FOR most people, building a new home can be a bit of a challenge. With construction work to oversee, bathroom suites to choose and gardens to landscape, the work can seem never ending. But one Suffolk woman has much more than paint schemes at the top of her list of priorities. Virginia Neild, from Cowlinge, near Newmarket, is planning to create a house that is a friend to the environment, as well as her bank balance. Not only will it be so heavily insulated that there will be no need for central heating, Mrs Neild hopes to win permission from council planners to erect a 12-metre wind turbine to power most, or all, of her electricity.

The harsh truth is that money, rather than worries over global warming, is the only thing that will tempt the British to use alternative fuels en masse. And for the most part, the sums do not add up. Wind energy is a good example. Even the respected Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales does not recommend roof-mounted wind turbines, such as that embraced by Mr Cameron. Wind speeds around many houses are low and erratic, while a turbine is noisy and can damage a building, it points out.

A new study is under way to ascertain and quantify the potential economic benefits of coupling vanadium redox batteries with wind farms in Ireland. Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) and Tapbury Management are funding the study, which will be carried out in collaboration with VRB Power Systems. VRB is a Canadian electrochemical energy storage company that patented and brought to market the Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System.

A NORTH Devon man has criticised the Government for failing to help a project he believes would provide renewable energy solutions and a real alternative to wind turbines. Engineer Paul Hewitt of Bideford has spent the last two-and-a-half years developing a self-sufficient system driven by the principles of perpetual motion. Using only air and water, the Hydro Gravitizer would produce carbon-emission-free electricity 24-hours a day, seven days a week. It could replace coal and gas fired boilers in power stations, generate low noise levels and could even be installed underground. "This is the only renewable energy system that is continuous and relies on its own environment rather than external sources such as tidal flow or wind," Mr Hewitt told the Gazette.

For the first time, a five-megawatt wind turbine by REpower Systems AG (Prime Standard, WKN 617703) has been set up for the first time on the open sea. The first of a total of two turbines for the "Beatrice" demonstrator wind farm has just been set up on a lattice-like jacket structure, piled to the seabed at a depth of 44 metres in the Scottish North Sea, in the Moray Firth.

One of the two biggest offshore windfarms in Britain when it opened two years ago, Scroby Sands will find itself dwarfed by three-times-the-size Robin Rigg when it is built at Solway Firth, and further down the line, windfarms 15 times the size are envisaged further out to sea. But for technology to advance that rapidly, vast investment that will dwarf the £75m spent on Scroby Sands, will be required, so the eyes of the industry really are on the Norfolk coastline.

A system of causeways that doubles as a renewable energy scheme has been proposed as a new link between North Uist and Harris in the Western Isles. Offshore wind turbines would be installed next to the bridge, which would have built-in tidal generators.

The 280ft towers will stand in up to 150ft of water and will generate enough electricity to meet up to 75% of the needs of the oilfield which pumps 3500 barrels of oil ashore a day. This £35m, five-year pilot could be the first step towards establishing a 200-turbine farm on the site which could meet 20% of Scotland's energy needs.

Thousands of wind turbines could be "planted" in hedgerows on farmers' land in a new £200m energy scheme. Proven Energy, a Scottish wind turbine manufacturer, claims that the miniature turbines - at 14.9m tall - will be less obtrusive than the much taller, traditional machines.

The future of green energy has been thrown into doubt after a new report revealed that the region's biggest windfarm was producing less than a third of the electricity it should be.

A group of entrepreneurs is harnessing the perpetual motion of the ocean and turning it into a commodity in high demand: energy. Right now, machines of various shapes and sizes are being tested off shores from the North Sea to the Pacific — one may even be coming to the East River in New York State this fall — to see how they capture waves and tides and create marine energy.

"By being 25 miles offshore it doesn’t have any visual impact and the wind is steadier there," he added.

RESIDENTS in conservation areas could be allowed to erect rooftop wind turbines without planning permission, under plans to encourage people to generate renewable energy. The move could see some of Scotland’s most historic skylines blighted by the generators, which are the size of a satellite dish.

A Scottish firm behind a massive wave power scheme in Portugal has claimed that Scotland is on the verge of similar developments.

As Britain's longest river with the second biggest tidal range in the world, the River Severn has huge potential as a renewable resource. It is estimated that if the water's power could be harnessed, it could account for as much as 10% of the UK's electricity needs.

LONDON (AFX) - Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd, a wholly-owned unit of Talisman Energy Inc, said it has received UK government approval for the development of a deepwater wind farm demonstration and research project adjacent to its Beatrice oilfield, 25 kilometres off the east coast of Scotland.

Researchers from the University of Southampton have successfully built an electric motor which is powered by flowing water.

The designers say they may have overcome two drawbacks of traditional turbines. The turbine's triple helix form and vertical axis are said to make it almost silent, and it is believed to perform better in urban areas, where wind direction can vary by the minute. While there are other vertical-axis turbines, this is believed to be the first with three blades.

Once in place, the clean coal boiler is expected to save around 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the development of 230 megawatts of wind farm capacity.

Wind energy is expected to play a big part in meeting this target, but doubts remain over the cost of turbines and the difficulty in finding suitable locations for large-scale wind farm projects.