A similar website service for household and business energy now helps people compare energy prices and features allowing them to decide which is the most appropriate service or product for them.

Establishing which is the cheapest, greenest or most suitable energy provider has always been tricky – particularly given the frequent rate of price change and the difficulty for example in establishing precisely how green an energy supplier is. The website uSwitch allows people to compare energy prices by entering their postcode and answering a few questions about their energy use. The website does not take an email address so it cannot spam you.

uSwitch uses data provided directly by suppliers. The prices are continuously monitored so they are up to date. The results table sets out more information than price. There is a ‘Green and Environmental Electricity’ column which tells you the environmental credentials of the product whilst at the same time allowing you to compare the product prices. The environmental policies or actions are set out in the table e.g. “all the electricity comes from the company’s own wind turbines“. There is also a customer rating column and consumer reviews which helps particularly when considering a less well know energy provider.

uSwitch have deals in place with some of the suppliers and get a commission if you sign up to a new supplier via their website. All of the information that goes into the website is based on up to date information though and they say the commercial relationships have no impact on the ranking on the results table.

Statistics for the third quarter of 2011, released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, show that renewable sources generated 9 per cent of the UK’s electricity from July to September. That represents an increase of nearly 1 per cent on the same quarter last year.

DECC highlighted the fact that the amount of electricity generated from offshore wind has increased “substantially” compared to the same quarter in 2010, partly because of increased capacity, and partly because it was the windiest September for at least ten years.

When the overall figures for the first three quarters of 2011 (Jan – Sept) are taken into account, the statistics show a 64% increase in the amount of electricity generated by offshore wind on the same three quarters for last year (up from 4865 gigawatt hours to 6618GWh), and a 36% increase for onshore wind (up from 1943 GWh to 3189 GWh).

Dr Gordon Edge, RenewableUK’s Director of Policy, said: “This is another strong set of statistics from DECC, proving that despite the anti-wind propaganda being spouted by lobbyists with their own particular agendas, wind turbines are continuing to generate increasingly large amounts of electricity for the UK’s households.

We will continue to offer a secure supply of clean energy which will reduce our dependence on ultra-expensive fossil fuels such as gas. Let’s not forget that it’s the cost of importing gas which has sent domestic fuel bills through the roof, so we have to get off the fossil fuel hook. Renewable sources such as wind offer us excellent value for money overall. We believe that hard-pressed households deserve the best deal when it comes to cutting their energy bills in the long term, Dr Edge commented.

DECC also highlighted the growth in the UK’s installed capacity to generate electricity from renewable sources of 400 megawatts in the third quarter of the year – a 12 per cent increase on Q3 a year earlier. Nearly two-thirds of that increase (240MW) came from onshore and offshore wind, with the first turbines of the Ormonde and Greater Gabbard offshore wind farms beginning operation.

The UK now has enough installed capacity to supply more than 3,300,000 homes from wind energy.

The announcement comes as another offshore wind farm is commissioned in UK waters off the coast of Kent.

Thanet wind farm comprises 100 Vestas wind turbines each rated at 3 Megawatts.  Thanet owner and operator Vattenfall say it is the largest operational wind farm in the world.

According to the RenewableUK, the UK now has nearly 18GW of wind capacity either consented, in construction or in the planning system in addition to 5GW in operation.

Chief Executive Maria McCaffery MBE, said:

“Five gigawatts is an important milestone for two reasons: it takes us within reach of our 2010 targets on renewable electricity, while proving that each successive gigawatt takes less and less time to deploy. Renewable energy generally and wind energy in particular is not alternative energy any longer – it is absolutely mainstream.”

Øystein Løseth, President and CEO of Vattenfall, said:
“Today we are proud to launch Thanet offshore wind farm, the world’s largest operating offshore wind farm. We are pleased that our investment is making a substantial contribution to the delivery of UK renewable energy objectives and to the Isle of Thanet economy. Vattenfall is working hard to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from its operations, and projects like Thanet Offshore Wind Farm are a cornerstone of delivery.”

Graham McQuarrie at the National Grid’s press office said that at 8.30pm on Monday 6 September that 1860 Megawatts was being generated from wind energy mainly from Scotland – accounting for 4.7 per cent of total generation at the time.

Over the 24 hours for the day between midnight and midnight, wind generated 5 % of all electricity – 40GWh out of a total 809GWh.

National Grid also believes that if embedded wind generation is taken into account, about 10% of the UK’s power was generated by wind on Monday.

The new offshore wind farms across Europe total 333 Megawatts (MW) indicating that 2010 is set to be a more progressive year than 2009 which delivered 577 MW at the end of the full year. 151 additional wind turbines have been built but not connected to the grid taking the total installed to 440 MW.

According to EWEA figures there are now 43 operational offshore wind farms in Europe with a total capacity of 2,396 MW.

Energy utility Eon built the most offshore wind farms followed by Dong and Vattenfall. Wind turbine manufacturer Siemens supplied the majority of turbines.

Peter Madigan, Head of Offshore Renewables at RenewableUK, commented:

“Offshore wind build-out is definitely picking up steam across Europe. It is an emphatic endorsement of wind energy as a technology, as countries such as Germany and Denmark, which already have significant onshore wind installations are now pursuing ambitious offshore plans.”

During the first half of 2010, the UK delivered 1GW of installed offshore wind energy capacity accounting for around 40% of European installed capacity. It also has a total development pipeline of 49GW, with a potential do deliver 150 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity per annum, out of the UK’s total net consumption of around 315 TWh.

“Offshore wind can deliver not just electricity, but jobs and business benefits to the UK. Earlier this year we have seen some of the world’s best known companies commit to building offshore wind turbines in the UK. This is a once in a generation opportunity and the right time for Government to support the nascent UK offshore sector with well timed investment in ports and infrastructure” said Madigan.

Spanish born lawyer Miriam Gonzalez has been invited to provide independent advice to the company’s board. According to cabinet sources, discussions progressed with Acciona prior to the general election.

Spanish infrastructure giant Acciona both manufactures wind turbines and constructs wind farms throughout the globe. The company is actively progressing onshore wind farm development in the UK. Acciona are also involved in solar, biomass, small-scale hydroelectric schemes and biofuels.

Gonzalez is reported to have consulted the Ethics and Propriety section of the Cabinet office before accepting the non-exec role. Industry representatives however believe her involvement with Acciona may have a positive effect on renewable energy provision in the UK in terms of the right messages getting through to the UK Government on the realities of the sector.

The two 250 kW wind turbines owned by Aspenall Energies are expected to provide 7 percent of the Bacardi distillery’s needs and offset over 900 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

The largest zones at Doggerbank (9000 Megawatts) and Norfolk (7200 MW) go to consortia giants Forewind and East Anglia Offshore Wind.  Forewind is made up of RWE renewables, Scottish and Southern Energy, Statoil and Statkraft.  East Anglia Offshore Wind is Scottish Power Renewables and Vattenfall Vindkraft.

Eddie O’Connor’s Mainstream Renewables and Siemans bagged the 4000 MW Hornsea zone, whilst SeaGreen Wind Energy Ltd equally owned by SSE Renewables and Fluor, won the Firth of Forth Zone.

Eon and Dutch utility Eneco were left with the smaller south of England coast sites off Brighton and the Isle of Wight.

Prime Minister, Gordon Brown MP said: “Our policies in support of offshore wind energy have already put us ahead of every other country in the world. This new round of licences provides a substantial new platform for investing in UK industrial capacity. The offshore wind industry is at the heart of the UK economy’s shift to low carbon and could be worth £75 billion and support up to 70,000 jobs by 2020.”

The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband said: “Our island has one of the best wind energy resources in Europe and today’s news shows we’re creating the right conditions for the energy industry to invest in harnessing it. This is one of the strongest signals yet that the UK is locked irreversibly into a low carbon, energy secure prosperous future.”

The 3rd round of offshore wind development takes engineering and financing challenges to a new level.  Doggerbank is between 125 and 195 kilometres offshore with its outer limit aligned to UK continental shelf limit as defined by the UK Hydrographic Office.  The area involved is equivalent in size to North Yorkshire.

British Wind Energy Association CEO Maria McCaffery said: “Today’s announcement is a major leap forward in realising the potential for clean, green energy production through wind power: it sets the UK apart as the leading offshore wind energy producer not only in Europe but worldwide both in terms of total potential power generation from offshore, and the scale of new green collar employment opportunity”.

“We need to ensure the UK also benefits through a boost in manufacturing, engineering and skills: but this will only happen if additional action is taken by the Government through working actively to create coastal manufacturing hubs.  This will encourage wind energy manufacturing companies to locate in the UK and enable British businesses to take full advantage of the supply chain opportunities for the benefit of jobs and the UK economy as well as Britain’s energy security”.

The announcement confirmed earlier leaked information about which companies had secured the key sites.

The joint AWEA / CanWEA report on Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects was put together by a multidisciplinary panel who conducted the most extensive study of its kind to date. The seven-member panel included experts in the fields of medicine, audiology, acoustics, environmental and public health from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Denmark.

The report is based on a review of a large body of scientific literature on sound and health effects, and specifically with regard to sound produced by wind turbines. After extensive review, analysis and discussion, the panel concluded that sounds or vibrations emitted from wind turbines have no adverse effect on human health.

CanWEA president Robert Hornung said: ‘’The Canadian Wind Energy Association supports the responsible and sustainable development of wind energy in Canada. This study will go a long way in addressing people’s concerns and answering their questions about the effects of wind turbines. Canada’s wind energy industry will continue to take a proactive role in ensuring wind energy developments are good neighbours to the communities that have embraced wind energy.’

The executive summary states that the panel had ‘reached consensus on the following conclusions’:

• There is no evidence that the audible or sub-audible sounds emitted by wind turbines have any direct adverse physiological effects.

• The ground-borne vibrations from wind turbines are too weak to be detected by, or to affect, humans.

• The sounds emitted by wind turbines are not unique. There is no reason to believe, based on the levels and frequencies of the sounds and the panel’s experience with sound exposures in occupational settings, that the sounds from wind turbines could plausibly have direct adverse health consequences.