The UK Government’s promise to reduce carbon emissions could be in jeopardy after a run of bad news. Last month they failed to secure vital funding for two Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects due to providing a lack of information to the European Union. The applications submitted were worth around £500 million in investment but were refused after some funding details were omitted on the application.
The Scottish National Party have announced their ambitious 2015 renewable energy targets. Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland, aims to generate 50% of Scotland’s electricity from renewable sources by 2015 – eventually reaching 100% renewable energy by 2020.
It’s good news for North Sea oil after it receives a boost from new investment. The welcome boost comes as new tax breaks along with over 160 new production licenses bring a renewed interest in investment. The tax breaks, announced last month by Chancellor George Osborne, have already secured two new major North Sea oil deals, including a £1.6 billion project by Canadian oil company Talisman Energy.
In the race for renewables biogas plants and Anaerobic Digestors (AD) have proved popular and effective methods. In the UK bioenergy now accounts for about one quarter of our renewable supply.
Today commercial use of shale gas began in Australia. The gas and oil company Stanos announced that their Moomba-191 well was connected to a main gas grid for the first time this morning. Santos has described the connection as a ‘historic milestone’ for the Australian resources industry.
In an EU Climate Action conference this week the energy secretary Ed Davey called for tougher carbon reduction efforts in the EU. In his speech Davey called once again for an EU-wide carbon reduction target of 30% by 2020 – the current target is just 20%.
The gas industry received some welcome news last week as Energy and Climate Change secretary Ed Davey revealed plans to The Guardian to build 20 new gas-fired power plants. Should the plans go ahead it will see the biggest construction in the UK’s power sector for decades.
Our SFC3000 Flow Measurement Computer has had a few new additions since its launch in October 2008, and we’re very excited about our latest one.
The East African hunt for oil and gas found its pay-off this week with a significant gas finding off the coast of Kenya.