Jonathan Dart and Tom Wigglesworth
S&P Global Platts 
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September 30, 2019 14:05 UTC 
(0)
UK sugar beet growers have had to face the challenges of an unresolved Brexit process, the weather, and a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides in the run-up to the official October 1 start of the 2019-20 campaign. To get the farmer’s view on the state of the industry, S&P Global Platts visited Park Farm in Thorney, near Peterborough, in eastern England, to meet National Farmers’ Union Sugar Board chairman Michael Sly, along with NFU Sugar head James Northen and commercial analyst Arthur Marshall. |
Andrew Critchlow
Head of news, EMEA 
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July 22, 2019 13:18 UTC
(1)
Energy policy will probably be the last thing on Boris Johnson’s mind if he becomes the next UK prime minister. Navigating a successful Brexit will be his top priority and this means devising an economic plan for future generations. A new energy policy should be at the heart of his vision for Britain outside Europe, but it is going to be expensive. |
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Andrew Critchlow
Head of news, EMEA
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July 16, 2019 09:19 UTC
(2)
Deploying more of the Royal Navy to protect oil tankers from Iranian attack as they sail through the Strait of Hormuz is a short-term fix to a historic problem of providing energy security in the Persian Gulf. Instead of Britain adding to the crowded fleet of warships converging on the region, new export routes such as pipelines and canals should be opened up to provide long-term peaceful alternatives that would finally reduce the world’s dependence on the narrow 21-mile-wide channel dominated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. |
Ben Kilbey
Managing editor, precious metals 
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July 4, 2019 06:30 UTC
(1)
With more auto makers investing big in the electric vehicle space, consumers and forecasters continue to fret over the ability to actually charge these shiny new cars. Worries about the distance a battery can power a vehicle before needing to be plugged in – sometimes referred to as “range anxiety” – have been viewed as one of the major obstacles to growing EVs’ share of the transport market. |
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Andrew Critchlow
Head of news, EMEA
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June 24, 2019 09:16 UTC
(0)
The UK wants to be a world leader in the fight against climate change. Committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to almost zero by 2050 is an admirable but expensive and difficult goal to achieve. |
Rosemary Griffin
Editor
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February 14, 2019 10:04 UTC
(0)
In the event of Brexit there could be long-term consequences for UK-Russia energy links, if the UK’s policy on sanctions against Russia changes to reflect its vocal opposition to the current Russian government, and close relationship with the US. “There is a good chance the UK would eventually toughen sanctions against Russia, if and when a deal to leave the EU is finalized,” Paul Sheldon at Platts Analytics said. Currently the UK is a participant in EU sanctions against Russia introduced gradually since 2014 in response to Russia’s role in the conflict in Ukraine. These include restrictions on Russian oil and gas companies’ access to long-term financing and technology used in offshore Arctic, shale and deep-water oil production. |
Glenn Rickson
Head of European Power Analysis, S&P Global Platts Analytics 
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January 31, 2019 10:03 UTC
(2)
This week marks the start of a new phase in London-Brussels relations. But it has nothing to do with Brexit, and it won’t be political power returning to Westminster as a result of the UK’s departure from the European Union. Instead, the power flowing across the English Channel will be of the electrical variety, as the Nemo electricity interconnector – the first direct connection between the UK and Belgium – begins commercial operations on 31st January. The 1 GW link will be capable of supplying enough power to meet the electricity needs of 2.2 million UK homes. |
George Griffiths
Editor, global container shipping 
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January 23, 2019 15:59 UTC
(2)
As the UK’s self-imposed Brexit deadline of March 29 looms, some market participants in the container shipping industry are bracing themselves for a boost in rates. Hopes of more clarity on the future relationship between the UK and the EU were dashed after Prime Minister Theresa May lost a vote in the House of Commons on her negotiated deal with the EU on January 15, in the greatest defeat of a sitting government in UK history. |
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Andrew Critchlow
Head of news, EMEA
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January 21, 2019 10:25 UTC
(1)
Hitachi’s decision to down tools on its proposed £16 billion ($20.6 billion) nuclear project in Wales, announced on January 17, could be a blessing in disguise for British consumers. Instead of further subsidizing a globally declining industry, the government has simpler alternatives to ensure long-term energy security and affordable electricity prices for all. Natural gas, more renewables, storage and demand response are cost-efficient solutions with significantly lower risk than bankrolling the potentially ruinous cost of atomic fission. |
Henry Edwardes-Evans
Associate editorial director
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January 3, 2019 12:12 UTC
(2)
Years late and massively over-budget, Europe’s first EPR nuclear plants in Finland and France are on the verge of “energizing”, as the sector jargon goes. Barring last-minute glitches, this will be the final act in what must be the longest-running construction saga in the region. |
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