BT buys 50% stake in windfarm
BT is buying 50% of the electricity generated by the 48-turbine Fallago Rig windfarm in the Scottish Borders in a deal worth around £300million over two years.
Energy Transition
UK renewables suffer downward popularity trend
The UK renewables sector has slipped in global rankings for investor attractiveness for the second consecutive quarter, an EY report has found.
Marubeni now in control of Seajacks
Japanese trading house Marubeni has taken control of offshore construction vessel specialist Seajacks International through buying out a slice of the 50% held by Innovation Network Corporation of Japan.
Saudi Arabia plans $270million venture fund for sustainable energy start-ups
Saudi Arabia’s government and one of the country’s biggest banks plan to start a venture capital fund of as much as 1billion riyals ($270million) to invest in new technology companies.
Islands windfarms to get ‘special treatment’
UK Government proposals to award special status to onshore wind projects on Scottish islands could remove a significant barrier to investment in new projects and pave the way for development there, according to renewable energy experts.
More money rolls into Heriot-Watt oil & gas PhD hothouse
Six of the oil industry's biggest names have confirmed additional funding support for the new Heriot-Watt University-led Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Oil and Gas.
Wind could provide answer to low cost oil and gas EOR
North Sea operators could harness the wind to enhance oil recovery from depleted reservoirs according to DNV GL. Limited use has been made of small turbines to augment power generation on some platforms, but this proposal is much more radical.
Obama’s step forward on carbon met by China’s step back
President Barack Obama is set to take his boldest step to halt the rise of the oceans and stop the warming of the planet. It won’t be enough unless the rest of the world follows. Trimming carbon emissions from U.S. power plants by 25 percent in coming decades, as Obama is said to be proposing, would be more than overwhelmed by increases in China and India where coal-fired power plants are springing up and new cars are rolling out of showrooms.
Tory MSP branded a “hypocrite” over windfarm
A Highland Conservative MSP has been branded a "hypocrite" for trying to make millions of pounds out of a windfarm on his 3,500-acre estate.
First stage of a massive north-east energy scheme poised for approval
The first stage of a massive north-east energy scheme which is forecast to generate thousands of construction jobs is poised for approval. A planned expansion of Peterhead Power Station would clear the way for a £700million subsea link between Aberdeenshire and England. The ambitious project, which is being led by Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (Shetl), would significantly increase the volume of electricity which can be transferred around the UK
Phil Sharp and Imperial College team-up to develop zero-carbon yacht for Vendée Globe
Phil Sharp Racing and the Imperial College London’s Energy Futures Lab have joined forces to develop a zero-carbon racing yacht.
U.S. solar power rises 79% as residential panels beat warehouses
Homeowners and developers installed 1.33 gigawatts of solar panels in the first quarter, the second- largest total on record, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Turbine power surge fears
Anti-windfarm campaigners believe a glut of turbine schemes will send the electricity grid into meltdown and plunge Scotland into darkness. The Scottish Government is considering more than 40 applications for major projects – potentially clearing the way for nearly 1,000 new masts across the country. Each windfarm would be capable of producing enough electricity to power thousands of homes. And objectors say that, if even a fraction of them were approved, the grid would become overloaded and trigger a series of blackouts.
Solar farmers in Japan to harvest energy with crops
Japan’s campaign to boost renewable power supplies since the Fukushima nuclear disaster is producing some unlikely winners: vegetable farmers. Makoto Takazawa and his father Yukio earned 1.7 million yen ($16,700) last fiscal year selling electricity from solar panels that hang in a giant canopy above their farm east of Tokyo. The cash was almost nine times more than they made from the crops growing in the soil below. Harvesting dual incomes from sunlight was a godsend to the Takazawas. They’re among the majority of Japanese farmers who depend on a combination of outside work, pension payments and government subsidies to make a living. The easing of land-use rules and mandates for utilities including Tokyo Electric Power Co. to buy clean energy at premium prices is poised to fuel the spread of panels to more farms. “I was racking my brain to figure out what to do on this land that I’ll take over from my father one day, because growing rice and vegetables doesn’t bring in much money,” Takazawa said. “Then I heard about solar sharing for farmland.”
Video: Electrifying the future
DNV GL’s new report explores how energy industries can play an active role in electrifying the future. It discusses unlocking the third generation of wind power and living the future today with smart grids. Watch the video to find out more about the electrification revolution and critical part renewables has to play.
Statoil aims for offshore windfarm that requires no subsidy
Oil giant Statoil will use its Peterhead offshore windfarm plans to search for a green energy first – turbines that can survive without government subsidies.
Saudi Arabia’s clean energy strategist leaves post, raising questions
The official who designed Saudi Arabia’s strategy to lure $109 billion in investment for solar energy left his post, raising questions over how quickly the effort will progress. Khalid al-Sulaiman, a vice president of the King Abdullah City for Renewable and Atomic Energy, has departed because the government didn’t renew his contract, three people with knowledge of the decision said. Another person close to the executive said he retired. The people asked not to be named because they’re not authorized to speak on the matter publicly. Ka-Care, as the organization is known, was chartered by the king in 2010 to form a strategy on nuclear and renewable energy. Two years ago, it set goals for boosting solar power to reduce domestic demand for oil and natural gas, allowing the kingdom to entrench its position as the world’s biggest exporter of crude. So far, there’s only a handful of small solar projects. “Al-Sulaiman’s departure is a big loss for Ka-Care and the kingdom,” said Vahid Fotuhi, head of strategic advisory Access, a Dubai-based consultant, and president of the Middle East Solar Industry Association. “He is a man of action, and his departure signals that he wasn’t given enough support by the central government to achieve what he was brought to do.”
Video: Carbon War Room influencing the next generation of energy
The need for change is rife with opportunity, according to the chief operating officer of Sir Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room.
Neste Oil launches new low-sulfur bunker fuel
Neste Oil confirmed it will launch a new low-sulfur marine bunker fuel.
Obama’s greenhouse gas rules get unlikely support
The Obama administration’s upcoming greenhouse gas rules are gaining acceptance from an unlikely quarter -- power companies -- and splitting the energy industry’s normally unified opposition to new limits. The proposed regulations set for release on June 2 would mandate deep cuts in greenhouse-gas pollution while allowing smokestack emissions to be offset with enhancements elsewhere in the system, according to people familiar with the plan. Power company executives, while cautioning that they aren’t privy to the plan’s details, greet the Environmental Protection Agency’s promise of a flexible approach with sentiments ranging from eager endorsement to grudging acceptance. “Our goal is to work with EPA to make sure the rule works,” said Joe Dominguez, senior vice president of Exelon Corp. “There needs to be a pathway towards meaningful reductions.”
California carbon allowances sell-out at auction
California, the second-most polluting state in the U.S., sold all 16.95 million carbon allowances at auction for $11.50 each. Units of Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc were among the companies that qualified to purchase the permits put up for sale May 16, a report posted today on the state Air Resources Board’s website shows. The agency doesn’t disclose the names of buyers. The state received 1.46 bids for every permit offered. The allowances, each permitting the release of a metric ton of carbon, were offered as futures linked to them traded near a five-month low on speculation that the market will be oversupplied through at least 2020. State regulators approved additional free permits for polluters including natural gas utilities and oil refiners last month even as a record dry spell shrinks California’s hydropower generation, increasing demand for more emissions-intensive, gas-fired power plants.
All-Energy 2014: Buses just the start of Aberdeen’s hydrogen revolution
Aberdeen's hydrogen buses made a guest appearance at this year's All-Energy conference.
Ewing: Independence will elevate Scotland from the boot to the renewables’ driver seat
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing today said independence would elevate Scotland from the boot to the driver’s seat in the renewable industry.
RGU CO2 ground-breaker bags big Canadian grant
An Aberdeen-based professor has received international funding for an original sustainable energy research project on innovative carbon uses.
France’s Vergnet opens UK base
Vergnet revealed it will launch a new operations and maintenance (O&M) service aimed at the UK market.