Haven Power in $800million deal with Thames Water
Haven Power has signed an $800million deal with Thames Water to supply the water utility with renewable electricity.
Energy Transition
Hearing of seals at risk from turbines
Seals are taking advantage of offshore windfarms to forage for food, satellite tracking has shown. Data from tagging harbour and grey seals on the British and Dutch coasts of the North Sea revealed that 11 harbour seals visited two active windfarms off the German and UK coasts. At both sites, the GPS tracking showed several worked their way through the area in a grid-like pattern, travelling in straight lines between individual turbines where they appeared to focus their hunt for prey. Seals also tracked the path of subsea pipelines, with two seals in the Netherlands encountering a section of pipeline and following it on multiple trips for days at a time, the research published in the journal Current Biology showed.
UK Green Investment Bank invests in construction of the Rampion offshore wind farm
The UK Green Investment Bank has confirmed the acquisition of a £236m stake in the 400MW Rampion Offshore Wind Farm. The project has been developed by E.ON, which will continue to own the remaining shares in the joint venture.
Ethiopia to begin exporting renewable energy to neighbouring nations by 2018
Ethiopia plans to begin exporting renewable energy to a broader range of neighbouring nations by 2018 as part of a cross-border effort to maintain regional energy demand. The move will also limit increases in climate-changing emissions. The Eastern African Power Pool (EAPP) initiative aims to create or expand clean energy transmission lines among about a dozen countries in the region.
Atlas Knowledge secures Iraq training contract
Learning solutions provider Atlas Knowledge has signed a deal with the Ministry of Oil and Baghdad Oil Training Institute (BOTI) in Iraq. The contract will enable the firm to deliver safety and technical training to the country’s oil and gas workforce as part of a project sanctioned by the Ministry of Oil’s Department of Training and E-learning.
Energy policy ‘failure’ for the Western Isles
A former energy minister has accused the governments of Scotland and the UK of overseeing a “dismal failure of energy policy” related to the Western Isles. Brian Wilson said the Western Isles have the highest electricity tariffs in the UK and that 70% of households in the area suffer from fuel poverty, which is worse than anywhere else in Western Europe. That record is particularly galling given that the Western Isles are often said to have the greatest potential for the generation of renewable energy in Europe, according to Mr Wilson, energy minister from 2001-03.
Plexus Holdings lands £1m deal
Plexus Holdings has secured a new £1 million contract with Premier Oil Norge AS. The contract will enable the Aberdeen-based firm to supply its wellhead technology for an exploration well in Norwegian Central North Sea in August.
Proserv reaches “milestone” in Brazil contract
Energy services firm Proserv has completed the first phase of one of its biggest contracts. The Aberdeen-quartered company has delivered three of nine control systems that will support drill pipe riser (DPR) intervention services at depths of 2,500 metres.
Campaigners call from Scotland to tap into solar power
Campaigners are calling for more homes and businesses to make use of solar power after figures showed there was enough sunshine last month to power electricity supplies. Around 35,000 homes and 600 business premises in Scotland currently have solar panels. Data from WeatherEnergy showed that sunshine in Edinburgh in April generated more electricity than is used in an average home - 113% - while in Aberdeen the figure was 111%, 106% in Glasgow and 104% in Inverness. For homes fitted with solar hot water panels, there was enough sunshine in the cities to cover average usage.
Home batteries to store solar power
The launch of a new battery for homes that can store solar power for use in the evenings is “another nail in the coffin of conventional utilities”, it has been claimed. Tesla announced it was launching the wall-mounted lithium ion rechargeable storage units, based on the batteries used in the company’s electric vehicles, at an event in California. Chief executive Elon Musk said: “Our goal here is to fundamentally change the way the world uses energy”, as he launched the new “powerwall” batteries, which are little bigger than a conventional boiler. The technology will cost between 3,000 and 3,500 US dollars (£2,000 - £2,300) and will start shipping in the US in the summer.
‘No escaping’ impact of windfarms in Scotland
A new map shows the full extent of the “industrialisation” of the north-east by the windfarm industry. Produced for the John Muir Trust, it displays “zones of theoretical visual impact” of existing windfarms if there were no trees or buildings in the way. Huge swathes of Aberdeenshire and Moray – and practically all of Banff and Buchan – are affected. Campaigners said the map highlights there is practically no escaping the intrusion of windfarms and single turbines on the landscape.
Irish energy company strikes deal for UK windfarms
Ireland’s top energy company, ESB, has struck a deal with a developer to bring another nine onshore windfarms to the UK. The nine projects being developed by Dublin’s ESB and Berkshire-based Coriolis Energy will have a capacity of 400megawatts, enough to power 225,000 homes.
Wind sector ‘adds £900million to economy’
The renewables industry has hit back at Tory and Ukip pledges to stop new onshore wind farms with a report showing the sector added more than £900 million to the economy last year. According to the study, the onshore wind industry generated £906 million in gross value added revenue to the UK economy in 2014, with £7 in every £10 invested staying in the UK. More than a quarter (27%) of the economic benefits of onshore wind went to the area around the wind farm and almost half (48%) stayed in the UK region where the project was located, the report said. The report by BiGGAR Economics for industry body RenewableUK showed that the revenue onshore wind adds to the economy has risen by £358 million since the beginning of 2012, a 65% increase.
Norway power link could create 200 jobs
Plans have been tabled for a £2billion power link between Aberdeenshire and Scandinavia which could create 200 jobs. The NorthConnect scheme would carry electricity generated in Scotland and Norway to both nations to meet demand. The consortium involved wants to build an onshore converter station in the village of Boddam, south of Peterhead.
Scientists in hydrogen breakthrough
A breakthrough has been made in the development of clean hydrogen power, scientists believe. Researchers at the University of Bath and Yale University in the US have produced a new material for generating hydrogen from water - meaning it is less reliant on fossil fuels. The invention uses a newly designed molecular catalyst to split water in an electrolyser and create clean and storable hydrogen fuel. The research team are now in discussions with a number of energy companies about utilising this technology on a large scale and hope the breakthrough marks the start of contributing to providing the world with more sustainable fuels.
Hydro growth in the pipeline for GHR
A London infrastructure investment firm has made its first foray into hydro-electricity with the acquisition of a Scottish renewable-energy company for an undisclosed fee. Green Highland Renewables (GHR), which has offices in Perth and Dingwall, has been developing run-of-river hydro schemes since 2007, gaining planning consent for more than 50 hydro schemes with approximately 40 megawatts (MW) capacity. Under the ownership of Ancala Partners, GHR will continue to expand its development portfolio and operational assets, a spokesman for the company said yesterday. GHR will also retain its name and management team, he added. Ancala takes over from shareholders including technology investor Scottish Equity Partners and Scottish Enterprise, investment arm of the Scottish Investment Bank. Records published by Companies House show GHR development director Alexander Reading and chief operating officer Ian Cartwright held shares in the company as of February 2015. GHR founder Alistair Riddell and former chairman Ian Wotherspoon were also listed as shareholders.
ITB awarded contract from Stork
A competency firm has been awarded a contract to deliver training courses to Stork. The 12-month deal will enable Aberdeen-based ITB company to supply assessor and verifier courses to OPITO standards to more than 80 operatives at Stork. Jenny Stokes, ITB’s managing director and founder, said the move would help create a stronger workforce.
Lloyds Register Energy forms strategic alliance
Lloyd’s Register Energy has formed a strategic alliance with MaxGrip. The move will see the development of a new risk-based inspection (RBI) software module called ‘strEAM+RBI’. The collaboration leverages Lloyd’s Register Energy’s market leading integrity engineering and RBI experience with MaxGrip’s expertise in software development and its strEAM+ framework. It offers a unique software solution that directly embeds into an enterprise’s asset management application, including IBM Maximo, SAP and INFOR EAM. Andy Scott, VP asset integrity services Americas, Lloyd’s Register Energy, said: “Companies operating in asset intensive industries are seeking ways to balance long term decisions with day to day operational challenges.
Energy firms create ‘confusopoly’
The “deliberately confusing” bills provided by energy companies are the biggest barrier to consumers switching suppliers, according to a study. Confusing tariffs and badly-presented billing information is stopping households from getting the best deal, the report by the CentreForum think-tank for comparison site comparethemarket.com claims. The report warns that switching rates have been in decline since 2012 despite efforts by the UK Government and regulator Ofgem to make it easier to change supplier. Despite identifying general barriers to switching such as a lack of internet access, CentreForum said the biggest problem facing customers was the “deliberately confusing way that suppliers present information”.
Former Treasury adviser hammers renewables in new research
It is claimed in a new report churned out by the Centre for Policy Studies that renewables-based power generation subsidies have destroyed the UK electricity market. Author Rupert Darwall, a former Treasury special adviser, spouts that the costs of intermittent renewables are “massively understated”. He asserts that current UK energy policy represents the “biggest expansion of state power since the nationalisations of the 1940s and 1950s”, that it is “on course to be the most expensive domestic policy disaster in modern British history” and that, by “committing the nation to high-cost, unreliable renewable energy, its consequences will be felt for decades”. And: “To keep the lights on, everything ends up requiring subsidies, turning what was once a profitable sector into the energy equivalent of the Common Agricultural Policy.” In addition to their supposed higher plant-level costs, Darwall states that renewables require massive amounts of extra generating capacity to provide cover for intermittent generation when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.
Solar industry slams green policies
No large scale solar farms will be built under the new green energy subsidy system in the next year, it has been revealed. The industry hit out at “rollercoaster policies” for solar - which it said could be cheaper than gas in a few years - after it emerged neither of the two solar projects which won funding for 2015/2016 in the first renewables subsidy auction of its kind were going ahead. It means only three of the five solar farms awarded subsidies, paid for through consumer bills, in the auction will be built in the next few years, compared to all 15 onshore wind projects which won payments under the new “Contracts for Difference” scheme.
Nuclear site workers face redundancy
Hundreds of workers at the site of a new nuclear power station face being laid off as preparation work comes to an end ahead of a final investment decision. Around 400 contract staff are expected to be affected, as French giant EDF Energy completes earthworks, drainage, welfare facilities and roadworks on the multi billion pound project in Somerset. EDF said it had made good progress on work to finalise agreements which will enable a final investment decision “in the coming months”.
Campaigners urge more support over energy
More support is needed from politicians to reduce energy demand and boost energy storage, according to environmental campaigners. The call from WWF Scotland came as they published figures showing that March broke records for wind power output in Scotland. Their analysis of data showed that wind turbines alone provided the National Grid with enough electricity to supply, on average, the energy needs of 110% of Scottish households, 2.6 million homes. This represents an increase of 16% compared to the same period last year. Overall, wind power generated the equivalent of 57% of Scotland’s total electricity consumption - domestic and non-domestic - for the month.
Offshore windfarm fund nets £463million
More than £460 million has been raised for the world’s first dedicated offshore wind fund to invest in wind farms off the UK’s coasts. The UK Green Investment Bank said £463 million in capital had been committed by investors including UK pension funds and a sovereign wealth fund in the first stage of fundraising for a planned £1 billion fund to invest in offshore wind farms. The Government-backed bank is also investing £200 million in the fund, which is managed by its subsidiary the UK Green Investment Bank Financial Services Ltd, and said that with fundraising continuing it expected to meet the £1 billion target. It has transferred its investments in two existing offshore wind farms into the fund, which will give investors an immediate cash yield.
More Scots back green energy measures
Almost four in five Scots want the next UK government to continue to implement renewable energy measures such as wind and wave power, according to a new survey. Almost two-thirds also want the next government to continue policies that help cut emissions and tackle climate change. A YouGov poll commissioned by industry body Scottish Renewables questioned 1,008 people on February 24 and 25. It found that 79% backed the continued development of renewable energy sources compared to just 26% who back fracking for shale gas, 45% who support new nuclear power stations and 49% in favour of the building or extension of coal and gas-fired power stations.