The UK’s renewables sources generated 14.9% of electricity in 2013, according to a new report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The DECC, in its annual Digest of UK Energy Statistics, revealed that onshore and offshore wind energy in the UK is playing the central role for transition from fossil fuels to clean renewables for the country.

According to the report, electricity generated from renewable sources increased by 30% in 2013 when compared to 2012, and accounted to 14.9% of total UK electricity generation.

Electricity generated from onshore wind provided 32% of the total, while offshore wind generated a further 21%, making a total of 53% of all renewable energy from wind, according to the report.

The renewables installed capacity increased by 27% (4.2GW) to 19.7GW in 2013 due to a 27% increase in onshore wind capacity (1.6GW) and a 23% increase in offshore wind capacity.

RenewableUK policy director Dr Gordon Edge said: “We’re now on course to hit 10% of electricity from wind alone this year.”

Commenting on publication of the annual energy statistics, Energy & Climate Change Secretary of State Edward Davey said: “The government’s investment in renewable energy is paying off: renewable electricity has more than doubled in just four years – with around 15% of Britain’s electricity already coming from clean renewable sources like wind, solar and hydro.

“Having a strong UK renewable sector helps to reduce our foreign imports of energy, improving our energy security, as well as helping us tackle climate change and creating new hi-tech green jobs. A green energy future that once seemed impossible for Britain is fast becoming a reality.”

The UK aimed to meet a legally binding target of 15% of all energy from renewables by 2020.

Irish renewable energies firm BNRG has begun construction of its 15MW solar plant across 85 acres of land in Bilsham Farm in West Sussex, UK, at a cost of €25m.

In terms of benefit for the area, the plant will have the capacity to power more than 4,950 homes for 30 years.

BNRG, which is based in Dublin and backed by IDA Ireland, is constructing the project through a joint venture with the Langmead Group.

Langmead Group is one of the UK’s largest fresh produce suppliers. Its company policy includes working towards sustainability and promoting clean-energy use within the company and on farms across some 2,500 hectares in West Sussex, Scotland and Suffolk and Spain.

To date, BNRG has developed and constructed solar farms with a combined value of more than €170m and has completed 11 utility scale solar projects in the UK since 2011.

The company also recently received planning approval for the first utility scale solar PV plan on the island of Ireland near Downpatrick in Co Down.

BNRG has also confirmed it has lined up a number of similar projects across the UK and Europe for construction in 2015 and the following years after.

Centrica and DONG Energy have scrapped the Celtic Array offshore wind farm planned for the Irish Sea.

The companies have come to a conclusion that the project is economically unviable with current technology and has confirmed challenging ground conditions.

Celtic Array, which is a joint venture between Centrica and DONG Energy, was formed in March 2012 when DONG Energy bought a 50% share in Centrica’s rights to develop wind farms in the Round 3 Irish Sea Zone.

The Crown Estate has agreed to Celtic Array’s decision to cease the zone development agreement for the Irish Sea Zone, allowing the joint venture to stop development activities.

A spokesperson for the project said: “We’re disappointed not to be progressing with our work to develop wind farms in the Irish Sea Zone, however our assessments have shown that ground conditions are such that it’s not viable for us to proceed with the technology that’s available at this stage. We’re extremely grateful for the support that has been shown to us and would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the development of our proposals for the Rhiannon wind farm and other potential projects.”

In January 2010, Centrica Renewable Energy announced an exclusive zone development agreement with The Crown Estate, allowing Centrica to prepare proposals for developing offshore wind farms in an area of the Irish Sea.

The Irish Sea Zone covers an area of 2,200km². The boundaries of the zone are approximately 15km from Anglesey, 20km from the Isle of Man, and more than 40km to the Cumbrian coast.

Head of Offshore Wind, Huub den Rooijen said: “We have confirmed the developers’ assessment of the zone, which shows that challenging ground conditions make this project economically unviable with current technology.

“We understand that this will be disappointing for many but improvements and de-risking of new technologies may one day in the future make it economic to develop in some parts of the area.

“Whilst we have no plans to re-offer the zone to the market, to improve the understanding of the complex geology in this region we intend to make available the wealth of data from Celtic Array’s activity through our Marine Data Exchange in due course.”

Siemens Energy has secured a contract to supply wind turbines for the Westermeerwind project in the Netherlands.

Under the contract, the company will supply 48 direct drive wind turbines to the project, which is claimed to be the country’s largest near shore wind farm.

The contract also represents the first wind power plant Siemens Wind Power’s Offshore unit will erect for handover to the customer on a turnkey basis.

In addition to supplying turbines, Siemens will also provide a 15-year comprehensive maintenance services, during which the owner will benefit from Siemens’ guaranteed availability.

The 144MW Westermeerwind near shore wind farm will be erected in the IJsselmeer lake along the northern and western dike of the Dutch municipality of Noordoostpolder.

The 48 Siemens SWT-3.0-108 wind turbines will be arranged in three rows in the shallow waters between 500m and 1,100m from the dike. Each wind turbine is capable of generating 3MW with a 108m rotor diameter, ensuring maximum efficiency.

Preparation works on the site will start in the middle quarter of 2014, followed by offshore installation in 2015.

Upon completion between end of 2015 and early 2016, the wind project will generate enough electricity to meet the demands of 160,000 Dutch homes.

The project will thereby significantly contribute to the Netherlands reaching their climate-protection targets of generating 14% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.

The Westermeerwind project is expected to bring approximately 150 additional jobs to the area during the erection phase. Some 30 technicians and other specialists are also expected to be needed over the 15-year service period to operate the wind park.

Farmers and citizens of the facility’s three neighboring councils of Noordoostpolder, Urk and Lemsterland will be offered the opportunity to invest in this wind park around one year after realisation in 2016.

The UK Government will award more than £200m annually for renewable energy projects as part of its first auction of contracts in building low-carbon electricity system.

The first auction of contracts-for-difference, to be held place in October, involves deals worth £50m a year available to more established technologies such as solar and onshore wind power.

The remaining £155m a year will be granted for less established technologies like offshore wind and biomass.

The renewable energy projects to compete for a part of the government’s reforms to the electricity market for reducing emissions from the power sector much more cheaply than through existing policies, around 6% lower on the average domestic electricity bill up to 2030.

UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: “Our plan is powering growth and jobs as we build clean, secure electricity infrastructure for the future.

“By radically reforming the electricity markets, we’re making sure that decarbonising the power sector will come at the lowest possible cost to consumers.

“Average annual investment in renewables has doubled since 2010 – with a record breaking £8bn worth in 2013. We’re building a secure, low-carbon electricity system that will be the powerhouse of the British economy, supporting up to 250,000 jobs by 2020.”

At least a further £50m is planned for an auction around 2015 and a total of approximately £1bn for further projects, including carbon capture and storage, up to 2020-21.

RenewableUK director of policy Gordon Edge said: “Although we appreciate that it’s necessary to hold back budget for future years in order to allow potentially cheaper projects to come forward later, this initial release of the draft budget risks being insufficient to drive industrialisation, competition and cost reduction.”

Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has invested more than $900m in the 2013-14 financial year in projects worth more than $3bn in total value.

The investments cover a diverse range of economic activity such as agribusiness, waste coal mine gas-to-energy, wave energy, bioenergy, energy efficiency projects in local government and the community sector, and efficiency upgrades across the full spectrum of the property sector.

CEFC CEO Oliver Yates said the CEFC is demonstrating the potential that its activities offer to catalyse greater private sector investment into the sector, with its current portfolio achieving matched private sector funds of more than $2.20 for each $1 of CEFC investment.

“The CEFC invests for a positive return, with its investments presently expected to earn an average yield of approximately 7%, which is more than 3.5% above the government’s cost of funds prevailing when the investment were made,”Yates said.

“Through this portfolio of 40 direct investments and a further 25 projects co-financed under aggregation partnerships, the CEFC is delivering abatement estimated at more than 4.2 million tonnes of CO2e p.a., with a benefit to the taxpayer of around $2.40 per tonne of CO2e abated (net of government cost of borrowing).”

The CEFC has partnered with all four major banks and more than ten other domestic and international banks for the investment.

The CEFC will also finance $227m, of which around $133m is for new solar programmes and projects, which will bring its total commitment to solar to more than $200m.

Some of the investments of the CEFC include up to $120m for three new Solar PV financing programmes, up to $70m for a programme by SunEdison, up to $20m for a programme offered by Tindo Solar, up to $30m for a programme by Kudos Energy and $13m under a structured project finance facility.

Deal aims to broaden Yaskawa’s exposure in the renewable energy market and expand the use of its PV inverter technology expertise.

A new free scheme designed to drive new and existing British community energy groups forward was revealed today.
The Community Energy Mentoring initiative will provide community energy groups with experienced and trained mentors to help them navigate the often complex financial, regulatory and organisational hurdles faced by ventures looking to develop community energy projects.
Delivered by Co-operatives UK and the Community Shares Unit (CSU) and funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the new mentoring programme will run until October 2015.
Ed Mayo, secretary general of Co-operatives UK, said: “The case for renewable energy and community ownership is compelling.
“I am delighted that this new initiative will further support growth within the community energy sector.”
In tandem with the CSU, the mentoring programme will work with established community energy organisations interested in passing on their knowledge and experience while acting as champions for community energy.
Due to the high number of community energy enterprises raising finance through share offers, approved mentors will be able to access CSU training in addition to receiving financial support to work with their groups.

Scottish Hydro Electricity Transmission (SHE Transmission), the electricity transmission subsidiary of SSE, has received approval from Ofgem for a £1.2bn subsea link and transmission charging reform.

The new transmission link, between Caithness and Moray, will comprise more than 100 miles of underground and subsea cable for the transmission of a large volume of electricity from renewable sources in the north of Scotland.

Scheduled to commence construction in the next few months and expected to be completed in 2018, the project is part of a transformational programme of investment in electricity transmission infrastructure aimed to support the transition to lower carbon electricity generation while increasing security of supply and promoting economic growth.

SHE Transmission managing networks managing director Mark Mathieson said Ofgem has carried out detailed and extensive consultations on the project to ensure the right project is delivered at the right time to minimise electricity grid constraints without incurring unnecessary costs for electricity consumers.

“I am very pleased that it has been given the green light and we will now work with Ofgem on the remaining details and focus on ensuring that the new link is constructed in a safe and responsible way so that the benefits it will bring in unlocking renewable sources of energy for decades to come are realised,” Mathieson said.

Expected to support more than 600 jobs during its construction, which will be completed in 2018, the project will connect 1.2GW of new renewable electricity generation and, upon completion, will help meet the UK’s renewable target at a lower cost to consumers.

Additionally, Ofgem has approved new transmission charging methodology, effective from April 2016.

SHE Transmission senior partner Martin Crouch said the approval is a major step forward for an essential upgrade to the high-voltage grid so that more renewable energy can connect to the networks.

“We have already started on the next phase of checking SHE’s spending plans and we will ensure it completes the work as efficiently as possible so that consumers pay a fair price for this,” Crouch said

Thirty local renewable energy projects stretching from Cornwall to Cumbria were today named as the first recipients of the government’s Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) this year to help develop projects across England.
They represent a range of technologies, including community-scale anaerobic digestion, solar power, hydropower and wind energy, as well as renewable and low-carbon heat networks.
One of the projects, which will provide heat directly to a local primary school, involves a community-owned anaerobic digestion facility. It will also generate income from the sale of electricity to benefit other community projects in a community group partnership with four farms.
A joint initiative between DECC and DEFRA, the £15 million Rural Community Energy Fund was created to help community groups based in rural areas develop their own local renewable energy projects.
Administered by resource efficiency experts WRAP, the fund provides up to £150,000 of funding to individual projects for feasibility and pre-planning development work to help them become investment ready.
UK energy minister, Greg Barker said: “It’s great to see so many communities across the UK benefitting from local clean energy. I want to see more communities becoming producers of energy – powering schools, market towns and community centres sustainably – and boosting their economy at the same time.”
Environment minister Dan Rogerson said that he hoped the fund would strengthen the rural economy, safeguard the environment, and allow communities to unlock the potential of renewable energy.
Richard Swannell, director WRAP, added: “RCEF is helping communities to not only think about renewable energy, but achieve it and reap the benefits locally.
“I’m delighted by the interest we’ve received, and the ambitious nature of projects we’ve had in the first year. It’s helped give renewable energy a boost from the ground up.”
Many more projects were expected to receive financial support over the six-year lifetime of the fund, he said.