Green Energy Sector - News Bulletin

Cash boost for small-scale biomass (Renews)
The Equitix-managed Energy Saving Investments fund has awarded £4.9m to small-scale biomass boiler projects

£10m wood pellet roll-out for Green Investment Bank (Scotsman)

Dundee biomass plan gets Sepa support in principle (Courier)

EDF completes 144MW Fallago Rig (Recharge)

SSE to invest £200m in Inverness turbine project (Herald Scotland)
SSE is investing £200 million in the acquisition and development of a wind-farm project at Dunmaglass near Loch Mhor, about 15 miles south of Inverness.

Donald Trump’s court bid to stop wind farm (Express)

Report forecasts energy jobs bonanza (BBC News)
The renewable energy industry could create more than 10,000 jobs on Scotland's islands by 2030, according to a government-commissioned study

Government report highlights renewables potential in the Northern Isles (The Orcadian)

Cross-border power line hold-up ‘costing consumers £25m’ (Belfast Today)
Stormont Energy Minister Arlene Foster said there was a need to “get to grips” with restrictions on the electricity system in Northern Ireland

Grid pays £6m to turn off wind farm turbines (Herald Scotland)
Media fall once again for REF monthly constraint payment release

Engineering company Mowat placed into administration (Herald Scotland)

SeaEnergy receives £849,000 after sale dispute (Herald Scotland)

Offshore wind-farm venture and Fluor settle dispute over claims (Herald Scotland)
The offshore wind-farm venture half-owned by utility SSE has finally settled its dispute with engineering giant Fluor

Powerful lesson from past about nature of progress (Courier)
Looking back at hydro

World Bank rethinks stance on large-scale hydropower projects (Guardian)
Despite their disruption, can dams help the organisation work towards ending poverty while keeping carbon emissions down?

Alarm at plans to water down green standards for buildings (Herald Scotland)
Holyrood ministers are coming under fierce criticism from the energy conservation sector for backtracking on a commitment to higher standards for new buildings.

Watering down energy standards (Herald Scotland)
Editorial view

Scotland doubles training pot to £6.5m (Renews)
Scottish government is providing a £6.5m training boost to Energy Skills Scotland for sectors including renewable energy, twice the original amount pledged only last year

Wind farm targets may be hit by no-go zones (Scotsman)
Holyrood 'separation distances' criticised

SSE boss 'ashamed' over mis-selling (BBC News)
Ian Marchant interviewed

Key climate change adviser resigns from Cameron post (Guardian)
Ben Moxham, senior policy adviser and former aide to BP chief Lord Browne, becomes latest energy official to quit

Hydro schemes face bans over moss (Scotsman)
SNH is facing a clash with developers over plans to declare dozens of waterfalls off-limits to new schemes to provide hydro-electric power

Biomass: should we burn trees to generate electricity? (Guardian)

Moving the UK solar market past the ‘boom and bust’ stage (Your Industry News)

Firm reduces wind project stake (Press Association)
Vattenfall looks to new shareholders for Aberdeen offshore

New hydro scheme on 70th anniversary (BBC News)
The £30m scheme near Ardross will be able to supply power to up to 10,000 homes

Plans for rebirth of Ardersier yard (BBC News)
340-acre site, 14 miles east of Inverness, is being prepared for construction linked to the offshore wind industry

Work set to start on controversial offshore wind farm project (STV)
European Offshore Wind Development Centre off Aberdeen Bay

Scotland’s tallest wind turbine gets go-ahead (Scotsman)
Test turbine at Methil in Fife

One of the largest solar farms in the UK could be built in a Suffolk village (Ipswich Evening Star)
21 MW

UK industry group pushes government to raise energy saving targets (Guardian)
Association for the Conservation of Energy wants the government to introduce an electricity efficiency 'feed-in tariff'

£1m for wind farms to shut turbines for one day (Scotsman)
Constraint payments highlighted again

The biomass industry should come clean about its environmental impact (Guardian)
Whole tree biomass worse than coal. NGOs intensify debate.

Holyrood plan to ban wind farms from scenic areas (Scotsman)
Draft Scottish Planning Policy incorporates SNH wild land map work to make wind farms harder to approve in National Parks and key scenic areas

One-third of country off-limits for wind turbines (Herald Scotland)

Pro-wind policies ‘a vote-winner’ (Renews)
Support for wind power is a vote-winner, with a poll revealing that 34% of the electorate is more likely to back a local political candidate who supports the development of wind projects

Two-thirds of Welsh back wind (Renews)
A poll commissioned by RenewableUK Cymru has revealed that 64% of people in Wales support the development of wind farms

Energy companies fail to meet energy efficiency targets (Which)
British Gas, Scottish Power and SSE failed to meet government energy efficiency targets and will be investigated by the energy regulator Ofgem

Ed Balls slams government's 'energy policy crisis' (BusinessGreen)
Shadow Chancellor warns continued confusion over low-carbon energy policy risks 'massive' missed opportunity for UK

Cardiff firm Tidal Energy boosted with £1.6m EU funding confirmed by First Minister Carwyn Jones (Western Mail)
Cardiff-based Tidal Energy will use the funding to deploy its DeltaStream device at Ramsey Sound, Pembrokeshire

Gaia-Wind Doubles Market at a Stroke (Alt Energy)
Gaia announces roll out of a Single Phase connection option for its hugely successful 133 model expanding market

Good Energy agrees £7.5m credit facility with Lloyds (New Energy World Network)