Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Gordon Hughes
The True Cost of Green Subsidies is Much Higher Than Politicians Admit
With green subsidies now accounting for three quarters of the price of electricity, the cost of Net Zero to the public is much higher than politicians are willing to admit, say Professor Gordon Hughes and Dr Lee Moroney. This is the 13th in a series of 13 articles challenging climate change orthodoxy commissioned by Professor Gwythian Prins.
The True Cost of Green Subsidies is Much Higher Than Politicians Admit
This is the 13th in a series of 13 articles challenging climate change orthodoxy commissioned by Professor Gwythian Prins. We will be publishing the articles at a rate of one a week (read the first article here, the second here, the third here, the fourth here, the fifth here, the sixth here, the seventh here, the eighth here, the ninth here, the 10th here the 11th here and the 12th here). The hope is that they can be collected into a book for Sixth Formers and university students.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave ...
The full quote from Sir Walter Scott’s poem Marmion is “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, / when first we practice to deceive”. It applies directly to the mess that the UK government has got itself into concerning electricity prices. On April 21st DESNZ, reinforced by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, announced two significant policy changes. The first change was an increase in the Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) from 45% to 55%.
Financing the electricity system: Part 2 Hotel California and the cost of reform
Many people are inclined to check their wallets when encountering politicians promising to reduce the cost of living or offering other handouts. Recognising this scepticism, politicians like to claim that they have prepared a “fully costed” assessment of whatever is being proposed. This is dangerous at the best of times, and especially so when they rely on the “garbage in, garbage out” models that underpin official fiscal forecasts.
Financing the electricity system: Part 1 Back to the Future?
Interested readers may have noticed a recent notice that energy suppliers will be subject to a levy of £3.45 per MWh of electricity supplied from November 1st onwards to pre-fund the development of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant. This is linked to the decision to adopt what is called the Regulatory Asset Base (RAB) arrangement to fund this project.
Climate emergencies and luxury beliefs
This article was prompted by an article in The Economist issue of 17th May 2025 discussing the solar geo-engineering projects supported by the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) - the UK government’s imitation of DARPA – which has the brief to fund “high risk, high reward” research.
Trump has handed Starmer a golden opportunity to escape the looming disaster of net zero
Never allow a crisis to go to waste is good advice for economic as well as political strategists. President Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcements on tariffs provide an opportunity for many countries to reset their economic policies to pursue a different path. For more than 15 years UK governments of all parties have pursued a strategy of placing ever greater burdens on economic activity and diverting our limited capital resources to unproductive uses.
DESNZ - Previous governments should have raised electricity prices even more
Usually, I treat Government responses to press inquiries about my work as background noise - mostly nonsense but not worth bothering about. However, occasionally a response is so revealing that it warrants closer attention. Such a case was passed on to me by journalist who has written a piece based on my study of the cost of Net Zero that was the subject of my last post.
Will Net Zero reduce electricity costs in 2030?
Background: This piece is an experiment in trying to make the results of quasi-academic research available to a wider audience. I have spent much of the last three months developing and applying a model of UK electricity generation to analyse the implications of the current UK government’s Clean Power goals for 2030 and beyond. In the past, such work would fall between conventional publishing routes in economics.
Offshore Trojan Horses: Beware Of Greens Bearing Gifts
In July, the U.S. Department of Interior greenlighted large offshore wind farms in New Jersey and Maryland. Once the financial agreements are in place, New Jersey’s Atlantic Shores and Maryland’s MarWin and Momentum will join the two large wind farms in New York approved in June. These projects will receive huge multibillion-dollar subsidies from the federal government and electricity ratepayers. What benefits will New Jersey and Maryland enjoy from this flood of money?
Offshore Trojan Horses
In July, the U.S. Department of Interior greenlighted large offshore wind farms in New Jersey and Maryland. Once the financial agreements are in place, New Jersey’s Atlantic Shores and Maryland’s MarWin and Momentum will join the two large wind farms in New York approved in June. These projects will receive huge, multibillion-dollar subsidies from the federal government and electricity ratepayers. What benefits will New Jersey and Maryland enjoy from this flood of money?
Opinion | Why Is New York Paying So Much for Wind Power?
New York state signed a contract in June to buy electricity generated by two large wind farms, Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind, off the coast of Long Island. The projects are expected to begin in 2026 and 2027, with power delivered to Brooklyn (Empire) and Long Island (Sunrise). The state will pay $155 and $146 per megawatt-hour, respectively. These prices are steep, at least four times the average grid cost paid over the past year. New Yorkers should be asking why.
Labour’s net zero plans are a fantasy
Gordon Hughes June 27, 2024 at 6:39 AM·5 min read Sir Keir Starmer has promised that a new Labour government would decarbonise the UK’s electricity system by 2030 and would, at the same time, reduce average energy bills by up to £300 or roughly 20 per cent of their current level. We know that senior politicians and lawyers see visions that not granted to mere mortals. But is there any connection between this vision and reality?
Labour is about to destroy our energy grid
Gordon Hughes June 17, 2024 at 10:49 AM·3 min read The Labour Party has reiterated its commitment to decarbonise the UK’s electricity system by 2030. That will be hugely expensive, but the more immediate impact will be on the security of electricity supply. Will we face the prospect of rolling blackouts, a regular occurrence in countries like South Africa that have mismanaged their electricity systems?
Starmer’s secret plan for energy prices is terrifying
When Sir Keir Starmer pulled back from Labour’s commitment to spend £28 billion per year on green projects, it was no surprise. The number never made sense given the other pressures on public spending. Unless Labour intended to increase either income tax & National Insurance or VAT by a large amount – in the region of raising VAT’s standard rate from 20 per cent to 24 per cent – it would have been extremely difficult to afford. But there is a catch.
Keir Starmer says Just Stop Oil’s demands are ‘contemptible’ - and he is right
“Contemptible.” That is how Sir Keir Starmer views Just Stop Oil’s message to turn off the taps in the North Sea – and he’s right. A key JSO target is to eliminate all use of fossil fuels by 2030. There are two ways of interpreting this goal. The Augustinian interpretation (“Please make me virtuous, but not yet!”) would rule out direct use of fossil fuels in the UK but not the import and use of goods and services produced elsewhere using fossil fuels.
Heat pumps epitomise the economic folly of net zero
Amid the cacophony of claims about Net Zero there is little concrete analysis of its wider impact in macroeconomic terms. For all the magical thinking about green jobs and technologies, the true benefits appear trivial when compared with the massive scale of expenditures required – and even more so when we account for the huge destruction of our existing capital stock, from cars to industrial machinery. Think of a three-bedroom house currently heated by gas.
The U.K. Can Slash Energy Prices - But Only If We Stop Sending All Our Electricity to Europe
There are many plans to deal with the energy crisis doing the rounds. Most of them seem to have more to do with guaranteeing the profits of renewables operators than with helping consumers and businesses out. And even those who do want to try to get prices down are somewhat hamstrung by the fact that the benefits of any steps taken in the U.K. would be shared with neighbouring countries. That’s why Liz Truss has seen no option but to target symptoms rather than causes.
The Fantasy World of Renewable Energy
Learning from history and from our own experience is usually reckoned a sign of wisdom. Strangely, that appears not to be the view of those employed at Carbon Brief. They have published a strikingly foolish prediction that renewable generation such as offshore wind will be vastly cheaper than gas generation in the late 2020s. That is a long way off. History tells us that price booms in oil and gas markets are invariably followed by price busts.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Gordon
Contact Gordon, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack