The latest Government figures reveal that turnover in the UK’s low-carbon economy was £46.7bn in 2018, up from £40.5bn in 2015. But the 2018 figure is still equivalent to just 1% of national non-financial turnover, experts have warned. Published this week, the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) low-carbon and renewable energy economy figures for 2018 reveal overall – but not sizeable – growth in the sector since 2015. The digest covers businesses involved in renewable energy generation and distribution, and the manufacturing of carbon-saving products, stating that annual turnover in this space increased by £6.2bn between 2015 and 2018. It reveals that the biggest drivers of turnover (36%) and employment (51%) within the sector were energy-efficient products. In terms of exports, the biggest contributor to turnover was found to be low-emission vehicles, despite challenges to UK manufacturing as a result of factors such as Brexit and slow legislation changes.

Edie 17th Jan 2020 read more »

THE Scottish Government has announced that sustainable growth “is embedded” in its plans during the lead up to Brexit. Ahead of the departure date and the publication of the Scottish budget, the Government will redouble its efforts to support sustainable growth, with a number of commitments toward a low-carbon economy.

The National 20th Jan 2020 read more »

SSE, Equinor begin construction on 3.6GW Dogger Bank offshore wind farm. SSE Renewables and Norwegian energy company Equinor have started construction of the 3.6GW Dogger Bank offshore wind farm to be located 130km off the North East coast in the North Sea. Dogger Bank, which will include three individual wind farms Creyke Beck A, Creyke Beck B and Teesside A, each with 1.2GW of capacity, was selected by the UK government during last September’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions.

NS Energy 20th Jan 2020 read more »

Plans have been lodged for a new solar farm and battery storage facility in East Yorkshire that could generate enough electricity to power more than 12,000 homes. JBM Solar Projects, support by Pegasus Group, has submitted an application to East Riding of Yorkshire Council for development at Scurf Dyke Farm, near to Hutton Cranswick. Planning permission is sought for the construction of a solar farm and battery storage facility on the site, together with associated equipment and infrastructure. The solar farm would have capacity of 49.9 megawatts (MW), enough electricity to power about 12,203 homes per year. It could also support the creation of more than 100 jobs during the construction phase.

Insider Media 20th Jan 2020 read more »

Wind farm FARCE! Government paid energy firms more than £136million to turn their green turbines OFF last year because they were providing TOO MUCH electricity for grid to handle.

Daily Mail 19th Jan 2020 read more »

All new homes in Wales will only be heated and powered by clean energy under new Welsh Government plans. Housing accounts for 9% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Wales. However houses built after 2025 will be more energy efficient, cheaper to run and produce up to 80% less CO2 emissions, under the proposals. Wales’ largest housing association, Pobl Group, said the targets were “challenging but much needed” to address climate change. Housing contributes “significantly” to the problem, according to the Welsh Government. It said “substantial change” was needed for buildings to operate close to zero emissions by 2050.

BBC 20th Jan 2020 read more »

Centrica and sonnen have won approval from the National Grid to link together a network of domestic energy storage batteries to create a virtual power plant that will be one of the first of its kind in the UK. Centrica has already helped 100 homeowners install sonnen’s smart home batteries. Now the approval granted on Friday by National Grid means they can now be grouped under Centrica’s Flexpond software to allow the grid to call upon them to charge and discharge en masse. The system should help grid operators better manage the peaks and troughs of power supply from intermittent renewables, while allowing customers to store energy from their solar panels and cut their energy bills, Centrica said.

Business Green 20th Jan 2020 read more »

Customers have been forced to pay electricity companies almost £650m over the past decade – to not produce power. The cash is compensation for periods that wind turbines are switched off at short notice and usually happens to avoid overloading the UK’s National Grid. Since 2009, power firms have been paid to turn off wind turbines when the demand for electricity drops or the wind is too strong. The cost is then added to customers’ electricity bills. The bulk of the money – so-called constraint payments – comes to electricity suppliers in Scotland because most windfarms are north of the border. Helen McDade, Scottish policy advisor at the Renewable Energy Foundation, told STV News: “They’re getting to unmanageable levels with last year being a record level. £136m was paid in constraints for windfarms to turn off, to not produce, and that’s more than they would have got if they’d been having good windy days.

STV 17th Jan 2020 read more »