Source: http://feeds.importantmedia.org/~r/IM-cleantechnica/~3/5DFNkFc7S1Q/
Source: http://www.eco20-20.com/New-Plastics-from-Waste.html
Source: http://feeds.importantmedia.org/~r/IM-cleantechnica/~3/QK1_VVAgdGg/
According to the most recent issue of the "Monthly Energy Review" by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), with data through June 30, 2011, renewable energy has passed another milestone as domestic production is now significantly greater than that of nuclear power and continues to close in on oil.
Second quarter of 2011 saw green generation contribute 9.6% per cent of the UK's electricity supply, a 50% rise on 2010
Renewable electricity contributed an all time high of 9.6% of the UK's grid mix in the second quarter of this year, statistics released on Thursday by the Department of Energy and Climate Change have revealed.
The 7.86TWh (terawatt hours) contributed by green energy generators represented a 50% rise on the same time last year.
The surge in green energy was led by the wind energy sector, which saw output rise 120% year on year, and hydroelectricity where output rose 75% year on year.
Nuclear energy also saw a large rise, increasing by 38% to 17.44TWh, making up 21% of the UK's overall supply, its highest since 2006. The performance put nuclear on a par with coal, which recorded 18.14TWh of output, making up 22% of all electricity generated.
Gas still made up 44% of UK electricity supply, but this was well down on last year's 53%. Gas output fell 18.3% to 36.37TWh.
Total electricity supplied by all generators in the second quarter of 2011 was 1.7% lower than a year earlier, while final consumption of electricity fell by 1.6%.
The large increase in low carbon generation is partly the result of weather-related variations. For example, wind energy output was relatively low during the second quarter of 2010, while the mild spring will have contributed to the fall in overall energy use.
However, supporters of renewable energy will also point to a steady increase in capacity evidenced by the opening of new offshore wind farms and biomass power plants as one of the factors behind the sector's strong performance.
The statistics also confirm Scotland's leading role in renewable electricity. In 2010, the country had around 20% more renewables generating capacity than England, although generation south of the border was actually 45% higher owing to intensive use of biofuels.
Similarly, 2010 wind generation in Scotland was nearly one third more than in England, and almost five times greater than in Wales.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/29/renewable-energy-record-high
Source: http://feeds.importantmedia.org/~r/IM-cleantechnica/~3/VCcyFIOqI3E/
Green taxes aim to drive up the cost of fossil fuels and help fund investment in renewable alternatives - but they remain controversial
There seems to be so much confusion and controversy around at the moment about so-called green taxes. Just what is the truth? How much are they adding to our fuel bills? And what is the revenue raised being used for? Are green taxes on energy the best way to address climate change and energy insecurity in the years and decades ahead?
M Hamilton, by email
The rising cost of our energy bills is one of the UK's most heated political debates. Everyone has a view, it seems, but there indeed seems to be very little clarity about what constitutes the "truth" when it comes to correctly attributing the causes.
On the one hand, you have politicians blaming the "Big Six" energy suppliers for, if not colluding on prices, then at least having a "stranglehold" on the market. In contrast, you have other politicians blaming most of the price increases, not on rising wholesale fuel prices across the world, as some claim, but on "green taxes".
Ofgem, the UK's gas and electricity market regulator, stated in January (pdf) that "environmental costs" (described as "government programmes to save energy, reduce emissions and tackle climate change") added 4% and 10% to gas and electricity bills, respectively. But other groups have arrived at much higher percentages, attracting plenty of media coverage in doing so (even if some has since been corrected).
But what about the wider question raised by green taxes: should we as a country, via green taxes and subsidies, be investing now in technologies that help to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and better protect us from future global energy price volatilities? Or should we only concentrate on keeping fuel bills as low as possible today when the financial pressures we face are considerable and immediate?
And if we are to invest in renewable energy for the future, which are the best-bet technologies: wind (offshore vs onshore), tidal, wave, hydro, solar, nuclear, biomass, CCS (carbon capture and storage), or energy efficiency/saving measures? And what of supposedly reduced-carbon energy sources, such as shale gas? Are the current subsidise mechanisms and revenue-raising strategies even the best way to develop such technologies?
Much to discuss, but this column is an experiment in crowd-sourcing a reader's question, so please let us know your own thoughts below (as opposed to emailing them) and, if quoting figures to support your points, please provide a link to the source. I will also be inviting various interested parties to join the debate, too.
? Please send your own environment question to ask.leo.and.lucy@guardian.co.uk.
Or, alternatively, message me on Twitter @LeoHickman
