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Renewables break 100% threshold for electricity demand

Wind output in November broke through the 100% threshold for the first time, with 109% of total Scottish electricity demand being met from renewables, enough to power nearly 6 million homes.

Another milestone is that for 20 out of the 30 days, wind production outstripped demand.

Gina Hanrahan, Head of Policy at WWF Scotland said “Wind power breaking through the magic 100 per cent threshold is truly momentous. For months output has flirted around the 97 per cent mark, so it’s fantastic to reach this milestone.

“It’s also worth noting that 20 out of 30 days wind production outstripped demand.

“Most of this is onshore wind, which we know is popular, cheap and effective. But the UK Government needs to allow it to compete with other technologies, by unlocking market access for onshore wind if it’s to realise its full potential.”

  • National Grid demand for the month – 1,994,839 MWh. What % of this could have been provided by wind power – 109%
  • Best day – 28th November generation was 116,599MWh, 9.59m homes, 391% households. Demand that day was 60,492MWh – wind generation was 192% of that.
  • Worst day – 26th November 22,677 MWh, 1.86m homes, 75% of households
  • How many days generation was over 100% of household electricity requirement – 28
  • How many days generation exceeded overall electricity demand – 20

Alex Wilcox Brooke, Weather Energy Project Manager at Severn Wye Energy Agency said “Scottish wind power generation breaking the 100 per cent barrier in November is historic and serves as a timely reminder of the importance renewable energy now plays in the UK energy market.”

wind output

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Intelligent systems will help UK transition to clean and affordable energy

New small-scale renewable electricity providers to be guaranteed payment for excess electricity supplied to the grid under government proposals unveiled this week – protecting consumers from unfair costs associated with current scheme.

Plans for Smart Export Guarantee could build a bridge to the smarter energy system of the future, which can help unlock technological innovations like home energy storage and more efficient electric vehicle charging.

Households and businesses installing new solar panels will be guaranteed payment for power provided back to the grid under government proposals set out this week to unlock the smart energy systems of the future- an important upgrade to the current Feed-in Tariffs scheme.

The proposed ‘Smart Export Guarantee’ (SEG) would replace the existing ‘Feed-in Tariff’ scheme (FIT), with electricity suppliers paying new small-scale energy producers for excess electricity from homes and businesses being put back into the energy grid. The new scheme could create a whole new market, encouraging suppliers to competitively bid for this electricity, giving exporters the best market price while providing the local grid with more clean, green energy, unlocking greater choice and control for solar households over buying and selling their electricity.

With the cost of solar falling by 80% since 2008, it’s the right time to review the way these payments are made- with the scheme currently costing consumers approximately £1.2 billion a year. The SEG would mean households and businesses installing new renewable energy generators would be paid transparently for the energy they produce- protecting consumers from cost burdens, by using established smart technology.

Currently under the FIT scheme, accredited households and businesses who install small scale electricity generation are assumed to export 50% of the electricity they produce and are paid for it-even when the electricity is not needed by the grid or they export less than 50%.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said “This new scheme could help us to build a bridge to the smart energy system of the future, with consumers firmly at its heart – not only buying electricity but being guaranteed payments for excess electricity they can supply to the grid.

“It could also reduce strain on energy networks with a more decentralised and smarter local network delivering resilience much more cost effectively, unlocking innovative products for electric vehicles and home energy storage; a win-win for consumers and the environment and a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy.”

The proposals, combined with existing technologies like smart meters and battery storage could also help build a bridge to smarter more efficient energy systems of the future, with the potential to work together with electric vehicle and standalone batteries to store and sell electricity to the grid when demand is high; in turn cutting consumer bills, reducing strain on energy networks, and giving consumers more control of their energy use.

Government investment in clean energy is at the heart of its world-leading modern industrial strategy, with the Clean Growth Strategy pledging more than £2.5 billion investment in low carbon innovation by 2021. The FIT scheme, which closes to new applicants on 31 March 2019, has overachieved on its original objectives, outstripping installation predictions by nearly 100,000 with over 830,000 solar installations producing enough power for two million homes.

Some 560,000 households and business are currently generating electricity under the FIT scheme through a range of measures including anaerobic digestion (generating energy from waste products), wind power, biomass and hydro-electricity- but with the majority (99%) using solar panels fitted to rooftops.

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New clean energy projects set to power 3.6 million homes

Eleven new energy projects worth up to £176m per year have been successful in the latest competitive auction for renewable technologies, the government has announced this week.

The projects, which are set to generate over 3GW of electricity, enough to power 3.6 million homes, demonstrate that the UK continues to be an attractive place to invest in clean energy.

The government is committed to investing in clean technology and driving economic growth as set out in our ambitious Industrial Strategy and upcoming Clean Growth Plan.

The competitive approach is continuing to drive cost reductions in the renewable energy industry – the cost of new offshore wind projects starting to generate electricity from 2022-23 are now 50% lower than the first auction held in 2015. The other successful technologies, Advanced Conversion Technologies and Dedicated Biomass with Combined Heat and Power, also achieved significant savings.

Competition has also driven down the costs for consumers. The capacity delivered in this auction cost up to £528m per year less than it would have in the absence of competition.

Projects are to be delivered across Great Britain from Wales to the Scottish Highlands and the West Midlands from 2021.

Minister for Energy and Industry, Richard Harrington, said “We’ve placed clean growth at the heart of the Industrial Strategy to unlock opportunities across the country, while cutting carbon emissions.

“The offshore wind sector alone will invest £17.5bn in the UK up to 2021 and thousands of new jobs in British businesses will be created by the projects announced. This government will continue to seize these opportunities as the world moves towards a low carbon future, and will set out ambitious proposals in the upcoming Clean Growth Plan.”

This investment will help the UK meet its climate targets while supporting jobs in Britain’s growing renewable industry. The UK has the largest offshore wind capacity in the world and low carbon businesses have a combined turnover of £43 billion, employing 234,000 people.

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Work underway on new £2.6bn offshore windfarm

Historical maritime buildings in the harbour of Wick in Caithness, Scotland, will be brought back into operation when renovated to act as the hub for one of the largest new offshore wind farms in the UK.

Work is well underway to build the £2.6 billion, 84 turbine offshore wind farm in the outer Moray Firth. Designed by world famous Scottish engineer Thomas Telford in 1807, the conservation of the onshore maritime buildings will play a key part in generating 588MW of sustainable energy from the wind farm to go into the grid.

Leading independent management, design and construction consultancy Pick Everard, based in Inverness and Glasgow, is part of the team who will be delivering the onshore aspects of the project alongside HRI/Munro Architects.

Pick Everard is delivering mechanical and engineering services for the £10 million land base which will service the windfarm commissioned by BOWL (Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd). Once complete, the wind farm will power approximately 450,000 homes (around three times the number of homes in the Moray and Highland regions).

Doug Soutar, director at Pick Everard, said “This is such an exciting project to work on and one that is key in helping us to continue to deliver sustainable energy for the future.

“The onshore element of the project comprises the conservation, re-planning and part reconstruction of two blocks of the historic Old Pulteneytown area of Wick.
“These buildings are more than 200 years old and have a longstanding history of being used for maritime purposes. We are pleased to be helping to bring them back into service again following planning permission from the Highland Council.”

Wick has provided a safe haven for fishing, commercial, and leisure vessels for the last 150 years or so with the harbour consisting of three basins. The Inner and Outer Harbours are the main fishing and leisure berths, and the River Harbour is the commercial area.

Steve Wilson, senior project manager for SSE, added “Renovation of the iconic Thomas Telford buildings in Wick is well underway and has been progressing well. These buildings will become our long term Operations and Maintenance base for Beatrice Windfarm.

“These Thomas Telford buildings are a symbol of Wick’s industrial and marine past so we are really pleased to be utilising them and in doing so help continue that legacy. We’ve been very pleased with the support there has been in the area.”

The Beatrice wind farm will be operational in 2019. It is one of the largest private investments ever made in Scottish infrastructure, bringing economic and community benefits to the area. Beatrice will also create opportunities with job creations across the region, skills training, investment in Scottish ports and harbours, supply chain opportunities and community benefit funding.

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Demand escalates for Rinnai training

Rinnai is a registered provider of CPD courses, which it has developed over the past few years, earning praise from the CPD Certification Scheme for the design of the courses. The manufacturer has seen an upswing in demand for its training as specifiers and engineers alike have switched on to the energy saving benefits of the A-rated Rinnai Infinity range.

Rinnai’s qualifications as a provider of CPD courses are impressive: as the UK and European market leader in the supply of gas fired continuous flow water heaters for commercial, domestic and renewable integration, Rinnai is at the forefront of innovative and efficient systems and technology.

As Rinnai UK Managing Director Tony Gittings explains: “The UK water heating industry is facing a myriad of environmental and politically driven market forces, including the need to reduce carbon emissions within new and existing buildings. In the training modules we clarify and engage with the market to assist decision making and understanding of the different messages faced by today’s engineers, installers and designers.

“Rinnai can demonstrate how innovation can reduce the burden on fossil fuels while maximising renewable gains. We also look at the growing support for continuous flow technologies and how this can benefit the industry versus traditional gas fired storage systems and analyse water heating design and specification discussing technical issues associated with product installation.”
“Our training facility and CPD training courses ensure key market personnel at all levels can benefit from nationwide training from our highly skilled team of technical experts. Ensuring they are up to speed with changes in legislation and product developments. Rinnai can also deliver bite-size one- hour courses to suit your needs,” says Rinnai associate director Chris Goggin.

For installers, specific hands-on training can be tailored to cover all aspects of commissioning and servicing processes. The Runcorn training facility has recently been redesigned and enlarged to cope with demand and is fitted with all the latest Rinnai technology so attendees can be assured they are gaining experience on the latest energy saving appliances and systems.

These training events are aimed primarily at engineers and facilities managers. The courses don’t just look at the individual units but also explore system design and how to deal successfully with legionella. The most popular course modules are ‘Understanding ACOP L8 and hot water system design’ and ‘System design incorporating continuous flow and renewables’.

Engineer courses are held on the first and last Thursday of each month at Runcorn. More courses are in the process of being added, including one on the new Rinnai Infinity Solo, which is now awaiting CPD accreditation.

The comprehensive engineer training course line-up for 2017 includes nine modules: Rinnai product overview; Continuous flow and the future of water heating; Intermediate water heater; Continuous flow – Excellence in design; Service and fault diagnostics (Water heaters); Service and fault diagnostics (Energy saver warm air units); Understanding ACOP L8 and hot water system design; Maximising renewable gain in hot water design; and, Continuous flow as an innovative method of satisfying energy and regulatory demands.

CPD Roadshow courses are also available for M&E consultants and specifiers, design and build engineers, facilities managers and gas contractors.

For more information contact Ian Jenkins on +44 (0)1928 531 870 or email ianjenkins@rinnaiuk.com

For more details on RINNAI products visit www.rinnaiuk.com.

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£290 million boost for clean energy in Britain

Renewable energy developers will compete for £290m worth of contracts to support the growth of clean energy in Britain, as the second Contracts for Difference auction launches.

Contracts for Difference are won through a competitive process which drives down energy costs for consumers and guarantees companies a certain price for the low-carbon electricity they produce over 15 years. This gives them the support and certainty they need to attract investment and get projects off the ground.

The contracts made available today represent the first part of the Government’s commitment to provide up to £730m of annual support for renewable electricity projects over the course of this parliament. They support a key pillar of the Industrial Strategy by ensuring a cleaner, more flexible energy supply.

Energy Minister Jesse Norman said “This auction underlines that Britain is open for business to companies seeking to invest in low carbon energy.

“It is designed to deliver clean power to a million homes, create jobs in the energy industry and provide new supply chain opportunities, while reducing carbon emissions by some 2.5 million tonnes per year.”

The scheme is funded through a levy which forms a part of energy bills and only projects that offer the best value for money will win contracts. There is no cost on energy bills until projects are up and running and generating low-carbon energy.

The auction process started yesterday (3rd April) and will continue over the coming months. It is expected to draw to a close by the autumn, when the winners of the auction and final clearing prices will be announced.

There has been £52bn of investment in renewable energy in the UK since 2010, and for the first time ever exactly half of the UK’s electricity came from low carbon sources in the third quarter of 2016. The latest contracts will help the UK build on this success.

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Offshore wind sector reaches record high

Activity in the offshore windfarm sector reached a record high in 2016, as the total construction value for projects reached £4.1 billion, increasing from £2.45 billion in 2015.

According to the latest data from construction industry analysts Barbour ABI, offshore windfarms alone accounted for 42 per cent of UK construction contract value in the utilities and power sector and 21 per cent of the entire infrastructure sector. This trend is likely to continue with the pipeline for future offshore wind developments looking healthy, with Barbour ABI reporting that £23.2 billion pounds worth of construction contract value is in planning.

Offshore

Three major projects that made a significant difference to the increase in construction contract value for offshore wind farms in 2016 were the Beatrice, Galloper and East Anglia one offshore wind farm projects, together worth a combined £3 billion pounds, which once constructed will produce over 1,600 MW of renewable energy per hour.

Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: “Back in 2013 offshore windfarms accounted for only 7.5 per cent of the annual construction value for the utilities and power sector, which increased to 42 per cent in 2016, on the back of significant investment in this type of project.

“With reports showing that the cost of producing electricity in this way have fallen significantly, the increase in construction value makes sense.”

“We have also seen a large uptake in the planning pipeline for future offshore windfarms with £23.2 billion worth of construction planned over the coming years, suggesting this burgeoning sector will continue to expand in 2017 and beyond.

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Bauder delivers largest solar array in higher education sector

The University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol has recently quadrupled its solar generating capacity through the installation of 1,731 solar panels, which will enable it to produce over 400 MWh of electricity each year and making it the largest solar panel array in the UK university sector.

The new solar array has been installed on the roof of the University Enterprise Zone (UEZ) and the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, which have both undergone extensive refurbishment as part of the required works. Prior to the solar panels being installed, approved contractor Mitie Tilley Roofing overlaid the original failing single ply waterproofing with over 12,000m2 of Bauder’s lightweight, robust PVC single ply waterproofing system Thermofol. The solar modules, which weigh just 12Kg/m2, were then fitted onto the waterproofing using a unique penetration-free, welding method by renewable energy specialists Dulas. This installation technique means that the roof is not compromised by penetrations for fixings nor is it ballasted, which would add additional weight loading to the roof.

The new photovoltaic system will generate at least 74.32 Megawatt Hours of solar power each year which should; cover half of the energy consumed within the building, save around 200 tonnes of carbon and provide annual savings of over £50,000 a year. The university is highly committed to sustainability and energy efficiency, and this solar project is just part of a much wider plan to achieve its carbon reduction goals and enhance local renewable energy capacity.

Fabia Jeddere-Fisher, Energy Engineer at UWE, stated, “From its conception, we chose a roofing system that would mean the flat roof would not need to be strengthened if we chose to add solar panels. Normally, panels placed on flat roofs require either weighing down or fixings that penetrate the roof membrane, which can introduce the risk of leaks. The system we have chosen means that the panels are welded into place, reducing load, and reducing the need for roof penetrations. The University will use 100% of the power generated by the PV array, which will be equal to the amount generated by nearly 200 homes with solar panels. As a large organisation we want to set an example for others to undertake similar projects.”

For more information please visit www.bauder.co.uk.
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Government plans to upgrade energy infrastructure and increase investment in clean energy

The Government last week reaffirmed its commitment to spend £730m of annual support on renewable electricity projects over this parliament, and set out further details for the next Contracts for Difference auction where companies will compete for the first £290m worth of contracts for renewable electricity projects.

The second Contracts for Difference auction will result in enough renewable electricity to power around one million homes and reduce carbon emissions by around 2.5 million tonnes per year from 2021/22 onwards. It will also allow developers of innovative renewable technologies to deliver the best deal for bill payers. For example, the maximum price for offshore wind projects is now 25% lower than was set for the last auction, and a competitive auction could bring that price down further.

The Government has also today set out proposals for the next steps to phase out electricity generation from unabated coal-fired power stations within the next decade. This long-term plan will provide confidence to investors that the UK is open to investors in new, cleaner energy capacity as we transition from coal to gas, and build a diverse energy system giving us greater security of supply, which includes record investments in renewable technology and the reliable electricity that new nuclear power investment will provide.

This will be of some comfort to the environmentally conscious, who fear that the recent election of Donald Trump to the position of President will undermine real progress in green technology globally. Trump has already dismissed global warming and there will be no encouragement of reducing carbon emissions under his administration.

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said “We’re sending a clear signal that Britain is one of the best places in the world to invest in clean, flexible energy as we continue to upgrade our energy infrastructure.

“This is a key part of our upcoming Industrial Strategy, which will provide companies with the further support they need to innovate as we build a diverse energy system fit for the 21st century that is reliable while keeping bills down for our families and businesses.”

These are essential elements of the Government’s plan to upgrade the UK’s energy infrastructure, lower our carbon emissions and spur on the growth of large scale, low-carbon energy – a key part of the global deal to tackle climate change agreed in Paris last year.

Taking unabated coal power out of our energy mix and replacing it with cleaner technology, such as gas, will significantly reduce emissions from the UK’s energy use. The government first announced its intention to take unabated coal out of the energy mix in November last year.

The Government is also looking to end uncertainty over whether onshore wind projects on remote islands should be treated differently from onshore wind projects on mainland Great Britain. A consultation is being launched asking for views which either support or oppose this position which will be reviewed to provide a comprehensive answer.

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Costa Rica running on renewables for 121 days and counting!

Costa Rica is setting the precedent for other nations looking to utilise green energy and reduce their carbon footprint.

The small Central American nation has generated 100% of its electricity from renewable sources for the past 121 days, and the run isn’t over yet. The country, which draws clean energy from a variety of renewable sources, still has its sights on a full year without fossil fuels.

With a 121-day stretch of 100% renewable energy under its belt and several months left in the year, Costa Rica appears to be edging closer to its admirable target. Costa Rica could be on track to match the record set with its renewable energy production last year, which accounted for 99% of the country’s electricity. That included 285 days powered completely by renewable sources, according to the Costa Rican Electricity Institute.

Costa Rica is able to take advantage of a multitude of renewable energy sources because of its unique climate and terrain. Most of the nation’s renewable energy comes from hydropower, due to its large river system and heavy tropical rainfalls. Solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal energy also play key roles.

Green ambitions

Costa Rica have shown great ambition in the field of renewable energy over the past few years and according to the government they are aiming to be entirely free from fossil fuels by 2021. However, with large sums of money currently being invested in geothermal energy projects, it is anticipated that this impressive target could indeed be met much sooner than originally expected.

In comparison, some countries (ourselves included) could be perceived as simply not doing enough to tackle climate change and improve our energy habits. Costa Rica achieving 99% renewable energy usage this year sends a stark message to the rest of the world of what is possible when a country unites to make a concerted effort to fight global warming using sustainable energy sources and technologies already at our disposal.

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