Yearly Archives: 2014

The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) are looking for co-investors to help raise £1 billion towards offshore wind farm projects in Britain. The bank received criticism when they revealed a £5.7m headline loss but Chief executive Shan Kingsbury said this was “somewhat misleading” because a number of projects are still under construction.

The Scotland-based bank was set up in 2012 and has committed a total of £1.3 billion to projects already. GIB announced 24 June 2014 that it was launching a fund for long-term investors to purchase equity stakes in already-operational offshore wind farm projects. This approach will encourage investors to buy shares in renewable energy projects that have previously been considered too risky. GIB want to do more to maximise their green impact and plan to extend their reach into new markets like community-scale renewables.

Community owned renewable energy projects can mean people benefiting in real and financial terms from the provision of their own energy. Allowing communities to generate their own energy is a better option than subsidising unsustainable fuel consumption. This is certainly a step in the right direction and we look forward to hearing more about GIB’s community based renewable energy projects.

http://http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/24/green-investment-bank-launch-offshore-wind-farms-fund

Located off the coast of Suffolk, the East Anglia One offshore wind farm will cover an area of approximately 300 square kilometres and is scheduled to install up to 240 wind turbines – which would make it the biggest wind farm in the world! The consent application for East Anglia ONE was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in November 2012, consented in June 2014 and the developer estimates the farm will be operational in 2019.

East Anglia ONE Offshore Wind is a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall, and is the largest renewable energy project ever to receive planning consent in England and Wales. Once built, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) predict the wind farm will generate enough electricity to power approximately 820,000 homes. Throughout its construction the wind farm is expected to add more than £500 million into the region’s economy.

We specialise in small-scale onshore developments but we applaud the huge contribution to emissions reduction this development will make.The UK have a lot to gain from it including 2,900 job opportunities and reduced reliance on imported fuel. The approval marks a significant stepping stone for the future of renewable energy in the UK at a time when the coalition government is threatening to remove subsidies for onshore and offshore wind energy projects. Wind power is continuing to play an increasingly important part in meeting the UK’s energy needs despite mixed messages from government.

http://http://eastangliaone.eastangliawind.com

Fine Energy’s mission is to reduce humanity’s dependence on power stations by introducing wind energy generation as an alternative – and we’re not bluffing! Statistics published 26 June 2014 by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) prove the case for wind power. An impressive 19.4 percent of all the UK’s electricity mix in the first quarter of 2014 was generated from renewable energy sources. This is enough to power 15.17 million homes. Indeed, the DECC continued by attributing this impressive figure to the improved performance of onshore and offshore wind power.

Wind energy’s biggest fan RenewableUK’s Director of External Affairs Jennifer Webber said, “Once again wind delivered… offshore wind made a significant contribution to getting us off the hook of fossil fuels…without the strong performance of wind last year the Government would have been even further behind its energy figures.”

It is time to start looking at the facts. Onshore wind showed the highest absolute increase in generation, by increasing 62 percent to 6.6 terawatt hours. Wind energy is clean, renewable, sustainable, sourced in Britain and the cheapest way to generate new electricity.

Don’t wage war on wind energy, become friends with the earth.

http://www.renewableuk.com/en/news/press-releases.cfm/2014-06-26-high-wind-speeds-lead-renewables-to-hit-all-time-high-at-nearly-20-of-electricity-mix

It was revealed 4 June 2014 that BT has agreed a £300m deal to buy enough energy from Fallago Rig wind farm to meet the energy demands of all its Scottish operations for the next 20 years. BT Scotland director Brendan Dick has recognised the company is a major consumer of electricity and has said the firm was keen to meet its energy needs in an environmentally responsible way.

The telecom giant had previously signed a contract in 2004 to ensure BT’s depots, offices and 6,500 telephone exchanges would be powered mainly from sustainable resources such as wave, solar, wind and hydroelectric schemes. The BT Group signed the world’s largest renewable energy deal with npower and British Gas, and now all of their offices are powered by renewable energy.

In addition, this news is a reminder of The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, a key commitment of the Scottish Government. Scotland aimed to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and it is encouraging news that a company the size of BT is taking a local and sustainable approach to sourcing its electricity, helping Scotland achieve its targets of sustainable economic growth.

Notably, the use of renewable energy doesn’t have to fall on the shoulders of large corporations. Any business with a suitable land area can benefit from small scale wind projects. Fine Energy is currently working with a UK Port to put in two 100kW wind turbines to provide electricity to its pump house, essential to the operation of the Port.

Something to bear in mind.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-27682415

Rockall is an uninhabited, remote granite islet that has been a point of interest for adventurers who have managed to land on the tiny island. The occupiable area of Rockall is just 11ft by 4ft and is subject to frequent bouts of adverse weather conditions. The land is considered too small for a housing development of any kind, however as of 6 June 2014 Nick Hancock has accepted a charity challenge to stay there for 60 days in a yellow water tank. Nick is keen to record his adventure and will be using renewable energy in the form of a wind turbine to power his laptop and other equipment.

I shouldn’t imagine his pizza delivery will arrive within 30 minutes…

Good luck Nick!

Read the full article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/windpower/10882869/Adventurer-sets-up-wind-turbine-on-Rockall.htmlp