Electricity News

Friday 26 February 2010

The North East has received £7.8 million for electric vehicle charging points

Government announces £30m fund for electric vehicle hubs

The Department for Transport has named London, Milton Keynes and the North East as the first "Plugged-in Places" set to benefit from a £30 million fund to create a network of electric vehicle hubs.

The money will go towards charging infrastructure to appear in car parks, major supermarkets, leisure and retail centres, as well as on the street. The first three Plugged-in Places will between them install over 11,000 vehicle recharging points during the next three years. Also announced by the department was the introduction of a Plug-in Car Grant, where motorists will receive up to £5,000 to buy an ultra-low carbon car from January 2011. The initiatives are part of a £450 million government strategy to support the creation of an early market for ultra-low carbon vehicles.

Transport secretary, Andrew Adonis, said: "Decarbonising transport isn't an aspiration - it's a reality. By this time next year, cutting edge motorists will be on the roads with these next generation cars they've purchased because of our help. And thanks to the Plugged-In Places we will have in place infrastructure to support this growing early market. Transport has a huge part to play in helping the UK meet its stringent emission reduction targets and today's announcement is another step on the road to putting the UK at the global forefront of ultra-low carbon vehicle development, manufacture and use."

Former REA chief founds Ownenergy

Philip Wolfe, former head of the Renewable Energy Association (REA), has launched Ownergy plc, a company that aims to help any householders, businesses, landowners or communities tap into payments awarded by Feed-in Tariffs and, subsequently, the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). Specialising in solar, wind, hydro, bioenergy and heat pumps, the company is among the first in the country to select, design, supply, manage and finance renewable energy systems for its customers.

Mr Wolfe, who has been succeeded at the REA by Gaynor Hartnell (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story) was influential in the design and adoption of the tariffs, which come into force in April. The RHI is currently out to consultation, but is slated to be introduced in April 2011.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Wolfe said he established Ownergy to help people who would find specifying and registering tariff-compliant systems too complex, time-consuming or confusing. "Experience has already shown us that while people are interested in the tariffs, they also find the process of installing the right systems for their property quite daunting. Ownergy has therefore been set up as a one stop shop where we handle all the complexity leaving our customers to receive the benefit," he said.

DECC clarifies FiT details

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has slightly amended its government response and decisions document on the Feed-in Tariffs to clarify the eligibility of early investors for the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme.

After confusion around who qualifies for the tariffs, DECC has announced that microgenerators (under 50kW) which were not accredited under the Renewables Obligation (RO) will be able to obtain FiTs at the RO transfer rate if they apply for the RO before March 31 2010. Previosuly, these projects were not eligible for any FiT payments.

DECC's website details which sections of the final consultation document have been amended and states: "We apologise for any confusion that has arisen due to this error". The amendment means early installers of microgeneration equipment now have the opportunity to receive 9p/kWh of electricity generated (see this NewEnergyFocus.com exclusive report on FiTs).

Planning application lodged for 12 turbine Hyndburn wind farm

The UK arm of German wind developer EnergieKontor has submitted a planning application to Hyndburn borough council for a 30MW wind farm in Oswaldtwistle near Accrington, Lancashire.

EnergieKontor's original proposal was for a 24 turbine wind farm, however the North Yorkshire based company - which has so far built two wind farms in North Wales and Devon - halved the size of the project to 12 turbines at 122 metres each in May 2009, following a consultation process (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story). The planning application was received by the council in mid December 2009. There has been a "Stop Oswaldtwistle wind farm" campaigning group set up which claims there is a mine shaft near to the proposed site which is filled with radioactive material. The group claims that geologists and engineers have said there is a danger that the levels of vibrations which could be felt by the wind turbines could lead to "catastrophic" consequences and cause the materials to leak.

A spokesman from EnergieKontor said: "The wind farm development could contribute a substantial amount of clean and sustainable electricity to help meet our needs in the face of increasingly significant environmental challenges. In response to our Community Update leaflet we were very pleased that the majority of replies were in favour of the wind farm. We would encourage anyone who wants to demonstrate their support for the planning application to make their views known to the council."

Almost 2,000 attend offshore wind supply chain events

The Crown Estate has announced that nearly 2,000 UK businesses have attended seven offshore wind industry supply chain events it has held across the country, with five events still to come.

3TIER has produced a global solar map and dataset based on 10 to 13 years of satellite imagery

Today's (February 26) event in Doncaster has been oversubscribed, which the Crown Estate claims demonstrates the rapidly growing interest in the industry. It will also be attended by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, who will speak about the opportunities and benefits that the offshore wind industry can bring to the UK. The supply chain events, which started in Scotland in January and are taking place throughout the regions of the UK, are intended to provide a marketplace to help companies do business and become involved in offshore wind developments.

Roger Bright, chief executive of The Crown Estate, said: "I am delighted that nearly 2,000 UK businesses have already grasped the challenge and opportunity that the offshore wind industry is offering. We want to capitalise on the UK's position as the world leader in installed offshore wind capacity, and have invested in excess of £100 million in Round 3."

World solar map produced to aid renewables planning

American forecasting company 3TIER has launched a global solar map and data set, which it claims will address the "lack of reliable information" regarding renewables resource potential and availability. As part of its REmapping the World initiative, 3TIER also produced a 5 km resolution global wind map and dataset and said it has now identified and mapped the world's wind and solar resources.

The newly released global solar map and dataset is based on 10 to 13 years of half-hourly, high-resolution visible satellite imagery collected from nine different satellites, dispersed across the globe and covering the entire surface of the earth.

Kenneth Westrick, founder and chief executive of 3TIER, said that access to this data would enable organisations to look at wind and solar potential and help maximise the value of these resources while mitigating the risks of their inherent variability. "3TIER's aim in developing these maps is to help accelerate the adoption of renewable energy around the world by providing a blueprint for development," he said.