Since 2010, the costs of producing electricity from solar photovoltaic systems have decreased by more than 80%. Wind and solar now vie with natural gas to provide new electricity generating capacity. To some, these trends signal the world’s latest energy transition: away from fossil fuels and toward a renewable future. The big picture: These historical changes in the energy system, however, have been a matter of addition, not transition. Although the percentage shares of biomass, coal and oil in our energy supply have fallen with the rise of alternatives, their total use continues to grow. The world has never experienced an energy transition, but the challenge of climate change means that, for the first time, one will need to begin.

Axios 17th Aug 2018 read more »

We’ve known for a few years now that solar power is surging in the U.S. and the rest of the world: costs have been falling for a while and countries like the United States, China, and India have been building so many solar panels that solar was the world’s fastest growing energy source in 2016. But thanks to a recently-published report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, we now know the full extent of that trend. The EIA report looks at the costs and spread of energy sources like solar, wind, and natural gas from 2013 to 2016. Over this three year period, the report finds that natural gas costs stayed roughly flat, and wind got slightly cheaper. The standout statistic, however, is the change in the cost of solar panels over those three years. In 2013, the cost per kilowatt of solar power hovered around $3,700, significantly pricier than the other two options. But by 2016, the cost had dropped by about a third, to less than $2,500 per kilowatt. That price also doesn’t take into account various federal, state, and local incentives for building new solar plants, so the real cost to utilities is likely even less.

Popular Mechanics 10th Aug 2018 read more »

When the blades of its 800-kilowatt wind turbine start turning, the small Greek island of Tilos will become the first in the Mediterranean to run exclusively on wind and solar power. The sea horse-shaped Greek island between Rhodes and Kos has a winter population of 400. But that swells to as many as 3,000 people in the summer, putting an impossible strain on its dilapidated power supply. This summer, technicians are conducting the final tests on a renewable replacement system that will be fully rolled out later this year.

ITV 19th Aug 2018 read more »

Developers accused of ‘playing pass the parcel’ over BiFabThe long-running BiFab saga took yet another turn yesterday as the Belgian company thought responsible for awarding fabrication contracts for the Moray East wind farm turned the spotlight back on the developer.

Energy Voice 18th Aug 2018 read more »

Ministers have admitted that plans for a crackdown on pollution created by open fires and wood burning stoves could lead to an effective “black market” in wet wood. The Government yesterday announced plans to end the sale of wet wood amid concerns that it is largest single contributor to particulate matter pollution, which has been identified as the most damaging air pollutant. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, domestic burning contributes 38 per cent of particulate matter pollution, compared to 16 per cent from industrial combustion and only 12 per cent from road transport. Ministers therefore propose to ensure that, in future, only the cleanest fuels are available for sale.

Telegraph 18th Aug 2018 read more »

Buckinghamshire business park Westcott Venture Park has announced plans this week to build a 15MW subsidy-free solar farm on its site, which it claims will make it the first “carbon-negative” business park in the UK. The planned installation will cover 76 acres and be the UK’s first unsubsidised on-site solar farm, according to the project managers Wolfeware and contractors BSR.

Business Green 17th Aug 2018 read more »

Norway’s energy minister hinted this week that a second incarnation of the Hywind Scotland floating wind project would be welcomed off the Scandinavian country’s coast. Terje Soviknes, Norway’s minister of petroleum and energy, described the data from Equinor’s Hywind project as “very encouraging”, adding that “a Norwegian floating wind farm would reinforce our position in this market”. Mr Soliknes delivered these remarks during his opening speech at the Energy Outlook conference, an annual event hosted by the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association and The Federation of Norwegian Industries.

Energy Voice 17th Aug 2018 read more »

The government intends to ban the sale of the most-polluting fuels to tackle worsening air quality caused by the increased popularity of wood-burning stoves. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs unveiled a two-month consultation on Friday on how to introduce tighter restrictions on burning for heating in homes. It includes proposals to phase out the sale of traditional house coal and applying sulphur standards, as well as smoke emission limits, to the sale of all solid fuels. Ministers are also considering tougher regulations to deter the burning of wet wood in private homes, which is less energy efficient than dry wood and produces more smoke. Almost 40 per cent of harmful “particulate matter” emitted in the UK comes from the burning of wood and coal in homes, according to the government – more than double the amount from diesel cars. About 2.5m homes are estimated to use a solid-fuel fire or stove. According to government data, 18 per cent of wood currently burnt in domestic wood burners will be banned under the new rules. The government said that proposals set out in the consultation would prevent 8,000 tonnes of these microscopic pollutants, known as PM2.5, from entering the atmosphere every year.

FT 17th Aug 2018 read more »

The i News 17th Aug 2018 read more »

Guardian 16th Aug 2018 read more »

A petition has been launched urging the government to consider enforcing that new homes in the UK be built with solar PV. The petition seeks to trigger a debate in parliament over whether or not the measure could be enacted, and how it would work in practice, mentioning how there is currently no supporting legislature that specifies the addition of solar panels to new build developments. With the government having last year outlined plans to build 300,000 new homes each year, the petition argues that if just half those were built with standard solar PV installs, it would be enough to increase the country’s solar generation capacity by 5% annually. It seeks legislation to require house builders to install a “meaningful amount” of solar PV, with firms needing to justify their decisions based on a lifetime economic return calculation reached using a national model.

Solar Power Portal 16th Aug 2018 read more »

Since the prospect of a Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) was first raised in 2015, solar developers have been closely watching the market in Ireland, to see if it could be a natural stepping-stone from the recent UK boom-and-bust phase. Last month the much delayed scheme was approved by the Irish government and is now awaiting EU state aid approval. The first auction is expected to take place next year with construction of the first round of projects to be completed by the end of 2020. Since 2015, solar developers have been submitting applications to connect to the distribution network through the utility provider ESB. The pipeline of solar projects submitted to ESB quickly grew to 1.6GW by the end of 2015 and had more than tripled by the end of 2016 to reach 5.2GW. The number of new applications slowed in 2017 with no sign of the RESS appearing but still over 1.2GW in new projects was submitted in 2017. While the total pipeline is in the multi-GW range, just over 270MW of sites have both planning permission and a grid connection contract from ESB or Eirgrid; this is made up of around 40 individual sites.

Solar Power Portal 16th Aug 2018 read more »