The announcement last week that the largest onshore wind farm in Europe is to be expanded is set to offer a massive boost to renewables in the UK. The announcement by the Scottish first minister Alex Salmond will see the construction of a further 36 wind turbines on the site. The permission to extend the East Renfrewshire site by the government will be seen as a step towards realizing some of the rhetoric spoken this week in regards to a ‘green new deal’ in Britain.

Gordon Brown’s announcement at the beginning of this year about the introduction of a green new deal, was a reference to the reforms made by the Roosevelt administration in the face of the 1930s depression which gripped the world. Many were encouraged by the language of the announcement, believing it to be a real indication of a move towards a green economy. Certainly, the extension of the Eaglesham Moor wind farm site will go some way to contributing to the low-carbon economy espoused by politicians in recent months.

In real terms, it is likely that the wind farm expansion will lead to the creation of around 300 jobs and will make the site the first over 300MW in Europe with a total capacity of 462MW, enough to power up to 250,000 homes. As the UK government seeks to meet its climate change targets of cutting carbon emissions 80% by 2050, the Whitelee wind farm will provide evidence that there is at least some tangible work being done to both establish a green economy and meet its targets.

Speaking about the expansion of the wind farm expansion, Alex Salmon commented,

“Whitelee in its current form is already flying the flag for onshore wind power in Europe. The planned extension, which I am delighted to announce today, will enable the wind farm to harness its comparative and competitive advantage in wind generated energy within Europe.

He went on to add, “It has the infrastructure, the expertise and the capacity to continue to develop in the future.”

The recent introduction of a solar feed-in tariff by the Turkish government designed to kick start the photovoltaic (PV) sector has been heralded by Sharp Solar as the beginning of what will be solar boom in Turkey. Tariffs work by offering fixed, premium rates for small scale energy producers feeding electricity into the national grid.

The rates are designed to off set the obvious costs in producing electricity by renewable means and have proved to be a useful mechanism in attracting investment where they have been introduced elsewhere. Sharp Solar therefore believe that the tariff legislation along with the abundance of sunshine enjoyed by Turkey will contribute to the growth of their PV sector over the next ten years.

Peter Thiele, Executive Vice President of Sharp Energy Solutions stated this week that,

“There can be few countries in Europe that have as much growth potential as Turkey when it comes to the solar market”.

The tariff will operate in Turkey over a twenty year period with a rate of €0.28 per unit of energy for the first ten years and a rate of €0.22 for the following ten years being offered to solar micro-generators across Turkey. With an average of seven hours of sunlight per day, Turkey will prove to be an attractive prospect for investors looking to diversify their portfolios in green investments and similarly will help create PV jobs in the region.

With highly regarded investment gurus such as Jim Mellon adding their weight to the concept of solar investment, Turkey will be looking to benefit from what he described as an industry which will be ‘bigger than the internet’. Sharp Solar certainly agree with the idea that the Turkish feed-in tariff will lead to a solar industry boom in Turkey,

“Turkey has long been one of Sharp’s European focus markets for photovoltaics. Together with our partner FORM Solar we have been active in this market for a number of years and are keeping a close watch on developments. The 28 euro cent feed-in tariff for solar energy agreed for the first ten years, with 22 euro cent during the next ten years will, we believe, ensures a start of a healthy development of the market without the risk of overheating as was witnessed in Spain for example, but could be improved in order to generate more interest of investors,” quoted Barbara Rudek, Sharp Energy Solution Europe.

The UK government announced this week that it will roll out smart meters by 2020 and is currently going through a consultancy that will last until July. The introduction of the new high-tech metering system will bring an end to estimated energy bills and will make the growth of micro-generation much easier as it will allow monitoring of energy being consumed and fed-in to the grid.

For supporters of the proposed feed-in tariff, set to be introduced next year, this will also be an encouraging indication that the government is putting in place the infrastructure capable of dealing with the complexities of energy feed-in tariff monitoring. The Department of Energy and Climate Change declared the announcement as a ‘key-step’ in the move towards an intelligent grid system which will be of benefit to energy producers, micro-generators and consumers alike.

Micro-generation of energy across the UK will be kick started by the introduction of feed-in tariffs in 2010 as they will provide a fixed contract, guaranteeing a premium rate for small scale renewable producers feeding energy in to the national grid. The new smart meters and the technology involved will enable the monitoring of energy consumption and of course the energy fed in to the grid in order to make tariff payments accurate. Because of the increased potential for analysis of energy usage, smart meters will see the end of estimated bills and blanket tariffs which offer no rewards to consumers with energy conservation and climate change in mind.

Ed Milliband, Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change announced,

“The meters most of us have in our homes were designed for a different age, before climate change. Now we need to get smarter with our energy. Smart meters will empower all consumers to monitor their own energy use and make reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions as a result.

They will also mean the end of inaccurate bills and estimated meter readings. This is a big project affecting 26 million homes, and several million businesses, so it’s important we design a system that brings best value to everyone involved.”

The smart meter roll out, thought to be a step towards a fully integrated smart grid will be a huge tool in the introduction of the tariff system next year. The take up of renewable energy micro-generation in homes and business along with a cultural move towards carbon emission reduction will indeed herald smart meter technology as an important means for the government to meet its climate change targets in the next ten years.

The West Wales Eco Centre have teamed up with The Environmental Network for Pembrokeshire (TENP) to organize an international feed-in tariff which is set to be the first of its kind held in the UK. The conference, to be held in Llandissilio, Pembrokeshire on the 21^st of May will highlight the key features of the UK government’s upcoming feed-in tariff legislation which will be implemented in 2010.

Specifically, the conference will demonstrate the practical implications for the new feed-in tariff legislation for small scale, renewable energy suppliers in Wales. The principle behind feed-in tariffs is that they attract investment in green technologies by offering incentives designed to offset the obvious additional costs involved in generating electricity by renewable means. Small scale renewable energy suppliers would therefore be offered fixed contracts with a guaranteed premium rate for units of energy fed-in to the national grid. The higher rate paid for these units of energy would be met by the large energy companies, a system which has been extremely successful elsewhere, particularly in Germany.

With the obvious benefits to investors in mind, the conference to be held at the Nant y Ffin Hotel will address the commercial advantages to those thinking about investing in renewable energy in West Wales and will demonstrate the advantages that the new policy will give to green projects across the country. The free event will be sure to attract interest from those still unsure about the new legislation and also investors planning to invest in the West Wales area.

The West Wales Eco Centre and TENP are planning to draw examples where similar feed-in tariff legislation has proved fruitful worldwide. In Germany, the success of renewable energy and in particular solar energy has been largely attributed the coherent tariff policy implemented there in order to attract investment. There will therefore be a presentation by Josef Pesch of Juwi Holding AG on the subject of the German experience of implementing feed-in tariffs. In order to clarify government policy, John Moriarty from the Department of Energy and Climate Change will address the conference on the development of the UK tariff legislation. From a practical and logistical point of view, Hugo House of Generation Marketing, Good Energy will talk about the implications of feed-in tariffs for the electricity industry and Gordon James, Director of Friends of the Earth Cymru will highlight the need for a decentralized grid in managing the flow of energy being fed-in to the grid.

The conference marks a major landmark in renewable energy in the UK and will highlight the tangible benefits and provide valuable information for an industry which is still in its infancy in this country. For more information visit www.tenp.org.uk