Renewables Roundup! November 2010

Recent Projects:

The Hydrogen Office

Anderson Strathern acted as legal advisers to The Hydrogen Office project an innovative project to accelerate the development of the renewable, hydrogen, fuel cell and energy storage industries in Scotland.

The Hydrogen Office have developed a 1200 sq m energy efficient office building in Methil (adjacent to the Energy Park) to house a demonstration centre, a verification centre and office accomodation. The project includes a 750kw wind turbine, ground source heat pumps and a cutting edge hydrogen production and fuel cell system. The project will demonstrate the potential to store surplus renewable energy as hydrogen and will promote the role that energy storage technologies can play in enabling Scotland to harness its renewable energy technologies in supporting the transition to a low carbon economy. Funding for the project was primarily sourced from Scottish Enterprise and ERDF.

Bruce Farquhar, Head of the Anderson Strathern Renewables team led the project which involved specialist lawyers from planning, property, construction and finance amongst others.

Derek Mitchell, the project manager of The Hydrogen Office stated that "the seamless service delivery by the Anderson Strathern Renewables team and their in-depth knowledge of the type of issues affecting renewable energy projects was instrumental to the successful delivery of the project. The innovative nature of the project meant that we required our legal team to not only provide a first class legal service but also to assist in the wider project management issues. I am delighted to say that Anderson Strathern delivered on both counts"

The official launch of The Hydrogen Office takes place on 23 November. Further details of the project can be found at www.hydrogenoffice.com.

Onshore Renewables:

Close of Community Renewable Energy Fund: The Community Renewable Energy Fund, established by the Scottish Government in April 2009 with a budget of £13.5m, is set to close to new applicants following exceptionally high demand. The aim of the scheme was to maximise community benefits from renewables and increase local ownership of energy infrastructure. The scheme has assisted with investment in renewable technologies by over 300 community groups, including many local schools installing ground source heat pumps and biomass installation for community centres, but is now facing financial pressure as a result. However, Energy Minister Jim Mather commented that the Scottish Government remains committed to furthering low carbon industries and have commissioned a feasibility study to be carried out by the Scottish Agricultural College and Community Energy Scotland into early-stage financing for renewable projects. Additionally, further funding has been released to secure improved household energy efficiency through the Energy Efficiency Action Plan (link to below article).

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/326979/0105437.pdf

Energy Efficiency Action Plan Announced:

The Scottish Government has published its Energy Efficiency Action Plan which sets out a framework...