News November 2017

NFLA

1st November 2017

Manchester primary school pupils talk about the importance of peace: Manchester primary school pupils talk about the importance of peace: Pupils from three primary schools in Manchester have drawn up a unique Peace Plan for their school after getting together to talk about peace and what it means to them. Pupils heard from the Lord Mayor who told them about his visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki earlier this year through the international organisation Mayors for Peace. Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Eddy Newman is quoted.

ITV 26th Oct 2017 read more »

Submarines

1st November 2017

An SNP MP has called on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to speed up the dismantling of decommissioned naval submarines which have been laid up in a Fife dockyard for more than 20 years. Douglas Chapman, whose constituency includes the Port of Rosyth, welcomed a Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) report which found radioactivity doses in the area were well within safe limits, but added the town should not be a ‘sanctuary’ for the vessels. Rosyth dockyard is home to seven decommissioned submarines, the oldest of which, HMS Dreadnought, has been laid up since 1980. Although all the vessels in Fife have been defuelled, they cannot be scrapped until their radioactive parts have been removed – a process that will take decades. The MoD announced in December last year it had finally began this gradual process, beginning with HMS Swiftsure, which has been laid up at Rosyth since 1992. The cost of storing and maintaining them was £1.6 million in 2013/14, down from £3.8m the year before. An MoD spokesman said: “Work is well underway after we began Initial Dismantling last year in Rosyth as planned. Our priority is to ensure that submarine dismantling is undertaken in a safe, secure, cost-effective and environmentally sound manner.” Dr Paul Dale of SEPA, said its report demonstrated the public was protected against sources of radioactivity which could impact on our food and the wider natural environment. He added: “The report represents a collaborative effort by all agencies to carry out rigorous annual monitoring, to ensure dose levels are well within international limits.”

Scotsman 31st Oct 2017 read more »

Barrow-built nuclear submarines ‘cannibalised’ on the production line to maintain Royal Navy fleet. Astute-class nuclear submarines had parts stripped during build – costing taxpayer millions.

NW Evening Mail 31st Oct 2017 read more »

Biogas

1st November 2017

Significant interest in Biogest servicing know-how in the UK. Biogest wins three further contracts for technological and biological services for agricultural biogas plants. Converting biogas into biomethane, which can then be fed into the natural gas grid, is a highly efficient method of converting and supplying power. This allows the efficiency of biogas plants to be almost doubled and, unlike electricity, biomethane can be transported with significantly lower network losses. The EU BIOSURF project is working on the international tradability and certification of biomethane which will offer greater independence from national legislation and consequently enormous opportunities for the economically attractive use of biomethane.

Biogest 31st Oct 2017 read more »

WHERE there’s muck there’s, brass, rings the old saying, but now it has emerged that waste and by-products generated in Scotland – more than 27 million tonnes of biomaterials – could add hundreds of millions of pounds to the country’s economy. A new report Biorefining Potential for Scotland, from Zero Waste Scotland, gives a detailed insight into the “circular economy” potential for waste products in the bioeconomy sector. The group, which supports the Scottish Government’s target of reducing food waste by a third by 2025, said Scotland is recognised as a world leader in the circular economy, which is aimed at limiting waste by keeping materials and products in “high-value use” for as long as possible. Maximising value from “bio resources” is seen as a priority area, with the best chance of delivering economic, environmental and social benefits for Scotland in Holyrood’s circular economy strategy, Making Things Last. It is estimated up to an additional £800 million could be generated for the economy by using food and drink by-products alone. With the right investment, the report said residues from whisky production such as pot ale, food waste from households and hospitality, agricultural residues such as animal manure and unused or misshapen fruit and vegetables, could be put to good use. This can also apply to wastewater sludge from sewage treatment facilities. The report highlights opportunities for new job creation in Scotland, particularly in rural and coastal areas where many of the waste materials are found. Publication of the report coincided with the launch of the dedicated Scottish Bio-Resource Support Service by Scottish Enterprise, which gives data on the type, quantity and location of “bio” materials in Scotland.

The National 1st Nov 2017 read more »

Hydrogen

1st November 2017

The creation of a North West hydrogen (H2) cluster in England could boost the regional economy by £1.6bn ($2.1bn), create over 2,300 peak jobs, reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and help improve the region’s air quality, according to a new report commissioned by Peel. The report outlines how delivery of a H2 network between Greater Manchester and Liverpool could significantly de-carbonise the region’s energy, usher in a new era of H2-fuelled vehicles and cut CO2emissions by 10 million tonnes per year by 2050. It could also improve air quality by reducing particulate matter and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere, produced by the region’s road vehicles. As one of the North’s leading land and property companies, Peel is collaborating with other firms in progression of the exemplar project – with the company’s Protos energy destination near Ellesmere Port a potential central hub for the cluster. It comes shortly after the launch of the UK’s first Energy Innovation District in the North West, an area promoted by the Cheshire Energy Hub to stimulate future energy technology. Release of the report follows details of a conceptual study by Cadent, the gas distribution network operator in the North West, to deliver a major H2 infrastructure project called the ‘Liverpool-Manchester Hydrogen Cluster’.

Gas World 31st Oct 2017 read more »

Manchester Evening News 1st Nov 2017 read more »

Renewables – solar

1st November 2017

The country has one of the world’s biggest solar sectors, but now faces the risk of a bubble. The bidding for the contract to build a huge solar farm in the north of India was remarkable for a number of reasons. Nearly two dozen developers took part, indicating the extent of the competition. The auction, in May, lasted a gruelling 30 hours. And the final result left some in the industry open-mouthed. The winning bid for the 500-megawatt Bhadla solar park in Rajasthan was one of the lowest prices for solar power ever seen anywhere in the world. The companies – Acme Solar, an Indian developer, and SBG Cleantech, a joint venture whose shareholders include SoftBank of Japan – said they would build the project for a guaranteed price of just Rs2.44 ($0.04) for every unit of electricity they eventually sold. It was not quite a world record: even lo wer prices have been achieved in the Middle East and South America. But the result confirmed India’s place at the centre of a global renewables revolution that is driving down the cost of green energy and which represents one of the biggest threats to fossil fuels. Until recently, India’s environmental record has attracted headlines of a different kind. While the government was once accused by some countries of undermining international climate change talks, New Delhi has become one of the world’s most polluted cities. But for many in the Indian energy industry, the Bhadla auction confirmed that the country is undergoing a generational shift from coal-fuelled power to solar and wind. Given that India is already the world’s third-biggest carbon emitter and plans to electrify even its most remote villages within two years, a rapid expansion in the country’s renewables sector would prove a huge boost for attempts to keep global temperature rises below 2C – the target set by the 2015 Paris climate accords.

FT 1st Nov 2017 read more »

Renewables – wind

1st November 2017

The Resilience Centre’s Resilient Energy Mountenays Renewables project aims to help households out of fuel poverty while helping the local community make money from the energy generated. Thanks to investment from Social and Sustainable Capital, the project is helping local people have a connection to the energy generated in and around their area. Money raised from the project gets reinvested in helping homes struggling from fuel poverty through a number of schemes. Andrew Clarke, director of The resilience Centre, said: “Energy is an essential need for everybody. Over 85% of energy generation is in the hands of six large corporations who are run solely for profit. We’re trying to re-localise essential needs for communities so that the actual financial benefits, the environmental benefits can attribute to the communities where it’s needed.”

Energy Voice 1st Nov 2017 read more »

Climate

1st November 2017

In its annual review, the UN says the gap between carbon cutting plans and the reductions required to keep temperature rises below 2 degrees Celsius is “alarmingly high”. Pledges made so far cover only one-third of the cuts needed by 2030 to keep below that goal, the review warns. Even if all the promises are kept, temperatures might still rise by 3 degrees by 2100. However, cost-effective options are available that can close the gap. The UN has published an annual analysis of emissions every year since 2010.

BBC 31st Oct 2017 read more »

Governments should accept that we shall probably be living in a world 3oC warmer than it is today by the end of this century unless they urgently step up the speed at which they cut greenhouse gases, a United Nations assessment says. As things stand, the UN says, even fully implementing the goals of the Paris Agreement (concluded in 2015) will deliver only one third of what is needed for the world to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. It will make “a temperature increase of at least 3 oC by 2100 very likely” – meaning that governments need to deliver much stronger pledges when they are revised in 2020.

Climate News Network 31st Oct 2017 read more »

Guardian 31st Oct 2017 read more »

Independent 31st Oct 2017 read more »

The UNEP report suggest that they still can be closed in a cost-effective manner. The report presents an analysis of the contributions that different sectors of the global economy can make, through adopting existing cost-effective technologies and employing best practices already being deployed in some countries. The report says that “it is remarkable” that a large portion of reductions come from just six specific things: solar energy; wind energy; efficient appliances; efficient passenger cars; aforestation; and stopping deforestation.

Carbon Brief 31st Oct 2017 read more »

Electric Vehicles

1st November 2017

Electric vehicles promised a future without road pollution. Now environmentalists say they may not be as ‘green’ as we think they are – and must get better. Deep underground, in the hot springs of Cornwall, the hunt is on for “white petrol” – otherwise known as lithium. It is one of the metals that is vital to produce the lithium-ion batteries needed to power electric vehicles. Tin miners recorded its presence there more than 100 years ago. And the reason why geologists are interested in these miners’ accounts is the remarkable renaissance of a technology that was, until recently, one of the great technological what-ifs, like the airship and the steam-powered car. Just 10 years ago it would have seemed inconceivable that Jaguar Land Rover would declare that it would make only electric or hybrid cars from 2020, as it announced last month, o r that the Government would decide to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040, as it did in July. There are two essential “ingredients” in the lithium-ion batteries that electric cars (and other products such as mobile phones) currently depend on: lithium and cobalt. And the supply of these key metals is set to challenge the green credentials of the electric car. Manufacturers such as Volkswagen are already scrambling to secure their supply of these key metals for the next 20 years, while producers struggle to increase supply – and in such situations, the environment usually loses. Most of the world’s sup plies of lithium come from the high-altitude lakes and salt flats where Chile, Argentina and Bolivia meet. The fragile environment of the “lithium triangle” is now at risk from the production of lithium, in a global market expected to be worth $75bn (£57bn) by 2025.

The i newspaper 31st Oct 2017 read more »