£110m Scottish rivers deal provides hydro boost

From the news pages:

 

iStock Analyst reports that green energy tarriffs have left customers largely unconvinced - the concerns centre around (unsurprisingly) the extra expense, and also the provenence of the energy bought.

Recharge carries the news that hydro electric developer Green Highland, backed by the owners of Scottish electricity providers Scottish Hydro, are to deliver the development of river projects in the Scottish Highlands in a deal worth £100m.

Eden District Council have issued a press release stating that homeowners and those who live in privately rented accommodation can get free insulation (conditions apply).

As of today, local authorities will be allowed to sell renewable power to the National Grid, reports the Guardian.

And in the Northern Echo - 50 jobs are to be created in a power facility driven by 'non-hazardous' office and household waste.

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Renewables for Asia

While we often get told that renewables are the way forward and that we can't rely on fossil fuels, what hardly ever gets mentioned - elephant in room stylee - is that the biggest emerging industrial nations are using oil and plenty of it. I once read somewhere that the UK's entire carbon output is less than China's year-on-year increases in carbon output. Dunno how exact that one is but i can definitely believe it.

So it's with some relief that I read this report in the FT - performance in the renewables sector is being driven by demand for a number of reasons, partly a realisation that Asia had been too dependent on oil and gas and partly from environmental concerns such as air quality.

Great news.

 

Tigerramki

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news: Green partnership - SSE and Mitsubishi

Some very interesting news pulsed across the wires today, and since it's Friday I thought I'd share it with you.

Mitsubishi have teamed up with Scottish and Southern Energy to create a 'specialist green energy centre' - which could result in the creation of 100 jobs, according to this report in Glasgow's Evening Times.

With ever-greener noises emanating from the administration across the Atlantic, there could be no better time for developments like this. And it's no small venture, either - the number of jobs figure quoted is likely imho to be on the conservative side, and the quote from Mitsubishi's side isn't from some regional manager or PR but from no less than Akio Fukui, chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe, who says "I am delighted to have the opportunity to work even more closely with colleagues from SSE in these very exciting areas of low carbon technology".

While the report maybe isn't quite as specific as I'd have liked, in terms of what the collaboration is likely to bring, it's definitely news story of the week for me, and one that we'll be following here with avid interest as it develops.

My initial thoughts are that a teaming-up of a Japanese company of this stature and a green energy provider could bring benefits that haven't even been dreamed up yet. That is what's known as synergy: when the effect of the whole exceeds the sum of the parts.

 

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Green Scotland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Energy roundup...

The Press & Journal reports on a new windfarm proposal for the Western Isles at Lewis. Provisionally named Eisken East, the development will require an ok from the Scottish Government before its construction can begin.

 

Over at The Scotsman we have this slightly frightening headline...

Experts warn of power cuts as warm, dry weather creates a blow for wind turbine energy

...but a spokesperson from the National Grid, quoted in the article, states that the Grid is reliable. The report also finishes with a weekend weather forecast of 70mph gusts.  I'm fairly sure that would have had a good effect on turbine energy harvests over the weekend?? It must have been mighty blowy right enough - even spotted entire broken tree branches on the pavements this morning!

Interesting opinion piece in today's Independent, written by Energy secretary Chris Huhne, who makes mention of locking in prosperity by locking out carbon. Groovy rhetoric, but wassit actually mean? Time will undoubtedly tell. Good to hear some well-balanced, thoughtful and constructive talk on green energy and industry in the rest of the article though.

And further afield (across the Atlantic to be exact) President Obama pledges a whopping two billion USD in subsidies for green companies, according to The Guardian.

Also some good news regarding green energy providers - this report in The Herald states that Scottish companies have significantly outperformed the Uk benchmark.

So, plenty to smile about this week. If any of you have anything to add or know any links to green stories we've missed, just drop us a comment - all comments welcome here at the blog.

 

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Obama - head of the first green administration?

 

 

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Bills Bills Bills

  Whos The Best Energy Company Available?

 

Unplug

 

With there being so many energy company's out there is there any chance that any of us are on the same tariff? Sometimes I forget who my energy company is with so many phone calls and letters bombarding my house!

 

I don't know about you but to be honest I get pretty sick of it, they could easily make it a lot simpler for the average customer to understand rather than bombarding people with nonsense that just gets classed as junk mail.

 

What company would you say offer the best value for money? Or even let us know what company your with and wither your happy or not. I think this is a big issue with energy customers and that finding the best bill can be a bit of a job in it's self!

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Royal Highland Show 2010

Ten days until The Royal Highland Show, people. I've been going along to this ever since I was wee, and it's always a great day out for the family. One thing I always wondered though... if it's the Highland show, why's it in the Lowlands? No matter - it's handier for me to get to Ingliston anyway...

I'm particularly looking forward to the Renewables exhibit - the place to find out more from companies involved in wind, solar, biomass and other alternative energy sources.Looks like Green energy UK provision will be one of the must-see areas, given that pretty much everyone these days has an interest in sustainable energy sources, what with climate change and other issues at the forefront of the news.

Other stuff I'm keen to check out at the RHS include: The Food Hall (packed with many varied and exciting events for the greedy foodie), the Colonel Schnapps Oompah Band (traditional German Bierkeller music), and of course tractors. I love tractors (except when I'm stuck behind one for what seems like the entire course of a winding country road). 

The Royal Highland Show will be held from 24-27 June at Ingliston, outside Edinburgh. See you there!

 

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Let's hear it for tractors!

 

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>> Boiler scrappage scheme latest. Read all about it! >>

It's taken a while to materialise, and those months when Scotland more resembled the Arctic tundra (apart from the trees, obv.) are fading in the memory (man, it was cold), but at last AT LAST the long-awaited, much-heralded boiler scrappage scheme is here. It's here, I tell ya! STOP PRESS> Well, it was here, but it was so successful all vouchers have now been allocated.

[Note: at this point I must apologise for posting the following link. I've been away from the computer visiting relatives in Edinburgh aka Auld Reekie, soaking up a bit of rain, checking out the Scottish Parliament building, and generally doing the Edinburgh bit. I even bought a £20 kilt from one of those shops on the South Bridge. (OK, I made up that last one.) But now I'm back West, and the sun is shining on my return :)

Ahh. Anyway, where was I? Yes, I remember now. Boilers. (Or "boilaz" as the young yins say). This report on the Scotland section of the BBC website provides a bit of information on the scrappage scheme.

The basic nuggets of info you need to know:

  • Cash was offered to first 5000 households applying to replace inefficient boilers. (Conditions apply)
  • New boilers must be one approved by the Energy Saving Trust
  • Replacing this number of boilers will save around 5,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. That's a lot of carbon by the way. More than I could lift, at any rate.

Also, the report states that the new type of boiler helps people run their homes more cheaply. I'd be very interested to hear from anyone out there (you are out there aren't you? AREN'T YOU??) how you get on with this. I know for myself that my new style boiler definitely shaved a few GBP off my fuel bills.)

On a side note, some info regarding green energy certified plans here. Ain't it great to be moving into an age of energy efficiency? No matter your views on who/what caused global warming (and boy is it warm today), I think we're all agreed that until such times as all energy is from renewables, efficiency RULES.

 

 

 

 

 

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Boiler Replacement - Beware

There is set to be an upsurge in the amount of demand for qualified plumbers and central heating installation specialists. But in the light of the recent announcement by the Health and Safety Executive about a plumber who has been charged for working on gas boilers whilst unregistered, should be a reminder to everybody that it is always necessary to use the services of a trusted and reliable boiler repair company, in case you are found liable for any problems caused.

Another big problem with using an unregistered plumber is that if any problems [and they could be very serious] happen you will have no recourse through the courts.

When looking for a registered plumber there are several ways that you can go about it. If you have a long term account with a large and reputable energy supplier, they will either have their own qualified technicians or will have a list of approved plumbers in your area.

These are the easy tips to keep yourself on the straight and narrow this summer, so now that the announcement has been made get out there and get yourself a new boiler.

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UK To Be A Leading Supplier Of Small Wind Power

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Wales To Benefit From Cheap Energy ForeFront

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Recent reports released by the energy secretary Ed Miliband suggest that Wales is maybe due to be at the forefront of cheap energy production across Britain and also renewable energy in Wales.

 

 His view is that half of the energy produced from offshore wind farms across Britain will be used in Wales. Not only is this great news on the energy front but also the environment can only improve due to this as well as a possibility of thousands of jobs being created.

 

Recently there has been cry’s for the government to back the green energy sector and make the UK a major supplier of small wind power. Have you got an opinion with what’s happening? Then let us know feel free to leave a comment.

 

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Scotland still awaiting news of boiler scrappage scheme

We first posted about the lack of a boiler scappage scheme for Scotland way back in January. Since then we have had an announcement from John Swinney that £2m was being put aside for 2010-11 for a scheme in Scotland (is that really enough money??). The scottish scheme forms a part of the Energy Efficiency Action Plan for Scotland, the details of which are to be unveiled in late spring (after the UK election we would guess), it would seem that we are not going to have any real concrete details on the Scottish Boiler Scrappage Scheme until then. In the meantime many of the major energy companies are already offering their own variants of the scheme. The english scheme has been a great success and was closed last month after all 125,000 vouchers were allocated.

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