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YouGen Blog
'The Northern Renewable Powerhouse': How councils in the midlands & north are leading the way in green energy
Posted by Sam Tonge on 9 April 2018 at 11:51 am
It’s fair to say that 2017 contained many a green milestone in the UK’s journey towards greener forms of energy. It seems that now is the ideal time to mention that it is no longer solely the responsibility of households to make the leap to sustainable energy. An increasing number of …
Renewable energy for businesses - making the sums add up
Posted by Daniel Bailey on 26 March 2018 at 10:04 am
For a company pondering a shift to renewable energy technology, the reputational benefits are as obvious - and ever-present - as Britain’s supply of wind. But with Brexit blowing a chilly blast of uncertainty across corporate Britain, many businesses are battening down the hatches and d…
How the Feed-in-Tariff ending in April 2019 could affect you
Posted by Sam Tonge on 27 February 2018 at 11:35 am
The Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) is a Government scheme designed to promote the uptake of small-scale renewable and low-carbon electricity generation technologies, including mainly solar PV, but also anaerobic digestion, micro-hydro, wind power and cogeneration. Learn more about the Feed-in-Tariff sc…
5 green energy milestones reached in 2017
Posted by Sam Tonge on 28 December 2017 at 9:30 am
As this year draws to a close, we can safely say that it’s been a year of highs and lows in terms of our steps towards shaping a clean energy future. It goes without saying that using our resources sustainably and reducing our carbon footprint are ever more pressing issues. However it seems…
Are payments for domestic microgeneration liable to income tax?
Posted by Sam Tonge on 11 October 2017 at 10:30 am
Here at YouGen we have been asked a few times recently whether you have to pay tax on the money you receive from generating renewable energy in the form of electricity and heat. The simple answer for domestic micro generators is ‘no’, as such schemes are designed to make such payments…
From energy importer to energy exporter - the story of The National Energy Foundation.
Posted by Sam Tonge on 17 August 2017 at 12:34 pm
YouGen is based in the National Energy Centre, which is the main office of the National Energy Foundation (NEF), an independent British charity, established to encourage the more sustainable use and generation of energy. As you’d expect, the centre features an exciting and inspiring arr…
The experience of an Eco Guesthouse and SuperHome owner
Posted by Louisa Clarke on 31 July 2017 at 2:30 pm
SuperHome owners will open their doors this September as part of the 10th year celebrations happening across the UK. These are homes that have reduced their carbon footprint by at least 60%. This is a great opportunity for visitors to see for themselves both the challenges and benefits associated…
Inside the Government’s plan to transform our energy system – all things V2G, battery storage and smart
Posted by Shanics Olton on 27 July 2017 at 5:03 pm
Will we really become a nation of clean energy creators sooner than we think? Some critics say we’ve been lagging behind the likes of Sweden and Denmark for far too long but the Government’s latest report sets out a plan to change this and make us leaders in the field of innovativ…
Is this the start of the electric car revolution?
Posted by Louisa Clarke on 18 July 2017 at 9:01 am
Last year the number of electric cars reached 2 million globally, and the number continues to grow. Despite this, electric cars still only hold a small share of the global car stock (with an estimated 1.2 billion vehicles worldwide). However, recent news of Volvo’s transition to electric ca…
Can you switch energy supplier without it affecting your FiT?
Posted by Sandra Hayes on 11 July 2017 at 12:40 pm
We have recently heard from readers with concerns about how switching energy supplier might affect their Feed in Tariff (FiT) payments. From personal experience I can confirm that this is not an issue, although it might help to explain why this is the case. Firstly, everyone receiving FiT pay…
UK renewable energy industry breaks another record! A look at other achievements across the world
Posted by Shanics Olton on 5 July 2017 at 4:35 pm
Despite lower wind speeds and less rainfall than in 2016, from January to March this year renewable energy contributed a record breaking 26% of the total electricity generated in the UK. Onshore wind accounted for the biggest increase from 6.4 TWh to 7.7 TWh with bioenergy, offshore wind, hydro a…
Sunny weekend breaks UK solar record
Posted by Chloe Lloyd on 5 April 2017 at 12:59 pm
With days becoming longer and sunnier afternoons on the rise, now is the perfect time to be generating electricity from your solar PV panels. Cast your minds back to the weekend of the 25th March 2017, temperatures were rising and you were dusting the cobwebs off the barbeque. However, that weeke…
Can we generate 100% of our energy from renewables?
Posted by Alex Barrett on 11 November 2016 at 11:46 am
In early May of 2016 Portugal covered all of its electricity demand for four days using only renewable sources, energy prices in Germany briefly turned negative, as renewables met almost all of the demand for a day, and the UK didn't use any coal fired power stations at all during several low…
Why is energy storage difficult?
Posted by Alex Barrett on 27 September 2016 at 12:25 pm
Our ability to generate renewable energy is increasing all of the time. It provides a great, green supplement to conventional power generation technologies. However if renewables are to one day stand on their own then there is an important issue that needs to be considered; Energy Storage. So…
Are electric cars the future?
Posted by NEF Gabby on 23 September 2016 at 12:06 pm
The electric car debate has been a long and contested road, with questions still remaining unanswered about the ability Electric Vehicles (EVs) have to reshape society and replace our gas guzzling needs. Aerospace engineer and Motorsport fan Lukas Willcocks has test driven a number of electric ve…
How do fuel cells work?
Posted by Sharon Russell-Verma on 18 July 2016 at 11:05 am
In some circles micro-fuel cells are being heralded as the future of clean energy, so today we are going to look at how fuel cells work. But let’s start at the beginning – what is a fuel cell? What is a fuel cell? A fuel cell is a device that generates electricity by a chemica…
How do energy suppliers compare for green energy generated?
Posted by Alex Barrett on 24 May 2016 at 1:45 pm
Q. I am keen to switch energy providers but the one I favour says it cannot tell me how much of its energy is generated from green sources. This is an important criterion for me and I am a little suspicious of this company's supposed ignorance. Is there a definitive information source that st…
Portugal runs entirely on renewable electricity for four days!
Posted by Alex Barrett on 23 May 2016 at 11:45 am
May of 2016 has been a great month for renewable energy. For 107 hours last week all of Portugal’s electricity demand was met by renewable sources [1, 2]. This announcement comes just after the news that Germany met almost all of its electricity demand from renewables for a day, and that th…
Electricity from cheese via biogas
Posted by Alex Barrett on 13 May 2016 at 10:05 am
A new power plant has recently opened in the Lake District, which will generate electricity from cheese. The installation has been built at the Lake District creamery, it will take waste material from cheese production, and use it to generate biogas through the process of anaerobic digestion. The…
Importing energy from Iceland: A key step towards a European Supergrid?
Posted by Alex Barrett on 27 April 2016 at 12:25 pm
The amount of energy which the UK generates from renewable sources is growing. Government figures suggest that in 2015 renewable sources contributed 17.8 TWh, 23.5 % of total UK generation [1]. However there are some countries which are well ahead of the UK when it comes to producing renewable en…
