RenewableUK, formerly known as the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA), is the
trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. An industry tra ...
for
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...
,
wave power
Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC).
Waves are generated by wind p ...
and
tidal power
Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods.
Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity generation. Ti ...
industries in the United Kingdom. RenewableUK has over 660 corporate members, from wind, wave and tidal stream power generation and associated industries.
The association carries out research, and co-ordinates statistics and intelligence on marine and wind power in the UK and its
waters. It also represents its members internationally, and to Government, regional bodies and local authorities in the UK.
History
A number of
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
active in wind energy in the 1970s met under umbrella of the ITDG Wind Panel (Intermediate Technology Development Group). The BWEA was formed from the ITDG Wind Panel along with other interested parties and representatives from industry, to promote
wind power in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is the best location for wind power in Europe and one of the best in the world. By 2022, the UK had over 11 thousand wind turbines with a total installed capacity of over 25gigawatts (GW): 14 GW onshore and 11 GW offshore, t ...
. The inaugural meeting of the BWEA took place on 17 November 1978 at the
Rutherford Laboratory with
Peter Musgrove of
Reading University
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
as chairman.
In 2004 the British Wind Energy Association expanded its remit to include wave and tidal energy, and to use the Association's experience to guide these technologies along the same path to commercialisation. In December 2009, to reflect this expansion in the industries it represented, members resolved to adopt the new name of RenewableUK.
Advertising Standards Authority ruling
In 2008 the then BWEA was found by the
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to have overstated the carbon dioxide emissions displaced by wind generation. The BWEA and its members had claimed a value of 860 grams per kilowatt hour but the ASA found this was exaggerated by 100% and ordered the BWEA to reduce the figure to 430 grams.
RenewableUK Cymru
The members of RenewableUK are represented in Wales by
RenewableUK Cymru, the
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
-based branch of the organisation. The remit in Wales expanded in February 2014 to include all renewable energy technologies and energy storage.
See also
*
Renewable energy in the United Kingdom
Renewable energy in the United Kingdom contributes to production for electricity, heat, and transport.
From the mid-1990s, renewable energy began to play a part in the UK's electricity generation, building on a small hydroelectric capacity. ...
*
Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
Energy in the United Kingdom came mostly from fossil fuels in 2021. Total World energy supply and consumption, energy consumption in the United Kingdom was 142.0millionTonne of oil equivalent, tonnes of oil equivalent (1,651TWh) in 2019. In 20 ...
*
Wind power in Scotland
Wind power in Scotland is the fastest-growing renewable energy technology, with 9,347 megawatt, MW of installed wind power capacity as of June 2020. This included 8,366 MW from onshore wind in Scotland and 981 MW of offshore wind generators.
...
*
European Wind Energy Association
WindEurope is an association promoting the use of wind power in Europe. Based in Brussels it has over 600 members, which are active in over 50 countries, including manufacturers with a leading share of the world wind power market, component suppli ...
Notes
External links
RenewableUK website
{{Authority control
Conservation in the United Kingdom
Business organisations based in the United Kingdom
Wind power in the United Kingdom
Renewable energy organizations