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.