Amended the 2023 Development Consent Order for Longfield Solar Farm to update technical designs, hedgerow protections, and biodiversity measurement standards.

This Order modifies the Longfield Solar Farm Order 2023 to adjust technical specifications and environmental requirements for the renewable energy project.

It increases the allowed cable circuits for specific grid connection works, updates the planning permission references for Park Farm, and modifies the application of the Hedgerows Regulations 1997.

The Order also mandates that landscape and ecological management plans for the main site construction works demonstrate a minimum of 87% biodiversity net gain using a specific metric.

These changes apply to the developers of the Longfield Solar Farm and the relevant planning authorities in Essex.

Expanded the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to include air-to-air heat pumps for residential properties and extended the grant program's lifespan to 2030.

These Regulations amend the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2022 to expand the scope of eligible renewable heating technologies and extend the duration of the program.

They introduce air-to-air heat pumps as eligible plant for residential properties, remove the mandatory requirement for a valid energy performance certificate, and extend the scheme's operational timeline until 2030.

The regulations apply to heat pump and biomass boiler installers and property owners in England and Wales, overseen by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

The Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2026 were made to continue the fuel poverty reduction scheme until 2031, defining supplier obligations, rebate mechanisms, and spending requirements for energy efficiency measures.

These Statutory Instruments continue the Warm Home Discount Scheme in England and Wales until March 31, 2031, re-enacting and amending provisions from the 2022 Regulations to combat fuel poverty.

The scheme mandates obligations on energy suppliers, primarily through a core spending obligation requiring the provision of a £150 prescribed rebate to eligible 'core group customers' identified by the Secretary of State, and a non-core spending obligation covering industry initiatives like energy efficiency improvements, advice provision, and debt write-off, all administered and enforced by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (the Authority).

Switched the inflation indexing for renewable electricity buy-out prices and mutualisation caps from RPI to CPI effective April 2026.

This Order amends the Renewables Obligation Order 2015 to change the inflation index used for adjusting the buy-out price and the mutualisation cap for electricity suppliers in England and Wales.

It replaces the Retail Prices Index (RPI) with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for all obligation periods starting on or after 1 April 2026.

These changes apply to all licensed electricity suppliers who must either produce Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) or make cash buy-out payments to the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (Ofgem).

The instrument extended the specified period and critical procedural deadlines for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme by nine months, concluding the main obligation period on December 31st, 2026.

This Statutory Instrument, made on March 25th, 2026, amends the preceding Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022 by extending the overall period of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme by nine months, shifting the end date for the home-heating cost reduction target from March 31st, 2026, to December 31st, 2026.

The Order also adjusts several associated deadlines for remaining procedural steps, applications, and measure approvals under the ECO scheme across England, Wales, and Scotland, ensuring consistency with the newly defined final date.

The regulations amended the existing rates for the operational costs levy under the CfD and Nuclear RAB schemes, and the settlement costs levy under capacity regulations, effective from April 2026 onwards.

The Electricity Supplier Payments (Amendment) Regulations 2026 amend three existing regulations establishing levies on electricity suppliers that fund government energy schemes: the 'operational costs levy' for Contracts for Difference (CfD) and Nuclear Regulated Asset Base (RAB) schemes, and the 'settlement costs levy' under capacity market regulations.

These amendments specifically introduce new, varying rates for these levies, effective from April 1st, 2026, extending forward across several subsequent periods to ensure ongoing financial support for these crucial energy infrastructure projects.

The Regulations amended six existing sets of health and safety legislation to explicitly include definitions, licensing rules, operator responsibilities, and safety case requirements for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and offshore hydrogen production activities.

These Regulations, made on 10th March 2026 and effective 6th April 2026, introduce amendments across six major pieces of UK health and safety legislation governing offshore installations and pipelines, primarily to formally incorporate activities related to Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and offshore hydrogen production into existing safety, management, regulatory, and reporting frameworks, ensuring these nascent energy sectors are regulated under consistent safety standards previously applied to the offshore oil and gas industry.

The regulations amended the 2005 Climate Change Levy Regulations to specify electricity used in hydrogen electrolysis and natural gas used in sodium bicarbonate production as non-fuel uses exempt from the levy.

The Treasury enacted these Regulations on March 11, 2026, immediately amending the Climate Change Levy (Fuel Use and Recycling Processes) Regulations 2005 to specify certain industrial uses as exempt from the Climate Change Levy.

Specifically, the amendments introduce hydrogen production via electrolysis and the use of natural gas as a carbon dioxide source in sodium bicarbonate production as 'wholly non-fuel uses', thereby removing the levy charge on the energy inputs for those specific processes.