RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
More energy is being wasted than ever. In fact, up to 25% of the electricity we use is currently being wasted - compare this with the 10% the government wants from renewable sources (a recent EU study showed we could save 18% of our power consumption if we implemented changes to our energy requirements and usage)
DART are pro renewable energy sources because, whatever the pros and cons of the global warming debate, fossil fuels are a finite source of power at best.
However it is important to realise the best way to reduce the use of fossil fuels is simply to use less power, and the best way to do this would be to cutting our own consumption levels, not least through increased education.
Rather than pouring millions of your money into wind energy for no effect ("Embracing Wind"? Really? ) we could pay for or subsidise lagging, greater roof and wall insulation, low energy bulbs and solar water heating. These simple measures would add less than 10% of the cost of building an average new house.
Domestic energy conservation is more cost-effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions than any form of energy generation. So the real question is this: why isn't every house being brought up to the highest European energy-efficiency standards?
Dr Ben Lane, Faculty of Technology, Open University.
The menu below will link you to DART's material on the various Renewable Energy Technologies.
DART believe that there are many, more useful measures that could be put in place to reduce fossil fuel emissions and for example:
- Building regulations for new houses changed to double the insulation of walls and roofs, and have solar water heating and Photo Voltaic electricity generation installed at the time of construction.
- Subsidise “A” rated domestic appliances so they were no more expensive than “C & D” rated appliances. Or at the very least the power saving ought to pay back the purchase price difference inside 12 months of normal use.
- Have similar subsidies and tax incentives that wind power station developers are enjoying, applied to all small and medium scale renewable power generation schemes, for instance small hydroelectric plants, bio mass and even retro fitted domestic solar panels.
- Subsidise flat panel LCD computer screens and TV’s – LCDs can reduce display energy use by some 60%. [KSBA (1998) Flat panel monitors: “Expensive” technology that saves money, SCOpe, 3].
- Subsidise low energy light bulbs so they were the same price as filament based bulbs.
- Subsidise LED based light sources for industrial illumination/traffic lights and even some street lighting. These use a tenth of the power of filament based bulbs and also last some 10 times longer. (On that subject see LEDs replace direct incandescent streetlights. This 20 watt street lamp has an 10 year "bulb" life and can cut power by 90%).
If anyone has other suggestions email us, we’ll add them to the list. As subsidies are required to make wind power “cost effective”, other subsidies (arguably at least as effective for reduction in fossil fuel use) should not be an issue.
Some Press supporting the above:
6th April 2005: LEDs reach 190 lumens for vehicles Single LED stop lights and indicators in cars have become possible with the release of ... In addition to car lights, applications in traffic lights, aircraft and marine marker lamps, runways and architectural lighting are foreseen.
18th February 2005: Save the Vale Association take a New Look at Renewable Energy (144kB) Save the Vale have organised a renewable energy forum to be held in Wincanton Memorial hall on Saturday 12th March. Entrance is free. (Article reproduced here by kind permission of the Blackmore Vale Magazine)
2005: "Boosting power line capacity": An overhead power conductor that doubles the electrical transmission capacity of conventional conductors of the same diameter will be commercially deployed for the first time next year in the US.
28th January 2005: Light
Bulbs are Hailed as Wind Farm Solution Councillor Ioan Richard
said giving every household in the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot council
areas one low energy light bulb would save the equivalent amount of
carbon emissions as the five turbines - but at a much lower cost.
"If we were to issue 175,000 bulbs, costing £2 each at a bulk purchase
price of £350,000, we would save Mynydd Gwrhyd," said Councillor Richard,
a veteran anti-wind turbine campaigner.
To further illustrate this point: if there are 50,000 houses in Dorset, and if they all use 100 Watts a day on conventional lighting, and all of them switch to low energy bulbs using 20W, the saving is 50,000 x 80 = 4,000,000 Watts.
That's 4MW or about the output of 7 x 2MW turbines (at a load factor of 29%)...
21st November 2004: The Times Clean-coal technology could cut CO2 bill by £3 billion BRITAIN could cut the cost of reducing greenhouse gases by £3 billion if it fitted clean-coal technology to its ageing power stations, rather than building wind farms.
Some 2,000 wind turbines will be put up in Britain over the next six
years at a total cost of approximately £9 billion as power companies
seek to comply with a government demand to increase supplies of renewable
energy. However, Mitsui Babcock, the British-based power station manufacturer,
is urging the Government to invest in clean-coal technology, which
it argues could be fitted to the UK’s 16 coal-fired power stations
for only £6 billion.
17th June 2004: "Eco-home shows way to affordable housing." Good also to see this article in June 17th's Western Gazette. (Article reproduced here by kind permission of the Western Gazette)
19th May 2004: Energy Bulb Giveaway Good to see this small step in the right direction in the Blackmore Vale (article published here with their kind permission)
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Your Own Solar Water Heating Panel. Excellent article which
begs the question: "Why are they so expensive if bought from commercial
organisations?"
- 14th March 2006: Solar 'competitive in five years' says Cypress. Solar power will be competitive with mainstream electricity generation methods in five years, according to Cypress Semiconductor, which has a solar cell manufacturing subsidiary called SunPower.
- 12th February 2005: Tropical
juice A contract to build and operate a floating 100MW
power plant that uses tropical seawater to generate electricity could
be announced within the next two months, its developer has claimed.
Designed by Baltimore-based Sea Solar Power, the system is based on
technology known as Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), a principle
by which solar energy trapped in the warm waters of tropical oceans
is converted into useable energy.
- 11th
February 2005 E4Engineering: Towering
powerhouse In a novel blending of listed architecture
rescue and modern technology, Manchester's tallest building, the CIS
Tower, is to be fitted with solar panels, converting it into Europe's
highest solar-powered generator. Three sides of the building's service
tower will be clad in photovoltaic panels capable of generating 180MW
hours/year.
- 18th
January 2005: Solar Century News Release 2012
Sailing Academy pioneer green energy Solarcentury designed
and managed the installation at the Weymouth and Portland National
Sailing Academy, which consists of photovoltaic panels attached to
the roof generating 19,000 kWh of power each year – enough to power
approximately 33 three-bedroom houses for a year.
- 20th December: This is North Scotland WICK
TARGETS GREEN POWER ACCOLADE AT SOLAR OPENING Sleet
and snow showers failed to thwart the official switch-on of a trailblazing
solar roof in Wick, on Friday. In what was the coldest day of the
winter so far yesterday, over 17 kilowatts were being generated -
sufficient to heat and light half-a-dozen houses.
- 22nd
October 2004 EDIE News World's
largest solar plant in China The
world's largest solar power plant is being developed in China, to
supply power to the city of Dunhuang in Gansu Province. WWF aim to
develop 30GW of power generation capacity by 2020.
- The
world's largest solar power station is being built near
Leipzig, Germany, comprising 33,500 solar modules with a total output
of 5MW.
- Solar
Panels Trial Starts on M27 J9, Hampshire This 50m long
system,installed by J9 of the M27, by Solarcentury for the Highways
Agency, will generate around 9500kWh of electricity annually. Average
output over a 24 hour period would therefore be about a 1kW (2 x 480W
"houses"), but obviously peaking at higher than that during the day.
- MySolar
is a site for all interested in solar energy. A useful
site, explaining what Solar energy is, do you need it, how to get
it and where. MySolar provides you with information and with answers
via an handy step-by-step 'Straight to your solution' wizard.
- Heat
pumps come in from the cold An interesting article from
the Daily Telegraph, explaining why the heat pump is already the standard
source of domestic heating in more forward-thinking corners of Europe,
and it is just beginning to catch on here.
- The sunny side of solar power A well balanced and thoughtful article on the pros and cons of solar power.
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- 8th March 2005: The Engineer Online Renewable energy One of the UK’s largest biomass renewable energy projects has been given the green light on Teesside. Utilities and services company, SembCorp Utilities UK, is to invest a total of £60 million in a new wood-burning power station. It will generate 30 MW of electricity.
- 13th October 2004 This is Staffordshire TURBINE POWER MUCH MORE THAN JUST HOT AIR Next year will see
the launch of the world's first power generation turbine driven by
something other than wind, water, steam, nuclear or fossil fuels.
And if biomass energy conversion specialist Talbotts has got it right,
the proliferation of the likes of windfarms and power lines across
the landscape will begin to decrease rapidly.
- 22nd October EDIE 2004 News First
commercial biomass power plant contract RWE npower has
signed the UK's first major purchase order for biomass supplies. ESD
Biomass will supply 30,000 tonnes of coppiced willow branches annually
through its 'Power Plant Contract'
- Holsworthy
Biogas Holsworthy in Devon in the South West of the United
Kingdom is home to the UK's first Biogas Plant. Biogas plants use
gases generated from animal waste. Currently on stream the plant is
generating electricity, and will pipe hot water into Holsworthy for
heating the local school, health centre, hospital and local homes.
The plant is capable of generating 2.2 megawatts of electricity an
hour.
- Power
plant: oilseed rape grown for electricity. Wind power,
wave power, solar power ... and now, oilseed rape power. Britain's
first electricity generating station powered by the yellow crop is
to be built on a Yorkshire farm.
- It might not look much . . but it's the future of power. Willow Plantation to grow 500,000 seedlings, Leaves and branches will be cut off for fuel, Roots will grow on to yield more harvests.
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- Waste
not, want not Materials that efficiently convert waste
heat to electricity could soon be used to save energy in cars and
around the home. The special materials exploit the thermoelectric
phenomenon in which the application of heat induces an electric current.
- Fuel
cells bloom with sunflower oil Researchers in England
have found a promising method for producing hydrogen from sunflower
oil, a development that could lead to cleaner and more efficient hydrogen
production for powering fuel cells.
- Steaming
into the future A steam engine powered by heat from a
car exhaust could replace conventional batteries in hybrid vehicles,
according to its UK developers.
- High
Level Energy An international engineering team is building
a prototype airborne wind turbine that could be moored at high altitude
to provide a constant source of renewable energy without impacting
on local landscapes. The helicopter-like system would hoist the turbine into the troposphere to an altitude of around 15,000ft.
- 8th
May 2005 The Times: Rooftop wind turbines on urban horizon
THE Scottish executive is to force through new planning rules to allow residents to put wind turbines on their roofs. The generators, about the size of a television satellite dish, are expected to become a common urban sight. They will cut electricity bills and also help the executive to meet its ambitious renewable energy target.
- 14th
December 2001 New Scientist: Wind-powered
building design revealed Buildings with integrated wind
turbines could generate at least 20 percent of their own energy needs,
and perhaps all. They would be more power efficient than ordinary
wind farms or solar powered constructions, say UK researchers.
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The sites below are definitely worth a look:
Hebden Bridge Alternative Technology Centre (ATC): A charity working with local people to improve the environment and support sustainable development.
Particularly worth a look is their Solar Club - The Solar Club
is designed to help anyone wanting to install their own solar water
heating system by giving information, guiding you through the steps
involved and offering technical help and friendly support.
This helps install solar heating at the minimum cost to the user, and their estimate of £1500 for an installation is half of most contracted prices for this job. Solar Clubs are non-profit making. It would be very nice to see such a scheme in Dorset.
Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE): The CSE seeks sustainable energy solutions that engage people and communities to meet real needs for both environmentally sound and affordable energy services.
They work with individuals and organisations from public, private and voluntary sectors on a wide range of initiatives at local, regional and national level.
CSE seeks sustainable energy solutions that engage people and communities
to meet real needs for both environmentally sound and affordable energy
services.
Otherpower - The Cutting Edge of Low Technology: A group of alternative energy enthusiasts who want to spread the message that It's EASY to make your own power FROM SCRATCH! Otherpower.com's headquarters is located in a remote part of the Northern Colorado mountains.
On their home page that have what has to be the smallest Hydro Power Plant
I am aware of. Well worth a look.
Energy Sources Created by Andy Darvill, Science teacher at Broadoak Community School. Weston-super-Mare. This site presents a balanced view of a whole host of energy sources and explains the basics of how each of them works. Really good.
Fuel Cell Today Fuel Cell Today provides a Web site devoted to the exchange of technical and commercial information - on Fuel Cells.
Gardner Energy Management< Look at this simple steam trap, the "GEM" for a means of Permanently Saving Energy.
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