Vattenfall Developing Proposal to Extend UK Offshore Wind Farm
Swedish renewable energy company Vattenfall is developing a proposal to extend its 300-megawatt Thanet offshore wind farm off the coast of Kent in southern England, it said. In 2010, Vattenfall scrapped plans to extend the wind farm, citing grid constraints. Reporting by Nina Chestney
French Unions Walk Out of Nuclear Sector Meeting with Minister
Several French trade unions walked out of a meeting with the economy minister on the nuclear sector on Monday, saying they did not want their participation used as a cover to sanction decisions such as on EDF's Hinkley Point project in Britain. Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron was expected to meet the energy branch of the trade unions to discuss the overhaul of the French nuclear sector which has been in turmoil since the Fukushima disaster in 2011. The unions…
EU's Gasoline Refiners Eye Profit in VW Scandal
European gasoline demand expected to rise in coming years; Coastal refineries with high gasoline output could benefit. Some of Europe's struggling refineries could get an unexpected boost from Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal if once-dominant gasoline regains its popularity. Europe's refineries, many of which were built in the 1950s to support booming petrol demand, have been hit over the past 20 years by shrinking fuel demand and government incentives that skewed car sales toward diesel engines…
Britain's New Government to Kick-Start Shale
Britain's new Conservative government could take control of planning decisions to speed up the development of shale gas and prevent investor money from drying up, lawyers say. Britain is estimated to have enough shale gas trapped below its surface to meet its gas needs for decades. But deployment of the controversial fracking technology required to release gas trapped in rocks has been slow as planning hurdles and environmental protests have prevented companies from digging in the ground.
Vestas Wins Major UK Offshore Wind Project
Danish wind turbine maker Vestas said on Monday its offshore joint venture had received a 400 megawatt (MW) order for a project in Great Britain, its single largest offshore order to date. Vestas will provide 116 turbines for E.ON's Rampion project off the coast of southern England, which will generate enough electricity to power 290,000 homes, according to the German utility. First delivery is expected in the first quarter of 2017, Vestas said. The wind farm will be fully operational a year later, according to E.ON.
Kemp: Oil Wells in England's Green and Pleasant Land
There could be up to 100 billion barrels of oil onshore beneath southern England, the chief executive of a small exploration firm told the BBC in an interview on Thursday. To which the correct response is "yes, but". Based on an analysis of samples from a single well drilled near London's Gatwick airport, UK Oil and Gas Investments estimates there could be 158 million barrels per square mile in the local area. Horse Hill, where the well was drilled, is part of the Weald Basin…
Thatcher's Secret Weapon in Miners' Strike Shuts, Ending an Era
Littlebrook power station, which towers grimly over the lower Thames near Dartford in Kent, ceases operations today after almost 35 years, the last of Britain's big oil-fired power plants to close. Littlebrook is an unlikely symbol of modern Britain. But the power plant played a critical role helping the Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher break the miners' strike of 1984/85. Now its closure marks the impact of higher oil prices and EU-wide policies…
UK Council Rejects Fracking Proposal
A plan by London-based oil and gas exploration firm Celtique Energie to drill for shale gas in southern England failed to win county government approval on Tuesday, the latest in a series of setbacks to Britain's fledgling shale industry. Citing concerns about noise and the impact on the environment, West Sussex County Council's planning committee rejected the firm's application for permission to explore for oil and gas in Wisborough Green for three years.
UK Approves Offshore Wind Farm
The British government on Wednesday approved the construction of utility E.ON's 700 megawatt Rampion offshore wind farm off the coast of Sussex in the southern England. The 2 billion pound ($3.4 billion) project is expected to start producing electricity in 2018/19 and generate enough power for 450,000 households. Construction will start next year on the onshore part that services the wind farm, with more than 750 jobs supporting the project's development, the government said.
Scotland May Have Shale for 30 Years' Worth of UK Gas Needs
Scotland, heading for a September independence referendum, could hold enough shale gas resources to cover UK gas needs for more than 30 years, a geological report published by the British government showed on Monday. But Scotland's roughly 80 trillion cubic metres of gas is only around 6 percent of Britain's potential, with the rest mainly in the Bowland Shale region across northern England. The British Geological Survey report, the third focusing on high potential areas which have covered northern and southern England…
UK to Ease Fracking Rules as Huge Reserves Emerge
Proposal allows drilling without landowners' permission; billions of barrels of oil under rock formations in south. Huge shale gas finds in north have fuelled fracking boom. Britain plans to ease rules on accessing shale oil and gas, including drilling without landowners' permission, a move that coincides with a government report suggesting billions of barrels of shale oil may lie underneath southern England. As the country's North Sea reserves dwindle, hopes are that shale oil and gas will take its place and reduce dependence on imported fuel.
RWE to Close Oil-fired Power Plant
Utility RWE said it would close a 1,140 megawatt oil-fired power station in Kent, southern England at the end of March 2015, among a number of older British plants to close because of EU environmental law. Britain is at risk of a power capacity crunch in the 2020s as nuclear stations come to the end of their life and coal and gas plants shut because they cannot afford to add technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to comply with EU laws. RWE said the Littlebrook Power Station had opted out of the European Union's Large Combustion Plant Directive…
Exxon Works to Reopen Siphoned UK Pipeline
Exxon Mobil is working to reopen one of Britain's main underground fuel pipelines after the discovery of a tapping device and a stash of diesel that police believe was siphoned off by thieves. The company, which operates as Esso in Britain, said on Tuesday that the device was found on the Midline pipeline that transports fuel from its Fawley Refinery near the south coast to its Birmingham fuel terminal in central England. "Our specialists are now working…
