6.4Gw given the go-ahead!

Posted on May 20, 2010 at 3:31 PM

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It is terrific to see that the Scottish Government has approved the 6.4Gw of planned off-shore wind projects without fanfare, political intervention or grandstanding. Good on Holyrood for recognising both the opportunity and importance of this move and railroading it through.

Having seen the large yet beautiful offshore wind farm off the northern coast of Norfolk (near Hunstanton), I am of the opinion that off-shore wind is an essential part of our future energy mix.

The public will approve of the absence or lesser impact from having turbines offshore as compared to on land and the consistency of speeds is ideal for developers. Sadly the opportunity to capitalise on this zoning is not open to communities or smaller investors due to the economics and logistics involved but hopefully the big players (the main utilities) will make hay...

(image courtesy of the BBC)

Saving global fish stocks would cost 20 million jobs

Posted on May 18, 2010 at 11:32 AM

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A recent report from the UN EP, the United Nation's environment branch, indicates that some 20 million people and 13 million boats would need to be taken out of the fishing industry to preserve fish stocks from catastrophic and irreparable collapse.

This would undoubtedly shake this industry to its core and end it in many countries where fishing has already been on shaky ground. But surely an industry that is worth US$85billion globally but needs US$27billion of subsidies to survive will have to recognise and accept this. It seems pretty clear - no fish=no industry=no jobs. Still, it would be an incredibly bitter pill for the globe to swallow.

Welcome to the party Canada!

Posted on May 12, 2010 at 9:56 AM

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I am delighted to see that the Canadian House of Commons looks set to pass strict carbon emission targets, giving the country some clear and challenging targets to hit by 2020.



I have long failed to understand how a country with such environmental beauty and deep pride in its natural resources could possibly not embrace the need for climate change.

In fact, I expected Canada to go further and actually be the world leader in all things green...showcasing itself as not only passionate about protecting its land but also illustrating that it is possible to craft a viable economic benefit from green energy and sustainable business.

Canada clearly has the land to harness wind and solar energy, as evidenced by the 40Mw Sarnia solar farm development, but sadly it appears that until recently it did not have the will, political or otherwise. Hopefully now the 'Big Country' will show the world how it's done! Go Canada Go!

Hybrid cars make 'eco' sense...but could do more!

Posted on May 6, 2010 at 11:14 AM

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 I find the ongoing innovation in car technology to be fascinating reading. The manufacturers are now falling over themselves to produce greener cars and trumpet the credentials of their new product in terms of its economy, emissions levels and costs. However, I find it curious that buyers have to pay a premium for a green car.

This price uplift can no doubt be explained by the manufacturers as being necessary to recoup the development costs of the technology integrated in to the vehicle that makes it so green but lessons can be learned from other consumer product industries where lower prices (and therefore margins) significantly increase demand, thereby speeding the return on investment. Is it not better to sell 1000 hybrid cars at a lower price than 100 at a higher price? In pure carbon terms is it not better to have 1000 hybrids on the road, thereby displacing 1000 higher-emitting vehicles?

Also, if the focus of green car technology is to get lower emitting vehicles in drivers’ hands, why are green engine options not cheaper than regular petrol or diesel drive packages to encourage more of us to choose a lower-emitting option? Everybody wins in this instance – the driver gets a greener, cheaper car to run, the manufacturer has a retail sale (and revenue) and the planet gets less carbon to deal with.

Financially, green cars are increasingly making sense as variety and supply increases on both the retail and second hand market, especially if you live in an area with a congestion charge. As an example, a second hand Honda Insight can be had on Autotrader with 4000 miles on the clock for £12,900. It attracts no annual road tax charge and if you live in London and commute to work 250 times a year (50 weeks of 5 days) then it would save you £2000 of Congestion Charge. If you added in a saving of £155.00 per annum for the reduced road tax (compared against a petrol vehicle emitting 151-165g/km) then the Insight would pay for itself in just under 6 years. This is before you even factor in the fuel saving of having a more efficient car and any trade-in or resale value.

Encouragingly, the manufacturers now seem to be expanding their product offerings to include more variety in their eco ranges – from small town cars to family hatchbacks and even sports cars (see Honda’s CR-Z). This should broaden the appeal and finally see the acceptance of green cars across the wider market.

Google Juice...the electric kind...

Posted on May 6, 2010 at 10:59 AM

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We knew it was coming and it’s finally here…Google has entered the energy generation market. Famous for their huge solar pv effort at their Mountain View headquarters (click here for a look), Google has jumped further in to energy generation with an almost $40million investment in two wind farms in North Dakota, USA.

 

Perhaps most interesting here is not the investment itself but the fact that the turbines will use cutting edge blade angle adjustment technology to maximise efficiency and output. Evidently they see huge potential in this design and here’s hoping they help speed its route to market. This may also be the next step in unifying their various energy-related efforts, such as their Powermeter initiative, in to something much bigger – can a consumer launch of the quietly-registered Google Energy be far behind?

If there is one company that could shake up the energy markets, it’s Google…

Carbon trading is necessary but needs reassessed

Posted on May 6, 2010 at 10:42 AM

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The recent acquisition of the Climate Exchange by IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) for £395million should help further consolidate a fragmented carbon trading market that has been left reeling by the impotency of the Copenhagen summit. The carbon market has lost a third of its value since the UN talks in Copenhagen failed to set binding emissions targets and as a result establish the size of carbon market. With so much uncertainty, investors are staying away.

A strong and flourishing carbon market is essential for effective emission controls and will help drive value for installing measures but news of police raids on trading firm offices in Germany and the UK as part of tax evasion investigations will not help build confidence in the already shaky market. We can only hope that matters stabilise and the market is able to establish itself alongside other, more familiar commodity trading

Formula 1 set to shape the future of efficient 'green' engine design

Posted on May 5, 2010 at 3:53 PM

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It is fascinating to read that Formula 1 is looking to set standards aimed at reducing the size of car engines from 2013 to smaller 1.5-2.0 litre turbocharged devices.

Additional energy recovery and electrical booster systems will help 'do more with less' in these times of dwindling fossil fuel supplies, higher fuel costs, emissions limits and congestion charges. If the engineering might of Formula 1 cannot make smaller, greener but equally powerful engines then there is little hope of such technology emerging from elsewhere.
Sadly, rumours of an F1 effort to develop a zero emission engine appear to be unfounded.

I think the integration of the newer hybrid technologies and electrical augmentation can only help speed the public acceptance of these features in road cars.

Carbon Clothing

Posted on May 4, 2010 at 11:00 AM

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Here is a prime example of how the carbon embedded in every day life is often easily overlooked…

On a recent holiday I bought a sweet t-shirt from the National Geographic store in London, replete with the traditional yellow rectangle logo. Sadly, I snagged it on a loose nail and tore a hole in it. A swift Google search discovered that I could order a replacement for £25.00 from the store. However, a peak on eBay saw that I could buy the exact same t-shirt from a vendor for £16.00 (including postage). What’s the catch?

The shirt will come from Australia!

Now many will say that the price differential is too much to overlook and the internet has proven instrumental in helping us find bargains but surely we need to look at the carbon impact as well and factor this in to our buying decisions. There’s no way I could order the t-shirt from Oz in this instance…no matter how much I want it and tasty the price!