Wilding's News

Crown Estate Announces £20m Funding for Marine Energy Projects

The Crown Estate, which owns and manages most of the UK’s shore and seabed, has announced that it is making £20 million of funding available to develop new marine energy projects. Two wave or tidal energy projects will be selected from applications submitted by developers before the deadline of 15 February 2013. - Read more »

Economic Benefits of Offshore Wind ‘Better Than’ Gas

A new report published by WWF-UK and Greenpeace suggests that investing in offshore wind energy could benefit the economy more than relying on gas-fired power stations – with only a small difference in the resulting electricity prices.

The report contradicts previous assumptions that offshore wind energy will prove to be much more expensive than gas after 2020. It also provides a valuable defence for the renewables sector after investment in green energy was slammed by the press as having huge cost implications for UK consumers. - Read more »

Offshore Wind Breathes Life Back into Humberside

Heavily blitzed in the Second World War and hard-hit by the decline of the fishing and shipping industries, Humberside is one of the UK’s most deprived areas. But with the continued development of Round 2 and 3 offshore wind farm projects, this could change in the future. - Read more »

New Offshore Wind Factory Planned for Scotland

French energy company Areva has announced plans to build a new factory in Scotland to manufacture components for offshore wind farms. Although the exact location is still to be confirmed, the factory will make blades and nacelles for offshore wind turbines and would also act as a base for installing them in the North Sea. The factory would create up to 750 jobs as well as many more in the supply chain. - Read more »

NAREC to Launch New Turbine Testing Hub

The National Renewable Energy Centre (NAREC) in Northumberland is making good progress with a £300 million project to test the viability of new wind turbines. The offshore anemometry hub is located three miles off the coast of Blyth, near to a site where 15 giant turbines are set to be constructed as part of a demonstration project. - Read more »

MP Says Government Supports Offshore Wind Sector

Ian Swales, Liberal Democrat MP for Redcar, has stated his belief that the Government is firmly behind the UK’s offshore wind industry. Speaking in response to recent concerns that ministers are divided over support for the renewables sector, Mr Swales said that: ‘The Coalition believes that offshore wind has an extremely important role in our future...Having wind farms offshore, like the one in Redcar, will provide lots of electricity for the future and...will lead to greater security and much lower use of fossil fuels.’ - Read more »

New Offshore Wind Project Attracts Investors

A new offshore wind farm which could be the largest in the world has attracted investments worth £6.5 million in just two years. The East Anglia Offshore Wind (EAOW) project – a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) and Swedish company Vattenfall – could be capable of generating a massive 7.2GW of electricity, enough for around 5 million homes. - Read more »

Competitions launched to fuel offshore wind innovations

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has launched two competitions to encourage UK firms to develop new for ideas for making the offshore wind industry more cost-effective. Both will be run jointly with the Technology Strategy Board (TSB).

The first competition, now in its third round and worth up to £7 million, will focus on developing and demonstrating component technologies across five to 10 different projects. First round winners developed products such as a new gearbox and foundation structure for offshore wind turbines. - Read more »

Irish Company may Test Wave Device in Cornish Waters

Irish firm Ocean Energy is hoping to receive a licence to test its first full-scale wave power device at the WaveHub testing centre in Cornwall. Installation of the 1MW machine, called the OE Buoy wave energy converter (WEC), would also be a first for WaveHub, which has yet to see a machine installed in the water at its £30 million facility. - Read more »

Government Renews Commitment to Renewables

The Energy and Climate Change Secretary has addressed concerns raised in the media about the Government’s commitment to the renewable energy industry. Edward Davey reiterated that there has been ‘...no change to Government policy on renewable energy’ and said that the ministers are actively supporting the industry’s growth. - Read more »

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