As the EU and Ukraine develop closer economic integration through the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement, a key element in the relationship will be co-operation in respect of energy policy and energy efficiency. This is the topic of the second in a series of Energy Round Tables organised by the EU Ukraine Business Council. The business meetings are sponsored by DTEK, the number one privately-owned power producer and number one coal producer in Ukraine.
Speaking ahead of the conference Director of the EU Ukraine Business Council James Wilson said, “Energy efficiency is vital for our future. Demand for energy is growing, and climate change is now at the centre of the political agenda. The most effective way to cut energy costs and tackle CO2 emissions at the same time is to reduce consumption through energy efficiency programmes.”
“Time is running out.” He went on to say. “We can achieve 57 % reduction in our emissions with more efficient use of energy, but we must also research the technologies that will be essential to sustain affordable energy for the future and implement these advances faster than we are doing now.”
The conference will look at the many new business opportunities in energy efficiency that are being generated by closer partnership between Ukraine and the EU in the areas of motor transport, buildings, consumer electrical appliances and industry. The meeting will also analyse what funds are available to facilitate the development of new projects in these area. Late registrations for the conference are still possible on the EU Ukraine Business Council website www.euubc.com.
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Chris Huhne: Belarus gas dispute underlines Britain's desperate need for renewables and nuclear
Energy and climate change secretary says green energy can play vital part in UK's future energy security
Terry Macalister and John Vidal The Guardian, Thursday 24 June 2010
Chris Huhne, the energy and climate change secretary, warned last night that the threat to gas supplies from the political row between Russia and Belarus highlighted once again the desperate need for Britain to build up a low-carbon energy policy and domestic energy security through new wind farms – and possibly nuclear reactors.
Huhne said it was also vital that Britain was better protected from any "big shocks" arising from huge increases in the price of oil, as companies such as BP were forced into increasingly environmentally sensitive areas.
The European gas market has been repeatedly disrupted by rows between Moscow and its former Soviet neighbours, which have led to cuts in Siberian supplies reaching the continent, triggering a sudden cut in imports to Britain. Yesterday the latest dispute escalated after Moscow cut more supplies and Belarus threatened to siphon off Russian gas supplies crossing its territory.
Huhne said these stand-offs underlined the importance of Britain having its own sources of power as UK North Sea gas runs down.
"Energy has always had big geopolitical issues around it and that is why, both in terms of physical assurance of supply and in terms of guarantees against price volatility, we have a really strong incentive to develop our renewable sector," he said.
Huhne was speaking the day after the government presented the toughest budget in a generation, which will usher in higher taxes and lower public spending, including a 25% cut in his own department's budget. About half of that spending goes on nuclear clean-up resulting from the decommissioning of old atomic reactors.
The minister sidestepped the question of whether decommissioning work would inevitably be slowed down at sites such as Sellafield, where 1,200 jobs are said by unions to be at risk. It was important to continue with these operations as fast as possible, he argued, without giving details of where the cuts would fall.
The budget announcements also included a commitment to a green investment bank, which would help with funding renewable projects, and promises to change the climate change levy so that a floor can be put under the price of carbon.
Huhne said the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was another wake-up call for those relying on traditional forms of energy.
"I think it will change attitudes in the States. It can obviously have an impact potentially against big companies like BP and other oil majors which are going to have to be part of the transition [to a low carbon economy]," he said. "But the basic impact in the States is people wanting to gain more independent sources of energy that are not reliant on scraping the last piece of fossil fuel from the last well."
The problems in the Gulf have already encouraged the government to tighten up safety on North Sea platforms, with a doubling of safety inspectors and increased visits.
Terry Macalister and John Vidal The Guardian, Thursday 24 June 2010
Chris Huhne, the energy and climate change secretary, warned last night that the threat to gas supplies from the political row between Russia and Belarus highlighted once again the desperate need for Britain to build up a low-carbon energy policy and domestic energy security through new wind farms – and possibly nuclear reactors.
Huhne said it was also vital that Britain was better protected from any "big shocks" arising from huge increases in the price of oil, as companies such as BP were forced into increasingly environmentally sensitive areas.
The European gas market has been repeatedly disrupted by rows between Moscow and its former Soviet neighbours, which have led to cuts in Siberian supplies reaching the continent, triggering a sudden cut in imports to Britain. Yesterday the latest dispute escalated after Moscow cut more supplies and Belarus threatened to siphon off Russian gas supplies crossing its territory.
Huhne said these stand-offs underlined the importance of Britain having its own sources of power as UK North Sea gas runs down.
"Energy has always had big geopolitical issues around it and that is why, both in terms of physical assurance of supply and in terms of guarantees against price volatility, we have a really strong incentive to develop our renewable sector," he said.
Huhne was speaking the day after the government presented the toughest budget in a generation, which will usher in higher taxes and lower public spending, including a 25% cut in his own department's budget. About half of that spending goes on nuclear clean-up resulting from the decommissioning of old atomic reactors.
The minister sidestepped the question of whether decommissioning work would inevitably be slowed down at sites such as Sellafield, where 1,200 jobs are said by unions to be at risk. It was important to continue with these operations as fast as possible, he argued, without giving details of where the cuts would fall.
The budget announcements also included a commitment to a green investment bank, which would help with funding renewable projects, and promises to change the climate change levy so that a floor can be put under the price of carbon.
Huhne said the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was another wake-up call for those relying on traditional forms of energy.
"I think it will change attitudes in the States. It can obviously have an impact potentially against big companies like BP and other oil majors which are going to have to be part of the transition [to a low carbon economy]," he said. "But the basic impact in the States is people wanting to gain more independent sources of energy that are not reliant on scraping the last piece of fossil fuel from the last well."
The problems in the Gulf have already encouraged the government to tighten up safety on North Sea platforms, with a doubling of safety inspectors and increased visits.
Natural hot reservoirs harnessed by scientists to service Pennine eco-village
Geothermal project promises limitless recyclable supplies for housing in Eastgate, Co Durham
Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 23 June 2010 17.01 BST
Warm as bathwater, the first gusher from Britain's new "underground central heating system" showered over a Pennine field today, while scientists and engineers applauded.
Tapped a kilometre down, hot reservoirs in granite fissures below Weardale are set to service a new "eco-village" in the valley, and provide the country's first naturally warm spa since the Romans at Bath.
The breakthrough has overcome obstacles dogging other geothermal projects with a twin borehole system which recirculates the water, avoiding costly treatment or polluted run-off.
Limitless supplies from the hot aquifers will be pumped up one borehole, piped through the new housing at Eastgate, near Stanhope in County Durham, and then returned down a second borehole for rewarming by low-level radiation in the rocks.
"The system works in just the same way as central heating constantly circulates between a home's hot water tank, boiler and radiators," said Professor Paul Younger, director of Newcastle University's institute for research on sustainability, which has designed the scheme.
Geothermal energy is a priority of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, but the superficial simplicity of tapping underground springs has met with problems. Aquifers in buried granite – the best rock for high temperatures – tend to be twice as salty as the sea, causing corrosion and pollution problems.
"Unless you happen to be on the coast, you can't let the spent water simply flow away," said Prof Younger. "But cleaning it is both energy-intensive and costly. The recirculating system pioneered here in Weardale overcomes these problems. It's an almost carbon-neutral form of energy."
A generator priming the pump at Eastgate was the only carbon-user today, with drilling completed on a system which makes maximum use of cracks in the hidden granite. Professor David Manning, a soil scientist at Newcastle University, said: "The water goes back into the rock at a depth of a little under half a kilometre, then works its way through a maze of fissures to the extraction borehole, heating up again on the way."
Weardale's granite is particularly effective at heating water, but natural low-level radiation is found in all rocks. Prof Manning said that Eastgate had extra interest as a geothermal prototype whose lessons could be applied to other hotspots found by geologists, where warm aquifers are close enough to the surface for commercial tapping.
The valley, now a tourist attraction with a succession of nature reserves, also has a useful legacy of mining. Lee Berry, one of the drilling team, said that quarrying, cement-making and lead-mining had been the local staple for generations.
"We've had people coming and telling us about the underground water," he said. "When they dug out rock for the cement works here, they found blind white fish in the caves."
Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 23 June 2010 17.01 BST
Warm as bathwater, the first gusher from Britain's new "underground central heating system" showered over a Pennine field today, while scientists and engineers applauded.
Tapped a kilometre down, hot reservoirs in granite fissures below Weardale are set to service a new "eco-village" in the valley, and provide the country's first naturally warm spa since the Romans at Bath.
The breakthrough has overcome obstacles dogging other geothermal projects with a twin borehole system which recirculates the water, avoiding costly treatment or polluted run-off.
Limitless supplies from the hot aquifers will be pumped up one borehole, piped through the new housing at Eastgate, near Stanhope in County Durham, and then returned down a second borehole for rewarming by low-level radiation in the rocks.
"The system works in just the same way as central heating constantly circulates between a home's hot water tank, boiler and radiators," said Professor Paul Younger, director of Newcastle University's institute for research on sustainability, which has designed the scheme.
Geothermal energy is a priority of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, but the superficial simplicity of tapping underground springs has met with problems. Aquifers in buried granite – the best rock for high temperatures – tend to be twice as salty as the sea, causing corrosion and pollution problems.
"Unless you happen to be on the coast, you can't let the spent water simply flow away," said Prof Younger. "But cleaning it is both energy-intensive and costly. The recirculating system pioneered here in Weardale overcomes these problems. It's an almost carbon-neutral form of energy."
A generator priming the pump at Eastgate was the only carbon-user today, with drilling completed on a system which makes maximum use of cracks in the hidden granite. Professor David Manning, a soil scientist at Newcastle University, said: "The water goes back into the rock at a depth of a little under half a kilometre, then works its way through a maze of fissures to the extraction borehole, heating up again on the way."
Weardale's granite is particularly effective at heating water, but natural low-level radiation is found in all rocks. Prof Manning said that Eastgate had extra interest as a geothermal prototype whose lessons could be applied to other hotspots found by geologists, where warm aquifers are close enough to the surface for commercial tapping.
The valley, now a tourist attraction with a succession of nature reserves, also has a useful legacy of mining. Lee Berry, one of the drilling team, said that quarrying, cement-making and lead-mining had been the local staple for generations.
"We've had people coming and telling us about the underground water," he said. "When they dug out rock for the cement works here, they found blind white fish in the caves."
Hydro-electric power capacity to treble by 2020
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Britain's hydro-power plant capacity may treble by 2020 as electricity producers make use of government incentives for renewable energy, the Environment Agency said yesterday.
The number of hydro-electric power plants in Britain is likely to rise from 400 today to 1,200 by 2020. The agency has already approved 29 hydro-power generation licences in Britain this year and is analysing another 166 applications. It said it had identified about 4,000 locations that could accommodate hydroelectric power plants.
Britain's installed pumped storage and simple hydro-electric capacity is about 4,000MW, roughly that of four large nuclear power stations.
Although there is a target to produce 15 per cent of the UK's energy from renewable sources by 2020, opposition from residents and environmental groups has often made it hard to gain planning permissions.
Britain's hydro-power plant capacity may treble by 2020 as electricity producers make use of government incentives for renewable energy, the Environment Agency said yesterday.
The number of hydro-electric power plants in Britain is likely to rise from 400 today to 1,200 by 2020. The agency has already approved 29 hydro-power generation licences in Britain this year and is analysing another 166 applications. It said it had identified about 4,000 locations that could accommodate hydroelectric power plants.
Britain's installed pumped storage and simple hydro-electric capacity is about 4,000MW, roughly that of four large nuclear power stations.
Although there is a target to produce 15 per cent of the UK's energy from renewable sources by 2020, opposition from residents and environmental groups has often made it hard to gain planning permissions.