week ending 18 March 2011
AD industry slams Review
It was meant to be the one part of the government’s fast-track review of feed-in tariffs that would prove uncontroversial. After today proposing deep cuts to the level of support for large solar installations, the government also announced increases to the incentives available to anaerobic digestion (AD) technologies as part of an effort to accelerate adoption of the waste-to-energy technology.
Business Green 18th March 2011 more >>
Solar Cuts (in the middle of a nuclear accident – barmy)
The government has today confirmed it plans to impose deep cuts in the level of incentives available to solar photovoltaic installations with over 50kW capacity, prompting outrage amongst many solar developers who fear large solar farms and rooftop installations will become financially unviable.
Business Green 18th March 2011 more >>
BBC 18th March 2011 more >>
Communities will be prevented from generating their own solar energy following a government review, campaigners have said. A clampdown on the growth of solar farms taking advantage of subsidies set up to help small-scale renewable energy has weakened the feed-in tariffs (FITs) system, according to Friends of the Earth (FoE).
Politics.co.uk 18th March 2011 more >>
After what seemed like a decade of delay, the DECC has finally confirmed its intention to break the legs of the UK’s solar industry for good. The axe-wielding Government has now proposed crippling cuts to the solar feed-in tariff for all systems over 50kW. Yet again, our expectations are exceeded, and not in a good way.
PV Tech 18th March 2011 more >>
Alan Simpson: If there is one thing scarier than a drunk in charge of a car, it is several drunks at the wheel. This is how the government’s “rapid review” of feed-in-tariff payments (FITs) for renewable energy is about to end up. A crash is looming, and it won’t be pretty.
Morning Star 18th March 2011 more >>
Jeremy Leggett: Solar feed-in tariff U-turn marks another betrayal by the ‘greenest government ever’ No renewables company or investor will easily trust this government again.
Guardian 18th March 2011 more >>
The Fast Track consultation on the UK feed-in tariffs have been published, sparking anger among the industry with warnings that it could leave UK solar “strangled at birth.”
Renewable Energy Focus 18th March 2011 more >>
PV Tech 18th March 2011 more >>
The government has unveiled plans to slash by almost 75% financial incentives for larger solar power schemes on the grounds the feed-in tariff (Fit) was in danger of being hijacked by City speculators. The move is expected to deal a death blow to low-carbon projects such as a plan put forward this week by Toyota and British Gas to provide low-carbon electricity for the Burnaston car plant near Derby.
Guardian 18th March 2011 more >>
Caernarfon Solar
TENANTS at a North Wales housing estate are generating electricity after rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels were installed. Six buildings in Cae Bold, Caernarfon have been fitted with the panels, bringing solar driven electric power into 36 flats.
Daily Post 18th March 2011 more >>
Welsh Solar Killed
WALES’ anticipated solar energy boom could be in jeopardy before it has even started, it was warned last night. Critics fear a government re-think on financial incentives will hamper the spread of such schemes, just weeks after the nation’s first solar parks were granted planning consent in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.
Western Mail 18th March 2011 more >>
Baker’s Defence
Climate change minister Greg Barker has today defended controversial government proposals to slash the level of feed-in tariff incentives available to large solar installations, insisting the changes are necessary to protect the integrity of the scheme and “rectifying the mistakes of the previous government”.
Business Green 18th March 2011 more >>
“Disbelief”, “betrayal”, “far worse than anticipated”, those are just three of the responses to today’s launch of government proposals that aim to slash the level of feed-in tariff incentives available to large solar installations.
Business Green 18th March 2011 more >>
GSHP
Leading firm Geothermal International has welcomed the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), announced by energy secretary Chris Huhne last week. Patrick Sherriff, marketing director of the firm, which has installed ground source heat systems capable of generating a total of 160MW, said the announcement has provided the “green light to businesses to move away from traditional carbon-hungry forms of heating”. The RHI intends increasing the number of renewable heat installations within commercial, industrial and public sector settings seven-fold by 2020, providing financial support through a system of tariffs, which vary depending on the type of technology installed. Speaking on the benefits of ground source heat pumps, which will be covered by the RHI, he said under the right circumstances they are capable of reducing a building’s carbon footprint by up to 50 percent.
Low Carbon Economy 18th March 2011 more >>
Geothermal
A deal has been signed which could see the development of the UK’s first commercial geothermal power source. Cluff Geothermal has inked an agreement with Lafarge for the exploitation of geothermal resources below a former cement works at Eastgate, near Stanhope, the Northern Echo reported. Under the deal, the two 1km deep boreholes currently at the site will be extended to 3km, allowing access to water heated to a temperature of 120 degrees C.
Low Carbon Economy 18th March 2011 more >>
Pershore Solar
Councillors in Pershore are hoping to install solar panels on the roof of council offices at the Civic Centre to help reduce energy costs.
BBC 18th March 2011 more >>
Not so Green
What better way for the government to celebrate its new low-carbon revolution than overseeing a major renewable energy scheme for a highly successful factory producing some of the latest fuel-efficient cars? A win-win for the UK, you might think, with the potential for the country to become an exporter of the very latest in hybrid petrol/electric vehicles from a Toyota plant powered by the sun. The world’s biggest carmaker has applied for planning permission and wants to install 17,000 solar panels, making it one of the biggest projects of its kind in Britain. The only problem is it is not likely to happen. The solar subsidy regime introduced by ministers in a blaze of glory last year is about to be radically altered, with the axe coming down on big schemes such as this.
Guardian 17th March 2011 more >>
Eaga Solar Finance
Eaga has signed a £300-million equity and debt financing agreement to help it install solar panels on more than 30,000 homes across the U.K.
PV Tech 17th March 2011 more >>
Fifteen British businesses and seven universities are to share £5 million of government funding to enable them to research the use of novel nanoscale technologies to develop the next generation of solar energy harvesting.
Connecting Industry 17th March 2011 more >>
Calderdale Solar
OVER the next 25 years, Calderdale Council could save £3.5 million by generating solar power. To start the ball rolling, the cabinet has agreed to look at installing photovoltaic panels on as many as 100 public buildings.
Halifax Courier 17th March 2011 more >>
Farming Renewables
WITH a mind-boggling array of kit and conundrums surrounding the purchase and use of renewable energy technology, the NFU is making sure that the forecast will be bright for its members and they won’t get blown off course. Its environmental experts have put together a practical examples handbook, giving easily digestible snapshots of a variety of on-farm projects and applications with links to further details via NFU Online.
Evesham Journal 17th March 2011 more >>
Who’s Installing Micro Power?
Environmental consultancy AEA has launched a new online map and league table which records the take up of microgeneration technology across the UK. The AEA Microgeneration Index shows the speed of small scale renewable installations in each council area. Using data on schemes that have applied for the feed-in tariff (FiT) incentive, the Index enables users to analyse microgeneration installations across the UK. A series of top ten tables also provides a summary of microgeneration performance of the leading local authority areas.
Solar Power Portal 17th March 2011 more >>
Business Green 18th March 2011 more >>
Valliant Growth
Highly efficient technologies have driven growth for Valliant in 2010, such as condensing boilers which have lifted sales by 12 per cent compared to the previous year. Sales of solar thermal systems, which use solar energy for hot water supply and heating support, were 4 per cent above the previous year, and sales of heat pumps increased by 5 per cent. Sales of system components increased by almost 3 per cent, for controllers and storage systems, and this development was also accompanied by a considerable gain in market share.
Heating and Ventilating 17th March 2011 more >>
Scunthorpe Solar
THREE thousand solar panels are to be fitted to North Lincolnshire Homes properties in a bid to cut energy bills. The major new eco-friendly drive could save residents up to £150 a year by using state-of-the-art technology. So-called photo-voltaic systems made up of solar panels installed on the roofs of properties would convert sunlight into zero carbon electricity that could be used directly inside.
This is Scunthorpe 16th Marc 2011 more >>
Stoke Solar
SUPPORT services group Kier is undertaking a large scale solar energy scheme for Stoke-on-Trent City Council.The company is installing almost 200 solar panels on the roof of the city’s civic offices as the local authority bids to go green and reduce its heating bills.
Business Desk 16th March 2011 more >>
Ministers Defend Review
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne and Energy Minister Charles Hendry yesterday offered a detailed defence of the decision to launch an early review of the incentives available to solar photovoltaic installations with over 50kW of capacity, insisting the move was necessary to ensure the long-term effectiveness of the feed-in tariff scheme. However, the session sparked controversy after one solar developer accused Hendry of confusing the banding system that governs feed-in tariffs for solar installations.
Business Green 16th March 2011 more >>
New Solar Company
AZUR SOLAR Systems has opened its new UK head office, visitor and distribution centre in Slough, Berkshire as part of its ambitious expansion programme to bring affordable and efficient solar energy production to both commercial and domestic customers.
Roofing Cladding & Insulation 15th March 2011 more >>
Projects rebound
SmartestEnergy, the UK’s leading purchaser of independently generated electricity, has reported a strong rebound in investment in renewable energy projects following the recession.
Many schemes were put on hold during the downturn but a more stable finance market and new incentives for generators, such as the Feed-in Tariffs, has led to a rapid increase in the number of independent projects coming on stream over the past year.
Greenwise Business 15th March 2011 more >>
Bedfordshire Schools
Three Brickhill schools have been given the opportunity to generate clean renewable energy - all have been fitted with electricity generating solar photovoltaic (PV) panels at a cost of more than £40,000.
Bedfordshire on Sunday 15th March 2011 more >>
FiT Increase
THERE is even more reason to switch to solar energy now the government has bumped up the payback to homeowners, an East Dorset company says. People who fit solar panels to their roofs have their energy bills slashed and get money for every unit of energy their installation produces. Now the Department of Energy and Climate Change has increased this “feed-in-tariff” by 4.8 per cent.
Dorset Business 15th March 2011 more >>
Business Efficiency
Businesses could save up to £23bn a year at little or no extra cost through more efficient use of energy and materials, government research has suggested. Using raw materials more cost-effectively and reducing waste makes up £18bn of this calculated saving, with better use of energy and water clocking up savings worth £4bn and just under £1bn respectively.
Business Green 14th March 2011 more >>
Scottish Loans
The Scottish government is launching a £500,000 interest-free loan scheme to boost the number of households installing green heat and electricity technologies amid concerns that a delay to the domestic phase of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will limit market growth.
Business Green 14th March 2011 more >>
Solar Battle
Britain’s fledgling solar power industry is gearing up for a fight over the Government’s review of the solar subsidies scheme. The consultation setting out how the Government proposes to change the “feed-in tariff” (FIT) system for solar arrays producing 50 kilowatts (kW) or more of power could be published as early as this week. And green energy companies and pressure groups are expecting bad news.
Independent 14th March 2011 more >>
Barmy Solar Review
Since the government announced the fast track review on February 7th to counter their perceived ‘solar farm threat’, I continue to experience a wide range of emotions – disbelief, anger, frustration, and annoyance mostly. I’ve also spent a great deal of time trying to understand why - against all the facts - would people who on one breath say they ‘want to be the greenest government ever’, on the next breath say they consider solar PV energy being deployed in the UK at any scale a threat? Let’s dissect this oxymoron and try to understand their motives.
Low Carbon Economy 11th March 2011 more >>
Fuel Poverty
The government is set to appoint a “fuel poverty tsar” whose role will be to get energy companies to do more to protect their most vulnerable customers from rising electricity and gas prices. The appointment of Professor John Hills, an academic at the London School of Economics, is expected to be announced on Monday. Hills, a respected academic, carried out a far-reaching review on social inequality for the last government. He will launch a review to overhaul the existing policy on fuel poverty, widely seen by campaigners to be a shambles.
Guardian 11th March 2011 more >>
Community Wind
FINTRY has become the first community in the UK to team up with a renewable energy developer to offer help to communities across the UK to invest in onshore wind energy projects. On-shore wind developers, West Coast Energy signed up with the originators of the group Fintry Renewable Energy Enterprise (FREE).
Stirling Observer 11th March 2011 more >>
Green Army
People will have the chance to be skilled in installing green home improvements such as insulation, air source heat pumps and efficient boilers as new Green Academies are set up in Scotland. In an effort to deliver the Scottish government’s aim to get more homeowners installing renewable energy and improve energy efficiency, a “green army” will be created to supply expected demand. Run by Scottish Gas, the state-of-the-art skills hubs, as well as links to local college courses, will recruit 447 green energy workers, including the creation of 77 new jobs and apprenticeships.
EST 9th March 2011 more >>
Brighton Solar
Solarcentury’s Executive Chairman, Jeremy Leggett has joined the advisory board of Brighton Energy Co-op (BEC), marking the company’s large step forward into the renewable energy industry.
Solar Power Portal 9th March 2011 more >>
Small Wind
Keeping a low profile, microgeneration has been quietly bringing renewable energy into homes across the country. As with large scale developments, small-scale or ‘distributed’ wind power has initially seen a fairly slow proliferation, hampered by the early disappointing performance from turbines of uncertain quality, often installed in locations of poor wind resource. All this is set to change as the small-scale wind industry welcomes the Government’s twin policies known as the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and the Clean Energy Cashback.
Energy Digital 9th March 2011 more >>
For a while, the small wind industry was a crowded market without any real clarity for buyers. The UK Government’s Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), was launched in April last year, to give consumers the guarantee that certified microgeneration products and the installers of those products have conformed to a rigorous set of standards and hence eligible for Feed in Tariffs. The scheme ran a transition list for too long which caused confusion as to which products were accredited and which suppliers had simply applied for the testing procedure. So on December 31st 2010 the transition list was abolished.
Business Green 3rd March 2011 more >>