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http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/issues/0916/geothermal-energy-0916.cfm
There are plans afoot to generate geothermal electricity from Cornwall’s hot granite. It has been tried unsuccessfully before but new technologies for
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enhanced geothermal energy have given it a new lease of life. Frustrating stuff, energy - there’s masses of it about; unfortunately most of it tends to be in the wrong place and in the wrong form. Geothermal energy is a good case in point. The legacy of the kinetic energy of the colliding debris that formed the Earth some 4.5 billion years ago, plus the heat generated by radioactive decay within the crust, means that the Earth is a thermal energy source of, quite literally, astronomical proportions. Generally speaking, this vast energy store is buried out of reach; only becoming accessible along tectonic fault lines, where disruptions in the crust mean the heat can come much closer to the surface. In such instances, and where the heat is combined with precipitation filtered down through the local rocks to produce steam, we have the basis
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7861686.stm
But the landscape is also a reminder that achieving energy independence is a formidable challenge and making an agricultural economy green is not easy.
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Farm workers cannot take subways to work, farmers have to drive long distances into the fields to sow and harvest their crops and to deliver them to markets. Farm animals themselves, not to put too fine a point on it, produce methane - a powerful greenhouse gas - that is trapped in the atmosphere. Those challenges have not stopped the state setting itself ambitious goals. Energy pioneers The Iowa Climate Change Advisory Panel recently wrote a report for Governor Chet Culver setting out how the state can reduce carbon emissions by 90% by 2030. The state has set up an Office of Energy Independence - surely the perfect place, I thought, to test how easy it will be for President Obama to achieve energy independence for the whole of America. There are plenty of energy pioneers to be found in Iowa. Roger Neuberger, a farmer, lives near Clear
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http://kn.theiet.org/news/jan09/roadside-rechargers.cfm?
A Tory government would also give every household the right to £6,500-worth of insulation to cut their gas and electricity bills by a typical £160 a year,
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he said. And it would invest £1bn in an interactive national electricity grid with smart meters in every home, allowing much more efficient energy use and easier access to renewable power sources. Cameron said the Tory vision for a low-carbon future, set out in a policy document would deliver energy that was "greener, cleaner and also cheaper" without forcing voters down the path of "hair-shirted environmentalism". The package would allow Britain to meet its climate change target of 80 per cent cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while creating hundreds of thousands of "green collar" jobs and guaranteeing national energy security by reducing dependence on fossil fuels from the Middle East and Russia, he said. The proposals won a warm welcome from environmentalists, still smarting over the government's decision to give a green l
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http://kn.theiet.org/news/jan09/Ontario-electric-vehs.cfm
Ontario is one of North America's largest car-producing regions. The provincial government hopes that embracing the technology of battery-powered vehicles
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in its early stages will provide a stimulus for job creation and economic growth. It will work in partnership with Better Place, a company launched in 2007 to build electric-vehicle networks powered by renewable energy. Better Place will establish its Canadian head office in Ontario, and build an electric vehicle demonstration and education centre in Toronto. The province has committed to conducting a comprehensive study, scheduled for release in May, which will look at ways to speed up the introduction and adoption of electric vehicles. At the same time, Better Place will be developing a plan and timeline for a network of charging points and battery exchange stations. Much like the mobile phone model, Better Place installs and operates the infrastructure, while auto manufacturers produce electric cars for the network. Better Place s
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http://kn.theiet.org/news/sep09/plug-in-vehicle-plan.cfm
The scheme is designed to make it easier for drivers to charge plug-in vehicles in a number of major UK cities. The ETI is initially working with Birmingham,
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Coventry, Glasgow, London, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Oxford and Sunderland. The plan has been created to help support the roll-out of a single national network that will ultimately enable plug-in vehicles to be easily used and recharged anywhere, including the home. Known as the Joined-Cities Plan, the scheme is part of ETI's overall plug-in vehicle project announced in July. Announcing the plans at the Low Carbon Vehicle Event 2009, held at Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, ETI chief executive David Clarke said: "We are supporting a UK collaboration to evaluate and accelerate the market for plug-in vehicles. "Enabling plug-in vehicles to compete effectively in a market alongside petrol and diesel vehicles with their extensive infrastructure is a challenge. These plug-in vehicles are currently unknown to mos
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http://kn.theiet.org/news/jun09/store-energy-system.cfm
A Sainsbury's store in Gloucester will open the chain's first "people-powered" store this week using technology which captures energy from vehicles to
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power its checkouts. In a European first, Sainsbury's will install the invention at its new store which opens this Wednesday. Whenever a vehicle passes over the "kinetic road plates" positioned in the car park, energy is captured which would otherwise be wasted. Sainsbury's will channel the energy back into the store, saving power that would normally be taken from the National Grid. The kinetic road plates are expected to produce 30kW of green energy an hour, which is more than enough to power the store's checkouts. The system, pioneered for Sainsbury's by Peter Hughes of Highway Energy Systems, does not affect the car or fuel efficiency, and drivers feel no disturbance as they drive over the plates. Alison Austin, Sainsbury's environment manager, said: "This is revolutionary. Not only are we the first to use such cutting-edge technology
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http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/issues/0918/power-to-the-people-0918.cfm
As standalone products, smart meters cannot give consumers the information that they crave to monitor their electricity use. But, as E&T discovers, when
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it is combined with a home display unit the consumers have the power to control their consumption. Home energy monitoring displays have been around for quite a few years, but it is only now, with ‘green’ issues and cost concerns coming to the forefront, that interest in the technology has reached critical mass. The big players have come onto the pitch including Google, which launched its PowerMeter in February, adding further momentum to this growing technology sector. The costs of devices have fallen dramatically, with high-end products being joined by mid- and low-end offerings available for as little as £30-50. Alongside this, design has played its part by offering more desirable and fashionable units, appealing not just to traditional environmentalists, but also gadget fans and consumers looking to gain more control over their ener
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http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/issues/0919/food-for-fuel-0919.cfm
Second-generation biofuels that don’t compete with foodstock were supposed to be the future, but as E&T discovers, a new report has thrown a huge doubt
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over the viability of that technology to deliver. In spite of the savaging that biofuels have received in the mainstream media, it is forging on and looks set to make an even greater contribution as an energy source. Despite a number of key issues, such as land use and competition for feedstocks supplies for traditional food and feed uses, global use of biofuels is expected to more than double from 2009 to 2015 according to a new global analysis released by Hart’s Global Biofuels Centre. Leading the expansion is the US with a growth of total biofuels use of more than 35 per cent. Brazil will grow domestic supplies by 30 per cent and more than double export volume. Indonesia and Malaysia will more than double production of palm oil biodiesel, while Germany will remain the largest producer of biofuels in Europe. Despite major public polic
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http://kn.theiet.org/news/dec09/energy-bills-green.cfm
Subsidies for green initiatives could make up almost a third of the average consumer's domestic fuel bill within 15 years, the energy industry regulator
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has warned. Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan said this was the price that had to be paid if today's consumers wanted to leave Britain "a nicer place to live in for our children and grandchildren". But he criticised utility companies for failing to make clear how much of customers' cash is going towards measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and indicated he was ready to consider making it compulsory to include the percentage figure on bills, as Centrica already does. While bills a decade ago did not include any subsidy for climate change schemes, the average paid by households now is around 9 per cent and can be expected to rise to well over 20 per cent by 2020 and 30 per cent by 2025, Buchanan told the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee. The cash was going towards initiatives such as the Carbon Emissions Re
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http://kn.theiet.org/news/nov09/bosses-highlight-renewable.cfm
The bosses of two of Britain's best known companies played host to industry colleagues to highlight the potential of a renewable energy source. Philip
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Green, the chief executive of United Utilities (UU), and Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose, showed off a system called anaerobic digestion. The method, which has been used in the water industry for decades, uses micro-organisms to break down waste and generate a biogas which can then be used as an energy source for heat, power and transport. UU said the method had "huge" potential and cut greenhouse gas emissions by keeping organic waste out of landfill sites. Green said: "The water industry has a wealth of experience in anaerobic digestion and we are well placed to offer leadership and help to break down technological barriers. "Tackling climate change is an issue very close to my own heart and there is a golden opportunity here waiting to be exploited by farmers, food retailers and small rural communities." The event involved r
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