1. UK Needs to try harder
The new EU energy policy
calls on the UK the get 15% of its energy from renewables by 2020- near
the bottom of the EU league table, but still requiring massive effort.
The British Wind Energy Association said that meant ‘we
need to increase renewable electricity to at least 35% in the next 12
years’. But Friends of the Earth said that current plans
‘fall well short ...MORE
2. Wave and Tidal- ‘slow progress’
Lots of wave and
tidal projects are currently under test at various scales, many
of them queuing up at EMEC in Orkney. But also down south. Trials of
Essex-based Trident Energy’s wave generator
off the Suffolk coast are following tests on a small model. The company
said the trial would be conducted about 5 miles off Southwold and would
run for a year. It added ...MORE
3. RO bands- no to REFIT
In January, the Government announced its
response to the consultation on reform of the Renewables
Obligation (RO)- backing the idea of a banded RO. The consultation
was just of reform to the RO, but of course many people see it as hopeless
and would prefer to switch over to the very successful Feed In Tariff
approach used in Germany and most other EU ...MORE
4. Biofuel doubts grow
The Commons Environmental
Audit Committee (EAC) has warned that biofuels for vehicles may
be too expensive and have too many environmental impacts while not reducing
net greenhouse gas emissions. So the EU should rethink its target ...MORE
5. £25m for micro power
So far grants worth £25m have been claimed
under the Low Carbon Building Programme. Since
it launched in April 2006, grants to install solar panels, biomass boilers
and ground-source heat pumps have included £7.5 m to help 4,600 households
...MORE
6. Nuclear Reactions
The Nuclear White Paper
brought forth some strong reactions from those opposed to nuclear power.
‘What is disturbing is that government is failing to
understand that the more urgent that dealing with climate change becomes,
the less relevant that nuclear power is. Solutions have to be found
on waste, cost, and decommissioning. They have not been ...MORE
7. Wind power developments
£40m for Offshore wind
The Energy Technologies
Institute (ETI) and the Carbon Trust
have joined forces to announce plans for an ambitious £40m initiative
to cut the costs of offshore wind power and accelerate its deployment
around the UK. The initiative will ...MORE
8. Planning Changes
The new Planning Policy
Statement on Climate change produced by the Department for Communities
and Local Government (DCLG) say that all councils will be expected to
provide for on-site renewable energy and local community ...MORE
9. Global developments
Climate Change
The summary by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change of current knowledge at the end of last
year, was sobering (a 4o rise was likely with massive impacts especially
on poorer countries), but didn’t stop climate deniers from ...MORE
10. EU News
EU energy use grows
A study by the Institute for Environment
& Sustainability, for the European Union, ‘Electricity
Consumption and Efficiency Trends in the Enlarged EU: Status
Report 2006’, shows that electricity use in the EU-27 Member States
and Candidate...MORE
11. Nuclear News
Euro Parliament ‘backs Nuclear’
According to the Nuclear
Industries Association, Members of the European Parliament have
‘overwhelmingly voted in favour of a report that states
that nuclear energy will be indispensable if the EU is to meet its basic
energy needs in the medium term’. The report, ‘Conventional Energy
Sources and Energy Technology’ was adopted with 509 votes in favour...MORE
12. In the rest of Renew 173
Our Feature looks at Coal- can we rely on Carbon Capture
and Storage to make it clean? Or is that yet another diversion from
getting on with renewables- like wave and tidal current power, which
as our other Feature suggests are moving ahead well?
Our Reviews include coverage of the Department for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform’s ‘Energy markets outlook’ which is
very positive on renewables longer term, and of the Sustainable Development
Commission’s report on tidal power.
Another big chunk in this issue is on Scotland- which is
moving ahead rapidly in the renewable league: see our Technology section
for an overview of the options, and Groups, with this years key WREC
conference in Glasgow in mind.
|
