Construction work is set to begin on an anaerobic digestion (AD) and renewable energy plant in March, Cambridgeshire, dubbed the "largest in the region", after planners gave it the go-ahead. Mansfield-based AD and biogas-to-energy company Monsal said it had completed the first phase of planning and pre-design for the plant, which is expected to produce heat and electricity from a combination of locally-sourced business food waste and potato waste produced by Fenmarc, a food packaging and processing company operating adjacent to the site. Click here for full story

An £8 million deal to build a renewable energy plant in North Lanarkshire that could power 3,000 homes using food scraps has been announced. Waste management group Shanks said it had signed a joint venture agreement with Scottish-based Energen Biogas for the Cumbernauld development, which is expected to be capable of processing 60,000 tonnes of organic waste every year. Click here for full story

Some countries generate as much as 40% of energy for heating through biomass fuels but it's less than 1% in the UK – reason enough to predict a huge role for biomass in helping meet the UK's renewable energy goals. Click here for full story

An alliance of construction companies, solar energy groups and politicians will tomorrow appeal to the government to increase support for renewable energy for households through its proposed Clean Energy Cashback scheme. As the government's consultation period on the plan draws to a close, supporters of solar panels are urging the government to increase the amount that home owners would be paid for every unit of green electricity they produce. Just adding 10p per kilowatt hour to the proposed 36p rate would create 30,000 jobs in the next five years, the industry says, by driving demand for 400,000 new installations by 2014.
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Work on a new £10million green energy centre at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary could get under way later this month after the plans won approval from city councillors yesterday. NHS Grampian has been granted planning permission to demolish the existing boiler house at the Foresterhill hospital to make way for the new environmentally-friendly power centre. A 114ft chimney-stack would rise from the new building, which will house a combined heat and power plant, as well as a biomass boiler run on wood chips. About 90% of the entire hospital site is to be powered by the eco-friendly centre, which could potentially save taxpayers and regional health chiefs more than £2million in energy bills, once it is up and running in spring 2011.
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Communities will be able to apply for a share of £10m in government funding to pay for climate change-fighting measures. The initiative was announced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of the Low Carbon Communities Challenge. 20 successful communities will each receive support to pay for measures ranging from a local biomass plant to retrofitting homes and electric car charge points. Click here for full story

The building of Britain's largest biomass plant took a step forward after the granting of a licence by Environment Agency Wales (EAW). The £400m plant in Port Talbot will be able to power 500,000 homes and produce electricity with lower carbon emissions using material such as wood chip. The permit will legally bind developers Prenergy Power to emission limits and health and environmental standards. Click here for full story

Defence sites across the UK will be fitted with energy efficiency monitoring technology despite security concerns raised by experts about the technology. The organisation which manages many Ministry of Defence facilities has hired IT services company Logica to install data monitoring technology in its buildings and help drive down the £300m it spends on energy every year. Click here for full story

A higher tariff for green electricity generation would help the UK catch up with the rest of Europe. An extra 10p on the level of the proposed tariff given to small-scale renewable energy producers would be enough to kick-start a solar power sector in the UK, say industry groups. Earlier this summer the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) finally agreed to introduction of a long sought-after feed-in tariff (FIT) under which households and businesses will be paid an above-market rate for every unit of electricity they generate and feed back to the grid. Click here for full story

Converting the rubbish that fills the world’s landfills into biofuel may be the answer to both the growing energy crisis and to tackling carbon emissions, claim scientists in Singapore and Switzerland. New research published in Global Change Biology: Bioenergy, reveals how replacing gasoline with biofuel from processed waste could cut global carbon emissions by 80%. Click here for full story

King’s College School in Wimbledon is one of the first schools in the country to sign up to the groundbreaking environmental campaign - “10:10”. Fewer than a dozen UK schools have committed to a 10 per cent reduction in carbon emission by 2010 as part of the movement being embraced by hospitals, local authorities, companies and even individual celebrities across the UK. Click here for full story

Salford-based sustainable power company ENER-G has landed a hat-trick of landfill generation contracts in the Baltic state of Lithuania - supplying renewable electricity to power 5,500 homes. People in Lithuania will soon be plugging into `green' electricity generated by renewable power technology from the engineering group. Click here for full story

A landowner has secured more than £500,000 from the Scottish Government to create a pig-powered eco-farm that will convert porcine waste into electricity. Ruchlaw Produce Company Ltd hopes to create a £1.5 million anaerobic digester - a first for south-east Scotland - at its Ruchlaw Mains Farm, near Stenton, that will be used to turn pig slurry and vegetable waste into power for the site, with any surplus being sold to the national grid. The project has received £560,308 from Rural Priorities - part of the Scottish Government's Rural Development Programme - and a formal planning application is now being drawn up by project leader, Ruchlaw director Jamie Wyllie, and his team of consultants. Click here for full story

A renewable energy technology which could generate clean energy for homes, divert waste from landfill and produce nutrient-rich fertiliser for farmland has been given a boost by the Environment Agency and WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme). Businesses and the agricultural community using anaerobic digestion (AD) – the process whereby bacteria breaks down organic material in the absence of air - will benefit from relaxed waste regulations if they conform to a new Quality Protocol (QP) which sets out clear standards for the production of digestate from organic waste. Click here for full story

Ceres Power announces that it has entered into a long-term supply agreement with Daalderop BV for the volume boiler assembly of the Company’s residential Combined Heat and Power programme with British Gas. Ceres will mass manufacture in-house, at its facility in Horsham, fuel cells and assemble fuel cell stacks and fuel cell modules in volume. The boiler assembly will be manufactured in volume by Daalderop, in accordance with Ceres Power’s complete CHP product design. Click here for full story

Just a couple of kilometres from where YOU are standing now [Note: this article appears in an Antrim publication] lies a vast lake of boiling hot water which could soon be used to power your home or business. Antrim is literally sitting on a hot bed of energy - and plans are in the pipeline to tap into it. GT Energy - the leading company in the development of deep geothermal led district heating networks in Ireland and the UK - met with Antrim councillors last week to give a presentation today on the benefits of geothermal energy. Click here for full story

Plans have been submitted for a biomass plant near a smelting works where hundreds will lose their jobs. Anglesey Aluminium has submitted the application to the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The current aluminium works, near Holyhead on Anglesey, stops production next week with the loss of 390 jobs. But if the electricity-making biomass plant is given the go-ahead, there is no guarantee production could restart at Anglesey Aluminium. Click here for full story

The facilities at Path Head landfill site means that non-recycled waste collected from households in and around Gateshead is now producing enough electricity to power over 3,500 homes. The power generated displaces fossil fuel power generation, reducing the UK's emissions of CO2 by 7,150 tonnes per year, which contributes to the UK's reduction of global warming targets. Click here for full story

Social housing tenants could soon be living in state-of-the-art green homes built from natural materials such as clay, hemp and sheep's wool, which are being pioneered as part of Prince Charles' campaign to create beautiful sustainable property. Building work on The Natural House started in April and is due to be completed this month. With a construction price tag of around £100,000 and fuel bills predicted to be half that of a traditional bricks-and-mortar home, the property is being promoted by the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, which is behind the scheme, as a realistic option for social housing. Earlier this year, Prince Charles said: "The Natural House is an attempt to introduce a new model for green building that is site-built, low-carbon and easily adapted for volume building." Click here for full story

A vital £2.45m funding boost has been announced for a scheme to build a £20m green energy plant, creating 40 jobs in a North Yorkshire market town. Planning consent has already been given for the Selby Renewable Energy Park, which will be the largest of its kind in the UK to use technology which turns food waste into power.
The Anaerobic Digestion technology will generate huge amounts of clean energy as well as processing 165,000 tonnes of food waste per year which would otherwise have been sent to landfill sites. Click here for full story

Rightly or wrongly since Rose Energy first put forward the plan to build a biomass power plant at Glenavy there has been much speculation about the impact that such a plant would have on the local environment and the livelihoods of farmers. Much of this has been down to the technology which is to be used at the plant. The technology being proposed by Rose Energy at the plant at Glenavy, that being the combustion of waste for the production of energy (Energy from Waste (EfW) technology) has been used across the UK and Europe for many years to process fuels to create electricity which can then be supplied to the national grid. Click here for full story

Hard-pressed families are now facing a £350 bill to pay for new smart energy meters. Latest Government figures show the estimated cost of installing the technology has risen to £9billion. But while the computerised meters will save energy firms £300million a year, families will not see any overall reduction in their bills for more than 12 years after the units are installed. It's a further blow to millions already facing crippling price hikes next year after suppliers refused to bring down household bills despite falling wholesale costs. Click here for full story

Groundbreaking micro-CHP (combined heat & power) technology is available for the first time in the UK following a new Anglo-Japanese agreement. Greater Manchester-based sustainable power business ENER-G Combined Power Limited has entered into a technology partnership with Japanese manufacturer Yanmar that will enable whole new sectors to harness low-carbon technology. Commenting on the partnership, ENER-G sales manager Anthony Mayall said: “The Micro CHP range expands our capability from 4kWe to 10MWe, which is unique to the market place and means we can extend beyond our previous lower limit of 35kWe and help organisations with smaller buildings with their energy efficiency. This product range means ENER-G comfortably has the broadest product range on the market.” Click here for full story

Over 20 million people in Britain would be willing to pay more money for a home which tackles energy supplier prices through the use of renewable resources, according to the Energy Saving Trust (EST). Fresh data shows that half of those surveyed are trying to find out whether they can fit microgeneration equipment in their existing home, although a similar number say they are discouraged by the high cost of installation, reports Fair Home. Homeowners could bear in mind that a move to switch energy resources and invest in equipment such as solar panels or hydro-power could also increase the value of the property. Click here for full story

Farmers interested in the potential of Anaerobic Digestion (AD) can now benefit from a new time-saving 'one-stop-shop' that brings together specialist information about AD in one place. Until now information has been spread over various different websites. The new web portal http://www.biogas-info.co.uk/ is designed to be a gateway for those new to AD in agriculture, industry or local government and provides help and advice on biogas, digestate and feedstocks. The site also includes information on planning permission and environmental permits and importantly the available incentives and funding for new AD projects. Farmers will also be able to access the AD cost calculator which will allow them to assess the economics of investing in new AD facilities. Click here for full story

The residential arm of Scottish micro wind generation company Windsave, which supplied 'roof windmills' to former energy minister Brian Wilson, has gone into liquidation. The company says that the closure of Glasgow-based Residential Windsave Ltd is not expected to result in many job losses. The company stressed that its business to business (B2B) arm was still trading healthily. The company's product, the WS1200, was designed to use low wind speeds to create electricity and was supported by former energy minister Brian Wilson, who had a windmill installed on his roof. Click here for full story

EU member states are taking part in a project that aims to find solutions to barriers that hold up the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems and legal issues of connecting to the grid. The 30-month 'PV LEGAL' European programme involves 12 EU member states including the UK, France, Italy, Poland and Spain. Project members want to find out why it can take months to years to erect PV systems in the UK and other European countries and how solar can better connect to the grid. Click here for full story

The Coal Authority has announced that it is working with Partnerships for Renewables to investigate hosting renewable energy projects on its land. Philip Lawrence, Chief Executive of the Coal Authority, said: “The Coal Authority is charged with managing the legacy left by a coal mining industry that was central to the industrial revolution. The Coal Authority is exploring ways of transforming its remaining property portfolio into sustainable assets, playing a part in the environmental revolution and generating both green energy and revenues.” Click here for full story

First Minister Rhodri Morgan will today (8 September) officially open Wales’ first commercial scale biomass plant. The £33m Western Wood Energy Plant at Longlands Lane, Margam, Port Talbot, which is now fully operational, generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of 31,000 homes a year. Developed by Cardiff-based international renewable energy company, Eco2 Ltd, in partnership with Good Energies and Port Talbot’s Western Log Group, the project created 200 construction jobs during its two-year build phase. The 14 MW plant directly employs 20 permanent staff and also uses mainly Welsh wood as fuel. Click here for full story

The Energy Saving Trust said that 42% of Scots would be willing to pay more for a home where some of their energy supply came from renewable resources such as wind or solar. It seems that Scots are more interested than ever in installing a renewable-energy source to their property. Click here for full story

Alternative energy sources have long been little more than an alternative to fossil fuel staples. With legislative models based on carbon offsets, solar energy may offer an intriguing option. Never mind the collapse of Spain's solar energy subsidies, or the vast Gulf of Mexico oil field discovered by BP, modern energy solutions can be found among solar providers. Click here for full story

German energy giant, E.ON AG has announced plans to build a 150-megawatt biomass-fired power plant at the Royal Portbury Dock, near Bristol in southeast England. The project is the latest in a surge of biomass and energy-from-waste projects announced in the U.K. in the last couple of months. Planning permission is being sought by E.ON from the Department of Energy and Climate Change for the 300 million pound plant, which E.ON hopes to start building in 2010 and complete by 2013.
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US-based renewable energy company Helix Wind Corp disclosed on Thursday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire German company VENCO Power GMBH. Helix will pay EUR2.75m in cash and Helix Wind shares in exchange for 100% of VENCO. VENCO makes vertical axis small wind turbines and this acquisition will add three complementary small wind turbine products to Helix Wind's existing portfolio, the company said. Click here for full story

Welsh Assembly Government planning rules which aim to make installing domestic renewable micro-generation equipment easier, came into force September 1. Under the new 'Permitted development' rules, residents can install a range of renewable technology equipment without applying for planning permission or paying planning fees. Click here for full story

Ten London boroughs have won funding to develop "low-carbon zones" with schemes ranging from "energy doctors" to solar panels for schools and electric car charging points, London Mayor Boris Johnson said. Each borough will be awarded at least £200,000 to pioneer energy efficiency and carbon reduction measures in the capital. The low-carbon neighbourhoods cover 13,000 homes, around 1,000 shops and businesses, 20 schools, a hospital, places of worship and community centres, and each has a target to deliver emissions savings of 20.12% on current levels by 2012. Click here for full story

Gordon Brown and his senior ministers all committed to cutting their personal carbon emissions today as the entire cabinet signed up to the 10:10 climate change campaign. The cabinet pledge came as the number of individuals who have signed up to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 10% in 2010 passed the 10,000 mark. Click here for full story

The energy market is changing. Energy users, be they public bodies or large corporations, retail units or housing associations, hotels or factories, are increasingly conscious of volatile prices, unstable supply and their carbon footprint, and are taking matters into their own hands by opting for self-generation. Set against this background, the inaugural Smart Energy Show is being held 1 and 2 December 2009 at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London. Developed by the Renewable Energy Association (REA) who are organising the conference; and Media Generation Ventures Ltd who are organising the exhibition, the new show is designed for energy users and beneficiaries of the new feed in tariffs set to start in 2010. Click here for full story

The city of Trondheim, in cooperation with the Bellona Foundation and German engineering giant Siemens, will cut its energy use by 20 percent without a loss to the population of their high living standard, making it a "Smart City" - an apparent nod to the buzz phrase "Smart Grid." "This is a pioneering project," said Ane Brunvoll, Bellona's energy department head of the plan for the central Norwegian city of 260,000 on the country's west coast. Click here for full story

Decentralisation of renewable energies is one of the messages being sent out by this year’s Climate Camp in London, which is taking place from 26 Aug to 2 September. 14 recycled solar panels producing 1.5kW per hour and £50 windmills are being used to generate all the electricity the Blackheath camp is using for its TV and Radio productions. Volunteers maintaining these energy sources said that whilst EU advisor Georg Adamourit’s proposal for a supergrid connecting wind farms across Europe could work, there is always a technology more effective in an individual environment. Click here for full story

Some old style light-bulbs will be banished from shop shelves from today (Tues). New EU laws see first 100w incandescent bulbs disappear from stores as part of a gradual phasing out of all energy heavy lighting. But it seems most Scots would go a step further and pay more for a house if it were fitted out with green energy gadgets. A new survey has found that almost half the population would spend more for a house that has renewable energy sources. Click here for full story