Tuesday newspaper round-up: Wind and solar farms, Amazon, energy debt

(Sharecast News) - The government has confirmed plans to move older wind and solar farms which make up almost a third of Great Britain's power market on to fixed-price contracts to help protect households and businesses from future gas market shocks. Under the plans, first revealed by the Guardian, renewable energy projects that earn subsidies on top of the market price will be asked to sign up to contracts that pay a set price for electricity as part of the government's plan to "delink the price of electricity from the price of gas". - Guardian Emails released on Monday by California's attorney general show Amazon allegedly colluding with other companies to raise the prices of pet treats, khaki pants, eyedrops and other products sold online. According to a newly unsealed court filing released by attorney general Rob Bonta, Amazon employees have repeatedly worked with vendors using its platform to push retail vendors including Walmart and Chewyto set higher prices collectively. - Guardian

Poor households are in line to have their debts to energy suppliers paid down by taxpayers under plans being considered by Ed Miliband. The Energy Secretary is in talks to soften the blow of the Iran conflict on family fuel bills with public funds, industry sources said. The move is one option on the table as the Government grapples with ways to provide targeted support and avoid the costly blanket subsidies deployed in the Ukraine crisis. - Telegraph

The UK's fraud office is being sued for more than $167m (£125m) by a Kazakh mining company over a botched investigation that triggered years of legal wrangling. Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) opened a case in the High Court on Monday demanding compensation from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for the "unnecessary" costs it faced from a decade-long inquiry. - Telegraph

Savers want the £402 billion Local Government Pension Scheme to prioritise seeking the best returns over backing UK assets, according to a poll. Almost twice as many people favoured maximising the performance of pensions in the LGPS, one of the UK's largest pension schemes, over "mandated" domestic investments, the survey of 2,011 adults found. - The Times

The founder of Wise is among those backing a British producer of synthetic natural gas, which has raised £25 million as it gears up to build the largest plant of its kind in Europe. Rivan already operates the UK's largest synthetic natural gas plant in the UK and is looking to scale up by opening a new manufacturing facility in south London, as well as accelerating its research and development to help bring down the cost in relation to fossil fuels. - The Times