Power cuts to sweep across the UK
September 24, 2008 at 1:58 am
The UK might face a series of drastic and unavoidable power cuts over the next ten years because we don’t have the infrastructure in place to cope with the planned closures of some of our nuclear and coal power plants.
According to a research led by Ian Fells at Newcastle University, the UK will lose a third of its energy producing capacity over the next twelve years. Fells has made his point quite clear to the press and to the government and warns of hospitals having to slow right down and schools possibly having to close. It could bring the major cities to their knees overnight, believes Fell, the chairman of the Renewable Energy Centre, which is a rich resource for those wishing to make moves either commercially or residentially with renewable energy. It could mean mass unemployment and possibly the loss of life, if people such as the elderly and the very poor are cut-off.
Fells isn’t the first to warn the UK about this. The National Grid spotted a problem in 2007 and tried to warn the government that fuel prices would rise sharply and the UK would eventually find themselves with mass shortages in fuel. Gordon Brown’s government has pushed forward plans to build new nuclear power plants, but these take years to build and might not be ready in time to stop this imminent black-out.
There hasn’t seemed to be enough ground made with renewable energy providers yet. The target for renewable energy sources by 2010 is 10% but this is currently falling short at only 6%. Fells has called for electricity lines to be laid connecting the UK with European countries such as Denmark and France in order to be prepared for the power cuts.
Turn you car (half) electric
September 17, 2008 at 2:24 pm
We’ve heard of battery-powered cars. We’ve heard of being able to plug your mobile phone charger into your car battery. Now imagine something in between.
The Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) have pioneered a potentially revolutionary device which could see us able to convert our existing petrol or diesel powered cars into battery powered models.
A battery pack, which contains three removable 30kw cassettes can be linked to the existing car and used to power the engine alongside petrol. You can either charge the batteries at the mains in your homes, or in the car whilst in motion from the engine power itself. So you could then oscillate the running of the car between the two sources of power and create a hybrid.
It’s not quite a battery-powered car because all the battery’s power is to the rear wheels. The front wheels are still petrol powered. But the point is this device will drastically reduce your fuel bill. MIRA are claiming average consumption will jump from 39 miles per gallon to 64 miles per gallon. The speed isn’t a great deal different, they say, either.
Tests are currently being carried out on the Skoda Fabia and MIRA are very excited about the positive nature of the results so far. There hasn’t been a launch date set yet but it looks as though it will be some time in the next year. With a claimed 61% drop in fuel bills, and the environmental factors, it might turn out to be on next year’s most-wanted car upgrade.
A Sainsburys made from wood and run on biomass boiler
September 11, 2008 at 1:51 pm
The supermarket giants Sainsburys have managed to get their message across to us all (with the help of their good old reliable and lovable spokesman Jamie Oliver) that we should ‘try something new every day’. It seems they have surpassed themselves this time with this statement and it’s relating this time to the actual store rather than what’s on the shelves.
Last month saw the grand opening of the jewel in the Sainsburys’ crown: a supermarket made entirely out of wood rather than steel, constructed using environmentally-friendly methods, and recycling 90% of the waste materials in the process of construction. And to top it all, the store will be powered by burning local wood chips.
It’s not uncommon for large commercial companies such as Sainsburys to make big ‘green’ moves such as this to gain brownie points with the environmentalists but the Commercial Director at Sainsburys, Neil Sachdev, is keen to stress that the new store in Dartmouth, Devon, is not a one-off for the company but the start of the future for their stores’ construction.
The store has benefits for Sainsburys as well as the planet as they predict their energy bill will drop by about a third annually. Sainsburys aren’t the only ones to make such a move as this, as Marks and Spencer were on the case with a green store in Bournemouth last year and Tesco have four environmentally friendly stores ready to go. Every little helps.
The Age of Space Power?
September 3, 2008 at 2:31 pm
It may seem like a long way into the future but by 2040 Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) intends to have a fully functioning orbital power station.
Since the launch of the first satellites we have been producing electricity in orbit. The ISS (International Space Station) provides for all its power needs using solar panel technology, as do all modern satellites.
The orbital power station will be put into a geostationary orbit and will beam the power collected back to earth using microwaves with a lower intensity than those emitted by mobile phones.
The design process was completed in July 1993 and construction began in 2000.
The solar array will consist of two giant solar panels, both 1km by 3km in size; it will be capable of providing the same electricity output as a large nuclear or thermal power station.
The system has major advantages over ground-based solar panels, nuclear power and thermal (gas or coal) power stations. It will be able to produce electricity 24/7 365 days a year. It also has the advantage of not being affected by clouds or daily cycles; it will always be in sunlight. It also produces no carbon dioxide and has no safety concerns linked with nuclear power. Once in position, it will have no environmental impact at all.
Due to increasing fuel prices and dwindling fossil fuel reserves NASA has also recently decided to revisit the idea that they developed in the 1970’s. They intend to have a small-scale prototype in orbit by 2014 and have even grander visions for the future.
A recent NASA report suggests that 100 such football pitch sized facilities will be able to collect as much solar energy per year as the total amount of energy contained within the known oil reserves on earth today.
