Wind farm support services need change of mindset, claims Seacat boss
The offshore vessel service industry must consider news ways of working together to support the next round of offshore wind farms, it has been claimed.
Energy Transition
A laptop-sized solar panel is lighting rural Africa
Erasmus Wambua no longer has an excuse for not doing his homework. In the past, the 18-year-old would have to find light elsewhere when his family's off-grid home in the village of Ndela, 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of then Kenyan capital, ran out of paraffin. That's changed since his mother, Rebecca, signed up with M-Kopa, a Nairobi-based provider of solar- lighting systems. The 35-year-old mother says she was paying 100 shillings ($1) a day for kerosine. Her daily expense has since plunged to 42 shillings a day, she said. The laptop-sized solar panel and battery generates about 8 watts of energy, enough to run two LED light bulbs.
Sgurr Energy in jobs boost with China deal
Sgurr Energy has signed a deal worth several million pounds with Chinese lidar manufacturer Oasis. The agreement was announced as Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Beijing. The company said the deal will complement their package of wind farm SgurrOptimiser services.
Hillary Clinton vows to defend, extend Obama climate policy
Hillary Clinton said she would both defend and go beyond the efforts by President Barack Obama to address climate change in the first detailed description of her potential environmental polices if elected president. Clinton released what her campaign said was the opening salvo of the Democrat’s energy and climate change agenda Sunday, while she was campaigning in Iowa. Among other things, Clinton pledged to defend from legal or political attack the Obama administration’s rule to cut carbon pollution from the nation’s fleet of power plants. A Clinton administration would go further, rewarding communities that speed rooftop solar panel installation, backing a contest for states to go beyond the minimums called for in the environmental rules, and boosting solar and wind production on federal lands. A four-page campaign fact sheet said the goal was to increase the share of U.S. power generation from renewable sources to 33 percent by 2027, compared to 25 percent under Obama’s carbon plan. The announcement “makes it more clear than ever that she cares deeply about climate change and will make it a top priority throughout her campaign,” Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, said in a statement.
Amec Foster Wheeler wins Poland power plant contract
Amec Foster Wheeler has won a contract for the design, supply and construction of a new steam generating combined heat and power plant in Poland. The company said commercial operation of the plant is expected to start by the end of 2018 and has the potential to provide heat to around 70,000 households. The plant, which was commissioned by Fortum Zbarze will be built in southern Poland.
Renewable NRG launches new turbine monitoring system
A new user friendly web-based monitoring system for wind turbines has been developed by US-based Renewable NRG Systems (RNRG).
Billions in renewables investment at risk from Government shake-up
The Government's shake-up of the renewable sector could lead to billions of pounds of investment being put on hold it has been claimed.
Cutting solar energy subsidies ‘will reduce household bills’
Solar energy subsidies will be cut under plans set out by Energy Secretary Amber Rudd which she claimed would reduce household bills. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is consulting on plans that would see subsidies for some small-scale new solar farms close by 2016. Ms Rudd said the renewable energy industry could not be given a “blank cheque” and the level of subsidies should be reduced because of a fall in the cost of delivering solar power.
Engie pays £3million to Scottish island community after halting windfarm
An island community is celebrating a £3million windfarm payout - without a single turbine being built. A French company will pay up as part of a "golden au revoir" deal after scrapping its £200million proposal for the Eishken estate on Lewis. Engie, previously trading as GDF-Suez, abandoned the project last October, blaming uncertainty about the laying of a connecting subsea cable to the mainland for its decision.
Solar giant makes $2.2billion acquisition
Solar power company SunEdison aims to expand in the residential and commercial sector after buying Vivint Solar in a $2.2 billion deal.
EDF cuts power as France feels the heat
French power firm EDF may cut output at four nuclear reactors amid hot weather.
Companies urge Osborne not to ditch zero carbon homes policy
More than 200 businesses from the construction, property and renewable energy industries have urged the UK Chancellor George Osborne to reconsider his decision to scrap the zero carbon homes policy.
Green energy subsidies set for further cuts
Subsidies on green energy could be cut further in a bid to hold down energy bills. Ministers are looking to carry out a “big reset” of support given to the renewables industry later this year. The move follows fears that state funding for green energy and a carbon tax on coal and gas will add £175 to the average household bill by 2030. The subsidies currently add around £120 a year to consumers’ costs - some £4.3billion in total.
Ex-minister quits shale developer
Former Tory minister Sir Nicholas Bonsor has quit as a director of UK shale company TomCo Energy as part of a boardroom shakeup.
Scots turbine tech wins engineering Oscar
A team of Scots scientists whose technology has been described as significant as James Watt’s steam engine, have won engineering's top “Oscar”.
Scottish companies ahead of the curve for generating own energy
The number of Scots companies, communities, farms and landowners making their own electricity has risen by more than 50% in the last year generating more than £271million worth of energy, new research has found.
Energy firm to sell power to the people – for less
A new non-profit energy company has been set up to sell cheaper power to around 200,000 homes across Scotland.
New wind turbine powers 1,000 homes
A new 500 kilowatt turbine scheme has been launched by Harworth Estates.
Private power lights up Scotland
The number of companies, farms and communities creating their own electricity has risen more than 50% in a year. Figures show 775 organisations have bought generating equipment in a bid to insulate themselves from rising energy costs and to reduce carbon emissions. The report by independent energy firm SmartestEnergy shows the number was just 509 in 2013.
Briggs Energy strikes eight year deal with DONG Energy
Briggs Marine has won an eight year contract from DONG Energy for contingency and repair of export and array cables for offshore windfarms in the UK and Northern Europe. The deal will cover nine sites in Britain, five in Denmark and four in Germany. Briggs has formed a strong relationship with DONG Energy since last year when it provided interim repair capability for their UK windfarms.
New test site aims to cut pipeline failures
A unique test facility that can help identify and prevent potentially catastrophic pipeline failures around the world has opened for business. The $1.5 million Technology Development Centre in Houston was created by the PRCI (Pipeline Research Council International). It will helps enable operators and pipeline companies to carry out real world testing of onshore and offshore pipelines in one place and then assess how equipment will perform in extreme conditions.
REG extends deal with National Grid
UK green power provider Renewable Energy Generation has extended its contracts with National Grid to provide Short Term Operating Reserve ('STOR') through its existing 26MW bio-power plants.
Economist claims consumers bear £1billion wind farm brunt
A leading economist has claimed consumers have paid a £1billion subsidies penalty - to deliver soaring profits to windfarm operators.
Wind farms now off limits for $7.5billion fund in Australia
Wind farming in Australia suffered another setback with the government banning its A$10 billion ($7.5 billion) renewable energy fund from investing in the industry. The government sent a letter to the Clean Energy Finance Corp. outlining proposed new investment priorities, including a shift away from wind power, Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb said Sunday in an interview on Sky News television The fund should be “investing in new and emerging technologies and certainly not existing wind farms,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott later told reporters in Darwin. His government’s policy is to eventually abolish the fund, he said. Last month, the government outlined plans to appoint a commissioner to oversee wind farms and is backing research into whether they damage people’s health. Abbott has labeled wind farms as ugly and noisy. The decision to prohibit new wind investment is “an extraordinary and prolonged attack on a viable industry,” Australian Wind Alliance National Coordinator Andrew Bray said in an e-mailed statement. Abbott is “hammering in the final nail to the coffin of wind-energy investment himself,” he said. The fund has a mandate to focus on innovation in “the renewable energy space, and not on mature technologies like wind, which can source funds in the commercial market,” Robb said. Plans to change the fund’s investment mandate were first reported earlier by The Age newspaper.
Full steam ahead for biofuel plan
The UK’s biggest railway stations have signed up to a new project turning coffee waste into fuel. Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Victoria and Waterloo, all in London, generate nearly 700 tonnes of coffee waste each year between them. Rather than sending it to landfill, where it would release more than 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, this waste will now go to a factory run by the bio-bean firm to become carbon-neutral biofuels for heating homes, offices and factories.