Clean Coal On Its Way At A Price

£9.5 Billion Levy on Carbon Capture and Storage Incentive

All friends of the earth will be pleased to hear that Britain is going ahead with plans to build a new generation of clean coal power stations across the United Kingdom. The downside however is the news that the British public will once again be the ones forking out for it.

The new technology is pretty clever. The new coal fired power stations will simply take the carbon dioxide from the burning coal and store it underground. Ok, I am sure it is not as easy as I make out but this new ground breaking technology will became one of our main projects in the fight against climate change and global warming.

There will be a new Energy Bill passed through parliament to pay for the new clean coal fired power stations. First estimates of the levy are in the region of £9.5 billion. At first this levy will be handed down to the electricity suppliers but this will likely be passed onto the end customer.

Consumers who already pay extra on their energy bills to help fund renewable or green energy, like wind farms and such will not be too pleased to hear that the end bill will be passed onto them while these companies post year on year profits that go into the hundreds of millions of pounds.

Estimates per household for the carbon capture and storage incentive look to be in the region of 2-3 per cent adding an extra £17 onto the average household bill per annum.

UK Energy Policy Under Examination (Again)

Last week the government announced 10 potential sites for a (fast-tracked) new generation of Nuclear Power stations (which was reffered to by Ed Milliband as ‘New Nuclear’) – these are:

1. Braystones, Cumbria
2. Kirksanton, Cumbria (UKs oldest Wind Farm to be replaced)
3. Bradwell, Essex
4. Hartlepool, County Durham
5. Heysham, Lancashire
6. Hinkley Point, Somerset
7. Oldbury, Gloucestershire
8. Sellafield, Cumbria
9. Sizewell, Suffolk
10. Wylfa, Anglesey

Obviously with a decison of this magnitude there has been widespread reaction and examination of what this means for the future of UK energy.

Helpfully, Reuters compiled some of the thoughts of leading energy industry figures:

Greg Clark, Conservative Energy Spokesman

“Every one of the measures contained in this statement should have been brought forward 10 years ago when they had the chance to secure the investments that are so desperately needed to keep the lights on, keep prices down and cut carbon emissions.”

Simon Hughes, Liberal Democrat Energy Spokesman

“A new generation of nuclear power stations will be a colossal mistake regardless of where they are built.

“New plants in the UK have never been built without massive cost to the taxpayer and a lethal legacy of toxic waste.”

Keith Parker, Chief Executive – Nuclear Industry Association

“This is a key step forward in the drive to de-carbonize our economy. A streamlined planning process will help the development of an array of low-carbon technologies, including nuclear, which in turn can do so much to combat climate change.”

Andy Duff, RWE NPOWER Chief Executive

“The closure of old coal and nuclear plant, and a likely return to growing demand in the next decade, means major modernization of the energy system is still needed.

“This will require billions of pounds of investment to tackle carbon dioxide emissions, keep the lights on and keep energy prices manageable.”

Adam Marshall, British Chambers of Commerce Policy Director

“Decisions involving nuclear power are never easy. Yet British business is clear that nuclear power will be a crucial part of a more sustainable future energy mix.

“A faster, more streamlined planning process is also required to safeguard the UK’s energy supply in the decades to come.”

Greenpeace Nuclear Campaign Head Ben Ayliffe

“Our lawyers will be examining this announcement very closely.

“You can’t justify building more nuclear power stations when there is no solution to radioactive waste and when international regulators are saying there are huge uncertainties surrounding the basic safety of new reactor designs.”

Stephen Hale, Director of The Green Alliance

“Nuclear power will always cost more and deliver less than its advocates claim.

“We require a national plan and locations for carbon capture and storage, not for nuclear power.”

There ws also an excellent article from Jeremy Leggett in The Guardian – A bright nuclear future: True or False?

So,  a broad range of viewpoints on the ‘New Nuclear’ plans – what do you think? Are the Government right to include Nuclear as part of the UK energy mix? Comments welcomed!

The Ontario First Light Solar Park in Canada

Solar Park to Create Power for 10,000 Homes

Great news in the green energy sector this week – Canada has turned on its new solar energy park. The Ontario First Light Solar Park is the largest of its kind in Canada and can proudly boast to generate enough power for 10,000 homes each year.

The joint project is being constructed and run by SunEdison Canada and the SkyPower Corporation. The massive site covers 90 acres and uses around 126,000 solar panels that capture the sunlight and generates the 10 million KWH of renewable electricity needed to power a large town.

The Ontario First Light Solar Park is located at Stone Mills near Napanee.  This 9 MW plant will be great news to green energy campaigners around the globe and sets the bench mark for other nations to follow suit.

I always thought a program like this would be a non starter in the UK as our long winters and lack of sunshine would diminish the amount of energy needed to create enough power for a sizable amount of homes, however I don’t think Canada’ winters are any better than ours here in the UK so could a project like the Ontario First Light Solar Park work here in the UK.

Open to opinions and comments on the above.

Ontario

Over the last 6 years Ontario has been involved in over 150 solar projects creating more than 1200 MW of renewable Energy and they aint stopping there. The Province of Ontario is expecting another two large massive solar paneled projects to be up and running by the end of this year giving the rest of the world a little insight on the success Ontario has had in creating renewable energy. We should all follow suit. Ontario has set itself targets of having no coal energy sources by the year 2014.

Well Done so far.

Reasons for Having Gas Central Heating Cover

Boiler Services

A specialist boiler annual safety check and boiler service ensures your boiler is acting properly. A central heating boiler service is important to ensure the boiler is working to the specifications designed by the boiler creator.

The extent of a gas central heating boiler service is more important than the financial cost and you should affirm that the work is carried out by properly qualified professionals.

If you have gas central heating controlled by a gas boiler then having a familiar central heating boiler service should not be much of a choice as it is a must to keep your boiler operating – not only efficiently but most crucially safely. Frequently that means an annual gas central heating boiler service required.

Furnishing both hot water and heating your boiler can mean that it is functioning more than 16 hours per day and that level of action means that a standard gas central heating boiler operation a must be carried out.

Most businesses also keep aim of when your central heating boiler service is approaching and contact you to make plans which can be very efficient if you have a hard time recollecting over the course of an entire year.

An yearly gas and central heating boiler service from a mitigated engineer is an essential check for many reasons, cautiously for safety energy consistency and as a preventive estimate against boiler problems creating.

Poll: Will You Be Changing Energy Supplier in 2009?

In light of the ending of fixed energy bills from major UK suppliers in October we thought that now would be a pertinient time to take a poll of what you (the consumer) are thinking of doing vis a vis your energy bills. Electricity and Gas Bills in general are set to rise with the end of these deals, the question is: will you be moving onto another supplier?, and possibly softening the blow somewhat?

North African Solar Panelled Farms

Will North African Solar Panelled Deserts Result in Cheaper Energy

Solar Panelled Deserts

The deserts of North Africa are now being considered to supply Europe with energy generated by massive solar paneled farms. The idea is now a very attractive one now that the numbers have been crunched to see if harvesting the deserts of North Africa could actually be viable, the answer is yes, the figures are a little pricy but that was always going to be the case on such a large scale project, £337 billion pounds is the estimated to cost to build the infrastructure to transport the vast amounts of energy from Africa to Europe, the answer has still to be found if this will result in green cheap gas and electricity for the European customers.
The plan has the backing of Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown is said to be keen on the idea.
We are going to run a poll on the idea to see who thinks this could be the way forward in supplying Britain and Europe with green energy, Please leave your vote.

‘Fuel’ The Movie: Green Energy Award Winner

Fuel - Will We See a UK Release?

There is an excellent movie highlighting the madness of our dependence on fossil fuels out in cinemas the USA at the moment. ‘Fuel‘ from Josh Tickell was the winner of the prestigious Audience Award for Best Documentary award at the Sundance Film Festival. The film has had such an impact that Mr Tickell won an award at the IREO UN Renewable Energy Awards. He has also been  named a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador! Not bad work if you can get it……………..

Here is the trailer for Fuel, featuring ex-oil baron JR Ewing (Larry Hagman)!

Sadly, i can’t seem to find anything about a UK release date – so we may have to wait for the DVD to appear in the UK.

Green Energy in 2009 – Do you still care? (Poll)

We are in the midst of unprecendented economic times. The strain on every household and business in the UK is currently being sorely tested. Monthly bills including telephone, broadband, food and drink are all becoming more and more difficult to manage for many people. With this in mind, where do your energy bills feature in the hierarchy of priorities? and is obtaining your energy from ‘green’ sources as importanat to you now as it ever was?

We thought that you may wish to fill in our poll on this matter, the results could make for some interesting reading:

Thanks very much for your input

Copenhagen Conference Vital to Climate Future

The upcoming United Nations COP15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is the most vital international climate change conference since Kyoto in 1997. This conference is important for a host of reasons, partly due to its timing and also due to the fact that the climate change sitaution is actually alot worse than was previously thought.

From BusinessGreen Blog:

Latest scientific research presented climate scientists in Copenhagen confirms what many had privately feared: we are on track for the worst case scenario set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change two years ago, and the instabilities in the climate system coupled with the fact that many natural carbon sinks are beginning to fail mean that it could be worse still.

All the latest climate science suggests global average temperatures are rising in line with expectations, but carbon emissions are rising faster than anticipated and natural systems are responding more dramatically than expected to even modest temperature rises.

The Copenhagen conference also comes at a prescient time for the world economy. Since Kyoto in 1997, there have been many changes to the world climate change scenario. The USA has been replaced by China as the largest greenhouse gas emitter (Brazil and Inonesia aren’t far behind), and oil prices have soared – reminding us that fossil fuels are a finite resource that require a sustainable replacement.

We can only hope that this time of crisis brings the various governments of the world together, and provides us with a wide ranging and comprehensive agreement which will provide a framework within which to develop a sustainable green energy future.

What would you like to see agreed in Copenhagen this December?

Google goes Green

It is being reported that the gods at Google are planning on looking into green and cheaper energy solutions, at Google they understand that they have a large part to play in the future development of renewable energy, after all they do dominate most of the internet market, just think how many computers they are linked up to not including their internal structure, hats off to them for taking the responsibility, I think it will be interesting to see what they come up with over the coming years, they have proved to be the most intelligent of the internet search engines and are known for attracting the best in the business so it will be interesting to see who they employ to take charge of their climate changing challenges.