Clean energy technologies such as battery storage and solar generation could deliver more than half of the required emissions cuts set out in the UK’s Clean Growth Strategy by 2030, a new report from Centrica Business Solutions has concluded. The energy and services firm Powering Sustainability report reveals that distributed energy technologies and energy efficiency technologies could collectively deliver an 11% carbon reduction across the nation’s healthcare, heavy industry and hospitality sectors. Specifically, the report claims that if these technologies were distributed across businesses representing half of each sector, the healthcare sector could cut emissions by 14%, with the figure standing at 11% for heavy industry and 14% for hospitality. Centrica claims that these three sectors collectively account for more than a quarter (27%) of the UK’s overall carbon footprint, making them “key” to the Clean Growth Strategy’s 2030 aim for a 20% reduction in national emissions.
Edie 16th Oct 2018 read more »
The UK’s pursuit of cleaner power means the average Briton’s carbon footprint is now the smallest it has been since the coal-fuelled days of 1859, according to fresh research. A decade after the UK legislated to tackle climate change the Government’s official figures have revealed that the UK is on track to rely on coal for less than 5pc of its electricity for the first time since Industrial Revolution. In total the UK’s carbon emissions are the lowest they have been since 1890, according to analysis from Carbon Brief. But on a per person basis the last time the average carbon footprint was as small as it is today was thirty years before then in 1859. “Coal is yesterday’s fuel,” said Claire Perry, the minister for energy and clean growth. “We’re proud to be leading the world when it comes to getting rid of it, well ahead of our 2025 target.” Energy companies are increasingly turning to clean power to avoid the UK’s carbon tax.
Telegraph 16th Oct 2018 read more »
Nuclear power continues its decline as renewable alternatives steam ahead. Once thought of as the primary answer to the globe’s renewable energy requirements, nuclear energy is now viewed unfavourably in comparison to solar and wind alternatives. Last year, the largest nuclear power builder in history went bankrupt. Japanese conglomerate Toshiba’s prolific subsidiary Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy after revealing billions of dollars of cost overruns on its US construction projects. At the start of 2018, Toshiba agreed to sell the business for $4.6bn. The high-profile sale followed the French Government’s €5.3bn ($6.2bn) bailout of state-owned nuclear company Areva, which went technically bankrupt after a cumulative six-year
loss of $12.3bn.
World Finance 15th Oct 2018 read more »