Renewable energy firm RWE is to drop the Npower name from its UK brand as it brings its British operations into line with its European wind projects. http://www.energyvoice.com/2014/01/renewable-power-firm-rwe-switches-names-dropping-npower-brand/
Investments in renewable energy were supposed to be a sure thing, with wind park operators promising annual returns of up to 20 percent. More often than not, however, such pledges have been illusory — and many investors have lost their principal to boot. http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/wind-power-investments-in-germany-proving-riskier-than-thought-a-946367.html
The engineers and operators who run wind turbines are acutely aware that one can easily have too much of a good thing. Windy days mean lots of generation, but the turbines can be severely damaged if the wind velocity is too great, so they must be carefully managed. That’s not Read more
The laying of sea-bed cables for offshore windfarms is the “achilles heel” of the niche insurance sector, driving £100mn in claims over the last five years, according to Danish insurer Codan. http://www.insidefac.com/cables-cause-100mn-in-offshore-windfarm-losses
Developers have dropped plans for wind farms in Cornwall and Lancashire, accusing the government of “constantly shifting its position” on renewable energy. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25968075
Plans to turn a former oil and gas industry fabrication yard into a port for the construction of offshore wind turbines have taken a step forward. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-25977598
President Barack Obama is sticking to a fossil-fuel dependent energy policy, delivering a blow to a months-long, behind-the-scenes effort by nearly every major environmental group to convince the White House that the policy is at odds with his goals on global warming. http://www.thegwpf.org/schism-obama-green-ngos-energy-policy/
Popcorn time in Westminster this week, where the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee met to grill two sets of witnesses on the pros and cons of the IPCC’s 5th Assessment review. (Watch the video here) H/t Bishop Hill. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100257206/climate-science-is-for-second-raters-says-worlds-greatest-atmospheric-physicist/