Latest News & Press Releases - Energy & Renewables

Aquamarine to flick switch on first oyster device

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:19:38 GMT

Marine energy firm Aquamarine Power is today expected to formally launch its first grid-connected wave energy device at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).

Scotland`s first minister Alex Salmond is expected to attend the ceremony where the 500KW Oyster device will be officially turned on for the first time and begin transmitting energy to the grid.

...

Solid-state devices get energy boost

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:59:15 GMT

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working on a way to boost the energy efficiency of solid-state devices by harvesting the currently wasted heat they generate for conversion into usable electricity.

The organisation has published a paper on the subject this month in the Journal of Applied Physics and hopes to see its so-called quantum-dot ...

Solar-powered aeroplane takes to the runway

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:55:14 GMT

A prototype of the world�s first solar-powered aeroplane had its initial runway outing yesterday in Switzerland, hitting speeds of up to five knots and covering 2km.

Further tests will take place today to see whether the plane, which is as wide as a jumbo jet but weighs the same as a medium-sized car at just 1,500kg, can hit 10 knots when taxiing without the support of a security trolley device under the cockpit. The device, which was used yesterday, was intended to protect it in case the la...

E.ON completes US wind farm on former coal mine

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:27:10 GMT

E.ON is further expanding its wind energy portfolio in the United States by opening its new Stony Creek wind farm in Western Pennsylvania. The wind farm is the fifth such project successfully completed this year. It brings E.ON�s installed wind power capacity in the US to nearly 1,700 megawatts (MW). Only a few weeks ago, E.ON Climate & Renewables, which is responsible in the E.ON Group for renewable energies and climate protection projects, completed the fourth and last section of the world...

New registry provides access to eco-impact of industries

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:03:56 GMT

European leaders have taken a major step forward to give the public access to the pollutants European industries emit, store and transport.

The European Commission and the European Environment Agency launched the latest pollutant-disclosure project: The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR). The E-PRTR is a public and searchable database containing information about air, water and land pollution from industrial facilities and the types of waste transferred from fac...

Intel eyes up wind and electric vehicle markets

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:41:13 GMT

Chip manufacturer Intel is eyeing up opportunities in wind forecasting for power generation, and information management for electric vehicles, according to a senior executive at the company.

John Skinner, the director of marketing for its Eco-Technology division, told Reuters yesterday that the IT giant was actively investigating clean tech sectors where its processors could play a useful role.

`We see numerical forecasting (in wind) as a very interesting opportunity,` he said, addin...

Government charges up electric car network with fresh �30m

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:21:03 GMT

The government formally launched its new `Plugged-in Places` initiative yesterday, inviting local authorities and businesses to bid for up to �30m of funding to set up networks of electric car charging points.

The total number of points to be funded depends on local requirements, but the government said that it hopes to create between three and six cities in the UK with a comprehensive charging infrastructure.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said the new funding means the governmen...

California bans large energy wasting TV screens

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The US state of California again shows to be in the forefront of legislating on environmental issues. New energy efficiency standards on large-screen TVs have been adopted by the California Energy Commission

The legal standards mean that most television sets sold in the state consume less energy with limits set up for 2011 and 2013.

Large screen TVs account for about one tenth of Californian households` electricity consumption.

The law is expected to be mimicke...

Enter the ecodesign enforcement agency

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

They won�t wear uniforms. Nor will they patrol the Swedish-Norwegian border. But they will have the right to call in police for inspections of compliance! From January, the Energy Agency will make sure that the ecodesign directive is followed by producers of electronic goods.

From January 2010, the Swedish Energy Agency will have the right to carry out checks of compliance with the legal requirements of the Ecodesign directive.

As stated by the EU Commission and implementations in...

Australian electronic energy standards to be extended

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Almost all Australian white goods meet the legal requirement to carry an energy efficiency rating label according to a recent survey. The regulation is currently under revision to include new kinds of products.

The Australian Government has proposed new national legislation for Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and energy labeling which is now up for stakeholder comments.

Products covered by the proposal include those belonging to the following groups: White goods, Home...

Taiwan playground puts a spin on renewables with solar frisbee roof

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:11:32 GMT

Taiwanese LCD panel maker AU Optronics (AUO) yesterday unveiled its first solar project � a German-funded, slightly concave solar panel array that stretches over a school playground.

Installed at the private Taipei European School, the Solar Frisbee Roof consists of 32 PV modules of 210 watts each, with a total annual output of 6.2 terawatt hours.

AUO said th...

Renewables take the lead in Australia`s new power developments

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:07:28 GMT

Wind farms will account for 20 per cent of Australian power projects coming online in the next few years, according to a government report thast credits the introduction renewable energy laws as the main driver by the recent surge in new low carbon energy projects.

The study found that nine out of 18 new power developments that were either committed or under construction as of 31 October were renewable energy projects. Eight were wind farms, while one was a hydroelectricity scheme, said the ...

US energy giant faces law suit over smart meter costs

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:03:52 GMT

A disgruntled California resident has put up a potential speed bump in the race to install smart meters throughout America`s electrical grid, after launching legal action against his supplier over its smart grid rollout.

Pete Flores has filed a class action suit against US energy giant Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), alleging fraud, false advertising, unfair competit...

Report: UK skills inadequate for low-carbon economy

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:18:51 GMT

The UK does not have the necessary skills to transition to a low-carbon economy without the help of foreign companies, according to a major new report from the Aldersgate Group to be released later today at an event in Westminster.

The green business think-tank will warn that the UK`s emerging low-carbon industries are facing severe skills shortages and recommend that all major environmental policies, such as increased subsidies for offshore wind or the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, should ...

Winds of change for Spanish PV inverters

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:19:34 GMT

Since the middle of 2009, fitters have increasingly installed PV plants on industrial roofs in Spain , a set up which demands smaller inverters. The new Royal Decree, RD 1578/2008 caps the additional construction of photovoltaic plants and, in particular, reduces the number of large free-standing systems. �We have a large spectrum of inverters with outputs from 1.8 kilowatts up to 1 megawatt and have been established on the Spanish market for quite a while. Therefore, we were able to adapt to th...

GE inks deal to deploy `clean coal` technology in China

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:33:00 GMT

General Electric (GE) and China`s biggest coal producer, Shenhua Group, has announced that they are partnering to deploy the engineering giant`s `clean coal` gasification at a number of sites across China.

The move, which came on the same day as US president Barack Obama and Chinese president Hu Jintao signed a wide-ranging clean technology co-operation deal, saw the two companies sign a memorandum of understanding committing them to forming a joint venture to build integrated gasification ...

Cercle Plein Energy has received a letter of interest from advanced energy resources of Manitoba, Canada

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Cercle Plein Energy has received a letter of interest for its licensed Cool Plasma Arc Gasification� system from Advanced Energy Resources of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Advanced Energy Resources will use CPE�s system to create a syngas that will be converted through a unique mobile Fischer-Tropsch processor into diesel fuel.

Cercle Plein Energy, Inc. (�CPE� or �CP Energy�), an Indiana corporation based in Indianapolis, develops renewable energy projects, on an international and national ...

Hydroxpert releases hydropower software SIMAHPP 4 Professional

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hydroxpert is glad to announce the release of SIMAHPP 4 Professional, the latest release of SIMAHPP software series. SIMAHPP 4 Professional is an easy to use windows based simulation tool for hydropower optimization and project feasibility studies. Unlike the previous versions of SIMAHPP, SIMAHPP 4 Professional is designed to be used for both small-scale and large-scale hydropower projects thanks to the newly added financial module that enables users choose investment budget calculations and ada...

New blended gas on demand system

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The new Environics Series 3000 gas delivery/blending system offers on-site gas blending of 100% pure bulk gases and is configured to provide a solution to using costly premixed cylinders of gas. Unlike premixed cylinders, the Environics model 3000 provides a repeatable blend of gases, using precision thermal mass flow controllers. The system offers flexibility in addressing particular process and market needs. Although two and three gas mixtures are more common, gas mixtures of more constituents...

EPA announces new energy tar requirements for audio/video equipment

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:25:51 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing new requirements for audio/video (AV) products to earn the Energy Star label. AV products meeting EPA�s new, more stringent specification will help protect the environment and reduce energy costs because they will be up to 60 percent more efficient than conventional models.

If all AV products sold in the United States met the new Energy Star requirements, Americans would save more than $1 billion in energy costs annually while reducing ...

Chinese firm announces plan for giant US wind turbine plant

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:05:04 GMT

The US-Sino commitment to promote the joint development of clean technologies signed this week by presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao already has one of its first poster children, after a leading Chinese wind turbine manufacturer announced plans to build a giant factory in the US.

A-Power Energy Generation Systems said earlier this week that it has signed a co-...

Biomass plants face wood supply risks

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:57:43 GMT

The rapid expansion of the UK`s biomass energy sector could be undermined unless businesses move to resolve the supply chain issues that could leave them struggling to find the wood supplies necessary to keep plants running.

That is the stark warning contained in a report from an...

Microsoft inks second deal for Hohm energy meter

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:53:24 GMT

The escalating battle between Microsoft and Google for dominance of the emerging smart meter sector took another turn this week after Microsoft signed a second deal with a utility, enabling its Hohm home energy management service to gather energy usage information directly from the electricity provider.

The deal, with XCel Energy, brings the service to another 3.4m electricity customers and mirrors similar moves from Google, which recently signed a series of deals with energy providers to p...

EU to extend energy labels to many new products

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:45:38 GMT

All products that can affect the use of energy, including windows, taps and home insulation, are to carry energy use labels under reforms agreed yesterday between the EU and member states.

The European Council of member states, the European Parliament and Commission reached a deal that will see the energy labelling directive, which currently covers only household electrical appliances, extended to cover all energy-related products.

Under the new rules, which are expected to be adopte...

Tough legislation boosts the South African hazardous waste management market

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:35:56 GMT

The South African hazardous waste management market is experiencing rapid growth due to tightening legislation related to waste collection, transportation and disposal. Environmental inspectors have been pressuring waste generating companies to improve their environmental impact management programmes, opening up opportunities for waste management companies.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan� (