UK backs biggest English onshore windfarm in a decade among 190 green energy projects
The largest onshore windfarm in England in a decade has been awarded a government subsidy among 190 contracts for renewable energy projects, as Labour attempts to hit a goal of creating a virtually zero carbon power grid within four years.The government said it would offer contracts to a record number of solar projects alongside support for onshore windfarms including the huge Imerys project near St Austell in Cornwall.The project will be the largest to be built in England since Labour lifted an almost decade-long de facto ban on new onshore windfarms after returning to power in 2024.The ban caused England’s onshore wind industry to collapse, and the Imerys project – developed by Clean Earth Energy – at 20 megawatts is dwarfed by many Scottish onshore windfarms that won contracts in the latest auction, the largest of which is 186 MW.It will generate a fraction of the electricity of the 480MW West Burton solar farm, which also won a contract in the auction and will be the largest solar project ever supported by the UK government.
In total, contracts were awarded to 157 new solar farms, 28 new onshore windfarms and eight offshore windfarms after ministers doubled the amount of funding available to developers in a make-or-break auction for Labour’s goal to create a clean electricity system in Great Britain by 2030.The government also issued subsidy contracts to four tidal power projects.The winners were informed on Tuesday morning, three weeks after the government awarded subsidy contracts to enough offshore windfarms to power 12m homes by the end of the decade.In total, the government’s new renewable energy contracts will supply enough electricity to power the equivalent of 16m UK homes.Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, said: “These results show once again that clean British power is the right choice for our country, agreeing a price for new onshore wind and solar that is more than 50% cheaper than the cost of building and operating new gas.
”Under the latest contracts, solar farms will be paid £65.23 a megawatt hour (MWh) in 2024 prices, while onshore windfarms will earn £72.24/MWh.If prices on the wholesale electricity market are below this price then developers will receive top-up payments levied on household energy bills, but if the market price is higher, bill payers will have the difference returned to them.The subsidy prices for solar power are slightly lower than last year’s auction when projects were offered £69.
76/MWh for their electricity, while onshore wind contracts are slightly higher,In last year’s auction round, onshore wind developers were offered £70,92/MWh,The rising cost of wind power, which is up by more than 20% from its record lows in 2022, reflects the “changed macroeconomic conditions and supply chain pressures” facing the industry, according to Simon Virley, the head of energy at KPMG UK,Virley said the auction “seems to have revealed a ‘new normal’ for the cost of large-scale onshore renewables” and it was no longer possible to bank on prices continuing to fall.
“Despite this, onshore wind and solar remain the cheapest large-scale renewables available to meet the 2030 target, with prices well below the costs of offshore wind, new-build gas or new nuclear,” he said,The support prices for onshore renewables are well below those offered to offshore windfarms,Standard windfarms fixed to the seafloor will earn between £89,49/MWh and £91,20/MWh through the latest auction and a new generation of floating windfarms will earn £216.
49/MWh.Miliband said: “By backing solar and onshore wind at scale, we’re driving bills down for good and protecting families, businesses and our country from the fossil fuel rollercoaster controlled by petrostates and dictators.This is how we take back control of our energy and deliver a new era of energy abundance and independence.”
Logitech MX Master 4 review: the best work mouse you can buy
Logitech’s latest productivity power-house updates one of the greatest mice of all time with smoother materials, a repair-friendly design and a haptic motor for phone-like vibrations on your desktop.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The MX Master 4 is the latest evolution in a line of pioneering mice that dates back more than 20 years and has long been the mouse to beat for everything but hardcore PC gaming
‘It felt hypocritical’: child internet safety campaign accused of censoring teenagers’ speeches
An internet safety campaign backed by US tech companies has been accused of censoring two teenagers they invited to speak out about the biggest issues facing children online.Childnet, a UK charity part-funded by companies including Snap, Roblox and Meta, edited out warnings from Lewis Swire and Saamya Ghai that social media addiction was an “imminent threat to our future” and obsessive scrolling was making people “sick”, according to a record of edits seen by the Guardian.Swire, then 17, from Edinburgh, and Ghai, then 14, from Buckinghamshire, had been asked to speak at an event to mark Safer Internet Day in 2024 in London in front of representatives from government, charities and tech companies.The tech-backed charity also edited out references to children feeling unable to stop using TikTok and Snap, social media exacerbating a “devastating epidemic” of isolation, and a passage questioning why people would want to spend years of their lives “scrolling TikTok and binge-watching Netflix”, the edits show.The 2026 iteration of the Childnet-run event takes place on Tuesday with more than 2,800 schools and colleges listed as supporters
‘I fell into it’: ex-criminal hackers urge Manchester pupils to use web skills for good
Cybercriminals, the shadowy online figures often depicted in Hollywood movies as hooded villains capable of wiping millions of pounds off the value of businesses at a keystroke, are not usually known for their candour.But in a sixth-form college in Manchester this week, two former hackers gave the young people gathered an honest appraisal of what living a life of internet crime really looks like.The teenagers in the room are listening intently, but the day-to-day internecine disputes they hear about is not the stuff of screenplays.“It’s just people getting into these online dramas and they’re swatting and doxing each other and getting people to throw bricks through their windows,” one of the hackers says.If the language sounds unfamiliar, it should – “swatting” and “doxing” involve people outing each other online by posting their genuine identities – but their message is clear: though cybercrime may seem alluring, the reality is anything but
Battle of the chatbots: Anthropic and OpenAI go head-to-head over ads in their AI products
The Seahawks and the Patriots aren’t the only ones gearing up for a fight.AI rivals Anthropic and OpenAI have launched a war of ads trying to court corporate America during one of the biggest entertainment nights of the year.Ahead of the Super Bowl, Anthropic has launched a series of ads going hard at its rival.For the scrawny 23-year-old who wants a six-pack, a ripped older man who is supposed to depict a chatbot suggests insoles that “help short kings stand tall” because “confidence isn’t just built in the gym”. And for the man trying to improve communication with his mom: his therapist prescribes “a mature dating site that connects sensitive cubs with roaring cougars” in case he can’t fix that relationship
Why has Elon Musk merged his rocket company with his AI startup?
The acquisition of xAI by SpaceX is a typical Elon Musk deal: big numbers backed by big ambition.As well as extending “the light of consciousness to the stars”, as Musk described it, the transaction creates a business worth $1.25tn (£920bn) by combining Musk’s rocket company with his artificial intelligence startup. It values SpaceX at $1tn and xAI at $250bn, with a stock market flotation expected in June to time with Musk’s birthday and a planetary alignment.However, there are questions over the deal, such as whether it is good for SpaceX’s non-Musk shareholders and whether the technological premise behind it can succeed
Victims urge tougher action on deepfake abuse as new law comes into force
Victims of deepfake image abuse have called for stronger protection against AI-generated explicit images, as the law criminalising the creation of non-consensual intimate images comes into effect.Campaigners from Stop Image-Based Abuse delivered a petition to Downing Street with more than 73,000 signatures, urging the government to introduce civil routes to justice such as takedown orders for abusive imagery on platforms and devices.“Today’s a really momentous day,” said Jodie, a victim of deepfake abuse who uses a pseudonym.“We’re really pleased the government has put these amendments into law that will definitely protect more women and girls. They were hard-fought victories by campaigners, particularly the consent-based element of it,” she added
UK signed deals with US firms that were clients of Mandelson lobbying company
Who could fill key No 10 vacancies – and win the battle for Starmer’s ear?
Starmer says he ‘will never walk away’ as Burnham joins Labour figures backing PM – as it happened
Steady Ed conjours up a Keir in his own image – complete with fake steering wheel | John Crace
Fighting Starmer wins another chance, but is still surrounded by peril
Andy Burnham backs Starmer but urges him to be bolder and more inclusive