27 July 2010
The Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH) Process, funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and developed in collaboration with Air Products and Chemicals Inc., has been licensed to Woodland Biofuel Inc., which intends to use the technology to develop a wood-gasification process to produce methanol from wood-scrap. The first facility is planned in New York State.
The LPMEOH Process, developed for the production of methanol from coal, is an advanced indirect technology that utilizes synthesis gas, produced via gasification, to produce methanol. LPMEOH technology has the potential to be a more-efficient, lower-cost conversion route to methanol than commercially practiced gas-phase technologies.
The technology converts synthesis gas from the gasifier into methanol, which can either be sold as a value-added product or used as a source of peaking power for clean-burning integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants. Methanol can also be used as a source of hydrogen or synthesis gas for small fuel cells or industrial applications.
The original contract between DOE and Air Products and Chemicals, signed in 1981, included a repayment agreement, which has now been initiated, thanks to the Woodland Biofuel royalty license. The arrangement marks the first external license since the technology’s original testing and demonstration in the 1980s, at the DOE-owned 10 ton-per-day process development unit at Air Products and Chemicals’ syngas facility in LaPorte, Texas. DOE has received the first installment from the repayment agreement.
Building on this achievement, a commercial-scale demonstration of the LPMEOH Process was conducted under the CCT (Clean Coal Technology) Program, which resulted in a 260 ton-per-day facility at Eastman Chemicals’ site in Kingsport, Tenn. The facility is still in operation today.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Algae Biofuel Under Development
By The News Team
Jul 27, 2010
Commercial and academic laboratories across the country are making significant investments in engineering algae to produce fuel, the New York Times reports. The goal is to develop a variety of algae - the Times calls it a superalgae - that is able to convert sunlight into lipids and oils, which can be used to produce biofuel, with greater efficiency. Labs are employing methods ranging from genetic engineering to chemically induced mutation.
Proponents of the efforts point out that algae has the potential to produce more than ten times the biofuel per acre that corn or soybeans might yield. Algae can also be cultivated on arid land or in brackish water, using neither of which competes with food production, and it is a prolific consumer of carbon dioxide.
However critics are concerned with the potential effects of a superalgae making its way outside of research facilities and competing with native varieties. Algae produces a large portion of the world's oxygen and is the basis for many aquatic biomes. And a few academics have predicted that introducing a highly efficient algae could kill less efficient native populations, cause a massive algal bloom, and deprive oceans of oxygen.
While no regulatory duties have yet been assigned to a federal organ to oversee algal engineering efforts, the Environmental Protection Agency will likely take the lead.
--Riley Blanton
Jul 27, 2010
Commercial and academic laboratories across the country are making significant investments in engineering algae to produce fuel, the New York Times reports. The goal is to develop a variety of algae - the Times calls it a superalgae - that is able to convert sunlight into lipids and oils, which can be used to produce biofuel, with greater efficiency. Labs are employing methods ranging from genetic engineering to chemically induced mutation.
Proponents of the efforts point out that algae has the potential to produce more than ten times the biofuel per acre that corn or soybeans might yield. Algae can also be cultivated on arid land or in brackish water, using neither of which competes with food production, and it is a prolific consumer of carbon dioxide.
However critics are concerned with the potential effects of a superalgae making its way outside of research facilities and competing with native varieties. Algae produces a large portion of the world's oxygen and is the basis for many aquatic biomes. And a few academics have predicted that introducing a highly efficient algae could kill less efficient native populations, cause a massive algal bloom, and deprive oceans of oxygen.
While no regulatory duties have yet been assigned to a federal organ to oversee algal engineering efforts, the Environmental Protection Agency will likely take the lead.
--Riley Blanton
Commercial hopes for wave energy
Oyster 1 has been undergoing sea trials since last year Wave energy developer Aquamarine Power has joined forces with BAE Systems in a project designed to help create the world's first commercial wave farm.
The two companies will examine ways of enabling large-scale commercial production of Aquamarine's new wave energy device, known as Oyster.
The £900,000 project has been co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board.
The Oyster has been undergoing sea trials at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney since November.
The device is a hinged flap connected to the sea-bed which uses wave power to deliver high-pressure water to an onshore turbine.
Under this new partnership, engineers at BAE Systems will work with Edinburgh-based Aquamarine to develop an intelligent diagnostic system and remote ballasting mechanism for the Oyster.
The companies believe these innovations will drive down maintenance costs and help to maximise energy production.
This in turn would pave the way for the Oyster technology to be rolled out on a commercial scale.
Aquamarine's chief executive, Martin McAdam, said: "The Oyster system works well.
"Our next step is to drive down the cost of electricity generated from wave power through improvements in Oyster reliability and reduced maintenance costs."
Aquamarine, which is seeking a total of £50m of investment in the Oyster, plans to deploy its new Oyster 2 device next summer.
The company believes the new version could deliver 250% more power than the original device.
The two companies will examine ways of enabling large-scale commercial production of Aquamarine's new wave energy device, known as Oyster.
The £900,000 project has been co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board.
The Oyster has been undergoing sea trials at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney since November.
The device is a hinged flap connected to the sea-bed which uses wave power to deliver high-pressure water to an onshore turbine.
Under this new partnership, engineers at BAE Systems will work with Edinburgh-based Aquamarine to develop an intelligent diagnostic system and remote ballasting mechanism for the Oyster.
The companies believe these innovations will drive down maintenance costs and help to maximise energy production.
This in turn would pave the way for the Oyster technology to be rolled out on a commercial scale.
Aquamarine's chief executive, Martin McAdam, said: "The Oyster system works well.
"Our next step is to drive down the cost of electricity generated from wave power through improvements in Oyster reliability and reduced maintenance costs."
Aquamarine, which is seeking a total of £50m of investment in the Oyster, plans to deploy its new Oyster 2 device next summer.
The company believes the new version could deliver 250% more power than the original device.
Government energy plans unveiled by Chris Huhne
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne today outlined a series of measures to improve energy efficiency, boost renewables and allow new nuclear projects to go ahead as he laid out the Government's energy policy.
Published: 1:33PM BST 27 Jul 2010
In the first annual energy statement to the Commons, Mr Huhne set out plans to secure the UK energy supplies and cut carbon emissions while ''keeping the lights on''.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change also published a series of ''pathways'' for how the energy system might look in 2050, outlining the scale of the challenge of meeting the legally-binding target to cut emissions by 80% by mid century.
Mr Huhne said the Government was laying out ''a clear strategy for creating the 21st century energy system that this country urgently needs for an affordable, secure, low-carbon future''.
The 32 measures outlined today include efforts to speed up the roll-out of smart meters, provide incentives for heat produced from renewable sources, and bring in emissions performance standards for power plants to make them cut their greenhouse gases.
Other steps aim to speed up connection of offshore wind farms to the grid, remove obstacles to private investment in new nuclear power and prop up the carbon price polluters have to pay for their emissions to encourage the development of low-carbon alternatives.
But the coalition was accused by shadow energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband of going "backwards not forwards" in its pledge to be the "greenest Government ever".
Mr Miliband accused the Tories and Lib Dems of employing the same "rhetoric without substance" in office that they used in opposition.
Laying out a series of policies which had already been pledged in the coalition agreement, Mr Huhne said the ''Green Deal'' to install insulation and other green measures in homes would transform finance for improving energy efficiency in buildings.
And in an effort to provide transparency to people on the costs of taking action on climate change, he said the Government would be publishing analysis of the impact of energy and climate change policies on household and business bills up to 2020.
According to the analysis published today, the extra cost of energy and climate change policies is set to add just £13 to the average household energy bill by 2020.
While efforts to cut carbon could lead to an 18% increase in gas prices and a 33% jump in electricity prices by the end of the decade, efforts to increase small-scale renewables on people's homes and make them more energy-efficient will lead to an overall 1% increase in bills.
Mr Huhne said the cheapest way to close the gap between energy supply and demand was to cut energy use, pointing to the green deal and to the publication of plans to roll out smart meters, which will provide consumers with information to help them save power.
The Government energy strategy also includes changes to the law to allow local councils to sell green energy to boost community-scale renewable schemes, putting forward proposals to create a green investment bank and carrying out a comprehensive review of the electricity market, including the role of regulator Ofgem, he said.
The 2050 pathways published alongside the energy statement today show six different routes to achieving the required emissions cuts by mid-century.
But each of them shows that ambitious reductions in energy use per person are needed and a substantial amount of heating, transport and industry needs to switch to electricity - the supply of which could have to double and will need to become low carbon.
A growing level of electricity will have to come from variable sources such as wind, which is going to increase the challenge of balancing the grid.
And sustainable bioenergy - fuel made from sources such as plants and algae - will be a vital part of the power system, the analysis shows.
Published: 1:33PM BST 27 Jul 2010
In the first annual energy statement to the Commons, Mr Huhne set out plans to secure the UK energy supplies and cut carbon emissions while ''keeping the lights on''.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change also published a series of ''pathways'' for how the energy system might look in 2050, outlining the scale of the challenge of meeting the legally-binding target to cut emissions by 80% by mid century.
Mr Huhne said the Government was laying out ''a clear strategy for creating the 21st century energy system that this country urgently needs for an affordable, secure, low-carbon future''.
The 32 measures outlined today include efforts to speed up the roll-out of smart meters, provide incentives for heat produced from renewable sources, and bring in emissions performance standards for power plants to make them cut their greenhouse gases.
Other steps aim to speed up connection of offshore wind farms to the grid, remove obstacles to private investment in new nuclear power and prop up the carbon price polluters have to pay for their emissions to encourage the development of low-carbon alternatives.
But the coalition was accused by shadow energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband of going "backwards not forwards" in its pledge to be the "greenest Government ever".
Mr Miliband accused the Tories and Lib Dems of employing the same "rhetoric without substance" in office that they used in opposition.
Laying out a series of policies which had already been pledged in the coalition agreement, Mr Huhne said the ''Green Deal'' to install insulation and other green measures in homes would transform finance for improving energy efficiency in buildings.
And in an effort to provide transparency to people on the costs of taking action on climate change, he said the Government would be publishing analysis of the impact of energy and climate change policies on household and business bills up to 2020.
According to the analysis published today, the extra cost of energy and climate change policies is set to add just £13 to the average household energy bill by 2020.
While efforts to cut carbon could lead to an 18% increase in gas prices and a 33% jump in electricity prices by the end of the decade, efforts to increase small-scale renewables on people's homes and make them more energy-efficient will lead to an overall 1% increase in bills.
Mr Huhne said the cheapest way to close the gap between energy supply and demand was to cut energy use, pointing to the green deal and to the publication of plans to roll out smart meters, which will provide consumers with information to help them save power.
The Government energy strategy also includes changes to the law to allow local councils to sell green energy to boost community-scale renewable schemes, putting forward proposals to create a green investment bank and carrying out a comprehensive review of the electricity market, including the role of regulator Ofgem, he said.
The 2050 pathways published alongside the energy statement today show six different routes to achieving the required emissions cuts by mid-century.
But each of them shows that ambitious reductions in energy use per person are needed and a substantial amount of heating, transport and industry needs to switch to electricity - the supply of which could have to double and will need to become low carbon.
A growing level of electricity will have to come from variable sources such as wind, which is going to increase the challenge of balancing the grid.
And sustainable bioenergy - fuel made from sources such as plants and algae - will be a vital part of the power system, the analysis shows.
Energy prospectors go west to Blackpool in search of 'shale gas'
Cuadrilla Resources, backed by former BP chief Lord Browne, hopes to extract gas from the Bowland shale
Terry Macalister guardian.co.uk, Sunday 25 July 2010 17.48 BST
Blackpool could become the new Houston if an experimental "shale gas" well being drilled in the north-west of England this week turns up the same stellar results that have been seen in America.
Lord Browne of Madingley, the former BP chief executive, is one of the backers of Cuadrilla Resources, which will start operations on a geological formation that stretches from Pendle Hill to the Lancashire coast near Blackpool.
The well being drilled is the first of its kind in Britain and comes after discoveries of huge reserves in the US promised to transform the energy landscape there and sent gas prices plummeting.
In an interview with Channel 4 News, to be screened shortly, Chris Cornelius, the founder of Cuadrilla, said that in future shale gas could reduce the need for some imports into Britain as North Sea supplies run down.
"It's very early days," he said. "It will take a lot of exploration and a lot of effort by small companies like us, and larger companies as well, but ultimately we are hopeful that we would find certain deposits here that would add to the net reserves of the UK."
The Financial Times recently claimed that shale gas would "change the world". The American finds have scuppered the plans of Russia and other countries to start exporting gas to the energy-hungry US.
Any kind of gas is a relatively carbon-friendly alternative to oil, and countries around the world are keen to find their own supplies that will help to limit climate change while also providing energy security.
But shale gas comes with its own environmental problems. The gas is reached by drilling wells deep into rock formations, which are then "fractured" or broken up with the aid of water and heavy chemicals, to release tiny pockets of trapped gas.
The US Congress is currently investigating the potential threat posed by these substances to local water supplies but the big oil companies have no doubt that shale gas is the new oil rush.
ExxonMobil has just bought a shale gas expert, East Resources, for $4.7bn (£3bn), while Shell has started to drill for shale gas in Sweden, and ConocoPhillips is drilling in Poland.
There have been no big discoveries yet in Europe but Cuadrilla is confident that it can make a strike in Britain. The company is backed by some of the most canny financial players in the world: the Carlyle Group, the private equity firm at which the former British prime minister Sir John Major used to have a seat on the board, and Riverstone Holdings, where Browne is UK managing director.
Cornelius told Channel 4 that his company had taken care to involve the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and other agencies to ensure that there would be no major problems attached to the drilling process.
"There are certain cases in the US where certain operators have been documented as having some issues, and they do exist. But I think we have done everything here working with the HSE and the Environment Agency in the UK to ensure that doesn't happen on Cuadrilla's location," he said.
A programme shown last month on HBO, the US cable television network, documented some alarming and spectacular pollution incidents allegedly caused by shale gas drilling – including tap water apparently so contaminated with methane gas that it caught fire. However, the Washington-based environmental thinktank the Worldwatch Institute argues that hydraulic fracturing is not necessary polluting – and insists that most of the documented incidents are the result of clumsy drilling and poor regulation.
The shale discoveries in America have not only led companies to wonder whether there could be similar finds waiting to be made in Europe, China and elsewhere in Asia but have upset the existing world gas order.
Gazprom, the aggressive Russian state-backed operator, has admitted that it is rethinking many aspects of its plans to export gas to America and elsewhere in the light of the collapse of gas prices in the US.
There have even been suggestions that geopolitics are changing as a result of shale gas discoveries. Some attribute Moscow's willingness to sign a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with Washington and to accept tougher sanctions against Iran to Russia's realisation that it will have less opportunity to use energy as a foreign policy tool.
Shale gas is nothing new; the innovation lies in the development of new methodology for extracting it – for example, allowing mining companies to drill horizontally as opposed to vertically.
Twenty years ago, British Gas drilled a couple of exploratory wells in the north-west in an attempt to extract gas in commercial quantities.
Cornelius said: "They penetrated through the Bowland shale [part of the same geological formation that extends to Blackpool], and the old indications were that there was gas in that shale. So we decided that this area would be prospective, and after about a year's worth of work we decided that this was the place to start."
He added: "We're quite confident that we'll find gas – it's just whether we find gas in economic quantities. I don't think we'll ever be like the US, but I think there will certainly be the possibility that we'll find significant volumes of gas in various parts of Europe, which will be potentially commercial.
"It could help offset imports into Europe by a certain percentage, about 5% or 10%, if we're successful."
Blackpool's illuminations are often referred to as "the golden mile". If shale gas reaches its potential, the area might be known as the new gold coast.
Terry Macalister guardian.co.uk, Sunday 25 July 2010 17.48 BST
Blackpool could become the new Houston if an experimental "shale gas" well being drilled in the north-west of England this week turns up the same stellar results that have been seen in America.
Lord Browne of Madingley, the former BP chief executive, is one of the backers of Cuadrilla Resources, which will start operations on a geological formation that stretches from Pendle Hill to the Lancashire coast near Blackpool.
The well being drilled is the first of its kind in Britain and comes after discoveries of huge reserves in the US promised to transform the energy landscape there and sent gas prices plummeting.
In an interview with Channel 4 News, to be screened shortly, Chris Cornelius, the founder of Cuadrilla, said that in future shale gas could reduce the need for some imports into Britain as North Sea supplies run down.
"It's very early days," he said. "It will take a lot of exploration and a lot of effort by small companies like us, and larger companies as well, but ultimately we are hopeful that we would find certain deposits here that would add to the net reserves of the UK."
The Financial Times recently claimed that shale gas would "change the world". The American finds have scuppered the plans of Russia and other countries to start exporting gas to the energy-hungry US.
Any kind of gas is a relatively carbon-friendly alternative to oil, and countries around the world are keen to find their own supplies that will help to limit climate change while also providing energy security.
But shale gas comes with its own environmental problems. The gas is reached by drilling wells deep into rock formations, which are then "fractured" or broken up with the aid of water and heavy chemicals, to release tiny pockets of trapped gas.
The US Congress is currently investigating the potential threat posed by these substances to local water supplies but the big oil companies have no doubt that shale gas is the new oil rush.
ExxonMobil has just bought a shale gas expert, East Resources, for $4.7bn (£3bn), while Shell has started to drill for shale gas in Sweden, and ConocoPhillips is drilling in Poland.
There have been no big discoveries yet in Europe but Cuadrilla is confident that it can make a strike in Britain. The company is backed by some of the most canny financial players in the world: the Carlyle Group, the private equity firm at which the former British prime minister Sir John Major used to have a seat on the board, and Riverstone Holdings, where Browne is UK managing director.
Cornelius told Channel 4 that his company had taken care to involve the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and other agencies to ensure that there would be no major problems attached to the drilling process.
"There are certain cases in the US where certain operators have been documented as having some issues, and they do exist. But I think we have done everything here working with the HSE and the Environment Agency in the UK to ensure that doesn't happen on Cuadrilla's location," he said.
A programme shown last month on HBO, the US cable television network, documented some alarming and spectacular pollution incidents allegedly caused by shale gas drilling – including tap water apparently so contaminated with methane gas that it caught fire. However, the Washington-based environmental thinktank the Worldwatch Institute argues that hydraulic fracturing is not necessary polluting – and insists that most of the documented incidents are the result of clumsy drilling and poor regulation.
The shale discoveries in America have not only led companies to wonder whether there could be similar finds waiting to be made in Europe, China and elsewhere in Asia but have upset the existing world gas order.
Gazprom, the aggressive Russian state-backed operator, has admitted that it is rethinking many aspects of its plans to export gas to America and elsewhere in the light of the collapse of gas prices in the US.
There have even been suggestions that geopolitics are changing as a result of shale gas discoveries. Some attribute Moscow's willingness to sign a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with Washington and to accept tougher sanctions against Iran to Russia's realisation that it will have less opportunity to use energy as a foreign policy tool.
Shale gas is nothing new; the innovation lies in the development of new methodology for extracting it – for example, allowing mining companies to drill horizontally as opposed to vertically.
Twenty years ago, British Gas drilled a couple of exploratory wells in the north-west in an attempt to extract gas in commercial quantities.
Cornelius said: "They penetrated through the Bowland shale [part of the same geological formation that extends to Blackpool], and the old indications were that there was gas in that shale. So we decided that this area would be prospective, and after about a year's worth of work we decided that this was the place to start."
He added: "We're quite confident that we'll find gas – it's just whether we find gas in economic quantities. I don't think we'll ever be like the US, but I think there will certainly be the possibility that we'll find significant volumes of gas in various parts of Europe, which will be potentially commercial.
"It could help offset imports into Europe by a certain percentage, about 5% or 10%, if we're successful."
Blackpool's illuminations are often referred to as "the golden mile". If shale gas reaches its potential, the area might be known as the new gold coast.
Former Vestas staff open wind turbine manufacturer on Isle of Wight
Sureblades will produce a new type of recyclable blade in a factory metres from the Vestas plant one year after its closure
Adam Vaughan guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 July 2010 12.56 BST
Nearly one year after Danish wind giant Vestas closed the UK's only major turbine plant, a new British blade manufacturer is opening just metres from the old factory.
Sureblades, run by a team including three former Vestas staff on the Isle of Wight, is pinning its hopes on a new type of blade that will be 100% recyclable.
Working with Southampton University for the certification of its blades, the new company already has an order placed with Irish renewable energy company C&F Green Energy for 1,000 of its blades. The 4.6m-long structures will be used in 15kW turbines, enough to power a community.
Sean McDonagh, who is heading up operations at Sureblades, said the project had been a "beacon of light" for those involved in the Vestas plant closure last August, which led to 425 employees being made redundant. "It's been tough as no money was coming in for our families, but we knew it would work in the end, because this is a product the country needs for where it's going," McDonagh said.
Based on the same industrial estate as the former Vestas factory, which workers occupied during a 11-day roof-top protest against its closure last year, the company forecasts it will take on 40 staff within the next two years. "There are two big industries down here and people [former Vestas workers] have been on one-month contracts and not able to live their lives. When people heard about us, it's like they could get on with their lives, so they've been getting in touch," said McDonagh.
Working alongside McDonagh are the former Vestas employees Keith Hunsell and Glynn Milton, and Penny Smout a former special adviser to Ed Miliband. Unlike conventional turbine blades which use an epoxy resin that cannot be broken down, the company's blades will use a material that can be melted down and made into new blades after old ones are worn out. Sureblades said it also has another two potential orders in addition to the C&F deal, and it hopes to be fully operational by September.
Last year Vestas said the closure of the Isle of Wight plant was a result of a lack of demand and planning problems in the UK. Ditlev Engel, the CEO of Vestas, said at the time: "In the UK, there is a clear division between what the government would like to see happening and what certain local politicians want to see happening, or rather not want to see happening ... there is not necessarily the same ambition levels."
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT), which represented and supported the Vestas workers last year, welcomed the new company. The general secretary, Bob Crow, said: "The former Vestas workers behind this imaginative new project have completely destroyed the argument put forward by the company at the time of closure that there was no market for UK manufactured turbine blades. Through their efforts to create jobs they have blown apart the bogus grounds put forward at the time for closure and redundancy of the workforce."
He continued: "RMT is very proud of what our former Vestas members have achieved so far and we are right behind them. They have also shown that it is far too easy for companies in the UK to soak up government grants and then just cut and run when it suits them without any meaningful consultation, never mind a ballot of the workforce."
Adam Vaughan guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 July 2010 12.56 BST
Nearly one year after Danish wind giant Vestas closed the UK's only major turbine plant, a new British blade manufacturer is opening just metres from the old factory.
Sureblades, run by a team including three former Vestas staff on the Isle of Wight, is pinning its hopes on a new type of blade that will be 100% recyclable.
Working with Southampton University for the certification of its blades, the new company already has an order placed with Irish renewable energy company C&F Green Energy for 1,000 of its blades. The 4.6m-long structures will be used in 15kW turbines, enough to power a community.
Sean McDonagh, who is heading up operations at Sureblades, said the project had been a "beacon of light" for those involved in the Vestas plant closure last August, which led to 425 employees being made redundant. "It's been tough as no money was coming in for our families, but we knew it would work in the end, because this is a product the country needs for where it's going," McDonagh said.
Based on the same industrial estate as the former Vestas factory, which workers occupied during a 11-day roof-top protest against its closure last year, the company forecasts it will take on 40 staff within the next two years. "There are two big industries down here and people [former Vestas workers] have been on one-month contracts and not able to live their lives. When people heard about us, it's like they could get on with their lives, so they've been getting in touch," said McDonagh.
Working alongside McDonagh are the former Vestas employees Keith Hunsell and Glynn Milton, and Penny Smout a former special adviser to Ed Miliband. Unlike conventional turbine blades which use an epoxy resin that cannot be broken down, the company's blades will use a material that can be melted down and made into new blades after old ones are worn out. Sureblades said it also has another two potential orders in addition to the C&F deal, and it hopes to be fully operational by September.
Last year Vestas said the closure of the Isle of Wight plant was a result of a lack of demand and planning problems in the UK. Ditlev Engel, the CEO of Vestas, said at the time: "In the UK, there is a clear division between what the government would like to see happening and what certain local politicians want to see happening, or rather not want to see happening ... there is not necessarily the same ambition levels."
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT), which represented and supported the Vestas workers last year, welcomed the new company. The general secretary, Bob Crow, said: "The former Vestas workers behind this imaginative new project have completely destroyed the argument put forward by the company at the time of closure that there was no market for UK manufactured turbine blades. Through their efforts to create jobs they have blown apart the bogus grounds put forward at the time for closure and redundancy of the workforce."
He continued: "RMT is very proud of what our former Vestas members have achieved so far and we are right behind them. They have also shown that it is far too easy for companies in the UK to soak up government grants and then just cut and run when it suits them without any meaningful consultation, never mind a ballot of the workforce."
UK businesses face steep rise in energy bills
Government plans to secure energy supplies and cut carbon emissions means higher energy prices and bills for businesses
Juliette Jowit guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 July 2010 18.14 BST
Businesses can expect to face a steep rise in energy bills after the government today published a comprehensive plan to cut greenhouse gases and end Britain's dependence on risky oil and gas imports.
Although the individual policies had previously been announced in the coalition policy agreement or by ministers – and many were formerly Labour government initiatives – Chris Huhne, the energy and climate secretary, said the first annual energy statement provided more detail and a timetable for each move from consultation to legislation.
Alongside the energy statement, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition published what it said was the first yearly estimate of the impact of its policies on customer bills. The estimate shows that compared to prices with no government action, combined annual gas and electricity costs for households would rise only £13 by 2020, but those for businesses would increase by hundreds of pounds a year. This is because businesses would benefit less from energy-efficiency measures available to households.
A third document showing different policy options for meeting the pledge requirement to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050 was also published. It shows six "pathways" with different mixes of renewable energy such as wind and solar power, nuclear generation, and carbon capture and storage for gas and coal plants. Despite Huhne telling parliament he was confident new nuclear reactors would be built, one option shows that the targets could be met even without any new nuclear power plants to replace the current reactors when they go out of service by 2035.
As a result of the policies, "the lights are not going to go out on my watch", said Huhne.
The publication was welcomed by many groups and businesses involved in supplying and financing low-carbon power. Paul Golby, chief executive of power giant E.ON UK, said: "These changes are essential to ensure we can all play our part in making sure the challenge of the trilemma is met – a low-carbon future with secure and affordable energy."
However there were widespread concerns about continuing lack of detail and that progress would be hampered by a raft of new consultations and reviews of individual initiatives, including the promise to install "smart meters" in every home and testing new carbon capture and storage technologies.
Ed Miliband, the shadow energy and climate secretary who formerly held Huhne's job, accused his successor of going "backwards not forwards" on several policies, including delays caused by further consultation on incentives for renewable heat, cutting promised funds for the green investment bank, abandoning some renewable energy targets, and comments by Huhne's Conservative energy minister, Lord Marland, that "there should be no dramatic increase" in onshore wind turbines. Huhne's Department of Energy and Climate Change also announced two weeks ago that it was cutting spending by £85m including £34m of support for low-carbon technology.
Funding for many policies announced today will also depend on the outcome of a tough autumn spending review.
"Any fair-minded person looking at this statement will conclude that it is a huge disappointment – a huge disappointment to industry, to the country as well," added Miliband.
Huhne said public spending had to be slashed because the Labour government departed – in the words of outgoing Treasury secretary Liam Byrne – with "no money left".
"I don't think he [Miliband] does the cause of progressive politics or green politics any good if he believes there's a bottomless pit [of money]," added Huhne.
Responding to big projected increases in energy bills, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said that, while business accepted there would be increased costs, it was concerned that mooted government ambitions for a higher target for renewable energy would push prices even higher, and urged ministers to help high energy users who were competing in international markets, such as steel companies. Other businesses could pass on the higher bills to customers, said Matthew Farrow, the CBI's head of energy.
The projections assumed fossil fuel prices remain level at approximately US$80 (£51.46) a barrel of oil. Business bills would rise by less - and domestic bills be cut - if oil prices rose by the much higher estimates of the International Energy Agency or the US government, because of energy efficiency policies, said Huhne.
"The new study shows that a high-tech low-carbon future is within our grasp but it won't be achieved without massive public and private investment and a detailed plan," said Greenpeace executive director, John Sauven. "Right now it's not clear that ministers are committed to unlocking that investment, and without it any plan is worthless."
Juliette Jowit guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 July 2010 18.14 BST
Businesses can expect to face a steep rise in energy bills after the government today published a comprehensive plan to cut greenhouse gases and end Britain's dependence on risky oil and gas imports.
Although the individual policies had previously been announced in the coalition policy agreement or by ministers – and many were formerly Labour government initiatives – Chris Huhne, the energy and climate secretary, said the first annual energy statement provided more detail and a timetable for each move from consultation to legislation.
Alongside the energy statement, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition published what it said was the first yearly estimate of the impact of its policies on customer bills. The estimate shows that compared to prices with no government action, combined annual gas and electricity costs for households would rise only £13 by 2020, but those for businesses would increase by hundreds of pounds a year. This is because businesses would benefit less from energy-efficiency measures available to households.
A third document showing different policy options for meeting the pledge requirement to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050 was also published. It shows six "pathways" with different mixes of renewable energy such as wind and solar power, nuclear generation, and carbon capture and storage for gas and coal plants. Despite Huhne telling parliament he was confident new nuclear reactors would be built, one option shows that the targets could be met even without any new nuclear power plants to replace the current reactors when they go out of service by 2035.
As a result of the policies, "the lights are not going to go out on my watch", said Huhne.
The publication was welcomed by many groups and businesses involved in supplying and financing low-carbon power. Paul Golby, chief executive of power giant E.ON UK, said: "These changes are essential to ensure we can all play our part in making sure the challenge of the trilemma is met – a low-carbon future with secure and affordable energy."
However there were widespread concerns about continuing lack of detail and that progress would be hampered by a raft of new consultations and reviews of individual initiatives, including the promise to install "smart meters" in every home and testing new carbon capture and storage technologies.
Ed Miliband, the shadow energy and climate secretary who formerly held Huhne's job, accused his successor of going "backwards not forwards" on several policies, including delays caused by further consultation on incentives for renewable heat, cutting promised funds for the green investment bank, abandoning some renewable energy targets, and comments by Huhne's Conservative energy minister, Lord Marland, that "there should be no dramatic increase" in onshore wind turbines. Huhne's Department of Energy and Climate Change also announced two weeks ago that it was cutting spending by £85m including £34m of support for low-carbon technology.
Funding for many policies announced today will also depend on the outcome of a tough autumn spending review.
"Any fair-minded person looking at this statement will conclude that it is a huge disappointment – a huge disappointment to industry, to the country as well," added Miliband.
Huhne said public spending had to be slashed because the Labour government departed – in the words of outgoing Treasury secretary Liam Byrne – with "no money left".
"I don't think he [Miliband] does the cause of progressive politics or green politics any good if he believes there's a bottomless pit [of money]," added Huhne.
Responding to big projected increases in energy bills, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said that, while business accepted there would be increased costs, it was concerned that mooted government ambitions for a higher target for renewable energy would push prices even higher, and urged ministers to help high energy users who were competing in international markets, such as steel companies. Other businesses could pass on the higher bills to customers, said Matthew Farrow, the CBI's head of energy.
The projections assumed fossil fuel prices remain level at approximately US$80 (£51.46) a barrel of oil. Business bills would rise by less - and domestic bills be cut - if oil prices rose by the much higher estimates of the International Energy Agency or the US government, because of energy efficiency policies, said Huhne.
"The new study shows that a high-tech low-carbon future is within our grasp but it won't be achieved without massive public and private investment and a detailed plan," said Greenpeace executive director, John Sauven. "Right now it's not clear that ministers are committed to unlocking that investment, and without it any plan is worthless."
Go for nuclear or ramp up solar with DECC's carbon calculator
The new 'pathways' calculator lays out ways the UK could hit its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050
DECC 2050 calculator tool. Photograph: http://2050-calculator-tool.decc.gov.uk/
Electricity generation in the UK will double. Cars, hot water and the heating of buildings will be electrified. A new nuclear renaissance on a par with France's rush to nuclear in the 1970s will have taken place and fossil fuel power stations will capture 90% of their carbon emissions. This is just one picture of how Britain could hit its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050, as painted by a new calculator launched by the government today.
Created under the direction of David Mackay, chief scientific adviser at the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the calculator lays out different "pathways" for how we could meet the target. You get to play with two sets of sliders. One set affects energy consumption such as temperature within buildings, number of electric cars and so on. The other controls energy generation - you can choose how many wind turbines you want, go for nuclear, invest in bio-energy and ramp up solar. In other words, it's rather like the Guardian's very own "national carbon calculator", which we launched in April.
Like the Guardian's calculator, DECC's one has a deceptively simple front-end running off on an incredibly complicated spreadsheet of data. Unlike ours, it doesn't take into account emissions from consumption as the government doesn't count those towards targets. But like ours, a few minutes of play shows just show difficult it will be to cut emissions 80% on 1990 levels in four decades.
One scenario shown to me by Mackay and the team behind the calculator revealed how important nuclear and carbon capture and storage (CCS) will theoretically be. Taking a medium effort approach to all the levers available, ie doing a little bit of everything rather than pushing one technology or initiative particularly hard, shows that if you drop nuclear out of the equation you only cut emissions 67% by 2050. Cut out CCS too and that plummets to 49%.
Once you've cut both out, you'd need a total of 44,000 wind turbines (we have just under 3,000 at the moment), 900kms of wave farms, 10,600 tidal stream turbines and eight tidal range schemes to just get back to 72%. Of course, there are alternative ways of meeting the 80% target - as the calculator demonstrates - but getting supply and demand of energy to meet is just one of the surprisingly difficult challenges.
Fascinating though the calculator is, there is one obvious addition that it will hopefully include in a revised version due in the autumn: the financial cost of these choices. How politically plausible the decisions are would also be nice, but that almost certainly is impossible to calculate.
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