So it comes as a bit of a blow that Prince Philip has now called them “absolutely useless”.

Amongst other things, he said that the turbines never work and that supporters of wind power “believe in fairytales”, which is hardly the kind of publicity the industry is looking for right now.

However, wind power has never been far away from controversy.

One of the chief objections to wind power as a possible alternative to carbon fuels is that large areas of the country will have to be covered in plants if the government wants to meet its objectives.

The Prince’s remarks were made to Esbjorn Wilmar, who is the boss of a wind-turbine company, Infinergy, which is based in Dorset. He said that he was surprised by the Prince’s views.

But although the Duke has always had a reputation for being outspoken, his remarks have already been backed by some who have said that he is right and that consumers should not be forced to pay for wind farms.

One of the biggest problems with wind power is that a large proportion of the annual income for onshore wind farms comes from subsidies, and the amount is even greater for offshore farms.

The Prince’s remarks have to be given some credit given that he is an environmentalist and clearly wants the best green energy for the UK.

One of the biggest problems highlighted by Ofgem following its review is that many businesses are finding that their energy contracts are renewed without them knowing once they have come to the end.

These contracts can sometimes last for years, and this is something which Ofgem wants to change.

It wants to introduce measures which will mean that energy suppliers will have to provide businesses with a clearer notice of when their contracts are coming to an end so that they can make a more informed decision about whether they would like to continue with it.

It also wants to make it easier for businesses to be able to change their energy providers in the future to take advantage of more competitive deals.

It has warned that those energy suppliers who do not conform to the new regulations will have to pay fines as a result, although it did not go into details about the size of these.

As a part of its new measures to make the energy market more fair for business customers, Ofgem is also going to seek new powers which it currently lacks to take action against brokers.

All in all, the new measures sound like very good news for business energy customers and will hopefully lead to a simpler and fairer system.

The decision by Npower to increase its bills was widely anticipated, following the price rises by four of the other five major power companies. It now means that Npower customers can expect to pay an average of £133 extra for their gas and electricity each year.

The above-inflation rise will come into effect from October 1, and will affect 3.3 million households in the UK.

Gas bills will rise by 15.7%, with electricity rising by 7.2%. This means the average dual-fuel customer will see bills go up from £1,149 to £1,282, a rise of 12.2%, according to uSwitch.com.

Customers will be frustrated to learn that the price hikes have been blamed yet again on rising wholesale prices. But many consumer groups have reacted angrily and have stated that the prices of wholesale energy are decreasing, and that when the prices were low customers did not see any real benefits. Indeed, wholesale costs are down by about a third from their peak.

Now MPs have even asked the Competition Commission to investigate wholesale prices and the energy rises by the major power providers.

In its defence, Npower has said that the rises are less than those made by its competitors, but that will be small consolation to its customers who will now be preparing for yet another difficult winter.

All eyes are now on EDF Energy to see if it decides to join the club and raise its own prices, a possibility which is becoming increasingly likely.

It has joined three other companies – Scottish and Southern Energy, Scottish Power and British Gas – who have all raised their own prices recently.

Just after this news came out, it was also revealed that npower is increasing its bills, which leaves EDF as the only one of the major energy providers yet to increase its gas and electricity costs.

Once again, the reason for the rise in prices is the all-too-familiar excuse of rising wholesale prices.

The price rises will take effect from September onwards, and once again the advice for E.ON customers is to take the opportunity to switch before they are forced to pay an extra £170 a year for their dual-fuel bills.

The managing director of E.ON, Graham Bartlett, said that events in Libya and Japan, and the uncertain times in general, have had a large effect on energy prices, and that wholesale prices have rocketed during the year by 30% since last winter.

The company has pledged to help its customers deal with the rises by providing help including insulation advice and the installation of solar panels for just £99.

The Guardian, which reported on the news, quoted Energyhelpline which claims that an extra 140,000 people will now fall into fuel poverty. The newspaper also quoted the chief executive of Consumer Focus, Mike O’Connor, who said that bills are high even though wholesale prices are now a third lower than in 2008.

The contract has been signed with Cross Keys Homes and, according to Mears, will be the biggest PV scheme for social housing in the UK.

As part of the partnership, the installation costs will be covered by British Gas. The energy giant is set to recoup its investment over a period of 25 years through the Feed-In Tariff.

The role of Mears Group will be to carry out many of the installations, including providing the scaffolding and electrical components.

The first panels to be fitted in the scheme should be installed by September, and work on the project is expected to be completed by April 2012.

The chief executive of Mears Group, David Miles, said that the company saw “increasing opportunities in this area” and that the partnership with British Gas provides the company with access to expertise and funding.

PV solar panels are one of the best ways in which people are able to reduce their carbon footprints and take advantage of a completely free and ongoing source of power. The FiT scheme has been set up to encourage more installations of solar panels to help people across the UK to cut down on their energy consumption and start to enjoy the benefits of using the sun’s power instead of relying on fossil fuels.

This scheme is a step in the right direction, and will hopefully lead to many more similar schemes over the years ahead.

These devices can be used separately or concurrently to keep track of exactly how much energy usage is taking place. Take control of your energy budget by using these devices to see what appliances use the most energy. Monitor your exact usage over time to see what time of day the majority of your energy consumption happens. Find ways to reduce that consumption with real-time estimated energy use translated into kilowatt hours. Say goodbye to estimated bills for good with the use of automated meter reading. View your energy usage over time with your own personal online account. Read on and find out the differences between these new advances in energy monitoring technology.

Smart metering uses the latest in upgraded technology for automatic, accurate reading of energy usage. Smart meters replace your current gas or electric meters; both digital and manual readout models. Once a smart meter is installed, there is no longer a need for a representative from the energy company to come out to take a reading. The unit uses mobile communications technology to instantly and accurately provide energy usage directly to the utility. This automatic process eliminates human error and provides complete and total accuracy. Your energy usage information is captured on a regular basis, approximately every 30 minutes for electricity usage and once a day for gas usage. The information gathered is stored on an online account for easy access by the customer. With user-friendly line graphs or bar charts, your personal energy usage is easily viewed and interpreted. This allows the customer to see exactly how they are using energy throughout the day, thereby having the knowledge to tailor their usage to conserve both energy and money.

Some utility companies offer free smart meters to homeowners and/or business customers; these are First Utility (homeowners) and Opus Energy (businesses).

Energy monitoring is a less sophisticated technology that uses a stand-alone device that sits in the home and gives an estimated account of electricity usage. A home energy monitor is not 100% accurate but does give you the option of real time output. These units can help identify which appliances cost the most to operate and give you a visual representation of patterns and costs throughout the day. Imagine being able to see a rough estimation of just how much your energy usage translates into kWh, actual costs, and the level of CO2 created by your energy usage. This allows customers to cut down the use of appliances that consume the most energy, both reducing cost to the consumer and reducing your carbon footprint on the environment.

Energy monitoring units are now provided by a number of suppliers such as First Utility, Southern Electric and British Gas to name but a few.

The London 2012 Olympics will draw a global audience of billions, making it one of the biggest sporting tournaments on the planet (second only to the football World Cup, in fact), as well as being a sponsors’ dream. But environmentalists and pressure groups insist that the Olympics’ profile does not mean its organisers are exempt from doing all they can to prevent any harm to the environment.

Amongst the groups’ concerns are worries about a lack of electric-powered vehicles at (and to and from) the Games, and whether many of the temporary materials being used there are actually recyclable.

Some environmentalists assert that, through lowering carbon emissions as much as possible, the London 2012 Olympics could in fact be seen as ‘leading the way’ when it comes to promoting renewable energy around the globe – enhancing the Games’ reputation even more as it ‘makes its name’ as recent history’s most sustainable event!

However, with the wind turbines option having now been dismissed (supposedly for ‘safety reasons’), the London 2012 Olympics organisers are struggling to reduce the Games’ carbon footprint in new ways.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to reduce carbon emissions. And although they have said that they are committed to doing so, their decision to seek an alternative to using wind turbines is proving much more difficult than originally expected (despite seeking the advice of key sustainability partners, such as BT).

Meanwhile, time marches on towards the Games’ opening ceremony date, and a fresh concern amongst environmentalist groups is that the ODA is now starting to abdicate responsibility (for finding a wind turbines alternative) to the renewable energy industry itself, which they insist is best placed to offer a solution to the problem.

To top-up with electricity credit, EDF Energy customers with a prepayment meter at their home insert a special plastic key into it, adding credit as and when they need to. They can buy the credit at newsagents, small supermarkets, and post offices displaying the PayPoint sign.

EDF Energy has acted quickly to warn customers of the bogus salesmen’s fraudulent activity, and is doing everything it can to combat it; however, many customers using the company’s prepayment meter scheme have already fallen for the scam, and so are effectively paying twice for their electricity.

Although it is not yet clear how long the tricksters have been in operation, the current economic climate is undoubtedly providing them with the perfect opportunity to take advantage of customers who would see a 50% saving on heating their homes as a godsend.

Heavy snow across the UK during the recent harsh winter also meant that many EDF Energy customers were unable to leave their homes at times to buy credit for their prepayment meter from PayPoint outlets. Discounted prepayment credit from doorstep salesmen would have seemed like a wonderfully convenient option, therefore.

Customers topping up their energy supply in this way are easily identifiable by EDF Energy, and should be aware that they will still be liable for the full credit value, once traced. Those who fear they may have bought illegal credit can call EDF Energy free on 0800 096 5040.

However, this hurdle is about to be overcome now that two companies have announced a new charging network across the UK and Ireland for EVs that relies exclusively on green energy.

Green Motion Limited is teaming up with Green Energy Plc to launch the Network One charging stations across the UK in a move that will create 30 jobs and allow EV drivers to get around without having to rely on electricity that is produced from fossil fuels.

Now those people who are keen to drive EVs in a way that does not harm the environment at all will find it a lot easier to charge up their vehicles with electricity generated from wind power, solar power and other green sources.

Green Motion already operates charging stations with Network One in Germany, France and Switzerland. Its success in those countries has led it to launch the network over here, and when the network arrives in the UK it will be the first one in the country to allow cars to charge with renewable energy.

By 2018, Green Motion is predicting that a total of 100,000 charging stations will be up and running in the UK, which will consist of both its Network One charging stations and other standard charging stations. Of these, 40% are expected to be installed in homes, 50% in locations such as supermarket car parks and 10% in the streets. The government has announced that it will install 25,000 by 2015.

The managing director of Green Motion, Stewart Mckee, called the partnership “game changing” and said that it was “hugely significant to the UK’s global technology position.”

The price hikes began in November when Scottish Power’s electricity bills went up by an average of 8.9% and gas by 2%. This was followed by Scottish and Southern Energy who increased prices by 9.4%, followed shortly by a 7% rise in both gas and electricity for British Gas and a 5.1% increase for both for Npower. E.On also announced a 9% increase in electricity prices and a 3% increase in gas.

According to price comparison website Uswitch.com, the change to EDF’s pricing will mean the average annual bill for their customers will go up by £72. It is estimated that the average increase across all suppliers is lower at £63, but Uswitch’s Ann Robinson says that EDF’s customers were protected from a price increase in the winter, when the impact would have been more severe.

EDF regrets the price increase but claims that like other energy companies it has been constrained by a multitude of insurmountable issues such as wholesale costs, network charges and environmental costs. Martin Lawrence, a senior manager from the company, insists that even though he is disappointed by the increase, he is glad the company “held out longer” than its competitors, and did not put up its prices in the winter, during which time it officially had a price freeze.

Energy regulator Ofgem is currently reviewing the domestic energy market to see if any actions need to be taken against the price increases. The work will be completed by the end of March. A similar investigation was also conducted in October 2008, but no evidence of malpractice by the energy suppliers was found.