Welcome to The Renewable Energy Centre Press Room
Here you will find articles and press releases issued by The Renewable Energy Centre. If you require more information or would like to publish these, please contact Angela Gallacher (Head of Press & Marketing) on 01926 865835.
Please click on the links below to read the full articles:
Local Authorities are allowed to sell electricity back to the Grid
09 Aug 2010
RenewableUK supports the reversal of the previous government’s decision which prevented Local Authorities selling electricity back to the Grid.
RenewableUK, the country’s leading renewable energy trade association has welcomed the Government’s decision to overturn a ban on local authorities selling renewable electricity back to the Grid. The ban will end on 18th August 2010.
SWEA Celebrates a Decade of Sustainable Energy
29 Jul 2010
An independent sustainable energy organisation in Gloucestershire has celebrated its 10th anniversary with the launch of a new solar electric system, thanks to a £19,327 grant from the ScottishPower Green Energy Trust.
Severn Wye Energy Agency (SWEA) is a not-for-profit educational charity dedicated to promoting sustainable energy and reducing fuel poverty in communities in South West England and Wales. This month it unveiled its new 35m2 photovoltaic panel system, installed on the roof of its Gloucester office.
AWS Ocean Energy Secures Backing from The UK Government
23 Jul 2010
AWS Ocean Energy has today received additional funding support to develop its new wave energy device.
The Highlands company and its project partner, the University of Strathclyde, have received £350,000 from the Technology Strategy Board, which is sponsored by the UK Government to promote and support innovation and technology through its new wave energy device.
Record year for European offshore wind and the UK leads the sector
21 Jul 2010
The UK has half of newly installed European offshore wind farms in first half of 2010 and the European total approaches 2.5 gigawatts, a threefold increase since 2006.
Renewable UK, the trade association for wind and marine energy, Britain’s fastest growing green energy sectors, welcomed today’s announcement from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) that European offshore wind capacity in 2010 has grown faster than in the same period in 2009.
Paul Lester from VT Group appointed as Chairman at MCT
15 Jul 2010
Paul Lester, previously the Chief Executive of VT Group plc before it was acquired by Babcock International Group plc this month, has been appointed Chairman of UK tidal energy company, Marine Current Turbines Ltd. He succeeds Tony Davies who has been non-executive chairman of Marine Current Turbines for the past two years.
Bristol’s Marine Current Turbines (MCT) designed and deployed the SeaGen tidal energy system which is the largest grid-connected marine renewable energy system in the world and the only tidal current energy system that is in commercial operation. The 1.2MW tidal current turbine, which was deployed in April 2008, is located in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough.
.... Download PDFScottish Energy Minister Announces Funding Support for AWS Ocean Energy
06 Jul 2010
Funding support of £1.39million for AWS Ocean Energy was announced today (Tuesday July 6th, 2010) by Jim Mather, the Scottish Government Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism ahead of his visit to Loch Ness to view trials of the company’s new wave energy device.
Mr Mather confirmed that Inverness-based AWS Ocean Energy is to receive the funding support through the WATERS programme (Wave and Tidal Energy: Research, Development and Demonstration Support). The funding will be used by AWS Ocean Energy to further develop its AWS-III device, a ring-shaped multi-cell surface-floating wave power system, the result of almost two years of intensive research and development work.
.... Download PDFRenewableUK welcomes DECC announcement on offshore wind funds
05 Jul 2010
RenewableUK, the country’s leading renewable energy trade association has welcomed today’s announcement from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) of £10 million in grants for the offshore wind industry.
Gordon Edge, Director of Economics & Markets at RenewableUK, said:
GEC Co Expands their Commercial Portfolio
17 Jun 2010
South Coast Renewable Energy Experts Go Eco Consultancy Co. Ltd (GEC-Co), based in Southampton, continues to expand their important commercial portfolio of Heat Pump installations which replace traditional fossil fuel heating systems.
Following the successful installation of 400kW of Heat Pumps at an Air Base near Basingstoke reported recently, Gec-co has now secured a further 300 kW Heat Pump design and installation contract at Southend Airport, funded by The Carbon Trust zero per cent Loan Scheme. Together these installations will reduce carbon emissions by 750 tons per year.
Wind Week 2010 starts with a wind turbine in Leicester Square
11 Jun 2010
Wind Week 2010, the annual UK-wide celebration of wind energy organised by RenewableUK in partnership with the Scottish Renewables Festival, promises a special treat to Londoners on Monday 14th June.
A fully functioning 13.5 meter (43 ft) wind turbine will be installed on the day in Leicester Square by SIAC Wind Power, a member of RenewableUK, from 10am to 4pm.
AWS go Back to the Future with New Wave Energy Device
19 May 2010
Scottish marine energy technology developer, AWS Ocean Energy, has started testing its new wave energy device in Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands.
The Inverness based company has deployed a 1/9th scale of its AWS-III device, a ring-shaped multi-cell surface-floating wave power system, the result of almost two years of intensive research and development work. AWS Ocean Energy is aiming to deploy a full-system prototype AWS-III during 2012 and a pre-commercial demonstrator plant during 2013.
.... Download PDFDecom North Sea Calls on Renewables Sector to Learn Decommissioning Lessons
18 May 2010
Companies planning to create offshore renewable energy operations could learn lessons from the past and take decommissioning seriously from the outset, according to a new industry forum.
Brian Nixon, chief executive of Decom North Sea, is taking the message to All Energy 2010, the UK’s largest renewables show, taking place in Aberdeen against a backdrop of significant activity in the sector, including licenses being granted for nine vast offshore wind zones within UK waters, containing up to 6,000 turbines. Mr Nixon will cover decommissioning in a presentation on lessons learned from the oil & gas industry during the Windfarms and Infrastructure session on the Thursday (May 20) afternoon.
.... Download PDFInternational Small Wind Conference to Announce Record Growth
27 Apr 2010
Small Wind Systems UK Market Report 2010 published announcing UK manufacturing export revenue increased by 45% and figures are expected to show UK market growth up by 25%, with industry growth predicted to soar with Government’s new feed-in-tariffs.
The second annual International Small Wind Conference (ISWC 2010) organised by RenewableUK, the UK’s leading renewable energy association, is taking place in Glasgow from 27-28 April 2010. ISWC 2010 is set to be the biggest international small wind event ever held with over 700 delegates from more than 20 countries including China, Japan, Canada, US, Taiwan, Portugal, Holland and France.
UK Offshore Wind Industry Reaches 1gw Landmark
23 Apr 2010
The UK is the world leader in wind with 1 gigawatt (GW) of installed wind farms, providing energy for 700,000 homes. The landmark was reached with the installation of DONG Energy’s Gunfleet Sands and E.ON’s Robin Rigg. The development pipeline is now over 40GW which is sufficient to provide bulk of UK’s electricity.
The landmark first gigawatt (GW) of installed offshore UK wind energy capacity has been reached this week as two wind farms off the coast of Britain began generating electricity: Robin Rigg operated by EON and Gunfleet Sands operated by DONG Energy. One GW, now comprising of 11 wind farms, or 336 installed wind turbines, cements UK’s world-wide lead in the sector.
Thinking about earning from the Feed in Tariff proceed with Caution
16 Mar 2010
With so much hype about the new Feed in Tariff (FIT), solar photovoltaic manufacturers have been scrambling to attract as much of the market share as they can. Likewise those homeowners thinking about installing PV and hoping to capitalise from the FIT are also researching products galore.
However there is really only one place anyone should be going to and that is the Micro-generation Certification Scheme (MCS) website. It is a little known fact that only the products which are certified by this programme will be eligible to benefit from the FIT.
.... Download PDFBWEA supports Clipper Windpower UK manufacturing plans
19 Feb 2010
Clipper Windpower is to build the world’s largest turbine blade in Newcastle, initially creating 500 jobs and the Government pledges a further £8 million for offshore wind.
BWEA (RenewableUK), the UK’s leading trade association, welcomed today’s announcement from US Company Clipper Windpower on plans to build the world’s largest turbine blade in Newcastle, for its proprietary 10 megawatt (MW) Britannia wind turbine. Each Britannia turbine will be able to satisfy the annual electricity consumption of over 6500 households. The factory building the blades will be based on Tyneside, creating 500 jobs by 2020.
BWEA (RenewableUK) also pointed out that Clipper’s factory joins a growing number of UK businesses capitalising on the economic opportunities presented by the onshore and offshore wind supply chain. Recently, companies such as Mabey Bridge and JDR Cable Systems have announced a significant increase in manufacturing capacity to service the burgeoning wind sector, with further interest from other potential entrants.
