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UK Energy Secretary Chris Huhne delivered a sharp defense of the nation's renewable energy industries Wednesday while decrying criticism from the "climate skeptics and armchair engineers" he says are impeding the progress of the green economy.

Huhne made his comments during a keynote speech at RenewableUK's annual conference in Manchester where he said renewable energy technologies would deliver "a third industrial revolution every bit as profound as the first two." According to Huhne, just this year, there have been approximately 9,000 jobs created and £1.7 billion invested in the UK renewables sector.

For the first time ever the European Parliament has voted to create a dedicated budget line for wind energy research and development. Following today's vote, wind energy R&D should have its own 'symbolic' 1 million Euros EU budget line for 2012. "With this vote, the Parliament recognises that wind energy R&D needs its own budget line. It reinforces the value that investing in wind energy has to society in driving down the costs of a secure, reliable renewable energy system with huge job creation prospects."

"The decision has huge symbolic meaning. It creates a precedent for a dedicated financial allocation to wind energy R&D in the EU's 2014 - 2020 multi-annual financial framework", said Vilma Radvilaite, the European Wind Energy Association's Regulatory Affairs Advisor.

"We hope the EU will now go forward with its support for wind energy R&D and allocate a total of 1.3 billion Euros from 2014 - 2020 in its proposal for the multi-annual financial framework ", Radvilaite said.

During the current multi-annual framework wind energy R&D has been allocated around 20 million Euros under FP7 and 565 million Euros under the European Energy Programme for Recovery. The 'symbolic'  1 million Euros EU budget line for 2012 for wind energy R&D  would be in addition to approximately 24 million Euros that should be allocated to wind energy research in 2012 under the FP7 Programme.

Source: EWEA

Brussels, 19 October 2011 - The European Commission has today tabled a plan which will fund €50 billion worth of investment to improve Europe's transport, energy and digital networks. Targeted investments in key infrastructures will help to create jobs and boost Europe's competitiveness at a time when Europe needs this most. The "Connecting Europe Facility" will finance projects which fill the missing links in Europe's energy, transport and digital backbone. It will also make Europe's economy greener by promoting cleaner transport modes, high speed broadband connections and facilitating the use of renewable energy in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy. In addition the funding for energy networks will further integrate the internal energy market, reduce the EU's energy dependency and bolster the security of supply. To assist with the financing of the Connecting Europe Facility, the Commission has also adopted the terms for the Europe 2020 Project Bond Initiative which will be one of a number of risk-sharing instruments upon which the facility may draw in order to attract private finance in projects. The pilot phase will start already next year.

 

The last two years have brought about unprecedented growth for solar utility installations. The utility-scale solar market exploded in 2010 with 459 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) installations, according to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). And it's looking like 2011 has the potential to knock those numbers out of the ballpark. According to the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), as many as 50 utility-scale solar projects could be completed by the end of this year, totaling 831 MW.*

But what happens after 2011?

The solar industry on Wednesday launched its opening salvo to build support for an extension of a Treasury Department program its says has the potential to add tens of thousands of jobs while continuing to spur billions in private investment.

Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), spoke with the media to discuss the soon-to-expire Section 1603 Treasury Grant program, which allows energy developers in many industries such as solar, wind and biomass to receive a 30 percent grant in lieu of an existing tax credit. This direct payment comes only after a development comes online.