Renewables Category
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Policy strengthening required to meet UK carbon budgets
A new report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) concludes that the UK's carbon budgets can be met but only if the Government strengthens its key policies. The CCC’s latest progress report to Parliament says that the first carbon budget has been met but partly as a consequence of the recession. There has been strong progress in improving the fuel efficiency of new cars and the foundations have been laid for the electric vehicle market and ...
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“Modest” amount of gas and oil in Scotland’s Midland Valley
The British Geological Survey’s report on gas and oil in the Midland Valley, Scotland, suggests only "modest" amounts of both are in place. The central estimate of shale gas in place is 80 trillion cubic feet; the central estimate for shale oil in place is six billion barrels; but exploratory drilling is needed to determine how much of the gas and oil can be technically and commercially recovered. Amounts are expected to be substantially lower than the ...
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Renewable electricity generation up 43%
Government figures out today show the progress made against the UK’s 15% target under the 2009 EU Renewable Directive. Provisional calculations show that 5.2% of final energy consumption in 2013 came from renewable sources; up from 4.2% in 2012. There was significant growth in the contribution of renewable electricity, up 30%; whilst renewable heating and renewable transport contributions also rose. In addition, renewables share of electricity generation (hydro, wind and other renewables) increased from 12.4% in 2013 Q1 ...
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Renewable energy seals sale of one of Scotland’s largest estates
Knight Frank has revealed that it has acted in the sale of one of the largest Scottish estates which had an £11 million price tag on account of significant income potential from generating hydro-electricity. The 28,300-acre Auch & Invermearan Estate in Argyllshire and Perthshire has the potential for 15 hydro-electric schemes, one of which has already been commissioned, generating a gross income of £245,000 in its first year of operation. According to the firm, the estate also ...
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Go-ahead for East Anglia offshore wind farm
The East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm has been given development consent by the Department for Energy and Climate Change. The installation will comprise up to 240 wind turbine generators with a capacity of 1200MW, to be located 43km from the Suffolk coast. It is expected to support almost 2,900 jobs and bring over £520 million of investment into the UK’s economy.
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Economic risks of climate change get bigger
The economic risks from unchecked climate change are bigger than previously estimated, according to a new paper by Professor Lord Stern, chair of the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, and Simon Dietz, who is a co-director. The study warns that the standard DICE model, used in a wide range of economic studies of the potential impacts of climate change, does not reflect the full extent of the risks because it "embodies a false assumption ...
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Boost for UK infrastructure with new Bill
Today has seen the publication of new legislation designed to encourage investment in Britain’s infrastructure. The Infrastructure Bill aims to create stable long-term funding for work on the country’s major road network and to make it easier to sell surplus and redundant public sector land and property, allowing more homes to be built on brownfield sites. The legislation will also give local people the right to buy a stake in renewable energy projects Other measures include: making a number ...
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China welcomes UK green construction standards
Buildings in China could soon be built to British green construction standards, Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has announced. UK construction firm, Building Research Establishment, has signed an agreement with the Shenzhen Municipal Government to set up a training and R&D centre in China’s fastest growing city. The centre will deliver training on a national scale to other cities and promote services, including certifying buildings to green construction standards, possibly creating up to £200 million of work ...
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One step closer to Scottish Islands grid links
We are now one step closer to unlocking the renewable energy potential of the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland Islands. A new government-commissioned report by Xero Energy has identified a series of actions to help deliver electricity grid connections as part of on-going efforts to support the development of renewable energy on the three Scottish island groups. The key findings, which will be considered by the inter-governmental Scottish Islands Renewables Group, include issues relating to: certainty for developers ...
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SMEs encouraged to generate bioenergy from wetlands
Three UK businesses have been awarded a share of over £1.3 million to support innovation in turning reeds and rushes from wetlands into bioenergy, Energy and Climate Change Minister, Greg Barker, has announced. Contracts have been awarded to AMW IBERS, Natural Synergies and AB Systems, as part of a competition to help entrepreneurs demonstrate new ways of turning plant-based material derived from harvesting wetlands into renewable heat and electricity. According to the Government, sustainably sourced bioenergy has ...
