Apple has made quite a green turnaround in the past couple of years.

Producers of renewable energy in south west of England are now generating enough “green” electricity to power more than 25% of all the homes in the region.
This is revealed in a major report, published this week by independent renewable energy experts Regen SW, which says that capacity has grown by 37% in the past 12 months to nearly 1.2GW – and the region now generates 8.3% of its electricity from renewable sources.
The “South West Renewable Energy Progress Report”, produced annually since 2004, shows the south west leads the way in small and community-scale renewables.
The south west has 21% of the projects supported by the Government’s Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme, more than any other UK region, and 14% of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) projects, second only to Scotland.
“The key areas of growth were 270MW of solar PV, 68MW of biomass and 23MW from onshore wind.
However, the report warns that in spite of this strong growth, the south west is not on track to meet the Government’s target of driving 15% of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2020.
“This year’s progress report is encouraging,” said Merlin Hyman, chief executive of Regen SW. “However, it should be just the start.
“With 70% of all investment in energy globally predicted to be in renewables, our success in this market is critical. By meeting our renewables targets we could create 34,000 high-value jobs, become less reliant on uncertain oversees supplied fossil fuels, and use our local renewable energy resources to generate income and fuel security for local communities.”
The report concludes that while the foundation stone for renewables is a clear and consistent government policy framework, there is also much more can be done locally to: tackle barriers such as the capacity of the electricity grid and ensuring clear planning rules; enable commercial deployment of new technologies like offshore wind, wave and tidal energy.
“We also need a mix of all renewables’ technologies,” added Mr Merlin. “While solar PV, onshore wind and biomass are currently our best performers, the deployment of offshore wind off the Dorset coast has the potential to make the largest contribution to the amount of renewable energy we generate, while wave and tidal energy have an exciting future.”

Ireland’s first west coast wave energy project has been awarded €23m in funding from the European Union (EU) to develop the project on a larger scale.

As part of the EU’s New Entrant Reserve funding scheme, otherwise known as NER 300, the WestWave project is expected to develop wave energy production facilities by 2018 and generating an initial 5MW, or the equivalent of the joint electricity consumption of households in nearby Kilrush and Kilkee.

The project team is already developing the site at Killard, near Doonbeg, Co Clare, and is currently procuring the technology designs to deploy the wave energy generators.

With construction expected to start in 2016, the ESB hope that it will encourage further developments of wave energy projects and greater public acceptance.

ESB’s head of innovation, John McSweeney said of the decision by the EU to award the project funding: “Ireland’s oceans have the potential to provide large quantities of indigenous, renewable energy and reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels.

“Demonstration projects like ESB WestWave are critical if we are to realise the ultimate aim of progressing to larger commercial scale projects and a low carbon future. The funding award announced today is a huge boost to the ESB WestWave project and to Ocean Energy development in Ireland and Europe.”

ABB has been selected by Statnett to provide an integrated gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) for deployment in two substations in order to provide temporary power supply to Statnett’s new 420kV transmission line in northern Norway.

The new line, which is approximately 500km in length, has two sections that will run from Ofoten to Balsfjord, and from Balsfjord to Skaidi in Hammerfest.

Under the contract, ABB will design, construct and install two ELK-3, 420kV GIS in prefabricated housing during the expansion of two existing substations at Ofoten and Bardufoss.

The pre-assembled, trailer mounted and fully integrated switchgear units will provide reliable and flexible power aimed to meet the need for quick energisation during Statnett’s extensive grid expansions in the region.

Upon completion, the 420kV switchgear modules will be transferred to the Norwegian ’emergency reserve’ pool.

The expanded substations are part of Statnett’s investment program aimed to ensure the security of electricity supply in northern Norway.

The new 420kV transmission line is expected to secure a reliable power supply to address industrial growth and production of renewable energy such as wind and hydro in the region.

Norway intends to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30%, and increase the renewable share of total energy consumption to67.5% by year 2020, which would be Europe’s highest renewable energy share.

The ideal solution for Statnett’s requirement for mobility and continuous substation operations, the integrated GIS can be transported between sites to supply and re-route power throughout the grid expansion project.

ABB is slated to deliver the units to the Ofoten and Bardufoss substations for energization in 2015.

A memorandum of understanding signed this past week sets up an agreement between BC First Nations and the Clean Energy Association of BC (CEBC) to cooperate in developing British Columbia’s renewable sector, including hydroelectric power.

The document — which includes the signatures of 13 First Nations groups, the First Nations Energy and Mining Council, and CEBC — also includes wind, biomass, biogas, solar, geothermal and natural gas generation.

“There is no reason why the clean energy sector cannot power a new era of economic development for First Nations in British Columbia,” Sechelt (shishalh) First Nation councilor Garry Feschuk said. “First Nations are distributed throughout B.C and so are the clean generation fuels. We should all be able to benefit from this sector.”

British Columbia is home to 125 First Nations groups that have had some involvement in the development of renewable energy so far, CEBC said, and all are still welcome to sign the memorandum.

“British Columbia’s clean energy sector has a strong track record of working collaboratively with First Nations to promote economic development,” Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett said. “Working with First Nations is a key part of doing business in British Columbia, and this MOU will help to strengthen these important partnerships.”

IBM has launched a new project, known as Green Horizon, aimed to help China deliver on ambitious energy and environmental goals.

IBM’s China Research laboratory-led ten-year initiative, which will support China in transforming its national energy systems, sets out to leap beyond current global practices in air quality management, renewable energy forecasting and energy optimisation for industry.

The Beijing Municipal Government has signed collaboration agreement with IBM to work together to develop solutions, which can help tackle the city’s air pollution challenges.

In order to improve air quality, Beijing will invest more than $160bn to deliver on its target of reducing harmful fine Particulate Matter (PM 2.5) particles by 25% by 2017.

IBM and the Beijing Municipal Government will support the initiative by developing a system that will enable authorities to pinpoint the type, source and level of emissions and predict air quality in the city.

Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy energy and climate program resident scholar Tao Wang said, “Science-based decision support systems, combined with sophisticated data analysis is exactly what the Chinese government needs to address the country’s energy and environmental issues.”

The government will use the accurate, real-time data about Beijing’s air quality to address environmental issues by adjusting production at specific factories or alerting citizens about developing air quality issues.

The Chinese Government, as part of the transformation of Chinese industry, aims to reduce the country’s carbon intensity by 40 – 45% by the year 2020.

In order to support the goals, IBM will develop a new system to help monitor, manage and optimise the energy consumption of industrial enterprises, which represent more than 70% of China’s total energy consumption.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued up to $4bn in loan guarantees to support innovative renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the country which can avoid, reduce, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions.

Issued in support of the President’s Climate Action Plan, the solicitation marks a step ahead in supporting the DOE’s effort to deploy innovative, clean energy technologies at commercial scale in the US.

UA DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz said: “As the president emphasised in his Climate Action Plan, it is critical that we take an all-of-the-above approach to energy in order to cut carbon pollution, help address the effects of climate change and protect our children’s future.

“Through previous loan guarantees and other investments, the Department is already helping launch or jumpstart entire industries in the US, from utility-scale wind and solar to nuclear and lower-carbon fossil energy.”

The solicitation, which supports technologies that are catalytic, replicable and market-ready, includes the Department’s sample list illustrative of potential technologies for consideration.

Five key technology areas of interest have been identified by the DOE, which include advanced grid integration and storage; drop-in biofuels; waste-to-energy; enhancement of existing facilities including micro-hydro or hydro updates to existing non-powered dams; and efficiency improvements.

The Department’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) will now accept applications in three areas, which also include the $8bn advanced fossil energy projects solicitation and the $16bn advanced technology vehicle manufacturing (ATVM) loan programme.

The number of renewable energy projects in the UK has soared by 40% with almost £300m invested in commercial-scale, independent schemes last year.

Figures compiled by SmartestEnergy for this year’s Energy Entrepreneurs Report show that there are now 2,930 renewable energy projects of over 50kW capacity now in operation, independent of the Big Six energy firms.

The report shows 843 new projects came on supply in 2013 with an average cost of £353,000. The 40.4% increase in project numbers represents a 31.9% increase in capacity compared with last year’s Energy Entrepreneurs Report.

SmartestEnergy’s head of generation Iain Robertson said the report highlighted the growing economic contribution of the independent energy sector. “This year’s report really underlines just how important the independent renewables sector is becoming and the scale of investment being made by energy entrepreneurs,” he said.

“More than £1m was invested every working day in 2013 and the 843 new projects commissioned are now having a direct impact on the businesses, communities, landowners and developers behind them. Faced with steep rises in energy costs and concerns over security of supply, investing in renewable energy projects is a highly cost-effective way to save money and develop a new income stream.”

Community projects

Onshore wind represented the largest share of energy generation with 45% but the UK’s independent solar capacity was shown to have grown by a massive 150%. This comes after controversial plans by the government to cut financial support to large-scale solar farms. As reported by edie in May, the Department for Energy and Climate Change revealed plans to close the Renewables Obligation scheme as of April 2015 for solar farms with over 5MW capacity.

Independent energy projects by businesses, communities, farmers and landowners now represent a combined capacity of more than 6.2GW. The number of community owned projects grew by 29% and the farming sector saw the largest increases with project numbers up by 80%.

According to SmartestEnergy, the energy generated by independent projects is now enough to power 4.67m households, up 19% on 2012. Such projects are now capable of generating £997m worth of energy each year.

Analysis carried out by PwC reveals that £29.8bn was invested in all UK renewables between 2010 and 2013 including renewable electricity, renewable heat and renewable transport fuel production. £64.4bn is expected to be invested in renewables by 2020 in order to achieve Government projections for renewables.

Renewable energy may reap as much as two-thirds of the $7.7 trillion in investment forecast for building new power plants by 2030 as declining costs make it more competitive with fossil fuels.

The Governor of the State of California Jerry Brown has signed a wide-ranging bill aimed at improving the state’s clean energy infrastructure.

The Public/Natural Resources trailer bill came into law this week and Senate Bill 861 is designed to add impetus to the California state government’s pioneering energy storage initiatives, which extend down from utility-scale energy storage mandates to incentives for small- and medium-sized companies to deploy intelligent solutions.

The bill enables annual funding of $83 million of California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), allocating a total $415 million in state funds to assure its operation through 2019. Run by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), SGIP provides “rebates for qualifying distributed energy systems installed on the customer-side of the utility meter.”

In addition to wind turbines, waste heat-to-power systems, pressure reduction turbines, internal combustion engines, micro turbines and fuel cells, qualifying SGIP technologies also include advanced energy storage systems.

The SGIP now plays a key role in realizing the goals set out in California’s Assembly Bill 2514 (AB 2514), “landmark legislation that will create a smarter, cleaner electric grid, increase the use of renewable energy, save Californians money by avoiding costly new power plants, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollutants through the use of energy storage technologies by utility companies.”

Whereas AB 2514 focuses on the energy storage at utility scale, SGIP is focused on fostering adoption of distributed energy systems, including intelligent energy storage solutions.

SGIP received more rebate requests for energy storage systems ($53 million or 34 percent of the total) than any other eligible distributed energy technology over the course of 2012, according to CPUC’s latest, publicly released SGIP Budget Review. SGIP requests for combined heat-and-power (CHP) fuel cells followed a close second with $52 million (33 percent of total SGIP requests).