week ending 10 May 2013
Scottish Water Turbines
Scottish Water has become the latest company to beef up its interest in onsite renewable energy generation, this week unveiling 10 small scale wind turbines that will be used to help power its waste water treatment works near Stornoway in the outer Hebrides. With the Isle of Lewis averaging some of the fastest and most reliable winds in the UK, the 10 Evance R9000 turbines are expected to generate around 500kWh of electricity on an average day.
Business Green 10th May 2013 more >>
Small Wind
Glasgow-based renewable energy installer Urban Wind has boosted its position in the small scale wind turbine market after acquiring rival Myriad Wind for an undisclosed sum. Urban Wind announced the acquisition yesterday, after the deal was completed last month, adding that the move will allow the two companies to combine their expertise and establish a new regional office in Lancashire.
Business Green 9th May 2013 more >>
Solar Troubles
Solar installers across Europe have responded angrily to reports the European Commission is preparing to impose import duties on solar panels from China of up to 68 per cent, warning the move will hamper the rollout of solar technologies and lead to thousands of job losses.
Business Green 9th May 2013 more >>
Smart Grid
Wigton is about to launch as a ‘smart-grid’ pilot town in a pioneering project that will combat fuel poverty, and allow customers the means to control over their energy usage and providers. Local MP Rory Stewart said the move will ‘put Wigton on the map as a community willing to take practical steps to address fuel poverty’. The launch will take place on Saturday at 3pm in the Wigton Market Hall. It will involve trial smart energy meters being officially ‘switched-on’ in both residential and business premises. The Innovia factory, Nelson Thomlinson School, and on the Greenacres Estate are all involved. The meters will act as a practical showcase of the benefits of smart-metering, enabling Wigton residents to monitor energy usage and potentially run smart-energy devices from a town-wide network.
In Cumbria 9th May 2013 more >>
Energy Storage
As the government yesterday announced the winners of a £5m competition to support the development of novel energy storage systems, businesses operating in the fledgling sector issued a stark warning that such innovation could prove fruitless without greater efforts to ramp up demand for existing technologies. By providing extra capacity that could be made available during periods of peak demand, energy storage systems could save the UK up to £10bn a year by 2050. The technology is also capable of playing a major role in curbing emissions, as it allows grid operators to store power from wind farms and release it when it is needed, reducing the need to fire up peaking gas power plants. But despite government assurances, the industry says it is still wating for a policy that will deliver a significant increase in energy storage capacity. Today, the UK has 3GW of pumped hydro storage, most of which is located in North Wales to provide reserve power for now defunct nuclear and coal plants. But with an increasing amount of renewable energy being added to the grid, ESN believes storage capacity should be ramped up to at least 5GW by the end of the decade.
Business Green 9th May 2013 more >>
The Department of Energy and Climate Change is awarding £21m to entrepreneurs to help develop a range of new and innovative low carbon technologies. The cash is being split between the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund (£16m), Energy Storage competitions ($2m) and Advanced Heat Storage (£3m). All the schemes are designed to “spur innovation in the sector, help support jobs and create export opportunities as well as help the UK meet its carbon targets”, DECC said.
Renews 8th May 2013 more >>
Biomass
The government is encouraging power stations to burn biomass in order to help lower carbon emissions. Leo Hickman, with your help, investigates.
Guardian 9th May 2013 more >>
Solar Schools
A NUMBER of schools in Dwyfor are now generating their own electricity, as part of the council’s work to combat global warming. Solar panels have been installed at various Gwynedd Council properties across the county including schools, offices and leisure facilities as part of the council’s investment into 15 renewable energy projects.
Cambrian News 9th May 2013 more >>
Street Lighting Plan
Every street light in Scotland could be fitted with low-energy LED bulbs as part of ambitious plans to cut CO2 emissions, ministers said on Thursday. The Scottish government unveiled proposals for the green investment bank (GIB) to fund the Scotland-wide LED lighting programme as part of a £500m package of climate and green energy measures. LED street lights, which are being piloted by several Scottish councils and are already in use by a number of English local authorities, were floated by Alex Salmond, the first minister, in a meeting with the GIB chair Lord Smith of Kelvin on Wednesday. On Thursday, the bank posted data for the first time on its initial 11 investments totalling £635m, with a total value of £2.3bn once private investment was counted. Scottish government officials admitted they did not know how many street lights were involved, or the eventual CO2 savings or the total cost of this programme, arguing that the project was in its early stages. But the environment group WWF Scotland said its figures suggested that street lighting caused a significant amount of carbon emissions. The 40,000 street lights in Aberdeenshire are responsible for 8,750 tonnes of CO2, with energy bills hitting £1.6m, it said. Fife council’s street lights made up 10% of its total carbon footprint.
Guardian 9th May 2013 more >>
Business Green 10th May 2013 more >>
Microgeneration drives efficiency
It’s always been our belief that when you understand where your energy comes from, you value it more and use it less. Our customers have been telling us this for years, and there’s clear evidence that microgeneration can drive energy efficiency through behavioural change and greater engagement.
Good Energy 9th May 2013 more >>
Liverpool Health Centre
Andrews Water Heaters has supplied a solar thermal water heating system for domestic hot water for the new Speke Neighbourhood Health Centre in Liverpool.
Health Estate 8th May 2013 more >>
Leeds Solar Farm
Plans to create a solar energy farm on green belt land in Leeds look set to be approved and while ‘green energy’ may chime with current thinking, not everyone is in agreement. It will cover an area the size of 13 football pitches and generate enough energy to power hundreds of thousands of homes during its 25-year lifespan.
Yorkshire Evening Post 8th May 2013 more >>
South West Water Goes Solar
South West Water has installed more solar panels across its operational sites after the company’s existing solar assets generated more than one million kilowatt-hours in 2012. In December 2011 the company invested £3 million in solar arrays at 23 water and sewage treatment works in Devon and Cornwall. As a result of the sites’ performance, the water company has installed solar at another seven of its operational sites in Devon, bringing the total to 30 solar arrays. The seven new sites have a combined capacity of 400kW which will help South West Water generate 410,000kWh of additional energy.
Solar Portal 7th May 2013 more >>
ECO could cost more than expected
The government’s Green Deal was meant to encourage an energy efficiency boom, but take up has so far been slow. Now another energy saving policy is running into trouble as suppliers spend millions looking for customers to participate in the scheme. The Financial Times reported the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) could add as much as £100 to household energy bills. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) expects energy efficiency improvements worth about £1.3 billion a year to take place under the ECO. If the full cost is passed on to the consumer, it works out at about £53 per household. But industry association Energy UK claims the figure is too low – with the additional cost more likely to be around £69 per household. Research it commissioned from economic consultants NERA suggests DECC may have underestimated the cost of finding people to take advantage of the energy efficiency scheme, and been overly optimistic about how many installations might be needed to meet emissions targets. NERA reckons the cost could be even higher – about£94 per household – if people pull out of the deal once they realise how much hassle the installations might be.
Carbon Brief 7th May 2013 more >>
Housing Co-op
Just outside Lancaster – a new co-housing development of 41 homes has just been completed here – and all without a developer in sight. The buildings are designed to the Passivhaus standard, which aims to reduce energy consumption. There are huge amounts of insulation and triple glazing; heat and power is provided by a central biomass boiler, solar panels on the roofs and, soon, a hydro plant. All of this should make the energy bills around 10% that of an average home, with plenty of surplus to sell back to the grid.
Guardian 7th May 2013 more >>
Solar Sport
More than 200 solar panels are being installed at Franklin’s Gardens this week. The roof of the Burrda Sport Stand at Northampton Saints’ ground will be covered in the panels as the club makes its move towards what it hopes will be a smaller carbon footprint and a greener future. The work is being carried out by Buckingham-based SolarTech and once complete the panels will, between them, generate 50kW of electricity for every hour of sunshine.
Northampton Chronicle 6th May 2013 more >>
Community Energy in Brittany
A wind turbine is finally nearing completion, the result of a lengthy struggle by this small locality in C tes d’Armor. The Enercon E53, with a rated capacity of 850kW and the first of a series of seven, is no ordinary beast. It is the result of a clever financial package that allows local residents to invest in the scheme and aims to invest the benefits in the local economy. The co-operative investment company Cigale was established in 2008, and there are now 127 individuals who collectively own a 30% share in the venture. But the participatory windfarm is just one aspect of the energy policy being deployed by Men district council, which represents Saint Gou no and six other nearby localities (overall population 6,500). In this largely rural area you can see a wood-fired boiler at Le Gouray, fed by nearby forests and powering a collective central-heating network, then the Geotexia methanisation plant at Saint Gilles du Men , followed by an oil mill and biofuel production unit at Saint Gou no, and finally a house fitted with solar panels at Plessala. All these facilities should help Saint Gou no towards its goal of being energy self-sufficient by 2025.
Guardian 5th May 2013 more >>
Heat Strategy
The Government’s grand ‘heat strategy policy statement’. At some point in the 2040s, my London flat will be connected to a district heating network which will serve all houses and businesses in London. My friends in more rural areas will have their heating and hot water provided by some sort of electric heat pump system. Well doesn’t that just sound perfect! DECC have travelled a huge distance to get to this point and good on them, the heat strategy has been a huge and complicated project to pull together.
IGov 2nd May 2013 more >>