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10 green energy schemes named
Ten new green energy projects have
been named as best in the UK for leading the way in cutting carbon emissions
and promoting renewable energy.
The schemes, which began operation
in 2005, were exciting and innovative, the Department of Trade and Industry
said.
They include offshore turbines
in Kent, the solar-powered CIS tower in Manchester and a wave buoy in Cornwall.
A target of supplying 10% of the
UK's electricity from renewable energy by 2010 has been set by the government.
Energy minister Malcolm Wicks said:
"The projects highlighted have certainly made their contribution to reducing
carbon emissions and increasing the megawatt capacity that comes from green
sources."
'Considerable progress'
He said they had also helped people understand "what
renewable energy is and where it comes from", and added it was essential
for the UK to make "considerable year on year progress" if the 2010 renewable
energy target was to be met.
The list includes three wind farms, three solar-power
projects, and two examples of microgeneration, or projects with lower outputs.
According to the government, the 30-turbine Kentish
Flats wind farm has been described as "the Ferrari of the turbine world".
Black Law A in South Lanarkshire was one of the
largest wind farms approved in the UK, and the Cefn Croes project near
Aberystwyth the most powerful when it opened in June.
CIS Tower
Hundreds of solar panels have been installed on
Manchester's CIS Tower, the city's tallest building. When opened in 1962,
it was the tallest skyscraper in Europe, and the solar project is the biggest
in the UK
The CIS tower in Manchester - the city's tallest building
- was on course to be the biggest user of solar panels in the UK
And the biomass plant in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland,
was singled out for producing a "revolutionary new wood pellet bio fuel",
created by burning sawdust and woodchips.
The wave buoy project off the north Cornwall coast
was highlighted as a project that would "speed up the installation of one
of the world's first wave farms".
The site is being investigated as a possible wave
hub location - an offshore electrical socket that would be connected to
the national grid.
Also included in the list are:
# Spen Valley Sports College, West Yorkshire - microgeneration.
# Eden Project, Cornwall - solar power.
# Nissan Motor Plant, Sunderland - microgeneration.
# Science Museum, London - solar power.
Eden Project
Cornwall's Eden Project was also praised for the solar
panels on its new education centre
Kentish Flats
Kentish Flats has 30 huge turbines and can power 3,500
homes. It has been described as the "Ferrari of the turbine world" |
ENERGIES RENOUVELABLES
