The energy management sector is this week bracing itself for sweeping reforms to business energy efficiency taxation and reporting procedures, as George Osborne prepares to deliver his latest Budget.

Lloyds Banking Group has launched a new £1 billion loan fund which will offer preferential rates for commercial real estate owners who meet energy efficiency targets.

Leading businesses have called for mandatory carbon reporting to remain in place amidst rumours the measures could be cut as part of tax reforms.

Businesses falling under George Osborne’s ‘Northern Powerhouse’ moniker have called upon the chancellor to extend greater support for renewable energy in next week’s Budget.

There is a growing appetite among UK businesses to adopt longer payback periods for energy saving improvements according to energy management firm SPIE.

Small and medium-sized enterprises were overcharged for their gas and electricity by as much as £280 million a year between 2007 and 2014, a damning report into the energy market has found.

The new phase of the UK’s RE:FIT retrofit programme is to tackle what its programme delivery unit management has labelled a “loss of urgency” in energy efficiency deployment across the public sector.

A new solar installation has helped a specialist computer manufacturer rapidly reduce its energy consumption as well as gain income from the feed-in tariff (FiT).

Having last week warned that UK businesses are “missing out” on the benefits of renewables, SmartestEnergy chief executive Robert Groves talks to Clean Energy News about the main drivers behind adopting renewables, and the importance for businesses to stay one step ahead of both their competitors and a future hike in oil prices.

A single budget cap is to be introduced across both Renewable Heat Incentive schemes on April 1, with DECC looking at plans to close the non-domestic scheme if spending forecasts exceed the budget.