Mike O’Brien, a minister at the newly created Department of Energy and Climate Change, also said that further work is already underway to further cement Britain’s new found global wind power standing saying, “Overtaking Denmark is just the start, there are already five more offshore windfarms under construction that will add a further 938MW to our total by the end of next year.”

Although the news has been welcomed by many voices in the renewable energy sector, there have been some reservations. In particular, some campaigners have pointed out that the UK is still one of the poorest European performers in terms of its total overall output from renewable sources. However, the country’s new found global prominence in offshore wind is likely to lend further strength to calls for large scale investment in other key renewable energy sectors.

Masdar has entered into the London Array scheme through a joint venture agreement with E.ON, which currently owns half of the landmark project. DONG Energy owns the other half. Under the agreement, Masdar has purchased 40 per cent of E.ON’s half share of the London Array scheme, giving Masdar a 20% stake in the project overall. Masdar will become an important shareholder in the project which could significantly expand the UK’s renewable energy capacity.

The agreement signed today in London brings together the two successful companies’ complementary resources and experience to partner with each other on a wide range of renewable energy projects. Initially, the focus of the agreement will be on wind power and the UK’s London Array project. As the partnership develops over the coming months, the companies expect to be able to announce a series of exciting projects across the broad spectrum of renewable energy. Early discussions about potential projects have focused on the area of carbon emission reduction.

Both companies would look to jointly develop JI/CDM projects that would reflect both parties’ technical expertise in these areas. E.ON CEO Dr. Wulf Bernotat said: “The London Array offshore wind farm scheme is a pioneering project and marks a significant increase in scale for offshore wind farms in the UK, and also for E.ON. We welcome the Government’s continued support for the London Array scheme as we move forward with our partners to realize this important project. As with all major steps forward in our industry, the project will raise important challenges and the lessons we learn will be vital for the development of the next generation of offshore projects.

We have secured in Masdar a strong partner to work with us on the London Array scheme and on future renewable energy projects which will help push the industry to its next stage. With this aim, E.ON plans to invest €6 billion by 2010 to help move renewable energy projects from boutique to an industrial scale.” “London Array is an important investment for Masdar into the wind sector. We believe that the offshore wind market will be a major force in the future and this is a very opportune time for us to enter this developing segment of the renewable energy market,” said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar. “Masdar has always had a strategy of partnering with leading companies in their field. Our partnership with E.ON is a strong testament of this philosophy and of our commitment to this industry segment. Through this project, we also hope to build a partnership with the UK government to drive the future growth of the renewable energy sector for the benefit of both our economies.”

A delegation from E.ON and Masdar will meet senior UK Government Ministers and officials later today at Downing Street to discuss the progress on the project and to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to the London Array scheme. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “I very much welcome Masdar’s decision to invest in renewable energy in the UK. This is an excellent example of the partnership we need between oil producing and oil consuming countries to develop new energy sources and technologies, diversifying their economies and reducing our dependence on carbon. The scale and vision of the London Array is groundbreaking, and places the UK at the forefront of offshore wind development”. Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband said “The London Array project, at 1000 megawatts, will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world. The UK is a world leader in offshore wind technology and, over the next decade, offshore wind will make an important contribution to meeting the UK’s renewable energy target and to the security of our energy supply. Offshore wind is a rapidly growing sector, with the potential to provide up to 70,000 new, green jobs”.

The London Array project is situated in the outer Thames Estuary, east of London and will consist of up to 271 turbines, generating enough power for three-quarters of a million homes and contributing significantly to the UK’s renewable energy targets. Once given the green light, the scheme will be built more than 20km (12 miles) off the Kent and Essex coasts. The wind farm will be installed on a 90 square mile site and will be built in two stages. It is hoped the first stage will be completed in 2012 and will consist of up to 175 turbines. The second stage will add enough capacity to bring the total to 1,000MW.

Ballard will supply these fuel cell products to IdaTech for integration into natural gas-fuelled systems. ACME and IdaTech will enter into an agreement to form a joint venture in India for the manufacture and assembly of this system. Ballard will be the exclusive supplier of fuel cells to this joint venture.

This agreement provides a binding commitment for the purchase of approximately 1,000 units in 2009 and 9,000 units in 2010, subject to meeting product design and acceptance specifications.

ACME, a proven infrastructure provider to telecom network operators, intends to deploy these systems for extended backup power for wireless base stations throughout India. These systems will deliver important benefits to ACME’s customers, including reliability, extended service life, cost savings and environmentally friendly operation.

John Sheridan, Ballard’s President and Chief Executive Officer said, “This high volume, binding agreement represents a big step forward for Ballard and the broader fuel cell sector. The ten-thousand unit volume will enable significant cost reductions and this new low cost, natural gas fuel cell product will be an important enabler for the acceleration of product adoption in other stationary power markets.”

In consideration of ACME’s minimum 10,000 unit purchase commitment and its agreement to develop the market for fuel cell systems in applicable territories, Ballard has granted ACME exclusive rights for the sale and use of Ballard’s fuel cells for stationary power applications in the Indian subcontinent and for telecom backup power applications in the Middle East and Africa (excluding South Africa) through to mid-2011. The agreement provides options for extending these exclusivity provisions into 2011 and 2012, subject to additional binding orders by ACME for at least 10,000 units per year.

Atul Sabharwal, Chief Operating Officer of the ACME Group stated, “Fuel cell backup power systems offer an excellent and reliable proposition to telecom service providers because they help operators reduce downtime and also substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming.” Mr. Sabharwal welcomed the opportunity to offer a reliable and flexible backup power solution based on fuel cell technology, in collaboration with “high-quality partners”. He concluded, “Globally, at any telecom site, batteries and generators are the cause of a lot of pollution. In addition, they have high operational costs. We expect fuel cells to help with both of these issues.”

“These agreements are a testament to the value of sound partnerships,” added Hal Koyama, IdaTech’s Chief Executive Officer. “We have been able to leverage the relationship that our partner, Ballard, has had with ACME, in order to establish an important new agreement that will enable execution of our market strategy in India and other countries.”

“It is more important than ever that we secure our state’s long-term competitiveness-and green technology is the future,” Governor Schwarzenegger said. “We are all going through tough economic times, and this is exactly why I am talking about investing in clean, green technology. It’s one of the best investments out there, and it’s where the innovation and job growth will be, which is why California is leading the way with smart policies that unleash our ingenuity.”

Prior to the forum, Applied Materials officially launched its two-megawatt photovoltaic solar installation, which is one of the largest solar installations on an existing corporate facility in the United States and will produce enough electricity to power more than 1,500 homes.

Data adequacy is a key step in the CEC permitting process and triggers the CEC’s timeline to complete processing of the 750-megawatt project, providing a significant boost to the project’s delivery targets. It is anticipated that the CEC process and related government approvals will require 12-16 months, allowing construction to proceed in late 2009. The project will provide electricity for approximately 500,000 homes in the San Diego, California region. The facility will be located on a 6,500 acres site in the Imperial Valley.

The Stirling Energy SunCatcher is the most efficient solar system in the world and converts sunlight into electricity with no greenhouse gas emissions. Each dish is 38 feet tall, 40 feet wide and generates 25,000 watts of power. The SunCatcher is extremely water efficient, using air in its cooling operations and minimal water for maintaining the mirrors. SES has a Purchase Power Agreement (PPA) with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) for the output of the project, which will be constructed in two primary phases. The first will include 12,000 SunCatcher dishes generating 300 megawatts. The second phase will generate 450 megawatts using 18,000 solar dishes, together helping SDG&E and California achieve their renewable energy goals.

Vattenfall and AMEC have also entered into a strategic alliance in the development of energy projects with increased efficiency and lower carbon emissions in addition to a framework agreement with the aim to develop the existing wind projects in the AMEC portfolio being acquired by Vattenfall and to develop new wind projects in the UK. Vattenfall is Europe’s fifth largest generator of electricity and the largest producer of heat and works in all parts of the electricity value chain. Vattenfall aims to produce approximately 50 TWh from wind power by 2030. This would provide renewable electricity to approximately 10 million households. The target is climate neutrality by 2050.

The UK is a key market for future growth. Vattenfall is aiming at playing an important role in new offshore wind power projects around the UK in the upcoming Round III. In the UK Vattenfall owns and operates the Kentish Flats offshore wind farm, which has a capacity of 90 MW, and has recently announced its firm intention to make an offer to acquire Eclipse Energy which is currently developing several wind projects in the UK with the potential of over 200 MW from renewable energy. It is also the world’s second largest offshore wind power operator, with a 60 per cent stake in Horns Rev, the world’s largest offshore wind facility off Denmark’s Jutland Peninsula and 100 per cent of the world’s third largest offshore wind farm, Lillgrund, between Sweden and Denmark. AMEC Wind owns one of the largest wind development portfolios in the UK with a potential of 573 MW.

Its onshore portfolio in the UK represents 6.5% of UK consented and in-development onshore projects, while its Scottish onshore portfolio represents 9.9% of Scottish consented and in planning onshore projects. Should all of the projects be realized, the net annual production of the portfolio would be approximately 2 TWh supplying electricity to approximately 400 000 households. Commenting on the acquisition, Lars G. Josefsson, Chief Executive Officer of the Vattenfall Group said: “This deal provides an excellent opportunity to expand our business in the UK by strengthening our local presence and leveraging our considerable experience in wind power”. “As part of our strategy to reduce emissions, Vattenfall has very ambitious plans for renewable energy.

The UK is a prime target market for future renewables growth, due to its well-functioning support systems, a deregulated and competitive market for electricity and openness to foreign investment. AMEC Wind is a sound company with long experience within this field and has developed important projects in line with our business and ambitions. Vattenfall sees the economics of the UK wind sector being attractive as the UK also benefits from high wind speeds, providing wind farms in the UK with higher load factors than wind farms in much of Continental Europe. “ Samir Brikho, AMEC Chief Executive said: “This is an excellent deal for both AMEC and Vattenfall. We are delighted to be working with Vattenfall as they build their position in the UK wind energy market. This is an area of national importance and together we look forward to making a significant contribution towards the UK’s targets for energy from renewable sources.” Vattenfall discloses this information pursuant to the Swedish Securities Market Act.

Solar Technologies is one of the UK’s leading installers of integrated solar PV and renewable energy technology solutions.  It is also one of British Gas’ technology contractors for Phase 2 of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) and is responsible for many of the major PV installations in the UK, including landmark installations such as London’s City Hall.

The acquisition of Solar Technologies is in line with British Gas’s strategy of investing in low-carbon technologies.  The company aims to build a portfolio of technologies that will enable it to meet customer, property and existing system needs with solutions that enable the generation of cheap, reliable and low-carbon energy.

In January this year British Gas announced an equity investment in, and development and distribution agreement with, Ceres Power Holdings plc to develop combined heat and power systems for residential properties based on solid oxide fuel cell technology.  More recently, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Disenco Energy plc that will see both companies collaborating in the development of micro-combined heat and power appliances for larger homes and commercial properties.

The government aims to have reduced UK domestic CO₂ emissions by 26 to 32% by 2020 and a binding target of 15% of all energy coming from renewable sources by the same year and these smaller scale renewable technologies have a significant role to play in helping to achieve these aims.  Through its Services business, British Gas has unparalleled national installation and servicing capabilities, which will enable it to maximise the opportunity that low carbon technologies present.

Recent changes in building planning approval systems and building regulations will further encourage the use of renewable energy in new buildings across the country.

Gearóid Lane, Managing Director of British Gas New Energy, said: “This acquisition is an important step in British Gas putting in place a range of renewable and low carbon energy technologies for our residential, business and public sector customers.  These technologies will become increasingly important as the UK implements policies to meet its stretching renewable energy and carbon emissions targets.  And with British Gas’s energy experts supporting millions of Britain’s homes and business, we are uniquely positioned to deliver.”

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association believes that photovoltaic energy could provide 12 per cent of European electricity demand by 2020.

Early in 2007, the Department for Trade and Industry set up the LCBP Phase 2, which allocated £48 million to be spent on five renewable energy technologies by 2009.  The technologies attract a 50 per cent capital cost grant, the main recipients of which are public sector organisations, with a cap at 50kW systems per building and a total of £1 million grant per organisation.  British Gas is a framework supplier for the programme.

The technology, called gas plasma, is claimed to create hydrogen gas and a non-toxic stone material from rubbish. The hydrogen can be used to drive turbines, which make electricity and heat, while the stone material could be used in building. APP says a plant treating 100,000 tonnes of waste could power more than 8,000 homes. The firm’s chief executive, Andrew Hamilton, said: “We think it is a very exciting breakthrough. It is a combination of existing technologies but we have made them work together. We are now taking it to commercial development. We think it has other applications, not only in the UK but around the world, because of the need to divert waste away from landfill and help achieve renewable energy targets.”

APP is currently securing sites around the UK and is hoping to persuade councils to let it process waste. It is also seeking potential clients, including electricity companies. “This operation would run 24 hours a day,” said Mr Hamilton. “It is not like wind power, which only blows occasionally. “This could put Swindon at the heart of plasma technology in the UK.” The company says only one per cent of waste treated in its plant would have to go to landfill. “It also promises to have one of the lowest carbon footprints of any power plant. APP has been developing the technique for three years after the technology was developed by Tectronics , a sister company based in Faringdon.

The film records the efforts of three year-in-industry students as they audit and reduce the carbon footprints of three Norwich companies. Aimee Etheridge, Jason Galloway and Alison Morris spent the last year at Bayer Crop Science, UCP Zeller and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital respectively and used the knowledge gained in their environmental sciences degree to advise how those organisations could reduce their energy consumption and ultimately their energy bill.

The three stars will traverse the green carpet on the way into the venue, which will be removed and planted on the UEA campus after the event. Following the screening there will be Q&A session for attending organisations to find out more about the year-in-industry programme as well as learning simple steps to reduce energy consumption in the workplace. Finally there will be a networking drinks reception at which Adnams’ low carbon beer East Green will be served.

The experience of Adnams working with CRed to monitor the carbon footprint of beer production provided the inspiration for the Carbon Cutters documentary.

Anybody wishing to attend the premiere should contact Matt Dolan through m.dolan@uea.ac.uk or 01603 591358.

The VCI was created to track intra-annual price developments in the over-the-counter secondary VER market and is based on confidential information from operators in the market. New Carbon Finance tracked close to 3 million tonnes of carbon credits in July and August 2008, worth about US$18.9 million at an average of US$6.3 per tonne. ThVCI has identified several key trends in the voluntary carbon market.

• The average price of a project-level “secondary VER” rose 26% in the first half of 2008, from US$5.0/t in 2007 to US$6.3/t. This is significantly higher than the voluntary credits exchanged on the Chicago Climate Exchange. Those traded at an average of US$3.9/t during the first half and have now fallen to US$2.5/t.
• The emergence of the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) as the most popular and dominant standard in the markets has been consolidated, with most volumes transacted through this standard. VCS credits have seen a 33% price increase (US$7.3/t) compared to their 2007 average value (US$5.5/t).
• Gold Standard (GS) VERs continue to be the “premium credit” commanding the highest average price at US$15.8/t, up 40%, and the standard developed by the Californian Climate Action Registry (CCAR) is also quickly gaining ground with prices 71% above the average VER price (US$10.8/t), likely due to demand from pre-compliance buyers.
• Project type is another important price determinant. As a sign of the increasing growth of the so-called pre-compliance market, methane projects accounted for the majority of offsets transacted in July and August and can currently obtain the highest prices. They have increased by 12% (US$7.3/t) from their 2007 price of US$6.5/t. Methane projects are particularly interesting as they are relatively inexpensive to develop and are most likely to be eligible in a future compliance programme.
• Prices for industrial gas and renewable energy credits have remained comparatively flat: renewable energy VERs traded at US$6.7/t and industrial gas at US$3.6/t. Forestry VERs have increased by 24% (US$5.2/t) from their 2007 price of US$4.2/t, a move likely attributable to the increased use of standards such as the CCB, CCAR and VCS.