A Green Degree Blog: New Angles On Sustainability

October 23rd 2012

The UK’s Changing Energy Supply; A John Hayes Approach (Another Shambles!)

There are an almost endless number of perks to being a student at Imperial College, and in particular one studying the environmental and energy sciences, not least the free wine nights held ‘traditionally’ every Thursday night after a guest talk. However, this week’s treat was one of a slightly higher and more professional calibre - a talk by the recently crowned energy minister of state at DECC, John Hayes, the man leading the ‘greenest party ever’ forward unto the dawn.

I was unashamedly quite excited about this guest spot, as not only was it to be my first experience with a powerful politician in a public speaking environment, but it was also a man who was directly responsible for much of what I define as my most passionate of interests and enjoyments, the energy debate, and within that, the UK’s shambles of an attempt. So with this confidence, and of course a rather large expectation for something to annoy/anger/depress being said, I went to watch him speak to an audience of students, professionals, politicians and interested parties yesterday evening. The focus of the topic? The changing UK energy supply. Fascinating and current stuff for sure.

Unfortunately, it was not to be the case. Not only did I come out the talk feeling let down, disappointed, confused and kinda angry at the whole thing, but these feelings were far stronger than I thought I would experience going in. Politics never fails to surprise eh.

From start to finish, John Hayes, a man who recently replaced the much-loved by all (even greenies) Charles Hendry from an utterly un-environmentally linked background, gave us a masterclass in dodging the elephants in the room, not answering questions but doing enough to move on and being wholly like a Tory politician should be; funny in a way which boils the blood and patronisingly cocky at the same time.

When he finally stumbled onto the topic of energy sources and generation, with me believing at one point that he was never going to mention the words ‘sustainable’, ‘renewable’ or ‘climate change’, it was a speech filled with techno-political babble and attempts at covering everything possible with as little information as possible. He screamed past the likes of biomass production, solar PV and onshore wind without even mentioning offshore or tidal, focusing on the topic long enough to merely list their names, avoiding going into any deep, or even shallow conversation in regards to deployment, costs, future developments or the coalition’s stance. It was all behind us in a matter of seconds and yet it couldn’t have been more of an important topic when debating energy supply.

He only delved into onshore wind briefly when he wanted to point out, in a manner I felt similar to veiled hostility, that he had called for investigations into their costs and effectiveness, and to how best the communities affected by their development could be compensated. Of course, he was basically saying that he wasn’t prepared to talk at any length about them unless he was 100% sure they didn’t piss people off or ruin the countryside. Seems his anti-wind stance people had hoped he had dropped was still living on.

CCS, nuclear and natural gas, spiced up with some North Sea offshore drilling then became the main subjects of conversation, with each one generously fleshed out and described in a detail which was rarely employed anywhere else in his entire talk.

Posted at 9:50am and tagged with: john hayes, UK, energy, policy, politics, science, coalition, DECC, ofgem, ccs, carbon, gas, oil, wind, solar, fracking, shale, supply, anti, green, low carbon, debate, uni, talk, imperial, offshore, drilling, nuclear, market, big six,.

October 20th 2012

The Latest Terror Threat? The ‘Environmental Taliban’…What, What?

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Oh George, we marvel at how you consistently manage to spout something new and controversial, almost on a daily basis. You really are a character I don’t think people will be forgetting for some time to come, be that for better (unlikely) or for worse. So what has he done now? That’s if you haven’t already stumbled across the latest gobsmackingly stupid comment from the man who has simultaneously managed to upset both the wider public, most of the UK government including his own Party (22% of Tory’s voted for him out in a recent poll), the EU and most of the powerful energy industry players out there, and all roughly within a week or two. Amazing.

Mr. Osborne has now begun referring to those within Parliament who are campaigning for greener futures and a strong climate agenda as the ‘environmental Taliban’, in a stunningly short-sighted comment no doubt directed at Ed Davey and his keen followers, who in most cases are the majority of the public who know a thing or two about clean energy. It would seem that environmentalists have now moved on from being a Satanic cult (no joke, this was a real thing said by a real US political speaker) worshipping the devil that is the Earth/Gaia, and are now a group of radicals akin to dangerous terrorists. And he’s Chancellor of the Exchequer? Satan save us.

This name-calling comes at a very sensitive period for the entirety of UK energy policy, which is, for lack of a better phrase, a complete shambles, primarily driven by Osborne and his cohort of Tory followers who variously are either anti-wind, solar or renewables, and pro-offshore and fracking. Even if he meant the ‘Taliban’ reference as a joke, there will undoubtedly be people out there who do not take it so, and by extending his terminology to environmentalists as a whole, he’s including a huge number of people who believe climate change is real, we are responsible for the majority and that low-carbon is the only real solution. Hence why protests and Twitter campaigns such as #greenisworking have exploded in favour of condemning his actions (I’ve even seen one called #killgeorgeosborne, which is a likelihood seeming ever more likely…).

According to reports, the comment came as Ed Davey desperately attempts to push through a binding emissions cap on power plants for 2030, as well as clarifying legislation on the approaching switch to ‘contracts for difference’, a policy which aims to lock in value for renewable projects and promote low-carbon development, with the Treasury fronting the responsibility of guaranteeing support. Of course, Osborne doesn’t like this idea, and is rapidly becoming an aura of clean-tech skepticism and a loss of interest in decarbonising the grid, and as many fear, a reflection of the general Tory party backbench’s opinion.

Instead, Osborne has long rallied for a ‘dash for gas’, whereby abundances in domestic natural shale gas could be exploited to lower energy costs and secure resources for the future, a notion no doubt triggered by the explosion in gas extraction and a tumbling in energy costs over in America. While the idea of energy security and low costs are his way of appealing to a nation where 9% gas bill hikes are almost common place and keeping the house lit is becoming increasingly painful on the wallet, there are some rather major flaws in his plan.

Posted at 9:21am and tagged with: george osborne, Environment, taliban, energy, debate, policy, politics, ed davey, UK, parliament, Cameron, big six, coal, gas, fracking, oil, wind, solar, tidal, money, terror, green, jobs, PTC, US, Tory, climate, clean, low-carbon, Earth,.

October 12th 2012

Don’t Worry, Content Is On Its Way!

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Hello to anybody out there who actually still reads this little project of mine, or to those who stumbled across it as of this post, or to pretty much anyone who glimpses this page, I have an update on the massive lack of content there has been on the site for a good 2 weeks now!

Firstly, there is more on it’s way, don’t you worry (if you even did…), I don’t plan on dropping this blog for anything, but every now and then life gets just that bit too busy for any real quality posts to be published.

In this case, that busyness is due to me just having started a masters degree at Imperial College in good old London, studying the only thing I really care for, the environment! I’m 2 weeks into this mega course and haven’t had any spare time to just sit down, get angry about something in the news and write up a rant about it, but things are finally starting to settle down.

The house is still in dire need of furniture, heating and fixed doorknobs, and the process of making new friends and breaking multiple blocks of ice is consuming most of my free time, but amidst this madness sits one of the best courses on environmental topics the country can pretty much offer (I’m excited and privileged to say the least!) and I’m loving every single second of it.

For those of you who are still reading, and interested in the nitty gritty of what my course actually entails, here’s a brief but hopefully informative executive summary. Environmental Technology is its name, although ‘technology’ in the sense of the practical application of science and policy to solve some of the most pressing matters of our age (cliched eh). So we cover what seems to be everything on the broad topic, such as environmental economics, policy and law, pollution, ecology, the philosophy of it all, all the way down to good old statistics and development. It’s a big one to say the least.

Going further still, I chose my optional module to focus entirely on Energy Policy, with intricate studies of each and every form of energy generation available to us, the good and bad, how we use them, how we implement them and what policies drive them forwards. This is the subject I look forward to the most by a wind-farm filled country mile.

So effectively, this post is just to confirm that ‘A Green Degree’ isn’t dead, not yet anyway, and will, if anything, be rising from the posting drought a much more well-informed, well written and more confident medium, with this mammoth of a masters course injecting a little extra class and professionalism it was deeply lacking.

So for now, keep your eyes on this space, a new post will be with you in the next few days, and enjoy living the good green life!

James Beioley

Posted at 6:57pm and tagged with: blog, university, masters, Environment, imperial college, london, information, confident, posting, green, technology, lectures, energy, policy, law, pollution, economics, ecology,.

September 22nd 2012

The Wind Industry Is Booming, But Boy Do Some Bleak Futures Lay Ahead

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Of all the renewable technologies open to us these days, there’s no doubt that wind is the outright winner in the capacity and cost race, and more specifically, onshore wind, those gleaming white towers some countries are lucky (and tolerant) enough to have dotting their countryside and coastal regions.

Global wind deployment was once again up last year, this time by a relatively humble 6%, equating to just shy of 42GW of energy capacity installed, when compared to the average of 23% for the five years leading up to 2010, but is nonetheless signs of rampant and continued uptake the world over. Asia takes the biggest bite, with 52.1% of the global share, most of that in China, in which a recent study undertaken by multiple parties has concluded that Chinese capacity could reach 300GW by 2020, and 400GW by 2030; they are absolutely HUGE numbers, and if achieved, mark a seriously devoted agenda from the communist-cum-capitalist nation.

Closer to home, Europe has fallen in the rankings, taking just 24.5% of new installations for 2011, with again, a large majority of that down to one country, Germany, whose brilliant FiTs and policies allow for cost-effective and quick deployment of wind turbines throughout the country to the tune of almost a 1/3 of all European cumulative additions.

However, a draft government regulation released a few weeks ago in Germany seems to be stifling this growth just as it gets some real pace, or at least in the offshore department. Offshore has unfortunately been a much less avidly followed form of wind energy, due to its high costs, difficult maintenance and installation issues and generally poor policy and regulation worldwide, but Germany has always been one of the leaders. This new announcement would slash incentives for offshore generation prices, from 1 Euro/MWh to 0.75 Euros; whilst this cuts costs slightly for consumers on the renewable section of their bills, it will ultimately put future projects off and may stunt growth of a crucial area for the industry.

On the plus side, the UK achieved a milestone for wind energy generation recently by producing 4.1GW of electricity, over 10% of the country’s needs, using those spinning blades to boil cups of tea and burn toast, beating the previous 3.8GW record set in May. Some decided to lessen this triumph by stating that 4.1GW roughly equals the output of just one single coal and biomass-fired plant, Drax, which is not only more reliable but not as expensive. Surely they can’t be serious? When Germany produced over half their energy needs via solar and wind earlier this year, I don’t remember seeing any rabid comparisons to numbers of coal or gas plants over there, so why here?

Posted at 10:00am and tagged with: wind, energy, sustainable, renewable, emissions, coal, gas, turbines, economy, politics, policy, rewards, windfall, farm, clean, green, asia, china, trade, war, onshore, UK, america, USA, elections, europe, electricity, germany, investment, PTC,.

June 19th 2012

Japan Sets A Risky New Bar In Solar Tariffs: Too Risky?

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Ater what seemed like a potentially tumultuous time for Japan once the final nuclear reactor was shutdown just months ago, it seems the fledgling nuclear industry may once again be getting a restart, after conformation from the Japanese government to go ahead with the reopening of two reactors in the near future. Considering the fallout from Fukushima and intense protestation from the Japanese citizens towards any sign of rekindling the nuclear fire this is an important step forward in the debate.

It couldn’t come at a better time, as current supplies of fossil fuel based energy has been ramped up to over 90% from 60% before the shutdown to deal with the increased strain on the country, which of course leads to higher emissions and a greater risk to society as a whole, a reaction I figured would be the case from the moment of hearing about the nationwide closures. Coming into the hot Japanese summer was no doubt a primary factor in determining the restart of both plants, as an overuse of A/C and the need for cooling would have likely overloaded the grid periodically - not something a leading 1st world nation wants to be fronting during such critical times.

What is even more reassuring however is the news of a brand new feed in tariff directed towards Japanese renewable energy, with solar in particular, a sector which is booming globally, and set to really explode in Japan if given the right treatment, ala Germany or the UK. Whilst these FiTs are common ground to those who follow the solar debate, the Japanese have taken what is in my view an extremely risky and brash angle, which could bring them closer towards a solar dominated grid with popularity through the roof, or complete economic slump and a positive drive away from renewables as it stands.

They’ve done this choosing to set their price per KWh at a staggering $0.53, which is triple that of China’s and double the current UK rate, which is set to fall over the coming months. Through this astounding figure, which translates to how much money a consumer will be paid per unit of solar energy they produce, Japan hopes to blow all other solar markets out of the water, installing up to 20GW of solar alone by 2016.

This tariff also applies to wind, geothermal, biomass and more, all of which Japan is seemingly rushing into as the global markets pick up pace and fossil fuel support falls all around. Even wind FiTs beat German prices, currently some of the best in the world, and many of these tariffs guarantee set prices for 20 years, a much more ambitious projection than all other renewable European nations.

Personally I believe this is wonderful news to the highest degree, and to see a country which only recently shut its entire nuclear capacity down, an energy source to the tune of 30% of nationwide production, to then rapidly put in place such radical policies to promote renewables is signs of good things ahead. When many other countries are blaming a lack of solar, wind and biomass on a lack of space, unfavourable conditions and poor public support, Japan is flying in the face of such issues; the nation is comparably small, highly mountainous, densely populated and a world leader in technology and economics, and they plough on like never before. Many nations should take note and learn, as Japan could be the next big green player.

However, before I get too excited and jump the gun, I would like to point out some potential problems, some of which could really derail this phenomenal move. Both of the big leaders in solar FiTs, Germany and the UK have both experienced the results of highly attractive and lucrative tariffs, set too high for the nations coffers to fund once installations shot up dramatically. Due to this, both have been forced to slash prices and guarantees in the face of public protest, in attempts to be able to continue paying the consumers who so gleefully latched onto the policy.

Now we see Japan setting prices at double the market rate, with 20 year warranties; is this not setting itself up for a huge fall if they calculated wrong and cannot continue funding the explosive growth as many analysts expect? Germany and the UK thought they had it sorted, and even though their sectors are still growing, solar installations have taken a wounding blow, one which will continue to bleed for a whole longer before the market reasserts itself.

If Japan doesn’t manage to control these tariffs, we could see problems in the solar market which could deliver a potentially fatal blow to FiT schemes around the world. When you’re dealing with such a fickle public as ourselves, the knowledge that two or three schemes failed to deliver their original promises could mean the end for something which is only just finding its feet.

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/23798

Posted at 10:20am and tagged with: Solar, Japan, Uk, Germany, Feed in tariff, FiT, Economy, Technology, Nuclear, Fukishima, Public, Politics, Policy, Market, China, Wind, Energy, Renewable, Green, Biomass, Fossil fuel, Climate, Carbon,.

May 27th 2012

UK Energy Policy Takes Yet Another Muddled Route - Solar Cut By 50%

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UK energy policy is sure one confusing and constantly changing subject, with many recent news stories no deviation from this pattern. Us English and our government just love mixing and muddling our energy futures as much as we cash, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, and sometimes it seems like it’s just for the kicks.

A little over half a year ago, I went to an open day for a course in environmental technology, energy and renewables at Imperial College London, and there I was given a brief talk regarding one of the key course options, aptly named ‘Energy Policy’. This was all very interesting and the main reason I intend to do a master there, but there was one particular comment which stuck with me, made by the course convenor.

He stated halfway through his introduction that, as a whole, “the UK government has tried every single energy policy ever thought of, and failed at most of them”. I feel this comment is pretty appropriate given the latest news on that very subject, of which I’ll brush over below.

Of late, the UK government and David Cameron have come to the decision to cut the solar feed-in-tariffs (FiTs) which are music to every solar-owner ears, which effectively pay the user for producing clean solar energy and feeding it back into the grid. This once sat at 21p per KWh, but is set to drop to 16p by August 1st, with similar drops on a 3 monthly basis, until the price is either frozen or adjusted once more.

This idea has provoked a stern response from many consumers of solar energy, who feel that these uncertain prices and abrupt slashes will deeply hurt the UK solar industry, which as we all know, is absolutely booming, both here and globally, and would be detrimental to everyone. However, these cuts must be made if the government is to be financially able to continue providing such FiTs, although many could argue their seemingly pointless endeavours into fossil fuel and nuclear could easily be rerouted to this sector.

On the other hand, this new FiT is still highly competitive in the global market, and as we’ve seen in Germany, has continued to drive strong growth in solar sales and installations, and so we shouldn’t be too hasty to condemn it.

May 11th 2012

A Pan-European/Continental Electricity Grid Could Monetise Surplus Renewable Energy

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This is simply a great idea, I just want to start by saying that. I love and am in awe of the vision and prospects this plan could bring to fruition, and it seems so ingenious to boot.

A future in which continent-spanning electricity grids feed the many hungry nations of Europe, Iceland and N. Africa has recently been plotted out by multiple energy ventures and renewable project giants such as DESERTEC and the EU. As you can see in the map above, the grid would stretch from the Saharan Desert, through all of Europe, up into Scandinavia and across the ocean to Iceland, connecting the entire region into one ‘energy-continent’.

This plan was initially suggested when people began noticing that energy projects in the UK, Europe and Iceland, as well as those in the deserts of Africa, were actually doing things thought irrational, uneconomic and plain stupid (think DESERTEC). Once this realisation set in, the idea of a pan-European/Saharan grid quickly formed.

With lines already laid connecting Ireland to the UK, France, the Netherlands, and now a record-breaking 950 mile long cable between Iceland and the UK, with plenty more in the works, this initially crazy daydream is rapidly becoming reality.

What is the real beauty of this project however is the renewable side of things; the whole grid will be supplied by low-carbon tech alone, none of that fossil fuel nonsense. As each country associated with the super-grid generates their renewable energy through different means, such as geothermal in Iceland, wind in the UK, or hydro in the Scandinavians, it plays to each and every country’s specialities. Rather than laying new lines and sticking wind turbines somewhere that ain’t windy, the grid will transport wind energy to the required regions from those nations which can easily provide.

With peak times being met by green energy flying in from abroad, for the states that have proven their worth in one or two particular renewable energy sources and produce surpluses at a consistent level, the monetary rewards are tantalising to say the least. Think of a scenario thus - France fears it can’t supply the energy needed to run its nation at full pelt, so it calls on the super-grid to supply some wind energy from us Brits, supplemented by some Swiss hydroelectric. Meanwhile, the Sahara (pumping out silly amounts of solar energy) is sending sunlight to Norway and Spain, and receiving a tasty return on their energy investment. It’s a complete win-win situation.

Posted at 10:02am and tagged with: renewable, energy, DESERTEC, EU, UN, grid, africa, sahara, europe, france, UK, wind, solar, hydroelectric, hydropower, fossil fuel, geothermal, science, policy, world, economy, money, smart, clever, amazing,.

May 9th 2012

Carbon PPM Hits A New High, & Natural Gas Is Replacing Coal - This Seems Strange?

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Coal has always been the number one fossil fuel in our society’s list of burnable sunlight, which of course it simply is, which also begs the question why is solar taking so long to kick off? Sorry, going off on a tangent here, I think I’ll reserve that for another post. Back to the main subject.

Coal is by far the most worrisome and dirty of the fossil fuels, although its brother oil is not to be easily beaten in that respect, and has been utilised for centuries to provide electricity to our lights and heat our homes. Throughout this time, a frankly astounding amount of CO2 has been emitted into the surrounding environment and atmosphere, warming our planet and screwing with multiple climatic, biological and ocean-atmosphere interactions and feedbacks which we’re only just beginning to experience.

Only recently, the Mauna Loa carbon-detection research station in Hawaii, sitting high atop the largest volcano in the world, measured an atmospheric ppm value just shy of 400; that’s a massive figure. In fact this is the highest recorded atmospheric carbon content in the history of measurements, indicating that despite our best, and sometimes admirably successful attempts at culling emissions, it’s still doing its own thing.

This of course can be explained by a few important factors, most predominantly the rise of the BRIC nations, Brazil, Russia, India and China, who are pumping out carbon at a rate equivalent to the peak of our Western expansions, with many more countries joining them. Alongside this, the simple physical fact that carbon sticks around in the atmosphere for at least half a century, means that a good portion of the continued increase we are seeing is due to pollution spewed out within the past several years - even if we cut carbon emission to zero as of this moment globally, it would still keep going for up until past 2020.

So I find it strange that, in reading an article recommended via Grist today, and with the knowledge that natural gas, that lesser-of-two-evils fossil fuel (or perhaps not) is taking the energy world by storm, we still haven’t fully grasped this ‘green’ concept.

Natural gas has been becoming increasingly popular in many developed nations who are trying to curb their carbon emissions through the cutting back of coal and oil burning, as it is not only just as readily available, but technically, and I emphasise technically, emits less carbon than coal when burnt. This is the reason that countries are adopting a more natural gas-orientated energy mix in future policy, as they see it as a way of securing stable energy sources at a reduced cost to the environment and wallets.

Posted at 11:02am and tagged with: oil, natural gas, coal, fossil fuel, energy, US, NOAA, EPA, emissions, carbon, methane, science, burning, Environment, global warming, climate change, policy, BRIC, ppm,.