Exploring this week’s industry updates with Eco Insights as we highlight the latest trends in renewable energy. The UK government has launched a new scheme to attract investment in renewable energy storage, potentially leading to the first significant long-duration energy storage (LDES) facilities in decades. Concerns were raised about solar farms on agricultural land versus installing panels on new homes. Good Energy’s acquisition of Amelio Enterprises strengthens its solar market footprint, while the UK’s largest battery storage site, Lakeside Energy Park, is now live. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) also helped stabilize the grid after a recent interconnector failure. Additionally, floating wind could create 97,000 UK jobs by 2050, highlighting its potential for growth. Let’s explore the key trends and developments that are shaping the future of renewable energy. ??????
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?? Industry Updates:
Catch up on the latest news, policy changes and trends.
- New Scheme to Attract Investment in Renewable Energy Storage - The UK is a step closer to energy independence as the government launches a new scheme to help build energy storage infrastructure.? This could see the first significant long duration energy storage (LDES) facilities in nearly 4 decades, helping to create back up renewable power and bolster the UK’s energy security.?These technologies work like giant batteries by storing renewable energy and releasing it onto the grid and into homes when needed. This includes pumped storage hydro, which stores electricity by pumping water up a reservoir, to be released later.?Read the full article.
- Call For Home Solar Panels Instead of Solar Farms - Building solar farms on farmland instead of adding panels to new homes is "madness", BBC Politics East has been told. On the programme's Your Shout segment, Bengt Larson, from Bury St Edmunds, criticised plans to build huge solar farms on agricultural land when new homes were being built without panels. The message was backed by MPs from the three main parties: Pam Cox (Lab, Colchester), Jerome Mayhew (Con, Broadland and Fakenham) and Marie Goldman (Lib Dem, Chelmsford). Read the full article.
- Good Energy Buys British Solar Installer Amelio - UK renewable power supplier Good Energy Group Plc has agreed to acquire compatriot solar installer Amelio Enterprises Ltd in a move that will enable it to expand its decentralised energy services. The Lincolnshire-based company will be bought for up to GBP 6 million (USD 7.9m/EUR 7.2m), Good Energy said, adding that the move will enable it to significantly enhance its footprint in the solar installation market in its home country. Read the full article.
- UK's Largest Battery Energy Storage Site Goes Live - Lakeside Energy Park is a 100MW facility in Drax, near Selby, which can provide power to about 30,000 homes a day across England and Wales. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are used to store energy from renewables, like solar and wind, and then release it when the power is needed most. Mark Selvaratnam, project manager of Lakeside Energy Park, said the facility would have a "significant impact" on the country’s clean energy transition. Read the full article.
- UK BESS Fleet Jumped in to Provide 1.5GW of Power to Grid After Interconnector Trips - Battery energy storage systems (BESS) from several different firms have been proving their value as they supported Britain through recent interconnector failures. BESS helped the energy system recover after the NSL interconnector, which connects the UK and Norway, suddenly stopped exporting power to the UK at around 8:47 AM on 8 October. Norwegian power exports plummeted from 1.4GW to zero, with frequency on the network falling as low as 49.59Hz in two seconds—well below the National Energy System Operator (NESO) operational limits of 49.8 – 50.2Hz. However, the system recovered within two minutes thanks to fast-acting frequency services, particularly BESS operations. Read the full article.
- Evolve Energy Launches to Bridge The Gap in Direct Renewable Access for UK Businesses - BPG Energy, a licensed energy supplier and specialists in innovative renewable energy supply solutions for UK Industrial and Commercial (I&C) businesses, has rebranded to Evolve Energy. As Evolve Energy, the company aims to facilitate the transition to a greener energy supply by identifying and solving the challenges that hinder businesses' access to, and integration of, certified renewable energy into their supply positions. Read the full article.
- Energy UK CEO to Step Down - Emma Pinchbeck is to step down as Energy UK’s chief executive next month to become chief executive of the Climate Change Committee. She was appointed as Energy UK’s chief executive in January 2020 and since then has led the trade association through a critical period that has incorporated the pandemic and gas price crisis as well as six different Secretaries of State. Pinchbeck has also been an advocate for the economic as well as environmental benefits of the transition to clean energy, through the investment, growth and employment that the industry can bring to all parts of the country. Read the full article.
- UK Floaters 'Could Create 97,000 Jobs By 2050' - A new report by the joint UK government-industry Floating Offshore Wind Taskforce shows floating wind could be this century’s biggest British industrial success story – if the right measures are put in place to enable more projects to go ahead faster. Floating Wind: Anchoring the next generation offshore?says the UK’s engineering prowess and exceptional wind resources give the nation a head-start in the international race to build up a ￡1trillion global floating wind energy industry by 2050. It states that the UK’s floating wind industry can employ 97,000 people by 2050, with many of the jobs based in Scottish and Welsh ports, contributing ￡47bn to the UK economy by building and supplying domestic projects as well as exporting cutting-edge technology worldwide. Read the full article.
- EDF Renewables Launches Scots Wind Fund - EDF Renewables UK has launched its 2024 Stranoch Wind Farm Sponsorship Fund and is welcoming applications from local community groups in the Dumfries and Galloway area. Stranoch wind farm, located between New Luce and Barrhill, is a 20-turbine site with 102MW capacity. The electricity from the wind farm will be bought by two businesses – BAE Systems and Tesco – to help decarbonise their portfolios, with a third to be announced in due course. The ￡20,000 sponsorship fund will open for applications on Monday 7 October and applications are welcomed from communities across the area. Read the full article.
?? Innovative Technologies:
Discovering the cutting-edge technologies and innovations that are driving sustainability and reshaping the industry.
- Net Zero Technology Centre Awards ￡500,000 to Accelerate UK Electrolyser Development - Research from phase one of NZTC’s Energy Hubs project identified the need to accelerate the development of next-generation electrolyser technologies to meet future domestic and global hydrogen demand. NZTC is now pushing forward the development of prototypes, with a goal to pilot. This initiative aims to scale the Scottish supply chain and establish an export market. Thirty-six applications were received from around the globe with three UK electrolyser developers selected. Each will each receive a share of the ￡500,000 funding to accelerate the development of their technology.?Read the full article.
- Statera Energy Submits Proposal for UK’s Inaugural Utility-Scale Green Hydrogen Project - Statera Energy has submitted plans to build the UK’s first utility-scale green hydrogen project, known as Kintore Hydrogen, in Aberdeenshire. The project aims to support the transition to a renewable-led power system by using excess renewable energy, such as wind power, to produce green hydrogen. Once completed, Kintore Hydrogen is set to become the largest project of its kind in Europe. The initial phase will have 500 MW of operational capacity by 2028, with the potential to reach a full capacity of 3 GW, which could help reduce up to 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Red the full article.
?? Project Pipelines:
This weeks projects and initiatives that are making a positive impact.
- NextPower UK ESG Inks One of the Largest Solar Sleeved Power Purchase Agreements in the UK - Solar and infrastructure investor NextPower UK ESG (NPUK) revealed on Friday (4 October) that it has signed one of the UK’s largest solar sleeved PV power purchase agreements (PPAs) with utility Anglian Water Services covering the 75MW Llanwern solar PV power plant in Wales. The sleeved PPA is a 20-year inflation-linked contracted revenue agreement that covers 90% of the electricity and any associated Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) certificates from the Llanwern solar PV project. Situated in Newport, the PV project is recognised as one of the largest solar power plants in operation in the UK market. Read full article.
- Plans Lodged For 3,000-panel Solar Farm - Plans have been lodged to build a 3,000-panel solar farm on green belt land near Rotherham. Downing Renewables wants to develop a 6.6 hectare site to the north of West Lane in Aughton, on land owned by Yorkshire Water. The company say that the solar farm would generate up to 89% of the energy used at the adjacent Woodhouse Mill waste treatment works. Read the full article.
- Solar Energy Farm Plans Near University Approved - A new council-backed solar energy farm looks set to be built in Lancashire after councillors approved an application. Plans are in place for the site near Bailrigg and the West Coast Mainline railway, near Lancaster University. Solar panels and infrastructure have been approved for land south of Burrow Beck at Bailrigg Lane. The site is owned by Lancaster City Council, which said it was "committed to supporting the move to a lower carbon future". Read the full article.
- Highfield Solar Lands Financing For 132MWp Irish Solar Projects - Highfield Solar has successfully secured full financing for two new solar projects in the Republic of Ireland, with a combined 132MWp capacity. The company—which is a joint venture between renewable energy developers ib vogt, Highfield Energy, and Aura Power, plus Co?peratieve Rabobank U.A.—has secured an undisclosed sum to fund the 70MWp Clonin North solar plant and the 62MWp North Arklow project. Highfield Solar has previously collaborated with Co?peratieve Rabobank U.A. on solar projects, with the two firms working together to finance a 473MWp portfolio since July 2021, across four projects spread across Ireland. Read the full article.
- Anesco Gets Green Light for 48MW Staffordshire Solar Farm - Anesco has received planning permission from South Staffordshire Council for the development of a 48-megawatt solar farm in Coven, Staffordshire. The 143-acre site will generate enough green electricity to power around 13,000 homes and save approximately 10,000 tonnes of carbon from being produced annually. Its construction is expected to get underway in early 2025. Read the full article.
- Pacific Green Launches Second Phase of its UK Battery Energy Storage (BESS) Strategy - Development Directors Steven Black and Fraser Blackwood have joined Pacific Green from the Renewables Division of property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and report to Dane Wilkins, Pacific Green Europe's MD. Steven and Fraser bring a wealth of experience in delivering complex energy consents in the onshore wind, solar, BESS and transmission infrastructure sectors, working from site origination through the consenting process to project delivery. Pacific Green's first phase of UK BESS development saw the progression of two strategically significant UK energy storage assets on the site of a former coal plant – the 100MW/100MWh Richborough Energy Park and the neighboring 249MW/ 373.5MWh Sheaf Energy Park currently under construction. The company's second phase UK BESS strategy will see the company originate clean energy projects: identifying land and managing grid and planning consents, to expand an already growing global operational portfolio of energy storage assets. Read the full article.
- EIG launches Fidra Energy With 3.15GW BESS Pipeline - Institutional energy investment firm EIG has today (7 October) announced the launch of a new battery energy storage system (BESS) developer, Fidra Energy. Fidra Energy is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, and aims to have a 10GW of BESS projects across the UK and Europe by 2030. So far, Fidra Energy has a 3.15GW development pipeline in the UK. The largest of these projects is the 1.45GW ?Thorpe Marsadh project, set to begin construction in South Yorkshire next year, which when completed will be the largest BESS project in Europe. Read the full article.
- Landfill to Become Ecopark With 4,000 Solar Panels - Construction is under way to transform a landfill site into an "ecopark", which could power up to 2,500 homes annually. It will include 4,000 solar panels that produce "green and cheaper electricity" for Gloucester, said developers. The 360-acre site at Hempsted, owned by Enovert, will also feature a biomass generator and a woodland with 100,000 trees of different species. Read the full article.
- SSE Renewables Starts Construction of 320MW BESS - The renewable energy arm of utility SSE has begun construction of a 320MW/640MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in North Yorkshire. When completed, it will be one of the UK’s largest BESS. Construction of the Monks Fryston BESS officially started yesterday (8 October), as confirmed by a ceremony that included project partners Morrison Energy Services and Sungrow, the energy storage supplier, along with SSE Renewables.? The BESS aims to energise in early 2026 after SSE made a final investment decision on the project in November 2023. It is next to a substation operated by the UK transmission system operator (TSO) National Grid. Read the full article.
- RWE and Arenko Ink Software Framework Deal for Solar - Energy industry software provider Arenko has agreed a framework deal with RWE Supply and Trading, allowing RWE to use Arenko’s Nimbus Trade platform for its solar projects. Nimbus Trade will initially be rolled out across three RWE solar and storage projects currently under construction. The three projects that will first use the Nimbus Trade platform have a combined capacity of 165MW of solar generation and 55MW/110MWh of storage. Two of these three projects are set to go live as soon as early 2025. Read the full article.
- Aura Power Lands Finance for 49.9MW Solar Farm - Renewable energy developer Aura Power has successfully secured financing for the 49.9MW Kemble Solar Farm. The Bristol-based developer has reached financial close on a ￡30 million debt facility for construction of the solar farm from Co?peratieve Rabobank U.A. The Kemble Solar Farm, which is to be located near Cirencester, Gloucstershire, is the first of a series of eight ready to build projects to secure finance. Aura Power’s eight ready to build projects, all of which secured planning permission in the past 24 months, will have a total capacity of over 500MWp once completed. Read the full article.
? Talent Spotlight:
Highlighting this weeks hottest jobs in the renewable industry.
- Solar Project Manager | Hybrid Role | Up to ￡70k - View Job
- Solar Installer | Field based, Nationwide | Up to ￡45k - View Job
- Operations Manager | Cambridge | Up to ￡50k - View Job
- Renewables Sales Engineer | Dorset | Up to ￡40k - View Job
- Technical Sales Engineer | Swindon | Up to ￡45k - View Job
- Commercial Lead | Hybrid/Cork | Up to ￡75k - View Job
- Part Time HR Assistant | Swindon | Up to ￡20,625k - View Job
- Land Planning Manager | Remote/Hybrid | Up to ￡80k - View Job
- Solar & Comms Engineer | Germany | Up to $60k - View Job
- Solar & Comms Engineer | Milton Keynes/Nationwide | Up to ￡50k - View Job
- Electrical Project Engineer | Wadebridge | Up to ￡50k - View Job
- Project Manager - Wind | Wadebridge | Up to ￡50k - View Job
For all the latest roles, updates and help with hiring specialist, cleantech talent check out Zero Global
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