The Scottish government’s new National Planning Framework 3 (NPF3) and Scottish Planning Policy (SPP), which include guidelines for the development of renewable electricity, heat and transport, have been welcomed by local lobbyists.
Joss Blamire, senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said: “We’re pleased that the new planning guidelines recognise that renewables developments are an essential part of Scotland’s future.”
But, he cautioned against a “one-size-fits-all” approach to planning decisions for wind farms.
“It is essential that we strike the right balance between harnessing our fantastic wind resource and protecting Scotland’s most valued landscapes. That’s why we support the government’s efforts to make national scenic areas and national parks off limits to large-scale applications,” said Mr Blamire.
“We need to remember that the onshore wind sector supports thousands of jobs, has attracted billions of pounds of investment and generates enough carbon-free electricity to meet the equivalent of almost a third of Scotland’s needs. It is also the cheapest form of renewable energy that can be built at the scale we need.”
However, he added: “The Scottish Government needs to ensure the new planning framework does not rule out good quality proposals and we reaffirm our view that new developments are best judged on a case-by-case basis.
“It would be in nobody’s interest for Scotland to lose out on the important environmental, economic and social opportunities that are created by the onshore wind sector.”

An army of landowners and farmers is understood to be rallying to the call to help Britain out of a looming energy crisis by becoming small-scale power generators.
Planning applications for small and medium-scale wind turbines has grown by 60% in the past six months, according to new data released by farm wind turbine specialist Earthmill.
The company has installed more than 150 turbines on farms and land across the UK, from Scotland to Cornwall, with most of its customers contributing to the UK renewable energy sector that now generates enough power for more than six million homes on average.
Motivated by a combination of commercial and environmental benefits, more and more farmers are looking to reduce their own farm’s rising energy costs, generate additional revenues and help the environment at the same time, said the company’s Steve Milner.
“There are more than 300,000 working farms in the UK, and although not all land is suitable for small or medium-scale turbines, much high ground away from neighbouring buildings can be utilised to generate income and contribute to the UK grid,” he said.
According to the trade body, Renewable UK, an estimated 8,000 small and medium turbines over 1.5kw have been installed in the UK since 2005, quietly growing the percentage of the UK’s power generated by renewables over the past decade.
“Each 225 kw medium-scale turbine can provide enough power for around 150 homes. For farmers, a turbine also results in a drastic reduction in billed power consumption. Electricity use by farms can be huge, especially in poultry and dairy farming, where heating and pumps are heavily used,” added Mr Milner.

SOFOS Jamaica Ltd., a Premium Partner of the German PV system integrator IBC SOLAR AG, has unveiled what it calls the largest solar power plant in Jamaica to date. The 1.6 MWp plant intended for own consumption is providing The Grand Palladium Resort & Spa with solar energy. The project represents a total investment of USD 3.4 million by the hotel, which is expected to see a full return on its investments after 4 years and USD 21.9 million in energy savings after 30 years.

The Kingston-based project developer SOFOS Jamaica Ltd. is helping Jamaican businesses become less dependent on the national grid. The plant in Hanover is the first major project for SOFOS in Jamaica and marks a starting point for many other projects in cooperation with different Jamaican companies that will begin soon. IBC SOLAR supported the project developer with its many years of experience in international business and provided solar modules and other components for the construction.

“The Jamaican government welcomes investments in renewable energy solutions,” said Phillip Paulwell, the Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, at the unveiling ceremony. He told the gathering that solar power will become the cheapest source of energy by 2030, and that Jamaica can continue to benefit from this market trend.

Her Excellency Celsa Nuño, the Spanish Ambassador to Jamaica, agreed, adding that this project makes perfect economic sense for a country like Jamaica with high energy costs.

According to David Pijuan, business development manager for SOFOS Jamaica, the self-consumption solar PV system installed at the Grand Palladium Hotel and Spa is the first in the Caribbean with a blocking system that allows the operator to privately consume the power from the solar plant without feeding excess energy to the grid. The PV power systems used by SOFOS Jamaica were specially developed for the Caribbean and are lightweight, low-maintenance and able to resist up to category 4 hurricanes. The PV systems are also equipped with SOFOS’ customised software, which allows instant access to information via the Internet as well as system error alerts and notifications by e-mail or text message.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is moving forward with multiple agreements for a large 250-MW solar array in Kern County while also spurring development of another 50 MW of solar power within the city of Los Angeles.

Armstrong Asset Management has forged a new partnership agreement with The Blue Circle for wind and solar project financing in the Mekong Region of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. With Armstrong agreeing to commit up to US $40 million in equity to fund the construction of wind and solar projects, it will also take a minority equity stake in The Blue Circle – a vertically integrated renewable energy developer operating in the region.

French waste management and services company Véolia Propreté, Dalkia and Clarke Energy have launched the new Electr’od landfill gas-powered cogeneration plant in Plessis-Gassot, France.

The 17.3MW landfill gas-fueled power plant comprises ten GE Distributed Power-built ecomagination-qualified Jenbacher gas engines to generate renewable electricity and heat for residents and businesses.

Developed by Véolia in cooperation with Dalkia and Clarke Energy, the facility will replace a smaller, less efficient steam turbine-boiler system.

In order to generate enough renewable electricity to power more than 41,000 French homes (excluding heating), the new cogeneration plant makes use of landfill’s methane-rich biogas.

For use by residents and businesses throughout France, the electricity generated will be sold to Électricité Réseau Distribution France (ERDF).

In addition to this, the cogeneration facility produces 30,000 MWh/year of thermal energy, whichis equivalent to the amount consumed by an estimated 2,850 homes.

Véolia Propreté managing director Bernard Harambillet said that the newly commissioned and upgraded landfill gas power plant will provide renewable power to the French electricity network.

“We selected Clarke Energy and GE’s Jenbacher gas engines for this project due to their experience in offering increased efficiency and a reliable supply of renewable energy,” Harambillet said.

The new plant also features ten Jenbacher units, including four 2.7MW J620 gas engines, five containerised 1.1MW J416s and one containerised 1MW J320.

GE Power & Water’s Distributed Power gas engines general manager Karl Wetzlmayer said, “As the largest landfill gas power plant in France and the first installation of our Type 6 technology for landfills in France, this project demonstrates how our fuel-flexible Jenbacher gas engines can provide more power with increased efficiency.”

A consortium of Alstom and Saft have been awarded a contract by EDF group to provide an initial energy storage system.

The consortium will contribute to the EDF’s demonstration on a megawatt scale for frequency regulation using a lithium-ion battery storage system.

Under the contract, the Alstom-Saft consortium will develop 1MW/30min energy storage and conversion system, using a container of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, capable of regulating the frequency of the grid.

Saft’s Intensium Max 20M storage system and Alstom’s MaxSine eStorage solution wil be integrated and installed on EDF R&D’s experimental Concept Grid, designed for the development of grids and smart electrical systems.

Alstom Grid senior vice-president of smart grid & HVDC Patrick Plas said the battery energy storage system is part of the Nouvelle France Industrielle project, which was launched by the French government in 2013.

“At the cutting edge of smart grid and power transportation infrastructure optimisation technologies, Alstom Grid is contributing its technological expertise to the excellence of the French and European energy industry,” Plas said.

Located on the EDF site of Les Renardières in the south of Paris (Seine-et-Marne region), the storage system and the power converter will be delivered in late 2014.

Saft energy storage activity director François Bouchon said: “With our international experience in the integration of renewable energies especially for networks in the Paris area, this innovative experiment will demonstrate the added value of a battery storage system and the performance of Li-ion technology in this promising sector.”

Biomass CHP is included among eight renewable energy projects totalling 4.5 GW, which have had contracts signed under the UK government’s new low-carbon subsidy regime.

The projects also include coal-to-biomass conversion plants and dedicated biomass plants with combined heat and power within the UK.

The contracts were awarded under DECC’s final investment decision enabling for renewables (FID-ER) process that offered an early version of the Contracts for Difference support system that will replace the Renewables Obligation.

FID-ER was designed to help developers “take final or other critical investment decisions, directly impacting on the time to commissioning their project”

Biomass schemes include: Drax’s 645 MW conversion project in North Yorkshire; Lynemouth Power’s 420 MW conversion project in Northumberland; and MGT Power’s 299 MW dedicated biomass CHP project on Teesside.

Energy Minister Michael Fallon said the eight facilities will provide around 15TWh or 14 per cent of the renewable electricity expected to come forward by 2020.

They will reduce around 10 Mt CO2 from the UK power sector per annum compared to fossil fuel generation.

Abengoa together with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Colorado School of Mines, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a new solar energy storage technology for thermo-electric plants.

The program will last for two years and will require an investment of $1.76 million by the DOE.

Abengoa will be responsible for leading the systems integration work and the technical-financial analysis, focusing on the commercial potential of this technology in future solar plant projects.