PSN, the global energy service business, has reported strong revenue and earnings growth in 2007; better than targets set when it was formed two years ago in a £140million management buyout from KBR.
Organisers of the UK's largest renewable-energy exhibition and conference were last night celebrating another record attendance.
A GLOBAL renewables bubble may be developing as bidders compete for assets and send prices up sharply, a survey of more than 200 industry executives compiled by accountants KPMG found.
LIKE Merry, Haslett believes some of the major threats posed by any Severn Barrage would be "siltation" - silting-up both up and downstream of any estuary barrage because of an inevitable reduction in tidal flow velocity.
FRIENDS of the Earth prefers tidal lagoons, with a position paper from the group arguing these could generate 24 Terawatt hours per year of electricity with average output of 2,750MW, compared with 17-19 Twh/year and 1,950-2,170MW quoted for a barrage.
There are several proposals for barrages, as well as tidal lagoons. According to BERR, a barrage would be a very complex project, but the basic concept is well understood and is the application of mature, commercially available technology.
THE first phase of Supergen (Marine) concluded in September, 2007. However, the team was asked to bid for continuing work in 2006 and, once again, the partners were asked to subject their proposals and output from first phase for peer review.
SUPERGEN has an educational as well as a research remit and the associated doctoral training programme will ensure that PhD students attached to Supergen will receive targeted training in their chosen field of research from the most eminent specialists in the field. The programme includes quarterly training sessions and close association between the students and the professional researchers involved in the main Supergen research.
THE development of marine renewable energy has been very close to the frontier of understanding of interactions between energy extraction technology and the very environment it is intended to exploit.
In order to achieve the aims, the emergent programme known as Supergen was divided into 12 parallel, but closely linked, work programmes. They comprise:
According to EWEA, over the last eight years, only new gas capacity has exceeded new wind power capacity in the EU.
EWEA is sticking to the target it set in 2003 of 180,000MW by 2020 and 300,000MW by 2030, 40% of which is expected to be offshore wind. It should be borne in mind that the European Parliament has, for many years, been calling for a mandatory 25% target for renewable energy by 2020, though the current firm commitment is 20% (equivalent to 30% of the community's entire electricity requirements).
EWEA warns that spare electricity generating capacity is at a historic low across Europe (This applies to the UK, including Scotland) and the only way to fix the problem is to invest in new power plant before blackouts become endemic rather exceptional.
AS IF the foregoing isn't enough to chew over, there is also the not-in-my-back-yard brigade to contend with - individuals, various NGOs and other organisations, poorly conceived national and local-government policy and planning decisions, and so forth. With 6,000MW of projects stuck in planning, the UK is a prime example of where there needs to be a big-time sort-out.
All-Energy '08 will eclipse all previous versions of the annual showcase for the UK's renewable-energy sector when it takes place in Aberdeen this week, the organisers said yesterday.
THE Reservoir Group has moved a step closer to achieving its goal of becoming a global leader in downhole drilling products and services to the oil and gas industry.
The world is facing an energy and climate crisis, of that there seems little doubt, though there is a body of opinion which claims these linked themes are hype and that there is no solid basis to either.
Momentum is building towards a new world of sustainable energy, one where there will be heavy emphasis on renewables. But while some technologies such as wind turbines and photovoltaics are increasingly commonplace, marine renewables remain in relative infancy.
Renewable energy isn't just about wind turbines, hydro-dams and such like, there is also a much more prosaic, simpler dimension to this increasingly important sector - biomass.
Academics don't agree on it; there's more than one than proposal, and no certainty that any or all of them will be built. And the cost could be £15billion or more. It is, quite literally, the largest renewable energy project ever proposed in the UK, and it has been around for years.
The results of a recent newspaper poll said that people would not be prepared to pay taxes to help tackle climate change.
With the return of All-Energy I am delighted that Aberdeen City and Shire has another fantastic opportunity to shine in this fast-growing world of renewable energy.
Magnificent woman without a flying machine - All-Energy's Judith Patten and "hunk" skydive for charity. Judith's boundless enthusiasm has done much to make All-Energy the UK's top renewables show
Pressure mounted last night on Chancellor Alistair Darling to use a windfall from North Sea oil returns to cancel a 2p-per-litre increase in fuel duties this autumn.
British Energy said yesterday it had received a range of proposals from several parties wishing to make a full offer for the nuclear-power firm.