Green Energy Blog

5 Green living tweeps you should be following

Now this is by no means an exhaustive list however it is a great starting for and allows for you to access the latest green news from a variety of viewpoints and opinions. This will help give you a better understanding of the big issues and allow you to provide more accurate commentary when discussing it on your blog or even just in general.

1. @Treehugger.com

Tree hugger is a pretty big deal in renewable energy circles; they were voted top sustainability blog in 2007 and they also featured in Time Magazine’s top 25 blog index back in 2009. 

2. @huffpostgreen

Huff Post Green is a sub-section of the excellent Huff Post online news paper, it is a great way of keeping up to date on the latest goings on now just with renewable energy but the welfare of the planet as a whole.

3. @350

350.org is a Global community working together to combat climate change. They operate in 188 countries throughout the world and carry out some really inspiring stuff. It’s worth following them just to keep up to date on their latest projects etc.

4. @Planetgreen

Planetgreen.com is friendly and accessible site owned by the Discovery channel. They offer a wealth of information on green living but give it a popular slant so it is easy to get involved with the content. They offer a great range of everyday tips and advice for living a green life.

5. @Guardianeco

A great way of keeping in touch with the latest green news, with some excellent commentary. The twitter feed is operated by the same team that run the www.environmentguardian.co.uk

 

 

Polls show UK supports renewable energy initiatives.

A recent opinion poll has suggested that the majority of people in the UK have shown that they regard the Government subsidies for wind power development as a good deal.

The poll was commissioned by trade body RenewableUK, and it concluded that 43% of people see the UK subsidy as good value for money against 18% of people who do not.

Another survey carried out recently has also shown a large majority of people are in favour of renewable energy.

These results have been well timed and have arrived just ahead of the Clean Energy Ministerial a summit that will bring ministers from more than 20 different countries to London to talk about low-carbon energy.

The survey is the most recent signal of strong public backing for renewable energy, the signal is further strengthened by the YouGov poll for Scottish Renewables that found 71% of Scots were in support of wind power, and a separate survey last week that showed as many as 67% of respondents were in favour of increasing the use of wind power.

At the moment as little as 9.5% of electricity in the UK is from renewable sources. Because of this relatively low number Friends of the Earth is worried that the government is doing more to encourage a "dash for gas" by making gas-fired power plants exempt from the emissions restrictions that other plants face.

These polls are the most recent moves by those in the renewable energy sector to retaliate against what is seen as the Treasury’s “anti-green” movement.

The Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has came out strong in his defence of a push for a "renewables revolution" this is flying in the face of criticism from US businessman and celebrity opposer of wind farms Donald Trump, who has regularly been quoted bemoaning  plans to build a number of offshore turbines near his new Aberdeenshire golf course.

Is renewable energy right for your home?

Green energy technologies like solar panels, biomass heaters and wind turbines can offer an excellent alternative to the more common fossil fuels and can help reduce your homes CO₂ output.

Investing in a renewable energy system these days, is essentially buying energy at current prices in order to protect from future increases. So if fuel prices rise, your outlay would be recouped even sooner.

Now before you rush out and invest in one of these systems, it’s a good idea to find out your current energy usage and do as much as you can to reduce it. As a lower energy requirement means a smaller and therefore cheaper renewable/low carbon energy system would be sufficient.

Green energy technology can supply our homes with power for lighting, electronic devices and even the pumps in our heating systems.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology:

Solar modules work by converting sunlight into electricity for use in the home or to export to the national grid. Basic domestic solar units are around 2.2 kW in size, and can provide approximately 1,850 kWh a year. This is over 40% of the electricity used by an average household. This technology is one of the easiest to install, has no actual moving parts and the government Feed-in Tariff payments actually help to make it a reasonable investment.

Wind turbines

Small-scale wind turbines can be either integrated into the local electricity grid or operate as an off-grid device, charging batteries when excess electricity is generated. Location is paramount, on a good site domestic wind turbines are an excellent option in terms of actual energy output. Ideally the site should have a minimum average yearly wind speed of at least 5 metres per second with a clear flow of wind.

Wood fuelled heating

A wood fuelled system is a strong option to consider if you have no available access to natural gas as a fuel but you do have plenty of space for both the boiler and fuel storage. Recently more people have been choosing to replace oil or coal based heating systems with a wood fuelled system.

Choosing the right option

In order to choose the most suitable renewable energy technology for your requirements, you need to check your energy bills to find out how much you are actually using.  It’s also worth finding out how much you are paying per unit (kWh) of electricity and heating fuel you use. This information will make it easier for you to calculate the savings you can expect by installing a renewable energy system.

Scottish Hydro to name new Clydeside Arena...

Plans were confirmed today, for the latest state-of-the-art addition to Scotland’s entertainment venue line-up. A 12,000 seat, arena style venue shall sit on the Clydeside along with the existing SECC and Clyde Auditorium.

The energy company Scottish Hydro have purchased the naming rights for the venue, which will open in early 2013 as the Scottish Hydro Arena. The deal is believed to be £1.5 million per annum for the next 10 years.

The new arena has been designed by award winning architect Sir Norman Foster of Foster & Partners Architects. And if initial reports are to be believed, the venue is going be living up to some ambitious plans, as management intend for it to hold around 140 major events a year ranging from sport to music.

Chief Executive of Scottish and Southern Energy Ian Marchant certainly seems proud of the deal stating “The Scottish Hydro Arena is a significant investment for us and shows the strength of our commitment to Scotland….. This exciting partnership will enable us to provide an array of attractive benefits to our customers and staff right across the country, bringing an entertainment experience to Glasgow we are all very proud of.”

If the figures shown at the moment are to be believed then the venue could be fantastic for Scotland. Forecasts are claiming the venue should bring approximately 1 million visitors generating £131 million a year for the Scottish economy.

Keep up-to-date with the plans online at http://www.hydro.co.uk/

The green finger points at...

 

I call it the green finger - the attention placed on the ecological / environmental efforts of certain organisations and industries:  supermarkets, car manufacturers, fashion labels. 

Now, most of these will happily have the green finger pointed at them because it gives them a chance to show their environmental commitment, and it's a way for one organisation to steal a lead on the others - the benefits of competition.

But some industries, it seems, don't get prodded by the green finger too much - you don't hear an awful lot about green hospitals for instance, although this article on green news has some info.

There's no doubt about the future - one day all business, all human endeavour will be carbon neutral - this won't happen because of ideology - it'll happen because in the end there'll be no better way of doing things. Of course some industries area goint to turn green faster than others - that's to be expected - and nobody expects to see Formula 1 running on electricity or hydrogen just yet - although that day will surely arrive at some point.

What industries do you think are currently striving for greenness the most?

 

 

 

Energy futures

The recent events in Japan have naturally opened up a debate in the broadsheets about nuclear power and whether the benefits (cheap, no carbon) are outweighed by the potential for accidents like Chernobyl, which happened almost exactly 25 years ago.

There are no easy answers, of course. Climate change from burning stuff or the worry about acts of God like what's been in the news this weekend.

My guess has always been that nuclear is a transitional technology, and that when humankind has learnt to fully harness solar, wind and sea power, then we'll look back at nuclear as well as coal burning like carthorses in the age of engines.

Until then, hopefully we can continue to learn to make nuclear as safe as possible for everyone concerned.

electricity is changing

 

OK, electricity itself isn't actually changing, that would be a bit scary. But the way it's produced is changing.

The pace of change seems to have speeded up lately - the internet has become something people access from a phone. Electric cars are on sale. Eggs cost about four times what they used to cost. This were all fields when I were a lad. And so on.

The biggest change in electricity production is the move away from coal fired power stations. Amazing structures though they were (just look at Battersea power Station for awesomeness) coal burning is yesterday's way generating the juice. Electricity companies now use a mix of sources, with renewables on the increase, and more on the way if government renewables targets are any indication of the future.

For the consumer, the next big change is going to be how electricity use is measured in the home - with smart monitors that give the user a whole lot more knowledge about their energy use. And as we all know knowledge is power - green power.

 

Standby is a waste of electricity

 

I never use the standby function on devices. For me it's either have the device switched on or off, but don't leave it in some kind of limbo where its switched on but not actually doing anything.

So I was pleased to read recently that not using standby saves a bit of electricity and money, since a television on standby will still use electricity and provide nothing in return. Figures on the web vary regarding the consumption a television will have - some say 1 watt, some say 80% of full running power. The difference may be to do with whether it's a modern type device or not. But if in doubt, switch the thing off when not in use. It makes sense. 

Talking of money-saving ideas, I'd be interested to see energy companies data regarding low electricity users. The lowest I ever managed was £70 for a quarter but I have read of people getting the elctricity as low as £15 a quarter. Not that I would want to emulate that feat, just to see how many are able to do it.

 

 

Boiler scrappage - energy savings?

Taking adavntage of the boiler scrappage scheme, my folks got a new boiler the other week. I went up to visit them at the weekend and see how they were getting on with it.

They were very pleased that the old condemned boiler was gone for good, and doubly pleased that the space it took up was now space again, as the new boiler is so small it goes on the wall in another room.

Unfortunately the boiler's so new I've not been able to find out if their fuel bills have gone down yet, but when the quarterly bill comes in I'll get them to estimate the savings made. The house isn't the right size for a combi boiler, and they like their central heating, so it will be interesting to see if there's efficiency savings there.

Remember the days when your boiler looked like a Dalek wrapped in a crash mat? Them days are gone! And the environment is thankful...

1000 green jobs for Scotland

A couple of interesting news reports for you today:

the first is a report in energyhelpline.com that brings the welcome news of energy rebates for some UK pensioners. read the news here.

and the second is an interesting development as reported in today's Evening Times (Glasgow) - green energy company Scottish & Southern Energy are teaming up with Japanese giant Mitsubishi to work on a new green hi-tech centre of excellence, with 100 jobs being created.