The government has said it may create a database of every firm in the UK that could help build the next generation of offshore wind farms in British waters. As we reported in March, offshore wind farm operators have been criticised in the past for awarding many key contracts outside the UK. But that could all change if plans go ahead for the new database, and more than half the equipment required for Round 3 wind farms could be made here. - Read more »

Wilding client Morrison Utility Services has again been recognised for its excellent health and safety standards at two awards ceremonies this spring. The company triumphed at the 2012 RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards, winning the Construction Sector award for the third time. As well as these three gongs, Morrison has also received two Commendations at the RoSPA awards in the last seven years. - Read more »

Work is stepping up on the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm project, with E.ON recently announcing that it will soon be starting the onshore cable-laying works. The £736 million project will be located 8km off the East Yorkshire coast, with the electricity produced being flowed into the National Grid through a new onshore substation at Salt End. - Read more »

Oil and gas producers, led by the firms Technip SA and Subsea 7, have announced their intention to work alongside offshore wind energy developers in the North Sea. The idea behind the move is to enable both sectors to learn from each other and take advantage of the similarities between constructing offshore wind farms and oil and gas installations. - Read more »

The Renewable Energy Association (REA), a renewables sector lobby group, has said that the UK needs ‘much bolder and broader’ policies if we are to meet our renewable energy generation targets. The Government has committed to producing at least 15% of our energy from renewable sources by 2015 and 20% by 2020. But according to the REA’s report, we won’t achieve these targets unless our renewable energy policies are strengthened to encourage new and existing technologies to develop more quickly. - Read more »

The Danish company DONG Energy will be trialling Siemens’ new 6MW wind turbine at their Gunfleet Sands 3 demonstration project, 8.5km from Clacton-on-Sea on the south east coast of England. Two of the Direct Drive Technology turbines will be installed for their very first offshore tests. DONG is hoping that, as the next generation of turbines, the new machines will help industrialise the offshore wind sector and make future projects more cost-effective to build and run. - Read more »

A new report by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has described the UK’s wind energy industry as ‘recession-busting’ – and it is expected to keep on growing. Figures released at the EWEA’s annual conference show that the industry has increased its contribution to the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 33% in just three years (2007 to 2010). What’s more, employment within the sector has also risen by almost a third to top 240,000 people. - Read more »

Offshore works are due to start this month on the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm, located 13km off the Welsh coast. The heavy lifting vessel Stanislav Yudin will be on site between April and December 2012 to install the foundations for the wind farm’s 160 turbines and two offshore substations. - Read more »

Further to our February articles about exciting new developments in the UK’s marine energy industry, the government has just launched a new funding package worth £20 million. The Marine Energy Array Demonstrator scheme (MEAD) will enable organisations across the UK to bid for a share of the £20 million pot and invest it in developing existing wave and tidal energy technologies for commercialisation. - Read more »

The recycling, renewable energy and waste management company Viridor has announced its plans to build a £185 million energy-from-waste (EfW) power station in Cardiff Bay. The plant, which will be the first of its kind in Wales, is set to be up and running by 2014 and will create up to 300 jobs during its construction. - Read more »