For 50 years we strived for cheaper solar panels. Then...BANG...over the last few years prices for this key component of a system dropped down below $1/watt. But completely installed systems are still expensive, about $5/watt for a typical residential system in the U.S. Even if solar panels were FREE, you'd [...]

Lundin Petroleum AB  has announced that exploration well 16/2-18S (Cliffhanger North), drilled west of the main bounding fault for the Johan Sverdrup discovery, has been completed as a small oil discovery. Exploration well 16/2-18S, located on Statoil operated PL265, was drilled west of Johan Sverdrup discovery approximately 9 kilometres west [...]

Centro has appointed Balfour Beatty to extend the Midland Metro through Birmingham city centre. The contract is for a 1.4km extension linking the city’s two major rail stations. Balfour Beatty will be responsible for designing, constructing, testing and commissioning for the new £18.6m tramway as well as public realm improvements [...]

LONDON -- Research into contrast painting patterns and their potential influence on bird strikes by wind turbine rotors is underway at Norway’s largest wind farm. Parts of several wind turbines at theSmøla project will be painted black as part of the programme to make them more visible to birds, thus reducing the [...]

Construction is currently the most confident industry sector. The latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor shows construction leading the way across all industries. The monitor recorded a confidence index of +24 across all sectors during the last quarter – its highest level for more than three years. But things were even [...]

Statoil’s Visund platform, which lost electricity on Sunday, has restored its main power supply yesterday afternoon. The power outage forced Statoil to shut production at the platform and transfer 84 workers to the nearby Gullfaks A platform in the North Sea. “Work is now ongoing to get back in normal operation [...]

Peel Ports has awarded a £75m contract to a  BAM Nuttall/Van Oord joint venture at the Liverpool 2 deep-water container terminal. Lend Lease is principal contractor on the £300m terminal expansion at Seaforth which will allow some of the world’s largest container ships to use the Mersey and is due [...]

The final part of the King’s Cross station redevelopment is to open next month. A new square, 27,000 square feet, will offer improved access to London Underground, a new lighting scheme, more trees, a space for the display of public art, new retail units and granite benches. The public space [...]

LONDON -- China has largely welcomed the recently concluded solar trade agreement with Europe, according to reports. Shen Danyang, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said in a statement that the conclusion of procedures to resolve the solar case within the EU are welcome in China. English-language news service China Daily [...]

Norwegian oil company Statoil has exercised a one-year option for the use of Deepsea Atlantic semi-submersible drilling rig  from August 15, 2014. Deepsea Atlantic has been drilling for Statoil in the North Sea since 2010. In addition to the one-year option now being exercised, the contract includes another two-year option. Deepsea [...]

AVEVA announced today that it has joined the Esbjerg-based network Offshoreenergy.dk. The network focuses on building collaboration across the Danish oil & gas, offshore and wind energy industries. “The majority of the Danish offshore activity is in the Norwegian and British areas of the North Sea, where AVEVA has a [...]

Norwegian oil company Noreco is struggling with its producing oil and gas fields. In its production report for July the company said it has produced 3873 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company revealed it has been experiencing technical problems at several fields. Technical issues related to one of two [...]