We’ve had the Covid pandemic followed by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Both have sent shock waves around the world over the past three years and we’ve seen the cost of living crisis resulting from high energy costs and a surge in inflation combined with much higher debt. These events are a shock to the system but they come and go and the markets ride out the storms. But something far more potentially disruptive and long-lasting persists - the climate situation. We have so far failed to get to grips with the underlying causes - mainly to phase out our reliance on fossil fuels - and as a re ..read more

It's June, another 12 months have rolled by so it must be time to review my SIPP drawdown portfolio at the end of its 11th anniversary. Here’s a link to the previous update of June 2022. The original plan when I started drawdown in 2012 was to generate a rising natural income from which I would withdraw 4% income. This was to bridge the 10 year gap between early retirement at age 55 yrs and state pension. In 2018 my state pension kicked in - currently £10,500 p.a. after a very nice 10.1% inflation uplift in April under the triple lock provisions - so I am no longer reliant on income from ..read more

This 'Steady Eddie' capital preservation investment trust was added to my portfolio back in 2013...sold a couple of years later but then re-purchased in 2020 as I was re-evaluating asset allocation following the Covid-19 shock to global markets. It’s policy is to protect and increase the value of shareholders funds over the long term and the manager Seb Troy and his team aim to achieve this with a mix of diverse assets including global equities, government bonds, gold and cash. Troy are committed to maintaining high standards of responsible investment and since 2019 have been members of ..read more

Since its launch in December 2018, Gresham House Energy Storage (GRID) has developed the largest energy storage portfolio in the country. It operates 20 utility-scale energy storage sytems with a total combined capacity of over 500MW. As we transition from fossil fuel generation to renewables such as wind and solar, we will increasingly need energy storage solutions due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy - the wind doesn't always blow and there's not much solar in the winter months. Currently we use gas-fired generation to fill the gap but we have legislated for net zero carbon em ..read more

Another year rolls by and this is now my 10th end-of-year review since starting my blog in February 2013. And what a year it’s been...Boris gone and replaced by Liz Truss who lasted 7 weeks before being replaced by Rishi Sunak. The passing of our longest serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth in September with many thousands queuing for up to 14 hours to pay their respects. But above all a year dominated by the devastating decision by Putin to invade Ukraine in February. Hard to believe that the decision of one crazy person can bring about widespread deaths, misery and disruption to millions o ..read more

Bluefield Solar (BSIF) was added to my SIPP portfolio in March 2019. Its initial focus was purely on solar power in the UK but in 2020 the Company resolved to broaden its focus to include up to 25% in other forms of renewables such as wind and also energy storage and also expand overseas. They have recognised that storage of renewable energy will become a vital part of the transformation towards net zero emissions over the coming years and I certainly think this is a smart move. In June, the company announced a deal to acquire 109 small-scale onshore wind turbines for £63 million located thro ..read more

ITM Power (ITM.L) designs and manufactures electrolysers which split water to generate clean hydrogen based on Proton Exchange Membrane technology. Last year it opened its new Gigafactory in Sheffield with the prospect of producing 1GW of clean hydrogen each year. It is estimated that the new factory will cut the costs of electrolysers by 40% due to increased automation and economies of scale. ITM was one of the first additions to my green portfolio back in August 2019. Results It has this week announced results for the year to end April 2022 (link via Investegate). The share price ..read more

The US Senate have now approved the Inflation Reduction Act - a landmark piece of legislation which includes $369bn of tax credits and support, the largest in American history, for a range of measures which will reduce carbon emissions by up to 44% by 2030 and keep the US on track to achieve its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. This is less than the 50 - 52% reduction promised by Joe Biden last year but it has been a difficult 12 months trying to get everyone in his own party on board.  However, there is no doubt this is a big deal for the climate as the US is responsible for around 1 ..read more

I’m no expert on energy but in recent months I have been concerned about my ever-increasing energy bills so I decided to take a look at what’s causing these increases...here’s a few observations. So, we have an energy crisis which will cause real hardship to millions over the coming winter months. The latest forecast from BFY suggests that the average family could be paying close to £4,000 by January compared to a price cap of just £1,270 earlier this year. That would be around 40% of the average state pension. Millions of people will be forced into fuel poverty - you would need a household ..read more

Last year, the government decided to up its ambition on climate change and pledged to reduce CO2 emissions by 78% by 2035 and totally decarbonise our electricity grid by the same date. This will basically mean less oil and gas and much more renewable energy. More wind - both offshore and onshore and more solar...however the drawback is intermittency so energy storage will be fundamental to the growth of renewables to facilitate this transition. I’m sure the recent heat waves and wildfires throughout Europe combined with the energy security issues resulting from the Ukraine war will act as a w ..read more