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[BusinessGreen.com > News > Renewables]
Helius boosts biomass portfolio with new Southampton site
Company outlines plans for new 100MW biomass power plant on the south coast
James Murray, BusinessGreen, 19 Aug 2010
Southampton has emerged as the latest port of call for biomass energy developer Helius Energy Plc, after the company announced this week that it has signed an option to lease a site in the Port of Southampton for the proposed construction of a 100MW power plant.
The company said that it will now enter into consultation with the local community and relevant officials with a view to submitting a planning application for the 20 acre site.
The proposed power plant is expected to require around 700,000 tonnes of biomass feedstock a year and the company signaled that it would aim to source sustainable material from both the UK and overseas.
"Securing this site at Southampton for our proposed 100MWe renewable energy power plant is an important addition to our strong portfolio of sites," said Adrian Bowles, Helius' chief executive. "This is a further step on the way to delivering Helius' strategy to develop, own and operate a portfolio of biomass projects."
Helius is emerging as a major player in the fast-expanding British biomass sector. Earlier this year, the company was granted planning permission to build a 100MW power plant at Avonmouth in Bristol and it has also been given approval for a proposed 7.2MW plant in Scotland that will be fuelled using waste material from local whisky distilleries.
In addition, the company received planning permission last year for a 65MW facility near Stallingborough in Lincolnshire, before subsequently selling a large stake in the project to the renewable energy arm of RWE.
A spokeswoman for the firm said that it was currently looking at a range of options for financing the Avonmouth plant.
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Politics]
Clegg turns up volume on coalition's "quiet green revolution"
"We won't try and dazzle you with green gimmicks"
James Murray, BusinessGreen, 19 Aug 2010
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today promised the coalition government would oversee a "quiet green revolution" that avoids "green gimmicks" and instead focuses on delivering low carbon jobs.
Speaking at an event in the north east hosted by business advisory firm TEDCO, Clegg aimed a thinly veiled swipe at the previous government, insisting the coalition would avoid making headline-grabbing environmental claims.
"All politicians have warm words on the environment, and all governments talk about leading the shift to a new green economy," he said. "This government is going to do things differently. We won't try and dazzle you with green gimmicks. We want to impress you by quietly getting on with the job."
Clegg highlighted the government's planned Green Deal scheme, which will use low interest loans to help households and businesses pay for energy efficiency improvements, as an example of the kind of policy that will serve to cut greenhouse gas emissions and create new green jobs.
"Green Deal Finance will allow householders to make their homes more energy efficient, saving on their bills, without the need for them to provide up-front finance," he explained.
The government is expected to move forward with the legislation required to underpin the Green Deal scheme in the autumn and is aiming to launch the initiative in 2012.
Ministers have already spoken to a host of high street firms about them providing the finance and accompanying green home makeover services, and the coalition reckons up to 14 million homes could be eligible for the scheme.
Clegg urged businesses to begin preparing for the scheme now. "We believe these proposals have the potential to unlock tens of billions of private sector spending in the coming years, and that means jobs," he said. "I want the business and research communities that will benefit from these changes to have the confidence that they are coming."
However, despite his insistence that the coalition would bring an end to green rhetoric Clegg still offered an upbeat assessment of its approach to the environment.
"This Government's aim is to lead a quiet green revolution, not release more green hot air," he said. "We need a new kind of economy after the crisis of the old. This means more green jobs here in the North East, instead of an over reliance on financial services in the south. I believe we can create jobs and protect the planet at the same time."
Clegg's visit to the North East comes during a week of frenetic activity from the Deputy Prime Minister, as he covers for David Cameron while the Prime Minister is on holiday in Cornwall.
However, a series of announcements have been overshadowed by reported rifts within the coalition government and on-going concerns about the scale of the spending cuts that are due to be announced in October.
Green businesses are likely to welcome the Deputy Prime Minister's focus on low carbon policy and jobs. However, many remain concerned about the anticipated cuts at the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Meanwhile, the CBI launched an attack on the coalition's approach to energy policy last week, warning that uncertainty over future policies was holding back up to £150bn of predominantly low carbon investment.
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Politics]
BP "kill" operation could be delayed until September
Officials insist further pressure tests are required, amidst concerns operation could lead to fresh rupture of the well
BusinessGreen.com Staff, BusinessGreen, 19 Aug 2010
The operation to finally "kill" BP's ruptured Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico could be delayed until early September after officials insisted yesterday that further tests were required before engineers could complete the procedure sealing off the well.
Thad Allen, the retired Coast Guard Admiral in charge of the government's response to the leak, told reporters that another round of pressure tests were scheduled to take place over the next few days as engineers try to work out how to complete the so-called "bottom kill" operation that will see cement and heavy-drilling mud pumped through a relief well connected to the Macondo well.
The well has been capped for almost a month, but Allen said scientists working on the project were concerned that up to 1,000 barrels of oil may have been trapped between the well pipe and the surrounding rocks. Pumping further mud and cement through the relief well could force this oil up, potentially leading to another rupture at the top of the well.
He added that engineers were considering installing a new blow-out preventer or pressure venting system at the top of the well to mitigate against the risk of a second leak.
He said that the final decision on which approach to take would not be made until the latest tests results are in. "[The work] will all be conditions-based and I can't tell you how many days it will take to do that," he told reporters. "We will do it when we're comfortable moving ahead."
The latest delay came as the Obama administration's attempts to draw a line under the crisis where challenged by two teams of independent scientists who yesterday disputed the White House's high-profile claim that around 75 per cent of the leaked oil had been removed from the Gulf.
University of South Florida scientists said that a 100-day research voyage had found oil on the ocean floor at fish spawning grounds in the DeSoto canyon, while test results suggested oil had been absorbed by the phytoplankton at the bottom of the food chain.
Similarly a report from the University of Georgia, concluded that up to 79 per cent of the oil released into the Gulf of Mexico has not been recovered and remains a threat to the ecosystem.
"One major misconception is that oil that has dissolved into water is gone and, therefore, harmless," said Charles Hopkinson, professor of marine sciences at the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "The oil is still out there, and it will likely take years to completely degrade. We are still far from a complete understanding of what its impacts are."
In related news, BP moved yesterday to close its own compensation claims operation after paying out $368m to claimants impacted by the spill. Businesses and individuals seeking compensation will from today be required to apply to the independent $20bn compensation fund managed by Ken Feinberg.
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Renewables]
Helius boosts biomass portfolio with new Southampton site
Company outlines plans for new 100MW biomass power plant on the south coast
James Murray, BusinessGreen, 19 Aug 2010
Southampton has emerged as the latest port of call for biomass energy developer Helius Energy Plc, after the company announced this week that it has signed an option to lease a site in the Port of Southampton for the proposed construction of a 100MW power plant.
The company said that it will now enter into consultation with the local community and relevant officials with a view to submitting a planning application for the 20 acre site.
The proposed power plant is expected to require around 700,000 tonnes of biomass feedstock a year and the company signaled that it would aim to source sustainable material from both the UK and overseas.
"Securing this site at Southampton for our proposed 100MWe renewable energy power plant is an important addition to our strong portfolio of sites," said Adrian Bowles, Helius' chief executive. "This is a further step on the way to delivering Helius' strategy to develop, own and operate a portfolio of biomass projects."
Helius is emerging as a major player in the fast-expanding British biomass sector. Earlier this year, the company was granted planning permission to build a 100MW power plant at Avonmouth in Bristol and it has also been given approval for a proposed 7.2MW plant in Scotland that will be fuelled using waste material from local whisky distilleries.
In addition, the company received planning permission last year for a 65MW facility near Stallingborough in Lincolnshire, before subsequently selling a large stake in the project to the renewable energy arm of RWE.
A spokeswoman for the firm said that it was currently looking at a range of options for financing the Avonmouth plant.
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Politics]
Clegg turns up volume on coalition's "quiet green revolution"
"We won't try and dazzle you with green gimmicks"
James Murray, BusinessGreen, 19 Aug 2010
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today promised the coalition government would oversee a "quiet green revolution" that avoids "green gimmicks" and instead focuses on delivering low carbon jobs.
Speaking at an event in the north east hosted by business advisory firm TEDCO, Clegg aimed a thinly veiled swipe at the previous government, insisting the coalition would avoid making headline-grabbing environmental claims.
"All politicians have warm words on the environment, and all governments talk about leading the shift to a new green economy," he said. "This government is going to do things differently. We won't try and dazzle you with green gimmicks. We want to impress you by quietly getting on with the job."
Clegg highlighted the government's planned Green Deal scheme, which will use low interest loans to help households and businesses pay for energy efficiency improvements, as an example of the kind of policy that will serve to cut greenhouse gas emissions and create new green jobs.
"Green Deal Finance will allow householders to make their homes more energy efficient, saving on their bills, without the need for them to provide up-front finance," he explained.
The government is expected to move forward with the legislation required to underpin the Green Deal scheme in the autumn and is aiming to launch the initiative in 2012.
Ministers have already spoken to a host of high street firms about them providing the finance and accompanying green home makeover services, and the coalition reckons up to 14 million homes could be eligible for the scheme.
Clegg urged businesses to begin preparing for the scheme now. "We believe these proposals have the potential to unlock tens of billions of private sector spending in the coming years, and that means jobs," he said. "I want the business and research communities that will benefit from these changes to have the confidence that they are coming."
However, despite his insistence that the coalition would bring an end to green rhetoric Clegg still offered an upbeat assessment of its approach to the environment.
"This Government's aim is to lead a quiet green revolution, not release more green hot air," he said. "We need a new kind of economy after the crisis of the old. This means more green jobs here in the North East, instead of an over reliance on financial services in the south. I believe we can create jobs and protect the planet at the same time."
Clegg's visit to the North East comes during a week of frenetic activity from the Deputy Prime Minister, as he covers for David Cameron while the Prime Minister is on holiday in Cornwall.
However, a series of announcements have been overshadowed by reported rifts within the coalition government and on-going concerns about the scale of the spending cuts that are due to be announced in October.
Green businesses are likely to welcome the Deputy Prime Minister's focus on low carbon policy and jobs. However, many remain concerned about the anticipated cuts at the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Meanwhile, the CBI launched an attack on the coalition's approach to energy policy last week, warning that uncertainty over future policies was holding back up to £150bn of predominantly low carbon investment.
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Politics]
BP "kill" operation could be delayed until September
Officials insist further pressure tests are required, amidst concerns operation could lead to fresh rupture of the well
BusinessGreen.com Staff, BusinessGreen, 19 Aug 2010
The operation to finally "kill" BP's ruptured Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico could be delayed until early September after officials insisted yesterday that further tests were required before engineers could complete the procedure sealing off the well.
Thad Allen, the retired Coast Guard Admiral in charge of the government's response to the leak, told reporters that another round of pressure tests were scheduled to take place over the next few days as engineers try to work out how to complete the so-called "bottom kill" operation that will see cement and heavy-drilling mud pumped through a relief well connected to the Macondo well.
The well has been capped for almost a month, but Allen said scientists working on the project were concerned that up to 1,000 barrels of oil may have been trapped between the well pipe and the surrounding rocks. Pumping further mud and cement through the relief well could force this oil up, potentially leading to another rupture at the top of the well.
He added that engineers were considering installing a new blow-out preventer or pressure venting system at the top of the well to mitigate against the risk of a second leak.
He said that the final decision on which approach to take would not be made until the latest tests results are in. "[The work] will all be conditions-based and I can't tell you how many days it will take to do that," he told reporters. "We will do it when we're comfortable moving ahead."
The latest delay came as the Obama administration's attempts to draw a line under the crisis where challenged by two teams of independent scientists who yesterday disputed the White House's high-profile claim that around 75 per cent of the leaked oil had been removed from the Gulf.
University of South Florida scientists said that a 100-day research voyage had found oil on the ocean floor at fish spawning grounds in the DeSoto canyon, while test results suggested oil had been absorbed by the phytoplankton at the bottom of the food chain.
Similarly a report from the University of Georgia, concluded that up to 79 per cent of the oil released into the Gulf of Mexico has not been recovered and remains a threat to the ecosystem.
"One major misconception is that oil that has dissolved into water is gone and, therefore, harmless," said Charles Hopkinson, professor of marine sciences at the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "The oil is still out there, and it will likely take years to completely degrade. We are still far from a complete understanding of what its impacts are."
In related news, BP moved yesterday to close its own compensation claims operation after paying out $368m to claimants impacted by the spill. Businesses and individuals seeking compensation will from today be required to apply to the independent $20bn compensation fund managed by Ken Feinberg.
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