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
10 things your installer won’t tell you before you purchase a biomass boiler
I saw a headline this morning in the green trade press, which read: ‘Why every business should be interested in the Renewable Heat Incentive’. A good headline no doubt to get people to click through and read on. But that kind of editorial should also carry a warning sign: if you are a business (or from next spring, a household) interested in the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), you should be very wary about what technology you invest... 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
Cleantech: is it time to wave goodbye to the Severn Barrage scheme?
The first Severn Barrage was proposed almost a century ago It is nearly a century since the first proposal to build a barrage across the Severn to generate power from the tides. Since then we have developed our National Grid, embarked on a dash-for-gas and built a fleet of nuclear power stations. Yet, still there is no Severn Barrage. And now the fate of the latest proposal – led by private consortia Hafren Power – hangs in the balance.... 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
Energy and water: our utility companies are failing us but we can take action
We’ve all felt the pain of crippling increases in our energy bills. And this week, it was the turn of the water companies to announce that they were hiking up their prices – those rises due to come in April will average around 3.5 per cent in England and Wales. So why are we paying more for our water? Talk to the water companies and they will tell you they are having to invest billions of pounds in improvements. But these are privately-owned... 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
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