clean energy
A couple of intriguing figures pop out in today’s announcement that local councils in the UK will soon be able to send, for profit, any clean energy they generate back into the electricity grid: One is the number 0.01 per cent, which is the pitiable amount of electricity
smart meters
Smart electricity meters might have the potential to help cut power consumption and energy bills considerably … but only if customers accept them and use them as intended. Otherwise, they have the potential to end up resembling so many unused high-tech stationary bicycles, acquired with the best of intentions but rarely
Jurdy reads a contemporary fairy tale …
New Greenbang research Utilities must be open with consumers about privacy issues The European smart electricity meter market is set to undergo rapid growth, with 133 million to 145 million new meters to be installed by 2020. Sustainability research house Greenbang’s latest report, “Europe’s smart meter outlook for
energy storage
With the UK facing increasing concerns over how to keep the lights on in years to come, one public-private partnership is hoping to test innovative energy storage technologies that can provide power to the nation’s households even when wind-energy turbines aren’t spinning and the sun isn’t shining
carbon emissions
A new carbon cycle model developed by researchers in Europe indicates that global carbon emissions must start dropping by no later than 2015 to prevent the planet from tipping into dangerous climate instability. The finding is likely to put new pressure on the world’s top two carbon emitters — China
solar energy
The UK might not have a reputation as the sunniest place in the world, but its prospects as a player in the solar power industry grew a bit brighter this week when Sharp announced plans to double the production capacity at its solar cell plant in Wrexham, Wales. Sharp plans
smart technologies
Can smart technologies make the cities of the future safer, smarter and more energy efficient? A new collaborative research lab in the US is being launched to seek potential answers to that question. IBM and Pennsylvania’s Carnegie Mellon University have teamed up to create the new laboratory, set to
Jurdy supports clean energy by the pint …
clean energy
Ask most people who follow the clean energy and low-carbon technology markets, and you’ll hear a common refrain: Without a standard price on carbon dioxide emissions that fairly reflects true environmental costs, we don’t have a prayer of building a green global economy anytime soon. The most recent
low carbon
When it comes to building a secure, low-carbon future for the UK, the new coalition government says it aims to succeed where the previous government failed. And the coalition’s first-ever annual energy statement, unveiled today, does reveal some new directions … although not necessarily revolutionary ones. The key question looming
oil
As BP CEO Tony Hayward is transferred, Captain Stillman-style, to a company joint venture in Russia, American-born Bob Dudley will step in to take his place. Given Dudley’s link to the Gulf Coast — he grew up in Mississippi — his anointment is a wise short-term decision, considering the devastating impact
