The Green Investment Bank has committed £80m to finance a new 43MW combined heat and power (CHP) energy from waste plant in Kent. Other investors include Barclays, Banks of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Natixis and Investec. The plant, near Sittingbourne, will supply heat to DS Smith’s Kemsley Paper Mill – reducing its reliance on gas-fired steam – Read more…

Renewable power’s contribution to the UK generation mix soared in 2015, official statistics show. Compared to 2014, solar generation almost doubled (up 87% to 7.6TWh) on the back of a 69% increase in capacity (9.2GW, up from 5.4GW in 2014). Offshore wind generation was 30 per cent higher than in 2014, with capacity up 13 Read more…

If I said to a CFO, “I will fix your transport costs or employment costs for the next 20 years”, they’d rip my arm off. So why not power, asks Nick Boyle, CEO Lightsource Renewable Energy, in this sponsored post. Given the choice, any sensible business will put into place appropriate measures to hedge against Read more…

  In this sponsored post John Dallimore, head of origination at Scottish Power asks whether government changes signal a policy shift on the future of low carbon power. The UK Government has recently made a raft of policy changes, impacting how we generate, access and sell low carbon energy, leaving many in the industry asking – has Read more…

Output from coal-fired power stations halved in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2015. Gas generators largely made up the difference. Meanwhile, output from renewables and low carbon generation increased slightly, mainly off the back of more wind and solar capacity and Drax converting a third unit to Read more…

A trial to match local generation with local businesses suggests that peer-to-peer renewable power services could lead to lower energy system costs. Now Open Utility and Good Energy want Ofgem to consider changing grid charges for local consumption of power. The Decc-funded trial allowed participating organisations to choose to buy renewable power from local generators Read more…

Businesses were the fastest growing segment of independently-owned renewable generation projects by volume in 2015, according to a new report. The number of onsite generation projects completed by businesses in 2015 grew 27% year on year according to Smartest Energy. By capacity, those projects totalled 98.6MW, growth of 17.3% according to the report, second only Read more…

Chris Sansom, associate professor, Precision Engineering Institute at Cranfield University, specialises in solar thermal power and storage. He believes that solar thermal allied with storage is a relatively cheap opportunity, but one that has been overlooked. “My work tends to be driven by what might be the right solution in the future, even if it Read more…

A 5MW anaerobic digestion plant being commissioned in Cumbria this month is the first in Europe to feed biomethane into the gas grid that is generated exclusively by cheese. It will also power a CHP engine at First Milk’s Aspatria creamery, thereby saving up to 25% on energy costs. Other revenue benefits, according Clearfleau, the firm Read more…

Green energy suppliers Ecotricity and Good Energy are set to lock horns over who has the greenest power – and not for the first time. The independent energy firms both own generation as well as supply businesses and generate their power largely through wind and solar, although neither has enough generating capacity to supply all Read more…

Drax and Infinis have lost their bid to overturn the government’s decision to axe Climate Change Levy exemptions for renewable power. The two firms had challenged the decision, outlined in George Osborne’s July Budget, on the basis that only 24 days’ notice had been given. The High Court concluded that the government had not provided Read more…

The European Commission thinks the biomass subsidy deal struck by the UK’s biggest coal plant operator and the coalition government may be too generous. It has launched an in-depth investigation today to see if that proves to be the case. It is scrutinising whether the deal breaches EU state aid rules and invites comments from Read more…

The news that Eon must foot the bill to repair defective offshore wind turbines at Robin Rigg may have ramifications for UK offshore wind farm developers. Many developers have had to deal with issues relating to the grout used to connect turbine towers to their foundations. It’s a costly and often difficult fix in a Read more…

GDF Suez is urging firms with anaerobic digesters to consider exporting biogas to National Grid rather than burning it for electricity. Injecting direct to grid is a far more efficient process, according to the company, and there is a growing market for green gas. Combined with the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), the economics of exporting Read more…

United Utilities is to bolster its self-generation to the tune of 3MW as work begins this week on a floating solar PV plant at Godley reservoir. The water firm will complete the installation ahead of steep cuts to solar subsidies. The Hyde project will be the largest floating solar plant in Europe and is expected Read more…