Energy in U.S. -signs of hope

It's not as sexy as some sci-fi style techie things but ...Worldchanging: Bright Green: Energy Efficiency Gains in U.S. Could Cut Sharply Energy Use, Study Says: "A crash program to improve the energy efficiency of American homes, offices, and factories could slash energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020 and produce $1.2 trillion in savings, according to a report by the McKinsey consulting firm." Did you get that: nearly one quarter(that's a fourth to our cousins over the pond) of power could be saved. Contrast with The folly of 'magical solutions' and add to the mix the intriguing hopefulness of USAmerican figures for building wind generation capacity in a recession, and you get the idea that USA-China co-operation on climate and energy might just begin to do what's needed. Might. Just.

Technology to watch for helpful environmental impacts ...

This looks really quite a good thing. I was skeptical because incineration hasn't been good news, but this actually looks like it could be a good system. And scalablity is not a problem in the sense that small systems can work, it seems. "Keeping the system small and avoiding the expense of creating plasma makes it affordable for businesses to deploy: excluding the gas burner, the system costs $850,000 and, according to Haber, will pay for itself in four years through savings on electricity, heating and waste disposal charges.
Haber says the entire system can save the equivalent of about 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year through reductions in landfill gases, fossil-fuel use and the transport of waste. Haber also claims that, compared with traditional incineration, the quantity of toxic gases produced by the GEM system is negligible. 'It's really a night-and-day difference,' he says."

However, the real issue would be about making sure that the products of the process are properly scrubbed -cleanness is not inherent. And also anything that runs on rubbish tends to encourage or at least not discourage the production of the same or at least perhaps the non-recycling of it. So some careful monitering and regulation would be needed to make it work for the benefit of all.
Read all about it: Could your trashcan solve the energy crisis? - tech - 22 April 2009 - New Scientist:

Barrage and gas: energy and generation

There's debate brewing over the proposed Severn barrage; start here for the arguments: Colin Luckhurst: The Severn barrage would be good for renewable energy, but opposition from conservationists is powerful | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "A barrage stretching across the wide mouth of the estuary from south Wales to the northern coast of Somerset could hold the turbines that – judging by the example of the only European example now in place, at the mouth of the river Rance in Brittany – could generate electricity both from the incoming tide and the normal river outflow."

A creative bit of thinking notices that natural gas is very high pressure when released and gets really cold as it is slowed down; perfect candidate for electric generation by turbine and also uses for refrigeration ... check it out.

UK overtakes Denmark as world's biggest offshore wind generator

This is good news in that it shows a step forward, UK overtakes Denmark as world's biggest offshore wind generator | Environment | guardian.co.uk However, we should notice that it is quite a restricted area that is being reported. The other side of the matter is this, however: "despite today's announcement, the UK is still near the bottom of the European league table when it comes to harnessing renewable energy, campaigners say."
Still, we, as a nation, really ought to be one of the highest in usage of offshore wind power, so this really is important. The vital thing is not to let it lull us into thinking we've done our bit already.

Waterless Washing Machine

Some things sound too good to be true and are, however some sound too good to be true but aren't, and this appears to be one of them. Waterless Washing Machine � Celsias: "developed at the University of Leeds, ... a clean load of laundry for less than 2% of the water and energy of a conventional washing machine. The process works by replacing water with plastic polymer chips which are tumbled with the clothes to remove stains. The technology has been proven to measure up to cleaning industry standards, removing virtually all types of everyday stains as effectively as existing processes whilst leaving clothes as fresh as normal washing and dry enough to dispense tumble-drying."
It may be available in 2009 or 2010. It could be the Dyson of the washing world; another notch in the belt of British invention.

Supplier obligation

It looks like my earlier observations that we need to find ways to give an incentive to energy suppliers to help consumers consume less energy while still able to make a profit is being taken seriously by the UK government. Visit this web page to see the start of a consultation phase to work out how to do it.Defra, UK - Environmental Protection - Sustainable Energy - Supplier obligation: It claims that the "Government’s vision is to see a supplier obligation through which consumers will continue to enjoy at least their current level of warmth, light and comfort, whilst also achieving substantial carbon and energy savings."
As I say, I can only think that moving to a service model (which British Gas seem to be doing with boilers) which conceives of the utility company more as a seller and maintainer of means to keep one warm, lit and able to use devices than of the energy per se. But maybe there are other better ideas. I just haven't found much exploration of this issue yet. Of course, if you know better ... comment.

Rubbish offers hope of meeting green energy targets - Business News, Business - Independent.co.uk

Rubbish offers hope of meeting green energy targets - Business News, Business - Independent.co.uk: "The Government and local authorities are investigating the potential of anaerobic digestion, a technology that uses natural bacteria to break down organic material such as food waste and farm slurry, producing liquid fertiliser and a gas that can be used to generate electricity, or be piped into the gas grid, or turned into fuel to power vehicles. The process also generates heat that can be diverted to warm nearby homes or businesses."

Peak Oil is here, I think

From the Guardian report:

Global oil production today stands at around 85m barrels a day. The CEO of Total has said that we won't get close to 100m barrels a day, much less the 115m programmed into assumptions about a growing global economy. The former head of exploration and production at Saudi Aramco, which until recently controlled the largest reserves in the world, thinks we are already on a plateau at 85m barrels a day, and can lift production no further. ... If the "peakists" are correct, and the oil establishment suddenly awakens to its dysfunctional culture of overoptimism, here is what is likely to happen. The oil and gas producers are going to start keeping what remains for themselves, in an effort to feed their own economies. Many countries would then face the threat of not having enough oil and gas to run the production processes needed to manufacture the low-carbon technologies that could replace oil and gas. Or, indeed, to feed themselves.

Let the reader understand ...

Don't believe 'em when they say intermittancy is a problem

Scientists of the University of Kassel in Germany prove that the entire country can be powered by renewables only. They connected biogas, wind and solar power in a distributed way and show it can deliver both baseloads and peakloads.

There's a video too ".

Bioethonol without the major downsides

Coskata's ethanol produces 84 percent less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel even after accounting for the energy needed to produce and transport the feedstock. It also generates 7.7 times more energy than is required to produce it. Corn ethanol typically generates 1.3 times more energy than is used producing it.

Making ethanol is one thing, but there's almost no infrastructure in place for distributing it. But the company's method solves that problem because ethanol could be made locally from whatever feedstock is available

There's still a way to go in terms of scaling it up and distribution, but in principle this looks like a quick way to help in the short to medium term and maybe help with landfill issues too.

Maybe I'm missing something, but it's an optimistic development on first sight.

Ships pulled by kites

Here's a surprising item on the BBC NEWS

A German cargo ship has set sail powered, in part, by a kite in an effort to cut fuel costs and carbon emissions.

and you can see the future on video. It really is happening: a return to maritime wind power, but in a strangely different form. You almost wonder why our ancestors didn't think of doing it this way.

Thin-Film Solar

It's started appearing at last. Can't wait to see it at Maplins and the Natural Collection. "Thin-film solar technologies often use non-silicon semiconductor materials including copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS) to create photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into electricity. Without the expensive and often sparse silicon, the cells are cheaper in terms of materials costs. The non-silicon materials can also be printed on flexible or light substances, which can create new applications for solar. But thin films, aren’t yet as efficient as silicon-based solar, and can remain pricey due to their high production costs."
FAQ: Thin-Film Solar � Earth2Tech:

Beyond the Age of Petroleum

Just fyi -from the USA: "the Energy Department signaled a fundamental, near epochal shift in US and indeed world history: we are nearing the end of the Petroleum Age and have entered the Age of Insufficiency. The department stopped talking about 'oil' in its projections of future petroleum availability and began speaking of 'liquids.' The global output of 'liquids,' the department indicated, would rise from 84 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe) per day in 2005 to a projected 117.7 mboe in 2030--barely enough to satisfy anticipated world demand of 117.6 mboe. Aside from suggesting the degree to which oil companies have ceased being mere suppliers of petroleum and are now purveyors of a wide variety of liquid products--including synthetic fuels derived from natural gas, corn, coal and other substances--this change hints at something more fundamental: we have entered a new era of intensified energy competition and growing reliance on the use of force to protect overseas sources of petroleum. "
Beyond the Age of Petroleum:

Britain Is More Energy Efficient Today Than In Time Of Shakespeare

Which may , at first, sound encouraging. However, a moment's thought should remind us that we have still ended up using far more energy, even if more effeciently. So we are left with the sobering reflection:

“The bottom line is that technology can’t contend with the realities of climate change. The only effective solution is to curb consumption. To stand a chance of meeting emissions targets, politicians need to switch their attention from energy efficiency to controls on consumption.”

Looks like we can't 'advance' our way out of this one...
Britain Is More Energy Efficient Today Than In Time Of Shakespeare:

Portugal gambles on 'sea snakes' providing an energy boost

"Portugal is poised to open what will be the world's first commercial wave farm ... The Pelamis machines, named after the Latin for sea snake and developed by a Scottish company that leads the world in one of the newest renewable energy fields, are a series of red tubes, each about the size of a small commuter train, linked together, and pointed in the direction of the waves. The waves travel down the tubes, causing them to bob up and down, and a hydraulic system harnesses this movement to generate electricity."
Hurrah for Portugal. Why aren't the UK there as the first? Oh yes: we're too busy pouring research and development money down the plug-hole of nuclear power to invest in truly green energy.
Portugal gambles on 'sea snakes' providing an energy boost | Environment | The Guardian:

Prospects for a green Brown premiership: nuking our energy

The prognosisi on Brown's premiership seems well laid-out here. In the light of which the following would be the truly worthwhile (except for the road pricing one, imho).

Brown could take a few quick tricks merely by undoing some of his predecessor's most unpopular policies - Iraq, ID cards, road pricing, though the last seems as deserving of support as nuclear power stations. He may come up with some new answers about pensions and saving. Nothing would play better with swing voters, though not of course with Labour's huge payroll vote, than to reverse Alan Johnson's disgraceful surrender to the public-service unions on early retirement.

However, the main point of the article is to say what a good idea nuke power is and how we need to fast track the planning process. I have to say that part of me agrees, but part of me suspects that not doing anything will really concentrate minds in about 7 years and all of a sudden we'll have domestic power generation solutions being sold to us rapidly and developing very rapidly. The real argument for government planning here is to protect the weak and financially challenged. You can bet pricing and gadget-selling will respond.
The author concludes thus in favour of his preferred policy of nuking our power supply:

I suspect that Gordon Brown will enjoy being prime minister much less than he thinks he will, because the right decisions will also be his most politically thankless ones.

Actually, that's always the case: the central problem of democratic politics is just this: that some decisions will always hurt someone. Parents know this. The problem systemically is to allow enough time so that the benefits of good but not-so-pop decisions can become clear and to build in supports for long-term planning that aren't going to be derailed by short-term vote-winning without losing democratic accountability.
PS The first few comments are really good, too
Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | Brown's defining moment

Technorati Tags: Brown, UK, policy, Labour

New way to split water into H and O

Could be significant, because it would appear to be quick and scalable.

"We put these films in water and they promote some reactions that split water into hydrogen and oxygen," said Biswas. "We can use any oxide materials such as titanium dioxide, tungsten oxide and iron oxide in nanostructures sandwiched together that make very compact structures. The process is direct and takes only a few minutes to fabricate. More important, these processes can be scaled up to produce larger structures in a very cost effective manner in atmospheric pressure processes."

ScienceDaily: Solar Power Splits Water Into Hydrogen And Oxygen Using Unique Method

Technorati Tags: water, catalysis, solar, hydrogen