Carbon capture and storage plant announced

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The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has announced the building of a carbon capture and storage plant that will be capable of capturing 95% of its carbon emissions.

Technology becoming a reality

 

To be in action by the end of 2015, the site for the plant has already been identified and the project has had the approval of the energy minister Charles Hendry.

The £23.5 million investment in carbon capture and storage will be rolled out over two stages; the first sees Costain working with the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London to carry out the front end engineering design work followed by the much costlier stage of building the plant and analysing the results.
ETI chief executive Dr David Clarke said: “Current technologies significantly increase the costs of capturing CO2 and reduce the power output or increase fuel consumption.
“This project will develop technology which will reduce the costs and increase performance to allow a full-scale commercially viable facility to be ready for power export by 2020.”
The government has so far pledged to invest public funds in four carbon capture and storage demonstration projects, and created a requirement for new coal-fired power stations to be built with carbon capture and storage facilities already in place.

The ETI is also commissioning a project to develop and demonstrate next generation carbon capture technologies specifically for gas fired power stations. An announcement on who will carry out the work on this project is expected by early 2012.

Fund opens for home eco heating

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Homes off the gas grid will get help for wood-burning boilers

DECC have this week announced details of the cash payments they are offering to householders to help with the cost of installing renewable heat systems.

Air and ground source heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal panels are technologies that will be eligible for the grants of up to £1250.

The Government’s new £15 million ‘Renewable Heat Premium Payment’ scheme – which will open for applications on 1st August this year until March next year – will support up to 25,000 installations.
The scheme will be mainly focused at around 4 million households in Great Britain not heated by mains gas, who have to rely on higher carbon forms of heating which also tend to be more expensive than gas, such as heating oil and electric fires to keep warm.

Participants will be asked to provide detailed feedback on their experience through a set of surveys.  This will allow Government to gather information to better understand renewable heat technologies.  The Government will also provide, for a significant sample of participants, additional meters for their heating equipment. This will provide more detailed information so DECC can compare manufacturers’ and installers’ claims about performance  with real data on energy use.

Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said:

“Today starts a new era in home heating because we’re making it more economical for people to go green by providing discounts off the cost of eco heaters. This should be great news for people who are reliant on expensive oil or electric heating as the Premium Payment scheme is really aimed at them.

“Getting money off an eco heater will not just cut carbon emissions, it will also help create a market in developing, selling and installing kit like solar thermal panels or heat pumps.”

How to apply

The Premium Payment scheme will be run by the Energy Saving Trust and Householders can call 0800 512 012 for more information.

Grants for the following technologies will be available from August 1st on a first come first served basis

  • Ground Source Heat Pump – £1250 grant (for homes without mains gas heating)
  • Biomass boiler – £950 grant (for homes without mains gas heating)
  • Air source heat pump – £850 grant (for homes without mains gas heating)
  • Solar thermal hot water panels – £300 grant (available to all households regardless of the type of heating system used)

Around £3m of the £15m will be set aside for registered social landlords to improve their housing stock.

Renewable Heat Incentive for industry, business and communities

The Government is also introducing financial assistance for industry, business and communities to generate their own renewable heat.  It is intended that the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will be open for applications from 30th September and administered by Ofgem E-Serve. Those interested in finding out information ahead of being able to apply in September can contact Ofgem E-Serve from on 0845 200 2122 or by visiting www.ofgem.gov.uk/rhi

 

 

Solar left in the cold by energy road-map

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The solar PV industry has been left bewildered by its exclusion from the list of eight core technologies outlined in the government’s Renewable Energy Roadmap, released last week, which sets out how to achieve the UK’s target of achieving 15% of electricity through renewable sources by 2020.

Solar technology seen as too expensive

Whilst the roadmap acknowledges that solar PV has a part to play in large-scale UK renewable deployment in the future, it has not been included in the list of eight as according to the DECC it is currently a technology that is more expensive than other alternatives.

The eight technologies that the DECC reckons have the greatest potential to help the UK meet the 2020 target are onshore and offshore wind, marine energy, biomass heat and electricity, ground source and air source heat pumps and renewable transport.

These eight are seen as being capable of delivering more than 90% of the renewable energy needed by 2020.

Acknowledging that technology costs change and new innovations come to the fore, the government has pledged to update the Roadmap annually.

Funds boost for anaerobic digestion

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Defra Minister Lord Henley has given the official green light to a £10 million loan fund to boost anaerobic digestion (AD) projects.

Administered by the government’s Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the fund will target businesses looking to invest in anaerobic digestion and will award loans of up to £1 million over the next four years.

Figures suggest that around 7.5% of the power the country will need by 2020 could be produced from the 100 million tonnes of food waste the UK produces annually.

Announcing the fund Lord Henley said: “The Loan Fund builds on the Anaerobic Digestion Strategy and Action Plan to develop a strong and vibrant AD industry. It will help to reduce the amount of food sent to landfill and give more businesses the opportunity to use AD to produce their own power and electricity.”

Anaerobic digestion is a technology that produces bio-gas from organic material such as food waste and manure, this can be used for combined heat and/or power or be fed into the natural gas grid as biomethane; the residual waste can be used as a bio fertiliser. AD is popular with those who have easy access to organic waste such as farmers and the food processing industry as well as local authorities seeking to avoid landfill.

Funding may help dairy farmers looking to invest in anaerobic digestion

Government funding under schemes such as the Feed in Tariff and the Renewable Heat Incentive have increased interest for AD schemes but until now there has been a shortage of capital funding.

Marcus Gover, Director of the Closed Loop Economy at WRAP, said: “Across the UK, there are now AD facilities capable of managing 656,500 tonnes of organic waste each year, diverting waste from landfill, generating renewable energy and creating green jobs. The 300,000 tonnes of extra capacity we expect this fund will create will bring the UK’s AD processing capacity close to 1 million tonnes per year.
“AD is a reliable, safe and profitable resource efficiency process supported by Government, industry, local authorities and communities.”

WRAP will open the fund for the first round of applications until October 31st 2011, these will be awarded according to a competitive process.

“You can have the lights out or you can have investment,” Chris Huhne gets tough as electricty reform White Paper released

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Low carbon electricity will keep the lights on

The government has today revealed its White Paper on Electricity Market Reform, setting out the initial steps in what will be the biggest shake up of the market place since it was privatised.

Setting out a framework for getting low carbon electricity to consumers from a variety of sources including renewable energies, the White Paper is a necessary part of the mechanism that will be needed to meet the carbon emissions reduction targets set out in the Climate Change Act.

Unveiling ‘Planning Our Electric Future: a White Paper For Secure, Affordable and Low Carbon Electricity’, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne described the task ahead as ‘Herculian’ saying that the scale of investment needed would be in the region of £110 billion, double what has been spent on infrastructure in the last ten years.

Anticipating the resistance that is likely to follw the announcement Huhne was robust in his defence of the plans: “We have to stop dithering – you can have blackouts or you can have investment. Which do you want?”

He acknowledged that the closure of the country’s existing coal and nuclear fired power stations over the next ten years presented a massive hurdle, which coupled with a doubling in demand for power meant that massive investment was needed.
“We have consulted widely and we believe our reforms represent the best deal for Britain. They will get us off the hook of relying so heavily on imported fossil fuels by creating a greener, cleaner and potentially cheaper mix of electricity sources right here in the UK.”
He said that there were four main proposals:
“Firstly, greater long term certainty around the additional cost of running polluting plant, to make lower-carbon investment more attractive. Proposals set out in the HM Treasury consultation to support the carbon price directly tackle the core problem – putting a better price on emissions, increasing the cost of fossil fuel based generation, and strengthening the carbon price for UK electricity generators.

“Second, greater revenue certainty for low carbon generation will make clean energy investment more attractive still. Through the proposed contract for difference feed in tariff, the Government will guarantee greater revenue certainty for low carbon in the form of a top up payment if the wholesale price is below the feed in tariff, and a potential claw back for consumers if wholesale prices are above the contracted tariff.

“Third, additional payments to encourage the construction of reserve plants or demand reduction measures to ensure the lights stay on. Capacity payments will create an adequate safety cushion of capacity as the amount of intermittent and inflexible low carbon generation increases.

“And fourth, a back-stop to limit how much carbon any new coal-fired power stations emit. An emissions performance standard will reinforce the existing requirement that no new coal is built without carbon capture and storage.”

The Government has said it intends to introduce enabling legislation in May 2012 in time for legislation to reach the statute book by the end of the next Parliamentary session in spring 2013.

 

Australia’s carbon tax is finally a reality

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Heavy industry will be encouraged to reduce carbon

After several false starts, the Australian government has this week ratified the carbon tax that will force the worst carbon emitters to pay, in the nation’s biggest economic reform for decades.

Australia’s reliance on its old coal-fired power stations has promoted decisive action by the government, which this week introduced a carbon tax that would immediately hit 500 big manufacturing industries, plus a separate tax on aviation fuel.

Manufactuers who emit more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon a year will pay A$23 per tonne carbon tax from next year, rising by 2.5 percent annually and moving to a market-based trading scheme by 2015  - although there are some transitional measures to take the sting out of the initial years for the steel industry.

Australia’s prime minister, Julia Gillard, whose popularity is at an all-time low, said the plan would cut 159 million tonnes of carbon pollution in 2020, reducing emissions by 5 percent of 2000 levels.

This is the third time Gillard has tried to push the tax through parliament since 2009 and it was only saved this time with the backing of the Greens and Independents.

The government will start to set national emissions caps in 2014, stretching out five years, consistent with a minimum overall reduction target of 5 percent by 2020 –  if parliament does not agree to increase that target in the meantime.

But the airline industry, also caught by the tax by way of a rise in aviation fuel tax, says air fares will inevitably rise.

According to Australia’s national airline, Qantas, airline, the carbon tax will cost the Qantas Group around AU$110-115 million for the financial year ending 30 June 2013.

“We are disappointed that, unlike in New Zealand or the EU, there will be no phasing in period or transitional assistance for airlines and that the full price will apply immediately… the Qantas Group will be unable to absorb the additional costs associated with the carbon price and there will be a full pass-through to customers,” the Australian airline said in a statement.

Australia’s dependence carbon heavy industries has long prompted calls for a carbon reduction tax and this new scheme brings Australia into line with New Zealand, the only other country outside Europe to have introduced a similar  measure.

 

CarbonLow software scores high with utility suppliers

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Utility suppliers are under pressure to measure carbon

Use of CarbonLow’s accounting software iCAT is giving utility company suppliers the edge when it comes to reporting their carbon emissions data under the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

Employing CarbonLow’s online iCAT software (which collects emissions data from travel, property, waste and supply chain) puts a company in a much stronger position to be able to report intricate product and operational data at all levels and across a complex hierarchy, including the supply chain.

And this is good news for manufacturers and distributors in the utility sector who are increasingly being called upon to participate in the CDP. National Grid, a major utility purchaser, has signed up to the ‘CDP supply chain project’, which seeks to involve not just its primary suppliers but those further down its supply chain. This is having the effect of ‘kick starting’ this sector into self regulation of its carbon emissions via the CDP.

To help its manufacturing companies comply with the CDP’s annual return, CarbonLow has this month released a new report that will further assist companies who need to make sure they have all the data in the right place to make their report.

Offered from within CarbonLow’s online carbon software iCAT (integrated Carbon Accounting and Trading), the new CDP report processes the emissions data required and presents them in a format that exactly matches the requirements of the CDP annual return.

As advisors to some of the major manufacturing companies in the utility sector, CarbonLow was increasingly being asked to assist in the preparation of CDP reports, which led to the design of the refinement to their software.

CarbonLow is using iCAT and the new report, to work alongside National Grid and assist with CDP submissions this year for utility sector leaders Fusion Group and WT Burden.

Managing Director Peter Walden explains how iCAT has helped one of CarbonLow’s clients in its CDP journey:

“AVK, a leading valve manufacturer in the utilities sector and a supplier to National Grid, was asked to make its first CDP return last year.

“As a user of our software iCAT, it was well-placed in terms of its data collation to make the disclosure and we assisted with this.

“AVK’s high score, which made it a sector class leader, has prompted the company to use the results in a marketing campaign that will show its stakeholders, investors and customers that it has a serious differentiator.”

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an independent not-for-profit organisation holding the largest international database of company climate change information.  Through the project’s online process, companies can measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies, set reduction targets and make reductions.

For more information on how CarbonLow’s iCAT software can help your company to report and reduce your CO2 emissions call 0845 634 6071 or email icat@carbonlow.co.uk

 

 

 

Government beats its own emissions target

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Energy saving has cut carbon emissions at Whitehall

The government is boasting a 14% cut in its own carbon emissions from administrative headquarters and offices, well ahead of its target.

But whilst applauding the figures, the Prime Minister said he wanted the government to go further and went on to commit to a 25% reduction by 2015.

By including carbon from journeys in future calculations, many of the travel perks enjoyed by ministers and civil servants will come to an end. Instead senior officials and MPs will have to look at less energy intensive means of travel than ministerial cars and business class flights. (Business-class passengers have a higher ‘footprint’ than those in economy as they are allotted more space on the aircraft)

The 14% reduction, a four per cent increase on target, has come largely from energy saving methods – computers and lights being turned off, thermostats turned down and air-conditioning use restricted. It does not take into account the redundancies that have taken place in the last few months.

The new 25% target for cutting carbon emissions will have an increased scope and include business related transport.

“But to be the greenest government ever we need to do more to stamp out energy waste in Whitehall, and make it easier for people and business to use energy more efficiently. That’s why I’m committing the Government to go further by reducing emissions by 25 per cent by 2015,” said David Cameron.

The news was a welcome boost for the PM on a day when MEPs in Europe voted against increasing reduction targets for 2020 by 10%, despite a lobby from the UK, France and Germany. The government’s position was undermined by a number of Conservative MEPs defying the prime minister to vote against moving to a 30 per cent target.

Opponents to raising the target, led by EU presidency holders Poland and energy commissioner Günther Oettinger, successfully argued that raising the target when other large economies are yet to sign up to similarly ambitious emission reduction targets would undermine the EU’s competitiveness and encourage many carbon-intensive manufacturing industries to leave the bloc.

 

 

 

 

Holiday jet will use cooking oil as biofuel

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Bio-fuels take off in airline industry

Holiday flights by Thomson Airways to Palma and Alicante from Birmingham will soon be powered by a biofuel made up of re-claimed cooking oil.

The first regular flight is scheduled to leave Birmingham International on July 28th, when the Boeing 757 will be powered on a fuel made up of 50% cooking oil and 50% airline fuel. Flights to Alicante using the biofuel will follow in the autumn.

The oil, provided by a Dutch company, is more expensive than traditional aeroplane fuel, prompting calls for government recognition that this emissions-heavy industry is starting to take action to reduce its footprint.

Chris Browne, managing director of the leading tour company, said: “We urge UK and EU governments to review the legislation and remove the barriers around sustainable biofuels so that other airlines can follow our lead.”

Another call for ‘step change’ on emissions

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Third report calls for greater commitment

The UK’s Committee on Climate Change, which published its third annual report last week, reported a rise of emissions of 3% in 2010 and again called for a ‘step change’ in the pace of emissions reduction if targets are to be met.

Adjusting the figures to take into account the economic recession and the cold weather last winter, both of which have impacted on emissions, the committee says that reductions have in fact flat-lined – a trend that needs to be reversed.

“This underlying trend is incompatible with the need for deep emissions cuts required to meet carbon budgets,” the report said.

On the domestic front the report said that the drive for home insulation projects, which began well in 2009, has now fallen away and loft and cavity wall insulations are down by 30%  – this drift will see the project well short of the two million home installations targeted for 2020.

A disappointing figure of less than 2% was reported for renewable heat technologies, a long way from the 12% target for 2020 and although renewable power indicators have largely been achieved a significant ramp up of investment is required to meet forthcoming budgets.

There was good news to report for vehicles, where low carbon emitting cars (with emissions of less than 120g/km) now have nearly a third of the new car market and average emissions on new cars are actually lower than targeted (144g/km against 156g/km).

The Committee said that Electricity Market reform and the Green Deal were crucial in driving emissions targets to meet budgets and also said that more work needed to be done on Carbon Capture and Storage, which might prove a significant aid to this agenda if exploited and tested fully.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said: “As we come out of recession the Coalition is determined to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, which means a permanent shift to low carbon has to be locked into our economy in good times and bad.

“The Coalition’s once-in-a-generation reforms of the electricity market, the Green Deal and the Green Investment Bank show we’re serious about making the long-term structural changes that are vital to cut emissions and keep the lights on.”

Commenting on the CCC’s report, Rhian Kelly, CBI Director for Business Environment, said: “Our Climate Change Tracker shows too many gaps in reducing emissions from key sectors including energy, buildings, transport and industry. Recent policy shifts have also dented investor confidence, such as the sudden removal of the incentive behind the Carbon Reduction Commitment.

“To get back on track, the Government must clarify a number of grey policy areas, including the Green Deal, electricity market reform and the Green Investment Bank.”