A multi-billion dollar deal has been reached in Spain to provide wind energy technology to Spanish power utility Iberdrola Gamesa SA concluded the deal with Iberdrola Renovables SA to provide turbines and accessories. The agreement is the largest-ever wind-power deal, Iberdrola Renovables said. {pagebreak} The turbines will have a joint potential to generate 4,500 megawatts… Read more »
The UK government’s latest approach to tackling climate change has been welcomed by the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA). In a report, the government’s Committee on Climate Change recommends the rapid development of carbon capture and storage technology as one of the cornerstones of meeting the target for an 80 per cent reduction in… Read more »
Wind power supplied a record 43 percent of all electricity demand in rain and wind-lashed Spain for a brief period on November 23. Spanish wind farms generated 9,253 megawatts of the total demand of 21,264 megawatts at around 5 am, a moment when energy usage was low because most Spaniards were still asleep. {pagebreak} The… Read more »
Wind energy could be supplying 12 per cent of the world’s energy needs and saving 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 a year by 2020. The claim has been made by a coalition of wind energy companies, associations and NGOs determined to find practical solutions to climate change. {pagebreak} With plans to launch a Wind Power… Read more »
UK Trade Minister Gareth Thomas has encouraged low-carbon tech business leaders to spark new waves of investment opportunities in China. The Minister has endorsing the ideas coming out of China for the creation of Low Carbon Development Zones; Chinese cities and regions acting as pilots for policies to invigorate the large scale economic transformation required… Read more »
A new ‘Solar Totem Tracker’, which makes it possible to track the progress of the sun and direct light to PV panels, has been unveiled in Italy. Enerqos plc, a leading photovoltaic system and solar power plant construction company and ESP, which designs and construction of metal structures for the photovoltaic sector, showcased their tracker… Read more »
The EU has agreed to adopt the Declaration of Budapest which will address wide ranging plans for renewable energy. The 8th Inter-Parliamentary Meeting (IPM8) organised by EUFORES – the European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources – {pagebreak} brought together more than 60 European and national Parliamentarians from 19 EU Member States. Parliamentarians discussed the negotiation… Read more »
Wind farms could be having a radical impact on North Sea wildlife, a new study warns. There are currently 167 operational wind turbines off the North Coast, with another 14 under construction, as part of the UK Government’s drive for renewable energy sources. The first of 60 giant wind turbines has just gone up in… Read more »
A UK partnership plans to turn more than a dozen former coal mine sites into renewable power plants, putting up wind turbines to generate up to 133 megawatts (MW) of power. In the deal, the Peel Company and UK Coal are looking at 14 former coal mining sites for the construction of 54 wind turbines…. Read more »
Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa has received a €175-million order from energy group Endesa. Gamesa will supply the Spanish group with about 100 wind turbines generators, amounting to the installation of 190 megawatts of power. {pagebreak} The order includes “the delivery, start-up and installation of the wind turbines, along with their operation and maintenance,” Gamesa… Read more »
The renewables industry in the UK has welcomed new legislation included in the Energy Bill to introduce a feed-in-tariff. In the House of Commons debate MPs also agreed to introduce a Renewable Heat Incentive, although no clear timetable was agreed. Biogas received a boost from the heat incentive clause, as it entitles producers of renewable… Read more »
The global growth rates for the PV market are showing excellent health, according to a new study by Bank Sarasin. The report forecasts average global growth rates of 48 per cent for the sector up to 2012, with the global market volume of newly installed PV systems rising from 4 gigawatts in 2008 to 125… Read more »
Europe should erect more wind turbines, a new report into energy in the bloc has said. A draft of the EU’s Second Strategic Energy Review, says planning will start for a new power grid linking offshore wind turbines in the North Sea and for bolstering imports of liquefied natural gas. {pagebreak} Linking all the North… Read more »
Former US vice-president turned environmental guru Al Gore says Barack Obama should set drastic targets to force the US to switch to renewable energy in an effort to slow down climate change. Gore said that one of Obama’s first acts as US president should be to demand a move to 100 per cent renewable energy… Read more »
Irish energy company Energia has taken delivery of 61 megawatts of wind power from two major new turbine facilities in counties Cork and Kerry. The company will harness the wind for onward supply to its renewable energy customers throughout Ireland. Energia supplies 25 per cent of the business electricity market on an all-island basis with… Read more »
The UK government must massively increase its investment in low-carbon technologies if it wants the county to meet its climate change goals, according to business leaders. In a report, the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) argues that there is a “lack of ambition in the UK” for the new technology and that an increased focus… Read more »
A new line of PV products from Rohm and Haas is set to help increase solar cell efficiency across Europe. Enlight photovoltaic products use innovative materials to improve the efficiency of solar cells, enhancing their ability to convert the sun’s light into electrical energy. The company’s technology also helps solar cell manufacturers more quickly produce… Read more »
British wind power experts have been sharing their expertise with Taiwanese counterparts at a seminar in Taipei held by the British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO). Led by Richard Brooks, head of Business Development of the Renewable Deployment Team of Britain’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, a U.K. delegation comprised of 16 experts from… Read more »
The EU Commissioner for Energy has said that its proposed climate and energy legislative package should be moved forward despite the current global financial crisis. Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Energy, told attendees at the Cercle Royal Gaulois energy conference in Brussels that it is ‘completely irresponsible’ for politicians to postpone adopting the package since… Read more »
Sharp Corp, one of the world’s biggest makers of silicon-based solar cells, will introduce next generation thin film solar cells in the U.S. market in August next year. The lower cost of thin film solar is seen by Sharp and its competitors as the best way to create utility-scale solar panel arrays because they can… Read more »
The bounce that the election of Barack Obama has brought to America was reflected in a soar in the price of green energy stocks. Solar Integrated Technologies rose by 30 per cent the day after the election, following increases of 22 per cent by Renewable Energy Corporation and 16 per cent by the wind turbine… Read more »
The Chinese government has warned of the difficulty of curbing growing greenhouse gas emissions in the foreseeable future. Beijing has said it wants to combat climate change yet ensure China’s economic take-off is unimpeded, and a recent government white paper on climate change reflects the uneasy fit between those imperatives. {pagebreak} China faces shrinking crops,… Read more »
Power and Energy Solutions (PES) magazine has been named as an official partner for the European Wind Energy Conference in Marseille, France, next year. The event, which will be held in March, is the biggest gathering of wind energy experts and commentators from Europe and beyond and it provides an opportunity to discover the latest… Read more »
Nine UK manufacturers are ready to blow away the competition to gain new business in wind energy and other fast growing renewable energy sectors. As part of an Envirolink business improvement project funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency and central government, the companies have energised their own people and performance to compete more effectively… Read more »
Power conversion specialists Converteam have taken top honours at an awards ceremony which recognised their work in the wind turbine field. The UK-based company, which makes a leading range of drives, including the MV3000, widely used in the most advanced wind turbines, came first in the World Class Manufacturing category at the Manufacturer 2008 Live… Read more »
German company DEGERenergie has just opened its third solar park on a former landfill site. The new park, in Rexingen, Kreis Freudenstadt, joins established parks in Heiligenfeld and Oberiflingen. Enough power will be generated to cover the energy needs of the entire town. {pagebreak} In total 190 kWp are installed on 1.5 hectares. Fifty four… Read more »
No strangers to lucrative means of producing energy, the money men of the Middle East are now looking towards the renewables sector for cleaner ways of making a profit. A company based in Abu Dhabi has bought a 20 per cent stake in London Array offshore wind farm, which is set to be one of… Read more »
Industrial giant Siemens Energy is to supply a steam turbine for one of the world’s first commercial solar tower power plants. The Spanish company Sener will build the innovative solar thermal power plant with a capacity of 19 megawatts (MW) at a site near Seville in Andalusia. {pagebreak} For the “Solar Tres” project Siemens will… Read more »
Insurance premiums for renewable energy projects look set to rise by up to 10 per cent over the next two years, as a direct result of the current economic crisis. Specialist renewable energy insurer GCube has announced that it has secured an increased underwriting capacity to cover business up to a value of $800 million… Read more »
No less a personage than the Queen of England has stepped into the renewables debate by promising to invest in wind power projects in the deep waters off Britain. The Crown Estate, which is the holder of the Queen’s property, says it will pay up to half of all pre-construction development costs for companies wanting… Read more »
High efficiency PV panels are to be installed on the roof of a Californian warehouse to create one of the world’s largest solar projects at a winery. The 1.2 megawatt solar system installation at Constellation Wines US’ Gonzales Winery in Monterey County, will cover approximately 170,000 square feet of the main winery warehouse roof, and… Read more »
A commitment to Britain’s climate change agenda has been made despite fears of a severe downturn in the world economy. The UK’s new energy and climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, said many of the new jobs of the future will be green jobs, {pagebreak} adding that the cost to taxpayers of failing to fix the… Read more »
Harnessing Ireland’s offshore wind and wave energy is vital to help the country to slash its carbon emissions by 2020, a new parliamentary committee has said. The Dail’s Committee on Climate Change, which was established a year ago, {pagebreak} said Irish people now produce the fifth highest levels of greenhouse gas in the world in… Read more »
EPIA organises its first international Thin Film Conference More than 300 experts from the thin film sector are expected to gather in Munich on November 13 for the first European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) International Thin Film Conference. {pagebreak} With a growing demand for PV products in the European and American markets, all technological solutions… Read more »
Excessive bureaucracy and long waits to connect plants to the grid is slowing down the potential for enormous growth in Italy’s solar energy market. Although the country is a solar power hot spot, with 17,000 plants tapping its plentiful sunlight, approval for such plants can drag very slowly, taking months of painstaking decision-making. {pagebreak} “The… Read more »
A warning not to undermine EU support for renewables has been sounded by a wind energy trade body in a letter to a French minister. The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has expressed its concern about a proposed ‘review clause’ {pagebreak} in the Renewable Energy Directive, and underlined the importance of priority grid access for… Read more »