A Cambridge biotech company hopes to shine with diesel from sunlight

A Cambridge biotech company is on a bold mission to transform the energy industry by producing “liquid fuel from the sun.”

Joule Unlimited claims its genetically engineered microorganism can secrete pure diesel that’s interchangeable with the fuel that goes into trucks.

CEO Bill Sims calls Joule — 22nd on Biofuels Digest’s “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy” list in December — a “transformational” company. That’s because its microorganism, known as cyanobacteria, doesn’t need biomass feedstock such as corn, grass or algae
“All of that takes time and energy,” said Sims, noting that Joule’s technology produces more power than the fossil energy that it consumes. “We’re not aware of any biofuel that can make that claim.”

Biomass is the “Achilles’ heel” of biofuel production because of its fluctuating costs and the expense of transporting, processing and disposing of it, said Sims.

Joule’s process for photosynthetic fuel production uses a solar converter and microorganism to capture sunlight and convert carbon dioxide and water directly into liquid fuels and chemicals.

A peer-reviewed article published this month in Photosynthesis Research supports Joule’s claims that it can produce renewable fuels and chemicals — including 15,000 gallons of diesel per acre annually at full commercial scale — at yields that are up to 50 times greater than processes that use biomass
“Biofuels, by nature, are not scalable, whereas we have created technology where the solar converters are modular and therefore scalable,” Sims said. “And we can show at small scale what the technology is capable at large scale.”

Joule projects it can produce diesel for as low as $30 a barrel, including all of its costs, and ethanol for $50 a barrel.

After four years in business and $30 million in venture capital, Joule is set to break ground this year on a commercial-scale production plant. The company is evaluating out-of-state sites for what’s envisioned to grow into a 1,000-acre facility for its solar-to-fuels technology.

Production is scheduled to start in 2012 in the first phase of the commercial plant
Joule operated a pilot plant last summer on about five acres in Texas that essentially works as an outdoor lab. It’s been piloting ethanol production and will soon start testing diesel.

The board is led by Noubar Afeyan, the CEO of Flagship Ventures, and includes John Podesta, former White House chief of staff under President Clinton, and the head of Troika Dialog, Russia’s largest investment bank.

By Donna Goodison

Parisian luxury hotel for dogs gets tails wagging

Heated pools, massage salons and a-la-carte menus are de rigueur at luxury hotels across the world but in one exclusive Paris establishment the difference is the guests: they have four legs, and enthusiastically wagging tails.

Actuel Dogs bills itself as France's first luxury hotel for dogs, and founders Devi and Stan Burun, a dog behavior specialist and lifelong dog-lover, also offer training programs unruly hounds and dog walks in the woods.

As well as a dip in the pool, or a massage, guests including Ulysse, a bumptious yellow Labrador sporting a smart red collar, enjoy "doggy jogging," or simply relax on cushioned couches in their luxury suites.

Their tiled-floor rooms smell fresh and clean and are adorned with framed prints of dogs and equipped with televisions so dogs can watch their choice of DVDs.

Owners pay between 26 euros and 35 euros ($36-$48) to leave their lucky hounds for a full day and while the luxury touches appeal to owners, the key difference with traditional kennels is that dogs are not locked up in cages.

"People think we serve the dogs' food from silver platters but this is not pointless, extravagant luxury," Devi said, as Clifford, an English bulldog, Cocker Spaniel puppy Floyd, Golden Retriever Cleo and miniature Schnauzer Belle bounded around the hotel's games room, equipped with a treadmill for training.

"It's not like in the United States or Japan -- giving the dogs manicures, dying their fur pink -- that's human madness. Our priority is to meet the dogs' needs," she added.

The concept works partly because of its location, in the chic suburb of Vincennes, on the outskirts of Paris, and close to the woods.

"People live in small apartments in Paris, they work, they don't have time to walk their dogs. We respond to those needs," Devi said.

Devi and Stan also have an advantage over hoteliers who have to worry about human guests trashing rooms and stealing bathrobes -- they evaluate their canine clients before their first stay, to weed out aggressive behavior.

"The concept is human, but it's completely adapted to a dog's needs," said Devi. Clifford, Floyd and their friends declined to comment directly to Reuters, but their wagging tails indicated their agreement.

REA challenges Government over solar with ‘myth-busting’ factsheet

The Renewable Energy Association (REA) today challenged the Government over its support for solar, saying it needed to look at the potential of the green technology "based on the facts".
The REA, which represents over 150 solar companies, today called on the Government to reconsider its policy of "reigning in" solar by looking at the facts. The trade body has published a factsheet, which lists 10 suggested "myths" about solar and attempts to knock them down one by one.

The move follows the decision by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) this month to launch a fast-track comprehensive review into the Feed-in Tariff for solar projects over 50 kilowatts (kW) in size.


"The fact is the UK has not caught up with rapid developments in the global solar PV industry – or shown much interest in the facts," said REA chief executive, Gaynor Hartnell. "It would be a terrible loss if the 'greenest Government ever’ reigns in on the UK’s already modest solar vision and ambition. We’d like to hear DECC talk up this technology and re-examine its potential based on the facts."


The REA’s 'Solar Fact Checker' lists 10 current myths about solar, which the industry believes risks derailing the growth of the sector, putting tens of thousands of green jobs at risk.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne announced he was launching a review of the FiT scheme earlier this month following growing evidence that large-scale solar farms were threatening small-scale renewable projects, such as those found at homes and small businesses, which the scheme was intended for.

However, REA is concerned that launching a review into developments of 50 kW and over is creating investment uncertainty and risks undermining job creation in the sector and leaving the UK behind the rest of Europe.


Solar Fact Checker
Among the myths it attempts to dispel in its factsheet is that the technology can’t deliver much power in the UK. It counters that south facing roofs and facades alone could deliver around a third of UK electricity supply. It also claims that it is incorrect to suggest that solar is an expensive technology, pointing out that costs of solar have dropped 20 per cent and has the potential to be cheapest power source in the world.

The factsheet also challenges the Government directly on its review of the FiT scheme, saying five megawatt – the subsidy ceiling – is small by international standards and that it is wrong for the UK to focus on small solar because a micro sector is unlikely to support new manufacturing opportunities and inward investment.

"On any objective analysis this is a serious power source that demands respect. It is also extremely popular with the public," said Hartnell.

Renewable Heat Incentive
This week, the REA also sent an open letter to Huhne urging him to publish details of the mechanism for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The Government announced £860 million of funding for the RHI beginning in June 2011 in the Comprehensive Spending Review. The scheme will incentivise homeowners and businesses to generate their own renewable heat.

"The Government has promised to introduce the Renewable Heat Incentive this summer, but we still do not know the details of the mechanism. Numerous projects are on hold, with recruitment frozen in many companies and other companies having to lay-off staff. Uncertainty and delay is damaging the industry and the prospects for the rapid development of green heat," the letter read.


by Greenwise Staff

Building-integrated PV: Its time has come

The use of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems has been around for a long time (16 years since the first commercial-scale system installed in the UK). However, innovation of new products within this market has been slow to gather pace. This is set to change as the effects of increasing revenues for UK solar PV firms from the feed-in tariff passes down into the UK solar PV R&D market.

So what are building-integrated PV systems? BIPV can be considered as solar PV elements that actually replace sections of buildings, meaning they are not simply solar panels stuck on roofs (which can be described as building-applied PV, or BAPV). There is a variety of forms of BIPV, such as building facades, PV tiles, PV glazing, PV shingles and so on. Solar Century, for example, has just announced it will begin selling PV slates for buildings.

The use of BIPV instead of BAPV is certainly one that should be considered for all new-build homes, especially in regions of high solar insolation (for example, the southern parts of the UK). The use of BIPV instead of conventional building materials has a number of advantages, including the fact that it replaces the cost of the materials that otherwise would have been needed. Although the PV elements would be more expensive upfront, in the long-run, the income from the feed-in tariff would ensure that the short-term investment would be worthwhile. It also means that PV systems can be integrated in a less visible form, without disrupting the architectural aspect of buildings.

There are some disadvantages to BIPV, however. Once installed, for example, it can be difficult to access. Say a problem arises with a solar PV tile installation: taking apart your roof to fix things isn’t an easy task, especially when everything is electrically live while the sun is out.

BIPV also requires extra planning and care when installing to make sure the system is both water-tight and wired correctly.

The fact that Solar Century has launched its new C21e solar PV slate shows the UK BIPV market is now growing – mainly thanks to the introduction of the feed-in tariff last April. The high number of buildings with specific forms of roofing materials — 4 million UK homes use slate roofing, for instance — offers a great opportunity to integrate solar PV discreetly, without disturbing the aesthetics of the building.

Solar Century has already seen success with its C21e Tile system due to the simplicity of installation attracting major house builders. The same can be expected for its slate system.

There are many installations in the UK and around the world where BIPV has been used in the design of some spectacular buildings, with the PV element as an architectural highlight. In fact, with the rise of corporate social responsibility, many firms are now looking to improve their “green” image, and one of the ways to do this is by installing BIPV on their offices. This sends a clear message that the company cares about lowering carbon emissions and also helps employees feel they are working within a cleaner, greener environment.

Looking ahead, the number of buildings with both applied and integrated photovoltaics systems is set to continue rapidly increasing in the UK with the support of the feed-in tariff. The review on the FIT announced by the government is not likely to affect domestic-size installations and so it can still be regarded as a safe bet. The coming years should also see an increasing output of innovation from companies such as Solar Century and various universities and research centres, as they look to lower costs in line with the annual tariff reductions of the FIT.

The question is, can the UK be a world leader in solar PV technology, seeing as it is so far behind Germany? Maybe the answer to that is to focus on specific research elements, such as BIPV, or to focus on future technologies such as multi-bandgap thin-film solar cells. More on that possibility soon …

Newcastle borehole drilling starts in search of heat

Engineers are set to start drilling a hole deep below Newcastle in the search for a renewable energy source.

The Newcastle and Durham Universities team plans to sink a hole 6,562ft (2,000m) below the planned Science Central site, in the city centre.

Scientists hope the £900,000 project will result in water at a temperature of about 80C (176F) being pumped out.

The plan is the water could be used to heat the site and surrounding city centre buildings.

The project, which starts on Wednesday, is expected to last six months with the team hoping to pump out the first hot water in June.

'Exciting project'

Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability director, Professor Paul Younger, said: "Our aim is to rise to the challenge of putting a novel form of deep geothermal energy at the very heart of city centre regeneration.

"It's an incredibly exciting project. If we're right and we pump up water at such elevated temperatures, it would mean a fully renewable energy supply for a large part of the city centre."

The project is funded by the Newcastle Science City Partnership and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Managers at the Eldon Square Shopping Centre said they were interested in getting involved in the project if it was successful.

General manager Phil Steele said: "We can now look forward optimistically to using deep geothermal energy to supply part or all of our future energy needs and we look forward to working with Newcastle University to develop this major scientific enterprise for the city."

UK ticks towards carbon-saving time

Government poised to support moving clocks forward an hour all year round in new tourism strategy.

The government will this week signal that it could support proposals to move the clocks forward by an hour, according to reports suggesting the coalition's new tourism strategy will argue that changing the clocks would cut carbon emissions and boost the UK's economy.

The strategy, which is due to be launched this week, will include a plan to shift British clocks an hour forward all year round, bringing the UK into line with mainland Europe.

However, the proposals are likely to require support from the Scottish Parliament, where some politicians are opposed to the idea, if they are to be approved.

Campaign group Lighter Later, which is lobbying for the move, has said the darker morning and lighter evenings brought about by the change would slash energy consumption and save 447,000 tonnes of CO2 every winter.

The idea was introduced by Conservative MP Rebecca Harris last year as a private members' bill, which is currently being scrutinised by a committee of MPs after passing its second reading.

Prime Minister David Cameron and the influential Energy and Climate Change Committee have both lent their support to the proposal, along with tourism bodies and safety campaigners, although fears have been raised that road accidents on dark mornings would increase in Scotland as a result of the change.

Now the tourism strategy, set to be published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in the next few days, has adopted pushing the clocks forward as a method of increasing the numbers of visitors to the UK and potentially testing the strength of public feeling on the issue via consultation.

"We're still very much focusing on the bill," said a spokeswoman for Lighter Later. "But potentially including it in the tourism strategy is like [the government is] giving the idea their approval."

This is not the UK's first flirtation with clock changes - a three-year experiment between 1968 and 1971 saw British Summer Time applied through the year.

However, following a raft of complaints from Scotland the clocks reverted back, despite the fact that subsequent studies suggested road accidents had actually fallen as a result of the change.


By BusinessGreen staff

Most Radical Sustainability Plan’ Launched by Supermarket Group

The “toughest operational carbon reduction targets of any major business” are among 47 goals in an ethical operating plan released today by the Co-Operative Group, the owner of the U.K.’s fifth-largest supermarket chain.

The Co-Op has pledged to reduce carbon emissions 35 percent by 2017, from a 2006 baselne. The company has already reduced carbon emissions 20 percent since 2006.

It aims to generate the equivalent of 25 percent of its energy needs from renewables by 2017, and to go carbon neutral by 2012. In contrast, number one UK retailer Tesco says it will go zero carbon by 2050.

The Co-Op says it will reduce water consumption across its operations by 10 percent by 2013.

The company, which also operates pharmacies, banks, insurance, investments and funeral services, says it will ensure that the “vast majority” of its operational waste is diverted from landfills by 2013. Currently the group re-uses or recycles 60 percent of its waste.

And the Co-Op has promised to move to sustainable sourcing for palm oil by 2011 and for soya by 2015.

The company called this “the most radical sustainability programme in UK corporate history”.

Leading U.K. environmentalist Jonathon Porritt said: “By launching this Ethical Plan, the Co-operative is taking corporate sustainability into a new era. Other businesses will now be seeking to benchmark themselves against this plan.”

Other goals and programs in the plan:

•Cut use of plastic shopping bags a further 15 percent from a 2006 baseline by 2013, on top of 60 percent already achieved

•A ban on the pesticides endosulfan and paraquat

•Achieving an “Outstanding” rating under the BREEAM green building certification for its new Manchester head office, to be completed in 2012

•An extension of its Plan Bee program addressing the decline of U.K. honeybees, to cover other “at risk” pollinators including butterflies, moths and hoverflies. The program funds scientific research, prohibits the use of certain pesticides on the Co-Op’s own-brand produce, and invites beekeepers to establish hives on the land the Co-Op farms.

•A 10 percent packaging weight reduction by 2012, on top of 15 percent already achieved. The Co-Op is among many major UK retailers, including Asda, Boots, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, to agree to a 10 percent cut through the WRAP program.

The Co-Op’s environmental achievements to date include ensuring that 99 percent of the wood and paper products it sells are from recycled sources or are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

In 2009 it stopped selling all fish from the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) list of Fish to Avoid, and ranked first out of eight retailers in the MCS’s supermarket survey.

Solar firms launch legal fight over subsidy rethink

More than 20 energy companies have hired law firm Eversheds to challenge the Government's decision to review £360m in subsidies for "solar farms".

The law firm has drafted a letter warning that many of the UK's largest solar companies are prepared to take the Government to judicial review for failing to consider all the consequences and not consulting widely enough.

The correspondence, which could land on the desk of the Department of Energy and Climate Change as soon as today, is likely to say that the companies would prefer not to resort to judicial review. However, the group is raising funds for a joint case if the matter cannot be resolved through talks.

The companies are furious over the potential Government reversal on supporting subsidies for farms of up to 5 megawatts - projects which cover acres of the countryside or old industrial land in solar panels . However, Ministers now look set to ensure the £360m pot of funding is directed solely to individuals putting solar panels or wind turbines on their roofs.

The Coalition parties backed the subsidy scheme, known as feed-in-tariffs, in their manifestos and in the autumn spending review, giving many companies previously reluctant to invest in the sector the confidence to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on projects.

However, by November, Greg Barker, the climate change secretary, had started condemning "hot money and speculation" pouring into the industry, after becoming concerned at the number of applications for planning permission at sites across the south-west in particular.

Ken Moss, the chief executive of MO3 Power, a solar company backed by New Look founder Tom Singh, said many emerging companies "feel insulted" at being labelled speculators when they wanted to become large-scale clean energy providers.

Emerging solar companies, who say they are trying to drive down costs of the early-stage technology, also point out that much bigger companies are getting larger subsidies. The Government already provides more than £1bn for giant wind farms, while nuclear power is set to get substantial bill-payer backing through a raft of regulatory changes.

However, detractors of the feed-in-tariff scheme argue small-scale solar is a much more expensive way of subsidising low-carbon energy, with an extra £11 a year on household bills to pay for a relatively small amount of generation.


by Rowena Mason

Thin, Flat Solar Power Concentrator unveiled.. things to come?

Concentrating, or magnifying solar energy - the concept is so simple, but as always, the devil lies in the detail. Archimedes tried it in the second century BC to burn Roman ships with a solar "death ray". Modern concentrated photovoltaic solar power (CPV) uses the same idea, focusing sunlight onto solar panels that track the sun as it moves through the sky. The aim is to get more "bang for your solar buck" by minimising the amount of expensive solar cells while maximising sun exposure.

Solar technology company HyperSolar Inc. say they have invented the world’s first thin and flat solar energy concentrator technology that could be incorporated by manufacturers of existing flat solar panels, claiming a electricity output boost of 300 percent.

Traditional silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells used in standard solar panels can only convert so much magnified sunlight into electricity. Modern CPV plants employ super-efficient allium arsenide solar cells, which can handle much higher magnification levels. HyperSolar says its concentrator technology will be tailored to offer varying levels of magnification to suit different types of solar panels.

HyperSolar CEO Tim Young believes that once a fully developed solar concentrator is available on the global market it could reduce the number of solar cells needed in a conventional solar panel by 75 percent, greatly reducing the cost per watt of electricity generated.

"Our ultimate goal is to develop an inexpensive and thin solar concentrator for use in replacing expensive solar cells in conventional flat solar panels. While this initial prototype is designed to provide 300% light magnification, we are aiming for at least 400% in our final commercial product."


by Energy Matters

Rick Stein's pub has switched to an environmentally friendly sewage system.

The pub, in St Merryn, wanted an environmentally friendly off-mains drainage system which would work in its rural setting.

Builders Amazon Construction brought the expertise of wastewater manufacturer Klargester to install an EnviroSafe treatment plant.

Traditional septic tanks still dominate the off-mains market, but Klargester argue the systems are only 50% effective.

This is because only about 50% of sewage pollutants are treated in the system with the rest then passed through a drainage field or soakaway' to complete the process.

However, the EnviroSafe system works by providing an environment where bacteria are cultivated to breakdown sewage.

It works in three stages, firstly primary settlement, which simply involves the settlement of larger solids present in raw sewage and wastewater for gradual breakdown.

Secondly, biological treatment where the carbonaceous pollutants are removed by presenting the sewage to the micro-organisms in oxygen, the plant can also use a third anerobic zone.

And thirdly a natural by-product of biological treatment is humus sludge and this is separated for further treatment.

According to Klargester it's highly efficient, treating more than 90% of the pollutants, and releasing a clear, odourless overflow that is environmentally friendly and suitable for discharging within the most sensitive sites like St Merryn.

"We needed to update our septic tank that was struggling to cope with the heavy demands of a popular pub and busy working kitchen," says Rupert Wilson the pub's general manager.

"We always seek the highest standards in our restaurants and pubs in terms of limiting our environmental impact.

"That's why we needed a system that would meet our commercial requirements and be more suitable than the septic tank that had been in situ for over 20 years," he says.

"It was important to pick a system that was efficient, low maintenance and had low running costs.

"It was also imperative not to impact on the tranquillity of St Merryn, which is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, or disturb our patrons' enjoyment of this rural pub.

"The EnviroSafe is ideal because it's buried underground so the only visible part is a manhole cover."



by Luke Walsh

Mervyn King could raise interest rates 3 time this year,due to high costs of energy and food..

The Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, has signalled that interest rates may rise three times before the year is out, hitting 1.25pc by December.

Mr King came as "close as he can" to endorsing market expectations that the base rate, to which lenders' own rates are tied, will start to climb from its record 0.5pc low in May, said economists.

They seized on a key passage in the Governor's latest letter to the Chancellor explaining rising prices, after annual inflation hit 4pc in January, double the target and its highest level in over two years.

Mr King said the consumer prices index (CPI) measure would climb closer to 5pc in the next few months.

However, he said, the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) believed inflation will be around target, at 2pc in two or three years, "under the assumption that the bank rate increases in line with market expectations".

Interest rate futures are pricing in a first 0.25 percentage point rise by May and another every three months for the next two years or so, said Philip Rush, economist at Nomura. That would signal a 0.75 percentage point increase by the end of 2011.

Mr Rush said the Governor had "come as close as he can to support market rate expectations" without explicitly endorsing them.

Michael Saunders at Citi agreed that the phrasing implied "an endorsement of the market rate profile – which projects three hikes by year end – as a roughly appropriate path for policy".

He added: "Unless the Governor is playing some strange sort of game with language, this phrase should surely be the message of [today's] inflation report: that the market path for rates is right."

The Bank's quarterly inflation report will update its forecasts for growth and prices to give more indications as to when the base rate will finally rise, after two years at 0.5pc.

The pound yesterday hit a five and a half month high against a basket of currencies as investors bet that rates will rise sooner rather than later.

The uncertainty the Bank builds into its forecasts gives it room to alter its expected course. However, it is under pressure to raise rates given over-target inflation. Two MPC members were shown in the last set of minutes to have voted for a rate rise.

The Office for National Statistics reported that soaring fuel prices and the VAT increase pushed the CPI gauge from 3.7pc in December to a 26-month high. Month-on-month, the rise was 0.1pc – the first increase ever seen between December and January, when the post-Christmas sales tend to hold back prices.

However, Ian Harwood, economist at Evolution Securities, said that even when the impact of indirect taxes like VAT were stripped out, the annual rate was 2.4pc, up from the previous month's 2pc.

"This shows that the UK's underlying inflation momentum has picked up," he said, citing the higher food and energy prices which are causing trouble globally.

The retail prices index (RPI) measure, which includes more housing costs, climbed from 4.8pc to 5.1pc.

Mr King believes inflation should ease as "temporary" factors such as the VAT rise, the low value of the pound and rising energy prices fall away. However, some believe that the threat inflation poses to the Bank's credibility makes a rise a necessity, despite the risks around the recovery.

Nationwide reported consumer confidence fell back again in January, with its main index falling towards the all-time lows recorded during the recession.


By Emma Rowley

Communications giant O2 ventures into UK smart meter market

Communications giant O2, part of Telefónica Europe, has announced its first venture into the UK smart meter market with a multi-million pound contract with provider G4S Utility Services.

The three-year deal will see O2 provide its M2M technology, including around 150,000 SIM cards, to enable the connection of smart meters to G4S’ data centre.

G4S, which is one of the UK’s largest suppliers of smart metering and services, will use O2’s SMS gateway to transfer information securely to and fro between its smart meters and data centres.

The company has also signed a three-year contract with British Gas Business to provide smart gas and electricity smart metering services across the UK.

The UK has set a target of rolling out smart meters to all the country’s homes by 2020 – or sooner if possible.

“We believe there are real opportunities to use our network to accelerate the roll out of Smart meters by helping utilities companies and other suppliers to deploy and manage the devices in a quicker and more cost effective way,” says Ben Dowd of O2.

MP want an IPad to save the environment

MPs want taxpayers to buy them a £700 iPad each... to save the environment.

More than a dozen backbenchers are to trial the gadgets before they are rolled out to all 650 MPs in a move likely to enrage cash-strapped voters.

A source on the Administration Committee, which is driving the move, claimed it would save cash, saying: “It will pay for itself as we won’t be printing so much.”

Parliament has already spent £5million on 7,000 computers in the past five years.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance said: “MPs have office budgets that are more than adequate to cover the cost of an iPad.

“On top of that, huge amounts have been spent on computers for MPs and their staff, so we shouldn’t have to foot another bill so MPs can have the latest gadgets.”

This came as it emerged that 12 MPs have tried to pay bonuses to family members despite rules prohibiting it.

And further shame was heaped on politics yesterday when ex-minister Dawn Butler accused former colleagues of sexism, saying: “They talked about women MP’s breasts.”

Meanwhile, jailed expenses cheat Eric Illsley was mugged on his last night of freedom, handing over cash and a phone





by Tom McTague, Daily Mirror

People power 'overlooked by energy policies'

The way that people use and live in their homes has been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency, a study has suggested.
The focus on technological solutions had overshadowed the need also to consider the "human side" of energy use in buildings, it added.

Energy used in people's homes account for about a quarter of the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions.
The findings have been published in the journal Architectural Science Review.
"Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything," explained author Katy Janda, a senior researcher for the UK Energy Research Centre's (UKERC) Energy Demand theme.
"The paper is really to remind people who are interested in the technology that they cannot forget the human side," she told BBC News.

"I think we have gone too far towards thinking that technology is going to solve all our problems for us," added Dr Janda, who is based at Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute.
In her paper, she wrote: "Reducing energy use in buildings is a critical component of meeting carbon reduction commitments.
"This article argues that building users play a critical but poorly understood, and often overlooked, role in the built environment."

'Information gap'

Within the policy and research sphere, Dr Janda said that the "information deficit model" tended to dominate the social dimensions of the energy debate. In other words, households and bill payers lacked the knowledge they needed in order to "correct" their energy-use habits.

She quoted research that compared people's energy use with shopping in a supermarket that did not list prices on individual items. Instead, the shopper was presented with a bill for the purchases at the end of each month. As a result, it said, households found it difficult to know how or where they could obtain details of their energy consumption. One development to bridge the "information gap" was the emergence of "feedback" devices, such as smart meters and energy monitor displays.

Some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15% energy savings using smart meters. However, research published last year voiced concern that there was still no clear definition for smart meters. As the simplest level, smart meters can be read remotely by the energy company. At the most advanced level, the devices provide information on what items are using energy and how much it costs. The technology also allows home owners to switch devices on and off remotely.

But Dr Janda observed: "Although the feedback approach is useful, there are other factors that influence people's energy use that may not be affected by their mechanism."

Complex beings

A UK Economic and Social Research briefing paper published in 2009 highlighted that buildings in the UK accounted for 45% of all energy use - the same as transport and industry combined.
It also warned that the UK would never achieve its target of cutting emissions by 80% by 2050 from 1990 levels without reducing energy and water use in buildings (potable water requires high energy use to purify it to drinking quality).
The paper also highlighted how people can influence the energy performance of buildings: "Often, buildings don't perform as expected, partially because occupants behave in more complex ways than designers account for; they open windows, leave doors open, generate body heat, keep tropical fish tanks and install plasma TV screens."

Dr Janda said it suggested that people's behaviour may be idiosyncratic, rather than reasoned and predictable.
One project that is collating data on how people's behaviour, as well as different technologies, affects a building's energy-use profile is the "Energy House" at the University of Salford.
Researchers have constructed a 1920s style terraced house inside a three-storey sealed testing chamber to allow them to measure energy use under a range of environmental and social scenarios.

Erik Bischard, professor of regeneration and sustainable development and one of the lead researchers on the three-year study, welcomed Dr Janda's findings.
"The built environment community is dominated at the construction phase by technicians and engineers who are driven by specifications and tight budgets," he told BBC News.

"Human behaviour, once the building is occupied, is often seen as someone else's problem - but this is a dangerously mistaken view. Almost half of greenhouses gases emitted as a result of how we use buildings.
"This is therefore very much everyone's problem and Kathryn Janda is absolutely right when she suggests that the behavioural sciences need to be part of design-stage thinking as a matter of urgency."

Dr Janda suggested that architects, as a profession, were best placed to pick up the baton to close the differences between the design of buildings and their use.
"Some architects have the skills and experience to take on this challenge," she said.
"But the field as a whole would need to develop professional expertise and seek ways of integrating user involvement in building performance to fully succeed."

By Mark Kinver

Carillion will acquire Eaga for £306.5 M

LONDON - Support services company Carillion PLC (CLLN.LN) will acquire Eaga PLC (EAGA.LN), a provider of residential energy efficiency solutions in the U.K., for GBP306.5 million, the companies said Friday.

The deal will create a business with combined support services revenue of about GBP3 billion and gives Carillion a strong presence in the U.K. energy services market.

Eaga provides Carillion with an established presence across a wide range of energy services markets and offers growth prospects from the British government's strategy to encourage a low carbon economy, and in the sphere of renewable energy, where it is focused on the feed-in tariff regime for small-scale residential solar photovoltaic installations.

Carillion, which also offers construction and infrastructure services, expects to generate synergies of GBP9 million by the end of 2013 with one-off costs of delivering those savings in the region of GBP15 million. These synergies are expected to be generated through improved efficiencies across both the Carillion and Eaga businesses.

Carillion's offer for Eaga is valued at 120 pence a share, representing 118.79 pence in cash plus the 1.21 pence interim dividend that Eaga shareholders are due to receive March 18.

The offer represents a premium of 50% to Eaga's closing price of 80 pence Feb. 2, the last business day prior to the disclosure that Eaga was in talks that might lead to an offer, and a premium of 30% to its closing price of 92 pence Thursday.

The deal is subject to approval by Eaga's shareholders but is expected to become effective in April.

"The offer received from Carillion has come at an interesting time in Eaga's development, as our markets are changing rapidly," said Eaga Chairman Charles Berry in a statement. "While there are exciting future prospects, we believe these are potentially better accessed as part of a larger group."

Carillion's shares closed Thursday at 385 pence. They have gained 36% in value in the past 12 months.

UK must cut carbon emissions, or face the consequences

Britain may be well placed to meet its carbon-reduction targets, but falling short could result in political chagrin, EU fines and damage to industry

Failure to meet the UK's pledges to cut carbon emissions would likely result in fines for the government, a higher chance of dangerous climate change and reduced competitiveness for green British businesses.

Although the UK's contribution to a warming planet is relatively small – around 2% of global emissions – it has a large historical responsibility and was still the world's 10th biggest emitter in 2009, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Britain is committed to cutting its carbon emissions on three main fronts. The first commitment, to cut emissions by 8% on 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012 under the international Kyoto Protocol, is easy. A move from carbon-intensive coal-fired power plants to lower-carbon gas ones and the recent recession mean the UK is well on track to meet its obligations to the UN-brokered treaty. World leaders have so far failed to agree to a successor to Kyoto.

At home, the UK has led the world by enshrining carbon cuts in law under the 2008 Climate Change Act. The act calls on the coalition – and successive governments – to cut emissions by at least 34% by 2020, and 80% by 2050, against 1990 levels. To hit those targets, the government's independent climate watchdog, the Committee on Climate Change, has set three "carbon budgets", for the periods 2008-2012, 2013-2017 and 2018-2022. Beyond the political embarrassment if the budgets were overshot, the government of the day would be obliged to tell parliament how it proposes to compensate for those excess emissions.

Climate change

David Kennedy, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, says: "It is vital that we act now to reduce emissions through investing in energy efficiency improvement, clean energy and clean transport. This will place us well for the deep emissions cuts that are required here over the next decades. Together with action in other countries, this will limit risks of dangerous climate change, and bring significant economic benefits."

He adds: "The urgent challenge for the government is to put in place new policies to drive down emissions and develop new clean technologies. We need to move from talking about reducing emissions to doing this in practice."

In addition to these self-imposed targets, the UK has an EU target of cutting emissions by 20% by 2020. Those cuts must come partly through the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), a carbon-trading scheme designed to curb emissions from big polluters in the power and manufacturing sector and – from 2012 – aviation. While unlikely, a failure to hit the European targets would be a blow to the credibility of carbon trading as a mechanism for cutting emissions.

Hypothetically, the UK would also face the EC's infringement procedure, which could lead to legal action before the European court of justice and, ultimately, fines. The UK already faces potential EC fines for London's high levels of air pollution.

The competitive power of British industry could be hit if carbon targets are not met, say industry figures. Nick Medic, head of communications at trade body RenewableUK, says: "We are seeing a very strong pipeline of [renewable energy] projects in construction which, added to our current capacity, already take us over the halfway mark to 2020. But, we must also be aware that we have now reached a critical momentum; any perception that we are slowing down could disrupt confidence."

He adds: "Growth in renewable electricity contributions to the grid, a very strong growth in employment and a marked pick up in investor interest all rest on the assumption that we are on course to reach the targets.."

Connie Hedegaard, the European commissioner for climate action, last year warned that the EU needed carbon targets for 2030 and 2050 to ensure Europe remains competitive with China on green technology. "We should take care not to be too complacent," she told business leaders at the European Policy Centre, adding that if Europe wanted to lead on exporting such technology, it must not "sit on its hands".

Economists and energy experts also warn of the financial costs if targets are not met and temperatures are allowed to rise dangerously high. Each year the world delays moving to stop temperatures rising by 2C, it increases the cost of investment needed to reach a low-carbon economy by $500bn (£314bn), says the International Energy Agency. And as the Gordon Brown-commissioned Stern report famously said, acting on emissions now is cheaper than dealing with the impacts of climate


by Adam Vaughan

UK's largest zero carbon homes development approved

Peterborough City Council has granted full planning approval for what would be the UK's largest development of zero carbon homes.

The plans would see developer Morris Homes build 295 homes to Level 6 of the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes on a 7ha former factory site close to Peterborough United’s London Road football ground in Fletton.

The development is also intended to include a 278sq metre supermarket and new open space.

The homes are being delivered as part of the Government’s Carbon Challenge programme, managed by national housing and regeneration quango the Homes & Communities Agency.

Peterborough City Council’s cabinet member for environment capital Samantha Dalton said: "This development underlines Peterborough’s environment capital credentials and its capacity to deliver innovative projects, demonstrating how carbon emissions can be reduced nationally and globally.

"It forms an important first stage in a long-standing vision for regenerating the south bank of Peterborough’s River Nene."

Feed-in tariff cuts would take solar PV back to the future

Yesterday's announcement the government is to review the level of support for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations suggests it's back to the future as far as Government policy on solar PV is concerned.

It's taken the new Government just seven short months to undermine what by their own admission has been a successful programme to date. Bizarrely, DECC officials appear to now be advising their Ministers that anything above 50 kW of PV, the size of a medium school installation, is "super size" solar. This is total nonsense.

At no point in the period running up to the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) and its aftermath has there been any hint from DECC that they had concerns about solar uptake in the built environment at any scale. Indeed, quite the reverse. But now, any PV above 50 kWp has been unfairly and unjustifiably pushed into an immediate review with an uncertain timescale. On what basis? What is their evidence base for doing so? They don't have one. What is the justification for rushing through an urgent review of PV greater than 50 kW when all other technologies up to 5 MW are spared that process? We are not given any beyond reports of a few planning permissions for solar parks greater than 1 MW.

This is the very worst kind of knee-jerk policy response, which we thought was consigned to the dustbin of history with Ministerial promises of certainty and transparency in policy making.

The surprise capping of the feed-in tariff through the CSR and today's announcement has done enormous damage to our trust in the new Government and its ability to work with this sector constructively to deliver a positive way forward.

It has also created significant and real job uncertainty in one of the few industries to create thousands of new jobs in the UK in the past 10 months. Hiring plans throughout the UK solar sector will now be placed on hold meaning more unemployment and less tax take from this industry at a time when Ministers are struggling to work out where the new private sector jobs are going to come from. And again, we have no explanation for the Government doing so.

The fact is that Chris Huhne and Greg Barker are taking a very large sledge hammer to crack a very small nut.


Jeremy Leggett

A crematorium to heat a public swimming pool has been given the go-ahead by councillors.

A plan to re-use energy generated by a crematorium incinerator to heat a public swimming pool has been given the go-ahead by councillors.

Members of Redditch Borough Council hope the scheme to divert heat from waste gases from the crematorium into a nearby leisure centre will save the authority more than £14,000 a year.

Work on the link between the Worcestershire town's crematorium and the nearby Abbey Leisure Centre, which is being redeveloped, will now begin in the summer.

Welcoming the full council's decision, the local authority's leader Carole Gandy acknowledged that the cremation process was a sensitive matter, but stressed that the proposals had widespread support.

The councillor said: "I am pleased to say that since news of the proposals broke and following consultation we undertook in Redditch, about 80 to 90% of the responses received by email, letter, phone calls and messages posted online, have been in favour of the idea.

"Many respondents have in fact praised the council for being so innovative and for being willing to discuss the idea openly."

She added: "Throughout we have been careful to explain how the technology would work, that it is tried and trusted, and that the practice is quite common in parts of Europe and especially in Sweden.

"We already support our residents to insulate their homes and be energy efficient, so it seemed only right for us to explore this re-use of energy, on top of introducing solar panels and electric vehicles and other climate change measures we are currently putting into practice."

The scheme has previously been criticised by the Unison trade union, which described the Conservative-run council's cost-saving proposals as "insulting and insensitive".

The Press Association

Climate tipping points

Scientists know from the geological record that the Earth's climate can change rapidly. They have identified a number of potential tipping points where relatively small amounts of global warming caused by human activities could cause large changes in climate. Some tipping points, like the losses to the Amazon forests, involve positive feedback loops and could lead to runaway climate change.

Arctic ice cap

The white ice cap is good at reflecting the Sun's warming light back into space. But when it melts, the dark ocean uncovered absorbs this heat. This leads to more melting, and so on.

Tundra

The high north is warming particularly fast, melting the permafrost that has locked up vast amounts of carbon in soils for thousands of years. Bacteria digesting the unfrozen soils generate methane, a potent greenhouse gas, leading to more warming.

Gas hydrates

Also involving methane, this tipping point involves huge reservoirs of methane frozen on or just below the ocean floor. The methane-water crystals are close to their melting point and highly unstable. A huge release could be triggered by a little warming.

West Antarctic ice sheet

Some scientists think this enormous ice sheet, much of which is below sea level, is vulnerable to small amounts of warming. If it all eventually melted, sea level would rise by six metres.

PV panels will account for 20% of Global energy by 2050.

WWF and the European Photovoltaic Industry association have both released separate reports highlighting the key role photovoltaic solar technology will play in the move towards 100 percent renewable energy.

A joint report released by EPIA and Greenpeace yesterday highlighted the doubling of investment in production, expected to rise from $47.7 billion to $95.3 billion by 2015.

According to the EPIA, this will mean that PV panels will account for nine percent of global energy demand by 2030, and 20 percent by 2050.

In Europe alone investment is expected to rise by approximately $13.3 billion by 2015, with PV providing 12 percent of energy demand by 2020.

Sven Teske, senior energy expert at Greenpeace, highlighted the need for the technology to become mainstream.

“Our goal is to make solar photovoltaic technology a mainstream power source through policy support at an optimal cost for consumers,” he said.

“Solar photovoltaic is a key technology for combating climate change; our research shows that it creates 35 to 50 jobs per tonne of CO2 savings and will increase the security of energy supply by reducing dependency on energy imports to Europe."

According to the EPIA, PV is on the brink of an economic breakthrough following years of improvements to power efficiency and cost reductions being driven by economy of scale.

The report, which you can find here, estimates that, with 36GW of capacity seen in 2010, predictions are being made for 180GW of global PV capacity in 2015, and even 350GW by 2020.

Prices for PV have dropped by 40 percent since 2005, and are expected to fall by the same amount by 2015 as mass production continues. The number of individual units now being used total two million across the world.

With this in mind it is expected that grid parity will be reached with electricity prices within just a few years, with Italy on the brink of seeing such price equality.

“We see the use of solar energy as the biggest contributor to renewable energy, and it is clear that the technology is at a point where it almost ready to provide a cost effective alternative to other forms of energy,” Jean-Philippe Denruyter, Manager of Global Renewable Energy Policy at WWF agreed, talking to TechEye.

“For example in Italy they are only one or two years away from reaching grid parity, with the rest of Europe potentially providing a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels in the coming years as the mass production of PV panels continues to make panels more affordable.”

“However much of this depends on whether subsidies are removed on fossil fuels and the cost of PV panels reducing over the coming years.”

Aside from the environmental benefits of the proliferation of PV, the report also argues that the European PV industry could increase employment from over 300,000 to provide 600,000 jobs by 2015, and 1.6 million by 2020 if there is adequate governmental support.

Overall the Solar Generation 6 Report shows that by 2020 the EU target of 20 percent emission reduction could easily be pushed to 30 percent.

According to WWF, which today released its own Energy Report, it has eyed 2050 as a target for reaching 100 percent renewable energy usage, which would cause an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions.

The report looks at how the financial aspects of the move to renewable energy also provide incentives with a predicted global saving of $5.4 trillion by 2050 with reducing energy costs, even without accounting avoided costs associated with climate change, or the additional benefits of renewable energy such as improved health, and increases in green jobs.

“Right now, we need the UK government to encourage substantial upfront investments and ambitious energy savings,” the report states. “The current reform of the electricity market is the perfect chance to deliver a nearly carbon-free power sector and strongly promote sustainable low-carbon technologies.”

Denruyter explained to TechEye that in order to meet the WWF renewable energy target, PV would play an absolutely vital role.

“The use of photovoltaic is the key element in our scenario of one hundred percent renewable energy,” he said.

“PV is one of the most widely available sources of renewable energy due it being perhaps the easiest to implement on a large or small scale almost anywhere in the world.”

“Some countries have very good policies in place for the implementation of solar panels, obviously Germany has a great record, and China is also greatly improving which is positive as it means more competition in the market.”

“But if we are to see growth in the PV industry continue as it has done but over a much longer time period of time of decades then it is absolutely vital that governments continue to support implementation rather than continuing to give money to support the use of fossil fuels.”

WWF talks to TechEye

EU needs €2.2 trillion to meet carbon targets

Europe must bridge a €2.2trillion (£1.9trn) "carbon capital chasm" if it is to meet 2020 carbon emissions reduction targets.

The EU needs to invest €2.9trn in changes to its buildings, energy and transport infrastructure to reduce emissions. And given the state of public finances most of that will have to come from financial institutions, a study from Accenture and Barclays Capital said.

The headline number is equivalent to about 2 per cent of Europe's GDP, while finance to the low-carbon sector has fallen by around three-quarters since before the global financial crisis. But with tweaks to government policy and new financial instruments such as "green bonds", the 2020 target can still be met, Accenture's managing director of sustainability, Peter Lacy said.

"The problem is that because of the downturn capital flow trends are heading in the wrong direction," he said. "But if governments and financial institutions get behind this, then there's room for cautious optimism."

In part the situation reflects investor concerns over policy uncertainty. But there has also been an impact from some of the financial reforms in the wake of the global crisis that militate against riskier investment by banks.

To break the jam governments must implement long-term financial incentives – such as capital gains tax credits for low-carbon investments – as well as continuing support for subsidies such as feed-in tariffs (rewards for producing green electricity) and green car grants.

The study said Europe needs a secondary market in "green bonds" – constructed by securitising debt from the low-carbon sector – to unlock capital. Partnerships between banks and technology companies, and the creation of new advisory services within the financial institutions would also help.

Mr Lacy said: "Early action comes with a premium not only in terms of the carbon targets, but also in terms of Europe becoming a leader in global low-carbon finance."

By Sarah Arnott

Will the Government CRC Scheme be Scrapped?

The CRC stealth tax may quietly go away… or may hit more companies.

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, formerly known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment, may be radically overhauled or even scrapped, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

Details of the “stealth” tax featured in last October’s Comprehensive Spending Review and is due to hit over 5,000 businesses that have energy bills of more than £500,000 next year. It was hoped that the “green tax” would raise the Treasury over £1 billion per year by 2014/15.

Government Greed Or Efficient Management?


Rather than scrapping the tax altogether, the government may choose to either combine it with other business taxation or, according to reports, change the scope of the charge. This change may mean that some companies currently gearing up for CRC accounting may be released while others are drawn in.

Whatever the changes may bring, it will anger many businesses that have invested time and money into the preparations for the scheme. It may also affect companies like SAP and CA that have been developing carbon accounting software packages.

There was a furore in October when the government announced that the CRC award scheme, which originally would reward carbon-efficient operations, would instead be a tax added to the already-stretched economy. The money levied against high energy users would now go into the government’s public purse rather than into the wallets of the best-performing energy-savers.

Richard Lambert, director general of the CBI, said, “Businesses that have just signed up [on September 30] to the flagship Carbon Reduction Commitment energy efficiency scheme will be very let down by the government’s unexpected announcement that it will remove the cash-back incentive. A scheme that was meant to change behaviour by encouraging energy efficiency has now become another stealth tax.”

Last Friday, consultancy WSP Environment & Energy announced that five discussion documents, for feedback by March 11, had been received seeking further refinement of liability for the CRC tax.

“The most significant option is to completely recast CRC and merge its provisions with climate change levy and mandatory carbon reporting – which UK government will be consulting on separately in February,” WSP reported. “The other less radical suggestion is that organisations with Climate Change Agreements (CCA) don’t report the energy used/emissions from supplies that are covered by their CCA. This significantly reduces the administrative burden.”

The only good news is that next April’s registration for the second phase of CRC will now be delayed until 2013. This has been a relief for the many companies that failed to meet the September deadline for the first phase last year.

The Telegraph reported Dave Symons, a director at WSP, as saying, “One of the options proposed is effectively abolishing the Carbon Reduction Commitment and saying ‘should we merge its provisions with the climate change levy and mandatory carbon reporting?’. We can see the logic for that. But it’s quite a substantial change. Merging the scheme with another tax could even create additional revenue for the Treasury because it could extend the scope.”

World's most efficient solar cells ready for use in the UK

A manufacturer of what is believed to be the world's most efficient solar units announced on February 1 that the cells have achieved MCS accreditation and are now ready for use in the UK.

SANYO Component Europe GmbH (SANYO) produces the HIT series of photovoltaic cells, including the N 220SE10 which, to date, has the world's highest energy conversion efficiency rate of 21.6 percent.

On February 1 the company announced that the HIT cells had passed MCS accreditation. MCS accreditation is bestowed upon companies by the independent Microgeneration Certification Scheme, which certifies small scale or 'mircogeneration' technologies that are used to produce heat of electricity from renewable resources.

Though the HIT Series of cells are already commercially available throughout mainland Europe, MCS accreditation is required before products can be released into the UK market.

For consumers the MCS accreditation essentially means that consumers can use the HIT cells under the Feed In Tariff (FIT) scheme - a Europe-wide financial incentive rewarding those who install power generating renewable energy devices connected to the grid.

This is of benefit to consumers as the high efficiency rate allows more power to be generated using fewer cells and also means that less roof space is required to generate solar power- which increases the opportunities for renewable energy generation for those where space is an issue. The 'N' series of HIT modules will be commercially available from March 2011.

Other renewable energy companies from around the world will be showcasing the latest in renewable and energy efficient technologies at a series of upcoming exhibitions including), EXPO Solar in Goyang, South Korea (February 16-18), the Renewable Energy Expo in Lyon, France (February15-18) and Eco Build in London (March 1-3).

Eco Build attracts over 1,300 exhibitors and 41,000 visitors from around the globe and is used by companies as a launchpad for their new products. At Eco Build 2011 numerous photovoltaic companies including Emmvee, the Ideal Group and Mitsubishi plan to launch their latest innovations in the field of solar power.