better generation

News in from the National Grid press office that this Monday 6th saw a new record set for the amount of electricity generated by wind turbines connected to the transmission system.

In the beginning of his Administration, President Obama set a goal of doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity from wind, solar, and geothermal by 2012. This was a bold goal - to install as much renewable energy in the next three years as the U.S. had in the previous thirty. However, a new White House report from the office of Vice President Joe Biden, suggests the country is right on track thanks to the hefty government stimulus package.

A "quiet green revolution" that avoids "green gimmicks" and instead focuses on delivering low carbon jobs is what Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg claims the coalition government is aiming for.

Scotland's community and renewable energy scheme (CARES) is closing to new applications due to unprecedented demand, it was announced on Monday.

The Scottish government yesterday revealed it is in talks with Norwegian energy giant Statoil about hosting the world's first floating wind farm at two potential sites off the Scottish coast. The company envisages installing between three and five floating wind turbines that would be deployed to demonstrate the commercial viability of the technology. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond met with senior executives at the firm to discuss the viability of the two prospective sites - one off the coast of Lewis and one off Aberdeenshire.

Lying 5000 metres below the unassuming Cornish town of Redruth are the granite generators of the UK's first geothermal power plant. Water pumped down to the 170°C bedrock will return as rapidly expanding steam and drive generators capable of producing up to 10 MW of base load electricity to the National Grid and up to 55 MW of renewable heat for local use.

A new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has highlighted the merits of feed-in tariff (FiT) schemes - showing that these fiscal incentives are responsible for 75% of all solar PV and 45% of all wind development worldwide.  

Installing a solar PV system typically costs £10-12,000 - a sizable investment for most households. What if a company instead offered to fit your home with solar panels free of charge - would you then reconsider? You could avoid the pricey investment while reducing your electricity bill at the same time. But on the other hand you would miss out on the generous returns offered by the new Feed-in Tariff. If only there was a way to find out whether or not it's worth splashing out on your own solar panels.........

Energy meters in all 18 Whitehall headquarters can now be tracked by the public online in real time; with most of the data being reported in intervals of less than one hour, and a delay of no more than one day. This essential innovation has been fast tracked in just three months since the Prime Minister's announcement that central governments carbon emissions would be cut by 10% over the next year.

Wind power is leading the surge of renewable energy as it generates an increasing share of UK electricity. Energy statistics published by the Department of Environment and Climate Change as part of The Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) 2010 show the amount of energy put into the grid by the country's wind farms last year hit 2.5% of Britain's total.