Scottish Government puts moratorium on underground coal gasification
The Scottish Government has announced it has put in place a moratorium on underground coal gasification (UCG) in Scotland, following on from its existing fracking moratorium.
Energy Transition
Amec Foster Wheeler to lead UK nuclear industry research programme
Amec Foster Wheeler has been selected to lead a new project to set up a high-temperature facility (HTF) for nuclear industry research.
Solar overtakes wind as renewable source in Australia
Solar power became Australia’s largest source of renewable energy in 2014, with a cumulative installed capacity of 4 gigawatts (GW), overtaking wind power.
Electricity from coal falls while natural gas rises in US
The monthly natural gas share of total US electricity generation surpassed the coal share in July for the second time ever, with natural gas fueling 35.0% of total generation to coal's 34.9% share.
Indonesians get first-hand view of Orkney’s marine energy expertise
Marine renewable energy experts and senior government staff from Indonesia have visited Orkney to see what lessons they can learn from the industry in Scotland.
School solar panel scheme threatened by cuts, charity says
A scheme which helps schools install solar panels on their roofs is under threat from drastic Government cuts to renewables subsidies, its backers have warned.
UK wind industry sees £1.25bn investment, supports 30,000 jobs
The UK saw £1.25 billion invested in wind power last year, as the industry supported more than 30,000 jobs, a report suggests.
Statkraft to push ahead with South Lanarkshire windfarm
Europe’s largest producer of renewable energy is pressing ahead with the development of an onshore wind project in Scotland. Statkraft is working on the Andershaw windfarm in South Lanarkshire following the successful construction of the 36MW Berry Burn windfarm. Construction of Andershaw is expected to begin later this month starting with work to construct the roads, turbines bases and substation.
Scotland leads the way in onshore wind, while England surges ahead in offshore
Scotland is taking the lead in Britain as it forges ahead with deploying onshore wind, according to new findings by Renewable UK. The report “Wind Energy in the UK” says although England is missing out on some of the economic benefits of onshore wind it is trailblazing ahead in the offshore wind sector. More than 60% of UK onshore wind projects are now installed and operational in Scotland generating an annual turnover of £211million. The overall turnover for the UK as a whole was £402million – with Scotland bringing in more than half of that revenue.
SunEdison in mass lay-offs
SunEdison is set to cut its workforce by 15%.
Merkel pledges 1billion Euros to fund Indian solar projects
Germany pledged an investment of over 1billion euros ($1.1billion) in Indian solar power projects as Asia’s third-largest economy looks to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
Picture gallery: R2S image capture technology like Street View for oil rigs
The Aberdeen company at the forefront of creating visual mapping of oil and gas installations has been likened to a creating version Google's Street View for oil rigs.
Renewable energy can stand on its own two feet says Rudd
Renewable energy sources can “stand on their own two feet” and must become cheaper than fossil fuels before widely replacing them, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd has said.
Kazakhstan becomes top uranium supplier to US nuclear reactors
Kazakhstan became the leading supplier of uranium for the 100 operating US nuclear power reactors in 2014, according to US Energy Information Administration.
Youngsters get taste of engineering at Aberdeen event
An Aberdeen-based not-for-profit organisation held an event to inspire the next generation of engineers.
ABB launches inverter extensions at solar trade show
Power technology giant ABB will showcase its most powerful central inverter to date at a solar industry event next week.
Here’s what the G20 nations are pledging on climate change
The United Nations last December set a deadline of Oct. 1 for countries to submit pledges on what they’re prepared to do to rein in fossil-fuel emissions as part of their contribution to a new deal to fight climate change.
Energy customers face Halloween price hike fright
Energy customers are facing a potential “Halloween horror” from rocketing bills - as 12 fixed dual fuel deals are due to expire at the end of October.
Fusion reactors hailed as future of nuclear energy
Fusion reactors could become an economically viable way of generating electricity within decades and replace traditional nuclear power or fossil fuels, scientists have said.
Renewables to lead world power market growth to 2020 says IEA
Renewable energy will be the largest source of new power generation capacity worldwide over the next five years, installing 700 gigawatts, which is more than double what utilities produce today in Japan, the International Energy Agency said.
Atlantis Resources boss anticipates sea change in energy mix
When Atlantis Resources finally completes its world beating tidal energy development in the North of Scotland, don’t expect exciting photo opportunities to mark the occasion - there’ll be nothing to see. Atlantis’ huge MeyGen project in the Pentland firth will be the world’s biggest tidal project: up to 269 turbines providing almost 400MW - enough electricity for 175,000 Scottish homes. But all that power and infrastructure won’t be visible from the nearby Caithness and Orkney shorelines because all the action takes place below the waves.
Trade body warns solar jobs could be at risk
Over 100 jobs could be at risk in Aberdeen due to proposed cuts to the feed-in tariff for solar energy projects, a trade body has warned. The Solar Trade Association warned the jobs of up to 27,000 people employed in the solar energy sector and its supply chain are under threat around the UK, with as many as 2,400 of the 3,000 solar jobs in Scotland at risk. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) proposed at the end of August to cut the tariff paid for electricity generated by solar rooftop panels by 87% - from 12.4p to 1.6p.
Approval for solar park at site of exploratory oil drilling scheme
Plans for a community-owned solar park to help power a village which was at the centre of Britain’s biggest anti-fracking protests have been approved. Campaigners said the 5MW solar park would not only match the electricity demand of Balcombe in West Sussex but also the nearby village of West Hoathly. In the summer of 2013, thousands of protesters descended on Balcombe after energy firm Cuadrilla started exploratory drilling for oil, sparking fears that it would go on to frack there.
Ice-cream firm Mackies launches Scotland’s largest solar farm
A Scottish ice-cream firm has joined forces with Absolute Solar and Wind to create Scotland's largest solar farm. The 7000-panel facility in Aberdeenshire, which is capable of producing enough electricity to power 485 homes, is now ready to be connected to the national grid. A fourth 400kw wind turbine and a new biomass energy plant have also been constructed at the site as part of Mackie's plan to become a carbon-neutral business.
Renewables saved one million tonnes of CO2 per month in 2014
Output from the renewable energy sector saved about one million tonnes of carbon emissions each month last year, figures show.