Industry headlines

Energy giant E.ON announced it will be investing into a pioneering industry initiative to slash the costs of offshore wind power. E.ON is the latest investor to back the Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) which was also recently bolstered with the addition of Mainstream Renewable Power and Statkraft. They team up with five founding members that include offshore wind developers: DONG Energy; RWE Innogy; ScottishPower Renewables; SSE Renewables and Statoil, who recently announced they will be extending their commitment to the OWA over the next four years bringing the total investment into the project to £9.2m. Collectively the OWA partners represent 61% of the offshore wind capacity licensed in UK waters (30GW).
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Japan's Sharp Corp is investing almost 4 billion yen ($46 million) at a plant in Britain to double production of solar cell modules to meet growing demand across Europe. Sharp Solar UK, which began making cells at the plant in Wrexham, Wales in 2004, said it was also seeing increased demand from the British market following the introduction of subsidies for renewable energy installations in April. Click here for full story

PD Ports has welcomed the decision by a major supplier to the offshore energy sector to more than double its facility at Hartlepool dock. This news comes as JDR Cable Systems is backed by UK Government funding to help continue its groundbreaking work in wind farm development. JDR Cable Systems, a leading provider of subsea power cables, umbilical systems and marine cables for the energy sector, has signed a deal to expand its current 100,000 sq ft facility at Hartlepool, opened only last July, by a further 116,000 sq ft to meet demand. Click here for full story

Russia has some of the largest energy reserves in the world, but it keeps searching for new sources - even if it means going underwater. Two Russian deep-water submersibles have once again taken a dive in Lake Baikal, to study recently found fields of gas hydrates, a possible fuel of the future…… During this summer's venture, researchers hope to further analyse recently discovered sites of sub-bed gas hydrates. These crystalline water-based solids look like ice and inside them are huge amounts of gases - biochemical methane and traces of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and ethane.

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For 2011, the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy are seeking entries from businesses that encourage the use of sustainable energy and/or changing the way people use energy. In particular, we are looking for business applicants that are making renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services more accessible to people and/or encouraging their wider use. Further information on eligibility criteria and downloadable application form are online. Click here for full story

Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk has today announced a £1.5 million investment in the development of wave energy technology during a visit to the South West RDA’s Wave Hub project at Hayle. Mr Prisk, who kicked off a two-day tour of Cornwall, said the additional £1.5 million grant from the RDA would allow wave energy company Ocean Power Technologies Ltd (OPT) to develop a larger version of its ‘Powerbuoy’ wave energy device. Click here for full story

In his first state visit to a country after taking charge as Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron on Wednesday sought to embark on a new special relationship with India, setting up a road map for collaboration between the two countries for economic growth……. Making his case for a “stronger, wider and deeper” relationship with New Delhi, Cameron’s coalition government has quietly taken a decision to allow the export of civil nuclear technology and expertise to India……. Calling for joint efforts to tackle climate change, Cameron said during his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Thursday he would discuss how the two countries can develop and new and renewable energy sources. Click here for full story

More than 5,000 green jobs could be created through the development of three regional offshore energy manufacturing sites built around key port locations, First Minister Alex Salmond said. Speaking at a Scottish Government public discussion event in Dornoch, the First Minister welcomed Stage 2 of the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan (N-RIP), which was published today by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise. The plan outlines the investment required to deliver Scotland's ambition to become a premier location for the manufacturing and deployment of wind turbine and marine energy devices. Click here for full story

If the areas for potential Lib Dem/ Conservative splits in the coalition were not already considerable, another one has been added - and with real voltage in Scotland. In setting out yesterday a commitment to support the development of new nuclear power stations, UK Energy Secretary Chris Huhne looks to have lit the fuse for a clash with the SNP administration in Edinburgh and also with his own Lib Dem back-benchers. Both groups are opposed to new nuclear power stations being built in Scotland. Click here for full story

Energy giant Centrica has today (July 28) revealed that its UK renewable power generation has fallen by 46% in the first half of 2010, compared with the same period last year, from 386GWh to 209GWh. According to the company's interim results up to the period June 30, weather patterns have resulted in lower generated volumes, "despite the high availability of our wind portfolio". This issue has been highlighted by other large energy companies, including Scottish and Southern Energy. Click here for full story

A unique project that will develop innovative technology to test clean electricity generation from the tides off the West Wales coast is to receive a £1.4m EU funding boost, Environment Minister, Jane Davidson has announced. The money will be spent on a feasibility study to develop DeltaStream technology and assess the suitability of a site in West Wales for tidal stream testing. It will be backed with £572,000 from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Assembly Government. 

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Redpoint Energy has strengthened its position as one of Europe’s leading energy consultancies to governments and regulators by advising UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on a review designed to improve arrangements for managing grid access. Click here for full story

Out of the frying pan into the Met’s tyres; in a slick operation the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) are recycling waste vegetable oil to power the vehicles which deliver their groceries. The move is part of a drive by the MPS with energy company Convert2Green and 3663 First for Foodservice - which provides the food and catering supplies - to cut emissions of harmful greenhouse gases. Click here for full story

After two years of design and development, oceanographers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are installing a new alternative energy device along the Arctic coast of Alaska. The device will provide power to scientific instruments in remote areas, where sources of electricity are often scarce. “In principle, the device means that we can deploy the radar systems anywhere along Alaska’s coast,” said Tom Weingartner, professor of physical oceanography and the principal investigator for the project. The device, called a remote power module, is equipped with four wind turbines, a solar array and a backup generator. The wind and solar energy provide five days’ worth of battery charge. If the batteries get low, the module recharges using a biodiesel generator. Click here for full story

The renewable energy industry in the UK is positive overall, to the announcements from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Includes comments from RenewableUK’s CEO Maria McCaffery, David Symons, Director at global environmental consultancy WSP Environment & Energy, Roman Webber, Head of Deloitte’s UK Renewable Energy Team, Tim Levy, Chief Executive at Future Capital Partners, Alan John, Head of Renewable Energy at law firm Osborne Clarke, Peter Dickson, Technical Director at BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners, Energy Networks Association (ENA) CEO David Smith, and Adrian Palmer, Senior Manager at Redpoint Energy.

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A leading conservation charity has reacted angrily to the Scottish Government’s decision to approve the Calliachar wind development in Highland Perthshire. The John Muir Trust said the decision to allow more than a dozen 300ft turbines on the site, which is located near the A826 Perthshire Tourist Route from Kenmore to Aberfeldy and Amulree, would lead to an unacceptable visual blight on the local landscape and could affect tourism. The 14-turbine development will be visible from Schiehallion, a mountain that attracts up to 20,000 walkers a year. Click here for full story

The government must be more proactive over schemes to encourage take-up of energy-saving renewable technology on a national level. This is the view of therenewableenergycentre.co.uk, which has voiced concerns that a lack of progress in the UK on implementing microgeneration and other green technology will cause the country to miss its 2020 carbon reduction targets. A spokesperson for the energy-saving website pointed to the fact that the UK is currently ranked among the bottom few European countries in terms of renewable energy generation, which could ultimately lead to a "hefty fine" from the EU. Click here for full story

Six successful bidders will share £660,000 match funding from the Department of Business for gas refuelling or electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects. A private business in Essex, three councils across Yorkshire and the West Midlands, a public body co-ordinating transport in Merseyside and a community group on the Isle of Lewis are all winners in the latest round of support from the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Grant Programme. Click here for full story

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed that motorists will receive up to £5,000 towards purchase of an ultra-low carbon car from January 2011. Exceptionally, the Government has agreed the announcement of this incentive ahead of the completion of the spending review to support the early market for ultra-low carbon cars. The Government remains committed to reducing the UK’s budget deficit, but understands the need for certainty for investors who are taking long term decisions now on where to launch ultra low carbon vehicles and where to locate future production. Click here for full story

The vital components for a £42m wave energy project have been dispatched by ship to Cornwall. The Wave Hub is a "socket" on the sea bed which will link wave-power devices directly to the national grid. The 12-tonne hub and its 25 km (15.5 mile) cable, which were manufactured in north east England, left Hartlepool docks on Monday evening. The Nordica is due to arrive in St Ives Bay on Friday for the installation 10 miles (16km) off Hayle. Click here for full story

Moves to boost investment in renewable energy and nuclear power stations were set out by the coalition Government yesterday (27 July) as it promised to reduce Britain's dependency on fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions. Chris Huhne, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, pledged the "lights are not going to go out on my watch" as he announced 32 measures to make the country less reliant on imported oil and gas. He said the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico showed the importance of moving "further and faster" towards greater energy independence and a "low-carbon economy". Click here for full story

Electricity generation in the UK will double. Cars, hot water and the heating of buildings will be electrified. A new nuclear renaissance on a par with France's rush to nuclear in the 1970s will have taken place and fossil fuel power stations will capture 90% of their carbon emissions. This is just one picture of how Britain could hit its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050, as painted by a new calculator launched by the government today (27 July). Click here for full story

Energy secretary Chris Huhne focuses on 2050 targets in first major policy statement but admits the UK faces 'short-term challenges' to meet targets for renewable energy. The current rate of growth of renewable energy in the UK is too slow to meet EU targets for 15 per cent of energy to come from renewable sources like by 2020, the energy secretary Chris Huhne has admitted. Click here for full story

The U.K. government removed an obstacle to financing biomass power plants, which burn living matter to generate electricity, saying it would support the industry through obligations on utilities to use clean energy for the next 20 years. The Department of Energy and Climate Change said it will “grandfather” its backing for anaerobic digestion and energy- to-waste plants. For biomass developers, the government also extended its support to all fuel costs. It initially planned to support only non-fuel costs, including construction. “Today’s announcement will come as a great relief and follows many months of intense discussions between the industry and government,” Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said in a statement. “This should unlock some 13 billion pounds ($20 billion) of much-needed private investment in the sector.” Click here for full story

Domestic energy bills should rise by only £13 by 2020 because of measures to cut carbon emissions, but businesses face much steeper increases, the government said today (27 July). In its first annual energy statement to parliament, the coalition government published 32 measures - mostly previous commitments by the Labour government or the Conservative-Liberal Democrat policy agreement. They included a Green New Deal to make homes more efficient to reform of the main energy regulator, Ofgem. Click here for full story

Businesses can expect to face a steep rise in energy bills after the government today published a comprehensive plan to cut greenhouse gases and end Britain's dependence on risky oil and gas imports. Although the individual policies had previously been announced in the coalition policy agreement or by ministers – and many were formerly Labour government initiatives – Chris Huhne, the energy and climate secretary, said the first annual energy statement provided more detail and a timetable for each move from consultation to legislation. Click here for full story

The Shetland community’s stake in Viking Energy’s huge windfarm project could lead to the creation of three times more jobs than would be the case if it only received community benefit payments from a standalone developer, according to a study by economists at the University of Strathclyde. Click here for full story

Carnegie Wave Energy Ltd., the Australian marine energy project developer, has won A$250,000 ($226,000) in government funding for a trial desalination project it aims to integrate with wave-power technology. The National Centre of Excellence in Desalination selected the project from among 61 applicants and will provide half the funding for the A$500,000 project, Carnegie said in a statement on its website yesterday. Carnegie will provide the other half. Click here for full story

Cosalt, the specialist provider of critical safety equipment for the marine, industrial and offshore markets, has signed a new joint venture agreement with Danish company APRO, an engineering services business with many years experience in the wind energy market. The synergy between the two companies creates a unique partnership that has the size, skills, expertise and market knowledge to take advantage of the major growth expected in UK offshore wind energy.
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Scottish and Southern Energy, or SSE, has signed an engineering and technical consultancy services deal with MWH for the feasibility and outline design of two hydropower schemes according to Working with Water. The two schemes could have an installed capacity of up to 600MW and the potential to store 30GWh of energy. Click here for full story

Ocean Power Technologies Inc, a Pennington, N.J.-based pioneer of wave-energy technology for autonomous power generation and the utility market, has been making moves in the emerging wave energy market. OPT recently sold its first 40-kilowatt PowerBuoy, an in-ocean device that generates electricity from waves, to the US Navy; plans to deploy one of two 150-kilowatt power buoys (currently being built) in Scotland; and has received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to begin work on its next generation of 500-kilowatt buoys. Click here for full story

The UK government's control of taxes on fossil fuel companies has been compared to Spanish conquistadores taking Inca gold by Scotland's first minister. Alex Salmond was renewing the Scottish government's call for the release of £185m from the fossil fuel levy to invest in renewable energy work. A new report predicts 5,180 jobs could be created if £233m was spent opening 11 wind turbine manufacturing sites. The UK Treasury said the chancellor had already committed to review the levy. Click here for full story

Waste-to-energy company Monsal has secured £14m in expansion capital from FourWinds Capital Management’s Water Resources Fund. The Water Resources Fund, managed by natural resource-focused investment firm FourWinds, will initially take an equity stake through a £4m commitment, alongside Monsal’s management team and private equity investor Matrix Private Equity Partners. The funding will be used to support the expansion of the UK-based company’s core anaerobic digestion technology. Click here for full story

SDE has finalized the construction of the first large-scale sea wave power plant, in Jaffa Port in Israel. In the past, the sea wave energy conversion method has received support from the Chief Scientist of Israel, Ministry of Industry and Trade, approval no. 23425, which had enabled S.D.E. to build eight (8) sea wave power plant models. The last of which, has operated successfully for a period of two years, producing 40KWh. Click here for full story

Britain's first commercial wind farm is gearing up to start the process of repowering next month. Built in 1991, the Delabole Wind Farm is replacing the ten original turbines with four larger and more powerful ones which will more than double the current output. The new turbines are almost twice the height of the old ones. Click here for full story

Korean renewable energy developer, Eco-Frontier has signed a non-binding offtake agreement to purchase biocrude produced through Florida-based PetroAlgae's micro-crop technology. The agreement that the two companies signed means that Eco-Frontier is willing to establish a market in Korea and other areas for biocrude produced by the PetroAlgae system (used in co-firing energy applications. Click here for full story

The UK’s energy and climate change policy was today recalibrated for the long term, supported for the first time by comprehensive analysis of plausible pathways to a secure, low carbon energy system in 2050. In the first ever Annual Energy Statement to Parliament, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne set out 32 actions being taken to accelerate the transformation of the energy system and wider economy. Groundbreaking ‘2050’ analysis is published alongside, including six illustrative ‘pathways’ showing that meeting the target of an 80% cut in emissions by 2050 is ambitious but achievable, and compatible with maintaining security of energy supplies. A do-nothing ‘reference’ scenario highlights the risks of a high carbon future. An online ‘2050 Calculator’ also goes live today, enabling the public to explore the trade-offs inherent in designing the future secure, low carbon energy system and wider economy. Click here for full story

A wide-ranging consultation on electricity market reform in the autumn, with a White Paper in Spring 2011. With significant challenges ahead for the energy sector and a need for substantial new investment, this will review all aspects of the electricity market. It will assess the role that a carbon price, emissions performance standard, revised renewables obligation, Feed-in Tariffs, capacity mechanisms and other interventions could play in delivering a system that supports the delivery of a secure, low carbon energy. Click here for full story

Complementing the consultation on electricity market reform, a call for evidence is published today launching a review of Ofgem’s role as the independent regulator of the energy markets. It will explore whether changes are needed to the regulatory framework so that the Government can achieve its ambitious energy and climate change goals. The review is expected to report in Spring 2011 on the same timetable as the electricity market reform work. Click here for full story

Publication today of a joint DECC/Ofgem Smart Meter Prospectus, setting out detailed plans for rolling out smart meters to every home and small business in Great Britain. The Prospectus makes clear that we want to see a significant acceleration of smart meter roll-out compared to previously published targets and will work with industry to establish ambitious but achievable targets for roll out. Click here for full story