decentralised energy

Improving technology

Last edited 14 March 2011 at 4:23pm

When we combine efficiency and technology we can lower greenhouse gas emissions, provide cheaper electricity and heating, and create a more secure energy supply.

Decentralised energy


The city centres of tomorrow’s networked world will produce power and heat as well as consume it. The roofs and facades of public buildings are ideal for harvesting solar energy. Efficient energy use will become the standard for all buildings. We will have a diversity of energy sources that are well suited to the needs of the area and in some cases, particularly in developing countries, independent from the national network.

 

Article tagged as: CHP, climate change, decentralised energy, energy, smart grids, technology

Energy efficiency

Last edited 18 March 2011 at 12:51pm

The single most significant step we can take in the UK to reduce carbon emission is to make Britain truly energy efficient. With the right policies at national and local levels, we can deploy existing solutions on a scale large enough to bring about real changes. 

Perhaps the only problem is deciding where to start. From badly insulated buildings to poorly designed appliances and gas guzzling vehicles, the UK needlessly throws away almost a third of the energy it uses. This is costing us all dearly – damaging the climate and hitting our pockets.

Article tagged as: appliances, CHP, climate change, decentralised energy, energy, energy efficiency, transport

The case against coal - frequently asked questions

Last edited 13 September 2010 at 6:42pm

According to leading US climate scientist, the NASA director Professor James Hansen:

"The single greatest threat to the climate comes from burning coal. Coal-fired generation is historically responsible for most of the fossil-fuel CO2 in the air today - responsible for about half of all carbon dioxide emissions globally."

Below you can find out more about why we urgently need to the halt the new coal rush, and Greenpeace's  case for real solutions to climate change and energy insecurity.

Does carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology mean that cleaner coal exists and is a viable low-carbon fuel?

The industry says CCS is viable. Why should I take your word over theirs?

Why are the politicians so convinced CCS will work?

If China and India are inevitably going to burn coal for decades to come then don't we need to become a world leader in 'clean coal' technology and export it to them?

Article tagged as: CCS, coal, decentralised energy, kingsnorth, renewable energy, wind power

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Salmond bravely goes where Brown will not

Posted by bex — 18 July 2008 at 11:15am - Comments

Avedore CHP plant in Denmark

Avedore CHP plant in Denmark

Remember how we said last month that industrial combined heat and power (CHP) plants could save us money, increase our energy security and help slow climate change?

Well, we've just heard that plans are afoot for just such a plant in Scotland. The Tullis Russell paper mill plans to reduce its annual carbon emissions by around 250,000 tonnes a year by switching to biomass CHP for its electricity and steam.

Article tagged as: alex salmond, CHP, climate change, decentralised energy, RWE, scotland

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Last edited 1 January 1970 at 1:00am
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Last edited 1 January 1970 at 1:00am
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Evasion and newspeak: government action vs ecological reality

Posted by bex — 11 March 2008 at 6:37pm - Comments

Alex Steffen of Worldchanging recently wrote an excellent piece called Who Will Tell the People? And How? about the yawning chasm between the reality of climate change and the failure of government to bring in the massive changes needed. Talking about US emissions cuts, he writes:

We're running into a situation here where the acceptable political action is to move from A to C, but where realism demands that - if we want to dodge a catastrophic collision with ecological reality - we move from A to say Q. And that gap, between C and Q, is large enough to lose a future in.

As you're reading this blog, you probably don't need reminding about the catastrophic collision with ecological reality Steffen mentions. With stakes this high, the changes needed (Steffen's A to Q) are profound, fundamental and cross all facets of human existence - from our energy and transport systems to, dare I say it, our social and economic systems.

Article tagged as: climate change, decentralised energy, government, rhetoric versus reality

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