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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015Volume 16 Issue 1

Proving groundsProving groundsExclusive coverage of the innovative solar Exclusive coverage of the innovative solar energy research and development under energy research and development under way at Rotem Industries in Israel p26way at Rotem Industries in Israel p26

PROJECTSPROJECTS

CESA Awards CESA Awards Part II Part IIClean energy group Clean energy group recognizes novel recognizes novel installations and green installations and green initiatives p42initiatives p42

INTERVIEWINTERVIEW

Banking on Banking on greengreenREFocus contributorREFocus contributor Katharine Earley Katharine Earley discusses investment discusses investment trends with Triodos trends with Triodos Bank executives p22Bank executives p22

WINDWIND

Spotlight on Spotlight on UK marketUK marketPolitical Parties Political Parties ponder the state of ponder the state of onshore wind onshore wind industry P18industry P18

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REF0115_cover 1REF0115_cover 1 17-02-2015 09:55:1017-02-2015 09:55:10

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Editorial

1JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | Renewable Energy Focus

The coverage is timely, given the upcoming elections and the impact that voters will have on a host of issues including renewable energy pro-grammes, incentives and private invest-ment. And with that much territory to cover, there is certainly no shortage of opinions to go around.

Take, for example, the perspec-tives of some of the leading renewable energy suppliers in the country. In the weeks following his interview with our own Andrew Mourant, Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, announced he is donating 250,000 to the Labour Partys election campaign (see page 20). As Vince explains it, the aim is to put Ecotricitys money where its heart is and thats the care of the environment.

But the move also re ects Vinces apparent disdain for the coalition government and how he says it sys-tematically undermines not just the renewable energy industry in Britain, but the whole green economy. Vince also calls out various Party leaders, and Government offi cials in particular, for not doing enough to advance renew-ables cause in the UK.

One of the biggest deceits of this Government was the claim that green energy support was at the root of high and rising energy bills the claim behind David Camerons infamous Lets cut the green crap quote, Vince stated. The truth is, that despite the recent price cuts, energy bills almost doubled in the past ten years, mainly as a result of the rise in the global price of fossil fuels not support for green energy.

Others believe that the UK can indeed move forward on clean energy policy by implementing an aff ordable

transition to a low carbon energy system by 2050. But that will require critical action to be taken over the next decade not that far away in the grand scheme of things. This according to the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), which published a report that looks at the targets, technologies, infrastructure and investments needed to ensure a smooth and aff ordable low carbon transition out to 2050.

The Insights Report, written by Jo Coleman, ETIs director of strat-egy development and chief engineer Andrew Haslett, concludes that the UK can facilitate that transition by developing, commercialising and inte-grating technologies and solutions that are already known, but that might be underdeveloped. The report acknowl-edges that there is not one single technology answer, but rather a need to develop and prove capability across a complementary suite of technologies. The authors propose the immediate large-scale development focus should be on: replacing the UKs nuclear power stations; supporting energy effi ciency measures and generating energy from waste; and pursuing the enormous potential of carbon capture and stor-age and bioenergy (see UK bioenergy outlook on page 24).

Our analysis has shown that the UK can implement an aff ordable transition to a low carbon energy sys-tem over the next 35 years, Coleman stated. He gures the UK has 10 years (or the equivalent of two parliaments) to work through these decisions. But even he agrees that signi cant policy intervention will be needed to achieve the primary objectives.

UK renewables at a crossroads

THIS EDITION of REFocus puts the spotlight on the UK market from Andrew Mou-rants feature on the impact of politics on the onshore wind sector, to Katharine Earleys Q&A with Triodos Bank, and more...

PUBLISHER ANDEDITOR-AT-LARGEDavid Hopwood

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REF0115_Editorial 1REF0115_Editorial 1 17-02-2015 16:16:2317-02-2015 16:16:23

2 January/Februari 2015 | Renewable Energy Focus

01 Editorial 04 News Digest 12 News Analysis 48 Events

FACTFILE14 Update on mergers and

acquisitions in solar Newly released statistics from Mercom Capital Group bode well for the global solar energy indus-try. This sector drew interest from investors across the board, including downstream suppliers.

MARKET 16 Green ideas ow at

Ecobuild 2015 More than 44,000 sustainable built environment profession-als representing the sustainable design, construction and energy marketplace for new build, refurb, commercial and domestic build-ings are expected.

COMMENTARY 22 UK investment trends

REFocus contributor Katharine Earley speaks to Triodos Bank about investment trends, includ-ing crowd-funding, community-owned energy and on-site energy generation.

SOLAR 26 Innovative research

in the eld of CSP REFocus contributor David Apple-yard was recently invited by the Israeli Ministry of Economy to witness early stage CSP research and development. He came away with an exclusive report on the goings-on at Rotem Industrial Park in Negev.

FINANCE 38 Global clean energy

investment on the rise Investment in off shore wind in Europe and solar in China and the US helped to drive the 2014 global clean energy total up 16% to $310bn, says a newly released report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Online: renewableenergyfocus.comTrio of US Military bases partner with Department of Energy to train veterans for jobs in the solar industry On February 13, the rst class of Marine trainees at Camp Pendleton graduated from the Energy Departments solar job training pilot program. The initiative is aimed at pre-paring service members for careers in the solar industry as solar photovoltaic system installers, sales representatives, system inspectors and other solar-related opportu-nities. http://ow.ly/2RBXCN

Solar deal of the century? First Solar, Inc. has announced that Apple has committed $848 million for clean energy from First Solars California Flats Solar Proj-ect in Monterey County, Calif. Under the terms of the deal, Apple will receive elec-tricity from 130 MW of the solar project under a 25-year power purchase agree-ment. The deal, according to First Solar, represents the largest agreement to pro-vide clean energy to a commercial end user http://ow.ly/2RNTei

14

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CONTENTS RENEWABLE ENERGY FOCUS | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

REF0115_contents 2REF0115_contents 2 18-02-2015 08:16:4918-02-2015 08:16:49

3Januray/February 2015 | Renewable Energy Focus

Science Science Innovation Innovation Market Market

Connect with us

www.renewableenergyfocus.comwww.renewableenergyfocus.com

First published in 2001

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015Volume 16 Issue 1

Proving groundsProving groundsExclusive coverage of the innovative solar Exclusive coverage of the innovative solar energy research and development under energy research and development under way at Rotem Industries in Israel p26way at Rotem Industries in Israel p26

PROJECTSPROJECTS

CESA Awards CESA Awards Part II Part IIClean energy group Clean energy group recognizes novel recognizes novel installations and green installations and green initiatives p42initiatives p42

INTERVIEWINTERVIEW

Banking on Banking on greengreenREFocus contributorREFocus contributor Katharine Earley Katharine Earley discusses investment discusses investment trends with Triodos trends with Triodos Bank executives p22Bank executives p22

WINDWIND

Spotlight on Spotlight on UK marketUK marketPolitical Parties Political Parties ponder the state of ponder the state of onshore wind onshore wind industry P18industry P18

REF0115_cover 1 17-02-2015 09:55:10

FOCUS:COLUMNS18 Market Andrew Mourant exam-

ines the dynamics of the onshore wind sector in the UK

24 Market EBRI reveals its outlook

for bioenergy in Britain

32 Q&A Solar industry executives

ponder the critical issues in a roundtable discus-sion at SPI 2014.

40 Interview A sit-down with the longest

serving member of the International Solar Society

Cover credit:David Appleyard

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REF0115_contents 3REF0115_contents 3 18-02-2015 08:16:5318-02-2015 08:16:53

4 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | Renewable Energy Focus

NewsDigest

Naamloos-2 2

DECC funds UK- rst renewable heat network research

THE DEPARTMENT of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is backing a demon-

stration project that seeks to show how solar thermal panels and heat pumps can replace or work alongside the existing gas- red district heating scheme.

A low carbon heating project led by E.ON working with the University of Exeter and technology provid-ers SK Solar and Star Renewable Energy has been awarded a Govern-ment research grant to carry out the feasibility work to create a UK- rst community-wide energy scheme based on emissions-free renewable energy sources.

The combined heat and power project, to be funded by the DECC, is based at E.ONs energy centre in Cranbrook to the east of Exeter. It will seek to demonstrate how solar thermal panels and heat pumps can replace or work in conjunction with the existing gas- red district heating scheme to provide a lower cost and signi cantly lower carbon heating and hot water source.

If initial work and tests are suc-cessful, this will lead to the construc-tion and testing of the system over a range of live operational scenarios to learn as much as possible about this innovative design.

Were delighted this innovative research has got the go ahead and are looking forward to working with part-ners in the project which builds of the Centre of Energy and Environments long-term links with district heating at Cranbrook and our renewable energy expertise in Cornwall, said professor Chris Smith, University of Exeters Engineering Director of Research.

How it works: The existing district heating scheme provides a central source of heat and hot water from the energy centre, which is then sup-plied to homes in Cranbrook and the nearby Skypark commercial complex through a network of super-insulated underground pipes. It will supply the

3,500 new homes in Cranbrook as well as 1.4 million sq ft of industrial space at Skypark. The project will see the installation of approximately 2,000 sq m solar thermal array on land next to the energy centre as well as a high-temperature (>80C) heat pump.

Furthermore, the ground-mounted panels will collect solar heat to supply the heat pump which will increase the water temperature ready for use in the heating system. Hot water not needed immediately can be stored in a dedicated thermal storage tank which will be installed alongside existing equipment attached to the district heating system.

District heating schemes such as Cranbrook are lower carbon by their very design, and we often see carbon savings of around a quarter compared to traditional home heating such as gas boilers, Jeremy Bungey, head of community energy at E.ON, explained. By migrating the en-ergy source from gas- red combined heat and power plants to renewable

energy sources, we believe we could see a further signi cant reduction in carbon emissions and still maintain secure and reliable supplies to our customers.

Some infrastructure for the com-bined heat and power demonstration project is already in place, as the Cranbrook energy centre is already tted with rooftop solar panels. The project will seek to incorporate the electricity generated by those panels and use it to power the heat pump, which will provide another low or zero carbon energy source to replace mains power.

Phase one of the combined heat and power project will create a de-tailed design of the integrated system and an assessment of possible energy performance, carbon savings and cost effi ciency. If successful, the second phase will entail the installation and integration of all the technologies ahead of a full 12-month trial to test the system across diff erent seasons and weather patterns.

As E.ONs Bungey explained: This is a demonstration project at this stage, but if it proves successful, the integrated technology we are pioneer-ing here could be replicated in exist-ing and new district heating schemes right across the country and would make a signi cant contribution to easing the impact on the environment which comes from domestic heating. Last spring DECC launched the new Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (d-RHI) scheme, which pays households for the heating and/or hot water they supply themselves with new renewable heating systems. It is designed to make renewable home heating such as solar hot water, wood fuel heating and heat pumps aff ordable for the UKs three million homes off the gas grid. (On-grid homes are also eligible for the scheme.) The Renewable Energy Association and the affi liated Solar Trade Association worked closely with DECC on the detail of the scheme.

E.ONs energy centre in Cranbrook, east of Exeter.

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News Digest | Full news service at http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com

Centre for Process Innovation kicks off bioenergy project

THE UK-BASED Centre for Process Innovation is under-taking a three-year collab-

orative project. The goal is develop methods and technologies to trans-form food waste into a sustainable source of signi cant economic added value, namely graphene and renew-able hydrogen. The project, titled PlasCarb, seeks to transform biogas generated by the anaerobic digestion of food waste using an innovative low energy microwave plasma process to split biogas (methane and carbon dioxide) into high value graphitic car-bon and renewable hydrogen.

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), the coordinator of the project, is responsible for the technical as-pects in the separation of biogas into methane and carbon dioxide, as well as separation of the graphitic carbon produced from the renewable hydro-gen. The infrastructure at CPI allows for the microwave plasma process to be trialled and optimised at pilot pro-duction scale, with a future technol-ogy roadmap devised for commercial scale manufacturing.

PlasCarb will provide an

innovative solution to the problems associated with food waste, which is one of the biggest challenges that the European Union faces in the strive towards a low carbon economy, said Dr Keith Robson, director of formu-lation and exible manufacturing at the Centre for Process Innovation. The project will not only seek to reduce food waste but also use new technological methods to turn it into renewable energy resources which themselves are of economic value, and all within a sustainable manner.

PlasCarb will utilise quality re-search and specialist industrial process engineering to optimise the quality and economic value of the graphene and hy-drogen, further enhancing the sustain-ability of the process life cycle. (Graph-itic carbon has been identi ed as one of Europes economically critical raw materials and of strategic performance in the development of future emerg-ing technologies. The global market for graphite, either mined or synthetic, is worth over 10 billion per annum.)

The latter stages of the project will be dedicated to the market uptake of the PlasCarb process and the output

products, through the development of an economically sustainable business strategy, a nancial risk assessment of the project results and a exible nancial model that is able to act as a primary screen of economic viability. Based on this, an economic analysis of the process will be determined. Through the development of a decen-tralised business model for widespread trans-European implementation, the valorisation of food waste will have the potential to be undertaken for the ben-e t of local economies and employment. More speci cally, three interrelated post project exploitation markets have been de ned: food waste management, high value graphite and RH2 sales.

PlasCarb is a three-year collaborative project, co-funded under the European Unions Seventh Framework Pro-gramme (FP7) and will further rein-force Europes leading position in envi-ronmental technologies and innovation in high value carbon. The consortium is composed of eight partners led by CPI from ve European countries, whose complementary research and indus-trial expertise will enable the required results to be successfully delivered.

Vestas, First Reserve team up on 298MW wind farm

VESTAS HAS received from First Reserve an order for 149 V100-2.0 MW turbines to be

installed at the 298 MW King sher Wind project in Oklahoma. Under the terms of the deal, First Reserve will acquire the construction-ready 298-MW King sher Wind power genera-tion project from Apex Clean Energy.

When complete, King sher is expected to be one of the two largest single-phase wind projects in Oklahoma.

We are excited to secure our rst agreement with First Reserve for the King sher project, said Chris Brown, president of Vestas sales and service division in the US and Canada. The participation by a diversi ed energy

investor such as First Reserve is a sign that our industry is evolving.

Mark Florian, managing director and head of infrastructure funds for First Reserve, said King sher Wind represents the opportunity to diver-sify the portfolio of the companys energy infrastructure program with experienced and reliable counterpar-ties such as Vestas.

Apex Clean Energy, which devel-oped the King sher Wind project, will manage construction and serve as as-set manager during facility operation. Previously, Vestas supplied 49 V100-2.0 MW turbines to Apex for the Hoopes-ton Wind project in Illinois, which was subsequently acquired by IKEA.

This transaction highlights Apexs broad capabilities to deliver turn-key clean energy solutions for our nan-cial partners, said president Mark Goodwin. Apex is excited to continue its involvement in managing all as-pects of King sher Wind, from devel-opment through asset management.

The projects wind turbine order comprises supply and commissioning as well as a 10-year Active Output Management (AOM 5000) service agreement. AOM 5000 includes an energy-based availability guarantee ensuring that turbines are operational when the wind is blowing.

The King sher Wind Power project is scheduled to be completed in 2015.




SKF launches new wind turbine quality standard

DNV GL selected to conduct an electricity effi ciency study for the Saudi Arabian market

DNV GL has been selected by the government of Saudi Arabia to conduct an energy

effi ciency study. Under the terms of the deal, DNV GL will develop a study to assess electricity end-use effi ciency which will enable the country to forecast future electricity consump-tion trends and develop appropriate planning methodologies.

Driven by economic, industrial, commercial and population growth, the electricity demand of the King-dom of Saudi Arabia has more than doubled since 2000 and is anticipated to continue increasing rapidly, at an average rate of more than 8% per year for the next ten years. The surge in electricity consumption is prompting Saudi Arabia to pursue a number of supply- and demand-side options. Among these options, energy

effi ciency off ers signi cant poten-tial to cost eff ectively off set demand growth.

To get the most out of its energy effi ciency investments, Saudi Arabia needs to understand how electricity is being used by consumers in residential and non-residential sectors. To that end, the Saudi Electricity Co-Gener-ation Regulatory Authority (ECRA) and the Saudi Electric Company (SEC) engaged DNV GL to develop a program to understand and classify how electricity is consumed within the Kingdom.

In a USD 2.5 million project that will be executed over the next 20 months, DNV GL will be working closely with ECRA, SEC and vari-ous stakeholders to develop a com-prehensive understanding of power consumption patterns and trends

across the Kingdom. The research team will collect data on the stock of appliances and end uses within each customer sector, including hourly data on customers demand for energy both at the customer whole-facility level and most importantly, at the end-use level. This information will be used by ECRA, SEC and other Saudi government agencies to forecast future trends and develop appropriate planning methodologies.

DNV GL is very excited to bring in our global energy expertise into this world-class project, and we commend ECRA and SEC for taking this bold step to better understand the energy use of their customers and to unveil the potential of energy effi -ciency in the region, said Mohammed Atif, DNV GLs regional manager Middle East for energy.

SKF HAS implemented a new quality standard for wind turbine manufacturer. The

move designed to help wind turbine manufacturers as well as wind farm operators improve turbine effi ciency and availability.

SKFs wind industry quality stand-ard (WIQS) is being touted as a major step forward in standardising engi-neering, manufacturing and quality assurance processes for wind turbines, sub-systems and components. Accord-ing to SKF, the WIQS takes an innova-tive approach, bringing together estab-lished practices and standards from a number of diff erent disciplines. These include APQP and Engineering Change Management, which are combined with SKFs industrial engineering experi-ence, gained in sectors ranging from aerospace, automotive and rail, to traditional and renewable energy.

Bernd Stephan, director, SKF Renewable Energy Business Unit, believes the new standard will ensure consistency and full traceability throughout the entire value chain, delivering even greater reliability, controlled maintenance and optimised life cycle cost effi ciency. The wind energy sector is developing rapidly, he explained. To optimise produc-tivity and pro tability, it is essential that turbine output and reliability are maximised. Our wind industry quality standard plays a vital role in help-ing customers meet these needs by de ning speci c engineering, manu-facturing and quality processes for bearings and other critical turbine components.

The SKF WIQS de nes six key areas:

Advanced quality planning Engineering change management

Traceability Non-destructive testing Cleanliness Visual appearance Together, these control compo-

nent quality at every stage of the production process. In the example of bearings, this starts with the initial steel melt and continues through manufacturing to nal sub-surface and surface inspection, packing and delivery. Every step is governed by techniques adapted from the APQP standard, covering factors such as product and process risk analysis, critical production stages and process validation.

SKF plans to implement the WIQS in phases between 2014 and 2016, in factories that produce wind turbine bearings. The rst bearings to be certi ed to the WIQS will be main shaft and gearbox bearings.




Frost & Sullivan releases global renewable energy forecast

NEW ANALYSIS from Frost & Sullivan predicts the global installed capacity of renew-

able energy will more than double from 1,566 GW in 2012 to reach 3,203 GW in 2025 at an average annual growth rate of 5.7 per cent.

Following are a few highlights from the report:

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technol-ogy is expected to account for 33.4 per cent of total renewable energy capacity additions over the 2012-2025 period. Wind follows closely at 32.7 per cent, ahead of hydro power at 25.3 per cent. Other renewable tech-nologies will represent the remaining 8.6 per cent of capacity additions. However, economic diffi culties in many parts of the world are aff ect-ing the outlook for renewable energy. In much of the Western world, the weak economic climate has impacted support schemes, which will continue to be the lifeline for many renewable energy installations until grid parity is achieved.

The decline in the cost of renewable energy due to technologi-cal innovation and scale economies achieved through mass deployment have enabled developing countries to adopt these technologies. In fact, global solar power capacity is due to increase from 93.7 GW in 2012 to 668.4 GW in 2025. However, while so-lar PV is undergoing a veritable boom, massive price falls in this technology have greatly weakened the growth prospects of the concentrated solar power (CSP) market, according to industry analysts.

Other predictions: The global capacity of hydro power will rise from 1,085 GW in 2012 to 1,498 GW in 2025, with China, Turkey, Brazil, Vietnam, India and Russia providing the bulk of that market growth. In the wind power market, off shore wind will witness lower-than-expected growth, as political support wanes in Europe. With small-scale wind turbines open-ing up new applications, global wind capacity will reach 814 GW in 2025

from its 2012 level of 279 GW. It is little wonder, then, that

renewable energy installations have seen a gradual shift in market power to emerging economies, said Harald Thaler, Frost & Sullivan energy & environmental Industry director. On account of urbanisation, population growth, energy security concerns, and strong economic development, regions such as Asia, Latin America, the Mid-dle East and Africa have increasingly been contributing to renewable energy capacity growth.

According to Frost and Sullivan, Europe will remain the leading region in the global bioenergy and waste segment even as future capacity expansion in the segment comes from Southeast Asia, Australasia, North America, Turkey, Iceland and Kenya. Beyond 2025, marine power technolo-gy will also be widely deployed as gov-ernment willingness to back emerging technologies increases, Thaler added.

The full report, Annual Renewable Energy Outlook 2014, is available online.

Gamesa enters Belgium market

GAMESA HAS signed a deal to deliver seven new G114-2.5 MW turbines at the Berloz

wind farm. The deal marks the com-panys entry into the Belgium market.

The Berloz wind farm, located in the eastern section of Belgium, is being jointly developed by EDF Luminus, a subsidiary of Frances power utility EDF, and Eneco Wind Belgium, a subsidiary of Dutch utility Eneco. When complete, the wind farm will have total installed capacity of 17.5 MW.

Under the terms of the agreement, Gamesa will supply, install and com-mission seven G114-2.5 MW turbines as well as service the facility for 15 years. The turbines are scheduled for delivery in August of this year.

The wind farm is expected to start generating by the end of 2015.

The Berloz wind farm marks Gamesas entry into Belgium.

The global capacity of hydro power is expected to rise more than 38% to 1,498 GW in 2025.




DoE supports fuel-effi ciency programs

THE US Department of Energy (DoE) has allocated $55 mil-lion to advance fuel-effi cient

vehicle technologies. The Funding will go towards a wide range of research, development, and demonstration projects that aim to reduce the price and improve the effi ciency of plug-in electric, alternative fuel and conven-tional vehicles.

Following the State of the Union Address on Tuesday, January 20, in which President Obama highlighted the surge in US manufacturing and the strong growth in the auto indus-try, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has announced more than $55 million to develop and deploy cutting-edge vehicle technologies that strengthen the clean energy economy.

These technologies will play a key role in increasing fuel effi ciency and reducing petroleum consumption, and support the Energy Departments EV Everywhere Grand Challenge to make plug-in electric vehicles as aff ordable to own and operate as todays gaso-line-powered vehicles by 2022.

The funding opportunity will go towards a wide range of research, de-velopment and demonstration projects that aim to reduce the price and

improve the effi ciency of plug-in elec-tric, alternative fuel and conventional vehicles. Target areas include:

Advanced batteries (including manufacturing processes) and electric drive R&DLightweight materials Advanced combustion engine and enabling technologies R&DFuel technologies (dedicated or dual-fuel natural gas engine technologies)Energy Department investments

in advanced vehicle technologies have had a major impact on the industry, driving down costs for consumers and reducing carbon emissions, Moniz said. These projects will continue Americas leadership in building safe, reliable, and effi cient vehicles to sup-port a strong, 21st century transporta-tion system.

In addition to the $55 million in funding, the Energy Department has announced up to $35 million to advance fuel cell and hydrogen tech-nologies, including enabling the early adoption of fuel cell applications, such as light duty fuel cell electric vehi-cles. This new funding opportunity announcement will be available this Spring.

Samsung, Pattern Energy partner on Canadian wind project

SAMSUNG, PATTERN Energy and Six Nations have com-pleted a wind energy project in

Ontario. The 149 MW Grand Renew-able wind project utilizes 67 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines with blades and towers made in Ontario.

Were proud to bring our proven technology to the Grand Renew-able Wind project and to continue to provide Ontario with jobs, economic growth and aff ordable and sustainable wind energy, said Jacob Andersen, head of wind power renewables, Sie-mens Canada Limited.

According to Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy, the commissioning

of the Grand Renewable Wind facility brings the number of Ontario facilities to two in operation, two in construc-tion and two in late-stage develop-ment, totaling 1,269 megawatts to be installed in the province by 2018. We are honored to be able to fur-ther expand our presence in Ontario through this partnership with the Six Nations, Garland said. We would like to thank the Six Nations and the community of Haldimand for their support.

The Grand Renewable Wind facil-ity has the capacity to produce clean power for approximately 50,000 On-tario homes each year.

Tamar Energy and EDF Energy collaborate

TAMAR ENERGY and EDF Energy recently signed an agreement for the development

of anaerobic digestion plants in the UK. The Long-term power purchase agreement expands Tamar Energys 11MW generation portfolio.

The long-term PPA covers Tamar Energys rst ve anaerobic digestion plants, at Basingstoke, Hants; Hol-beach, Lincs; Retford, Notts; Halstead, Essex and Hoddesdon, Herts. The PPA was signed with EDF Energy at the end of 2014.

Agreeing the power purchase agreement with EDF Energy, the UKs largest producer of low-carbon electricity, is a landmark commercial achievement for Tamar Energy, which has quickly grown to be the UKs largest anaerobic digestion company, said Willie Heller, Tamar Energys chief executive. Moreover, its an important achievement for the UKs anaerobic digestiion sector, proving the value of ADs base load generation in the market over the long term.

John Cockin, EDF Energys direc-tor of business services, said the PPA provides a exible way to sell energy into the market. Were delighted this innovative approach suits both parties and enables Tamar Energy to achieve nancial close for its power stations. Were pleased to be Tamar Energys long-term partner and to support the expanding anaerobic digestion market. (Tamar Energy was recog-nized as a nalist in the 2014 UK & AD Biogas Industry Awards program, during a conference in Birmingham last spring. The awards honour inno-vation and achievements of individual companies, while demonstrating the bene ts of anaerobic digestion and the ability of the technology to successful-ly integrate into a range of businesses and sectors, including utilities.)

The Basingstoke and Holbeach AD facilities started on the power pur-chase agreement terms in December; the other plants will follow this year.




Naamloos-19 2

Wind-integrating plant operational in Oregon

A NEW 220MW power plant supplied by Wrtsil is now operational in Oregon. The

Smart Power Generation plant is designed to balance wind and solar energy, as well as provide load-follow-ing and peaking services.

The 220 MW Port Westward Unit 2 power plant, supplied by Wrtsil for Portland General Electric (PGE), reached commercial operation near Clatskanie, Oregon, on December 30, 2014. The power station includes 12 Wrtsil 50SG engines, running on natural gas. With an output of 18 MW, the Wrtsil 50SG is the largest gas engine in the world, according to Wrtsil.

The plant is designed to balance wind and solar energy, as well as provide load-following and peaking services. With the growing amount of variable renewable power coming online, this type of exible resource is essential in helping us continue to provide reliable service to our cus-tomers in an increasingly complex environment, said Jim Piro, PGEs president and CEO.

Fast-reacting capacity is needed to balance sudden uctuations in the renewable energy supply in real-time. Wrtsils power plants have an ex-tensive track record of such operation in Kansas, Colorado and Texas. Smart Power Generation technology helps utilities reach their targets for renew-able energy. Agile generation not only supports, but enables more wind and solar power.

Port Westward Unit 2s advanced technology and unique con guration allows PGE to ramp the plant up to full load in less than 10 minutes, said Rick Tetzloff , Portland General Electrics project manager for the new plant. This exibility allows us to adjust quickly when renewable energy - like wind and solar - rise and fall with natu-ral variability. And it also means that on peak demand days, our customers bene t from increased reliability.

Glennmont acquires bioenergy projects

Smart Metering Awards announced

INNOVATORS IN the eld of smart metering were recognized during the 6th Annual Smart

Energy UK & Europe 2015 (formerly known as the Smart Metering UK & Europe Summit), held in the luxuri-ous ETC Venues at St. Pauls London. A total of 11 awards were doled out: 8 for solution providers and 3 for the utility companies.

The European Smart Metering Awards are an initiative of Oliver Kin-ross aimed at recognising the achieve-ments of solution providers and utili-ties. All award entries were assessed and judged upon by an independent panel of industry experts.

The winners, as chosen by 22 judges on the panel, are as follows:

Netatmo (Network & Communica- tions Award)

Chameleon Technology (Home Energy Monitor Award)Green Energy Options (GEO) Smart Metering Technology of the Year AwardSecure Meters (UK) Smart Meter Data Management & Solutions AwardE.ON (Smart Metering Service Provider Award)Cyan Technology (Innovation of the Year Award)Endetec-Homerider Systems (Smart Water Metering Innovation of the Year Award) CyActive (Cyber Security Award) nPower - Neil Pennington (Roll out Innovation of the Year) British Gas (Customer Services Innovation Award) Scottish Power (Utility of the Year Award)

THE DEAL entails the purchase of the Margam Green Energy Project from ECO2 Ltd. and

Western Logs Group on behalf of its dedicated clean energy fund, Glenn-mont Clean Energy Fund Europe II in a 160m deal. The Margam Green Energy Project will see a new biomass power generation plant built in Port Talbot, Wales, providing 40 MW of renewable energy to the Welsh and UK Energy market.

The plant was developed and will be managed by ECO2 Ltd., which has unique experience in developing, building and operating UK biomass plants. Fuel for the plant will be sourced from the waste wood market and will be supplied by Stobart Bio-mass Products Ltd under a long-term, indexed-linked fuel supply contract.

The completion of the deal marks the inclusion of the rst biomass genera-tion in Glennmont Clean Energy Fund Europe II and a signi cant step towards the completion of the diversi ed Europe-an portfolio of clean energy investment.

Glennmont is demonstrating an ex-cellent track record of being among the leading investors for producing value in diffi cult circumstances, said Joost

Bergsma, CEO of Glennmont Partners. Margam is a great example of this and sends a strong message to the market that it is full steam ahead for us.

The purchase and further construction of the Margam Green Energy Project is being supported by debt arranged by Deutsche Bank with the support of Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF), the export credit agency of Denmark.

We are delighted to be involved in this important project that will deliver a new source of renewable energy to Wales and the UK, said Michael Volker-mann, head of infrastructure and energy nance for EMEA at Deutsche Bank.

EKF helped Babcock Wilcox Volund A/S secure the contract for the Margam plant. (The deal marks EKFs rst biomass plant in the UK with Babcock Wilcox Volund A/S.)

The project ts very well with EKFs continued commitment to sup-port renewable energy projects based on Danish technology, said Kim Richter, senior director for SME & Cleantech at EKF (Eksport Kredit Fonden). We have been very pleased working with the professional partners involved in making this project possible.


Naamloos-19 2 21-01-15 13:07REF0115_News digest 11REF0115_News digest 11 17-02-2015 15:07:2217-02-2015 15:07:22


NewsAnalysis

NEWLY RELEASED statis-tics provided by the Depart-ment of Energy and Climate

Change (DECC) re ect healthy demand for residential solar instal-lations in the UK. Speci cally, more than 125,000 UK homes put solar on their roof last year. Whats more, a total of 700MW of solar, the equiva-lent of powering 212,000 homes, was installed on buildings and in ground-mounted solar farms, thanks to the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) over the course of the year.

But much more activity is needed if Feed-in-Tariff goals are to be achieved, according to the Solar Trade Association.

While the statistics seemingly re ect good news, heres the rub: The growth in demand for residential solar in the UK has meant that for the rst time since 2012 the tariff paid

According to the STA, community ownership will further enhance the positive contribution solar will make to the

British countryside by enabling people to bene t nancially from investment in their local solar farms.

UK solar market could use a push

out for that size of system will reduce, not just because of the automatic reduction every nine months but instead because of the healthy number of installations towards the end of last year. Furthermore, slightly larger solar PV installations between 10kW and 50kW often on schools, village halls or business units grew by more than 50 per cent between October and December 2014 as compared to the previous three-month period.

In short, there werent quite enough installations to trigger a reduction in the tariff for this size of scheme.

These latest statistics show that the Feed-in-Tariff solar PV market is seeing healthy growth with plenty of solar going up on domestic and commercial roofs as well as small solar farms, said David Pickup, business analyst for the Solar Trade

Association. We are particularly pleased to see good levels of growth in the large rooftop market with 33MW of solar 164 installations installed in the last three months of 2014. Thats more than double that in the previous quarter.

But the Solar Trade Association warns that this isnt enough. As we have shown in our model of the Feed-in-Tariff budget, we need to see more solar going up on roofs and more grad-ual reductions in the tariff to get to the industrys goal of subsidy-free so-lar, Pickup explained. Our Solar In-dependence Plan sets out how we can restructure the Feed-in-Tariff to get more solar for very little extra money and give a path to zero subsidy.

The largest projects that can qualify for the Feed in Tariff those between 50kW and 5MW that include small solar farms and big factory roofs saw deployment high enough to trigger a reduction in tariff , but this reduction was due to happen anyway because of the nine-month automatic degression rule, the Solar Trade As-sociation stated.

Ful l news service at http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com

REF0115_News Analysis 12REF0115_News Analysis 12 17-02-2015 09:37:3817-02-2015 09:37:38


News Analysis | Full news service at http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com

About: The Solar Trade Association has, for more than over thirty years, has served as the leading voice for solar in the UK. Established in 1978 as a not-for-pro t trade association, the group represents a diverse membership across the solar power and solar heating industry.

Push for community ownership

Earlier this month the Solar Trade Association revised its in uential 10 Commitments [1] on the develop-ment of solar farms to support the Department for Energy and Climate Changes push for greater levels of local and community ownership. The eighth commitment of the standard-setting document, which has been agreed by all Solar Trade Association members, will now read: We will off er investment opportunities to communities in their local solar farms where there is local appetite and where it is commer-cially viable.

The move from the solar industry shows that it is now best practice where commercially viable to off er local investment opportunities in solar farms such as bond off ers, local authority partnerships, partnerships with legally constituted community energy groups, or other appropriate community partners or approaches, including revenue sharing through reductions in local electricity bills.

The revised Commitments are designed to educate developers on the costs, bene ts and regulatory implica-tions of the diff erent approaches to community investment.

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Rt Hon Edward Dav-ey MP, welcomed the newly revised 10 Commitments. Solar is a key part of the community energy revolution, and I think we will continue to keep [pub-lic] support and grow that support. [] I am particularly grateful to the Solar Trade Association for its work in showing people the best practice in installations in the 10 Commitments and for including shared ownership and community energy as part of those 10 Commitments.

In January 2014 the Department for Energy and Climate Change asked an industry taskforce, as part of its Community Energy Strategy, to come up with a framework for increased community ownership of local projects. In November 2014 the Shared Owner-ship taskforce duly tabled its report, and the Government is set to respond to that in the coming weeks.

Leonie Greene, head of external aff airs at the Solar Trade Association

and the person who represented the solar industry on the Shared Ownership Taskforce said the aim is to nd genuine win-wins for the industry and communities that will ultimately enable the UK to acceler-ate the deployment of clean solar power. The policy framework has been unfairly tilted against the solar in-dustry in the UK, despite solar farms being the most popular local energy development.

Sadly we expect a market con-traction later this year and for any projects to be highly sensitive to costs. Were very interested in the poten-tial ISA eligibility for local investors in solar farms to help the industry secure cost-eff ective nancing that could give us a real advantage as well as inviting mass public involvement.

The Solar Trade Association has long argued for evidence-based policy making on community energy, with market research showing public enthusiasm for debt-based investment instruments, such as local bond off ers. Such off ers have already been used successfully by companies such as Good Energy and Big60Million. This approach recently also received a ma-jor boost in the Autumn Statement, which announced that bond off ers will be eligible for inclusion in ISAs from September 2015.

Karl Harder of crowd-funding plat-form Abundance Generation, which has successfully campaigned for the ISA breakthrough said: The Autumn statement con rmed that crowd-funded bonds and debentures will be ISA eligible from the end of 2015. This opens up a major new source of low cost capital for the solar industry and will help the solar industry move towards grid parity, while also making it possible for everyone in the UK to bene t from the solar revolution.

Membership feedback STA member Toddington Harper,

CEO of Big60Million (who have deliv-ered the rst Climate Bond communi-ty investment scheme in the UK which greatly exceeded its 4m bond target for Willersey solar farm), had this to say about the agreement: To truly deliver a solar energy revolution in the UK, its critical that the technology

has widespread support from local communities closest to projects. We are delighted that the Government is helping to drive forward community ownership schemes, because sharing the nancial, environmental social bene ts of solar projects with local communities will lead to solar energy becoming even more popular.

Other STA members agreed. Em-powering communities to take control of their energy needs is critical if we are to move away from our current centralised model of energy genera-tion, work towards a more sustainable energy future and improve the UKs energy independence, said Susannah Wood, chief marketing offi cer of So-larcentury, which delivered a 2.4MW solar energy co-op scheme in Hamp-shire for West Solent Solar Coopera-tive. (The farm is owned by around 500 investors, many of them from the local community.)

While the Solar Trade Assoca-tion by and large supports the spirit and policy objectives of the Volun-tary Framework, the group stresses that some elements still need to be addressed. As STAs Greene explains: Forming direct nancial relationships with communities is exciting, but there are still important unknowns on the costs of some of these approaches. Returns in solar are lower than other technologies and the solar industry alone is being forced into smaller schemes, meaning poten-tially disproportionately higher costs for pursuing this agenda. The solar industry and DECC will, therefore, need to watch the emerging evidence-base particularly closely to identify successful approaches.

References1. This past November, the Solar

Trade Association announced plans to revise its in uential 10 Commit-ments on solar farms to support the Department for Energy and Climate Changes push for greater levels of local ownership of solar farms. The new Voluntary Agreement aims to expand public ownership and investment into the large-scale solar sector which works to ensure solar farms contribute to sustainable farming and boosting wildlife.

REF0115_News Analysis 13REF0115_News Analysis 13 17-02-2015 09:37:4017-02-2015 09:37:40


Total corporate funding for solar increased 175 per cent to $26.5 billion in 2014, while VC funding doubled. Thats according to Mercom Capi-tal Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting rm, which released its report on funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity for the solar sector in 2014.

Some of the highlights from the report:

Total corporate funding into the solar sector encompassing venture cap-ital/private equity (VC), debt and pub-lic market nancing increased 175 per cent in 2014 with $26.5 billion, com-pared to $9.6 billion in 2013. Global VC investments more than doubled to $1.3 billion in 85 deals in 2014, compared to $612 million in 98 deals in 2013.

Investors bank on solar sector

NEWLY RELEASED statistics from Mercom Capital Group bode well for the global solar energy industry. This sector drew interest from investors across the board, including downstream suppliers.

The big story coming out of 2014 was the revival of capital markets - solar companies were able to access funding through multiple avenues like VC, public markets, IPOs and debt in record numbers, while the quest for lower cost of capital continued with Yieldcos and securitization deals, said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capi-tal Group. The solar sector has come a long way from being perceived as a speculative, high-risk investment to attracting investors based on low-risk attractive dividend yields.

Solar downstream companies saw the largest amount of VC funding in 2014 with $1.1 billion in 44 deals, accounting for 85 per cent of venture funding. Investments in PV technol-ogy companies reached $75 million

in 12 deals and balance of systems (BoS) companies were close behind with $73 million in seven deals. Con-centrated solar power (CSP) compa-nies came in at $59 million in three deals, followed by thin lm companies with $52 million in nine deals.

The Top 5 VC-funded compa-nies in 2014 were: Sunnova Energy, a provider of residential solar service to homeowners through its network of local installation partners off er-ing leases and PPAs, which raised a total of $505 million in three separate deals; followed by Sunrun, a provider of residential solar-power systems and third party nance, raising $150 mil-lion; Renewable Energy Trust Cap-ital, a nance platform established to acquire and own solar projects and provide a single equity capital source, brought in $125 million; Sungevity, a provider of residential solar installa-tions and third-party nance, raised $72.5 million; and GlassPoint Solar, a provider of solar steam generators to the oil and gas industry for applica-tions such as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), raised $53 million.

A total of 119 VC investors were active in 2014, with 12 investors par-ticipating in more than one round in 2014, including: Acero Capital, Acu-men Fund, DBL Investors, E.ON, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Novus Energy Partners, Omidyar Network, SolarCity, Sustainable Development Technology Canada, Trident Capi-tal, Vision Ridge Partners and Vul-can Capital.

Public market nancing increased considerably to $5.2 billion in 52 deals in 2014, up from just $2.8 million in 39 deals in 2013. In 2014 seven IPOs brought in more than $2 billion com-bined, including Vivint Solar, Scatec Solar, Thai Solar Energy and Sky Solar. Yieldcos accounted for three of the IPOs for $1.5 billion going to Abengoa Yield, Terraform Power and NextEnergy Solar Fund.

Announced debt nancing in 2014 totaled almost $20 billion in 58 deals, compared to $6.2 billion in 38 deals in 2013. China accounted for $15.8 billion of the debt activity.

Large-scale project funding announced in 2014 totaled $14.2 bil-lion in 144 deals. The largest project

Global venture capital investments in solar more than doubled to $1.3 billion in 85 deals in 2014, compared to $612 million in 98 deals

in 2013. Photo credit: Shutterstock.

Fact le | M&A activity

REF0115_Factfile 1 14REF0115_Factfile 1 14 17-02-2015 10:02:1617-02-2015 10:02:16


About: Mercom Capital Group, llc, is a global clean energy communications and consulting rm.

The fourth quarter of 2014 was an active quarter for large-scale project development around the globe. Mer-com tracked 241 project announce-ments totaling almost 9.5 GW for the quarter and 736 project announce-ments totaling 34.4 GW for 2014 in various stages of development globally.

View the entire report, which includes charts and tables, online at http://store.mercom.mercomcapital.com/product/2014-q4-solar-funding-report/

Investing in the grid In addition to its global solar M&A

report, Mercom Capital Group, llc, also released data on funding and mergers and acquisitions activity for the smart grid sector for 2014.

Among the highlights of the smart grids funding report:

Venture capital funding into smart grid technology companies was $383 million in 73 deals in 2014, compared to $410 million in 64 deals in 2013.Total corporate funding for smart grids, including debt and public market nancings, came to $844 million in 2014, compared to $584 million in 2013.There were 88 total VC investors in smart grids in 2014, with eight active investors participating in multiple deals.According to the Mercom Capi-

tal report, the Top VC funded com-panies supporting smart grids in 2014 were led by Savant Systems, which raised $90 million; Zonoff brought in $31.8 million; ChargePoint raised $22.6 million; SIGFOX generated $20.6 million; and EnVerv raised $15.4 million.

Meanwhile, the top VC investors in 2014, according to Mercom, included: BDC Capital, Constellation Tech-nology Ventures, Emertec Gestion, Israel Cleantech Ventures, Qual-comm, Siemens Venture Capital,

VantagePoint Capital and Voyager Capital, with two deals each.

All totaled, there were 32 smart grid M&A transactions (12 disclosed) in 2014 totaling $3.9 billion. The top disclosed transaction in 2014 was Googles acquisition of Nest Labs for $3.2 billion, followed by the $200 million acquisition of SmartTh-ings by Samsung Electronics, and the $150 million acquisition of Aclara Technologies by Sun Capital Part-ners. Bel Fuse acquired Power-Ones Power Solutions business for $117 million, and Sierra Wireless acquired Wireless Maingate for $90 million.

Beyond smart grid funding, there was also signi cant activity M&A In the Storage/Battery and Energy Effi ciency sectors which Mer-com began tracking in 2014. Last year, companies in the Storage/Bat-tery space received $418 million in 32 deals. The top VC funding deal in 2014 was the $55 million raised by Aquion Energy, followed by Bloom Energy, which raised $50 million. Ambri (for-merly Liquid Metal Battery Corpo-ration) raised $35 million, Amprius raised $30 million and Powin Energy raised $25 million. Sodium-based Storage/Battery companies received the most funding with $112 million.

There were also 19 debt and pub-lic market nancing deals in Storage/Battery totaling $490 million, includ-ing one Initial Public Off ering in 2014. There were two third-party storage funds announced to nance no-money, no-upfront, behind-the-meter storage projects.M&A transactions in Battery/Storage totaled 18, of which six trans-actions were disclosed, totaling $232 million.

Energy Effi ciency companies raised $797 million in 80 deals in 2014. The top VC deal was the $100 million raise by View (formerly Soladigm), followed by Lextar Electronics, which raised $83 million. LatticePower brought in $80 million, Renovate Amer-ica raised $50 million and Phononic raised $44.5 million.

Readers are invited to download a summary of the smart grid M&A report online at: http://store.mercom.mercom-capital.com/smart-grid-2014-q4-exec-summ-form/

funding deal announced in 2014 was the $942 million loan raised by China WindPower Group for a portfolio of projects totaling 800 MW. Top inves-tors in large-scale projects were Miz-uho Bank with 12 projects and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ with 10.

Residential and commercial funds showed strong growth in 2014 with 34 announced funds totaling $4 billion. SolarCity, SunPower, Vivint Solar, SunEdison and Syncarpha Capital were top fundraisers in 2014.

Corporate M&A activity in solar totaled $4 billion in a record 116 transactions compared to $12.7 bil-lion in 81 transactions in 2013. Con-solidation activity continued among solar downstream companies with 57 transactions, followed by manufactur-ers and equipment companies with 35 transactions. In a bid to vertically integrate, SolarCity made the most acquisitions in the last ve years with seven, followed by First Solar and SunPower with six apiece. The larg-est M&A transaction in 2014 was the $1.2 billion acquisition of Hanwha Q CELLS Investment by Hanwha Sola-rOne, followed by Bluestar Elkems acquisition of REC Solar for approxi-mately $637 million. Danfoss acquired a 20 per cent-stake in SMA Solar Technology for $416 million; SolarCity acquired Silevo for $350 million and Solargise acquired a majority stake in Grapp Energies for $200 million.

Large-scale solar project acqui-sitions totaled $3.2 billion in 2014, compared to $1.7 billion in 2013. Transaction activity was up 46 per-cent year-over-year, with 163 deals in 2014. A total of 6.4 GW of large-scale solar projects were acquired in 2014. Good solar projects with solid returns continue to be in heavy demand and are being acquired at a record pace. Competition to acquire quality proj-ects intensi ed with the emergence of Yieldcos.

Beyond smart-grid funding, there was also signi cant M&A activity in the

battery and energy storage sectors.

Fact le

REF0115_Factfile 1 15REF0115_Factfile 1 15 17-02-2015 10:02:1917-02-2015 10:02:19

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | Renewable Energy Focus16

Ecobuild, billed by organizers as the world leading sustainable design, construction and energy event, promises to off er the full spate of programming, including informative educational ses-sions, roundtable discussions, product showcase and exhibition, as well as a few special networking events. More than 44,000 sustainable built environment professionals representing the sustain-able design, construction and energy marketplace for new build, refurb, commercial and domestic buildings are expected. Following is a sampling of whats in store: Marking the countdown until the election, Ecobuild unveils its full

WITH THE elections just weeks away, renewable energy members will much to discuss at the 2015 Ecobuild show, set to take place 35 at Londons ExCel. Thousands are expected.

Some Ecobuild sessions will discuss the importance of maximising natural light,

providing views out onto nature and incorporating natural objects.

Photo credit: Shutterstock.

conference programme with a host of big name industry and Westminster speakers with support from global sustainable construction leaders Skanska and Lend Lease. Among the notable presenters set to speak at the event: Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change; Natalie Bennett, Head of the Green Party; Lord John Prescott, former Deputy Prime Minister and UK negotiator for the Kyoto Protocol on climate change; and Alistair Campbell, former British PM spokesman. Other names on the line-up at Ecobuild 2015 are: RIBA Stirling Prize-winning architect Steve Tompkins of Haworth Tompkins; Sir John Armitt,

former chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority; and Lord Deben, chairman of the Committee on Climate Change.

Key sessions include: - Does a no vote for European member-

ship mean the end of UK sustainability policy?

- The mainstream zero carbon home: Will it ever happen?

- Greening the grid - is low-carbon elec-tricity a vote loser?

- Are smart cities a positive sustainabil-ity bene t or an unwelcome invasion of privacy?

- Happiness by design: How the built en-vironment drives feeling and behaviour

- Innovation and new materials: Could they revolutionise sustainable construction?

In his presentation, Lord John Prescott will delve into the subject of extreme weather events. Speci cally, he will discuss how these events are increasing in frequency and severity, leading to widespread ooding and dam-age. Prescott plans to spur a lively debate at Ecobuild, asking the bigquestion: Is it time for a national environmental resilience plan? The

Green ideas ow at Ecobuild 2015

Policy Legislation Market analysis

focus:Market

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About: Ecobuild 2015 is billed as the industrys leading conference for sustainable design, construction and energy.

discussion will focus upon climate change mitigation strategies which require a long-term national infrastruc-ture plan backed with suffi cient funding. For fans of the BBCs Home Front and Changing Rooms series, attend-ees may recognise famous biophilic designer Oliver Heath, who is set to cover how incorporating nature creates value and improves wellbeing in build-ings. Heath will talk about maximis-ing natural light, providing views out onto nature and incorporating natural objects, materials and textures within buildings. Other highlights include a future gaz-ing rst for the event a cross-party political discussion around the future of the sustainable built environment, spon-sored by Skanska and Lend Lease. To that end, Lend Lease will be putting people at the centre of its vision for sustainability. People are the most valuable asset to every company, so health and wellbeing, social engagement and community investment all play a critical role in the delivery of sustainable buildings, said Dr Jon Kirkpatrick, head of sustainability - Europe, Lend Lease. Likewise, Skanskas forward-think-ing approach to sustainability will be expressed through its Journey to Deep Green(TM), where their ultimate aim is for projects to have near-zero impact on the environment. As a leading green major contractor, were proud to be supporting Ecobuild, which show-cases collaboration, innovation and achievements in sustainable construc-tion, said Jennifer Clark, director of environment, Skanska UK. The show is also a great opportunity to meet students who are looking for a career in construction, and inspire the next generation of professionals joining our industry. Lend Leases Kirkpatrick added: As a leader in sustainable development, particularly urban regeneration, our philosophies are very much aligned with Ecobuild, and we urge professionals from across the sustainable built environment to come along and witness the innova-tion taking place in our sector. For further information about Ecobuilds conference programme and to book your complimentary ticket to the three-day event, please visit http://www.ecobuild.co.uk.

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One key standout of the upcom-ing Ecobuild 2015 show is the The Energy Zone. In this specially designated area which occupies around 50% of the show oor and attendees will nd the latest inno-vations in renewable energy and microgeneration, two highly rele-vant seminar theatres and dozens of interactive features including visitor favorite Practical Installer.

In keeping with the focus on microgeneration, Ecobuild has announced a new partnership with Microgeneration Certi cation Scheme, an offi cial supporter of Ecobuild. The partnership will help renewables installers and product manufacturers understand the lat-est legislation and policy updates, as well as compliance with technical standards.

Microgeneration Certi ca-tion Scheme will also run its ever popular presentations on stand throughout the event. Topics set to be covered include updates to the scheme and standards, updates on the domestic RHI, and consumer issues such as contract work.

For installers keen to tap into the lucrative domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), Microgenera-tion Certi cation Scheme certi ca-tion opens the vital funding doors to this initiative. Supported by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Microgeneration Certi cation Scheme is a leading

body for the renewables industry, working tirelessly to represent the installer industry at government level, and ensuring there are robust standards and practices in place to support a developing industry.

Ecobuild provides an exciting opportunity for our experts to con-nect with all types of stakeholders, from the consumer who wants to get an installation carried out with quality products and competent installers; seasoned MCS-accredited renewables installer, to those aspir-ing to break into this market, said Gideon Richards, interim CEO and chair of the MCS Steering Group. Ecobuild is one of the critical ele-ments of our ongoing work to con-nect with our current audiences and enable MCS to consistently provide consumers with a quality assured, high standard of installation work.

Alison Jackson, group direc-tor of sustainability & construction for Ecobuild, stressed the impor-tance of working with Microgenera-tion Certi cation Scheme. With the offi cial support of MCS, we are set to deliver the highest quality training, technical expertise and technological innovation to enable installers at every level to pro t from renewables and future-proof their businesses.

Ecobuild 2015 takes place at Londons ExCeL from 3-5 March. Visit ecobuild.co.uk for more information.

All aboard the Energy Zone

The key focus of Ecobuild is sustainable design, construction and energy for new build, refurb, commercial and residential structures.

Photo credit: Shutterstock.

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These are bruising and uncertain times for the UKs onshore wind energy industry. Theres been hostil-ity within government, and schemes around Britain have foundered on politics. Where communities have been allowed a voice in whether or not turbines should be built, the political decision-maker, Secretary of State for Communities Eric Pickles, has usually sided with opponents.

But soon Pickles will no longer be a roadblock to small (


About: Andrew Mourant is a freelance journalist whose areas of expertise include renewable energy education and the rail industry.

rash of extreme reactions; it has also opened up the market to small pro-ducers. Shadow energy minister Caro-line Flint endorses the Feed-in-Tariff system that helped make this possible in Germany. She favours Germanys grid priority access for renewables solar and wind are the rst sources fed into its energy grid system.

The Liberal Democrats appear to be diehard enthusiasts: climate change secretary Ed Davey has condemned winds ever shriller opponents. If you have a policy against onshore, youll be making a mistake of historic proportions, he stated. Without it, the contribution of renewables to energy security would be considerably cut. He would scrap Pickles power to rule on controversial proposals and has called for a coalition for renewables.

The SNP says it will have no truck with Conservatives in terms of power sharing. Since running the Scottish parliament, SNP has overseen a dash for wind power Scotland is home to more than half of the UKs opera-tional turbines, producing more than 100KW 2586, out of 4766. Targets have been set to generate the bulk of Scotlands electricity from wind and wave power by 2020.

However, Murdo Fraser MSP, Scottish Conservatives energy spokesman, says wind farms there are completely out of control. Theres a place for them, but its ludicrous to put such emphasis on intermittent and unreliable energy sources which can damage the landscape, he noted.

Yet Scotland, reputedly Europes windiest country, is the logical place for any proliferation of onshore farms. Advocates say that reliability of power depends on how well changes in wind power output can be anticipated, rather than wind variability in itself. They claim output forecasts are in-creasingly accurate and that predict-able drops can be compensated for by using conventional power stations.

Gemma Grimes, director of onshore renewables at industry body Renewa-bleUK, has accused Pickles of damag-ing the industry in England. Reduc-ing his scope to call in projects would signi cantly improve the planning sys-tem, she stated. Local growth cannot be held hostage by political whim.

Meanwhile, the question that remains is: How will onshore ride out declining subsidies? No one expects the reduction to be reversed, whoev-ers in power. Were moving to a dif-ferent incentive mechanism, Grimes noted. Contracts for Diff erence (CfD) will place downward pressure on costs for all technologies. 1

Grimes believes the industry is already competitive in terms of costs, predicting that onshore wind will be the cheapest form of energy by 2020. Its already a mainstream part of the UK mix, and reliable when other forms of generation such as nuclear and gas are taken off -line for sig-ni cant periods, she stated.

Whats ultimately needed, Grimes said, is a stable policy environment. Its important for all parties to realise that we cant aff ord to move away from onshore wind, she said. The industry already provides 19,000 jobs in the UK. Its developing opportunities for people to directly invest in wind farms.

A utilitys perspective The hostility within government

surrounding the issue of lack of sup-port for onshore wind is well docu-mented. Such has been the hostility to onshore that Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, the UKs rst all-renewables supplier, has abandoned the struggle to get new projects off the ground in Eng-land. Instead hes looking to Scotland where the wind blows stronger and the politics are far less uncertain.

We began changing our focus a couple of years ago the point had come when we felt we were wasting time and money ghting for all these projects, Vince told Renewable Energy Focus magazine. Even after a public inquiry, Pickles would come along and overturn it [any decision in favour].

Recently, Ecotricity announced a link-up with global construction and de-velopment giant Skanska to build three major wind projects in Scotland. (See sidebar on page 20.) The joint venture

named Skylark aims to put 350MW of new green energy into the plan-ning system in its rst ve years. If the schemes are approved, they could supply green electricity to 200,000 homes, with the rst power generated by 2018. Skan-ska has already built two large wind farms in its home country, Sweden.

Vince has set up a Scottish offi ce in Inverness 500 miles from the rms headquarters in Stroud, Gloucester-shire where hes pursuing a fairly radical model of community engage-ment. Were looking to fund energy independence, so that money com-ing out of the farms we build doesnt just go into a community pot and get fought over, but instead funds sustain-ability plans, he explained. Well be looking at needs, then investing in the hardware that makes [communities] energy-independent over time.

Vince founded Ecotricity in 1995. It now powers almost 150,000 homes and businesses from its wind and sun parks. Its a not-for-dividend enterprise that uses pro ts from customers energy bills to fund new green energy projects.

During the company 20-year histo-ry Vince has lived through four general elections. In the past, all parties made supportive noises (favouring renewa-bles), he said. But not this time; the choice is very clear: left-right, black-white, on or off for on-shore wind.

The government has quarterly opinion polls showing 70% support for renewables. That hasnt changed throughout this parliament; theyre divorced from the statistics. Its the op-posite for fracking, yet despite that, the government are pursuing it, come what may, over the heads of local people.

Should Labour govern or lead a coalition, Ecotricity will review its decision not to bother in England. Nothings forever if the govern-ment changes, well re ect that, Vince noted. Hes met Ed Miliband and found him to be reassuringly pro-wind; though knows nothing of the Labour leaders kite- ying windy places audit.

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If you have a policy against onshore, youll be making a mistake of historic

proportions. Ed Davey

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Naamloos-6 2

Subsidy reductions have hit on-shore hardest, Vince notes. I think wind is most out of kilter [in terms of econom-ics] because the technology cost isnt as low [as solar]. It doesnt really have the ability [to drop signi cantly]. Cuts in subsidies have killed small projects.

In fact, those cut triggered mixed reactions. A spokeswoman for the Re-newable Energy Association described it a good news day, for it proved onshore was leading the race for cost-competitiveness. However, Renewab-leUK warned of smaller projects falling awaythe very ones the government wanted to y, so local communities could take ownership of their energy.

Vince is constantly devising ways to wrest control of energy supply from the UKs six dominant corporate suppliers, and put it into local hands. Among his latest scheme is the Merchant Wind Power project. We build big windmills on factory sites for [companies] like Ford, Michelin, Sainsburys, he said. We take costs and risk they buy elec-tricity (on long-term contract) from us for less than they can buy from the grid.

Were going to take that model into the small wind sector off er smaller windmills to smaller businesses on the same basis: no cost, no risk. Small wind has been badly aff ected by government, and we think by deploying our own machines we can close the gap.

Where might onshore wind be in ve years time, the xed length of a UK parliament? Its easy to talk about what will happen with a Conservative government no big on-shore wind projects, Vince said.

And yet he thinks the sector will eventually see a resurgence. The time will come when there wont be any need for a feed-in tariff because of technological advances simply that. If Labour win, onshore wind will be back which is a good thing.

In the interim, Ecotricity, is donat-ing 250,000 to the Labour Partys election campaign. According to Vince, the company is putting its money where its heart is and thats the care of the environment. Weve watched the coalition government systemati-cally undermine not just the renewable energy industry in Britain, but the whole green economy and by de facto eff orts to combat climate change. We feel compelled to act and to speak out.

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Vince is particularly displeased about the missed opportunities for onshore wind in light of the growth potential of renewables in the UK over the past few years. According to Ecotricity, Britains green economy generated 128 billion in 2012, representing 8% of all GDP and a third of all growth in GDP that year. Whats more, almost one million people were employed in this fast growing sector about the same number that work in the nance sector now.

All this while the country was struggling to get out of recession.

That was 2012 the green economy could be an even more im-portant part of our overall economy by now, Vince stated. But 2012 is the last year for which we have any data because the Conservatives scrapped the annual report, in eff ect censoring information about this vital part of the economy. That looks like a move driven

by ideology rather than what is right for our country, and strange for a party that claims to be the party of business.

Vince rmly believes that renewa-bles are the key to the UKs energy independence, and thats the only way to ensure energy bills are aff ordable in the long term. Its about true sus-tainability, investing the green energy infrastructure we need here in Britain rather than spending billions each year to burn fossil fuels.

References1. Under CfDs, due to come into force

from 2017, power generators will get the price they achieve in the electricity market plus an agreed top-up the strike price. But if the market price exceeds the strike price, the generator will then have to repay that top-up. The government says this off ers best value for money and price stability.

Britains rst green energy com-pany, Ecotricity, along with global construction and development rm Skanska have formed a joint venture to build wind farm projects in Britain. The joint venture aims to put 350MW of new green energy projects into planning syste

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