After a sharp falloff in 2010, investments in the UK’s clean energy sector rebounded in 2011 to $9.4 billion – a 35 percent increase and the seventh highest among G-20 nations, according to new research by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The growth was driven in part by a 10-fold increase in solar energy investments, which rose to $4.8 billion, financing the installation of more than 300 megawatts (MW) of power in 2011. Sustained interest in development of offshore wind turbines also helped to spur $2.3 billion worth of investment and 900 MW of capacity in the wind sector. To date, the UK has installed 6.4 GW of wind capacity.

“While solar investment saw the most significant growth in the UK, offshore wind is poised for significant future investments and capacity additions,” says Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew’s Clean Energy Program. “In part, investment growth in the United Kingdom can be attributed to investors initiating new projects before policy incentives are curtailed. To maintain growth, the UK must provide consistent, long-term market signals that provide certainty to investors.”

Globally, investment grew to a record $263 billion in 2011, a 6.5 percent increase over the previous year. The United States reclaimed the top spot among all G-20 nations and attracted $48 billion. However, with $45.5 billion in private investments, China continued to be a hub of clean energy activity – leading the world in wind energy investment and deployment, as well as wind and solar manufacturing. Germany received $30.6 billion, ranking third among G-20 nations. The combination of falling prices and growing investments accelerated installation of clean energy generating capacity by a record 83.5 GW in 2011 bringing the total to 565 GW globally. This represents nearly 50 percent more than installed nuclear power capacity worldwide by the end of the year.

“The clean energy sector received its trillionth dollar of private investment just before the end of 2011, demonstrating significant growth over the past eight years,” points out Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Pew’s research partner. “Solar installations drove most of the activity last year as the falling price of photovoltaic modules, now 75 percent lower than three years ago, more than compensated for weakening clean energy support mechanisms in a number of parts of the world.”

The Irish solar energy project developer, BNRG Renewables, based in IFSC in Dublin, has completed the successful sale of two major solar parks in the UK with a combined capacity of 6 megawatts to renewable energy funds managed by alternative asset manager, the Foresight Group. Both solar parks are near Bridgewater in Somerset and were developed and sold by BNRG in partnership with Element Power. They were constructed and commissioned during 2011 under the UK Government’s Feed-in Tariff legislation designed to encourage construction of low carbon electricity generation from renewable energy technologies.

The rapid and dramatic changes to the UK’s Feed-in-Tariff during 2011 meant the construction window for both projects had to reduce from 12 to 3 months. David Maguire, director of BNRG Renewables led the team that took an innovative approach to the construction and delivery of the two high-quality projects in the dramatically reduced timeframe. “Unlike many companies within the European solar sector we have overcome a number of unforeseen challenges during the last 12 months,” he points out. “Our BNRG Element Power projects in the England have left us as one of a small number of development companies to successfully commission commercial-scale projects in the UK.”

BNRG Renewables was set up by David Maguire and Neil Holman in 2008. It is chaired by Ian Stuart, former managing director of Eagle Star Insurance in Dublin and currently chairman of Zurich Life Assurance in the UK. Aside from the two projects recently sold in Somerset, BNRG has a substantial pipeline of projects under development on the Isle of Wight and elsewhere in the south of England. It also has a development pipeline in south east Europe including 14MW in Bulgaria.

KPMG Ireland has acted as financial adviser to BNRG particularly in relation to fundraising and its ongoing strategy for solar development in EU markets. “BNRG is a great example of what Irish companies can achieve internationally in this sector with the right combination of development and technical skills. There is no reason why BNRG cannot go on to achieving similar success in new emerging solar markets,“ says Mike Hayes, head of renewable energy at KPMG.

Foresight Group now owns 16MW of solar PV systems in the UK. Combined with its projects in Italy and Spain, the group has over Eur300 million of solar assets accounting for more than 85 MW.

CAPTION:

Members of the BNRG Renewables team (from left): Neil Holman, director; Michael Heather, head of property; Zara Petrova, project coordinator; David Maguire, director; and Gerry Gaydadzhieva, project sssistant.

GE has unveiled a first-of-its-kind power plant engineered to deliver an unprecedented combination of flexibility and efficiency. By rapidly ramping up and down in response to fluctuations in wind and solar power, the technology will enable the integration of more renewable resources into the power grid.

The FlexEfficiency 50 Combined Cycle1 Power Plant is rated at 510 megawatts and offers fuel efficiency greater than 61%. The plant is the result of an investment of more than $500 million in research and development by GE and a key part of its ongoing work to create and manufacture technologies around the globe that deliver cleaner, more efficient energy.

While power plants today can provide flexibility or high efficiency, this power plant will deliver an unprecedented combination of both. GE calls this combination of flexibility and efficiency ‘FlexEfficiency,’ which is essential if renewable power is going to cost-effectively integrate into power grids around the world on a large scale.

GE drew from the company’s jet engine expertise to engineer a plant that will ramp up at a rate of more than 50 megawatts per minute, twice the rate of today’s industry benchmarks. Operational flexibility at these levels will enable utilities to deliver power quickly when it is needed and to ramp down when it is not, balancing the grid cost-effectively and helping to deploy additional renewable power resources like wind and solar. A typical FlexEfficiency 50 plant will deliver enough energy to power more than 600,000 E.U. homes.

“As our customers seek to increase their use of renewable energy, the challenge of grid stability sharpens. They are under added pressure to achieve higher levels of efficiency and lower emissions for natural gas power plants. The FlexEfficiency 50 plant creates an immense growth opportunity in a new segment for our gas turbine technology and is in lock-step with our commitment to build a cleaner energy future,” says Paul Browning, vice president—thermal products for GE Power & Water. “For years we have been working to develop technology that can, in the same breath, deliver breakthrough efficiency and deal head-on with the challenge of grid variability caused by wind and solar. The need for combined flexibility and efficiency is even more pressing today as countries around the world establish new emissions standards.”

The FlexEfficiency 50 plant is the first product in GE’s new FlexEfficiency portfolio and part of GE’s ecomagination commitment to drive clean energy technology through innovation and R&D investment. The launch follows GE’s recent announcements of the world’s most efficient wind turbine, the highest reported efficiency for thin film solar and $11 billion in acquisitions that strengthen a portfolio supporting natural gas and power transmission.

The EPA has welcomed publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Renewable Energy sources and Climate Change mitigation (SRREN). The report shows that global potential for renewable energy is substantially higher than both current and projected future global energy demand. This is the case globally and in most regions of the world.

Currently less than 3 per cent of the globally available renewable energy is being used. This means that more than 97 per cent is untapped. Realising this resource would be a major step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy. The report projects that 80 percent of the world’s energy supply could be met by renewable sources by 2050 if enabling policies are put in place.

Commenting on the report Dr Mary Kelly, EPA director general, says: “This is a timely report given the choices we need to make on energy investment, here in Ireland, in Europe and internationally. It shows the potential of renewable energy technologies to provide energy solutions which also have wider economic, social and environmental benefits, including their potential to cut air pollution and improve public health, and increase energy security.”

The six renewable energy technologies reviewed are: bioenergy, direct solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, ocean and wind energy.

The report states that the cost of most renewable energy technologies has declined. Some renewable energy technologies are already economically competitive. Technical advancements are expected to further reduce costs. Increasing the share of renewables requires additional short-term and long-term integration efforts. There is a need for advanced technologies to optimize the infrastructure capacity for renewable an area in which Ireland has active research.

The IPCC report notes that enabling policies and measures are required to ensure rapid deployment of many renewable sources. Research is also required to overcome technical barriers. The deployment of renewable energy will benefit from testing centres for demonstration projects.

Two experts from Ireland were lead authors for this IPCC report – Professor Tony Lewis of the Hydraulics & Maritime Research Centre, University College Cork and Professor Mark O’Malley of University College Dublin.

Renewable Energy in Ireland

Ireland is committed to the deployment of renewable energy and aims to reach the European Commission target of 20 per cent of its total energy mix by 2020. Ireland is also implementing its National Renewable Energy Action Plan which all Member States were required to submit in 2010. This plan sets out how we intend to reach EU wide renewable energy targets.

Currently, the majority of Ireland’s renewable energy is generated using onshore wind with a small contribution from offshore. Bioenergy is a growing area through the establishment of bioenergy crops such as miscanthus and rapeseed oils as well as traditional forestry biomass. In the agricultural sector, technologies such as biomethane generation from grass and anaerobic digestion of farm and food wastes have the potential to play a key part in mitigating emissions from this sector. There are proposals in place for a state of the art research test bed in Belmullet for wave energy test site in Belmullet. Irish companies such as WaveBob and Ocean Hydro have already gained international attention for the potential of their technology.

Ireland is sitting on a potential multi-million euro industry in the renewable energy sector, delegates attending a major worldwide convention in County Mayo later this month will be told.  Special focus will be placed on enterprise and employment in the renewable energy sector at the eleventh Mayo Associations Worldwide Convention to be in Westport between May 27th and 29th.

The convention follows the theme of ‘Power by Land and Sea – a Future for our People’, and it will facilitate debate on what appear to be excellent prospects for Mayo, and the country as a whole, in the renewable energy sector.

In addition to the substantial gas reserves off the coast, Mayo is also blessed with some of the finest renewable energy resources in the world, which present opportunities to exploit vast amounts of wind, ocean, and solar energy.

The convention, which will be officially opened by President Mary McAleese on Saturday, May 28th, will feature workshops on indigenous and multi-national enterprise in Mayo. It will be open to the public.

Over 100 delegates from Mayo Associations all over the world will be in attendance along with guest of honour An Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Delegates will travel from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Toronto, London, Manchester, Leeds, Luton, Calderdale (UK), Coventry, Australia, Galway, Dublin, Sligo and Limerick.

The event is being jointly organised by the Mayo Associations in Galway and Dublin. For further information visit www.mayoassociationdublin.com/worldconvention.

3E, the global sustainable energy consultancy and software products company, is launching the first multi-technology, multi-vendor, multi-user portfolio management software platform for wind and solar energy. The platform, called 3E SynaptiQ, enables asset managers and developers to increase the performance of their renewable energy portfolios with centralised monitoring, lean O&M management tools, and powerful reporting tools.

Yield increases of between 2% and 5% are possible, thanks to 3E SynaptiQ’s continuous and independent benchmarking and data analysis tools. “We have been refining our models and data analysis methodologies for the past ten years and have now condensed our know-how into 3E SynaptiQ. The platform will provide the independent insight needed today for better operation of wind farms and solar parks,” says Geert Palmers, chief executive of 3E.

Since the launch of SynaptiQ Solar in 2010, several hundred large commercial PV plants are now connected throughout Europe.

The Government has announced new funding for renewable energy companies in Ireland. Funding will be made available through NER300, a financing instrument managed jointly by the European Commission, European Investment Bank and Member States of the European Union. It will assist eight carbon capture and storage and 34 renewable energy projects in the EU.

Single or joint ventures in areas such as bioenergy, solar energy, carbon capture and storage, geothermal, wind energy, hydro and ocean energy will be eligible to apply.

“This funding programme is evidence of the ambitious policy plans at European level, to move in a low carbon direction,” says Energy Minister Eamon Ryan. “The EU has set a target of 20% renewable energy in the next ten years – Ireland is and will continue to be, one of the main players in this project.”

In the first quarter of this year, one third of Irish start-up companies were in clean, green technologies. He continues: “We must seize upon this competitive advantage, and use it to our financial and environmental benefit. These monies would provide a huge boost for start-up and existing energy companies in Ireland and I encourage all eligible parties to submit their applications as soon as possible.”

Prior to being submitted to the European Commission, applications must be made to national authorities. In Ireland, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland is accepting applications at 01 8082100 or by emailing ner300@dcenr.gov.ie. The closing date for receipt of application is the 9th February 2011.

Marks & Spencer is launching a range of Solar PV and Solar Thermal water heating solutions in Britain to help customers cut their carbon emissions and reduce their energy bills. M&S is one of the first retailers to offer solar energy packages that enable customers to take advantage of Feed-in-Tariffs.

The tariffs allow Solar PV customers to earn money and a tax free return for every unit of electricity they generate over the next 25 years. M&S is offering two solar packages, Solar Thermal and Solar PV, which will both include the installation of roof mounted solar panels that will contribute to customers’ home energy needs.

The Solar Thermal works by collecting daylight energy to heat a customer’s water supply, for use throughout the day and night. Customers can choose from three different sized panel systems (from 2.05 sq m to 6.15 sq m), allowing users to save up to £85 a year on hot water heating bills, meeting up to 50% of an average household’s hot water requirement. Packages are available from £3,999.

The Solar PV works by collecting daylight energy and converting it into electricity for use within the home. With different sized panel systems on offer (from 10 sq m to 30 sq m), users will be able select the most appropriate solution to help reduce their energy bills by generating free renewable energy for their homes – with combined saving and earnings customers could be over £1000 a year better off. Packages are available from £7,999.

All M&S solar packages include a free assessment to determine the best solution for each home, and a full panel and system installation by an M&S approved installer accredited by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.