Wind Energy and renewable energy blog

How do I know if a Green Electricity Tariff is Genuine?

With all of the big 6 energy companies and a number of smaller independent companies now selling green electricity how are we supposed to know which tariffs are genuinely encouraging new renewable energy generation in the UK and which are begrudgingly doing the bare minimum?

All electricity retailers in the UK are required to supply a proportion of their electricity from renewable sources (currently 11%). If they don’t they have to pay a ‘buyout’ fee – a bit like a fine. So how do you find out whether your chosen green electricity supplier is being forced into supplying your electricity from renewable sources as part of its legal obligation or whether it is going the extra mile in encouraging new renewable energy because you are paying a green electricity rate?

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.

Energy Secretary Promotes Wind Energy & Says ‘No Money’ for New Nuclear

UK Energy Secretary Chris Hulne has reinforced the message that there will be no government cash for new nuclear power stations in an interview with The Telegraph this week.

The Lib Dems have always been opposed to Nuclear and energy department cuts of over 25% make it easy for Hulne to stand by his position.

Hulne instead highlighted government support for more onshore and offshore wind turbines, saying that wind energy is incredibly competitive in producing green electricity.

Vestas Open Wind Turbine Office in South Africa

Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas opened a new office in South Africa yesterday to support its expected future expansion in the region. The company has been active in the country for a number of years and says the new office has been opened in recognition of the bright future for wind energy in the region in the longer term.

Tesco to Sell Feed in Tariff Solar Panels

Supermarket giant Tesco is to start selling solar panels in the UK according to the Timesonline today.

The UK Feed In Tariff is programmed to start on Thursday 1st April and expected to result in a substantial number of people starting to generate their own green electricity. Under the scheme

UK Micro- Renewable Energy Masterclasses

With fixed prices for small scale green energy generation on their way, UK residents are starting to show some serious interest in generating their own renewable electricity.

Green electricity company Good Energy is planning an event to help people get started with their own electricity projects.

The workshop ‘Power from the People: How to Generate Renewable Energy’ is aimed at a wide ranging audience from homeowners to farmers with the objective of helping to get small scale renewable energy projects up and running.

Death at Scottish Wind Farm Site

The BBC reported today that a contractor has died at a wind farm at the north eastern tip of Scotland.

The incident happened whilst the contractor was carrying out routine maintenance work at Causeymire Wind Farm near Thurso. Emergency services rushed to the wind farm site just off the A9 at approximately 9am this morning

Last of the Round 1 Offshore Wind Farms Heads for 2009 Completion

It will have taken nearly 10 years to get the first round of UK offshore wind energy projects up and running by the time the last Round 1 offshore wind farm is completed at Rhyl Flats later this year.

Back in April 2001, following a pre-qualification process, 18 companies were selected by the Crown Estate to progress projects in the first round of offshore wind farm sites on the UK seabed. This represented an unprecedented step by the then Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in pushing forward offshore wind farms. Under the agreements, the companies were given a three-year period in which to secure the required consents for a full lease to be granted by the Crown Estate.

npower renewables built the first commercial scale offshore wind farm in UK waters in 2003 between Rhyl and Prestatyn off the north coast of Wales. This 30 turbine wind farm known as North Hoyle was built with help from capital grants and now generates enough green electricity for the annual average needs of 40,000 homes.

Over 6 years later npower has purchased the rights for the development of sister project “Rhyll Flats” from Celtic Offshore Wind Limited (COWL). The site is located to the west of North Hoyle 5 miles from shore.

Can our Grid System Cope with Domestic Renewable Energy?

With more people wanting to be energy self sufficient and goverments providing financial incentives to make this ideal more affordable, we are looking at a future where domestic energy generation is rolled out to the masses.

In the UK, National Grid operate the high level grid infrastructure (generally any substations, power lines or cables rated at above 132kV) and distribution network organisations operate the local grid infrastructure of 132kV and below in the different regions.

With this anticipated increase in households generating their own green electricity, so will come increasing demands to connect these individual generators to the local distribution networks. Domestic generators such as solar PV panels, micro-wind turbines, or micro-scale CHP units will have the potential to export small amounts of electricity (as little as 0.5 kW). The result will be far more complex, actively managed local electricity networks, in which power flows in different directions at different times. Ensuring that distribution operators are ready for this change represents a major challenge.

2009 Forecast Promising for European Wind Energy

Europe’s wind energy trade association has revealed new research showing that the wind farm industry has weathered the financial climate successfully over the last year.

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) says that 8,600 Megawatts (MW) of new wind energy capacity will be installed in the European Union countries during 2009. Assuming each turbine is rated 2MW capacity this means an additional circa 4,300 wind turbines generating green electricity across Europe.

New Wind Energy Kites

San Francisco based company Makani Power is aiming high with its idea to develop green electricity from kites.

In this TED presentation, Makani Power’s Saul Griffith says that commercial wind turbines are restricted from utilising the full potential of wind energy because the towers cannot be constructed higher than circa 100 metres high. He says a kite system is much better because it can capture increased wind energy at higher altitudes.

The company is currently developing control systems for a robot to fly the kite for sustained periods of time. What is not explained in the presentation or on Makani’s website is how much space you need to operate the kite, how you stop it getting tangled with the next kite along, how you make it robust and how you stop it being whipped away by passing air traffic. Good luck guys…

Paxman’s Brother Says No Wind Turbines in My Back Yard

Jeremy Paxman’s brother has spoken out against a wind farm proposal in his Dartmoor back yard today, saying the wind turbines would “stick out like a sore thumb”.

At a public inquiry held in Okehampton, Devon, James Paxman said “It is my personal opinion that wind turbines are one of the least reliable and least cost-effective modes of electricity generation”. The brother of climate change sceptic TV celebrity Jeremy Paxman also said he believes government subsidies are wrongly focussed towards wind turbines – despite marine and offshore wind energy recieving higher financial credits per megawatt hour of generated renewable energy.

Wind Energy Unreliability Myth Dismissed

The British Wind Energy Association have declared this month that the myth of wind energy intermittency problems has been debunked.

A report published by a coalition of environmental NGO’s is the third this year to conclude that the variability of the wind is not the problem many people say it is when it comes to supplying a significant proportion of green electricity from wind farms.

World’s First Floating Wind Turbine

The world’s first ‘full scale’ floating wind turbine has been installed off the Norwegian coast by Statoil Hydro.

The 2.3 Megawatt turbine has 100 metres of ballast below the water to support the massive structure. It is expected to generate enough green electricity for the equivalent of 1600 UK homes.

The project costing US $16m is a test case with US $9m allocated for ‘testing’. This video explains the project and interviews a StatoilHydro representative.

What is Stopping the Severn Barrage?

The idea of an electricity generating tidal barrage across the Severn Estuary between England and Wales has been around for 160 years. Conceptually the Severn tidal barrage is a simple and green renewable energy technology in a location which has the second highest tidal range in the world (next to the bay of Fundy in Canada).

The Severn Barrage has had numerous advocates from James Lovelock and Tony Blair to the Welsh Assembly. Why is it then that every time the idea is resurrected by a new advocate it rapidly disappears from the headlines to sink back into the mudflats?

Npower Threaten to Sue Over “Juice” Green Brand Name

According to electricity supply giant npower, a London Council is illegally using a brand name for their electric and hybrid car recharging posts.

“npower juice” is the brand name given to the “renewable electricity” purchased by npower customers. The brand was formed in 2001 with Greenpeace supporting the PR campaign.

University of Oklahoma to Pay Premium for Renewable Energy

The University of Oklahoma has recently signed a contract with Oklahoma Gas and Electric, committing the University to paying above standard tariff rates for green electricity. These rates, paid in increasing amounts up to 2013 will form wind energy credits which in turn will help provide funds for a new “OU Spirit Wind Farm” wind energy project near Woodward.

In the past there has been a perception that people are not prepared to pay more for green electricity. This has changed recently along with the realisation that dealing with the effects of climate change is important for future generations.