Last month the Department of Energy and Climate Change announced that the subsidies for onshore wind farms will run out a year earlier than expected – from 1 April 2016 they will no longer be eligible to subsidies. A grace period is granted to projects that already have planning permission. This announcement seems oddly timed and irrational to many, given that onshore wind is currently the cheapest readily-available form of clean energy in the UK. BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin quotes experts who have described the decision to scrap subsidies as “irrational and bizarre”. Scotland is particularly affected by this decision: “The decision by the UK government to end the Renewables Obligation next year is deeply regrettable and will have a disproportionate impact on Scotland, as around 70% of onshore wind projects in the UK planning system are here”, Scottish Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism and Member of the…
Friday, 22 May 2015 15:43

Relying on Renewables

May 2015 Renewable energy production is on the rise. World leaders and Governments have had to set specific targets to reduce the growing problem of climate change. We need to reduce our carbon footprint so that average global temperatures don’t swell up by two degrees. Where possible we should all make use of clean and green energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass and others. If so-called ‘natural’ resources are as affordable and scale-able as they say; and if they can fulfil United Nations Climate Change targets, then why not go for it? Some locations are leading the way when it comes to providing renewable electricity. Let’s cross to the Caribbean and take a closer look at Costa Rica. Back in March Costa Rica’s Government announced that the country had been able to run on only renewable energy this year. Much of that is thanks to its abundance of…
Thursday, 05 March 2015 16:19

Poland - an Emerging Market

March 5, 2015 Since Poland joined the European Union in 2004 it has seen GDP figures double. Thanks to this it’s now considered an even better place to live – and a desirable location for setting up an office. Trade relationships between Scotland and Poland hail back to the 1400s when Scots started to emigrate there, and by the 17th century around 30,000 Scots had settled. More recently and since becoming a member of the EU, Scotland has attracted plenty of Poles - 21,000 have set up businesses in the UK and 25,000 are self-employed. At a business event in Edinburgh last week, which invited Scots to further business links with Poland, Polish Ambassador to the UK Mr Witold Sobkow said: “Over the past 11 years there has been a magnitude of change in Poland.” This Eastern nation is now being sold as a land of opportunities – thanks to…
June 2014 Ever since the first wind farm was elevated into the sea in Denmark in the early 90s, Offshore Wind has become a competitive industry. Scotland has 25% of the whole European offshore wind resource and these projects have led to over £164 million of investment in the Scottish economy.[1] The increasing number of offshore farms around the world has resulted in a vibrant supply chain. In recent years though, the offshore wind sector has gone through a period of “quite significant uncertainty”, Renewable UK’s Programme Ambassador Charles Hendry told an audience at Global Offshore Wind, Glasgow in June 2014. Why? This can be put down to a slump in new capacity installed during 2013. As with anything that’s evolving, it isn’t all going to be straightforward. Country Director for UK Wind at AREVA Julian Brown compares the process to something all adults can relate to: “We’re past the…
Wednesday, 05 February 2014 15:59

The current status of the wind industry

February 2014 The wind has blown the way for one of the fastest growing industries in the world. ‘Clean’ business certainly seems to be big business. That’s partly down to the fact that up to 8,000 components are required for a wind turbine to function, requiring a lot of work, a lot of company’s involvement - and quite a bit of money. Despite experiencing “phenomenal growth” in recent years – according to Steve Sawyer, Secretary General of the Global Wind Energy Council, 2013 saw a ‘dip’ in the sector with things becoming tougher. And although Sawyer is optimistic that growth will return in 2014, “some of my European partners see flaws in my argument,” he told an audience at January’s World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. Some of these European partners - Siemens, Acciona and Alstom representatives, were some of the panel-members joining in a discussion on the future…
Monday, 02 December 2013 16:35

WiRES - Women in Renewable Energy Scotland

Working to support women’s participation in the renewable energy sector WiREScotland is an active network designed for women who work in Scotland’s renewable energy industry. With over 300 members, it’s a growing group which supports women to progress in the industry. WiRES also encourages them to locate something they have inside them – which they might not even know is there. Women are “significantly under-represented” in the industry with just 17%, which is exactly why the group came to be. Women in Renewable Energy Scotland held their launch event on November 27, 2013, at the fabulous Glasgow Science Centre. Co-founder Laura Sarkis explained the reason for starting the group: “It basically all started when a couple of friends who worked in renewables met up, drank wine and came up with a lot of good ideas.” Time passed and these ideas, which were left undocumented, became a little blurry…thanks also to…
Tuesday, 13 August 2013 16:42

Clean Energy Cashback? Yes please!

The Clean Energy Cashback, or Feed in Tariff scheme, is a way of getting money for generating your own electricity. In the UK there are two renewable energy tariffs - the Electricity tariff, which, unfoolishly, went live on April 1st, 2010, and the Renewable Heat Incentive which sprung to life one year later. Feed in Tariffs put you in control of your energy.By installing renewable energy systems you do benefit, but a significant contribution is also made to environmental sustainability in the UK. The purpose of the two tariffs is to pay people a decent and guaranteed amount for the renewable energy that they are able to generate themselves. Anyone who owns a property can benefit, as well as entire communities. Even tenants are able to take part - as long as your landlord approves. So how does it all work? Well, you install renewable power system such as solar…
June’s annual RenewableUK Offshore Wind conference was Fergus Ewing’s chance to congratulate an audience of delegates on the growing success of the offshore wind industry. It was also a great opportunity for the Scottish Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Minister to tell onlookers, sitting in Manchester’s Central Complex, how he wants England to do well but naturally, he wants Scotland to do slightly better. Although said light-heartedly, Mr Ewing’s passion for his country oozed from the words that made up his carefully-prepared speech. Of course, any public speech currently made is the perfect platform to remind people that the question ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’ is never far from the mind of a Scots politician. The independence referendum which is to be held in just over a year's time stares each politician in Scotland in the face every day. This political keynote speech was chaired by Andrew Jamieson, chairman of…
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