Wind Energy and renewable energy blog

Court Costs Mount up for Anti-Wind Farm Campaigners

The recent trend of anti-wind farm campaigners challenging wind farm planning consents is unlikely to continue if the experiences of recent court cases are repeated.

Den Brook wind farm, near Crediton in Devon was first proposed five years ago. After being given the go- ahead by the Planning Inspectorate at appeal, challenges were mounted by resident Mr Hulme against the Government’s decision. The latest judge to consider the case – Frances Patterson QC however rejected all 10 reasons for the high court challenge, concluding that the decision to grant consent for the 9 wind turbines was ‘thorough and reasonable’.

Helen Hall, project manager for wind farm company RES told the BBC:

Workhorse Tidal Turbine Built

The largest and most power tidal turbine ever has been unveiled by Austrailian company Atlantis.

The AK1000 was developed by Atlantis Resources Corporation in Iverngordon, Scotland. It is programmed for installation at the European Marine Energy Centre off Orkney later this year.

The turbine is rated at 1 Megawatt and is expected to produce enough electricity for the annual needs of 1000 homes. It has been specifically designed for the hostile north sea waters and is 22.5 metres high with an 18 metre rotor diameter. The low rotor speed has been designed to reduce marine life impacts.

Wind Turbine Manufacturer Share Prices Fall

The BBC reported this week that shares in leading wind turbine manufacturer Vestas have slumped this year.

The company suffered net losses of 119m euros in the second quarter, down from a profit of 43m euros one year ago according to the BBC.

Vestas expects a substantial new wind farm contract in China to help soften the blow of postponed orders in Europe and the US.

Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa also experienced a drop in share price on Wednesday.

UK Councils to sell Electricity to the Grid

From this week the public sector are allowed to sell electricity to the grid in the UK.

The move comes as Energy Secretary Chris Hulne tries to add momentum to the decentralisation of electricity production in the UK via the Feed in Tariff.

The Local Government Act of 1976 previously prevented local councils in England and Wales from selling electricity not produced alongside heat. The UK government now believes that local authorities should be leading the way when it comes to investing in small scale renewable energy.

Hulne said:

Solar PV ‘Feed in Tariff’ Outlook

Market research company iSuppli predicts that the global PV market will expand next year despite reduced government incentives in some European countries.

Overall, reduced solar PV prices are expected to boost the industry with global installations predicted to total 20.2 Gigawatts in 2011. Even in Germany and Italy where incentives via feed in tariffs have been significantly cut, return on investment is predicted to be in the 8-10% range.

iSuppli’s de Haan said “iSuppli believes 2012 will be the year when the PV industry weans itself from the generosity of German subsidies …The German market will cool off and expand by only 4 to 5GW per year for the next several years. We believe the government aims to keep an orderly progression in order to achieve an ultimate goal of around 80GW of installed PV capacity.”

Although cuts in government feed in tariffs have had an impact in some countries, new incentives have appeared in others such as the UK.

Government Criticised for ‘Breaking the Law’ on Renewable Energy & Heat

The UK Micropower Council has criticised the UK government for ‘breaking the law on renewables’. The organisation called on David Cameron to stand by his pledge to be the ‘greenest government ever’.

In a newly published report the Micropower Council claims Local Government Department Ministers have broken the law by failing to comply with an Act of Parliament requiring the implementation of Permitted Development rights for air source heat pumps and micro wind turbines.

30 UK Organisations Campaign to Save Regional Planning

Kelvin MacDonald from the UK’s Royal Town Planning Institute spoke to Radio 4’s Today Programme this week about the void that has been created through the abolition of regional plans.

30 organisations including the World Wildlife Fund, the National Home Builders Federation, and the Council for the Protection of Rural England have come together to voice their concerns about the sudden withdrawal of planning policy ‘above the neighbourhood level’. They are worried that ministers will miss the bigger picture if environmental protection, housing and planning is left to localism – putting the national interest at risk.

MacDonald said that the organisations want to work with the government to deal with the problem and said that local authorities had already stopped planning for new housing.

Wind Turbine Installation Kicked off at Sheringham Shoal

A specialised vessel is now installing wind turbine monopiles and transition pieces at Sheringham Shoal offshore wind farm off the UK north Norfolk coast.

The 317 megawatt (MW) wind farm is located between 17 and 22 km north of the town of Sheringham. Construction work began in March of this year and the wind farm is expected to be generating green electricity by the end of 2011.