Renew On Line (UK) 41
Extracts from the Jan-Feb 2003
edition of Renew
These extracts only represent about 25% of it
Renew On Line (UK) 41 |
Extracts from the Jan-Feb 2003
edition of Renew |
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| Welcome Archives Bulletin | |||
1.Energy ReviewThe new White Paper on Energy is still eagerly awaited, although it’s hard to see how it will deal with the conflicting views that emerged during the consultation process. The consultation was meant to be based, at least in part, on collecting responses to the Cabinet Offices PIU report. That recommended ‘keeping options open’ and in particular treating nuclear power as just an option for the.... More 2. PIU on WasteThe Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit, fresh from its energy review, and these days called the Strategy Unit, has been looking at waste management- not nuclear waste but domestic waste. But actually, from some of their preliminary comments, you might not be so sure. Thus in the interim report, which is on the PIU web site, they comment ‘public perceptions tend to be focussed on the potential environmental and health hazards of waste disposal’ and in particular emissions, More
3. Green Energy- the good, the bad and the uglyBy September 2002, around 60,000 customers had signed up to green power retail schemes in the UK, with over 45,000 offerings accredited by Future Energy and total annual sales of 250GWh, worth over £15m p.a.. The latest addition to the range of a schemes on offer has come from Ecotricity, the pioneering independent renewable supplier.... More 4. Tidal and Wave Power move aheadThe 185 tonne prototype Stingray tidal current device was installed for its test run off the Shetland Isle last Sept, and all seemed to go well- see the detailed progress report in our Technology section. Meanwhile, the developers, the Engineering Business.... More 5. EAC takes on PIU- and WilsonThe House of Commons Environment Audit Committee (EAC) can always be relied on to make critical assessments of government policy, and its review last year of the Performance and Innovation Units Energy policy report was no exception.... More 6. Taking the high road: 40% of power from Scottish Renewables ?‘I firmly believe that producing as much as 40% of Scotland’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020 is a realistic aim.’ So said Environment and Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie, launching a consultation on the future of renewable energy last year. He added "Scotland’s capacity for generating electricity from renewable resources is one of the largest in Europe.... More 7. After ARBREThe financial collapse of the UK’s flagship £35m ARBRE energy crop combustion project in Yorkshire has left local farmers seeking new markets for the wood from short rotation willow coppices that they were managing. However, the accountants overseeing the liquidation of the projects assets have evidently had some expressions of interest in buying the plant.... MOre 8. Wind backlash: Over the sea..A recent wind backlash development concerns the £30m 48MW 27 turbine project planned for the Isle of Skye, where a pressure group, SWAG (Skye Windfarm Action Group) has emerged, involving Sir Jeremy Isaacs who, it seems, has bought a house in the area recently.... More 10. Regional Renewable RivalryAs we noted in Renew 137, the DTI has published the results of a survey by OXERA/Arup of regional renewable energy resources. It suggested that the East of England could meet over 13% of the UK’s 10% by 2010 renewable target, the highest in the UK. By contrast Scotland was seen as only at best meeting 11%. This has raised some hackles.... More 11 World Roundup. WSSD aftermathTony Blair may have called on all the industrial countries to ratify the Kyoto accord, but otherwise the general conclusion was that the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Jo’burg last year was a bit of a disaster . Even the EU couldn’t rise to the occasion- backed by Brazil, Norway, New Zealand, Iceland and Hungary, it tried to hold out for a global commitment to a target of obtaining 15% ... More 12. Nuclear EconomicsGordon Brown, in his spending review statement last year, allocated an extra £38 m for sustainable energy initiatives in 2005-06. That sat rather oddly alongside the £650m provided to bail out British Energy, and, even more starkly, the £48bn in nuclear liabilities that the government is planning to take over from BNFL and the UKAEA via the Liabilities Management Authority (LMA).... More 13. In the Rest of Renew 141In a bumper 34 page issue, there’s an editorial on the White paper and on the demise of ARBRE. Following the PIU’s new report on waste management we also look at Energy from Waste with a Feature by OU researcher Daniel Robertson on Waste Combustion and reports on gassification and pyrolysis in our Technology section- including the idea of producing bio-hydrogen. . The Technology section also looks at progress on the Stingray tidal device and includes a look at the idea of Leaning Curves, as used by the PIU. There is also an interesting discussion of the use of CHP to balance the output from wind farms.. Our Reviews section includes a look at Hermann Scheers proposals for a Solar Economy and at a useful new book on energy conservation- adopted for the new OU Sustainable Energy course ( which is covered in our Forum section) And our extensive Groups section includes coverage of theEnergy 21 Network, and a new EU wave energy network , plus coverage of various local wind energy battles.
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