Latest Energy News

Hong Kong considers 17 floating solar farms

Shek Pik Reservoir

Black & Veatch is to start an investigation into the feasibility of large scale floating solar farms at 17 of Hong Kong’s impounded reservoirs.

Water loss reduction, algae growth suppression and renewable power will be the study’s main areas of analysis. The client is Water Supplies Department of the Hong Kong.…

Fully scalable graphene sieve to save energy

Creating graphene via a chemical vapour deposition

Researchers have found a way to ‘mass’ produce graphene sieves which could vastly reduce the amount of energy used in the production of heavy water for the nuclear industry.

Heavy water is used predominantly as a moderator in nuclear fission reactors. To make heavy water, deuterium – a heavy isotope of…

Fake seaweed tested to provide scour protection

East Anglia One large scale test 1 frond mats

Leaf-like mats, which mimic natural seaweed, are being tested to see if they can provide scour protection for offshore windfarm foundations in the southern North Sea.

Consultant HR Wallingford is working with ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) to test the performance of the mats for the piled jacket foundations at the East Anglia…

Buses could be powered by sewer fatbergs

Fatberg in tunnel

Buses could soon be powered by sewer fatbergs in a bid to find an environmentally friendly way of disposing the problematic waste.

Thames Water has teamed up with renewables firm Argent Energy to look into how the congealed fats, oils and greases could be turned into an environmentally friendly fuel. The…

Skanska to build 7km tunnel to mountain power plant

skanska norway power plant

Skanska has won a £31M contract to build a power plant in Norway, which includes a 7km tunnel through a mountain.

Some of the construction sites can only be reached by helicopter and work involves drilling of shafts, blasting for the power plant and concrete work in the power station. The…

Britain has first coal free day since 1882

Coal fired power station 3to2

The UK has gone without energy generated from coal for 24 hours – the first time since the start of the industrial revolution in 1882.

West Burton 1, a coal fired power station in Nottinghamshire, went off at 22:50 last Thursday marking the start of the 24 hour period. Half way…

The Gallery | World’s first wooden stadium

New timber sustainable stadium for Forest Green Rovers-approach view

Green electricity company Ecotricity has unveiled its plans to build a new eco park near Stroud including what is claimed to be a world first timber football stadium and green technology centre.

Ecotricity said the new ‘Gateway to Stroud’ contained a green technology business park with sustainably built commercial offices and…

Construction to start on 720MW dam in Pakistan

The Three Gorges Dam

A 720MW hydropower scheme will begin construction in Pakistan after the project reached financial close.

The Karot hydropower venture, developer China Three Gorges’ first in the region, will sit across the Jhelum River and include a 95m dam and four headrace tunnels, along with a spillway to control any excess flows…

PM signs off £1.3bn Swansea investment deal

Tata steel construction

A £1.3bn investment programme for Swansea has been signed off by prime minister Theresa May, kickstarting 11 major projects including a marine energy centre.

The Swansea City Region Deal, which includes £241M of UK and Welsh government funding and the rest from private and public sector sources, is expected to bring…

WSP wins North Sea Link interconnector work

interconnector tunnel

WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff has won a contract to provide National Grid with cable manufacturing quality assurance work for the £1.7bn North Sea Link interconnector, the first between Norway and the UK.

The 1400MW electricity link, running between Kvilldal in Norway and Blyth in the UK, will power almost 750,000 homes when…