Industry News-Approval for Ireland Wales electricity link

Planning chiefs today gave the go-ahead to a major new electricity link between Ireland and Wales.

Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said the vital two-way link would bolster electricity supply and speed up the development of renewable energy.

“It will mean we can import electricity when required from the UK market,” he said.

“More importantly, it will mean we can export our electricity to the UK. When the wind is blowing in Ireland, we can sell this power to our neighbours,” he added.

The 260km underwater cable will reach land in Rush, north Co Dublin and Barkby beach in North Wales bringing power to 300,000 homes.

It could also help drive down household bills by increasing competition in the electricity sector, Mr Ryan added.

The 500 megawatt East-West Interconnector was approved by An Bord Pleanala, granting Irish energy firm EirGrid the green light for the 600 million euro project.

Around 100 jobs are set to be created when Swedish engineering firm ABB begins building the link next year, with construction expected to be completed by 2012.

An estimated 45km of underground cables will run along public roads to Rush from a converter station in Woodland, Co Meath.

The Welsh link will begin at Deeside and travel northwards up the coast to arrive at Barkby beach.

Taylor Keogh Communications Public Affairs and PR for the Energy Industry

Client News-Carbon Trust backs cutting edge marine energy devices to help accelerate commercial deployment

11 September 2009 -New investment to focus on finding innovative and cost-effective ways to install and maintain large-scale offshore devices

The Carbon Trust is to support two cutting edge marine energy devices in a bid to accelerate the commercial development of wave and tidal energy in the UK. Projects to be supported through the Marine Energy Accelerator with Pelamis Wave Power and Marine Current Turbines will focus on installation and maintenance which currently account for up to 50% of the project costs of wave and tidal energy and could delay more widespread deployment if not reduced.

Reliably moving a 180 metre Pelamis electricity-generating “sea snake” onto a mooring many kilometres offshore is a task that highlights the challenges of making marine energy a commercially viable method of generating renewable energy. The Carbon Trust and Pelamis Wave Power are investigating an innovative remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that will assist with manoeuvring these giant machines into position.

They will also integrate remote control technology into existing systems which will enable deployment in rougher seas. These developments promise to significantly reduce vessel and equipment requirements and make installation and maintenance quicker, cheaper and safer, thereby reducing the overall cost of the energy generated.

Alongside work with Pelamis Wave Power, the Carbon Trust is supporting a project with Marine Current Turbines to develop an innovative way to deploy its pioneering SeaGen tidal energy system. The new method will involve a remotely operated subsea drilling platform which will install foundation piles in advance of the main turbine support structure being deployed in a single unit. This would enable smaller and less expensive support vessels to be used for the offshore works, reducing the costs of turbine installation.

Carbon Trust is providing £250,000 for the Pelamis project and a further £150,000 for a feasibility study on the MCT foundations technology. The MCT technology is likely to be tested in a disused quarry, and if it performs as expected will be used in SeaGen’s next deployment off Anglesey where the company is working with RWE npower renewables to deploy a 10MW tidal farm, using seven SeaGens.

These two projects form part of the wider Carbon Trust’s Marine Energy Accelerator programme, which brings together device developers, component technology manufacturers, engineering consultants and academic research groups to accelerate cost reduction in the industry.

Mark Williamson, Director of Innovations at the Carbon Trust, said:
“Innovation in the deployment and maintenance of wave and tidal devices will be critical in cutting the cost of marine energy and unlocking the potential of this fantastic renewable energy resource. Our analysis shows that the UK is already leading the world in wave energy. If we can bring down the costs of deploying this technology, we will be able to generate marine energy on a scale that will help meet our 2020 renewable target and deliver significant economic value as well."

Energy from wave and tidal power could provide up to 20% of the UK’s current electricity and has the potential to cut carbon dioxide by tens of millions of tonnes. Recent analysis, launched at the start of the Carbon Trust’s Clean Tech Revolution campaign, to make Britain a global hub of low carbon innovation, found that 25% of the world’s wave technologies are already being developed in the UK. The analysis also showed that Britain could be the ‘natural owner’ of the global wave power market, generating revenues worth £2 billion per year by 2050 and up to 16,000 direct jobs.

Beth Dickens of Pelamis Wave Power said:
“This project will allow more machines to be installed more often and more cheaply as we will not be as reliant on good weather conditions and specialist boats for the operation. We have had a successful working relationship with the Carbon Trust for a long time, so they were a natural port of call for help in developing this technology which will help speed the deployment of our wave power devices.”

Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines, said:
“The Carbon Trust’s support is highly valuable to Marine Current Turbines and will help us to build upon our success with our first SeaGen commercial tidal turbine project in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough which is generating power into the local grid.

“Their participation in this project has enabled us to look at how we can install farms of our SeaGen tidal energy systems cheaper and more efficiently in the future. The Carbon Trust’s part-funding of the project underlines the commercial potential that exists for MCT’s pioneering tidal energy technology to be deployed in UK waters as well as overseas.”

Ends

Notes to editors
For more information or an interview please call the Carbon Trust press office on 0207 544 3100.

The Carbon Trust

* The Carbon Trust is an independent company set up in 2001 by Government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies.
* We cut carbon emissions now by providing business and the public sector with expert advice, finance and certification to help them reduce their carbon footprint and to stimulate demand for low carbon products and services. Through our work, we’ve already helped save over 17 million tonnes of carbon, delivering costs savings of over £1billion.
* We cut future carbon emissions by developing new low carbon technologies. We do this through project funding and management, investment and collaboration and by identifying market barriers and practical ways to overcome them. Our work on commercialising new technologies will save over 20 million tonnes of carbon a year by 2050.


Marine Current Turbines Ltd

1. Marine Current Turbines Ltd (http://www.marineturbines.com/) is based in Bristol, England. The company was established in 2000 and its principal corporate shareholders include BankInvest, ESB International, EDF Energy, Guernsey Electricity and Triodos Bank. In September 2008, MCT was ranked in The Guardian/Library House Top 10 of European clean-tech firms and in June 2009 won Renewable Energy Developer of the Year in the UK Renewable Energy Association Annual Awards.
2. SeaGen works by generating power from sea currents, using a pair of axial flow turbines driving generators through gearboxes using similar principles to wind generator technology. The main difference is that the high density of seawater compared to wind allows a much smaller system; SeaGen has twin 600kW turbines each of 16m diameter. The capture of kinetic energy from a water current, much like with wind energy or solar energy, depends on how many square meters of flow cross-section can be addressed by the system. With water current turbines it is rotor swept area that dictates energy capture capability, because it is the cross section of flow that is intercepted which matters. SeaGen has over 400 square meters of rotor area which is why it can develop its full rated power of 1.2MW in a flow of 2.4m/s (5 knots).

For further information:
Martin Wright, Managing Director,
T: +44 (0)117 979 1888
or
Paul Taylor, Taylor Keogh Communications
T: +44 (0) 203 170 8465 / DDI: +44 (0)203 170 8466
M: +44 (0)7966 782611
E: paul@taylorkeogh.com
W: http://www.taylorkeogh.com

Client News-Marine Current Turbines ranked world’s No 1 tidal power company by international panel of experts

(Bristol, England) Marine Current Turbines has been ranked as the world’s leading tidal power company in the Cleantech Group’s “Global Cleantech 100” survey, produced in association with the UK’s Carbon Trust and published in The Guardian newspaper.
Click here to read the guardian article

Industry News-Power station and refinery workers vote for strike action

Some of Britain's largest refineries and power stations face being shut down after workers voted to stage official action over the hiring of cheaper foreign labour.

The result of the ballot – to be revealed tomorrow to the employers, including BP and Shell – follows months of "wildcat" action sparked by the use of foreign contractors at Lindsey refinery in Lincolnshire.

The vast majority of 7,000 of GMB union members at seven sites, which include the nuclear complex at Sellafield and BP's North Sea gas pipeline, have voted in favour of industrial action, the Guardian has learned. They want employers to allow unions to carry out full audits of the contracts of all 30,000 workers. Unions accuse companies of reneging on national collective pay deals by hiring workers, often from overseas, on lower wages.

Fellow union Unite, which represents the remainder of the workforce, has also been balloting its members. It is expected to announce the result next week, but members are also understood to have balloted overwhelmingly in favour of action. GMB will wait for the result of Unite's ballot
before taking action.

Union officials will meet employer representatives for talks, but workers' leaders are determined to take action to prevent the further erosion of the principle of collective pay bargaining. Employers counter that being prevented from hiring foreign staff for lower wages than agreed under collective pay deals obstructs the movement of labour in the European Union.

Employment lawyers said that companies could attempt to overturn the ballot in the high court, which would make the planned industrial action illegal. Victory for employers would seriously undermine the union movement by limiting the use of its ultimate sanction, the right to strike.

Marc Meryon, a partner specialising in industrial relations law at Bircham Dyson Bell, said: "This is a conflict between two rights in European law: one is the freedom of movement of labour and the other is the right to go on strike. Employers are likely to have been taking advice over whether unions can have a lawful strike over employing foreign contractors on lower wages."

Wildcat strikes swept Britain's construction and energy industries at the beginning of the year after Total hired about 100 Italian and Portuguese contractors at its Lindsey refinery. Total insisted it was paying them the same wages but British workers questioned why they were not employed instead. The use of foreign labour became more of a flashpoint in March when it emerged that power firm Alstom was paying Polishconstruction workers at its Isle of Grain plant, in Kent, £4.50 an hour less than their British counterparts. The Engineering Construction Industry Association (ECIA) said at the time that the "incident resulted from a misinterpretation". The ECIA, which will meet representatives from GMB and Unite , did not return calls from the Guardian.

The seven sites at risk are: BP's Forties pipeline facility at Grangemouth; the Ineos refinery at Grangemouth; Sellafield; Shell's refinery at Stanlow; RWE's power plants at Staythorpe in Nottinghamshire and Aberthaw in South Glamorgan; and Chevron's refinery in Pembroke.

The unions are negotiating a new three-year pay deal. Employers are said to have agreed to the principle of setting up a national skills register which unions believe would identify what type of training in Britain is most needed. Unions also want a unemployed workers' register which companies must use to fill vacancies. Employers are said to have also agreed to allow unions to audit their workforces' pay, "except in exceptional circumstances" which unions believe is an unacceptable caveat. "We don't trust them anymore," said one union source.

Employers are required to pay the minimum wage to foreign workers but many circumvent collective pay agreements by using subsidiary companies to hire them on a lower wage.

For the full article click here

Industry News-London brokers turn attention to green finance

Bonds providing a hedge against the risk of governments missing their climate commitments could give investors the necessary confidence to invest in low-carbon projects, Professor Michael Mainelli from Z/Yen, a City of London-based risk management firm, told EurActiv in an interview.

The biggest obstacle to investment in green projects is a general lack of confidence in government policy being enacted, Mainelli argued. He pointed out that when the EU's emissions trading scheme was inaugurated, politicians agreed that carbon prices need to stand at about €25-€30/tonne, but in reality, the market crashed in 2007 when too many permits were issued and the price is still nowhere near that.

High carbon prices are crucial to the profitability of renewable energy projects, the financial expert argued. "And they depend on government policy," he said, adding that policies such as feed-in tariff rates are equally important.

Mainelli presented the idea of index-linked bonds as a way for governments to guarantee investors that they will get a return on their low-carbon investments, regardless of whether the government keeps its climate pledges.

"The basic idea here is that governments would pay interest on their own debt, and they would pay more interest if they failed to meet their carbon targets," he said.

The targets of the bonds could vary, Mainelli said. He cited as examples carbon prices, where the government pays interest if carbon is below a set price, and feed-in tariffs, where the government pays if it does not maintain a set rate or fails to reach the country's emissions reduction target.

To illuminate the issue, Mainelli offered a scenario whereby a large pension fund puts €500 million euros into a wind farm that produces at €90/MWh, when the current price of electricity stands at €85/MWh. At the same time, it buys government bonds priced at a feed-in tariff of €110/MWh.

In case in reality the tariff turns out to be only €100, the investor's profit from the wind farm is only €10/MWh, instead of the expected €20, but it is making €10 on the French government.

The idea differs from many other bonds proposals in that it is simple and does not involve forfeiting returns out of concern for the climate, Mainelli stressed.

"What makes us really subversive - one of the things I find interesting as we've been chatting to governments - is that they begin to realise that they've got to put their money where their mouth is," Mainelli said. He argued that index-linked carbon bonds are analogous to inflation-linked bonds that governments had to start issuing in the beginning of the 1980s, when people lost confidence in their government's ability to control inflation.

"But of course the uncomfortable truth is that they just don't like it because if they fail to make their targets, then they'll have to pay a lot of interest," he added.

Nevertheless, as OECD governments prepare to issue $9 trillion in debt in the next three years due to the financial crisis, compared to only €18 trillion in the past 40 years, they are now seriously considering the idea, Mainelli said.

"So it's like any supply and demand situation: supply is going through the roof but demand is dropping. And the suppliers, the governments, are going to have to come up with interesting ways of selling their debt. And this is one of them," Mainelli concluded.

For the full article please click here

Political News-DECC appoint David Mackay as Chief Scientific Advisor

David MacKay, Professor in the Department of Physics at Cambridge University and author of the influential book ‘Sustainable Energy -without the hot air' has been appointed Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The Chief Scientific Advisor’s role is to ensure that the Department’s policies and operations, and its contributions to wider Government issues, are underpinned by the best science and engineering advice available.

Professor MacKay said:

“Climate change and secure energy are two of the most urgent issues facing the UK and the global community. The solutions must be rooted firmly in the science and I look forward to advising the Government on how it can help deliver these important goals.”

Secretary of State Ed Miliband said:

“David MacKay is known for making science accessible and helping to explain clearly the urgency and the challenges of moving to a low carbon economy. I want him to bring all of these qualities to the job of advising DECC on how we can meet Britain’s carbon targets and energy security needs.”

Click Here to read ‘Sustainable Energy -without the hot air' by David Mackay

Industry News-Danish Wind Energy Industry Blows Europe Away

As concerns grew over global warming in the 1980s, coupled with the energy crises experienced in the 1970s, Denmark found itself at the sharp end of a renewable energy movement in a bid to limit its dependence on foreign oil. The country immediately went on to adopt various laws calling for a cut in carbon emissions and outlawing the construction of nuclear power plants.

Given its large offshore wind resources and large expanse of sea territory with shallow water depth where siting is most effective, it made sense for Denmark to cultivate a wind power industry.

At the centre of the Danish wind movement is the Danish Wind Industry Association which is a not-for-profit organisation covering over 200 companies.

Rune Birk Nielsen of the DWIA said the association has involvement across the board, ranging from utilities to suppliers and sub-suppliers. ‘To sum it up, we work with everyone from the top to the bottom of the chain in this industry. The aim of the game is the make the best possible frame for the industry to succeed in Denmark.’

Over the years, many investors point towards Denmark as a success story. However, with such some success, will over-crowding deter future investments and potentially harm the Danish market?

Nielsen said, ‘I don’t tend to see that reaction from the people we work with. On the contrary, I believe we will see the wind industry continue to grow, rather than deter people from getting involved. The climate legislation to be signed in Denmark later this year is expected to reaffirm wind’s role in meeting Denmark’s renewable energy goals. At present, we are one of the only solutions available which could really fulfil those targets.’

Nielsen believes that the fact that wind energy has been prevalent since the 1970s rather than introduced on a gradual basis means it will continue to play a vital role; ‘In the 1980s we started commercialising the production of wind turbines and several production companies began to venture into this market. Market-wise, the growth started in the 1990s with the introduction of major financing.

These two combined have forced politicians to sit up and take notice, really setting the bar for Denmark to become the leader within this field.’

In comparison to its European counterparts, the DWIA maintains that Denmark is number one in market shares with huge wind businesses, as well as pole position for the integration of wind power into electricity generation. However, Nielsen acknowledges that other countries will attempt to overtake Denmark’s position as awareness of global warming and opportunities in renewable energy continue to grow.

‘I do believe that over the next four or five years we will experience a huge development in offshore wind energy in other countries, namely the UK, Germany and perhaps even the north east China. The US is also getting started in this market following new legislation. Globally,
we have very strong wind resources so it’s inevitable that other countries will start to rival Denmark. However, I think it will be good for us to have strong competition to push our ideas ahead.’

Denmark continues to develop its market-leding capabilities in response to foreign rivals. Nielsen said, ‘Policy will play a vital role. We believe it is the job of the politicians to step up and set long-term targets for the industry to work towards.’

Despite the financial downturn, Nielsen is convinced that the wind industry will continue to see growth. ‘The financial downturn has resulted in projects being postponed rather than cancelled. The global warming question hangs heavily and we must not be deterred from creating a
green economy.’

Nielsen, hoverer, does concede that 2009 has been a slow year compared to the growth witnessed in 2008 and the preceding years. ‘The years to come will mark a return to that huge growth and we are aiming to see around 20 per cent growth year-on-year. We are very optimistic that wind energy will remain a significant contender which is why we set ourselves such strict targets. Last year we published our annual statistics based on our members and when we asked how our members saw the long-term growth rate, they firmly believed that 2010 onwards will see dramatic growth of between 15-20 per cent so there is no reason to worry.’

Nielsen concluded, ‘We will play a huge role in stopping climate change in its track and our success so far has showed that we have no reason to fear the 2020 targets.’

click here for the original version of this article

Company News-Taylor Keogh Communications joins the 10:10 UK campaign

Today Taylor Keogh joined with thousands of people and organisation it its support the 10:10 UK the grass roots campaign aims in which individuals and institutions make a personal vow to cut their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. In a first step to try to stop runaway climate change,attracted 5,000 signatures in the hours following its launch.

To support the campaign and find out what you can do click here 10:10

To read more media reviews click the links below:

The Guardian

The Daily Telegraph

Political News-UK government proposes faster grid access for renewable energy

UK Secretary of Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, has proposed to address the way power plants are connected to the UK’s power grid in the hope of getting new generation, including renewable energy, connected faster.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) says in a statement: “The shake-up will help new projects waiting to get a date to feed electricity into the grid to get out of the queue, and will in particular help renewable energy projects such as wind farms.”

Currently 60 GW of new electricity generation is waiting to be connected to the grid, of which 17 GW is from renewable energy.

Under the current system, new generation, including renewable energy, has been connected on a first come first serve basis regardless of when the projects can actually start generating electricity. According to DECC, this means some windfarms, for example, were given grid connection years after they were due to start producing renewable energy.

Miliband says: “Access to the grid has been one of the key barriers to the generation of renewable energy in this country. … We need these new projects to get hooked up to the grid as soon as they are ready – both to help tackle climate change and secure our future energy supplies.

“The government will do whatever is necessary to bring about the transition to a low carbon economy and to give investors the certainty they need so that new renewable energy generation is built.”

DECC proposes three models:

* Connect and manage (socialised): Cost will be shared between all users of the network;
* Connect and manage (hybrid): A model that targets some, but not all, of the additional constraint costs on new entrant power stations;
* Connect and manage (shared cost and commitment): A model that offers the choice to new and existing power stations to commit to the network (which is helpful to the grid in terms of long term management of the system) in return for greater certainty over charges, or to opt out and be exposed to additional constraint costs.

Ofgem has already approved interim arrangements, which so far have seen 1 GW of renewable energy projects in Scotland being offered earlier connection dates. The UK government says it wants to ensure that these arrangements are put fully in place by June 2010.

Industry News-UK Bosses Tip Cleantech, Technology and Media to be the Three Highest Growth Sectors by 2020

Cleantech and renewables are expected to become two of the most important sectors of the economy according to a survey of UK business leaders, commissioned by the department for Business Innovation and Skills.

The new survey questioned business leaders from across eight sectors and found that nearly half (43 per cent) of those questioned believe that cleantech will grow at the fastest pace by 2020, followed by science and technology (20 per cent) and media and entertainment (15 per cent).

The survey highlights how the current economic climate presents new opportunities for new areas of the economy to thrive.

Combined with a growing awareness to find solutions for some of society’s greatest challenges – from tackling climate change to supporting an ageing population – investing now in innovative, high-growth areas will be essential for bolstering the UK economy once recovery kicks in.

Driving the awareness, investment and skills required to power these high-growth markets is essential for Britain’s future. Britain’s chance to showcase our strength to the rest of the world, including our cleantech innovations in the run up to Copenhagen 15, and how our digital strength will enable the first digital games in 2012, is essential for the UK’s ability to meaningfully contribute to the global economy.

It is therefore essential for both government and business to properly recognise and promote the importance of these sectors.

As part of meeting this need for recognition; Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson and entrepreneur James Caan recently launched the iawards - the first ever Government backed-awards to celebrate achievements in science, innovation and technology.

Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson said:

“Cleantech and renewables will play a huge part in helping the UK economy to grow sustainably, but we need to do more to encourage innovation in these and other high tech sectors.

“And that means recognising our best innovators, those who are creating the household names of tomorrow. The iawards will do just that, this inaugural year and in years to come. Make sure to get your entries in by 16 September!”

James Caan said:

“The UK is home to some of the most innovative minds in the world and we must continue to recognise and celebrate the work of these talented individuals. The iawards are all about recognising British achievements, the visionaries behind them and showcasing new the latest developments that will make the UK a better place to live and work. In doing so, we will continue to draw investment, energy and skills to the high-growth industries that will drive our economy forward.”

Further findings:

- 73 per cent of those polled believe that business and government must work together to promote the development of skills needed to bring the UK out of recession

- One in five of those surveyed chose web 2.0 as the best technological development of the last ten years

The iawards in association with QinetiQ includes 13 categories which are open to all organisations, but all entrants must specify the British involvement in any innovation - demonstrating that innovative thinking and development came from a British organisation or team.

Siemens sponsor the ‘Next Big Thing' category and Microsoft Bizspark sponsor the best technology start up category.

The awards categories reflect the greatest challenges we face as a country where science and innovation offer the best chance of developing viable solutions. Each entry must demonstrate how its innovative qualities relate to at least one of the following challenges:

Addressing the healthcare needs of an ageing society; Increasing international security from tackling global poverty to minimising the threat of terrorism; Preserving finite natural resources in the face of population growth and climate change; and Delivering public services which make best use of new technologies.

They must also demonstrate that the innovation has an impact on one of the Government’s grand challenges for science.

Winners of the awards will be helped by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) to meet potential business partners at key industry events such as the giant Medica trade fair in Germany and Technology World in Coventry this autumn. They will also receive public relations support from the iawards team. All shortlisted entries and the winners will also have exclusive access to the iawards logo.

Science and technology has been a driving force behind Britain’s export success. Exports for life sciences, for example, rose 19 per cent in 2008.

Innovation is also important in keeping the UK as the number one destination for inward investment in Europe.
UKTI statistics show that the number of investment projects in creative industries increased by 65 per cent in 2008/9 and in software and computer services by 36 per cent.

Client News - AWS contributes to Marine Energy Report calling for more marine energy in Scotland.

More than 12,000 jobs in marine renewables could contribute £2.5 billion to Scotland's economy by 2020, according to a report published today.

The industry-led Marine Energy Group study charts a course for wave and tidal power around Scotland, and highlights actions to build further success in the sector. Its recommendations, for Government and its partners, include:

A call for the Scottish Government to repeat its Wave and Tidal Energy Support scheme A review of grid infrastructure required to support growth A fresh look at the levels of support available under the renewables obligation Calls for the Treasury to do more to help the sector, including the release of the Fossil Fuel Levy surplus funds to help promote renewables in Scotland Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth John Swinney is in Orkney today where he will visit Stromness based marine energy company Aquatera.

Mr Swinney said: "With unrivalled marine resources and a range of wave, tidal and offshore wind development already underway, Scotland leads the way in generating energy from the sea.

The £10 million Saltire Prize continues to attract global interest in the marine energy potential around our coast. We also have publicly funded world leading testing facilities here in Orkney which are hosting wave and tidal devices built with Scottish Government support.

"Marine energy will be key to Scotland's future energy mix and that's why we changed our support mechanisms to give greater assistance to wave and tidal energy in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK.

"The report, put together by industry, highlights the actions it believes we need to deliver a commercial scale industry. It confirms there could be 12,500 Scottish jobs in marine renewables by 2020, a huge boost for the economy and a long term platform for sustainable growth.

"Industry recognises, as this Government has always believed, that the Treasury should unlock Scotland's share of the Fossil Fuel Levy - currently over £150 million - to allow us to give additional support to our renewables industry, the economy and environment.

"This report is an excellent example of collaboration in the public and private sectors. The recommendations are very much industry driven and we will consider their views very carefully as we continue to build a world leading renewables sector."

The Marine Energy Group is part of Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland and works to accelerate delivery of a world leading marine energy industry to provide a contribution to the sustainable economy and environment of Scotland.

Its members are:

Sian McGrath, Aquamarine Power (co-chair) Lynne Vallance, Scottish Government (co-chair)

Mike Barlow, Scottish & Southern Energy

Graham Bibby, AWS Ocean Energy

Alistair Birnie, Subsea UK

Duncan Burt, National Grid

Robin Burnett, Airtricity [from June 2009] Morna Cannon, Scottish Renewables/Scottish Government Gareth Davies, Aquatera Karen Fraser, Scottish Government Phil Gilmour, Scottish Government Neil Kermode, EMEC Audrey MacIver/Elain Cameron, Highlands & Islands Enterprise Tom Mallows, The Crown Estate Robin McGregor, Lunar Energy/Christie Griffith Alan Mortimer, ScottishPower Renewables Paul Neilson, Scottish & Southern Energy Brian Nixon, Scottish Enterprise Paul O'Brien, Scottish Development International Matthew Seed, Wavegen Robin Wallace,

Political News-Miliband takes action on queue to connect new power generation to the grid

New rules to revamp the way power plants get connected to the UK’s power grid are proposed today by Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband.

The shake-up will help new projects waiting to get a date to feed electricity into the grid to get out of the queue, and will in particular help renewable energy projects such as wind farms.

There is currently over 60 GW of new generation capacity – around 200 projects – that are waiting to be connected to the grid, including around 17 GW from renewable sources.Ed Miliband announced as part of the Government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan in July that the Government would reform the previous system of projects getting a connection date on a first come, first served basis regardless of when the project would start generating energy. This meant some wind farms were given connection dates years after when they were due to start producing electricity. Today’s consultation offers industry a say on three options for how the new system will work.

The proposed scheme will also give investors confidence that projects will be given a connection date that fits in with their project development timeline.

Ed Miliband said:

“Access to the electricity grid has been one of the key barriers to the generation of renewable energy in this country. We are determined to resolve this issue. That is why we took powers to do so in the Energy Act and today we are setting out our proposals.

“We need these new projects to get hooked up to the grid as soon as they are ready – both to help tackle climate change and secure our future energy supplies.

“The government will do whatever is necessary to bring about the transition to a low carbon economy and to give investors the certainty they need so that new renewable energy generation is built.”

For the first time, the Government will be making the detailed reforms to grid access rules that are necessary to overcome the delays. Previously, reforms were proposed
by industry and then approved or rejected by the regulator, Ofgem.

There are three proposed models that DECC is consulting on from today that build on industry and Ofgem’s work over the last year.

The three models look at different ways to manage the queue and to share the cost of connecting more plants to the system that is to be expected from this system.

The models are:

1.Connect and Manage (Socialised): - costs will be shared between all users of the network.
2. Connect and Manage (Hybrid): A model that targets some, but not all, of the additional constraint costs on new entrant power stations.
3. Connect and Manage (Shared Cost and Commitment): A model that offers the choice to new and existing power stations to commit to the network (which is helpful to Grid in terms of long term management of system) in return for greater certainty over charges, or to opt out and be exposed to additional constraint costs.

Ofgem has already approved interim arrangements to help new power stations connect more quickly, and under these interim arrangements around 1 GW of renewable projects in Scotland have already been offered earlier connection dates. However this was only ever intended as an interim measure and Government is intervening to ensure enduring access arrangements are put in place by June next year. This will be essential for investor confidence that we have a long-term and sustainable framework in place.

Click Here to view the full consultation

Industry News-Objectors to wind farms to be bought off

A scheme to reward local people is being considered

Ministers are considering whether to establish a “conservation bank” to help overcome planning objections to wind farms and other

renewable-energy projects. Planning problems have held back British onshore wind farms. Vestas blamed nimby (not in my back yard) objections for its recent decision to shut Britain’s only wind-turbine plant, on the Isle of Wight.

Vestas and other energy groups say planning delays and uncertainties make it riskier to invest in Britain than in other countries, where planning approval can take half the time and there are more lucrative incentives for developers.

Now ministers at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs think they might have found a way to speed up the system.

For Full details of this article in the Sunday Times Please click here

Political News- US Congress inquiry reveals fake letters from 'voters' opposed to climate bill

Bonner & Associates, lobbyists hired to campaign against climate change bill, admit letters sent by sacked employee

Don't blame it on granny. A US congressional inquiry has found more than a dozen forged letters to members of Congress purportedly from voters opposed to a climate change bill – including a number from old people's homes.

The house select committee on energy independence and global warming now says it has confirmed 13 fake letters to members of Congress apparently from old people's centres and Latino and African-American groups opposing climate change legislation.

The committee is still investigating 45 other letters sent by the lobbying firm Bonner & Associates, which was hired to campaign against the climate change bill. The fake letters unearthed so far were sent to three junior Democrats who represent conservative, coal-mining districts. At least nine bogus letters were sent to Tom Perriello of Virginia in the run-up to the vote in the house on climate change in late June purportedly from Latino organisations, a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, and a senior citizens' centre in Charlottesville.

Two other Democrats - Kathy Dahlkemper of Ohio and Chris Carney of Pennsylvania - also received letters from old people's homes."We are concerned about our electricity bills. Many of our seniors, as you know, are on low fixed incomes," said a letter to Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper that claimed to be from the Erie Centre on Health and Ageing. "Please don't vote to force cost increases on seniors."

The committee released three different fake letters to Dahlkemper claiming to be from old people's homes. They used almost identical language.

Ed Markey, one of the authors of the bill, said the use of faked letters marked a new low. "We've seen fear-mongering with our nation's senior citizens with healthcare, and now we're seeing fraud-mongering with senior citizens on clean energy," the congressman said. "Lately, democratic debate has been deceptively debased by fake facts and harsh rhetoric. We must return to an honest discussion of the issues."

The prospect of Congress passing climate change legislation this year has led to a lobbying boom in Washington with industry groups – as well as environmental organisations, on a more modest scale – seeking to influence energy reform. More than 460 new organisations paid for lobbying on global warming in the run-up to the house vote on climate change in June, a report from the Centre for Public Integrity said this month.

There are growing signs that the campaign against climate change legislation is finding traction, with Barack Obama slipping in approval ratings and focused on the struggle to preserve his healthcare reform plans.

This month, a group of 10 Democratic Senators from midwestern states wrote to Obama demanding protections for American workers in the legislation.

"Any climate change legislation must prevent the export of jobs and related greenhouse gas emissions to countries that fail to take actions to combat the threat of global warming comparable to those taken by the United States," they said.

This week saw the launch in the oil capital of Houston of a series of "energy citizen" rallies against climate change reform. More than 3,000 people attended the lunchtime rally – many employees bussed in by Chevron and other oil companies.

Greenpeace, which obtained a memo last week from the American Petroleum Institute laying out a plan for the supposed grassroots uprising against climate change legislation, has called such rallies "astroturf" events.

The inquiry has yet to establish the full extent of involvement of major coal firms in the scandal. Bonner had been hired by a PR firm, the Hawthorn Group, to lobby against the bill by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

The lobbying firm acknowledged sending out the fake letters before the House of Representatives voted on the bill. However, its founder, Jack Bonner, said all 13 forgeries were the work of one employee who has since been sacked.

For more on this and the related article “BP and Shell warned to halt campaign against US climate change bill” published by the Guardian please click here

Political News-Irish ‘No to Lisbon’ camp faces an 'uphill struggle' say experts

As Ireland’s second vote on the Lisbon Treaty nears, concesssions won by the Irish government coupled with a resurgent civil society ‘yes’ movement could see the ‘No to Lisbon’ camp face an uphill struggle in the coming weeeks.

Background:

Ireland rejected the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum in June 2008 effectively stalling the reforms contained in the treaty and causing widespread consternation among European politicians.

Following the result of the referendum, the Irish government conducted detailed research into why the public voted against the treaty and found concerns over military neutrality, the potential impact on Ireland's corporate tax rates, workers' rights and ethical issues related to the position of the family and abortion. Question marks over whether Ireland would lose its European commissioner were also said to be of concern.

Leaders meeting in Brussels in December 2008 agreed to find a legally-binding solution to clear up confusion over how the treaty would affect Ireland in the hope that this would allow a second referendum.

Following June’s European elections, where only one of Ireland’s 12 MEPs was elected on an anti-Lisbon platform, EU leaders reached a compromise in offering Ireland legally-binding guarantees on the Lisbon Treaty without requiring other countries to re-ratify the text.

The Irish government set Friday 2 October as the date for the second referendum.There is a precedent for Ireland having a second vote on a European treaty, as two referenda were required to pass the Nice Treaty.

With the second referendum six weeks away, both pro and anti-Lisbon campaigns are grinding into gear. While many of the 2008 arguments from both sides are being re-circulated this time around, experts told EurActiv that the political backdrop to this year’s referendum is profoundly different to that of last year.

According to the sources, who did not wish to be named given the politically sensitive nature of the current debates, many of the grounds for argument raised by the ‘no’ camp in 2008 are no longer in play, given that the guarantees and concessions granted to Ireland by EU leaders appear to have assuaged many of the fears expressed by Irish ‘no’ voters last June.

As a result, they indicated, the ‘no’ campaign could face an 'uphill struggle' to recreate its 2008 success.Given the changed context, the ‘no’ camp will largely have to base its arguments on issues they feel have not been addressed by the EU guarantees, using, in particular, workers’ rights as a spearhead for its campaign.

Indeed, the combined ‘no’ campaign was launched earlier this week with a warning that the treaty would leave workers worse off and more exposed to spending cuts.

A profoundly undemocratic document says ‘no’ camp

Speaking at the launch, Ireland’s sole anti-Lisbon MEP, Socialist Joe Higgins, argued that the Lisbon Treaty “is a profoundly undemocratic document, which seeks to turn right-wing economic policies into the only show in town”.

According to the MEP, if Lisbon is passed, “the EU Commission would uphold the right of big business to profit from public services, over and above the rights of workers to take action to defend these services”.

However, Andrew Byrne, Chief of Operations for pro-Lisbon advocacy group Ireland for Europe, dismissed the ‘no’ camp’s claims, arguing that its “scattergun approach” continues to falsely portray Lisbon as part of a “neoliberal economic agenda”.

According to Byrne, the ‘no side’ “will continue to misrepresent and distort the truth, playing on peoples’ fears and anxieties”.

Groundswell of groups adds legitimacy to ‘yes’ camp

But pro-Lisbon Byrne believes that despite what he sees as the fear-mongering on the ‘no’ side, the emergence of a plethora of civil society ‘yes’ bodies are giving a stronger legitimacy to the overall pro-Lisbon campaign.

“You only have to look at the number of groups out there to see that there is a groundswell of people who are not part of the normal political scene, who care about the future of the country and feel that Lisbon is a big part of that,” he said.

This “shows that there are people throughout Ireland who feel this issue is too important to leave to politicians and traditional groups”.

Byrne argued that the proliferation of civil society ‘yes’ groups “takes the wind out of the ‘no’ camp’s sails”, in that “it doesn’t allow the ‘no’ groups to paint Lisbon as merely an ambition of the political establishment”.

“We’re making the point to people that there is a new deal on the table and their concerns have been addressed. The loss of the Commissioner, for example, was a huge concern to people,” said Byrne.

The Ireland for Europe representative concluded that in his opinion, the ‘no’ camp is weaker this time around, but urged against “complacency,” among pro-Lisbon activists, arguing that all groups should remain active on the ground until the referendum.

Political News-Policy decisions on waste management need to support Ireland’s competitiveness

The 2009 update of the Forfás waste benchmarking report published today (Wednesday, 19 August 2009) confirms that Ireland continues to perform poorly relative to a selection of competitor countries and regions in meeting the waste management needs of enterprise. Waste management charges are higher in Ireland than in comparator countries, progress on developing new facilities is slow and we have a heavy reliance on landfill.

Declan Hughes, Competitiveness Division Manager, Forfás said, “In the context of the unprecedented challenges facing the Irish economy and the need to ensure that businesses operating in Ireland are competitive to support sustainable, export-led growth, policy decisions in relation to waste management infrastructures and costs need to support national competitiveness as well as environmental sustainability policy objectives”.

“To improve Ireland’s waste management performance and to ensure the provision of cost competitive, environmentally friendly waste management services to business, we need to address the barriers to infrastructure investment, such as reducing planning delays, joining up regional waste plans and ending the high level of uncertainty about the future direction of waste policy,” he continued.

The Forfás report advocates that a decision on the future regulatory structure for the waste sector should be taken that clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the State in the regulation and provision of waste management services at national, regional, and local level.

Other policy priorities identified by the report include the need to coordinate multiple regional waste management plans, to reduce planning lead times and to ensure that waste services are competitively priced.

Due to cost implications for business, the report recommends against further significant increases in the landfill levy and the introduction of an incineration levy, or a cap on incineration, until such time as adequate new alternative waste treatment facilities are operational. The report recommends the need for policy to focus on how favoured waste treatment solutions can be made more competitive.

The report also recognises the need for the State support agencies and enterprise to continue to work together to ensure that Ireland matches comparator countries in reducing the amount of waste generated.

Key Findings and Conclusions

* Ireland continues to have a relatively high reliance on landfill for waste treatment and Irish companies continue to have a limited choice of waste treatment solutions compared to their competitors. In 2007, almost two thirds of municipal and industrial waste was landfilled, putting Ireland in the bottom three of the ten countries/regions benchmarked. Despite significant gains in the past decade in improving Ireland’s recycling level, the levels of recycled municipal waste remained unchanged over the two year period 2006 and 2007.

* The cost of waste management in Ireland remains high when compared to competitors. While the market price for landfill gate fees has dropped more recently, landfill costs remain among the most expensive of the benchmarked countries/regions. Biological waste treatment fees in Ireland are the most expensive of the benchmarked countries/regions.

* Waste management infrastructure rollout in Ireland remains slow. A range of infrastructures necessary to meet Ireland’s waste management requirements need to be accelerated including: thermal treatment capacity to recover energy from municipal and industrial waste; thermal treatment or landfill capacity for hazardous waste; biological treatment (composting, anaerobic digestion) and reprocessing capacity for recovered materials (e.g. paper, glass, plastic, metal recycled materials).

Policy priorities from the report

Ireland’s comparatively poor performance in the cost and availability of waste management highlights the key policy challenges that need to be addressed to ensure waste is managed in an environmentally effective and cost efficient way. The international waste review by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which has been ongoing since July 2008 is vital to creating this policy certainty and addressing the barriers to infrastructure delivery but will need to take into account national competitiveness concerns.

The policy priorities which the Forfás report sets out are:

* Addressing the current high level of uncertainty about the future direction of waste policy which is leading to further delays in progressing infrastructure rollout (particularly private investment in waste infrastructure).

* Coordinating regional waste management plans to maximise economies of scale and enable the market to offer more competitive pricing to businesses and households. Ireland’s regionally based waste planning framework is hindering the delivery of cost effective, commercially viable waste treatment options as it tends to result in smaller scale, less commercially viable facilities than would be the case if infrastructure planning were done at a national level.

* Due to the already high cost of landfill in Ireland it is critical from a cost competitiveness perspective that further increases in the landfill levy are not introduced until adequate alternative waste treatment facilities are operational and that any incineration levy or cap on incineration should not be introduced until such time as adequate new alternative waste treatment facilities are well established and the use of landfill is reduced significantly. Consideration should instead be given to how favoured waste treatment solutions can be made more competitive
(for example, through the use of planning laws, development of relevant skills, research and development, etc.), rather than reducing the cost competitiveness of already high cost landfill.

* Continuing to fast track decisions on strategic infrastructure projects, including those in the waste management sector is of key importance. Delays in the planning process have had a negative impact on the timely delivery of key waste management infrastructure. While the introduction of the Strategic Infrastructure Act, 2006 has been a welcome step in addressing this issue, it is too early to determine if it has led to an improvement in planning timelines. The introduction of a specialist "Infrastructure Court", to deal with medium to large-scale planning and
construction cases, modelled on the successful Commercial Court (a list of the High Court that handles commercial cases of high value), could assist in cutting time and costs of delivery of our much-needed infrastructure.

* Continued and enhanced efforts will be required by Government Departments, agencies and business representative associations to ensure that businesses are fully aware of how best to exploit waste management reduction processes and technologies. Given that many organisations are already working with companies on a range of energy efficiencies, pollution prevention or resource conservation initiatives, continued efforts should also be made to develop a more integrated approach across a range of related issues.