?
/sarc

3
Bob
March 17, 2026 4:01 pm

Like I have been saying we don’t have a science problem or a climate problem, we have a government problem. Until we recognize this we will continue to have that miserable pain in our backside.

4
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