Germany Unveils Bold Energy Plans

Amplify’d from www.elrst.com

Yesterday the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, announced a bold plan to slash the use of fossil fuels by 2050. The plan calls for renewable energy to supply 60% of the country’s energy needs by 2050.

As the environment minister Norbert Röttgen stated, it is “the most ambitious energy programme ever seen, not only in Germany”.

The plan will also extend the life of nuclear power plants by an average of twelve years. Nuclear plants built before 1980 will be able to operate eight years longer than planned, and plants built after 1980 will produce electricity up to 14 years longer. This will enable the country to close its last nuclear reactor sometime in the 2030’s.

Although it is an unpopular move locally, as Germans strongly oppose nuclear, this decision will enable nuclear to be a bridging technology between today’s electricity generation which relies heavily on coal and lignite (more than 40 percent) and the future.

This will also bring important sums of money to finance renewable energy projects as the operators of the nuclear power plants will pay large taxes. More will be needed as the Financial Times notes Read more at www.elrst.com

 

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10:10 Car Share

Amplify’d from www.liftshare.com

Welcome to the 10:10 liftshare scheme Could you save 10% of your emissions by car-sharing to work? The typical commuter who car-shares every day cuts their emissions by a tonne a year – about 10% of the UK average! It’s a sociable and money-saving contribution to your 10:10 commitment. There are 38 million empty car seats on the UK’s roads every morning... fill yours (or someone else’s!) with 10:10’s free car-sharing scheme. Free to use - you simply share the travel costs Links drivers and passengers together online Part of the largest car sharing scheme in the UK Reduces the pollution and congestion on our roads Read more at www.liftshare.com

 

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UK cuts ribbon on world's largest offshore wind farm

Amplify’d from www.businessgreen.com

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall today cut the ribbon on the world's largest offshore wind farm, situated off the Kent coast, and celebrated by revealing that it is pushing ahead with plans for an even larger offshore wind development.

Energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne joined Vattenfall executives in Ramsgate to cut the ribbon on the 300MW Thanet wind farm, which will power about 200,000 homes and take the UK's total wind energy capacity to 5.1 gigawatts (GW), cementing its position as the leader in offshore wind energy.

According to trade body RenewableUK, the UK now has more offshore wind capacity than the rest of the world put together. While the global total excluding the UK is estimated at 1,100MW, the UK now has 1,341MW. Read more at www.businessgreen.com

 

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Chateau Adventure

Amplify’d from www.chateau-adventure.com

Make Chateau Adventure     your "french entrée" to adventure sports holidays and eco-holidaying!

Immerse yourself in the history, style and facilities of our original boutique chateau at very affordable prices.  Join in activities around the chateau as we begin our transformation to self-sufficiency.  Meet up with like-minded people, cook together or get a delivery of delicious local cuisine if you don't feel like cooking & share experiences...Let yourself 'shift gear' with any of our adventure, relaxing, 'back to nature' & eco-activities. And with only about 16 guests, you will have plenty of space for your own privacy too.

Set on the edge of the fascinating Dordogne region of France, near the medieval town of Argentat, 'Chateau de Cautine is like stepping straight into a film' as one of our guests put it. Full of original antiques, cosy furnishings, sleigh beds, huge open fireplaces it has a 15-metre salt-water pool, 34 acres of fields and woods and its own stream. Read more at www.chateau-adventure.com

 

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New UK Wind Energy Record Set

Amplify’d from www.windenergyplanning.com

National Grid confirmed that a record was set this week for the amount of electricity generated by wind turbines in the UK.

Graham McQuarrie at the National Grid’s press office said that at 8.30pm on Monday 6 September that 1860 Megawatts was being generated from wind energy mainly from Scotland – accounting for 4.7 per cent of total generation at the time.

Over the 24 hours for the day between midnight and midnight, wind generated 5 % of all electricity – 40GWh out of a total 809GWh.

National Grid also believes that if embedded wind generation is taken into account, about 10% of the UK’s power was generated by wind on Monday. Read more at www.windenergyplanning.com

 

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Ecover - Years Supply Competition

http://www.tryecover.com/yearsupply/

Win a years supply of Ecover in this competition.

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GREEN BUILDINGS IN NORFOLK 2010 - BOOKING NOW

Amplify’d from www.cprenorfolk.org.uk

Interested in Green Building

Building your own eco-home?  Looking to renovate in a sustainable way?  Interested in installing renewable energy?  Wanting to improve the efficiency of your own home?  Come and speak to local people who are one step ahead and have much to share.

Every September, CPRE Norfolk hosts a unique programme of guided tours at eco-homes, low-impact dwellings and energy-efficient developments in Norfolk.  This is a wonderful opportunity to learn firsthand about how renewable energy and sustainable building design works in practice by meeting the owners, architects and builders responsible for some of the most groundbreaking properties in Norfolk.   Whatever your interest, there is much to inspire, discover and learn.

Tours at the properties are at set times and must be booked in advance through an online booking website or through the Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre.  Bookings are taken over a six week period in August and September.  Tours cost £3 per person or £5 for a couple (although CPRE members go free) and everyone can book at least three tours.  Read more at www.cprenorfolk.org.uk

 

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MIT Researchers Develop Regenerative Solar Cells

Amplify’d from www.getsolar.com

A research team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) just developed a potentially revolutionary solar technology: solar cells that regenerate to limit sun damage. They got the idea from chloroplasts, the cells present in plant tissue where photosynthesis takes place. In case high school biology feels somewhat hazy, photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert the sun’s energy into sugars, a form of energy they can use. This process takes place in special cells within plants’ leaves called (wait for it…) chloroplasts!

Since chloroplasts are the only living cells capable of performing the same function as solar panels, this MIT team thought they were worth studying. One unique feature they found was chloroplasts’ ability to recycle important proteins, which kept the cells from wearing out. To mimic this, they developed molecules that can self-assemble and also interact with photons of sunlight to release electrons and create electricity.

These molecules organize themselves into formations creating functional solar cells, and their regenerative capabilities allow them to work at 40 percent efficiency. This already high efficiency level may actually increase as research progresses. “Biomimicry” and creative research may have just brought us a truly game-changing solar technology. Read more at www.getsolar.com

 

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HSBC predicts low-carbon energy market will treble to $2.2tn by 2020

Amplify’d from www.businessgreen.com

The global market for low-carbon energy firms will almost treble over the next decade creating a market worth $2.2tn a year by 2020, according a major new report from banking giant HSBC.

The research report maps out a number of scenarios for the world's emerging low-carbon energy generation and energy efficiency industries and concludes that despite current regulatory headwinds the sector is set to enjoy compound annual growth rates of around 11 per cent over the next 10 years.

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, report co-author Nick Robins said there was a good chance that the projections could prove to be pessimistic. "We just looked a low-carbon energy, we have not modelled the carbon market or the adaptation agenda," he said. "The market could end up being a bit worse than we suggest, but it has the potential to get a lot better as well."

The team behind the report mapped out four scenarios for the low-carbon energy sector, including a worst-case scenario backlash in which governments renege on green policy commitments and as a result the market only doubles to $1.5tn by 2020; a Copenhagen scenario in which governments make good on commitments made at last year's UN climate change summit in the Danish capital and the market trebles to $2.2tn; and a green growth scenario in which governments build on current pledges and the market swells to $2.2tn. Read more at www.businessgreen.com

 

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Space Energy

http://www.spaceenergy.com/s/Default.htm

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Win a Hybrid Car

Amplify’d from competition.papermategreen.net

See more at competition.papermategreen.net

 

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Residential Planning Ballot

Amplify’d from www.planningportal.gov.uk

Think tank urges residential planning by ballot

The Government has been urged to adopt a system of “community-controlled” planning with housing schemes allowed unless 50 per cent of those directly affected by the proposals object by a ballot.

Under these proposals from think tank Policy Exchange, developers would be free to offer financial incentives to households to back schemes as well as inducements to local residents in return for supporting development. This could involve paying for a park or a playing field.

According to the report: ‘Making housing affordable’, developers would have to take on board local concerns about the quality of new homes and would have to propose homes that local people approved of.

In the case of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) existing planning rules would remain in force. In addition, a local authority would be able to designate up to 75 per cent of its existing undeveloped land as “off limit” to developers.

The authors of the report said that if councils wanted to build social homes they could grant themselves planning permission so long as they won the support of those directly impacted. Funding would come from central Government bonds. Councils, though, would no longer be able to require developers to include social housing as part of their developments. Read more at www.planningportal.gov.uk

 

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