Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster today welcomed the announcement that global engineering company Siemens has awarded a multi million pound contract to Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries Ltd in Belfast.

Harland and Wolff is a heavy engineering company specialising in the shipbuilding, marine and renewable sector, including offshore construction. The Siemens contract will see Harland & Wolff design and build two substation platforms for the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm approximately ten miles off the coast of North Wales.

Newry entrepreneur Brian Lockhart is hoping to fast track his environmentally friendly invention to commercial success with the help of Invest Northern Ireland’s Propel programme.

Brian, a Director of Craigavon based Wilson's Country, has developed a unique water cleaning system and has set up a new company, Lock-Hart Environmental, to bring it to market.

Mr Lockhart is currently taking part in the Propel programme, which aims to establish successful fast growth, knowledge intensive businesses that could generate significant export sales and boost the local economy.

A major Chinese generator manufacturer is in Northern Ireland to explore investment opportunities which could create over 600 jobs in the renewable energy sector.

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A new international exchange program is partnering some of the brightest minds from one of the greenest places on earth (literally) with some of the most green-minded businesses in Pittsburgh. The Carbon Zero Northern Ireland program, in partnership with the Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh, is sending 12 students to work with various companies in the Pittsburgh area that specialize in renewable technologies or sustainability strategies. Read story.

Electricity Supply Board (ESB) has announced two major advances in its Northern Ireland wind farm portfolio.

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Waste Systems Ltd, a Co Tyrone company set up last year to develop an innovative waste recovery unit, is investing over £750,000 to grow its management, production and marketing capability.

Both the cost of researching and developing the new unit and the current investment, which will create nine jobs, have been supported by Invest Northern Ireland, with part funding by the European Regional Development Fund.

The Plumbridge company has already achieved export sales for the semi-mobile waste recovery unit, designed for the recycling sector.

The NIRO supports the development of renewable electricity by encouraging suppliers to provide evidence that a specified proportion of their electricity has been generated from environmentally-friendly renewable sources.

The consultation seeks views on a number of proposals including support for refurbished generating equipment and increased support for Anaerobic Digestion generating stations.

A University of Ulster scientist has been awarded a significant grant from the Royal Society to fund an international research project, which aims to provide a cost effective way of providing access to safe drinking water in isolated rural areas in India.

Dr Tony Byrne in the School of Engineering’s Nanotechnology and Integrated BioEngineering Centre is working in collaboration with Dr Rita Dhodapkar, National Environmental Engineering Centre, Nagpur in India to investigate how solar energy can be used to treat drinking water supplies.

“India receives an average of between 4 to 7 KWh/Day/square meter of solar energy.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster today announced details of a £630,000 collaboration project which will help local companies to exploit opportunities in the global marine energy sector.

The Minister made the announcement at a collaboration workshop event in Belfast jointly hosted by MATRIX, the Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel, the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment (DETI), and Invest Northern Ireland.

Supported by Invest NI, the Global Maritime Alliance (GMA) has been identified as the first Industry-led Innovation Community (IIC).

THE Ulster Business School at the University of Ulster is a key partner in a two year research study funded by the European Union to assist communities to find alternative energy solutions and reduce their dependency on fossil fuels.

Called the SMALLEST project, the scheme is a €3m EU-funded three year initiative designed to stimulate interest among rural communities of the benefits of converting from traditional energy generation to renewable energy generation.

The project was launched today at an event in the ECOS Centre, Ballymena, addressed by renewable energy experts including :

·       Nick Lyth, Director of International Resources and Recycling Institute, Edinburgh, who delivered a keynote at the launch event.

Fifteen local companies are taking part in All-Energy – The Renewables Show at Aberdeen, which runs from 19-20 May, on an Invest Northern Ireland group stand.

The All-Energy UK Exhibition & Conference is Europe's largest event devoted to all forms of clean and renewable energy. The show and associated conference programme will focus on new technologies and business opportunities associated with the energy efficiency and renewable energy markets.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has encouraged the local renewables sector to build partnerships and take advantage of the multi-billion pound global marine energy market.

The Minister was speaking as she highlighted the strength of the local renewables sector to around 100 guests, including US investors and influencers at Stormont. The delegation, representing the marine energy sector, travelled to Belfast as part of a US, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland Renewable Marine Energy and Smart Grid Workshop.

Over two hundred local companies discovered how to take advantage of business opportunities worth in excess of £100 billion in the emerging offshore wind renewable energy sector.

That was the message from Invest Northern Ireland at today’s offshore wind energy supply chain event. Organised by Invest NI, in partnership with The Crown Estate, and with part funding from the European Regional Development Fund, local companies heard about plans to develop offshore wind farms around the UK’s coastline as part of The Crown Estate offshore leasing programme.

Twenty seven local companies and organisations including a number of further education colleges are visiting Europe’s biggest exhibition for green energy and energy efficiency with Invest Northern Ireland.

The companies have signed up for an Invest NI sectoral mission to Energiesparmesse/expo Energy at Wels in Austria from 5-7 March. The show focuses on sustainable energy generation and energy efficiency, covering solar installations, photovoltaics, biomass heating systems, wood-chip fired heating plant, Combined Heat and Power systems, biogas installations and heating control systems.

An all-Ireland  ‘Hydrogen Highway’ could help solve our future fuel shortage problems – according to a University of Ulster researcher.

Professor Vladimir Molkov, Director of  Ulster’s Hydrogen Safety Engineering and Research (HySAFER) Centre, says that Ireland is lagging behind its European neighbours when it comes to investing in alternative fuel sources.

He warns that now is the time to act before fossil fuel reserves become depleted and proposes that a network of hydrogen refuelling stations between several major cities be created which would allow a hydrogen-fuelled bus link to service this route.

A Business Model for Solar Energy – SunEdison View more presentations from Alexander Osterwalder. Big energy users like shopping malls and office blocks should be prime customers for solar power but the high cost of installation means it’s much more of a long-term play with property owners often only recouping their investment over 10-20 years. SunEdison has devised [...

A little over a year in business, One Block Off the Grid, offers collective solar bargaining for communities. By bringing together groups of homeowners, 1BOG as it is known, can negotiate group discounts for installation of solar panels (and referral fees for itself). They also simplify the process for buyers by educating them and vetting installers.

Future Renewables, which designs, supplies and installs domestic renewable energy solutions, is one of the first businesses to get support from growth element of the Invest NI Enterprise Development Programme.

Launched last year by Invest NI, the programme provides free advice to established businesses which have the potential to increase production levels, workforce and sales in export markets.

The University of Ulster, with help from an Irish rock star, is giving students the chance to design the home of the future – a self-sustainable house made entirely of sustainable materials.

With the support of Invest NI and Biotecture Ireland Ltd, a new green development association called the  ‘Biotecture Network’ is giving students of the Masters of Architecture course, the opportunity to submit design briefs and schematics of their ideas for a carbon-zero, self-sustaining house.

The modern homes will be designed to eliminate the owners’ dependence on fossil fuels, and will meet the British government’s Code for Sustainable Homes.