UK’s first marine energy park to be built in the South West

The Government is setting up Britain’s first marine energy park in the South West. The park will stretch from Bristol to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, 28 miles off the Cornish coast. Greg Barker, the minister for climate change …

Read more...

COMMENT

Huhne to take solar FiT case to the Supreme Court

The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne has confirmed he plans to contest a decision by the Court of Appeal preventing him from carrying out controversial plans to cut the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) for solar electricity. …

Read more...

COMMENT

DECC is denied feed-in tarrif appeal

The Court of Appeal has denied the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) a hearing for its appeal against the High Court’s ruling on UK solar feed-in tariffs. This means the feed-in-tariff will now go back to 43.3p for …

Read more...

COMMENT

Can you claim the Renewables Heat Incentive on your biomass boiler?

The only way to claim is if the primary use of the boiler is commercial. Therefore it’s important to establish how the Valuation Office deems the buildings which are served by the boiler. For example, single domestic dwellings aren’t eligible …

Read more...

COMMENT

Relaxed planning permission for heat pumps in England

  A recent change in planning permission rules means homeowners no longer need planning permission for air source heat pumps. Originally air source heat pumps were not classified as a permitted development because of concerns about potential noise the equipment …

Read more...

COMMENT

What opportunities are there for community energy schemes?

Some of the region’s leading renewables’ experts gathered to discuss the future of natural energy last week during a round-table event hosted by the Western Morning News. Sonya Bedford from Westcountry firm Stephens Scown LLP looks at what to expect. …

Read more...

COMMENT

Round table debate hosted by Stephens Scown discuss impact of cuts to the Feed in Tariff

A round table formed by leading players in the Westcountry’s renewables sector met at the headquarters of the Western Morning News yesterday to discuss the impact of forthcoming government cuts to the solar Feed in Tariff upon the region’s burgeoning …

Read more...

COMMENT

Marine and Costal Access Bill – consultation begins on marine conservation zones

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs launched on 20 April a consultation on its draft strategy for delivering a network of marine protected areas in England’s territorial waters and the UK offshore waters (beyond 12 nautical miles) that …

Read more...

COMMENT

EU tightens up the security of its carbon emissions trading system

The EU has tightened up the security of its carbon emissions trading system, as UK Minerals lawyer Robert Camp reports. The EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) is the largest of its kind in the world and was set up in …

Read more...

COMMENT

Solar tariff review is already hitting the West’s green economy

Renewable heat scheme ‘great opportunity’ for South West business, says Stephens Scown renewables team An £860 million fund to grow the take-up of renewable heat generation in the UK has been welcomed by Stephen Scown’s renewable team as a ‘great …

Read more...

COMMENT