The Walney offshore wind farm, located in the Irish Sea, could triple in size after extension plans for the site were given the government’s seal of approval. The wind farm, which will eventually generate enough energy to power more than half a million homes, is expected to create 230 jobs during construction and an additional 185 jobs annually during its planned 25-year lifespan.
Energy firm SSE said “significant progress” has been made towards a major wind farm development off the Moray coast, as it announced a new partner for the project. The Beatrice offshore wind farm in the outer Moray Firth could generate as much as 750 megawatts of electricity from its 140 turbines when it is up and running. SSE has agreed to sell a portion of its shareholding to fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), which will own 25% of the project after the deal has gone through. SSE will then own 50% and Repsol Nuevas Energias UK will have the remaining 25%.
A way of manufacturing solar cells much more cheaply than at present has apparently been devised in Norway.
German company Schottel says it has successfully tested its hydrokinetic turbine design in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. The full-scale tests included 260 operating hours under realistic conditions. The results show that one turbine with a rotor diameter of 4m generates 50kW per second at a rated water velocity of 2.75m per second. Ten hours of operation provide enough electricity to supply an average household for a month. The Strangford Narrows, Northern Ireland is a strait between the virtually land-locked Strangford Lough and the Irish Sea and features strong tidal currents.
A series of mysterious drone flights over French nuclear reactors recently is exposing a security threat that has authorities scrambling. There have been more than a dozen sightings so far, including one this week, of small unmanned aircraft. They haven’t inflicted damage nor has anyone publicly claimed responsibility, according to atomic operators and French ministers. In spite of government assurances that a probe is underway, the flights have been going on for more than a month.
Councillors ended hopes of a 12-turbine wind farm being erected on top of Mormond Hill yesterday after backing the local authority's planners recommendation to refuse the application. It is the second blow to Muirden Energy in as many months after councillors on the Buchan area committee similarly rejected their plans in October. Green Cat Renewable's director, Gavin Catto, whose company represented Muirden, was present at yesterday's meeting of the Banff and Buchan area committee. He told elected members in Banff that the project could produce more than 100 gigawatts of power annually if they gave it the go-ahead.
Subsea demand is strong and getting stronger, with a backlog for orders at the highest level in more than four years for FMC Technologies.
A pipeline services specialist successfully isolated hydrocarbon pressure for 79 days while a gas valve upgrade project was carried out in the Gulf of Mexico. TD Williamson (TDW) was originally asked by a major oil company to isolate a 16-inch gas riser, which was connected to a major subsea gas pipeline network in order to replace a valve in 2012. However the network operator then asked for three additional valves to be installed, and a launcher extension was added to help facilitate inline inspection tool runs.
Marine-energy developers have been offered the chance to compete for a week of free testing – worth £38,000 ($61,000) – with what is said to be the world’s most sophisticated ocean simulator.
October was a “bumper month” for renewable energy in Scotland, with wind power alone producing more than enough electricity to meet the needs of every home in the country, campaigners have claimed. Wind turbines generated an estimated 982,842 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity last month - with environmental group WWF Scotland suggesting this was enough to power 3,045,000 homes, the equivalent of 126% of the electricity needs of every home in Scotland. WWF Scotland analysed figures from the WeatherEnergy organisation, looking at the estimated amount of power produced by the wind and the sun in Scotland. For buildings fitted with solar PV panels, it is estimated there was enough sunshine last month to provide almost half (46%) of the electricity needs of the average home in Edinburgh, while houses in Inverness could get 38% of the electricity needs this way, compared to 37% for properties in Glasgow and 33% for Aberdeen.
The trade body for Scotland’s renewable-energy industry is calling on MPs to deliver a “green bond” to encourage public investment in the sector. Scottish Renewables (SR) wants the next government in London after the 2015 general-election to make it a priority. The idea is to allow savers to generate returns from the growth of the UK’s green-energy industry, while providing developers with the cash they need to get projects up and running. SR chief executive Niall Stuart said: “The UK needs to invest tens of billions of pounds in the energy sector over the coming years, firstly just to keep the lights on and secondly to continue the move away from fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy.
Oil giant Shell has invested £1million in a programme aimed at helping address the UK’s critical shortage of scientists and engineers. The Perkins Review of Engineering Skills, published last year, called for urgent action from employers to address this shortage. Shell’s three-year funding, which has been invested in the Tomorrow’s Engineer’s Programme, will enable the programme to expand into more than 500 new schools across the UK.
The second stage of South Australia's largest wind farm was officially launched yesterday, ahead of time and under budget.
Businesses interested in offshore wind will have the chance to get involved in a technology innovation programme. A seminar in Inverness will look at how companies in the Highlands and Islands can collaborate and tackle the high costs affecting the industry. The organisers of the event are Energy North, the Carbon Trust and Scottish Development International.
GDF Suez has struck a deal with a community windfarm on the Isle of Lewis to buy all the electricity generated from it. The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Beinn Ghrideag windfarm is the first such agreement of its kind with a community owned renewable generator.
Cable production specialist Tekmar Energy has been awarded a major contract by VBMS to supply one of its innovations to the a windfarm project in the Netherlands. The contract award will see the company’s TekTube used on the Westermeerwind near-shore windfarm.
The £1.6billion West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm achieved its full power output two months ahead of schedule. The development, which can power more than 250,000 homes, was officially opened by UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey today.
Atlantis Resources has signed a 10-year seabed sublease with the Fundy Ocean Research Centre (FORCE) in Nova Scotia. The sublease will provide Atlantis with a berth for tidal turbine deployment in the Bay of Fundy within the area allocated to FROCE under its head lease agreement.
Scotland needs to take ownership of its own renewables future, according to an industry figure.
Collaboration by North Sea states will help tackle Europe’s carbon emissions, an international gathering of CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) emission experts will hear. The SCCS (Scottish Carbon and Capture Storage) annual conference will tell politicians, industry experts and academics that the combined efforts of the industry could see hundreds of years’ worth of Europe’s carbon emissions stored.
National Trust will today launch it latest renewable project in Snowdonia, Wales.
The European Union’s environment agency says the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by nearly 2% last year, putting it in touching distance of its target for 2020.
A course to provide English language skills to oil and gas professionals is to start in Aberdeen.
CKD Galbraith has unveiled two consented renewable energy projects to help tackle subsidy deadlines.
Ashtead Technology has launched a subsea training academy following a near-£500,000 investment.