Wind News

Tuesday 01 December 2009

Skykon is to manufacture 80m high towers for the Clyde wind farm

Skykon Tower Solutions confirms Clyde wind farm deal

Turbine tower supplier Skykon Tower Solutions has confirmed that it has won a multi-million pound contract to supply Europe's largest onshore windfarm - Clyde Wind Farm near Abington in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Scottish and Southern Energy is to build 152 turbines for the farm and the £500 million project is expected to provide 350MW of renewable electricity generating capacity. On completion, it should overtake the Whitelee wind farm on Eaglesham Moor south of Glasgow as the largest onshore wind farm in Europe (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story). Skykon Tower Solutions will manufacture the 80m high towers from its Campbeltown facility on behalf of the turbine supplier Siemens. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond announced in June that Scottish companies had secured £200 million worth of contracts for the wind farm (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story).

Jesper Øhlenschlæger, CEO of Skykon, said: "The Clyde project is a very important business win for our Campeltown manufacturing facility. Scotland has become the most positive and the most interesting renewable wind power market in Europe. The Clyde Wind Farm project represents a landmark phase in Scotland's renewable energy strategy and we now look forward to seeing yet another step forward in the country's sustainable economic development."

Market should set FiTs export price, claims Good Energy

Renewable electricity supplier Good Energy has called on the government to focus on the payments provided for generating energy in the proposed Feed-in Tariff scheme and allow the market to set its own export price.

The FiT is set to offer financial incentives to renewable energy projects generating up to 5MW of electricity (see this NewEnergyFocus.com report). Under current proposals, it will be made up of a generation payment and an export payment - proposed at 5p per unit exported back to the grid. Good Energy believes that for most generators the financial benefits from the generation payment are much more important than the export element. The company claims that the administration of the export element of the tariff would be complex and the costs high.

Juliet Davenport, founder and CEO of Good Energy, said: "We wholeheartedly support the introduction of a UK-wide Feed-in Tariff. As they currently stand, however, the government proposals may be unworkable. Bringing in a blanket price for exported electricity will undermine the current market whereby suppliers compete to offer generators the best price for their power, and generators may lose out as money that should be going to them becomes tied up in administrative costs and supplier compensation. We urge that the Feed-in Tariff proposals be modified to focus on supporting generation payments, and let the market determine the export price."

Zero energy buildings crucial for Copenhagen, says MEP

Liberal Democrat MEP for the North East of England, Fiona Hall, has hailed an agreement on improving the energy efficiency of buildings vital for allowing the EU to play its full role at December's Copenhagen climate change conference.

The European Council and the European Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) committee - which looks at the EU's industrial policy and the application of new technologies - have agreed that from 2020 every new building constructed in Europe should need "nearly zero" energy for heating, cooling and lighting.

Fiona Hall said: "Today, 40% of energy consumed in Europe is used in buildings. These efficiency measures for new and existing buildings are arguably the biggest step that Europe will take towards meeting its carbon reduction targets. European leaders are still talking about a Copenhagen pledge to cut emissions by 30%. Without zero energy buildings and improved renovation standards, it would be impossible to reach that figure."

Anaerobic Digestion regional workshops announced

A series of regional Anaerobic Digestion (AD) workshops have been announced to benefit farmers, authorities, waste handlers and waste generators. They are being run by the National Non Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) in collaboration with the Renewable Energy Agency (REA), Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), British Institute of Agricultural Consultants (BIAC) and the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

The one day events will include a series of presentations on the various schemes through which stakeholders can seek financial support; the potential benefits of AD for business and to the environment and the factors which need to be addressed prior to any firm proposals for an AD plant being agreed. They will also look at technology options, feedstock mix, returns, planning and legislation.

Sessions are set to include a site visit to an existing operational plant in the region and case studies from farmers in the process of planning a plant on their farm. The first seminar is taking place in the East of England at The Ramada Bury St Edmunds Hotel in Suffolk on December 8 2009. Register for the event here.

Business Minister creates low carbon transition forum

Business Minister Pat McFadden has announced the creation and first meeting of the new Forum for a Just Transition - a body set up to ensure that the opportunities and challenges of moving to a low carbon economy are shared equally around the UK.

The forum has been set up to provide a forum for discussion and expert advice to ministers on strategic issues that are vital to ensure that government policies take account of national, regional and local impacts for all sections of society. It aims to ensure a fair distribution of costs and benefits across the economy from the transition to a low carbon economy. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband and Pat McFadden will chair the forum, with the first meeting scheduled for December 10 2009.

Speaking at the Trade Union Congress's (TUC) 21st century economy conference earlier this month, Pat McFadden said: "The shift to a low carbon economy represents a huge industrial opportunity for the UK. And as we make this shift I believe it is important that we consider the social and opportunity side of this, that we have a fair distribution of the costs and benefits, that we talk through the employment implications and new employment opportunities and that we have a group of people committed to the success of this who point out new opportunities to government to make the most of these changes."