Wave energy: why we need a fresh approach to harnessing the power of our seas
Western Isles (Picture: Neil Kenhead) Stand on a beach in the Western Isles looking out at the Atlantic and it’s easy to see why for over a century people have dreamed of harnessing the power of our seas. The wave energy here is some of the most intense in the world, with the potential to provide the UK with 40 terrawatt hours (TWh) of electricity each year – over 10 per cent of current demand. Given such a spectacular natural resource, alongside... Read More
Clean energy investment: which way are we heading?
We’re still investing more than twice as much in new fossil fuels than we are in clean energy, according to two major reports released last week. Analysis by Carbon Tracker shows that in 2012, across the globe, we spent a massive $647 billion on finding and developing new reserves of oil, gas and coal. This is despite the fact that 80 per cent of all known stores of fossil fuels simply cannot be burnt if we are to limit global warming to an increase... Read More
Green Investment Bank: funding the parts that other banks won’t reach?
With its new and well-respected CEO at the helm – Shaun Kingsbury – the Green Investment Bank (GIB) is up-and-running, announcing its first batch of investments. Wind, energy efficiency and energy from waste projects are the lucky recipients of cash to help their development journey. The stated priority sectors are offshore wind, Green Deal, non-domestic energy-efficiency and waste. Just another state-owned bank? The GIB will follow banking... Read More
Budget: the Chancellor’s money myopia has failed those who seek to build a sustainable economy
Modern money is supposed to free us as individuals to make choices without compromise. With money as the universally accepted arbiter of value, anyone and anything can be purchased. Freed from moral strictures we can operate freely as individuals in the world of the market. So why do we become so morally hidebound and myopic when it comes to the use of money in everyday life? Money and morality The reality is that we find it impossible to abstract... Read More
Green investment: are fossil fuel firms worth their value or is this another bubble set to burst?
Could our savings and pensions be at risk from a carbon asset bubble that is destined to burst? Does our financial system have another shock in store for us comparable to the ‘credit crunch’ of 2008? These are the important questions posed over a year ago in a landmark report by the Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI), and more recently in a open letter from a group of investors, politicians and green NGOs to the Governor of the Bank of England. The... Read More
A Green Deal good for business?
Did you know that you can now implement energy efficiency improvements in your business without having to pay the full cost of these measures up-front under the long awaited Green Deal? Almost all of the advertising around the Green Deal – which started last month – has been focused on domestic properties, but businesses can also benefit. The scheme principles are the same in both cases. Essentially, an approved assessor ascertains the most cost... Read More
Let’s give the Green Deal a chance
At last, the Green Deal is open for business. I struggle to think of any proposal that’s been so talked about (and so derided) before it even started. So it’s not surprising that its launch has been met with a tide of negativity too: it’s not ambitious enough say some. Others focus on the interest rates – which are too high. No one knows about it (in fact research shows that one in five people have heard about it –... Read More
Crowdfunding and renewables: is power for the people by the people about to come of age?
Hepburn Wind When two wind turbines started spinning on Harlock Hill in Cumbria in the winter of 1997, it was a pioneering moment – for the UK at least. Our first renewable energy co-operative had just proven it was possible to harness hundreds of local people to raise the investment needed to turn such a project into reality. They were motivated by the desire to take action to help our environment whilst making a decent return in the process. Seven... Read More
SMEs and the Green Deal: the ingredients for successful collaboration
With just a matter of days now until the launch of the Green Deal finance plans, more and more smaller contractors (SMEs) will be looking at how to win business opportunities from this national insulation programme. Indeed, there is a strong case for SME involvement in the Green Deal, for which I have presented the arguments in previous blogs. I’ve also addressed the barriers to that involvement. But what are the ingredients to successful... Read More
Why investing in renewables can fix our balance of trade deficit
One of the problems our economy faces is our relative balance of trade with the rest of the world. In Victorian times, the UK produced more than 60 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and its goods (and what were then regarded as plentiful fossil fuels such as Welsh coal) were exported all over the world. In the 21st century, faced with the need for home grown growth to overcome global economic stagnation and crisis, the UK is well... Read More
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