Scottish Local Authorities - Sustainability Round-Up

Several Local authorities publish their sustainability plans

• Glasgow City Council Launch 'Future Glasgow' Project
• CnES and Outer Hebrides CPP Receive Electric Vehicles Funding
• Moray Council Consulting on Draft Carbon Manangement Plan
• East Dunbartonshire Plans to Reduce Energy Use
• Shetland Islands Council to Publish Marine Renewables Study to Encourage Investment

Sustainable Scotland

Top UK Companies and Inconsistencies in Report

The Environmental Investment Organisation has released the UK Top 100 companies carbon rankings whilst Reuters slate UK companies for their inconsistency to report GHG emissions

EIO - UK top 100 Carbon Rankings    Reuters

CCS at Peterhead is back on

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) collaborating with Royal Dutch Shell and Petrofac, is submitted a proposal under the EU’s NER300 funding process to develop a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its gas-fired power station at Peterhead in Aberdeenshire. Company chief executive Ian Marchant said Peterhead “represents the best site in the UK for a gas CCS project” and the co-operation with Shell and Petrofac “strengthens this proposition even further.”
SSE

Feed-in-Tariffs Cuts for Solar PV

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has announced that FiT cuts are coming, but at what scale and how much, that is the question. The comprehensive FIT review will:

• Assess all aspects of the scheme including tariff levels, administration and eligibility of technologies.
• Be completed by the end of the year, with tariffs remaining unchanged until April 2012 (unless the review reveals a need for greater urgency).
• Fast track consideration of large scale solar projects (over 50kW) with a view to making any resulting changes to tariffs as soon as practical, subject to consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny as required by the Energy Act 2008.

Reuters - Britain said on Monday it would cut support for large solar power plants before the summer and all installations from April 2010, it a review showed subsidies were driving too rapid uptake, as expected.

Click Green - Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has today launched a comprehensive review of the Feed in Tariffs (FITs) scheme following growing evidence that large scale solar farms could soak up money.

Solar Power Portal (Sept 2010) - FiT changed for UK - Unlikely.

Solar Power Portal (Feb 2011) - Breaking News: UK Government launches FiT review.

Guardian - Cuts to feed-in tariff could result in legal action

Business Green - (14th Feb 2011) Solar firms meet to discuss legal action against DECC.

Energy “one of the biggest global risks”

The “water-food-energy” nexus: A rapidly rising global population and growing prosperity are putting unsustainable pressures on resources. Demand for water, food and energy is expected to rise by 30-50% in the next two decades, while economic disparities incentivize short-term responses in production and consumption that undermine long-term sustainability. Shortages could cause social and political instability, geopolitical conflict and irreparable environmental damage. Any strategy that focuses on one part of the water-food-energy nexus without considering its interconnections risks serious unintended consequences
World Economic Forum

Solar PV investment set to double by 2015

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and Greenpeace International published on Wednesday 3 February three potential scenarios for solar photovoltaics (PV) up to 2050. Solar Generation 6: Solar Photovoltaic Electricity Empowering the World said that investment in the technology could more than double to €70bn (£59.7bn) a year by 2015 if governments delivered suitable financial incentives and policies required for the technology to achieve grid parity.
EPIA

UK wind power load factors fall in 2010

The Renewable Energy Foundation published statistics showing that UK wind farms loperated at just 24% of capacity in 2010, down from 29% in 2009.
REF

Europe requires €2.9 trillion in capital for low carbon infrastructure

A joint report from Accenture-Barclays estimates that Europe requires €2.9 trillion in capital for low carbon infrastructure between 2011 and 2020. To facilitate this, they said the UK Government must: introduce fiscal incentives to reduce the risk of investments; set compliance standards for low-carbon technology investments; and kick-start the market for green bonds.
Accenture

Two-thirds of biofuel “fails green standard”

According to the Renewable Fuels Agency’s (RFA) second annual report to Parliament, which was published on Thursday 27 January, just 31% of UK biofuels meet government environmental standards. For the remaining 69%, the majority of suppliers could not say where it had come from or prove it was sustainably produced.
RFA

FiT capacity up 50% in Q410

DECC published its latest monthly energy statistics and data on feed-in tariff (FiT) capacity. The FiT data noted a 50% increase in capacity in Q410 to 68MW, up from 44.1MW in Q310. The monthly energy statistics showed a 1.8% dip in total production of indigenous primary fuels on year-ago levels, coupled with a 4.3% increase in total inland consumption of primary fuels over the period.
DECC

CDP Supply Chain Report

The CDP has released its 'Supply Chain Report 2011'. Only one third of responding suppliers had a target for carbon reduction. Members have a big influence on their suppliers and they are increasingly using their power to enforce a chain reaction with regards to sustainability.
CDP

Scotland to receive £95mn for network upgrade

A £95mn investment package will be made available over the next two years to increase the capacity of Scotland’s power networks. More than £80million of the funding will be spent by National Grid Electricity Transmission and Scottish Power Transmission on a package of projects to increase the amount of electricity that can flow between the high-voltage networks of England and Scotland. Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission will spend a further £11.5mn on upgrading its network to connect generation in the north of Scotland.
Ofgem

Guinness reveals details of renewable energy fund

Guinness Asset Management has recently launched a fund aiming to make renewables investors a 10%-12% return from feed-in tariff (FiT) projects by combining FiT revenues with tax relief available from the Enterprise Investment Scheme.  Normally FiT investors would expect an annualised return of 5%-8%, but Guinness said this fund can exceed these returns by offering 20% initial income tax relief and exemption from capital gains tax and inheritance tax on qualifying investments. The fund has a minimum investment level of £10,000 and a target size of £10mn.
Utility Week   Guinness

Scotland gets €50mn for offshore wind industry

Wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa unveiled proposals to build a €50mn technology centre in Glasgow. The company said it has advanced its strategy to make the UK the core of its worldwide offshore wind business and that Scottish authorities have been informed of its plans. Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said the announcement was further testament to Scotland's leading role in the global development and deployment of renewables.
Gamesa  Scottish Government

Industry hits out at RHI delay

Geothermal International operations director Karl Draye criticised the Government’s “repeated delay” on introducing the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). He said a “speedy introduction” of the RHI was vital to lower the risk of installing ground- or air-source heat pumps as it would shorten the payback times and would make the technology “far more attractive” to small businesses and social housing providers.
Businessgreen

DECC provides guidance on penalties under CRC

On Thursday 20 January DECC published guidance to authorities on imposing civil penalties under the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) Order 2010. It noted that penalties should only be used as a last resort and it may be appropriate for the administrator to waiver or reduce penalties in certain circumstances.
DECC

BP predicts renewables to out-grow oil

BP's Energy Outlook 2030 report predicts that up to 2030 oil will grow slowly at 0.6% a year, compared with natural gas at 2.1% a year. Coal will increase 1.2% a year and by 2030 it is likely to provide as much energy as oil (excluding biofuels). But wind, solar, biofuels and other renewables will continue to grow strongly, increasing their share in primary energy from less than 2% now to more than 6% by 2030.
BP

EWEA confirms UK lead in offshore wind

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) published a factsheet on offshore wind, which noted that total EU offshore capacity is close to 3GW with an additional 19GW already consented. The statistics confirmed the UK is both the European and world leader in the sector with 1,341MW installed capacity. In second place in Europe is Denmark (854MW) followed by the Netherlands (249MW), Belgium (195MW) and Sweden (164MW).
EWEA

EU grid could handle 68% renewables by 2030

The EU power grid could cope reliably with up to 68% of power from renewable sources by 2030 if up to €97bn is spent on carefully selected grid reinforcements, according to a study published by consultants Energynautics.  It identified specific locations where the grid would need to be reinforced and concluded the most effective method to optimise the use of installed renewables is to introduce European-wide renewable energy prioritisation in the generation dispatch process.
Energynautics

UK could need “fuel rationing” by 2020

The All Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil warned the UK could face fuel rationing to ensure fair and equal access to fuel by 2020. The parliamentary report, A Policy Framework for Peak Oil and Climate Change, set out a proposal for a fuel rationing system of electronic tradable energy quotas (TEQs) which would distribute “energy credit” units to all adults.
Parliament

Scotland Hydrogen Office Opens

A state-of-the-art demonstration and research facility powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology was officially opened today by First Minister Alex Salmond as he visited the £4.7 million facility in Methil, Fife.
Scottish Government