Month: August 2023

                 Firma Energy and ib vogt UK have teamed up to develop the 150MW Dean Moor solar project in West Cumbria, England. Proposals for the scheme, progressed under the banner Firma Vogt Solar, include an additional 100MW battery energy storage system. Scoping plans for the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project have been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate and public consultations are due to be held during the autumn.

               The site is proposed for construction between Gilgarran and Branthwaite and could produce enough power to supply more than 50,000 typical households annually, the developers state. Firma Vogt Solar director Rufus Salter said: “We are dedicated to shaping a greener future and supporting the UK’s mission to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. “We firmly believe that solar energy, a clean and renewable resource, should play a key role in addressing the current energy challenges faced by the UK. “Dean Moor Solar Farm exemplifies our commitment in action, as it is set to play a significant role in advancing these important goals, creating a positive impact for both the environment and the country’s energy landscape.”

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Unplash/Andres Siimon]

               The UK and Scottish governments must explain to the public why electricity network expansion is needed, industry body Scottish Renewables has said in a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and First Minister Humza Yousaf. In last week’s independent report on accelerating the deployment of the UK’s grid, the country’s electricity network commissioner Nick Winser highlighted government must work together on this campaign. Scottish Renewables supports the report’s recommendation, which urges both governments to work with industry to explain to the public why grid infrastructure is vital to cut bills, drive economic development and in the transition to net-zero.

               It is vital that information is communicated effectively to communities in areas where development is needed and community concerns must be facilitated through an efficient planning process, the industry body said in its letter. Scottish Renewables chief executive Claire Mack said: “Increasing the production of clean power from renewables like wind and solar is the best way to cut energy bills for everyone in society, as well as insulating ourselves from fluctuations in the price of dirty, imported gas. “Offshore wind development alone offers the greatest economic opportunity Scotland has seen in 50 years, as well as a future for those working in the oil and gas sector. Without grid, that opportunity will be lost. “Put simply, there will be no transition without transmission. “The renewable energy industry wants to be honest with the people of Scotland and the UK: a net-zero carbon future which delivers cheap, clean power, creates high-value green jobs and delivers transformative investment to local communities will look different. “Government has a duty to tell people affected by the development of a new electricity grid why that change is necessary – as well as reforming planning policy to ensure their views are heard in a proportional way. “Scottish Renewables stands ready to play our part in this once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

Credits: renews.biz [Image: SSE]

               The UK government has launched a £10m fund to help urban and rural communities develop local renewable energy projects. The Community Energy Fund will open to applications in the early autumn and the money will help to kickstart developments including small-scale wind farms and rooftop solar partnerships, as well as battery storage, rural heat networks, electric vehicle charging points, and fuel poverty alleviation schemes. All of the projects will be proposed, designed and owned by local people said the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). “Local communities are at the heart of our plans to boost our energy security and grow the economy.

               The Community Energy Fund for England will empower communities to do just that,” said Minister for Nuclear and Networks Andrew Bowie. “With it, they’ll be able to drive forward innovative energy projects that will have a lasting positive impact, bringing costs down, building stronger communities, and securing clean energy for generations to come. “Importantly, these energy projects could expand beyond local areas by attracting further investment from the private sector, in turn inspiring other communities to power their area with energy from England.” Whether in a remote village or city neighbourhood, it is hoped the developments will deliver families and business with affordable, secure and clean home-grown energy, while helping households manage their energy consumption to bring down costs and reduce fuel poverty. Promoting local growth, surplus money generated from the schemes can go directly back to the community through funding local projects such as community gardens and youth employment groups said DESNZ. The department added the fund will act as a catalyst for attracting private investment to scale up projects further down the line, supporting high-quality jobs and growth in the area.

               In turn, this will help deliver on the government’s ambitions to restore optimism and pride in local communities as we build a better future across the country. As with the Rural Community Energy Fund, the new fund will be delivered through Local Net Zero Hubs said DESNZ, which support local authorities to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment.

Credits: renews.biz [Image: MorgueFile]

               The UK government’s new Community Energy Fund has come under fire from Community Energy Scotland (CES), with the body urging London to rethink the decision. The £10m renewables fund, which is only available in England, was announced by Whitehall as an alternative to allowing amendments to the Energy Bill that would have allowed community energy schemes across the UK to sell their clean, renewable power to local people – and provide a guaranteed price for electricity.  Following CES’s initial support for the amendments, as well as providing extensive input on what this fund should look like if they were not to go through, the body has expressed its surprise and frustration both at the amendments being dropped and that the announced fund excludes Scotland. 

               CES has called on the government to commit to the inclusion of local energy trading through the Review of Electricity Markets Arrangements and to commit a portion of the Community Energy Fund to the devolved nations in order to ensure all communities across the UK can take advantage of the scheme.  “The argument from the UK government that this fund replaces the inclusion of the community energy amendments in the Energy Bill doesn’t hold up,” said CES chief executive Zoë Holliday.   “The proposed amendments in the Energy Bill would have had a positive impact for community energy groups across the UK, so it does not make any sense that any fund that is being launched instead of the amendments (or to act as a bridge until such time as regulations are improved for the better) applies only to England.  “The potential for community renewable energy to benefit local economies is continuing to be blocked by unfair regulations; local communities are prevented from selling energy that they produce to local people and in turn tackling fuel poverty; increasing local resilience; and investing locally in communities. “The impact of the Community Energy Fund will be trivial compared to the opportunities that communities could have had if these amendments went through.  “While we appreciate and commend the Scottish government’s consistent support for the CARES programme, any new additional funding in lieu of a UK wide change on legislation should be available to community groups across the UK, including our over 400 members in Scotland, either by allowing communities in Wales and Scotland to apply to the new Community Energy Fund or by allocating a certain proportion of this additional new money to be allocated to the devolved nations to distribute via their existing programmes.” 

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Pixabay]

               Cambridge Power has secured planning permission for a 60MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Yorkshire, England. Planning approval was granted by Leeds City Council under delegated powers. The Redcote Lane project is the developer’s tenth consecutive BESS project to secure planning permission in two years.

               The facility will be situated on a brownfield site adjacent to a major substation and supports the developer’s ESG strategy of seeking to revive former under-utilised industrial sites for sustainable, long-term energy infrastructure development. Once operational, it will provide reliable and sustainable energy storage capabilities to meet the growing demands of the region and support the transition to a low-carbon energy network. The project has also secured approval from Northern Power Grid (NPG) for a connection in Autumn 2024. “We are thrilled to celebrate this significant milestone for Cambridge Power with the approval of our tenth consecutive planning success in two years,” said Cambridge Power head of planning Neil Waterson. “This will help to play a pivotal role in transforming the energy landscape by providing reliable, sustainable, and efficient storage capabilities. “We are grateful for the support of all our consultants, including Johnson Mowat, Rossi Long, DRaW, Professional Consult and Futures Ecology in helping to achieve another positive outcome for Cambridge Power.”

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Cambridge Power]

               Specialists at DTEK Renewables have restored the Niko Solar power plant in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine. This is DTEK Renewables’ first such external project. It said 90% of the generating equipment of the Niko Solar SPP, which has capacity of 5.7MW, was damaged by Russian shelling. DTEK Renewables has acquired unique expertise in restoring RES facilities that have been damaged or destroyed by military operations after fixing its own solar projects, the company said.

               In October 2022, after Ukraine took back part of the southern territories from Russia, DTEK restored operations at the partially damaged Trifonivskaya solar plant in a few weeks and later repaired it to 100% capacity. DTEK Renewables chief executive Oleksandr Selishchev said: “Green energy is the key to Ukraine’s energy security. “Therefore, we did not hesitate to join the restoration of our colleagues’ solar plant so that the region would once again have such important megawatts of distributed generation. “We are also ready to help other companies so that people are sure of a reliable source of energy supply next winter.”

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Science in HD/Unplash]

               Italian renewable energy developer GreenGo has secured equity bridge financing of up to €15m from Eiffel Essentiel, the private equity fund of Eiffel Investment Group.

               The financing will be used to develop a 40MW portfolio ready-to-build projects and the potential acquisitions of other renewables companies. It will also fund the expansion and consequent increase of GreenGo’s power capacity from 1.7GW to more than 2.3GW by the end of 2024 across Northern Italy. The WFW Italy Energy team that advised GreenGo was led by Italy Head Eugenio Tranchino and Counsel Matteo Trabacchin, supported by Associate Dario Matrecano on finance matters and Associates Giovanni Benedetto and Sonia Basso on the corporate aspects on the transaction. Eiffel was assisted by Squire Patton Boggs.

Credits: renews.biz [Image: GreenGo Energy]

               Gore Street Energy Storage Fund has selected EDF to optimise a new 80MW battery asset in Milton Keynes in England. The energisation process for the Stony battery energy storage system (BESS) began on 31 July 2023. Deployment of this asset is part of a pipeline of new projects that will take Gore Street Energy Storage Fund’s operational energy storage portfolio to in excess of 370MW. As per the agreement EDF will optimise the Stony BESS through its Powershift platform, providing access to a variety of revenue streams including the Balancing Mechanism, wholesale optimisation and ancillary services, alongside making use of EDF’s trading expertise.

               This is the third contract Gore Street Energy Storage Fund has awarded EDF, which already manages the trading and optimisation for both the 20MW Lascar and 20MW Hulley BESS assets. EDF has more than 950MW of battery optimisation contracts signed. Stuart Fenner, Director of Wholesale Market Service Commercial at EDF, said: “We are very pleased that Gore Street Energy Storage Fund has once again chosen EDF as its trading and optimisation partner and we are committed to continuing to strengthen our relationship into the future. “This partnership will provide essential flexibility to the energy system and reinforces EDF’s commitment to helping Britain achieve net zero.” Alicja Kowalewska-Montfort, Technical Principal at Gore Street Capital, the investment manager of Gore Street Energy Storage Fund, said: “EDF has a strong track record with two of our existing assets, making the agreement to take on Stony a natural progression based on consistently good performance. “Its commercial offer represented best value for Gore Street Energy Storage Fund, and we look forward to building on our joint success with the fund’s biggest GB asset to date.”

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Gore Street]

               Voltalia has been selected by Power Capital Renewable Energy, an independent power producer based in Ireland, to build, operate and maintain four solar projects in the south-east of the country with a total capacity of 230MW. Lysaghtstown in County Cork will have a capacity of 131MW, Tullabeg in County Wexford will have a capacity of 83.9MW, while Painestown in County Meath and Beaulieu in County Louth will have capacities of 9.3MW and 6.6MW respectively.

               All four projects are under construction, with the smaller sites to be completed in 2023 and the larger ones in 2024. All four solar plants will sell their electricity via long-term contracts in the technology sector. After their completion, Voltalia will carry out operations and maintenance services on behalf of Power Capital for a period of 15 years. Power Capital Renewable Energy, Voltalia and their subcontractors will employ up to 400 people on site. These local teams are supported by Voltalia’s offices in Portugal, where Voltalia has established a Global Solar Hub, supporting clients around the world.

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Voltalia]

               BSR Energy has challenged the decision by the Welsh Minister not to grant planning consent to its 75MW Rush Wall Solar Park project in south Wales. The Minister’s decision was announced in June 2023, despite the project having been recommended for approval in the Inspector’s Report, BSR said. A spokesperson for BSR Energy said: “Although we were disappointed by the Welsh Minister’s decision on the proposed Rush Wall Solar Park, we were encouraged by the Inspector’s Report, which highlighted the significant benefits the scheme would deliver. “Our site selection process was robust and followed planning policy.

               “We looked at a wide range of factors in selecting a site, such as the location of electrical connections, environmental and planning designations, existing land use, agricultural land classification, visual impact, topography, and cumulative impacts. “The project’s ability to connect to the UK’s national electricity grid is the most significant benefit of the site. “The Rush Wall site is part of an SSSI designation, and a full environmental statement was produced highlighting a range of natural protections and betterments the development will secure. Detailed assessments were undertaken by our environmental consultants, which led to a scheme design that is sensitive towards and compatible with the local landscape and environment.” BSR Energy submitted its application for planning consent to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales in March 2022. The application was for the development of ancillary electrical equipment and infrastructure, access tracks, security fencing and CCTV. The operational lifespan of the project would be 35 years. Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is a key priority for BSR Energy on all its sites. The UK government is set to introduce a minimum target of 10% BNG for large developments such as solar parks from November 2023, but BSR Energy already goes a step beyond this to target a minimum 60% gain on its developments, the company said. 

Credits: renews.biz [Image: BSR Energy]