week ending 15 April 2011
Solar Farm
A farm in Oxfordshire has become the first in the country to install new solar ‘energy roofs’ on two of its barns, replacing roofs made from asbestos with new structures featuring pre-integrated solar panels. The roofs, which were deployed by specialist installation firm Solarcentury, incorporate 555 Sharp solar panels covering an area of nearly 700 square metres. They boast a solar capacity of 54.72kWp and 45.18kWp, and are expected to generate electricity worth approximately £85,000 for farmer John Woolcock and his Chadlington farm.
Business Green 15th April 2011 more >>
Solar Finance
Renewable energy systems provider The Green Home Company has announced it has secured £15 million of finance as part of the company’s programme of providing homeowners across the South East with free solar energy systems.
24 Dash 15th April 2011 more >>
Geothermal
Deep drilling to exploit geothermal energy involves risks related to engineering, financing and non-discovery. Feasibility studies conducted at an early stage of the project point the way to successful exploitation of geothermal energy. The key task of these studies lies in the systematic disclosure of the risks and opportunities involved in a project.
Renewable Energy Focus 15th April 2011 more >>
Training
A NEW training centre designed to build on the North East’s expertise in renewable energy has been officially opened. The new building at the National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec), in Blyth, Northumberland, has been set up in a former terraced house which has been given a 21st century facelift. Narec, which was set up in 2002 by the Government to give people special training on new energy saving technologies, started work a few months ago on the 19th century building. As well as insulation, there are panels on the roof to turn solar pwer into hot water and electricity, a ground source heat pump to take over from expensive central heating systems and energy saving lights.
Newcastle Journal 14th April 2011 more >>
Grants
British Gas and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage are looking for applications to a new £3.5 million scheme to provide grants to community groups, including schools, to help them use, source or generate their own renewable energy. Energyshare will operate across the UK for the next three years. This pilot application round has £500,000 with grants up to £100,000
Fundraising.co.uk 14th April 2011 more >>
Kerr McGregor
Kerr MacGregor, who has died aged 70, was one of the UK’s leading authorities on solar energy. He first became interested in the possibilities of solar power while teaching in Swaziland in the 1960s. After returning to Scotland he lectured at Napier University, Edinburgh, for 30 years, founded the Scottish Solar Energy Group and was the Scottish Government’s energy spokesman and advisor on energy policy. A keen Nationalist, he also stood twice for Parliament in the safe Liberal seat of Caithness and Sutherland – the constituency containing Dounreay nuclear power station – where, though unsuccessful, he doubled the SNP’s share of the vote on a renewable energy policy.
Herald 14th April 2011 more >>
Microgeneration
Microgeneration UK 2011 will be held from 20 – 22 June in Central London. The event will be the meeting place for the UK microgeneration sector, bringing together policymakers, investors, suppliers and customers.
Alt Energy Mag 13th April 2011 more >>
Newquay Solar Plan
A TOP Newquay holiday park, which guzzles enough power to supply 400 homes, has outlined its plans to switch to solar energy. Bosses at Hendra Holiday are seeking permission to build a ten-acre, sun-powered system on nearby farmland and have announced the launch of a public consultation. If approved, the scheme would be available as an educational resource for local schools and feature charging points for electric cars.
Plymouth Herald 13th April 2011 more >>
Wind powered ships
Fukuoka, Japan-based Eco Marine Power is developing a solar and wind power system for ships and ocean-going vessels. The Aquarius system will use panels fitted with solar modules to collect wind and solar energy onboard ships as a means to lower their fuel consumption, lessen their emissions and reduce their carbon footprint
The Engineer 13th April 2011 more >>
Falkland Islands
Opponents of wind farms often claim there simply is not enough wind to make them viable, but the Sandy Bay wind farm in the Falkland Islands has precisely the opposite problem. The £4.6m development faces near constant average winds of 10.7mph which, since the first three 335kW turbines were installed in 2007, have helped Sandy Bay meet 26 per cent of the island’s electricity needs.
Business Green 13th April 2011 more >>
Lancaster Waste
A new 500kW combined heat and power (CHP) system capable of producing electricity from human waste has been unveiled as the centrepiece of a £13m project at Lancaster’s wastewater treatment works. United Utilities’ Stodday plant processes 1,000 cubic metres of sludge every day from Lancaster and the surrounding area. The facility generates around 40,000 cubic metres of methane, which the engine uses to produce enough power to meet the plant’s electricity demand. Any extra electricity will then be sold to the grid.
Business Green 12th April 2011 more >>
FiT changes
A KIDDERMINSTER-based renewable energy installer is urging consumers who want to earn the best returns for generating electricity to act now before a Government incentive programme is slashed this summer. Going Solar, the company behind the UK’s largest roof top solar PV installation to date, has put together a five-point action plan in response to the changes for customers who either want to invest in the green technology or have a roof they are interested in renting out.
Halesowen News 12th April 2011 more >>
Welsh Solar
A farm in Ceredigion has become one of Wales’ first carbon neutral farms, generating its own electricity from solar power. Family-run Blaencamel Farm at Aberaeron is now able to produce enough power to run the farmhouse, shop and farm. It has installed 39 solar panels on the barn, is introducing solar irrigation and is building an electric tractor.
BBC 12th April 2011 more >>
Cornish Solar
Solar energy projects dominate the Westcountry’s dreams of a renewable energy future, the latest report on the region’s green credentials has shown. According to Regen SW’s Renewable Energy Progress Report, 97 per cent of 2,451 renewable electricity projects installed in the past 12 months were based on harnessing the power of the sun. But experts have warned the anticipated number of large-scale projects, tipped to bring multi-million-pound investment and hundreds of jobs to the region, will dwindle following the Government’s review of its Feed-in Tariff subsidy.
This is Cornwall 12th April 2011 more >>
Heating & Plumbing Monthly 11th April 2011 more >>
Biomass Switch On
An outdoor education centre has gone “green” thanks to a £70,000 renewable energy project. Porthpean near St Austell, which is run by Cornwall Council, has a new biomass boiler designed to improve energy efficiency.
This is Cornwall 12th April 2011 more >>
Centrosolar
Centrosolar UK Ltd is introducing its 54-cell ‘Excellent’ solar photovoltaic (PV) module to the UK market.
Renewable energy Focus 12th April 2011 more >>
Small Wind Conference
The International Small Wind Conference was held at The Sage Gateshead last week. The region was chosen to host the conference and exhibition because of its reputation as a wind energy hub.
Newcastle Journal 12th April 2011 more >>
Solar on ICE
Plans for a Government solar power scheme have been put on ice. At a Cabinet Office-sponsored meeting in November, Whitehall departments and other public bodies were briefed by industry experts on the opportunities of the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme for solar-panel installations on public buildings. Preparatory work was halted shortly after the announcement of a fast-track review of the FIT.
Belfast Telegraph 12th March 2011 more >>
Independent 11th April 2011 more >>
Solar Disaster
Britain’s renewable energy specialists have reacted angrily to comments made by the Climate Change Minister, Greg Barker, who seemed to be bragging about making spending cuts. Mr Barker, who proposed a 72% cut in the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) for the solar industry last month, told a Business School in South Carolina that the government was “making cuts that Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s could only have dreamt of”. Speaking of the cut to medium sized solar installations, Ray Noble, of the Renewable Energy Association, said: “This is an absolute disaster no new projects will start if this proposal becomes law. This industry has been strangled at birth. The huge number of envisaged new jobs will disappear.”
Heating and Plumbing Monthly 11th April 2011 more >>
Small Wind Monitoring
World leading Small Wind turbine manufacturer today launched a revolution for turbine owners: the ability to monitor production from home, in car, or even down the pub! Speaking at the International Small Wind Conference in Gateshead, CEO Johnnie Andringa revealed details of the Gaia-Wind remote turbine monitoring system which offers turbine owners cost effective, real time, ability to access and organise all the data needed to: Monitor and improve the effectiveness of their turbine; Minimise downtime; Demonstrate the energy they are producing to others.
Farming UK 11th March 2011 more >>
ICE Renewables
The company is a leading renewable energy business advising, supplying and installing wind turbines, solar PV and Anerobic Digestion to farmers, agricultural businesses and corporate clients.
Darlington & Stockton Times 11th April 2011 more >>
North Wales Solar
North Wales electrical contractor, AT Green, is living up to its name after signing a deal with renewable energy giant, Stiebel Eltron. The Buckley-based company is teaming up with renewable products manufacturer, Stiebel Eltron, to explore opportunities for solar installations across the region.
Heating & Plumbing Monthly 11th April 2011 more >>
Wiltshire Renewables
New heating, plumbing and renewable energy firm CentraHeat has launched in Swindon to offer renewable energy services across Wiltshire.
Heating & Ventilating.net 11th April 2011 more >>
GE Solar
GE has announced a major investment in its renewable energy business after achieving the highest publically-reported efficiency results for its solar panels. The full-sized CdTe thin-film solar panels have a reported efficiency rating of nearly 13 percent and will be manufactured in a new US-based facility, which will be larger than any of its kind currently in operation in the country.
Low Carbon Economy 11th April 2011 more >>
Kidderminster Solar
THE trustees of Areley Kings Village Hall are pressing ahead with a £16,000 project to install a solar energy generating system. A planning application has been approved and Kidderminster-based company Eco2Solar are set to start intallation work on Monday.
Kidderminster Shuttle 9th April 2011 more >>
FiT history re-write
Labour has accused the coalition of rewriting history with its attempts to blame the previous administration for setting up an over-generous feed-in tariff incentive that has forced ministers to pursue deep cuts in the level of incentives on offer for larger solar installations. Shadow Climate Minister Huw Irranca-Davies rejected suggestions that Labour was to blame for the controversial feed-in tariff review, accusing Conservatives and Lib Dems of ignoring the fact that when in opposition they had lobbied for the scheme to be extended to cover larger installations with up to 5MW of capacity. “When you are in a recession and on your way out of recession these are exactly the sort of mechanisms that should be used to keep people in jobs, and generate jobs, and drive towards our carbon emission targets, and put both literally and metaphorically power in people’s hands.” Labour is now calling on the government to narrow the reach of the review and ensure that mid-sized and rooftop solar installations do not face deep cuts to the level of incentives available.
Business Green 8th April 2011 more >>