In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year government MPs rejected a moratorium on deep water drilling in the North Sea despite worrying admissions that an even worse disaster could occur. Oil companies drilling in the Shetland Islands region have admitted that current plans could cause a spill… » read more

Plans were announced this week to have electricity production coming from wave and tidal power within the next 3 years. The project, which is known as FlanSea, will receive an investment of €2.4 million from the Flemish agency for Science and Technology Innovation (IWT). The project proposes the development of a wave energy convertor suitable… » read more

The WWF environmental group are demanding the definitive implementation of renewable energies in Spain by 2020 so that 50% of the energy consumed in the country and 80% of electricity come from renewable sources. Entitled “Renewable Energy in Spain 2020: barriers and possible solutions”, WWF has submitted a report which aims to achieve 80% green… » read more

The wind turbine market is blooming in the North Sea and the projects are multiplying, but still not in France. Professionals in the offshore wind should be fixed “before Christmas”, according to the Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, referring to the tender for 3,000 MW all along the French coast. Despite a favourable natural environment –… » read more

An interministerial meeting was held Thursday in order to redefine the tariffs for solar electricity. The industry is calling for a negotiation. This meeting was about the future of photovoltaic energy with the following problem: how to ensure the development of green energy without blowing the funding that supports it. Professionals in the industry have… » read more

The German union has called on the government to cut the aid given to actors in the solar industry. The group has asked the German Minister for Environment, Mr. Röttgen, to reduce state subsidies to solar power and photovoltaics. According to the Financial Times, this information was mentioned in an internal letter. In 2010 the… » read more

RAG and RWE intend to co-develop an integrated wind and pumped storage hydro energy project at RAG’s coal slagheap site in North Rhine Westphalia, the two German energy companies said in a statement on Tuesday. The pilot project proposed at RAG’s waste dump site near Hamm should be completed by 2014. The pumped-storage power plant… » read more

The renewable energy consultancy group, 3E, has warned the Flemish government against proposed cutbacks of green electricity subsidies for solar energy. Managing Director, Geert Palmers, has expressed his concerns that the decision to reduce subsidies for solar energy of PV (Photo Voltaic) may stall the industry. According to 3E’s analysis, the first large PV projects… » read more

A few weeks before the Cancun summit, expectations are more than moderate on a possible international agreement on climate. At the same time, government policies to support renewable energies are severely challenged in several European countries and have lost their attractiveness to investors since the second half of 2008. Despite this context, renewable energies will… » read more

On Tuesday, the operators of Germany’s first offshore wind farm urged the German government to increase incentives to expand the generation of renewable power at sea. Utilities Eon, EWE and Vattenfall made a statement calling on Berlin to improve the financial and regulatory framework so that more offshore wind farms can be launched in Germany.… » read more

Liverpool is set to benefit from a £15bn investment in offshore wind power. A report by the global consulting engineers Arup has revealed there are big opportunities for jobs in the next phase of development which will see a wind farm twice the size of the Isle of Man built in the Irish Sea. The… » read more

Festival founder Michael Eavis has installed the largest photovoltaic electricity generating system in the UK at Glastonbury. It has been built on private land at Worthy Farm on the Glastonbury Festival site. The plant will generate enough electricity to meet 80% of the farm’s electricity demand, equivalent to 40 households and will save around 100… » read more

Engineers working on the solar panel market or in the other sectors of the renewable energy industry now have gathered into a network. The network will allow them to meet, discuss of industry challenges and reflect on the next steps of their sector regularly. The Welsh Microgen Network was inaugurated by Environment Minister Jane Davidson,… » read more

The Wind Energy Association (ESA) has urged the Ministry of Industry to comply with the agreement reached with the wind industry last July to eliminate the regulatory uncertainty hanging over the industry. Following a meeting yesterday with representatives of associations of different wind regions, the ESA found that there was uncertainty in the sector and… » read more

General Electric introduced a one-megawatt (MW) solar inverter at Solar Power International 2010 on October 18th 2010. The new product, based on the proven power converter technology, is the largest in GE’s portfolio, making it suitable for applications worldwide. Read the full article (in German): http://bit.ly/aUvxCB

The Swedish minister of defense has signed an agreement with Hanöbukten Offshore AB, which will allow for the construction of two new offshore wind parks in Kristianstad and Sölverborg. Following this agreement, the only wind installations still restricted by the Swedish defense department are those around military airports. Find more information (in Swedish) at http://bit.ly/dkCjTH

The Swedish government put in place an annual follow up of the permission process for the construction of wind turbines. According to the Swedish organization for wind power, the three main obstacles are: The veto of the municipalities, the decisions of the defense department (area around military airports are off limits) and new taxes concerning… » read more

In a recent survey by the French northern newspaper, La Voix du Nord, 70% of people living along the river Sambre, which runs through Wallonia, Southern Belgium, aswell as Northern France, have expressed their support for the development of wind farms. Their enthusiasm comes from their belief that these wind projects are compatible with their… » read more

The Subcommittee of the Spanish House of Representatives analysis on an energy strategy for the next 25 years is expected to be completed before the deadline of November 18 in order to close a consensus document among all parliamentary groups on the policy directives and the “mix” article which will be submitted to a vote… » read more