Renew On Line (UK) 26

2. Solar Budget Boost

The March Budget included the long sought after reduction of VAT (from 17.5% to 5%) on energy conservation materials, including solar equipment for residential buildings - PV panels as well as solar heat collectors. So solar just got 12.5% cheaper, although, due to EC VAT rules, this won’t apply to d-i-y solar. ...MORE

3. Net Loss

During the committee stages of the parliamentary debate over the Utility Bill, there was an attempt by the Liberal Democrats and by Brian White, Labour MP for Milton Keynes NE, to introduce separate but basically similar amendments designed to allow for 'net metering' - so that electricity consumers who can generate power themselves (e.g from a photovoltiac solar unit on their roof) could get reasonable payment for selling it to the grid. This would also help micro-CHP and maybe also small wind projects. At present small decentralised 'locally embedded' generators like this may only get as little as 2p/kWh for any excess power they produce, while they have to pay up to 7p/kWh for power bought in. The idea is that there should be a standard charge for the net energy flow- either in or out ...MORE

5. Blyth 4MW Offshore Wind

Two of the world's most powerful wind turbines are to be built off the Northumberland coast by a consortium comprising Border Wind, Powergen Renewables, Nuon UK and Shell Renewables for the UK's first offshore wind project. Blyth Offshore wind farm will be built during the middle of this year ...MORE

4. Green Power Going Cheap

Launching the new DTI report on renewables, Energy Minister Helen Liddell talked of developing 'lean and mean' power- and it certainly looks like cheap green power could be the way forward for the green power retail market...MORE

6. CREA on the DTI renewables report

The Government policy of requiring electricity companies to buy 10% of their electricity from renewables by 2010 was welcomed by the Confederation of Renewable Energy Associations. ‘The target of 10% of UK electricity from renewables by 2010 is greatly welcomed,’ said David Fitzherbert CREA Chairman ...MORE

7. SRC Support

As we mentioned in Renew 124, the Government has proposed a new scheme to support Energy Crops (SRC and Miscanthus). The programme, which is part of a wider package of measure for rural development, is planned to run within England, with a potential expenditure of £30m, up to 2006/07. ...MORE

8. UK Policy on Climate Change Confirmed

Despite media speculation that the government was about to abandon its manifesto pledge and dump the 20% reduction target for carbon dioxide emissions, in March the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions published a new draft consultative policy document on Climate Change...MORE

9. International Clean Energy Initiative

With the US presidential elections coming up this autumn and his term of office coming to an end, President Clinton seems keen to make one last bid to get some progressive energy policies through the republican deadlock. So he is proposing a Clean Energy for the 21st Century: International Initiative./.MORE

10. Global Warming is Real

The warming trend in average global surface temperatures over the past two decades ''is undoubtedly real and is substantially greater than the average rate of warming during the 20th century,'' according to an 11-member panel of the US National Academy of Sciences...MORE

11. Climate Change: COP-6 doubts

The next round of the UN Climate Change negotiations- COP-6, the sixth meeting of the 'conference of parties' to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change- is to be held in the Netherlands in November. At COP-5 in Bonn last year, there was much stress put on the hope that COP-6 would mark the final stage of agreement on the details of the protocol set out at the 1997 Kyoto conference in time for the World 'Rio plus ten' Eco-summit scheduled for 2002. However there are growing doubts as to whether COP-6 will succeed in resolving the key issues ...MORE

12. Solar Booms - but not in the UK

Japan's photovoltaic manufacturers expanded production by 63% last year. The list of Japanese firms manufacturing PV reads like a roll-call of those that have successfully established themselves as UK household names: Canon, Sanyo and Sharp. Moreover, joint output from these three companies overtook the top producer, Kyocera....MORE

13. Levy favours Gas?

When Labour took power, it slapped a moritorium on new Combined Cycle Gas Turbines, to slow the ‘dash for gas’ and avoid the UK becoming totally reliant on one fuel source- which was sensible, but could also be read as a defensive move to protect coal...MORE

14. Nuclear Won't Go Away

15. In the Rest of Renew 125

Renew 125 reports briefly on NATTA’s very successful national conference on Local Renewables – which is also covered in detail in a 47 page Conference Report (available from NATTA for £10). At the other end of the size scale, Renew 125 looks at some of the larger renewable options emerging- offshore wind, wave and tidal stream power. But there’s also a critique of large scale hydro. In addition, Renew 125 looks in detail at the new DTI report on Renewables and reactions to it, and reviews the recent wood fuel conference. There’s also all the usual Groups, Reviews and Forum material- including a spirited critique of the prospects for UK renewables by Walter Watson.