Renew On Line (UK) number 71

 1. New year- new policies? 

Gordon Browns intervention on renewables (see below), and his hint that he might consider an 80% carbon cut target for 2050, followed by the announcement that the government wanted offshore wind to expand to 33GW total by 2020, gave us ...

2. Smart Green Tory Growth

The Conservative Party’s Quality of Life Policy Review, ‘Blueprint for a Green Economy’, overseen by Zac Goldsmith and John Gummer, takes on board much green thinking, claiming that we can have green growth and a happier society by combining smart technology with reduced demand. It calls for an 80% cut in emissions by 2050. And it supports some ...

3. Carbon Politics  

Ducking the EU 20% by 2020 renewables target 

The UK has formally backed the EU plan to get 20% of the EU’s energy from renewables by 2020. However, the UK is unlikely to attain anything like that (we only get 2% at present), unless there are radical new programmes. Brown’s new ...

4. Marine Energy Race  

Marine Current Turbines Ltd had hoped to install its 1.2 MW SeaGen in Strangford Narrows, Northern Ireland, last summer, but, speaking to a meeting in Guernsey in Oct 2007, MCTs’ Peter Fraenkel, reported that, ‘we had difficulty tracking down a contractor to do the work, primarily because of the installation of offshore wind turbines. We are ...

5. Tidal Barrage reactions 

The conditional support given by the Sustainable Development Commission to the Severn Tidal Barrage (see Renew 170) led to a lot of objections. Some were on basic environmental lines, but some also pointed to what they saw as better ...

6. Britannia to rule wind 

Clipper to develop 7.5MW superturbine in UK 

California-based wind turbine manufacturer Clipper Windpower has announced that it will develop and test a new 7.5 MW offshore unit at a new Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind in Blyth...

7. Carbon policy & initiatives

Climate Change Bill changed 

The draft Climate Change Bill has been revised following a three-month public consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny by three parliamentary committees. When originally published in March 2007, the draft Bill set out legally binding targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the UK by at least 60% by 2050 and 26 to 32% by 2020, and a new system...

8. Worldwide developments 

Climate Change  

Though the US is not a party to the Kyoto protocol, last May President Bush pledged to ‘convene a series of meetings of nations that produce most greenhouse gas emissions’ and by the end of 2008 to ‘set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases’...

9. EU Developments  

EU energy use still rising  

An EU action plan last year set a target of 20% less energy consumption by 2020. However, electricity consumption in the EU is growing, despite the extensive efficiency drive being promoted by member states. A report from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) shows increases across all sectors- residential, service and industry. As a result...

 10. Nuclear Developments

Rapid growth needed for Nuclear to curb Climate Change 

For Nuclear power to help curb climate change, at 1G tonne C/yr, it would have to expand worldwide to 1000GW, at the rate it grew from 1981 to 1990, its busiest decade, and keep up that rate for half a century, says a report by US environmentalists, academics and nuclear industry proponents...

11. In the rest of Renew 171

This issue takes a look at some of the wider political issues which shape how renewable energy is developed- our Feature explores the role of market mechanism and  in the Features and elsewhere we  look at how the EU-ETS and RO reflect the belief in the importance of market competition .  By contrast we look at REFIT , the guaranteed price Feed-In Tariffs that have been so successful on the mainland EU  - and whether they might be adopted in the USA.  Our Technology section continues our survey of wave and tidal current  turbine projects around the world,  and also looks at gasification and bioenergy.   Our Reviews include an assessment of CAT;s  Zero Carbon Britain scenario and the MARKAL scenarios developed  by the UK Energy Research centre. There is also a review of the new wind power book in the Palgrave series. The groups section looks at what the Claverton Energy Group has come up with so far , while our Forum debates  the pros and cons of personal carbon rationing.