Surely the announcement of a £1billion investment in wind farm off the coast of Dorset is a matter of civic pride and not a threat. That’s the hope which Guy Madgwick, Director of Business at Eneco, the company hoping to undertake the project, expressed in the Bournemouth Echo.
Not only could the construction create up to 2,300 jobs, but the site itself could generate power for approximately 587,000 homes.
The area being considered for the new wind farm is roughly 25km out to sea and stretches from south of the Needles on the Isle of Wight to the Purbecks. It will only be visible in the distance on clear days so could not be considered an eyesore.
The UK is apparently the windiest country in Europe and with wind generated power currently the most developed and effective of alternative energy sources, the project seems to present an exciting win-win situation.
A-list US celebrities gathered together by proactive environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, initiated a serious Green campaign on January 29th geared towards mobilizing Americans to get involved with forcing the hand of US environmental policy. A selection of the USA’s best-known celebrities including, Edward Norton, Jason Bateman, Felicity Huffman and Forest Whitaker, along with rising stars Chace Crawford, Emmy Rossum and Justin Long, are leading the This is Our Moment campaign to bring the need for clean energy to the fore in Washington.
Whereas here in the UK, following what some see and the complete failure of the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, there is a sense that our leaders are not prepared to listen to us or act upon important green issues. People who feel strongly about green issues in the UK are starting to turn away from politicians for help and look to take positive action on a grassroots, local community level.
However in the US political system, mass lobbying has always had significant sway over US policy. Supported by mainstreaming celebrities, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the very latest viral and public forum technologies, the This is our Moment movement is designed to help Americans contact their senators, flood their email boxes, make videos and generally get interactive in pushing for an American clean energy bill. Given the negative global press generated by the Bush administrations restrictive environmental attitudes, this new campaign breathes fresh air into the environmental struggle not just in America, but the world at large.
Ensus is building Europe’s largest wheat refinery at Wilton in Teesside, intending to meet one third of the UK’s bioethanol demand.
Biofuels help combat climate change because the crops from which they are produced absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. Carbon dioxide is released as they are burned, but absorbed by new crops again, making a complete cycle.
There will undeniably be a huge impact on the UK’s wheat producing farmers and concern about how they will cope in years of poor harvest. Even environmental campaigners, Friends of the Earth are claiming that the potential deforestation to produce new farmland is just not worth it. Ensus insists however that the wheat supply will be provided by EU countries only and will also contribute to animal feed, therefore reducing the need for soya meal which comes from areas of deforestation.
So are biofuels worthwhile? On the positive side, they massively reduce carbon emissions and are cheap to the consumer. On the negative side they could result in deforestation and the destruction of animal habitats. In addition to this, biofuel production is not yet energy efficient.
Do we need to look at the bigger picture and regard biofuels as a work in progress, living in hope that this is a step in the right direction?
Vestas is considered to be number 1 in modern energy, with 20% of market share and more than 38,000 wind turbines worldwide. So why did our government allow the closure of Vestas in the Isle of Wight, our only UK turbine manufacturer? What happened to their ‘green promise’ that supported the installation of 10,000 wind turbines in the UK by 2020?
To add insult to injury the government managed to find £340m to bail out Airbus, the company who likes to promote itself as an ‘environmentally benign organisation’. Currently Airbus are advertising their plan to cut fuel emissions by 2%.
2% in a rapidly growing industry, about to be responsible for potentially catastrophic fuel emissions is of what use exactly? In addition to this and very interestingly, Airbus’s Chief Executive claimed a government bail-out was not necessary and what was actually required was a ‘functioning financial system’ to be set in place.
This is brilliant! Finally an environmental grassroots movement that gets everyone involved, engaged and empowered to actually do something, no matter how small, to effect climate change and make a difference. Finally a reasonable time scale, not some distant date 10:10 and finally, some Action!
It’s a shame that the people are having to lead the government by the nose on an issue as critical as climate change, especially when they are supposed to have our best interests at heart, but perhaps I am being naive. Ken Livingstone phrased it neatly when he reflected that many of the Labour party “are afraid of losing a Daily Mail reader in Chipping Sodbury.”
10:10 is all about individuals and institutions making a difference by making a personal vow to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2010, be it turning down the heating, eating less mass produced meat, using the car less and the bike more, whatever it takes. I personally take my hat off to Franny Armstrong and everyone involved in getting this campaign off the ground.
Join up now and add your voice to the thousands calling for change!
In a bid to reduce Britain’s dependency on fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil the government has introduced its Renewable Energy Strategy.
Heavily weighed down by its promise to reduce CO2 emissions by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, the government is poised to invest £100 billion into a renewable energy infrastructure, including 7,000 wind turbines by 2020.
All well and good, but the increased cost to the consumer could result in many households facing fuel poverty. It is anticipated that bills will have to rise by 20% to pay for this investment. The average household currently pays approximately £1,150 a year for electricity and gas, the cost of converting to renewable energy and modernising Britain’s power stations could add another £230 to this.
Too bitter a pill to swallow? Then be aware that in all likelihood, as things stand our energy prices will increase anyway, so it’s crucial to make a positive change before it’s too late.
Not only can Portland boast hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing events, but also in September of this year work will commence to create an eco-friendly, low carbon community.
This new development will be sited at the former Royal Navy Air Station’s Osprey Quay. The 77 new homes promise to reduce carbon emissions by more than half compared with conventional properties.
Features will include wood pellet boilers, rainwater harvesting systems, solar water heating and solar panels to generate electricity. In addition to this residents will have the opportunity to pay for access to an electric smart car which will be kept on site.
The developers are expecting the work to take two years to complete. Let’s hope it is successful and the first of many!
St Osmund’s Middle School in Dorchester is proud to be the first school in the South West region to have a wood fuel boiler fitted.
After the schools two 233KW gas boilers broke down it was time to consider an alternative. With the assistance from the Energy Team at Dorset County Council and the South West Bioheat Programme a renewable energy boiler was installed which is equipped to supply and meet all the energy needs of the school.
A biomass boiler uses wood fuel from sustainably managed woodland, biodegradable crops, wastes and residues. The head teacher is delighted as it will save costs in the long term, reduce carbon emissions and teach the children about alternative fuels.
St Osmund’s regard themselves as trailblazers as they are the first Dorset school to have a woodchip biomass boiler installed. The project has consolidated their position within ‘Eco Schools’, which is an award scheme where schools compete to achieve a high ranking in terms of their sustainability.
The south west currently has 30 MW of biomass heat installed, the highest number of biomass boilers in England and the second largest amount of woodland resources after the south east, which makes it ideally placed to grow this sector of renewable energy. Definitely something to be encouraged!
A plan to build six giant wind turbines in Silton the picturesque village near Gillingham, Dorset has been rejected.
Most people accept that there is a pressing need to find alternative sources of energy. However, when it’s on their doorstep, potentially blocking their view, it’s a whole different story!
When are we going to recognise the true gravity of both the global warming crisis and the decline in oil production?
Surely we should be striving to find solutions? The widespread opposition to wind farms is fundamentally down to their appearance, though other half-baked, inaccurate arguments are often deployed.
Let’s hope that the next application, wherever it may be, is better received and that we will have the sense and foresight to put necessity before the narrow-minded, self-centred view of a few people!
It has been one year since the biofuel eco-boat Earthrace won the round-the-world powerboat speed record. The previous record holder was conventionally fuelled Cable and Wireless Adventurer. Incredibly Earthrace took almost two weeks off their time.
The trimaran set off from Sagunto, Spain on 27th April 2008, travelling 23.497 nautical miles. It was fuelled entirely by 100% biofuel and took 60 days and 49 minutes to cross the finishing line back in Spain.
We all know the arguments against using biofuels: devastation of rainforest and wildlife rich wilderness areas, so in the interest of clarity, be assured that the fuel was derived from waste cooking oils or canola oil grown in Europe.
Peter Bethune, skipper and founder of Earthrace showed that it is possible for a marine craft fuelled on biofuels alone, to travel faster and more efficiently across the world’s oceans, than any vessel using conventional fuels.
Surely it time for global governments to start investing in funding further research into alternative and sustainable fuel production together with serious legislation that will limit the damage caused by conventional fuels?
