Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has been doing a misplaced victory lap on social media over the government securing 131 new clean energy projects. The first bidding round for green energy projects took place under the Tories in 2023, though no deals were made as the subsidies were too low, so they increased the subsidies for the 2024 round. Miliband upped them even further, doubling the allowance. Not solely a Labour – or Miliband – win, then…

This isn’t something to boast about, especially since the expansion will saddle energy bill payers with a £10 billion cost. Consumers will end up paying foreign companies £82 per MWh in government subsidies to build these solar and wind farms. Meanwhile, Net Zero Watch has research that suggests a loophole in Government contracts could cost households up to £180 million a year. Their director aptly said:

“How many times were we subjected to the chorus of ‘wind is cheap’? That refrain now rings hollow and these results show Miliband’s green utopianism to be even more costly and impractical than once feared.”

Still, Reeves continues to blame the Tories for the surprise “black hole” as she prepares for the “painful” budget that’s sure to see tax rises for working people. Labour are doing as they always do: tax and spend, tax and spend…

The Government’s Net Zero agenda has been slammed by a new campaign, Net Zero Watch, as a poorly-conceived and uncosted utopian plan that will cost £trillions and hit the poorest hardest.

The campaign, which is an initiative of the Global Warming Policy Forum and is supported by a number of Conservative MPs, is highlighting the lack of scrutiny across Western governments about the astronomical costs of radical decarbonisation targets, known as ‘Net Zero’. It warns that the debates surrounding the issue have become increasingly intolerant and economic and policy scrutiny simply isn’t happening.

Ministers appear to have given little thought to the negative consequences of their costly policies which will hit the poorest hardest. Nor are they considering whether renewable energy can actually power an industrial society.

Dr Benny Peiser, speaking on behalf of the new campaign, said: “Net Zero Watch is here to redress the balance and provide the crucial scrutiny of decarbonisation policies that most politicians and the media are failing to provide.”

You can follow updates from the campaign at netzerowatch.com and on their Twitter feed @netzerowatch.