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Of course, QBE's call to ensure that solar panels are properly installed and maintained is important and I completely agree But reporting this without putting figures in context could amount to scare-mongering, and might display disappointing anti-renewables bias.

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Indeed, the fact that there were ELEVEN fires a day caused by "faulty fuel supplies" indicates that diesel generators, oil-fired boilers etc. aka fossil fuels could be more dangerous to Brits than solar panels But, that detail was absent from these news stories...

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In any case, I hope this illustrates that "one solar panel fire every two days" is comparably few - there were FOUR chip pan fires A DAY in 2024 and you don't see any headlines about the dangers of fish and chip shops!

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The government's fire statistics data isn't granular enough to identify solar panel fires - QBE obtained their figures through FOIs - and it's not clear which of the government's categories would include solar panels, so I've listed them separately.

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These news stories hinge on a finding by insurer QBE that there were 171 fires "linked to" solar panels in the UK in 2024, up from 107 in 2022. Here's how this compares to other causes of fire:

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The UK press has seemingly panicked about solar panel fires over the last few days How concerned do we need to be? The numbers suggest... not very 🧵

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Put simply, renewables are lowering bills by billions per year and more of them will push older, less efficient gas off the system even more, lowering costs further It would be good if this hidden saving was reflected in discussions about the cost of renewables...one can dream!

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There's been some criticism of strike prices in the upcoming renewables auction. But without the wind we already have on the system, the wholesale electricity price would actually be HIGHER than the strike prices for most technologies & which may well fall anyway.

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2) These savings to wholesale electricity prices are about 🟰 to support for wind farms from "green levies". 3) Renewables are pushing down the amount of time that gas sets the price of all generation - from 97% to 85%.

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The results: 1) Wind farms cut the day-ahead wholesale price by up to a quarter (25%) in 2024, about £25/MWh compared to if there was no/little wind, and gas instead this hidden saving is not being considered by those who call to scrap renewables.

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As wind & solar are cheaper, running off free sunshine & wind, the more renewables we have, the better As they push older, less efficient gas power plants off the system and from being the marginal generator The £ implications of this have been v hard to quantify...until now.

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How are renewables lowering wholesale electricity prices? Gas is normally the "marginal" generator, filling the last bit of supply to meet demand and it's price is high comparably In UK, all generation on day-ahead market - even if cheaper - gets this final "marginal price".

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Lots of talk about the "cost of renewables" But have they actually LOWERED the price of electricity we pay TODAY? TLDR; yes, by around a quarter, or £25/MWh That's why it's a mistake to stop investment in them (*cough* certain politicians). eciu.net/analysis/rep...

Marginal Gains: how wind is pushing gas out of the power market and…

Growth in British renewables cutting electricity prices by up to a quarter.

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Reposted by Jess Ralston

Tessa Khan @tessakhan.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Some highly questionable industry assertions about ‘tiebacks’ and new oil & gas exploration licensing covered by the Sunday Times this morning, incl. the volume of potential production & the impact on jobs & supply chains. Let's take a closer look: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

thetimes.com

Labour looks to water down North Sea drilling ban

Ed Miliband is expected to allow exploration next to existing sites to increase fossil fuel production without breaking a manifesto pledge

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Upgrading the electricity grid is a down payment on cheaper, more efficient system in future - increasingly using British wind & solar over imported gas. Yes, we need to invest in the grid after decades of under-investment. But today's grid upgrade is tomorrow's bill reduction.

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4) Policy & nuclear costs up £18 £6 for so-called "green" levies, which help to pay for things like insulation into low-income households and the Warm Homes Discount And nuclear costs up £12 to pay for continuously delayed & over-budget Sizewell C.

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...and transport more British power from its source to our homes. It’s a necessary investment to reduce the amount of imported gas we need AND reduces constraint payments, where we pay Scottish wind farms to turn off and gas to power up down South. eciu.net/media/press-...

UK electricity ‘becoming more British’, less import dependent –…

New analysis finds that the UK’s electricity supply has become more British over the past decade

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3) Electricity network costs up £40 (£30 for transmission): - Some for maintenance and operation (business-as-usual) - Some for building new infrastructure, pylons and cables etc, to allow new renewables to come online... www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/defaul...

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2) GAS NETWORK costs up £53 - the biggest chunk: - For maintaining and operating gas networks - Increased depreciation (paying off networks investments more quickly) Don't know how this is a 'net zero cost' as suggested by the Telegraph this morning...

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Industry experts @CornwallInsight predict that bills will go up around £100 in April 2026. Why? 1) Wholesale costs down £12 on previous quarter, as gas prices fall from peak levels BUT remain above pre-crisis levels In Feb, they reached a 2-year high and are still volatile.

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Why are bills going up by £100 in April? R4 Today's Nick Robinson claimed "People say bills are going to go up... because *you’re determined not to use fossil fuels*" With many households still struggling with the cost of living, let's look at what's *actually* happening...

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Some politicians & the industry say max extraction from the N. Sea = energy price security But a few billion barrels of oil equivalent, even if discovered and economically extracted (unlikely), won't make any difference. eciu.net/media/press-...

North Sea moratorium equivalent to just one new offshore wind farm

New poll also finds 54% of Brits want tax cuts for renewables not for new oil and gas drilling

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Huge O&G companies own what they get out the ground & sell it to highest bidder Any new fields are potential liabilities, stranded assets as the world transitions, leading to a chaotic decline Helping no-one, inc those working in N Sea supply chains. bsky.app/profile/tors...

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As Prof. Gavin Bridge says: "Potential extraction will be from small, high-cost & risky fields...their development inconsistent with a managed decline while requiring risky subsidies and deregulation that benefit oil and gas companies, not the public." bsky.app/profile/tess...

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Plus, the potential resources in this report are globally insignificant And any speculative discoveries don't change the geological fact that the North Sea IS RUNNING OUT What's left is mostly oil - 70% We export the majority of our oil - 80% bsky.app/profile/tess...

OEUK's numbers are speculative, relying on unlikely discoveries. Over the last 15y, hundreds of North Sea licenses have led to just 5 discoveries, with only 3 producing just a few weeks' worth of O&G NO impact on bills as prices are set internationally. bsky.app/profile/jess...

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OEUK claim that O&G production could increase from 4.3bn barrels of oil equivalent to 7.5bn ...with changes to "incentives" aka subsidies and scrapping the Windfall Tax (which is hugely popular with voters) etc This differs to the *official* estimates from the regulator 👀

How much oil and gas is REALLY left in the North Sea? 🤔 According to a new report by oil and gas lobby group @oeuk.bsky.social, loads!!!! *As long as they get subsidies and deregulation* Is this true? And if so, would it lower bills? Let's investigate...

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This £3000 added by wholesale prices is 7x (‼️) the costs of renewables schemes over the same period (such as the Renewables Obligation, Feed-In Tariffs, & CfD agreements).

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LONG-TERM: While wholesale costs didn't go up between Q3 and Q4 2025, they are responsible for the bulk of energy bill increases over the gas crisis. Wholesale costs, driven by gas prices, will have added £3,000 to household energy bills by this autumn. eciu.net/media/press-...

Energy price cap analysis: gas adding 7x more to bills than renewables

Analysis of the new energy bill price cap shows seven times the cost of schemes that support renewables

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The grids need investment to accommodate new British generation and ensure more efficient transmission... New wind & solar are vital for stabilising bills in future. They reduce the amount of expensive gas we need to import as the North Sea basin continues to decline.

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But network costs are not solely "renewables" - Ofgem confirms the gas network is also a factor. "The network cost allowance has increased... primarily driven by an increase in electricity balancing costs and to a lesser extent gas network costs." ofgem.gov.uk/sites/defaul...

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Another part of the reason for the increases, according to Ofgem, is network costs. This covers distribution (delivering power to households and businesses), transmission (moving power around the country via e.g pylons / cables), and balancing (ensuring supply matches demand).

WHY: Part of the cost increase is the Warm Homes Discount, which is being expanded Ofgem says the scheme "supports those on low-income and who are vulnerable to cold-related illness, or living... in fuel poverty". It isn't related to renewables. www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmenta...

An introduction to the Warm Home Discount scheme.

Warm Home Discount (WHD)

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HOW MUCH: Ofgem's energy price cap for Q4 2025 is going up by 2% from £1,720 a year in Q3 to £1,755 a year in Q4. That's up £35 a year, or £2.93 a month. Very difficult for people struggling with cost of living But considerably lower than the 2023 gas crisis peak of £2,500.

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💵 ENERGY BILLS & RENEWABLES How much are they going up by? Why are they going up? What are the long-term causes of high bills? A short 🧵 on why the answer isn't all blowing in the wind...

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The investment is partly to modernise old networks for safety & resilience, partly to expand to accommodate more renewables. Quite bizarre the Telegraph actively removed important context around the *actual* cost to energy bills to households...what's gone on there?

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Ofgem is clear: "This critical investment...is estimated to increase network charges on bills by £104 by 2031...It is expected to lead to around £80 of savings for consumers by 2031...The net cost on bills amounts to around £24 a year by March 2031." www.ofgem.gov.uk/press-releas...

Ofgem approves initial £24 billion to operate and maintain critical gas networks and upgrade Britain's electricity supergrid

Ofgem has given the provisional green light to an initial £24bn investment programme to enhance energy security.

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But this morning, another version appeared online and in print - and this crucial context has vanished. It now doesn't mention the savings, and only briefly that bills would rise even higher if this investment didn't happen. This makes it misleading...

Well this is strange 🧐 Yesterday the @telegraphnews.bsky.social had an article about Ofgem's much-needed £24bn investment in upgrading the gas and electricity networks. The author correctly stated that the *net increase* on an energy bill would be £24/yr by 2031 (£104/yr added, £80 saving):

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4) Contrary to what you may hear, net zero is not the problem here... The wholesale electricity cost component for steel industry is more in the UK than the ENTIRE electricity bill (wholesale, network, policy etc) in France and Germany. 🤯

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3) Electricity bills ⬆️ 60% since the crisis High gas prices means inflated marginal prices on electricity wholesale markets Accelerated investment in renewables supports resilience & stabilises prices Through pushing less efficient gas power plants off the system ✅

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2) Gas costs increased the most, alarmingly doubling from pre-crisis average for UK industry (Despite industrial gas demand falling 12%) ...Both households and industry have been left exposed to crippling energy costs Undermining UK's economic & industrial competitiveness ❌

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1) Key sectors such as steel and iron increased their energy bills by ⬆️ 80% to £4bn in the first 4 years of the crisis Despite production of steel decreasing by 25% ⬇️ in the crisis 🚨The future of steel in the UK is dependent on stable prices

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Jess Ralston @jessralston.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

🔎 How has the gas crisis impacted industry? New @eciu.net analysis finds energy costs for British industry surged by £29bn during gas crisis Highlighting the heavy price paid for UK's continued reliance on gas Let's look at the evidence... 🧵 ca1-eci.edcdn.com/reports/Indu...

ca1-eci.edcdn.com

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Blackout risk in Britain is LOWEST this winter since pre-Covid, according to @neso-energy.bsky.social & renewable power generation in the UK is HIGHER than ever Renewables = energy security 💚 independent.co.uk/news/busines...

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Jess Ralston @jessralston.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

🚨TODAY - at 11am 🚨 Media briefing: Defence, security and climate Please do join us: - Lt Gen Richard Nugee (former British Army, now climate change NED at MOD) - Professor Mike Bradshaw (Warwick University) - Camilla Toulmin (IIED) Register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

us02web.zoom.us

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Jess Ralston @jessralston.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

"Energy security", as Badenoch later alludes to, comes from more renewables, home insulation, electric heat pumps and EVs. With £ billions spent subsidising energy bills because of the cost of gas, we can't afford to remain as vulnerable the next time oil and gas prices spike.

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Jess Ralston @jessralston.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Oil & gas prices have always been volatile, fluctuating around conflicts and geopolitical events. This will ALWAYS be the case - UK prices reflect what happens on these international markets. We have little control over prices given the North Sea is a small, declining basin.