Transforming the UK's Electricity Market (Event)

The event Transforming the UK's electricity market deals with the situation one year on from the Reform White Paper and the Ofgem Review. It will take place on July 12, 2012. Delegates will assess the ongoing transformation of the UK's electricity system. Planned sessions focus on the progress that is being made, and the next steps in delivering the key elements of the market reform package including discussion on taking forward the Emissions Performance Standard and Carbon Price Floor for decarbonising electricity, and the proposed Capacity Mechanism for ensuring the future security of electricity supplies. In the context of market regulation, the agenda also includes discussion on the extent to which the regulatory environment has been strengthened since the Ofgem Review, as well as the further work that is required to ensure the protection of consumers and that investment in the energy sector is cost-effective.

Four Training Events From the Green Power Academy

Here are four events taking place in London UK produced by the Green Power Academy. They will be taking place between the 13th and the 18th of July 2012. These four events involve renewable technologies, economics and financing. For more information and registration information see below:

Scottish Wind Energy Can Power Europe

Scotland's massive wind energy capacity is capable of producing vast amounts of clean, sustainable energy to the rest of Europe. Due to Scotland's strong winds, skilled workforce, well-developed energy infrastructure and welcoming investment environment, the country has attracted overseas companies like Doosan, Gamesa and Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe. With over 25 percent of Europe’s wind resource Scotland has the potential to generate 159 GW of power which is almost 15 times Scotland's own peak requirement (10.5 GW).

UK Renewable Energy 2011 Overview

According to statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change the renewable energy sector contributed to a record breaking 9.6 percent of the electricity supplied by the UK grid in 2011. This is an encouraging 50 percent increase on the figures from 2010. Yorkshire and the Humber have the most renewable energy sites followed by the North West and the South West.

Cuts to UK Wind Power ROCs & FiTs

Under pressure from Conservative MPs the UK Government appears poised to reduce its committment to wind projects. The Government has proposed a 10% cut to the financial support available to onshore wind generation projects as part of its review of renewables obligation certificates (ROCs). This has prompted some of the world's biggest wind companies to tell the Guardian newspaper that they were reviewing potential projects in the UK because of the Government's perceived lack of commitment to renewables. The government has already stated that it is considering reducing feed-in tariffs (FiT) for small wind turbines between 1.5 and 15KW by 25 percent. This would cost rural businesses up to £70,000 over the lifetime of a turbine on their land.

UK Wind Energy

The UK has ideal off shore wind conditions which are capable of supplying the island nations energy requirements. According to German government research only Denmark can produce wind energy cheaper than the UK. At the beginning of 2012, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was over 5.9 gigawatts which ranked the UK as the world’s eighth largest producer of wind power. Wind power is expected to continue growing in the UK for the foreseeable future, RenewableUK estimates that more than 2 GW of capacity will be deployed per year for the next five years.

Cuts to UK Solar FiTs Could Prove Deadly

On October 31st 2011, Greg Barker, Minister of State at DECC, announced a controversial proposal to halve the feed-in tariff (FiT) rates for solar installations in each band up to 50kW, with smaller cuts in the bands from 50kW to 250kW. These cuts to FiTs are jeopardizing the UK solar industry. A FiT is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies. It achieves this by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers, typically based on the cost of generation of each technology. Cuts to homeowners solar power could prove deadly to the fledgling UK industry in addition to threatening tens of thousands of jobs.