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OPERATIONAL data from the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, Hywind Scotland, is now available to access for free to supply chain businesses and academia to understand the operation of offshore wind farms. A pre-defined set of full-scale measurements from one of Hywind Scotland’s five turbines is available via the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s Platform for Operational Data service,...

LOW-ENERGY methods for moderating temperature and humidity have been evaluated in a series of experiments by researchers from the University of Cambridge. The researchers found that a temperature difference between inside and outside has a 'remarkably small effect' on how well a room is ventilated when ventilation is primarily driven by wind. In contrast, wind can increase ventilation rates by as...

THREE ScottishPower Renewable projects (East Anglia One North, Two and Three) will be combined into one single delivery programme with a capacity of 3,100 megawatts. The three projects, which will be known as The East Anglia Hub, will be procured together to leverage their scale with a continuous installation programme. The company aims to begin construction in 2022, and envisages a...

REMNANTS of festive feasts are not going to waste in Finland as fat from the traditional ham will be used to make renewable fuel. Called the Ham Trick (Kinkkutemppu in Finnish), the campaign seeks to put the fat from the seven million kilos of ham consumed in the country every Christmas into good use. Last year, 185,000 households participated in the...

UK’s decommissioning sector’s growing competitiveness is revealed in a new report by Oil & Gas UK. Now in its tenth year of publication, the report forecasts the UK’s decommissioning activity and expenditure over the next decade. The report states that while activity on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is expected to increase, expenditure will remain consistent at around £1.5 billion per...

CONSTRUCTION of the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm is now underway following confirmation from EDF Renewables that financial close for the project has been achieved. 25 financial institutions are lending money to fund the wind farm which will supply enough low carbon electricity for around 375,000 homes. Neart na Gaoithe has a capacity of c. 450MW of low carbon energy...

NEW international survey has revealed that the satisfaction rating for Great Britain’s water supply and sewerage services is the second highest in the world. GB comes second only to Germany across 28 countries surveyed, with results 18 points higher than the global average. The Ipsos poll for the Global Infrastructure Investor Association revealed that 73% of respondents thought GB’s water and...

NORTHERN Scotland’s roads could see 116 times the number of electric vehicles by 2032, according to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN). The future electricity scenario analysis, undertaken by Regen, has mapped out the potential impact of meeting the country’s climate change commitments and what it means for SSEN’s licence area north of the central belt, including the Scottish islands. The study...

ENERGY giant npower will reportedly close most of its eight UK sites, threatening thousands of jobs. Npower's owner, Germany-based E.ON, has stated that the changes to the company's structure hold no immediate impact on customers but the staff impacts are expected to be severe. The company states: "Regrettably it is inevitable that a transformation of this scale will have an impact on...

23,200 more people died in England and Wales during winter 2018-19 compared to the rest of the year, according to new figures by the Office for National Statistics. Despite figures being the lowest since the winter of 2013-14, fuel poverty charity National Energy Action urges the government to take action ahead of what is expected to be a cold winter. Adam...