July 29th, 2009
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!
Tags: alternative energy, Biomass Boiler, Eco Schools, education | Posted in Biofuels, Climate Change, News, Sustainable Energy
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July 22nd, 2009
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!
Tags: alternative energy, Global Warming, oil production, wind farms rejected, Wind Turbines | Posted in Climate Change, News, Sustainable Energy
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June 1st, 2009
Rather naively I simply assumed that wind generated energy was a great idea: no burning of coal or oil or dangerous nuclear technology, just wind – that has to be a good thing surely!? I have to admit that now I am not so sure.
DART: Dorset Against Rural Turbines has a great website and it has turned my initial preconception regarding wind turbines on its head. DARTs prime concern is the proposal to erect four wind turbines at East Stoke, clearly visible from the historic town of Wareham.
Personally I struggle with the aesthetic argument, not because it not a very valid point, but because it has never stopped anyone before. Power stations are not exactly easy on the eye, neither are electricity pylons, but governments do not refuse their construction because they are ugly blots on the landscape. Wind Turbines are not pretty either, but will that really stand in the way of our energy needs?
DART’s money over common sense argument is particularly interesting. If the science does not stack up, then why is the government continuing with the scheme? The simple answer appears to be £’s. Surely we have wasted enough time and money on destructive forms of energy generation than to go down another dead-end with this one?
Apparently British Gas sending out 52 million energy saving light bulbs across the UK, will slash carbon emissions by nine million tonnes whereas the most optimistic estimate of a wind farm’s carbon saving is only 20,000 tonnes. Meaning we would need to build 450 wind farms to achieve the same carbon saving as changing our light bulbs! As well as these and other frightening statistics on the DART site there are also some shocking pictures of birds cleanly cut in half … again something I had never considered.
I admit it – I’m confused. Is wind energy really a bad thing? Should we be concentrating on wave generating power or will that electrify our fishes? I genuinely want to know. Any comments very welcome…
Tags: alternative energy, British Gas, carbon emissions, energy saving, light bulbs, Wind Turbines | Posted in Climate Change, Local Councils
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