Monthly Archives: July 2015

Ultra-low emission registrations up 386% on first quarter of 2014 (Image: OLEV)

£5,000 green car grant could go after Government says it will review subsidy

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment

£5,000 green car grant could go after Government says it will review subsidy to avoid ‘exhausting the budget too quickly’

  • Motorists wanting to go ‘green’ with electric cars may need to move quickly
  • £5,000 green car subsidy could soon be phased out, say motoring groups
  • Government will be reviewing grants to avoid ‘exhausting the budget’
  • RAC Foundation said this is likely to spark a rush of orders for plug-in cars

A £5,000 subsidy for motorists wanting to go ‘green’ with an electric car could be phased out imminently, according to motoring groups.

The Government has said it will be reviewing the level of grants for ultra-low-emission vehicles over the coming months to avoid ‘exhausting the budget too quickly’.

It is likely to spark a rush of orders for plug-in cars before any changes from the shake-up come into effect, according to the RAC Foundation.

Over 25,000 claims have been made since the grant was introduced four years ago in a bid to spark a boom in emission-free cars.

The latest electric car grant eligilbiity guidance from the Government’s ‘Office for Low Emissions Vehicles’ spells out:

‘In May 2015 we will commence a review of plug in grant levels.

‘Following this review, new levels of grant will be available per category. We will communicate the changes as soon as they are agreed.’

The Government said:

‘We will announce the new grant levels following our market review, which we will start in May.

‘We will be observing the market over the next few months so we can set the grants at a level that will support the market as effectively as possible without exhausting the budget too quickly.’

For customers ordering an electric or ulta-low emissions vehicle during the ‘transition period’, the Office for Low Emissions Vehicles says:

‘The date that the dealership enters the claim onto our online claim system determines whether the terms of the current scheme or the new scheme will apply.’

Ministers first hinted at a phasing out of the subsidies back in September 2013 but insisted that support in some form would continue until 2020.

Read more: Daily Mail

Shell Assures Nation Most Arctic Wildlife To Go Extinct Well Before Next Spill

Energy and Climate Change, Oil, Opinion

HOUSTON—Stating that any damage would be limited to just a handful of species that somehow managed to survive that long, officials from the Shell Oil Company assured the public Wednesday that most of the Arctic wildlife living near their proposed drilling site will be extinct well before their next oil spill.

“After conducting several environmental impact studies, we can confidently say that our offshore drilling operations pose absolutely no threat to the Arctic’s hundreds of native species, which will have already been completely wiped out by the time any drilling mishap or crude oil spill takes place,”

said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith, adding that the region’s polar bears, walruses, and bowhead whales will most likely be eliminated by some combination of overfishing, ocean acidification, and melting ice shelves long before the first drops of unrefined petroleum begin gushing into the Chuchki Sea.

“We can assure you that there will be no repeat of the BP oil spill, in which a complex, thriving ecosystem was destroyed. At most, only some algae and maybe a few mackerel will still be around when our rig explodes and spews millions of gallons of oil into their habitat, and we believe those species will pretty much be on their last legs by then anyway.”

Smith added that the environmental hazards associated with the initial installation of the rigs will also go a long way toward ensuring most of the fauna has died off prior to any future spills.

Source: The Onion