"It is incoherent to talk of Britain building a sovereign capability in AI while simultaneously refusing to extract the energy upon which it depends." "Data centres are essential to AI and are very energy intensive. But our net zero laws have led to Britain having the highest industrial power costs in the developed world, deterring investment in this frontier technology." "If Mr Burnham is serious about resilience, the first step is to give Rosebank the go-ahead. The next is to tear up the net zero laws that make us so fragile in the first place." @Telegraph #CostOfNetZero

The Chancellor could split Burnham’s Cabinet as Healey backs giving the green light to drilling at the 500m-barrel Rosebank oil field in the North Sea. However, Miatta Fahnbulleh, the Energy Secretary, who will make the final decision has indicated she is minded to turn down the application on environmental grounds. Ed Miliband is also opposed, having previously described proposals for oil extraction at Rosebank as “climate vandalism” that would conflict with the Government’s plans to reach net zero. #CostOfNetZero

The Church of England is facing mounting criticism over its £190m Net Zero programme, as 37 of its 42 dioceses run budget deficits. The Church committed to reaching Net Zero by 2030, funding green upgrades to churches and vicarages. It has since admitted it will miss the deadline. Critics say restrictions on new oil and gas boilers have left parishioners shivering in cold churches, while a new report describes costly initiatives as “unrealistic, extravagant, unsustainable and deeply depressing”. #CostOfNetZero

The risk of winter blackouts has risen for the first time in four years, amid warnings from Britain’s grid operator that net zero is making it harder to keep the lights on. A damning independent report earlier this week warned that Neso control-room engineers were concerned that the switch to renewable energy was making it harder to manage the grid but felt pressure to “convey a positive message”. #CostOfNetZero

British households will pay more on their gas bills to pay for the maintenance costs of an undersea gas interconnector linking the UK and Belgium says Ofgem. Without the pipeline, it warned that the grid would risk gas shortages in a worst-case winter scenario where temperatures plummet and a major system failure happens elsewhere. That could leave power plants without enough fuel or – in extreme circumstances – households without their central heating. #CostOfNetZero

"Miatta Fahnbulleh, the Energy Secretary, is minded to block Rosebank, the UK’s last major untapped oil reserve, citing 'climate obligations'." "This is absurd. Britain contributes less than 1 per cent of global emissions and will keep using oil and gas for decades... The only question is whether it comes from the North Sea, supporting British jobs, supplying significant tax revenue and strengthening our energy security, or arrives from abroad." "Britain has sacrificed its national interest on the altar of net zero for too long." @Telegraph #CostOfNetZero

"The more renewables we build, the more our electricity depends on the weather, the more expensive back-up is, and thus the more problems we have... We don’t need renewables. We need oil, gas, and nuclear," says @DavidGHFrost, warning: "The energy clock has not stopped. It is ticking, and ticking down to economic decline, unless the policy changes. An energy strategy that simply makes Britain poorer and colder is not in the interests of the British people. It is a failure of government dressed up as a moral achievement." #CostOfNetZero

North Sea gas production will increase within weeks after ministers gave approval on Wednesday for drilling in the first big new field in almost a decade. Jackdaw is the UK’s largest known untapped gas reservoir and could account for 6 per cent of North Sea gas production when fully operational. Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, confirmed that Jackdaw, off Aberdeen, will go into production before Christmas. A decision on Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea, will take “a bit longer”. #CostOfNetZero

"Electricity security is not measured by whether the lights stayed on yesterday – it’s measured by whether the system can withstand the failures that might reasonably occur tomorrow," says @KathrynPorter26, warning: "With so many identifiable risks, worrying about blackouts is not scaremongering. Dismissing those concerns without properly addressing them is the bigger danger." #CostOfNetZero

"Enthusiasm for AI is running headlong into the government’s net zero policies, leading to a growing cabinet schism. AI might look modern and clean, yet it is as voracious an energy consumer as all those heavy industries which are being driven from Britain’s shores thanks to high energy prices," says @RossjournoClark, warning: "If Britain wants to be a big player in AI, it is going to have to find significant quantities of power, and reliable power." #CostOfNetZero