Plans for New Wave Power Project
June 28, 2006 at 10:16 am
A proposal has been put forward for a new wave power project, the Siader scheme on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. It is a joint project between major UK renewables company npower renewables and Scottish based wave power company Wavegen.
The project involves development of a new breakwater with a built in wave energy project using power of the ocean’s swells as they hit land. Once working, the project will generate 3 megawatts of electricity from the powerful Atlantic waves.
There are obstacles the project will face, most importantly the availability of a connection to the electricity grid but project representatives are determined that with all parties working together, this project could be the gateway to the best wave resource in the UK. Bill Langley from npower renewables commented that “So much has been said about using wave power to generate electricity and those words are now beginning to be turned into actions”.
The next step is now a feasibility study which will take place over the next sixth months. This will include a simulation of the project at Wavegen’s test facility as well as an investigation into the design, size, location and cost of the project.
Football Matches Provoke Power Surges.
June 19, 2006 at 2:10 am
The National Grid predicted huge power surges when demand for electricity increased during and after the England matches. Before our first game against Paraguay they forecast an increase of 1,500 megawatts, the equivalent to 600,000 kettles switching on at once.
People getting up to make a cuppa during half time and after the match has traditionally meant that there is a huge power surge at these particular times across the country. The biggest ever surge was seen in 1990 during the England and West Germany penalty shootout when there was a 2,800 megawatt increase. The next somewhat tense match against Trinidad and Tobago last Thursday saw the “biggest World Cup power surge at full time” say the National Grid, with a surge of 1400 Megawatts – equivalent to 560,000 kettles being switched on at once.
National Grid engineers are ensuring that power stations have the capacity to generate enough electricity to meet these peak demands but Energywatch are at the same time urging people to conserve energy where possible during the World Cup.
You can make a difference by following simple advice such as:
- Turn your TV sets off standby mode after the game
- Don’t overfill your kettle so you are only using the correct amount of energy to make that cup of tea.
- Remember to recycle all those beer cans if you are not opting for a cuppa during the match!
Plants to Power our Future
June 7, 2006 at 3:26 am
Biomass refers to a range of living or dead plant material, vegetation or agricultural waste which can be used to produce power, heat & steam and fuel through various different processes. Biofuel can be produced by burning biomass and can be used as a more environmentally friendly source of electricity as fewer emissions are released than when burning fossil fuels.
At present only 1% of the UK’s electricity and heat generation is from biomass with crops such as elephant grass and coppice willow being burnt to fuel power stations and heat some public buildings. There are several obvious advantages of using biomass for energy generation which should make the government keen to pursue this option of energy generation for the future.
Using crops as an energy source means:
- Carbon emissions are reduced
- New markets are created for farmers to produce the crops
- We can use resources we already have and can produce here – less reliance on imports
As well as these reasons, the increased use of biomass for energy generation would contribute to the government’s targets of producing 10% of electricity from renewables by 2010 and double that by 2020.
The government do seem to be taking biomass energy generation seriously with a 12 point plan announced in April with actions including grants for biomass boilers and a new biomass energy centre opening offering information and advice as well as considering using biomass for heating government buildings.
Fuel company Greenergy Bioenergy Ltd are taking a positive step forward by developing a 30 megawatt biomass power station in Teesside which will start operating next year, burning willow chips, logs, sawmill and recycled timber and producing enough electricity to power 30,000 homes.
Like all new developments in the energy industry, there are some negatives. Some people are worried that growing the crops used to power biomass plants will have a negative effect on the lanscape as some of the crops grow to quite a height. Tall crops however seem to me much less of an intrusion than a nuclear plant nearby or even the towering wind turbines of a wind farm on your doorstep.
Public Vote for Renewables
June 2, 2006 at 6:26 am
The BBC have had an electricity calculator on their site for a few months where the public have been able to select where they would like to see electricity generated from by 2020. The choices were: fossil fuels, nuclear, renewables and imports and there was a selection for reducing demand. Renewables came out top with 36%, followed by nuclear at 28%, fossil fuels at 21% and relying on imports not surprisingly unpopular at only 4%.
The director of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) said that the results showing a mix of technologies was in line with what energy experts recommended as important for a future facing possible shortages with the closure of coal and nuclear plants.
Another poll, commissioned by the DTI confirmed that the public fully supported renewable development with 85% in favour and 60% saying they would be happy to live close to a wind farm. Are new renewable developments welcomed much more easily than nuclear plants? Well, another poll in January showed that 68% of the British population supported further development of renewables, and 54% accepted new nuclear power stations if they helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
So, the public vote firstly for more renewable development and then for new nuclear power, but will this happen? Unfortunately we don’t make the decisions.
The DTI’s energy review is released in July, making recommendations on the government’s future energy mix. Let’s hope that strong emphasis is put on renewable developments, perhaps not getting quite to the high the level that the public would like, but at least to the extent where emissions are reduced and we are producing a higher percentage of the energy we require ourselves.
You can take a look at the electricity calculator here.
