A paper by Andrew Blakers, Bin Lu and Matthew Stocks of the Australian National University shows how, and at what cost, the southern and eastern states of Australia could be converted from coal-fired power production, currently two-thirds of the total, to rely solely on renewable electricity. In their calculations power is provided almost entirely by [...]
In an interim report published in November 2017 NextSolar Fund (NESF) announced that it has achieved an annual shareholder return of 9.3 per cent since its initial public offering in 2014, five per cent in dividends and the reminder in share price. Backing this up, the Net Asset Value has increased by 7.1 per cent [...]
Pumped Storage is the method of storing electrical energy by using it to pump water from a low-level to a high-level reservoir. The energy is retrieved by reversing the process, in which the pumps become generators and the water is released back to the lower level. In the UK the best-known example is Dinorwig in [...]
We last wrote about Suzlon, the Indian wind turbine manufacturer, in December 2016 when the company expected that the strong growth seen in 2016 would continue. Suzlon operate internationally but 71 per cent of the company’s installed capacity is in India, leaving the company very susceptible to changes in the Indian market. Up until mid-year Suzlon [...]
In a recent trading statement Ilika said that financial results for the six months to October 31 are expected to show an increased revenue of £1.0m, up three-fold from £0.3m for the same period last year. Operating losses also dropped to £1.4m (H1 2016: £1.9m). This increase should be put in context of the last [...]
Inspired Energy Plc (IES) is a rarity among small energy-related companies: not only has it made a profit for the last five years but it has been able to pay dividends that have steadily increased from 0.16p per share for 2013 to 0.38 for 2016. As a result the share price has grown steadily, albeit [...]
Nuclear power stations bring to mind vast installations costing tens of billions of pounds to build. But what if they were small enough to be manufactured and financed like other systems? In a talk at the Oxford Martin School on November 14 Professor Steve Cowley outlined his vision for electrical power generation based in part [...]
In the recent renewables auction the UK government awarded Contracts for Difference to three offshore wind projects that had bid at surprisingly low strike prices: £74.75 per Megawatt-hour for the 860 MW Triton Knoll project to be commissioned in 2021/22; and £57.5 per MWh for the 1.386MW Hornsea Two and the 950MW Moray East projects [...]
Active Energy’s sole source of revenue has been the conversion of wood from sustainable forests in Ukraine into medium density plaster board for sale in Turkey. Alas, both countries have had a troubled year, with the result that for the half year to June 30 2017 revenues dropped to US$1.3 million from US$19.2m for the [...]
Ceres Power Holdings has reported a significant increase in revenue for the year ending June 30 2017, £4.1 million versus £1.7m for 2016, but still has a loss in earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation of £10.3m (2016: £11.5m). Ceres’s strategy is to form partnerships with large manufacturers to whom it will sell or licence [...]