Submitted by Lisa Damast on May 23, 2010 – 11:42
Solar’s new photovoltaic glass unit can lower the cost of energy in commercial buildings and find strong markets in China and India.
Israel’s Pythagoras Solar recently unveiled its new photovoltaic glass unit. The clear glass panes that can be used as windows, curtain walls or skylights double as solar panels and are intended to change the way commercial buildings are built.
According to the company,
“The groundbreaking new technology is the first to combine energy efficiency, solar power generation and appealing aesthetics in a single green building material — a solar window.”
The technology, which converts about 14% sunlight into energy (industry average is 10%), can benefit commercial buildings by lowering the cost of energy by generating solar power and keeping the buildings where its used better insulated.
Although sales of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) material are predicted to exceed $8 billion by 2015, current sales in the market are far below that. Pythagoras’s new design and its new partnerships with Arkema, China Sunenergy and Flextronics, which it announced in the same press release, will help Pythagoras quickly scale its operations as it prepares for commercial production and distribution.
It will face steep competition from Dow Chemical and China’s Suntech Power and limited demand due to high costs and difficult installation. China and India are considered the two main markets where BIPV is high in demand and will continue to be. BIPV installation is aided in China by a solar PV subsidy program the government passed in March 2009.
Since its founding in 2007, Pythagoras Solar has raised $11 million in seed and venture capital funding. still far below the predicted $8 billion by 2015 is still a tiny niche, about 100-megawatts worth of product last year, according to Paret.helping to better insulate the rooms
Pythagoras Solar came out of stealth mode at the Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference this past February.
Monday, 24 May 2010
EU crisis may hit carbon targets
Ben Marlow
The European Commission is under pressure to shelve plans to raise its target for greenhouse gas emission cuts from 20% to 30% amid fears that further uncertainty would be too damaging to fragile world markets.
The EU is planning to publish a paper this week urging carbon emission reductions targets for Europe’s biggest polluters to be raised to 30% by 2020, an announcement that is likley to cause a sudden surge in the price of EU Allowances, the European carbon permits.
Until now Europe has agreed only to cut emissions by 20% from 1990 levels. However, the commission believes this is not enough. It argues in a paper to be given to the 27 EU member states on Wednesday that “an EU target of 20% by 2020 is not enough to put emissions on to the right path” to reach the goal of limiting the rise in average global temperatures to 2C.
It estimates that the total cost of such a move would be some €81 billion (£70 billion) — just €11 billion more than originally predicted.
However, experts are insisting that the EU shelve the plans because of last week’s market turbulence caused by concerns over the euro and Europe’s growing debt crisis. Senior market sources are concerned that further pressure on Europe’s industrial giants to reduce emissions could send markets plummeting.
“The commission was hoping to issue a paper on the costs of a 30% reduction target. The events of the past few days may now put those on hold,” said one source.
The European Commission is under pressure to shelve plans to raise its target for greenhouse gas emission cuts from 20% to 30% amid fears that further uncertainty would be too damaging to fragile world markets.
The EU is planning to publish a paper this week urging carbon emission reductions targets for Europe’s biggest polluters to be raised to 30% by 2020, an announcement that is likley to cause a sudden surge in the price of EU Allowances, the European carbon permits.
Until now Europe has agreed only to cut emissions by 20% from 1990 levels. However, the commission believes this is not enough. It argues in a paper to be given to the 27 EU member states on Wednesday that “an EU target of 20% by 2020 is not enough to put emissions on to the right path” to reach the goal of limiting the rise in average global temperatures to 2C.
It estimates that the total cost of such a move would be some €81 billion (£70 billion) — just €11 billion more than originally predicted.
However, experts are insisting that the EU shelve the plans because of last week’s market turbulence caused by concerns over the euro and Europe’s growing debt crisis. Senior market sources are concerned that further pressure on Europe’s industrial giants to reduce emissions could send markets plummeting.
“The commission was hoping to issue a paper on the costs of a 30% reduction target. The events of the past few days may now put those on hold,” said one source.
Green Pioneers: Electric scooter leads pack
James South of Econogo has exploited user-friendly batteries to fill a gap in the market for urban vehicles
Tom Bawden
With £100,000 burning a hole in his pocket, James South was on the look-out for a business opportunity. It was late 2007 and in the few years since he had graduated from university, he had done well as a professional poker player. Now South wanted to turn his winnings into something more useful.
Having travelled round Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, blogging about his poker experiences along the way, he thought about making rucksacks, but the numbers didn’t add up.
After returning to London, he had a brainwave about an electric scooter. It went on sale this year at a shop he opened in Kensington, west London. The novelty of the Yogo scooter is that the battery comes off, allowing you to recharge it almost anywhere.
“I had a car and kept getting parking and bus-lane fines and the congestion charge had come in, so I just thought, I want to buy a moped,” said South, who is still only 28. “At the time there was a huge shift towards green technology — it was around the time the Toyota Prius [hybrid car] came out. This got me thinking about electric scooters.”
A Google search for “electric motorbike” yielded only one UK result — a solitary shop — and it began to dawn on South that he had spotted a gap in the market. He tracked down a factory in China that made an electric motorbike (with heavy non-detachable lead-acid batteries) and in January 2008 placed a mock advertisement for it on eBay to determine the likely demand in Britain.
“I took a stock photo from the Chinese factory and advertised it for sale. It generated lots of interest and people seemed particularly interested in whether it used a lithium battery,” said South.
At this time rechargeable lithium batteries were being used widely in laptops and mobile phones and were starting to appear in electric cars. However, electric scooters were still using traditional lead-acid batteries, which weigh about three times as much. This made them too heavy to be removed and meant they could be recharged only by taking the scooter indoors or by running a cable from the mains out of the door.
South believed he had found a winning solution. By using a lighter, detachable lithium battery, charging would become much easier.
At the same time, the ability to detach the battery would deter thieves because they would be unable to ride the scooter away. Furthermore, while lead-acid batteries typically expire after about 300 charges, lithium batteries can go on for up 2,500 charges, said South. On the downside, lithium batteries are much more expensive.
As soon as South decided lithium batteries were the way to go, he headed off to Shanghai, hired a translator and spent three months travelling round China hammering out sourcing deals for the wheels, steel frame, plastics and batteries.
What emerged was, South claims, the first scooter in the world with a detachable battery, available in two retro-style models — a smaller, moped-like vehicle, with the equivalent of a 50cc petrol engine, giving a top speed of 27mph and a larger scooter that goes up to 38mph. Both models can travel 22 miles on an 11kg battery, which takes an hour to charge. The journey distance can be doubled by switching to a second battery under the seat. Both cost £2,000, which compares with about £1,000 for a lead-acid powered equivalent, said South.
With the launch of the Yogo behind him, South, whose company is called Econogo, now has to keep ahead of the game. Already E-max, a German company, has launched its own version of an electric scooter with a detachable battery and it is likely other competitors will emerge.
“We have to keep ahead,” said South, who is in discussions with several potential investors about expanding the business domestically and abroad.
“Ideally, we would love to sell our models in China, which would complete the circle, but lithium batteries are still too expensive for most Chinese consumers,” said South.
Tom Bawden
With £100,000 burning a hole in his pocket, James South was on the look-out for a business opportunity. It was late 2007 and in the few years since he had graduated from university, he had done well as a professional poker player. Now South wanted to turn his winnings into something more useful.
Having travelled round Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, blogging about his poker experiences along the way, he thought about making rucksacks, but the numbers didn’t add up.
After returning to London, he had a brainwave about an electric scooter. It went on sale this year at a shop he opened in Kensington, west London. The novelty of the Yogo scooter is that the battery comes off, allowing you to recharge it almost anywhere.
“I had a car and kept getting parking and bus-lane fines and the congestion charge had come in, so I just thought, I want to buy a moped,” said South, who is still only 28. “At the time there was a huge shift towards green technology — it was around the time the Toyota Prius [hybrid car] came out. This got me thinking about electric scooters.”
A Google search for “electric motorbike” yielded only one UK result — a solitary shop — and it began to dawn on South that he had spotted a gap in the market. He tracked down a factory in China that made an electric motorbike (with heavy non-detachable lead-acid batteries) and in January 2008 placed a mock advertisement for it on eBay to determine the likely demand in Britain.
“I took a stock photo from the Chinese factory and advertised it for sale. It generated lots of interest and people seemed particularly interested in whether it used a lithium battery,” said South.
At this time rechargeable lithium batteries were being used widely in laptops and mobile phones and were starting to appear in electric cars. However, electric scooters were still using traditional lead-acid batteries, which weigh about three times as much. This made them too heavy to be removed and meant they could be recharged only by taking the scooter indoors or by running a cable from the mains out of the door.
South believed he had found a winning solution. By using a lighter, detachable lithium battery, charging would become much easier.
At the same time, the ability to detach the battery would deter thieves because they would be unable to ride the scooter away. Furthermore, while lead-acid batteries typically expire after about 300 charges, lithium batteries can go on for up 2,500 charges, said South. On the downside, lithium batteries are much more expensive.
As soon as South decided lithium batteries were the way to go, he headed off to Shanghai, hired a translator and spent three months travelling round China hammering out sourcing deals for the wheels, steel frame, plastics and batteries.
What emerged was, South claims, the first scooter in the world with a detachable battery, available in two retro-style models — a smaller, moped-like vehicle, with the equivalent of a 50cc petrol engine, giving a top speed of 27mph and a larger scooter that goes up to 38mph. Both models can travel 22 miles on an 11kg battery, which takes an hour to charge. The journey distance can be doubled by switching to a second battery under the seat. Both cost £2,000, which compares with about £1,000 for a lead-acid powered equivalent, said South.
With the launch of the Yogo behind him, South, whose company is called Econogo, now has to keep ahead of the game. Already E-max, a German company, has launched its own version of an electric scooter with a detachable battery and it is likely other competitors will emerge.
“We have to keep ahead,” said South, who is in discussions with several potential investors about expanding the business domestically and abroad.
“Ideally, we would love to sell our models in China, which would complete the circle, but lithium batteries are still too expensive for most Chinese consumers,” said South.
Hunt for the greenest pint
Brewers want to cut costs and improve their eco credentials
Matthew Goodman
A team of scientists in South Africa has devoted the past few years to finding a way to cut the energy used in making beer. And they may have found it.
The project, conceived in the laboratories of SAB Miller, the group behind brands such as Peroni and Pilsner Urquell, remains shrouded in secrecy, although the new process is being used in some of the company’s key facilities in its home market of South Africa.
The company refuses to divulge details, citing commercial sensitivity, but claims that its new proprietary technology, which will be fitted in plants across the world, saves large amounts of energy when heating water for the start of the brewing process.
Welcome to the beer industry’s version of the arms race. Brewers large and small are desperate to find technologies that will let them produce beer in a more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient way.
In the past, a green pint was a novelty to drum up trade on St Patrick’s Day. Today, it is a serious business as brewers attempt to produce beer that is environmentally sound.
Water remains the core battleground. The reason is simple. “Water is a finite resource,” said Herman van de Bergh at Heineken, the world’s third-biggest brewer by revenue. “Energy you can create anywhere. You can’t create water just like that.”
The Dutch beer giant is more aware of this than most. With a strong presence in Africa, it is wary of being seen to waste water in a part of the world where many communities struggle to find enough of it for basic needs, never mind to produce lager.
At its Lubumashi plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Heineken has been experimenting since last October with a plant that ferments beer constantly rather than in the traditional stop-start way in the hope that this will cut the amount of water used.
Brewers in Britain have improved dramatically. According to figures from the British Beer & Pub Association, the number of pints of water used to produce one pint of beer has fallen from about nine in the mid-1970s to four and a half today. That is an average — some companies boast of being well below this level.
The industry is fond of showing off its green credentials. It is quick to point out that whereas 99% of the wine drunk in Britain is shipped in from overseas, 90% of beer consumed in this country is produced here.
The sector also tries to make sure its waste products are recycled. For example, the spent grain, which is left over after fermentation, is frequently used to make cattle feed or sold to Unilever, the food producer, for use in its yeast-based Marmite spread.
Some in the industry are working on plans to use this by-product as fuel for power generation.
SAB remains coy about its new energy-saving technology, but it is far from alone in trying to cut the energy it uses to heat water, a process that is crucial to beermaking.
Shepherd Neame, the Kent brewer behind Spitfire ale, has adopted a piece of technology developed by Pursuit Dynamics, an engineering company, that allows it to divert the steam produced by the heating process back into its giant brewing kettles.
The steam is forced down a pipe and into the unfermented beer, forcing it to heat up faster than it otherwise would. “It has reduced our energy consumption by 50%,” said Jonathan Neame, the brewer’s chief executive.
Cutting down on water use and becoming more energy efficient have become the norm for the brewing industry, but there is plenty more work to do. Stephen Oliver, managing director of the beermaking division of Marston’s, the Midlands brewer and pub company, said that the holy grail for producers would be to harness solar power or wind energy. “Such a move would make us self-sufficient,” he said.
However, there are significant obstacles to such ambitions. Eighteen months ago, Marston’s had the idea of putting a wind turbine on the roof of one of its five breweries but the project came to nothing when the local council raised objections when planning permission was sought.
The company also found that it would have had to reinforce the building to make it sturdy enough to support the turbine. Worse still, the return on the investment would have been too low to justify it going ahead.
Converting wind energy into electricity is expensive. “There will come a time when it comes down in price. In 10 years I would see us using wind as a source of energy,” said Oliver.
To date, brewers have been unable to make solar energy work for them but this could be about to change. Heineken is working with specialist companies to see how the technology can be adapted for use in its operations. It hopes to have the first results from its trial schemes next year.
Progress has been impressive, but there is still much to do. Hopefully it won’t be too long before our leading beer brands can genuinely claim to sell green beer on the 364 days of the year other than St Patrick’s Day.
Matthew Goodman
A team of scientists in South Africa has devoted the past few years to finding a way to cut the energy used in making beer. And they may have found it.
The project, conceived in the laboratories of SAB Miller, the group behind brands such as Peroni and Pilsner Urquell, remains shrouded in secrecy, although the new process is being used in some of the company’s key facilities in its home market of South Africa.
The company refuses to divulge details, citing commercial sensitivity, but claims that its new proprietary technology, which will be fitted in plants across the world, saves large amounts of energy when heating water for the start of the brewing process.
Welcome to the beer industry’s version of the arms race. Brewers large and small are desperate to find technologies that will let them produce beer in a more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient way.
In the past, a green pint was a novelty to drum up trade on St Patrick’s Day. Today, it is a serious business as brewers attempt to produce beer that is environmentally sound.
Water remains the core battleground. The reason is simple. “Water is a finite resource,” said Herman van de Bergh at Heineken, the world’s third-biggest brewer by revenue. “Energy you can create anywhere. You can’t create water just like that.”
The Dutch beer giant is more aware of this than most. With a strong presence in Africa, it is wary of being seen to waste water in a part of the world where many communities struggle to find enough of it for basic needs, never mind to produce lager.
At its Lubumashi plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Heineken has been experimenting since last October with a plant that ferments beer constantly rather than in the traditional stop-start way in the hope that this will cut the amount of water used.
Brewers in Britain have improved dramatically. According to figures from the British Beer & Pub Association, the number of pints of water used to produce one pint of beer has fallen from about nine in the mid-1970s to four and a half today. That is an average — some companies boast of being well below this level.
The industry is fond of showing off its green credentials. It is quick to point out that whereas 99% of the wine drunk in Britain is shipped in from overseas, 90% of beer consumed in this country is produced here.
The sector also tries to make sure its waste products are recycled. For example, the spent grain, which is left over after fermentation, is frequently used to make cattle feed or sold to Unilever, the food producer, for use in its yeast-based Marmite spread.
Some in the industry are working on plans to use this by-product as fuel for power generation.
SAB remains coy about its new energy-saving technology, but it is far from alone in trying to cut the energy it uses to heat water, a process that is crucial to beermaking.
Shepherd Neame, the Kent brewer behind Spitfire ale, has adopted a piece of technology developed by Pursuit Dynamics, an engineering company, that allows it to divert the steam produced by the heating process back into its giant brewing kettles.
The steam is forced down a pipe and into the unfermented beer, forcing it to heat up faster than it otherwise would. “It has reduced our energy consumption by 50%,” said Jonathan Neame, the brewer’s chief executive.
Cutting down on water use and becoming more energy efficient have become the norm for the brewing industry, but there is plenty more work to do. Stephen Oliver, managing director of the beermaking division of Marston’s, the Midlands brewer and pub company, said that the holy grail for producers would be to harness solar power or wind energy. “Such a move would make us self-sufficient,” he said.
However, there are significant obstacles to such ambitions. Eighteen months ago, Marston’s had the idea of putting a wind turbine on the roof of one of its five breweries but the project came to nothing when the local council raised objections when planning permission was sought.
The company also found that it would have had to reinforce the building to make it sturdy enough to support the turbine. Worse still, the return on the investment would have been too low to justify it going ahead.
Converting wind energy into electricity is expensive. “There will come a time when it comes down in price. In 10 years I would see us using wind as a source of energy,” said Oliver.
To date, brewers have been unable to make solar energy work for them but this could be about to change. Heineken is working with specialist companies to see how the technology can be adapted for use in its operations. It hopes to have the first results from its trial schemes next year.
Progress has been impressive, but there is still much to do. Hopefully it won’t be too long before our leading beer brands can genuinely claim to sell green beer on the 364 days of the year other than St Patrick’s Day.
Greenhouse effects: Energy meters
Tony Juniper
Our friends Linda and Paul have recently become electricity-saving paragons — and one reason is their new energy meter. Research shows that they are not alone. The more we know about how much energy we are using, the more likely we are to save it.
There is a wide range of wireless electricity meters on the market. A sensor is clipped to the mains cable near the fuse box and connects to a transmitter. This sends information to a display unit, showing you, in real time, how much electricity is being used in your home.
The display can be placed anywhere, but it is obviously best to choose somewhere everyone will see it. The effect of running various appliances will be immediately obvious: switching on power-hungry devices such as kettles or toasters sends the readout rocketing; turning appliances off sends the numbers tumbling. It’s simple, but effective in changing behaviour.
The meter we use is the Wattson (£99.95; see diykyoto.com for stockists). This popular device shows your power usage either in watts presently being consumed or in terms of annual cost. It also has a pleasant colourful glow, depending on how much power is being used: blue for low usage, purple for medium, red for high.
The Wattson is simple to set up and data collected can be uploaded to your computer. If you generate your own electricity, there are further options. The manufacturer says that, according to a survey of its customers, the device leads to an average cut of 20% in electricity use.
At £39.95, the Efergy Elite is a less expensive option (see efergy.com). As well as real-time power usage, it will display daily, weekly and monthly totals. Some power companies supply free energy meters. See if yours will — and, if it doesn’t, ask why.
We waste vast quantities of power: the Energy Saving Trust estimates that 8% of our electricity is used to keep appliances on standby, and that UK households spend about £140m a year leaving lights on in unused rooms. So fit a meter — you have a lot to gain.
Tony Juniper is an environmental campaigner and former director of Friends of the Earth
greenhouse@sunday-times.co.uk
Our friends Linda and Paul have recently become electricity-saving paragons — and one reason is their new energy meter. Research shows that they are not alone. The more we know about how much energy we are using, the more likely we are to save it.
There is a wide range of wireless electricity meters on the market. A sensor is clipped to the mains cable near the fuse box and connects to a transmitter. This sends information to a display unit, showing you, in real time, how much electricity is being used in your home.
The display can be placed anywhere, but it is obviously best to choose somewhere everyone will see it. The effect of running various appliances will be immediately obvious: switching on power-hungry devices such as kettles or toasters sends the readout rocketing; turning appliances off sends the numbers tumbling. It’s simple, but effective in changing behaviour.
The meter we use is the Wattson (£99.95; see diykyoto.com for stockists). This popular device shows your power usage either in watts presently being consumed or in terms of annual cost. It also has a pleasant colourful glow, depending on how much power is being used: blue for low usage, purple for medium, red for high.
The Wattson is simple to set up and data collected can be uploaded to your computer. If you generate your own electricity, there are further options. The manufacturer says that, according to a survey of its customers, the device leads to an average cut of 20% in electricity use.
At £39.95, the Efergy Elite is a less expensive option (see efergy.com). As well as real-time power usage, it will display daily, weekly and monthly totals. Some power companies supply free energy meters. See if yours will — and, if it doesn’t, ask why.
We waste vast quantities of power: the Energy Saving Trust estimates that 8% of our electricity is used to keep appliances on standby, and that UK households spend about £140m a year leaving lights on in unused rooms. So fit a meter — you have a lot to gain.
Tony Juniper is an environmental campaigner and former director of Friends of the Earth
greenhouse@sunday-times.co.uk
Climate change concern declines in poll
Only 62% of Britons interested in subject, down from 80% in 2006, according to YouGov survey
Owen Bowcott guardian.co.uk, Sunday 23 May 2010 19.27 BST
Popular concern about climate change has declined significantly, following this year's harsh winter and rows over statistics on global warming, a survey has found.
The numbers of those interested in where Britain's electricity comes from have also slipped back, according to a survey commissioned by the energy company EDF, demonstrating what appears to be growing consumer complacency in an era of electric-powered gadgetry.
At the same time resistance to building new nuclear power stations appears to be slackening. The results of the YouGov poll, based on a sample of 4,300 adults questioned during the week after the general election, show that interest in climate change fell from 80% of respondents in 2006, to 71% last year and now stands at only 62%. Only 80% say they are interested in where electrical power is made, down from 82% the previous year.
Other recent polls have recorded a similar drop in public alarm about the imminence of climate-triggered disaster. The number of climate change agnostics – those unsure whether human activity is warming the planet – has risen from 25% in 2007 to 33% now.
There may be many reasons for the change. Failure to reach agreement on fresh emissions targets at the Copenhagen climate summit, the furore over the leaking of global warming data from the University of East Anglia and the recent cold weather may all have contributed to confusion around the issue.
The French-owned firm EDF, which commissioned the latest poll, owns British Energy, which runs eight nuclear power stations in the UK. EDF plans to build a new generation of nuclear plants, with the first in operation by 2017.
The survey says the "favourability rating" of nuclear power stations rose from +4 to + 16 between 2007 and this year.
Among Lib Dems – the coalition party explicitly opposed to new nuclear building – as many as 58% of supporters believe "nuclear energy has disadvantages, but the country needs it to be part of the energy balance", according to the survey. Slightly fewer, 47%, are in favour of the construction of new nuclear power stations; 32% are opposed.
Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy, said the poll "recognises the scale of the energy challenges facing the UK and the need for a low-carbon, eco-friendly economy as outlined by the coalition government.
"We are pleased to see strong public support across voters from all three major political parties in favour of new nuclear build. We also note that opposition to new nuclear build has continued to fall. This strong public support is further reflected by the clear backing for planning reform to facilitate investment in low carbon technologies, including nuclear.
"We need urgent action if we are to meet the UK's carbon emissions targets and address the looming energy gap. We believe nuclear power is the lowest cost low-carbon solution and can be built in the UK without subsidy. Therefore, it must be part of an affordable, clean and secure generation mix."
EDF, he said, "remains resolute in its commitment to a truly sustainable economy".
Owen Bowcott guardian.co.uk, Sunday 23 May 2010 19.27 BST
Popular concern about climate change has declined significantly, following this year's harsh winter and rows over statistics on global warming, a survey has found.
The numbers of those interested in where Britain's electricity comes from have also slipped back, according to a survey commissioned by the energy company EDF, demonstrating what appears to be growing consumer complacency in an era of electric-powered gadgetry.
At the same time resistance to building new nuclear power stations appears to be slackening. The results of the YouGov poll, based on a sample of 4,300 adults questioned during the week after the general election, show that interest in climate change fell from 80% of respondents in 2006, to 71% last year and now stands at only 62%. Only 80% say they are interested in where electrical power is made, down from 82% the previous year.
Other recent polls have recorded a similar drop in public alarm about the imminence of climate-triggered disaster. The number of climate change agnostics – those unsure whether human activity is warming the planet – has risen from 25% in 2007 to 33% now.
There may be many reasons for the change. Failure to reach agreement on fresh emissions targets at the Copenhagen climate summit, the furore over the leaking of global warming data from the University of East Anglia and the recent cold weather may all have contributed to confusion around the issue.
The French-owned firm EDF, which commissioned the latest poll, owns British Energy, which runs eight nuclear power stations in the UK. EDF plans to build a new generation of nuclear plants, with the first in operation by 2017.
The survey says the "favourability rating" of nuclear power stations rose from +4 to + 16 between 2007 and this year.
Among Lib Dems – the coalition party explicitly opposed to new nuclear building – as many as 58% of supporters believe "nuclear energy has disadvantages, but the country needs it to be part of the energy balance", according to the survey. Slightly fewer, 47%, are in favour of the construction of new nuclear power stations; 32% are opposed.
Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy, said the poll "recognises the scale of the energy challenges facing the UK and the need for a low-carbon, eco-friendly economy as outlined by the coalition government.
"We are pleased to see strong public support across voters from all three major political parties in favour of new nuclear build. We also note that opposition to new nuclear build has continued to fall. This strong public support is further reflected by the clear backing for planning reform to facilitate investment in low carbon technologies, including nuclear.
"We need urgent action if we are to meet the UK's carbon emissions targets and address the looming energy gap. We believe nuclear power is the lowest cost low-carbon solution and can be built in the UK without subsidy. Therefore, it must be part of an affordable, clean and secure generation mix."
EDF, he said, "remains resolute in its commitment to a truly sustainable economy".
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