Green Energy Blog

Polls show UK supports renewable energy initiatives.

A recent opinion poll has suggested that the majority of people in the UK have shown that they regard the Government subsidies for wind power development as a good deal.

The poll was commissioned by trade body RenewableUK, and it concluded that 43% of people see the UK subsidy as good value for money against 18% of people who do not.

Another survey carried out recently has also shown a large majority of people are in favour of renewable energy.

These results have been well timed and have arrived just ahead of the Clean Energy Ministerial a summit that will bring ministers from more than 20 different countries to London to talk about low-carbon energy.

The survey is the most recent signal of strong public backing for renewable energy, the signal is further strengthened by the YouGov poll for Scottish Renewables that found 71% of Scots were in support of wind power, and a separate survey last week that showed as many as 67% of respondents were in favour of increasing the use of wind power.

At the moment as little as 9.5% of electricity in the UK is from renewable sources. Because of this relatively low number Friends of the Earth is worried that the government is doing more to encourage a "dash for gas" by making gas-fired power plants exempt from the emissions restrictions that other plants face.

These polls are the most recent moves by those in the renewable energy sector to retaliate against what is seen as the Treasury’s “anti-green” movement.

The Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has came out strong in his defence of a push for a "renewables revolution" this is flying in the face of criticism from US businessman and celebrity opposer of wind farms Donald Trump, who has regularly been quoted bemoaning  plans to build a number of offshore turbines near his new Aberdeenshire golf course.

Is switching gas and electricity supplier worth it?

Many of us read about or listen to people detailing their positive experiences with switching electricity and gas suppliers but never do anything about it. As understandable as this is, we all have busy lives - this reluctance can quite often be attributed to the fact that switching is 'too much hassle' - why take the risk of double billing or  a new supplier actually turing out to be more expensive! 

Well now, thanks to the internet this entire process is alot easier to negotiate. Individual supplier websites are finally gettting easier to compare prices and tariffs, and comparison sites such as uSwitch continue to offer valuable information on which tariffs would work best for your needs. Also, there is no need to worry about double billing as  legislation dictates that when you switch suppliers, the companies must adhere to your choice. 

A worthwhile habit to start is to regularly examine your gas and electricity bills to ensure you have the best deal possible -   most of us tend to think that we won’t save a great deal, but savings can potentially be in the £100s. Not only that but many suppliers (such as M&S Energy) offer incentives for switching such as shopping vouchers,a decent bonus to any energy saving.

We have a 3 step process that well tell our friends that are thinking of switching suppliers:

1.  Have a scour of the internet and  select a supplier that appeals to you, financially and ethically
2. Contact them, find out their process - this will probably entail you having to send an accurate meter reading to ensure any final bills are correct
3. Wait for your first bill from your new energy supplier

So, in summary, don't be too scared of switching supplier, it can be a hassle free way of saving some much needed cash!

If anyone has any questions or have switched recently then please let us know in the comments.

Samsung to invest £100m and create 500 jobs in Fife

The new year is starting promisingly for Scotland with talk of over 500 jobs being created in Fife. Korean super company Samsung are intent on bringing a project to develop a new generation wind turbine at a reported cost of around £100 million.

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) the worlds second largest ship builder are planning on basing their maiden European wind project at the Fife Energy Park in Methil.  

The firm plans to test its new, more powerful 7MW turbine offshore at Methil before starting to take orders to build them at the site.

SHI have also signed a promising deal with engineering company David Brown Gear Systems and it is their gearbox system that shall be used in the new wind turbine.

Alex Salmond the Scottish First Minister is delighted by the news "Their choice of Scotland as their first base in Europe for renewable technology development is testament to the fact this country is fast becoming the European centre for research and development in new offshore wind technologies.”

However not everyone is happy about the increasing number of wind farm developments in Scotland. American billionaire Donald Trump is currently fighting plans to build 11 offshore wind turbines in Aberdeen Bay, which would be in full view of his golf resort. In fact Mr Trump feels so strongly there has been talk of him pulling out of the build.

I guess you can’t please everyone.

UK makes the Top 10 Solar suppliers.....

Even with all the uncertainty surrounding the feed-in tariff High Court decisions, it’s not all bad news for solar energy in the UK.

For the first time ever the UK’s solar industry has forced its way into the worlds top 10. This is believed to be at least partly due to the Government incentives which have managed to give a real push to solar panel sales as more and more people try to take advantage of the generous feed-in tariff rate.   

Even with the uncertainty facing the scheme at the moment – the UK is still producing massive amount of solar energy and contributing to the combined worldwide total of 23.8GW. 2011 was a big year for solar with a 1,273% increase in solar installations compared to 2010, this was made up of nearly 700MW of smaller sized installations completed along with around 200MW of large-scale developments greater than 50kW.

That data gathered by specialist research company HIS, the actual league table for ‘photovoltaics’ has Italy in the number 1 spot and Germany in number 2. Germany has seen a 20% reduction in solar installs since they reduced their feed-in tariff last year.

 

In 3^rd place is the United States, followed by China, Japan and France. In a respectable 7^th place the UK has entered the table with total generation into 800MW.

The US completes the top three, followed by China, Japan and France. With a total well into 800MW, the UK moves into seventh spot globally.

It is great news for the UK to be getting recognised for their support of solar power and hopefully it will inspire even more countries to do the same. After all with the current feed-in tariffs solar power offers a lot of benefits to businesses and homeowners, not to mention the fact it’s doing a great job of reducing our dependency upon fossil fuels.

 

Scotland set for renewables push in 2012...

Figures show that there is a pipeline of around £46 billion of investment for renewables in Scotland which should generate up to 17GW of energy capacity.

Fergus Ewing – Scotland’s Energy minister has said he is “relentlessly positive” regarding 2012.

It is believed that such a large scale investment will help create jobs throughout Scotland and put Scotland even further on its path to creating 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. In fact figures showed that in the first quarter of 2011 Scotland had generated 94% of 2010’s entire output.

 

 

Renewable energy scheme to help Welsh businesses

The Renewable Energy for Business Growth (REBG) scheme is aiming to help over 220 small companies in Ceredigion understand and utilise renewable energy solutions and generate further revenue for their business.

The REBG scheme has contacted 3,500 businesses offering them an independent energy survey to assess where renewable energy could be most appropriately applied.

The scheme has been underway for over a month now and has been a great way to show the benefits that can be gained from renewable energy in Wales.

You can read the full story @ Green Wise Business

Highland wind farm is online

A new wind farm in the Scottish Highlands has finally been connected to the national grid, with the first two turbines now online and generating electricity. This is good news for SSE as it means they are beginning to see a return on what is expected to be a £100 million investment.

The wind farm will be home to 35 turbines in total that once complete will generate around 180GWh a year. At the moment 15 of the 35 wind towers have been erected and the full site is expected to be operational by the end of this financial year.

SSE’s Managing Director of Renewables Jim Smith said “As the UK’s leading generator of electricity from renewable sources, SSE is committed to helping increase the amount of renewable electricity generation in the UK, and the export of electricity at Gordonbush is a step towards achieving this.”
Source: www.SSE.com

Scotland's new energy boom.

Granite could be the latest renewable feather in Scotlands growing energy cap. It's always been plentiful in Scotland and Aberdeen is internationally known as the 'Granite City'. 

However a new level of excitement is surrounding this grey rock as there are many who believe it could bring about a second energy boom and go a long way to further strengthening Scotland's place on the energy map.

I know what your thinking.... How can a rock generate energy?

Well....About four miles straight down from the earths surface, the temperature rises by around 150°C. However, the interesting bit is that where there is granite rock, the temperature can rise by as much as 210°C. This is the temperature that can create hot springs, the likes of which have been used for bathing. But scientists now believe that these same “hot rocks” can provide a valuable source for electricity generation. Most importantly if this source was proven efficient it is yet another feasible renewable energy source for Scotland.

Estimates have shown that a demonstrative geothermal energy plant could be constructed somewhere between Aberdeen and Peterhead, and would generate approximately £750 million of investment in its first 10 years of operation. 

However the whole project is relying on whether or not the subterranean granite can generate enough power to keep the plant running. 

If not...we could always use another spa resort.

News: fears over wind farm rejections

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Here's a BBC report we didn't want to read - local councils are refusing planning for new wind turbine farms at an 'alarming rate' according to RenewableUK, an industry body.

The organisation has reported that approvals are at their lowest in five years, and were taking than usual to clear.

With wind energy rising above 10% of the UK's total energy consumption this year, these reports are not encouraging - and at this rate are unlikely to keep the UK going in the right direction.

What do you think about this report on the approval processes required for wind farms.

SSE to give energy market a jolt....

SSE (Scottish & Southern Energy) is the parent company for Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro, SWALEC and Atlantic. And it would appear that they are attempting to give the energy market a shock by trying to make it easier for smaller companies to gain a foothold in their particularly competitive market.

SSE one of the biggest energy supplier’s in the UK is looking forward to auctioning off its entire electricity supply on the wholesale market. Industry experts are saying that this is going to change the way that the entire energy market operates.

This is the first time that one of the ‘Big Six’ energy companies has made such an announcement. SSE said they believe this should go a long way to helping other smaller companies move into the marketplace faster.

SSE said the initial plan is to sell about 25% of their power on the open market by November. However their larger goal is to be selling 100% of their energy on the market by the end of their financial year.

The question is: Will this really make much difference to the energy industry?

We’d love to get some opinion on this, so please feel free to leave your comments or get in touch.

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