Green Energy UK

Plans are afoot for another energy development project in Scotland. The difference is that this time it is from the other side of the fence. A US-led consortium called the Summit Power Group is intending to build a “clean” coal based power plant in Grangemouth. The plan is that the plant will be designed to capture over 90% of CO2 emissions once it begins generating energy.
However Summit Power have made it quite clear that whilst they are happy to build their new carbon capture and storage facility in Scotland the plan will only go ahead if they win some serious financial backing from UK’s next carbon capture and storage (CCS) funding round.
The proposal is titled the Caledonia Clean Energy project and has been hailed as one of the most ambitious yet in the highly competitive race to build a fully functioning commercial carbon power station in the UK.

A number of CCS proposals from all over the UK have already been shot down for one reason or another. That includes Longannet in Fife which at that time was one of the most developed projects in the UK. Another application from PEEL Energy to apply some CCS technology on their new coal-fired plant in Ayrshire was met with the largest number of objections in Scottish planning history.

However environmental groups are worried that whilst Summit Power Group’s plans for 90% carbon capture are a great move for the environment. The fact that they intend to use the CO2 captured to pump out oil from hard to reach places has resulted in massive concerns from environmental and wildlife groups – with many stating they will only lend support if this element of the plan is removed.

What are your thoughts on the proposal, is it a fair deal?

Stumbled across a great video this week from the guys at greenenergynet.com, they are interviewing a man who lives up in the Pentland hills and has made a number of changes to his home in order to make it more energy efficient.
I just found it quite interesting hearing someone talk you through how they went about making their home more energy efficient and the plan that they had.

SSE - The parent company of regional energy companies SWALEC, Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro and Atlantic have announced plans to build a £7 million state-of-the-art operations and training centre.

The new facility is expected to create in the region of 250 jobs. The project is being fully supported by the Welsh Government with an investment of around £2 million earmarked to ensure the project goes ahead.

SSE Chief Executive, Ian Marchant said: “Today’s announcement shows the strength of our commitment to Wales.”

You can read the whole story at 4-traders.com

Granite could be Scotland’s latest green energy win. It’s a substance that’s
always been in plentiful supply in Scotland and Aberdeen is known throughout
the world as the “Granite City”.

Yet lately there has been an increasing interest in this grey rock as
experts are starting to whisper about a second energy boom for Scotland. This
would be yet another green energy source for Scotland and could go along way to
helping attract even more investment.

But…. How do rocks generate energy?

In short they don’t. However about four miles down from the earths surface,
the temperature rises by around 150°C. But in areas with granite rock, the
temperature can increase by as much as 210°C. This is roughly the temperature
around which hot springs can form, like the kind used for bathing. The
difference is scientists now believe that these same “hot rocks” can actually provide
a valuable source for electricity generation. The most important thing is that
if this source can be harnessed efficiently it is yet another feasible green
energy source for Scotland.

Initial plans have shown that a prototype geothermal energy plant could be
built somewhere between Aberdeen and Peterhead, and could generate round £750
million of investment in its first decade.

However the whole concept is reliant on whether or not this hot granite can
generate enough energy to make further investment a feasible concept.

Great news, not just for the planet but for Back to the Future fans aswell. Iconic car maker DeLorean has finally decided to make an all electric model that according to the prototype is staying remarkably similar to the movie’s original DMC-12. CEO Steve Wynn certainly has a clear idea regarding who will be buying it ”I know my market well, and there are certain things we won’t mess with,”.

Inside, it’s a luxurious affair - there are leather seats, sat-nav, a sporty steering wheel and even an ipod dock. the car is expected to have a pricetag of around £65,000.

Read More….

Courtesy of DeLorean

Dual fuel is the name given to your energy package when you get gas and electricity from the same energy company. So for example if you were to get a bill for electricity from one company and a bill for your gas from another, then you would not be classed as a dual fuel customer.

What’s the difference between dual fuel and single fuel?

For some people there is no difference between having a dual fuel or single fuel package. Yet, a lot of people prefer having dual fuel deals because of the extra benefits that are usually included.

So what are these dual fuel benefits?

Dual fuel is the energy suppliers preferred choice as it means they have all your business, and in order to get you to take dual fuel with them they usually offer some perks. Here are some of the most common:
• In the majority of cases dual fuel will be the cheapest option compared to other packages. Most of the big energy suppliers will offer what tends to be known as a dual fuel discount. So if you decide to sign up for dual fuel with them you will be able to get either a monthly or annual discount applied to your energy bills.
• A lot of people take out dual fuel packages solely for convenience. All of your bills will be from the one company, and some suppliers can even provide you a combined bill to make things that bit easier.
• You only need to deal with one company. Be it complaints, billing queries or even if you just need some general help; you’ll only have to deal with the one supplier.

How easy is it to switch?
Actually there’s very little you need to do when switching. It’s simply a case of applying to your chosen supplier and they do the rest including dealing with your current company. Now the good news is that you’re not limited by having to switch to one of your current suppliers, you can easily switch either one or both of your fuels whatever works out cheaper.

Now it’s extremely rare, but there are some circumstances where dual fuel may not be the cheapest option so be sure and check the prices etc.

A technology that will charge electric cars without the need for cables is to make its debut in the UK. Two Citroen C1 cars have been fitted by this new system as part of the trials conducted by Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators (CABLED) testing programme.

This new technology has been designed by a New Zealand company, HaloITP. It allows electric cars to charge whilst parked on a pad rather than being plugged in using cables. A HaloITP pad charging system will be installed at the motorist’s home or work and as a backup; E.ON will install public charge points in Birmingham and Coventry. The trial is expected to produce valuable information into the way motorists will use the wireless charging system.

This is just the first part in the company’s ambitions. HaloIPT hope that some time in the future, the system can be installed on roads across the country and allow electric cars to charge up whilst on the move. This would change the way people view the electric car and would remove the need to stop and charge.

Interesting review of Fiat’s eco:Drive in the always interesting Business Green online magazine right now.

Basically eco:Drive is an application that can help you to apply some eco smarts to car driving. This is the first mass- available application of this type I’ve seen - and it’s early days for this kind of stuff, but it’s a crucial step in what’s not only the right direction but an interesting one too. I predict we’ll all have something along these lines sooner rather than later!

Well just when it looked like the winter was over, what do we get but more snow. Well, I didn’t but there were many areas that did. I just got sleety rain.

Even though the weather’s still not exactly tropical, it is warmer. Having the heating on in the evenings becomes a choice rather than a necessity, small mercies and all that.

But some of our energy use is down simply to habit. I’d love to see a scientific behavioural study on this, as I reckon there’s people with naturally low energy habits and people who - for whatever reason, use more. Back in ye olden times when I lived in a shared flat, you’d occasionally have flatmates who tore through the energy like nobody’s business - the one who had the washing machine on every single night, the one who had the gas fire on full in the middle of April. I reckon in both these cases it was down to upbringing - they lived in households where that was the norm.

All of which brings me to my point - I got so used to switching the heating on every evening during the cold snap that it’s become a bit of a habit - ok, so nobody wants the living room to be chilled like a mausoleum, but getting the habit of reducing the temperature as spring continues to bring a bit more warmth - that’s the new habit to get into. Like probably many other Scottish gas consumers, I’m looking to save a few bob as well as be environmental, so this is my spring resolution.

Interesting video on the future of energy/ electric infrastructure: