Offshore wind has largely been stuck on the sideline of the corporate renewables market, as demand for onshore wind and solar has surged from corporate giants like Google, Walmart and even oil companies like Shell. That looks set to change. Denmark’s Ørsted on Wednesday announced the largest-ever corporate offshore wind deal, with German chemical company Covestro signing up to take 100 megawatts of capacity from the upcoming 900-megawatt Borkum Riffgrund 3 project. Earlier this year Google contracted with Engie for 93 megawatts of offshore wind capacity from the Norther project off Belgium, as part of its massive 1.6-gigawatt global renewables procurement.

Green Tech Media 4th Dec 2019 read more »

THE First Minister is being urged to intervene amid concerns Scotlandis missing out on a wind farm jobs boom, as it emerges another major firm lost out on a key contract. A circular message from CS Wind, based near Campbeltown in Argyll – the only UK facility manufacturing onshore and offshore wind towers – reveals that hopes of preventing the axing of 80% of the staff remain slim, while it also confirms it has lost vital work on a Scottish wind farm.

Herald 5th Dec 2019 read more »

The latest annual data on US solar energy show how the technology options for residential and commercial customers keep progressing. Here are three important dimensions of that progress: photovoltaic (PV) modules keep getting more efficient, PV system costs keep coming down, and batteries are becoming much more a piece of the solar picture.

Union of Concerned Scientists 25th Nov 2019 read more »

Community energy matchmaking platform launches in bid to tackle climate crisis. First-of-its-kind online platform launched by Forum for the Future and supported by Peoples Postcode Lottery. The platform is officially launching this Thursday 5 December with the aim of significantly increasing the amount of community energy projects in the UK. As you’ll see below, the National Grid is already on board in offering their assets to community energy groups through the platform alongside other asset-owning organisations such as SP Energy Networks, St Mungo’s, Aster Homes and Oldham Council. By bringing asset owners and community energy groups together to find viable sites – one of the biggest stumbling blocks to getting projects off the ground – PowerPaired has been designed to speed up the transition to a more distributed, fair and clean energy system.

Power Paired 5th Dec 2019 read more »

The global market for battery energy storage – from car-sized units to utility-scale arrays – has grown rapidly in 2019 amid falling costs, new research from Bloomberg NEF (BNEF) has found. Published on Tuesday (3 December), the firm’s latest analysis of the global battery sector concludes that battery prices have fallen 87% in real terms over the past decade, from $1,100 per kWh in 2010 to $156 per kWh this year.

Edie 4th Dec 2019 read more »

The Downside of Solar Energy. As renewable energy expands, used photovoltaic panels are creating a growing waste problem—but recycling could be the answerThe solar economy continues its dramatic growth, with over a half-terawatt already installed around the world generating clean electricity. But what happens to photovoltaic (PV) modules at the end of their useful life? With lifespans measured in decades, PV-waste disposal may seem to be an issue for the distant future. Yet, the industry ships millions of tons every year, and that number will continue to rise as the industry grows. Total e-waste—including computers, televisions, and mobile phones—is around 45 million metric tons annually.

Scientific American 1st Dec 2019 read more »