One of the leaders of an attempt to fly a solar-powered plane around the world has said tackling climate change will create jobs, profits and economic growth.
Ahead of crucial UN talks in Paris on securing a new deal to curb greenhouse gas emissions, Bertrand Piccard, chairman and pilot of Solar Impulse, urged people to take part in the “huge adventure of the 21st century” of switching to clean technology.
The zero-fuel Solar Impulse 2 has broken distance and duration records for solar aviation, and in July completed a gruelling four-day 22-hour flight from Nagoya in Japan to Hawaii, where it is undergoing repairs before attempting the next leg of its trip.
Construction of a new renewable energy plant has been temporarily suspended, affecting 700 workers.
Air Products said it had decided to temporarily halt building a second energy-from-waste plant in Tees Valley.
The company said that as with many ground breaking projects, improvements were identified as construction advances.
RenewableUK will launch a new accord which will allows its member companies to demonstrate their commitment to health and safety standards in wind, wave and tidal energy.
Companies which sign up will be committing themselves publicly to supporting a common set of shared values and principles in health and safety.
These include taking a pro-active lead on health and safety matters as well as ensuring the right training is in place.
Sena Development said it aims to boost its solar power capacity to 100 megawatts (MW) over the next three years in a bid to boost its renewable energy profits.
The company is among several Thai companies which is looking to diversify into solar energy, with the government aiming to boost its capacity to 6,000 MW in the next two decades.
As part of the move, a new subsidiary has been set up called Sena Solar Energy, which has a registered capacity of $14million.
Catholic bishops across the world have called for a “major breakthrough” on a global deal to tackle climate change at talks in Paris at end of the year.
The worldwide call from the Catholic Church appeals for a strong limit to rising temperatures, the phasing out of emissions from fossil fuels and measures to protect the poor and vulnerable from the impacts of climate change.
In a 10-point proposal, the Catholic cardinals, patriarchs and bishops call for a “fair, transformational and legally-binding global agreement” which recognises the need to live in harmony with nature, protects human rights and sets a goal to decarbonise the world economy by mid-century.
Billionaire investor Guy Hands is set to take Infinis private in a deal that values the windfarm developer at £555million.
Infinis chairman Ian Marchant, who occupies the same post at Wood Group, agreed to the deal citing a “challenging regulatory and political environment” that has “adversely affected both the cash generation and the growth prospects” of the firm.
Hands’s buyout firm Terra Firma Capital Partners already owns 68.5% of Infinis and will pay 185p in cash for each outstanding share − a 40% premium on yesterday’s close.
The Government has been relentlessly strangling the UK’s green energy sector, arguing that this is all part of their campaign to reduce energy bills for consumers. Now, not only are we risking inflating our energy bills in the future, but we are also at risk of handing control of our future energy security to China.
Aberdeen MP Callum McCaig has called on the UK Government to rethink its plans to end a renewables subsidy scheme a year early after it suffered a defeat in the Lords.
Labour put forward an amendment to the Energy bill, deleting the policy to close the Renewables Obligation to onshore windfarms from next April, which was carried by 242 votes to 190.
Energy minister Lord Bourne warned peers to “move carefully”, but his opposite number Baroness Worthington said early closure would save no more than 30p per household each year.
Apple is cleaning up its manufacturing operations in China to reduce the air pollution caused by the factories that have assembled hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads during the past eight years.
The world’s most valuable company is working with its Chinese suppliers to eventually produce 2.2 gigawatts of solar power and other renewable energy.
The commitment represents Apple’s latest attempt to prevent the popularity of its devices and digital services from increasing the carbon emissions that are widely believed to changing the Earth’s climate.
Apple estimates 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution will be avoided as more of its suppliers rely on renewable energy between now and 2020. That is like having four million fewer cars on the road for a year.
Energy Secretary Amber Rudd has rejected claims the renewables sector is under attack from the UK Government.
The Conservatives have been criticised by the industry for the early closure of the Renewables Obligation (RO) subsidy amid warnings it will deter investment and risk thousands of jobs.
Concerns have also been raised that ending the scheme from April – a year earlier than expected – will increase carbon emissions significantly.
Donald Trump took his latest objection to plans for an offshore windfarm near his north-east golf resort to the Supreme Court yesterday.
The US tycoon is appealing against the Scottish Government’s decision to approve the 11-turbine scheme at Aberdeen Bay amid fears it will spoil the views from his golf resort at Menie, near Balmedie.
But last night the presidential candidate was accused of trying to “kill off” economically beneficial projects, and was urged instead to “do good” with his wealth.
WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said Mr Trump was “wrong to be trying to frustrate Scotland’s ambition to create clean power and green jobs”.
Companies including Nike, Procter & Gamble, Asda-owner Walmart and Starbucks have pledged to use 100% renewable electricity.
Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Salesforce, furniture company Steelcase and financial firm Voya Financial have also made the commitment to source all of their electricity from renewables to reduce carbon emissions and seize business benefits.
The announcement by the US firms made at the Climate Week event in New York brings the number of companies around the world which have made the “RE100“ commitment to renewables to 36,
including Marks & Spencer, BT Group, Nestle and Ikea.
Campaigners have hailed the early closure of a subsidy scheme for onshore wind projects – while renewables experts last night warned it will deter investment.
Jenny Hogan, director of policy at Scottish Renewables, warned firms were at risk of “shutting up shop altogether” and that 5,400 jobs had been put at risk by the withdrawal of the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme.
Ending the subsidy – funded by levies to household bills – a year earlier than expected could cost up to £3billion of investment, she added.
Ms Hogan also called for the Westminster Scottish Affairs Committee to consider holding an inquiry on the move, which she said would have a disproportionate impact on Scotland.
India’s Power Minister Piyush Goyal said disputes blocking a hydroelectricity project worth at least $1.4 billion have been cleared, part of a drive to revitalize the industry as he targets an unprecedented expansion in renewable energy.
Resolving the years-long delay in the Teesta-III project in northeastern Sikkim state near China will make hydroelectricity more alluring to investors, according to Goyal. One of his major challenges is finding the $200 billion India needs for a goal of 175 gigawatts of green-energy capacity by 2022.
“If you go back in history for the last five years, the entire hydel industry has come to a standstill in India,” Goyal, a 51-year-old former banker and chartered accountant, said in an interview in New Delhi on Tuesday. “We’re going to revive it.”
Plans to expand one of Aberdeenshire’s biggest windfarms have been lodged.
The owners of Glens of Foudland, near Huntly, first unveiled plans to add another nine turbines to their existing 20-mast development last year.
After a public consultation revised plans for seven 328ft turbines have now been submitted to Aberdeenshire Council.
Natural gas, once seen as a clear winner in President Barack Obama’s push for cleaner power, isn’t looking like much of a champ these days.
That so-called bridge that gas was supposed to be, leading America away from dirtier fossil fuels such as coal and toward renewable power, just got a lot shorter under the final Clean Power Plan released by the US Environmental Protection Agency on Monday.
The agency will reward early investments in wind and solar power to get the nation generating 28 percent of its power using renewables by 2030, up from a previously proposed 22 percent.
The more aggressive goal weakens natural gas’s role in America’s energy future in favor of a quicker transition to zero-carbon sources of electricity. It’s yet another blow for gas producers who’ve seen prices for their fuel slide amid a glut of supply from shale formations.
I find it impossible to feel anything but raw anger towards the Westminster Conservative Government’s policy on renewables and energy policy in general. Here is a government stating on the one hand that the country has to support the “makers” and export more yet on the other effectively stamping out a globally important growth industry with huge potential.
So far, Cameron & Co have scrapped or dramatically reduced support for onshore wind, solar, biomass, the Green Homes scheme, is selling the Green Investment Bank, has done away with the policy of building Zero Carbon Homes, reduced the incentive to move to lower emission vehicles and, of course, decided that the Climate Change Levy, which had been restricted to providers of non-renewable energy to businesses, will be imposed on renewable energy providers as well.
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.
An emergency summit convened in the wake of Westminster’s decision to scrap a subsidy scheme for onshore wind farms was attended by more than 200 people, the Scottish Government said.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing organised the talks after the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced it would end payments under the Renewables Obligation a year early.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and others in the Scottish Government have already spoken out against the decision, which industry leaders Scottish Renewables fears could put up to £3 billion of investment in Scotland at risk.
Onshore wind capacity in Serbia is expected to surge by 2025, boosted by a number of new projects in the country.
The total onshore wind installed capacity will increase from just 20 (MW) Megawatts last year, to an estimated 542MW in the next 10 years.
Serbia’s wind capacity has been boosted in the past three years by a number of new projects.
Renewable Energy Limited has struck a deal with Juwi Renewable Energies for its solar project in Cornwall.
The engineering, procurement and construction contract means Juwi will assume responsibility for the supply, installation and commissioning of equipment at the Mendennick solar project.
The deal is in addition to a further five year contract to provide long term operations and maintenance services.
By Professor Peter Strachan and Professor Alex Russell
Amber Rudd the Tory Government’s new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has made it clear she intends to make substantial changes to onshore wind financial support schemes in compliance with her party’s manifesto pledge to end “new public subsidy” for renewable wind power generation.
There may be some public support for this move if it is perceived as an attempt to create a level playing field for providers of energy, which would indeed be an admirable ambition.
But in reality such a policy change almost beggars belief. Perhaps the only great achievement of the late UK coalition government, with a huge amount of support from Holyrood, has been the successful deployment of onshore wind power generation; the achievement of renewable energy targets in Scotland is testimony to this success.
The Scottish energy minister has called on the UK Government not to “slash” support for onshore wind energy and undermine efforts against climate change.
Fergus Ewing’s appeal comes as UN climate negotiations get underway in Bonn this week, in advance of talks to be held in Paris later this year.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) is expected to announce measures to deliver on the Conservatives’ manifesto pledge to “end any new public subsidy” for onshore windfarms.
This week Mr Ewing will make the case to Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd on the need to continue support for the onshore wind sector as a way of driving down emissions, creating jobs and “keeping the lights on”.
The European's Commission's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 has granted €17million in funding for the Clean Energy From Ocean Waves (CEFOW).
The five-year project is to research and develop the use of the Penguin wave energy converter, which was developed by the Finnish company Wello, in electricity grid conditions.
The multi-device test project will be carried out at Wave Hub in Cornwall.
