‘Eye-watering numbers’: food producers sound alarm on rise in energy charges

Outside, it’s an overcast and blustery February day in Kent – hardly the ideal conditions for growing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Yet inside the enormous glasshouses run by grower Thanet Earth, the climate has been optimised to a humid 20C, perfect for the regimented rows of small pepper plants poking out of raised trays.Growing fresh produce indoors in the south of England year-round requires plenty of energy to provide light, warmth and carbon dioxide. But the site’s energy bills are about to grow too, when a significant increase in electricity standing charges comes into force on 1 April.“It’s a ticking timebomb,” says Rob James, the technical director at Thanet Earth, which supplies most of the UK’s large supermarket chains

High energy prices threaten UK’s status as manufacturing power, business groups say

The UK is at risk of losing its status as a major manufacturing centre after a sharp rise in energy prices that has forced about 40% of businesses to cut back investment, according to a report by the CBI and Energy UK.In a stinging message to ministers, the report said British businesses – from chemical producers to pubs and restaurants – were being undermined by a failure to cap prices and upgrade the UK’s ageing gas and electricity networks.A far-reaching review of outmoded regulations that govern the sale and supply of energy is also needed to spur investment and boost economic growth, the report said.Energy UK, which represents more than 100 electricity generators and retailers, said business electricity costs remained 70% higher than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while gas prices were 60% higher.A survey underpinning the report found that almost 90% of firms have seen energy bills rise over the last five years and four in 10 had reduced investment as a result

US farmers are rejecting multimillion-dollar datacenter bids for their land: ‘I’m not for sale’

When two men knocked on Ida Huddleston’s door last May, they carried a contract worth more than $33m in exchange for the Kentucky farm that had fed her family for centuries.According to Huddleston, the men’s client, an unnamed “Fortune 100 company”, sought her 650 acres (260 hectares) in Mason county for an unspecified industrial development. Finding out any more would require signing a non-disclosure agreement.More than a dozen of her neighbors received the same knock. Searching public records for answers, they discovered that a new customer had applied for a 2

Amazon’s cloud ‘hit by two outages caused by AI tools last year’

Amazon’s huge cloud computing arm reportedly experienced at least two outages caused by its own artificial intelligence tools, raising questions about the company’s embrace of AI as it lays off human employees.A 13-hour interruption to Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) operations in December was caused by an AI agent, Kiro, autonomously choosing to “delete and then recreate” a part of its environment, the Financial Times reported.AWS, which provides vital infrastructure for much of the internet, suffered several outages last year.One incident, in October, downed dozens of sites for hours and prompted discussion over the concentration of online services on infrastructure owned by a few massive companies. AWS has won 189 UK government contracts worth £1

NFL receiver Rondale Moore dies at age of 25: ‘Way too soon. Way too special’

NFL wide receiver Rondale Moore died on Saturday at the age of 25, his former college coach, Jeff Brohm, has confirmed.“Rondale Moore was a complete joy to coach,” Brohm, who worked with Moore at Purdue, said in a statement. “The ultimate competitor that wouldn’t back down from any challenge. Rondale had a work ethic unmatched by anyone. A great teammate that would come through in any situation

Australian aerials team fall just short of surprise medal as Indra Brown’s final delayed by heavy snow

Danielle Scott has been left reflecting on a near miss for another aerials medal at the Winter Olympics as the Australian team prepare for one final delayed push for glory from young star Indra Brown.Brown, who is seeking become Australia’s youngest ever Winter Olympics medallist at just 16, was scheduled to compete in the freeski halfpipe final on Saturday night but more heavy snow in Livigno caused the event to be postponed until the final morning of competition on Sunday (Sunday night AEDT).As Australia’s most successful Winter Games nears the end, the Australian team almost claimed a seventh medal as Scott, who won silver in her individual event, put up a lifetime best run in the mixed team aerials finals.The 35-year-old, who was also named flag-bearer for the closing ceremony alongside moguls gold medallist Cooper Woods, pushed the team into contention alongside teammates Abbey Willcox and Reilly Flanagan.The only team to feature two women and one man in their lineup, the Australian trio surprised the field to qualify third before finishing fourth in the final, falling just 23