Based at Anderson’s College in Glasgow, now Strathclyde University, the Professor experiments with three different designs. It’s said the final prototype powered his Scottish home for 25 years.
First practical PV cell developed
Dawn of the modern solar power industry
1954
Three scientists at Bell Laboratories in the US - Daryl Chaplin, Gerald Pearson and Calvin Fuller - patent the silicon solar cell. Soon PV is being developed for Earth orbiting satellites.
World’s first large-scale nuclear plant opened in the UK by the Queen
Calder Hall in Cumbria generates for 47 years
1956
When the station, now Sellafield, was switched on, nearby Workington became the first ever town to receive heat, light and power from nuclear energy.
Global oil crises
Price soars from $3 to $12 and then to $34 a barrel
1973 & 79
Both crises prompts calls for energy conservation and drives new renewables development programmes in countries like the US, UK, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark.
Sir Robert McAlpine develops vertical axis wind turbine on the Isle of Wight
Pioneering the technology
1980
Government invites a consortium to be formed and one Dr Ian Mays, later to become RES’ first CEO, is employed in the Projects Development team at SRM to work on the prototype.
RES is established, employing a handful of people in London
Focus shifts from technology to projects
1981
The company is a perfect combination of McAlpine’s construction capability, including building offshore concrete platforms for the oil industry, and RES’ wind turbine expertise.
World oil price slump
US wind energy market is a casualty
1986
The withdrawal of renewables financial incentives leads to the collapse of wind in the US and bankrupty for most Danish turbine suppliers.
New wind turbine prototype installed by RES & McAlpine consortium in Wales
The ‘Musgrove’ variable geometry VAWT
1986
Named after a British wind energy pioneer, the two-bladed vertical axis machine is 130kW and 25m in diameter. Modern offshore turbines can be 12MW and as high as the Eiffel Tower.
UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher says global warming danger is real.
Groundbreaking speech to World Climate Conference
1990
The greenhouse effect had finally got the attention of politicians two years earlier. Thatcher warns the danger is “as yet unseen, but real enough for us to make changes and sacrifices”.
Denmark powers ahead with wind energy
Providing almost 2% of their electricity from wind
1990
With nearly 3000 turbines, Denmark now has more than double the capacity of the rest of Europe. Meanwhile, in the UK, Energy Minister Colin Moynihan opens RES’ next turbine prototype.
UK’s first commercial onshore wind farm built
At Delabole in Cornwall
1991
Developed by farmer and wind entrepreneur Peter Edwards, the wind farm has ten 400kW Vestas turbines, producing enough power for 2,700 homes a year.
World’s first offshore wind farm powers 2,200 Danish homes
Vindeby has eleven 450kW turbines
1991
Today’s projects are the size of small cities. Hornsea 1 powers more than a million homes and from 2022 Hornsea 2 will span an area over half the size of New York.
First lithium-ion battery appears on the market
Released by Sony for their handheld video recorder
1991
This technology development didn’t just usher in the new smartphone era, it paved the way for the electricity storage industry, essential for the transition to 100% renewables.
Rio Earth Summit - a global environmental milestone
Climate Change Convention signed by 154 countries
1992
The UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil has subsequently led to the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement in 2015.
RES builds its first wind farm
15 turbines at Carland Cross in Cornwall
1992
The 6MW project is closely followed by commissioning of Coal Clough (9.6MW) in Lancashire. Both establish RES as a market leader in wind development.
First mass-produced, purpose-built electric car hits the market
Release of the EV1 by General Motors
1996
The world’s first ‘electric car’ was actually built in London in 1884 and electric taxis were widespread in New York in the early 1900s, but 1996 marks their commercial availability.
Kyoto Protocol signed
New global treaty to cut greenhouse gases
1997
Nations gather in Kyoto, Japan, to sign a new international commitment to reduce the manmade emissions that cause climate change.
RES installs first wind turbine to be designed and built in the UK
‘RES 1MW’ at Slievenahanaghan in Northern Ireland
1998
The turbine, designed and developd by RES’ own engineers, exceeds all its warranties for power performance, noise and availability in its first three years.
RES breaks industry records with world’s largest wind farm
280MW King Mountain built in Texas
2001
King Mountain - with 214 turbines and 80km of roads - would hold its title for several years. It consolidates RES’s reputation, beginning a wave of US wind farm development.
UK becomes leading offshore wind market overnight
1100MW and 11 sites launched by Crown Estate
2001
The programme delivers electricity for more than 1.1 million households and £1.6 billion in investment. RES successfully bids (with British Energy) to develop its first offshore project – Lynn and Inner Dowsing.
Global wind energy industry employs more than 70,000
Wind capacity quadruples in 5 years
2002
As the market booms, RES establishes Nordisk Vindkraft, so far yielding more than 400MW in Sweden, including Sidensjo, at 144MW the largest onshore wind farm RES has built in Europe.
World’s first and largest utility-scale offshore wind farm starts operating
Horns Rev 1 provides 2% of Danish electricity
2002
The project’s 80 Vestas 2MW machines located off the coast of Denmark generate enough power for 150,000 households.
RES opens its award-winning low carbon global HQ in England
Sustainability in action as company expands
2003
The conversion of the old Ovaltine egg farm includes a solar array, energy crops and a 25m wind turbine. It is a flagship for the company’s commitment to renewables.
The world’s largest hydroelectricity dam opens in China
Three Gorges spans 2.5km across the Yangste River
2003
This feat of engineering has a wall 181m high, used 463,000 tonnes of steel and cost US$32 billion to build. Its 22.5GW capacity can power 5.4 million households.
Groundbreaking German renewables support system becomes model for industry
Introduction of feed-in tariff for solar
2004
This vital incentive, subsequently introduced in several European countries, boosts the solar market. Costs plummet further later in the decade when China starts producing high volumes of solar panels.
Global renewable energy capacity passes 1,000 MW milestone
Onshore and offshore wind and solar lead growth
2006
As renewable energy advances around the world, RES successfully finances and builds the 60MW Whirlwind project in Texas.
EU sets ambitious renewables target in response to climate change
Goal of 20% of electricity by 2020
2008
Aiming to dramatically reduce carbon emissions and also enhance energy security, the target gives a boost to the European renewables market, particularly wind.
First demonstration of utility-scale battery storage
Project commissioned in US
2012
The 5MW/1.25MWh system is built for Portland General Electric (PGE) and is part of a US government Smart Grid Demonstration project.
World’s largest wind farm built off the coast of England
630MW London Array has 175 turbines
2012
In the same year this giant offshore project is commissioned in the Thames Estuary, RES develops the 500MW St Brieuc wind farm off the coast of Brittany, France.
Amount of CO2 in the world’s atmosphere passes 400ppm
For the first time in more than 3 million years
2013
When concentrations were last this high in the Pilocene era, camels lived in the Arctic, sea levels were 30 feet higher and the Earth was 2 to 3 degrees Celsius warmer.
RES completes the Lincs offshore wind farm
270MW off the north east coast of England
2013
The project was developed and built by RES for Centrica, after a successful bid in Round 2 of the UK’s offshore wind programme.
RES builds its first battery energy storage system
4MW/2.6MWh Amphora project in Canada
2014
Energy storage will become a significant market for the RES Group as the technology becomes central to the global growth of renewables.
A major step is taken on global cooperation to address the climate crisis
Paris Agreement
2015
195 signatories commit to keeping global temperature rise to below 2 °C and to trying to limit the increase to 1.5 °C. The Agreement helps shift investment towards greener technologies.
Technology breakthrough as world’s first floating offshore wind farm opens
30MW Hywind project 25km off Scottish coast.
2017
Floating wind opens up the offshore wind market to development in much deeper waters. The potential is predicted to be massive – 4,000 GW in Europe alone.
Renewables make up more than a quarter of global electricity generation
26% from hydropower, solar and wind
2018
But the IEA warns that “renewable power … still needs to expand significantly to meet the SDS share of almost half of generation by 2030”.
World’s largest solar farm is built in India spanning 14,000 acres
2.25GW Bhadla Solar Park, Rajasthan
2020
The project remains the world’s largest in 2021. China, home to the 2nd largest solar farm, currently holds the largest global capacity share of the technology, with 240GW installed.
In the US renewables pull ahead of coal generation for the first time
More electricity from wind, solar and hydro
2020
Showing the continuing rise of renewable electricity generation in the US, it surges ahead of coal, according to 2020 figures released by the Energy Information Administration.
World’s largest battery storage project comes online
Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, California
2021
The size of 3 football fields and with a capacity of 300MW/1200MWh, Phase 1 becomes the world’s largest operational battery energy storage system. Another 100MW/400MWh is added in 2021.
Wind predicted to power 3.3 million new jobs over next 5 years
New analysis by the Global Wind Energy Council
2021
Nearly 1.2 million jobs have already been created from wind energy worldwide. GWEC forecasts 470MW more by 2025, generating 3.3 million sustainable, long-term jobs over 25-year project lifetimes.
Record year for global wind energy with 93GW added
53% increase since 2020
2021
Today, there’s around 750GW of wind power capacity worldwide, avoiding over 1.1 billion tons of CO2 globally - equivalent to the annual emissions of South America. But we can do more!
COP26 takes place in Glasgow
The global United Nations summit about climate change outlined plans on how countries plan to tackle it.
2021
COP26 discussions included reversing deforestation, pledges to quit using coal and cut methane emissions plus how the energy transition supports decarbonisation.
