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Category: Government

Tidal Energy receives GBP 1.4 milion for DeltaStream technology

July 31st, 2010 | Posted in Hydro | No Comments

Tidal Energy announced the company will receive funding from the GBP 1.4 million funding boost received from the EU, to continue development of the DeltaStream technology for harnessing the energy of tidal currents. Tidal Energy will be doing an assessment study to determine whether the waters off the coast of West Wales offer good conditions for tidal stream testing.

The study will be backed by GBP 572,000 of funding from the European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh government. Tidal Energy will be performing surveys, assessments and design work at the proposed test site at Ramsey Sound, Pembrokeshire. The project will last for 12 months, during which the project will provide a sustainable source of electricity to the local population. A full scale prototype is expected to be the result of the funding, sometime in 2011.

The demo device will have 1.2 MW of power generating capacity, and will be placed on the seabed in Ramsey Sound. DeltaStream technology allows easy device installation, servicing, and requires no special preparation before installation.

[source: Tidal Energy]

Greece investing EUR 12 billion in clean technologies and jobs

July 29th, 2010 | Posted in General | Comments (1)

Greece will be facing a huge economic challenge in 2012, when the EUR 110 billio bailout loan from the EU and IMF is to expire. The country needs to create a growing economy and employment opportunities if it is to be able to start paying off debts.

China to invest about USD 737 billion in new ten year energy strategy

July 28th, 2010 | Posted in General | No Comments

Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) has announced recently the new ten-year energy investment strategy plan, which involves investments totalling about 5 trillion Yuan (about USD 737 billion). The new plan, covering the period between 2011-2020, puts forward some major policy measures for further development of various energy sources, including nuclear, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, unconventional natural gas and other new energy technologies. Apart from clean energy, the new strategy also involves further development of clean coal technologies. Additionally, the country is planning to adopt smart grid technology on a large scale, as well as distributed energy generation and electric vehicle technologies.

Currently, China relies heavily on coal burning power plants for producing electricity, although it is also one of the largest hydropower producers in the world. The country's growing demand for energy, caused by the fast growing economy, dictates an increase in power generation, but also demands the introduction of clean energy technologies in order to reduce the high levels of pollution.

Iberdrola Renovables receives USD 170 million in grant from US government

July 26th, 2010 | Posted in Wind | No Comments

Iberdrola Renovables announced the company has received USD 170 million in stimulus funding through a grant from the US government, for the start-up of the Cayuga Ridge wind farm project. This is the largest single amount ever awarded as a grant to a company for the development of a renewable energy project in the US.

To date, Iberdrola Renovables has received a total of USD 867 million as an incentive, as part of the US government's stimulus package for renewable energies as encouragement for companies to invest in the country.

Cayuga Ridge wind farm has 300 MW of installed capacity, and is located in Illinois, south of Chicago. The company has secured a 20-year PPA with the Tennessee Valley Authority, whereby all the power produced will be sold to the utility for the duration of the PPA. The PPA was signed back in January this year.

[source: Iberdrola Renovables]

Wave and tidal energy companies in UK receiving GBP 7 million in funding

July 26th, 2010 | Posted in Hydro | No Comments

UK wave and tidal energy developers have been awarded GBP 7 million in funding in order to boost their technology development efforts, and contribute to the development of this renewable energy sector in the UK, InnovateUK announced. More than 35 British businesses and universities have been included in this funding award, allocated through a research and development funding competition.

Harnessing photosynthesis – sunlight to fuel

July 23rd, 2010 | Posted in General | No Comments

US Department of Energy is awarding USD 122 million in funding to a multidisciplinary team whose project is to form an energy innovation hub and achieve breakthrough innovations in energy production. The team will be comprised of top scientists, working on developing new technologies for harnessing solar energy by converting sunlight directly into fuel.

The team will be housed under the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), led by the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech), in a partnership with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The center will bring together leading scientific minds to work on simulating the natural photosynthetic energy conversion process for practical purposes. The ultimate goal of the innovation hub is to develop an integrated solar energy-to-chemical fuel conversion system, and then advance this system to commercial scale application. In order for JCAP to achieve this, several technologies will need to be developed including light absorbers, catalysts, molecular linkers, and separation membranes.

The funding for the project will be issued in phases, the first being a USD 22 million tranche this year, with USD 25 million each of the next four years.

[source: US Department of Energy]

Romania passes new wind regulation – improves market conditions for new projects

July 15th, 2010 | Posted in Wind | No Comments

Romania has passed new wind regulation legislation, increasing mandatory quotas for electricity from renewables, extending the deadline for collecting two green certificates to 2017 (previously 2015), and reaffirming the current green certificate floor and ceiling prices per MWh of electrical energy (EUR 27/MWh and EUR 55/MWh).

A few major companies are involved in renewable energy development in Romania, such as EDP Renovaveis, which is developing a total of 228 MW of wind capacity, with another 613 MW of projects in different stages of development.

Most of the country's wind energy potential is located near Romania's shores at the Baltic Sea.

[source: EDP]

US DoE financing research projects for clean energy with USD 92 million

July 15th, 2010 | Posted in General | No Comments

The US Department of Energy announced it has awarded USD 92 in funding for research projects that will contribute to innovation in clean energy technologies, as well as create new jobs and help increase America's competitiveness in the global clean energy market.

Egypt building a 100 MW solar power plant

July 13th, 2010 | Posted in Solar | No Comments

The Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Energy announced plans to build a 100 MW solar power plant in the country. The investment involved with this project is estimated at about USD 700 million, and the time frame for the completion has been set to be sometime between 2012 and 2017. Egypt has high hopes to establish itself as one of the leading developers of utility-scale solar power plants. Additionally, the country has set a clean energy goal of achieving 20% renewables by 2020.

The new project will be located at Kom Ombo, near the existing Aswan High Dam. Financing for the project will come from various source, international institutions, including the African Development Fund, and the World Bank. More funding will come from UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which is a program designed for providing carbon offsetting for energy generation throughout the world. The technology to be used will be concentrated solar power (CSP), most likely using parabolic trough installations. CSP is the most effective solar energy harnessing technology for regions with extreme exposure to sunlight, such as North Africa.

Egypt is in the process of completing its first solar power plant, the 20 MW El-Korayamat, located just south of the capital Cairo. The new 100 MW power plant will be the second, and also largest solar power project in the country, but also in the surrounding parts of the region.

In order to achieve the 20% by 2020 goal, the Egyptian government will need to find a way to install at least 1 GW of solar, and an estimated 7.2 GW of wind energy capacity in the country. There are wind energy projects already under way in the country, such as the Zafarana with a planned total of 545 MW of capacity, with more planned for the future, but all this capacity together is still far from the 8 GW needed. Additionally, the country is a significant participant in the DESERTEC initiative, which is a very large scale solar power generation integration project, to cover the whole MENA region, from Morocco to the United Arab Emirates.

[via: BusinessGreen]

Argentina awards 895 MW of renewable energy concessions

July 13th, 2010 | Posted in General | No Comments

Argentina has concluded the public offer for renewable energy capacity by awarding 895 MW (of the planned 1000 MW) to 21 companies, spread out over 32 projects (of the 51 submitted in total), under its program called GENREN. The projects include wind, solar and biomass renewable energy power plants, and were considered and awarded by the Argentine state-managed company Enarsa (Energía Argentina SA). These awards are the results of the bidding process initially started in May 2010.

Of the total capacity awarded, most has been awarded for wind energy projects (17 projects) with 754 MW, while the remaining 15 were awarded for solar PV (6 projects, 20 MW), small hydro (5 projects, 10.6 MW) and biofuels (4 projects, 110.4 MW). Project locations are spread out all over the country, both on the eastern coastal areas, and in the mountainous western areas.

Enarsa further announced bidding for another 195 MW of renewable energy capacity, or more specifically, 120 MW for wind, 30 MW for geothermal, and 20 MW for biogas combustion power plants.

Enarsa's award result document outlines several benefits of this round of bidding, such as 7000 new jobs, promotion of clean energy in the country, and growth for local economies. The new capacity, once added, will contribute to a more diversified power supply in Argentina.

See Enarsa's document for more detail on the awarded projects here.

[source: ENARSA]