Major Blow to UK Electric Vehicles

A government grant scheme to give motorists up to £5,000 off the cost of a new electric car has been cut by 80%, opposition politicians and green campaigners claimed today. The fate of a network of charging points to power such low-emission cars also hangs in the balance.
Guardian

Global warming pushes 2010 temperatures to record highs

Global temperatures in the first half of the year were the hottest since records began more than a century ago, according to two of the world's leading climate research centres. Scientists have also released what they described as the "best evidence yet" of rising long-term temperatures.
Guardian

Solar thermal seeks U.S. breakthrough

Solar thermal power could be close to a breakthrough in the U.S. market, but only for large scale projects. It will still be dependent upon developers shaving costs to beat back competition from photovoltaic (PV) solar systems, and attract the huge sums needed to finance the renewable energy plants.
Reuters

SDC report links £70M of Government savings to sustainability measures

The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) released its fifth annual watchdog report, finding that sustainability measures are saving the UK Government £60-70 million every year.
SDC Full Report

Renewables Need to Grow Seven fold from 2008

The Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) published a report on key features of policy and regulatory frameworks for electricity generation. It said to meet the legally binding 15% renewable energy target established under the EU Renewable Energy Directive 2009, a sevenfold increase in renewable energy generation compared to 2008 would be required.
ECCC

Race to Design a New Breed of Massive Offshore Wind Turbines

The race is on to develop new off-shore wind turbines that will dwarf existing models. This includes a British firm that is designing mammoth 10MW offshore wind turbines with 275m wingspan that will produce three times power of standard models. These designs could bring the economies of scale required that would revolutionise the wind industry.
Guardian

40% of companies face fines under CRC

Many companies are expected to miss the 30 September deadline to register for the carbon reduction commitment (CRC) energy efficiency scheme according to WSP Environment & Energy. It said 40% of companies included under the scheme were unaware of their obligations and could face fines of £5,000 each.
Reuters
Slightly odd report as it says that 7,500 companies could face fine when there are only 5,000 in the CRC?

Government to axe Sustainable Development Commission

Defra announced it would be withdrawing Defra funding from the Sustainable Development Commission as part of spending cuts enforced by the Treasury. Environment secretary Caroline Spelman said the department would continue to liaise closely with the Sustainable Development Commission’s partners and would work with business, civil society, local communities, universities and internationally, to help “deliver sustainable development”.
Defra

DECC to cut low-carbon spending

Various programmes are to see their funding cut or reduced, in addition to the already-announced closure of the Low-carbon Buildings Programme. The DECC said £34mn of savings in 2010 would come from a reduction in expenditure on programmes targetted on low-carbon technologies.
DECC

Marine Project Funding from the Scottish Government

The Scottish Government has awarded five marine energy projects grants from the Wave and Tidal Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Support fund. The grants, totalling £13mn, were awarded to companies to support the development of emerging marine energy technologies.
Scottish Government

DECC sets sights on phase 2 CCS demonstration projects

The DECC has launched a consultation encouraging the industry to provide information and comments on the second carbon capture and storage demonstration competition. It outlined two separate funding streams for potential projects, a CCS levy and a contract for differences. All demonstrations will be funded by the CCS levy.
DECC

Renewables Funding Gap

The UK's offshore wind industry will require cumulative peak funding of £10bn by 2015, putting 2020 emissions and renewables targets at risk. The current funding gap for offshore wind means UK will not achieve renewable target by 2020

The PWC report recommended a consumer levy to reduce construction and technology risks and additional Renewable Obligation Certificates for a limited period to increase short-term returns for investors.

PWC

£7mn boost for UK wave and tidal companies

The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) announced that it had awarded a total of £7mn to wave and tidal energy projects. The funding, allocated through the Wave and Tidal Stream Energy Technologies - Reducing Costs and Improving Performance competition, would be split between nine UK projects, each receiving £100,000-£2.5mn.
TSB

SSE £1bn carbon capture initiative

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) revealed that it is considering entering the £1 billion competition to develop clean power stations in the UK.

CCS is more than just a political platform on which the Scottish National Party has climbed to bolster its no-nukes policy. It is a technology that represents the best hope for salvation from the climate-changing consequences of burning fossil fuel.
Herald

Eurostat Renewables Figures

EU statistical office Eurostat noted that in 2008 renewables contributed 10.3% of final energy consumption in the EU-27, compared with 9.7% in 2007 and 8.8% in 2006. The highest share of renewable energy in total consumption in 2008 was found in Sweden at 44.4% compared to UK levels of 2.2%.
Eurostat

12 PowerPoint Slides That Shook the Earth

Some interesting slides especially showing the variability of wind and solar generation and on visual images on the magnitude of human oil consumption.
GreenTech Media

Recession creates a favourable climate for sustainability, says Accenture

Management consultancy Accenture recently published a report on how the recent economic down turn had affected sustainability. It noted despite the recession 93% of companies said sustainability would be critical to their success. It found that new technologies will play a vital role in embedding and enabling sustainability, leading to 91% of businesses saying they felt using new technologies will form part of their sustainability strategies for the next five years.
Accenture

Citigroup outlines options and risks for green investment bank

Analysts Citigroup issued a briefing on how a green investment bank could help fund climate change investments. It said a green investment bank could be good news for small companies by creating greater market opportunities and it could have a significant positive impact on infrastructure build. But it said “cheap debt without clear policy support will not be sufficient.”
Citigroup

New road projects not an answer to Scotland’s transport problems

Transport in Scotland is to be largely decarbonised by 2050. "The Scottish Government has failed to meet its own indicators on transport. Emissions are increasing, road traffic levels are up, and the numbers of people either walking, cycling or using public transport remains critically low."
SD Commission
Link to publication

David Mitchell's Soap Box: Climate change

A refreshing and honest view point on climate change from comedian David Mitchell, funny but also very true. Well worth a watch.
Guardian

SSE Carbon Capture at Peterhead

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) announced it was to prepare a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its 400MW Peterhead gas-fired power station in Aberdeenshire. It said the project would demonstrate post-combustion CCS on an existing gas turbine, existing steam turbine and electricity network connection.
BBC

Solar Flight - during the night!

The eight of July 2010 has entered the history books,an experimental solar-powered aircraft launched on the previous day landed safely after successfully flying through the night. The incredible feat is a step toward the even more incredible aim of circling the globe using only the power of the Sun to fuel the plane.

The aircraft used super-efficient solar cells and batteries to stay in the air after the Sun's rays had faded. The plane touched down at Payerne airfield at 0900 (0700 GMT) after a total flight time of 26 hours.

During the flight it reached a unbelievable height of 8,700 m (28,543 ft). It is the longest and highest flight recorded by a solar-powered plane. The plane has 12,000 solar cells arranged on top of its wing which stored enough energy to power the plane for the flight through four engines.

The team will now build a new, more advanced, model of the plane and they plan to aim to circumnavigate the globe by 2013.
http://www.solarimpulse.com/

Ministers discuss potential of anaerobic digestion

DECC announced that climate change minister Gregory Barker and environment minister Lord Henley had jointly chaired an anaerobic digestion round-table meeting. Discussions with members of the industry focused on what actions the Government should take to increase use of the technology in a cost-effective way.
DECC
Renewable Energy Association (REA) said the Government should: award biogas plants two ROC's for the full 20 years of their eligibility; introduce the renewable heat incentive by April 2011 so “green gas” can be rewarded through a feed-in tariff.

The UK's greenest car awards

The Guardian's Adam Vaughan joined a panel of transport and environmental experts at the 2010 WhatGreenCar awards to help find UK greenest cars.
Guardian

Sustainable Transport Vision for Scotland

Sustainable Development Commission Scotland - the Scottish Governments sustainable development advisors - published its 'Sustainable Transport Vision for Scotland' Key messages from the SDC report include:
- A dramatic increase in road traffic and no-growth in active travel sees the Government failing own policy targets.
- There is no need to initiate massive infrastructure projects to solve Scotland’s transport and economic problems
- Clever use of technology, a real boost for active travel and accessible towns and workplaces will deliver a healthier and better connected Scotland and cost far less for a Government looking for savings.
Sustainable Scotland Network

The Audit Commission are not happy

Quote from their website. "In May 2010 the new government announced that they would abolish CAA [Comprehensive Area Assessment]. To avoid confusion on when they should end, we - and the other inspectorates - ceased all work on the joint assessments immediately."
Audit Commission

Empire State Building Goes Green

The Empire State Building is having a major green makeover and by 2013 when the project is complete it will be 38 percent more energy efficient. The building owners calculate their energy savings to be $4.4 million a year with payback on their incremental investment in just 3 years.
Making Your Buildings Work

Hydro-power drops by half on drier weather

The start of 2010 has been the driest for 81 years the Met Office said on Thursday 1 July. It noted average rainfall of 356.8mm between January and June, compared to the long-term average of 511.7mm. The day after, Platts reported that the lack of rainfall had impacted on generation from hydro-power, which fell 46% to 0.87TWh in the first four months of the year. It said the decrease was equivalent to a medium-sized 250MW generator being offline for the period. The Scotsman reported on Sunday 4 July that rural Scotland could be affected by power cuts as a result.
Met Office Scotsman

Scotland offers homeowners grants for renewables

The Scottish Government urged households to “snap-up” grants for small-scale renewables. Scottish energy minister Jim Mather said the up-take of small-scale renewables was unprecedented and the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme was under pressure. But he said the scheme would stay open until the remaining finance had been allocated, which he estimated would be around three weeks. Mather added that the Scottish Government would look to see what further support it could give to small-scale renewables projects.
Scottish Government

DECC awards £10mn for offshore wind

DECC announced on Monday 5 July that it had approved £10mn of grants for offshore wind projects. It said £5mn would be divided between seven companies to increase the supply chain for offshore wind in the UK, with a further £5mn being awarded to Siemens Windpower to develop a “next-generation” 6MW offshore turbine. Energy secretary Chris Huhne said the UK was already a world leader in offshore wind but must do “much, much more”.
DECC

Scottish Borders objects to wind farm plans

A public inquiry will take place after councillors opposed a wind farm in Scotland, the BBC reported on Monday 5 July. The Scottish Borders Council was advised not to oppose the proposed Rowantree 69MW 23 turbine wind farm near Oxton, but to attach conditions to the development instead. Due to its size, the Scottish Government will have final say on whether or not to approve the development.
BBC

Household energy use jumps 150% in 40 years

A report published by the Office for National Statistics noted that energy use in UK homes has risen sharply since the 1970s. Social Trends 40 said increased use of “domestic technologies”, such as computers, had lead to households using 155% more energy than 40 years ago. Homes in 1970 used the equivalent of 2.7mn t of oil to power lights and other electrical appliances, compared to 6.8mn t in 2007.
Office for National Statistics