When Size Matters – Nanotechnology For Energy Efficiency

New research at the University of Leicester in England is using nanotechnology to create energy efficient materials. With the increasing worldwide demand for energy there is a pressure to use the finite energy resources wisely whilst reducing one of the major areas of energy consumption, transportation, which accounts for more than 20% of the world’s … Read more

US and Russian Scientists Awarded Global Energy Prize

Dr Arthur H Rosenfeld (pictured) of the USA and Dr Philipp Rutberg of Russia have been presented with the 2011 Global Energy Prize, which rewards innovation and solutions in global energy research and its concurrent environmental challenges. The Global Energy Prize is one of the world’s most respected awards in energy science, awarding 33 million roubles … Read more

EirGrid Completes Transmission Grid Connection Offer Programme

EirGrid has completed its work in offering transmission grid connections to wind farms as part of the Gate 3 programme. The Gate 3 grid connection offer programme is one which has the potential to result in a three-fold increase in the amount of renewable energy on the electricity network and EirGrid has been working with … Read more

Wind Energy Will Save €24 Billion in Fuel Costs by 2015

Rising fossil fuel prices, devastating oil spills and the nuclear crisis in Fukushima have in 2011 substantially raised expectations of wind energy. Every month in 2009 and 2010, the global wind energy industry installed new wind energy capacity that can produce as much electricity as 1.2 average nuclear reactors. According to the wind industry, in … Read more

New Standard for Coal to Reduce Air Pollution

The Government has introduced a new, legally binding, low sulphur standard for coal used in the residential market. All bituminous coal placed on the market for residential use must now have a sulphur content of no more than 0.7%. Approximately half a million tonnes of bituminous coal was imported last year for use by Irish … Read more

Half the EU27 Consumption of Renewable Energy Comes From Wood

Almost half of the EU27’s consumption of renewables comes from wood and wood waste. In 2009, renewable sources of energy provided 9% of total gross inland energy consumption in the EU27. In 2010, forest and other wooded land covered 178 million hectares in the EU27, or around 40% of its land area. The EU27 accounted … Read more

GE to Offer Production-Based Availability Guarantees on All Wind Turbines

GE has expanded its Wind Services portfolio in Europe to include Production Based Availability Guarantees (PBA) as an option for new and existing operations and maintenance contracts on all GE 1.5 and 2.5 megawatt series wind turbines. Available later this year, GE’s production guarantees have been designed with the goals of its customers in mind; … Read more

US Consumers to Gain Access to Their Energy Information

The Obama administration has announced a series of measures to make energy information readily accessible to consumers and promote innovation in the energy sector as part of a broader effort to modernise the US electricity grid. Google and The Climate Group along with a coalition of businesses and NGOs sent a letter to President Obama … Read more

Bord Gais Energy Welcomes Deregulation of the SME Gas Market

Bord Gais Energy has welcomed the announcement by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) that it will deregulate the small and medium business segments of the gas market on October 1st 2011. This announcement means that the small and medium business gas market will be fully liberalised from that date and that the CER will … Read more

Nines Photovoltaics Awarded €1.2 Million European Grant

Dublin-based Nines Photovoltaics has been awarded €1.2 million in funding through a highly competitive European Framework Programme 7 (FP7), to further develop its innovative sustainable solar cell manufacturing technology. Nines Photovoltaics has developed a potentially highly disruptive methodology for the manufacturing process of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. This new technology will reduce the cost of … Read more