Wind


Fast forward to a vision of Britain in the year 2020: 30% of the UK’s electricity demand will produce zero carbon; utilities will be settling balance sheets to the satisfaction of shareholders; investors will be counting a decent return on investment; government ministers will be celebrating the success of their policies; consumers will be paying reasonable rates to power and light their homes and businesses.

If a week is a long time in politics, eight years is a very short cycle in the energy industry and without an acceleration of government action, the UK is at risk of failing on its target of sourcing 15% of its demand from renewable sources. Every aspect of the dream scenario described above could be reversed. Keep reading →


Global investment in renewable energy capacity hit $237 billion in 2011, outpacing the $223 billion invested in new fossil fuel capacity globally, according to new data prepared by Bloomberg New Energy Finance for Vestas.

Moves by corporations to invest in renewable energy has the support of consumers as well, says a company data set – the Global Consumer Wind Study – also collected for Vestas and published as part of its Energy Transparency 2012 effort. Breaking Energy has partnered with Vestas on the Energy Transparency campaign as well. Read more about it here. Keep reading →

The full CREX 2012 and GCWS 2012 reports are available now http://bit.ly/U26R94 #energytransparency2012 Vestas

The UK has abundant wind resources from the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea that buffet the country’s coastlines, and despite current disagreement at the governmental level regarding renewable energy policy, a majority of people surveyed support greater renewable energy use over the next five years. Keep reading →


Over the past 18 months, renewable energy has often been the subject of regular attacks in the media, on often shaky grounds, arguing that renewables are and will always be too expensive, they don’t work and people don’t like renewable energy anyway. However, these attacks are at odds with what’s actually happening on the ground.

Not only do the results of the Global Consumer Wind Survey that has just been released by Vestas and TNS show that an increasing number of consumers want renewable energy, there have also been some very positive developments of late on the costs of these technologies. Whilst the cost of many renewable technologies are still high, several technologies like onshore wind and solar PV are rapidly reducing in costs (by 50% alone in 2011 for solar PV according to the Pew Centre) and many other less mature technologies like offshore wind could soon follow this trend. Keep reading →


David Cameron’s promise within his first month as UK prime minister to be “greenest government ever” looks at risk of derailment – by his own Chancellor, George Osborne.

Conservatives and Liberal Democrats appeared to carry over the political consensus on action on climate change and a switch to renewable energy. But what began as an ideological rift in the British Cabinet has become a very public clash between the Tory chief at the Treasury and the Lib-Dem boss at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Keep reading →


A windswept archipelago that bears the brunt of Atlantic storms, with a dense and growing population: Britain’s conditions are perfect for an industry with a stable future.

In addition to its natural resources, the UK’s energy economics create good market potential for renewables: high retail electricity prices, Europe-wide natural gas prices of around €15 per mmbtu, energy security concerns, an aging nuclear fleet and environmental restrictions on shale gas. Keep reading →


A deep Arctic freeze socks in the Northeast, and every home’s furnace is working overtime. The surge of natural gas use for furnaces means power plants can’t get enough fuel. Power fails, and furnaces can’t start. Gas pipeline compressors lose power, and natural gas flow stops.

What then? Keep reading →


With 30% coal generation in NRG Energy’s fleet, chief executive David Crane cannot exactly be hailed the Sun King. But the photovoltaic roof over the top tier of the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey is a crowning solar achievement for what may become the largest independent electricity generator in the US after its pending merger with GenOn is approved.

“Not all renewables are created equal and solar has versatility lacking in other technologies such as wind,” said Crane. “To NRG, solar is the gamechanger.” Keep reading →

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