Maria McCaffery

The UK Energy Bill has become law after being given the seal of approval by the Queen today. It received the Royal Assent in the House of Lords this morning, ending a three-year process that began with a consultation on proposed changes. The Royal Assent is when the Queen formally agrees to make the bill […]

The offshore wind industry in the UK has enjoyed a “record breaking year” in terms of new deployment, with a 79% rise in capacity in the 12 months to June this year. Trade body RenewableUK’s latest annual report suggests it marks the first year in which offshore capacity has outstripped onshore wind power. Installed capacity […]

Local communities will be given more powers to stop the development of onshore wind farms but will also be offered greater incentives to host them. The Government has announced new planning guidance in England to ensure local opposition can override national energy targets and also a five-fold increase in the value of community benefits. The […]

Candidates in local elections who back wind power are more likely to win, it was claimed today. The research by ComRes and commissioned by wind trade body RenewableUK looked at two marginal seats for both the local and general elections, Northumberland and Cornwall. Tomorrow elections take place in 34 local authorities around England and some […]

All 175 turbines at what is believed to be the world’s largest operating offshore wind farm are now generating clean electricity. The 630MW London Array in the Thames Estuary has completed its first phase of the project, with the final turbine (pictured) online on Saturday, 6 April. With all turbines now exporting power to the […]

The energy industry has welcomed the newly appointed Energy Minister, referring to him as “effective and no-nonsense” and one who will work towards a green and low carbon economy. Those are some of the views from industry groups following Prime Minister David Cameron’s announcement today of replacing John Hayes with Michael Fallon (pictured) as Energy […]

The Scottish Government has announced a £4.1 million funding for new wave and tidal power research in the country. The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney will get £3 million for a new grid-connected testing bed and another £1.1 million to look at the potential of support vessels used in the marine industry. It […]

Chancellor George Osborne should take note of the Climate Change Committee’s warning against a dash for gas leading to a huge rise in future household bills. The Committee suggested energy generation from renewable sources would keep British households’ fuel bills lower than relying on fossil fuels such as gas. It warned of the risks of […]

Renewable UK has celebrated November as a record breaking month for wind. During the month the record of wind generation in the UK was smashed three times and peaked at more than 4.5 GW. Despite last week’s Energy Bill being seen as more pro-gas the pro-wind group says the generation figures proves just how important […]

The UK generated a record-breaking 4GW of wind power this morning. The new figures from National Grid, which is enough to power more than 3 million homes, broke the previous record of 3.8GW set in May this year. A National Grid spokesman said: “Accurate long range forecasts made it possible to know a week ahead […]