Saturday 27 October 2012

Energy tariff cashback deals could be targeted as Ofgem cracks down


Ofgem is to look at how introductory offers like cashback are marketed on price comparison websites.

Sources at the regulator have told This Is Money they are unhappy with industry practices that involve creating headline-grabbing discounts of several hundred pounds to encourage consumers to switch supplier, but which energy companies offer for only a limited quota to sign up a small number of customers with the remainder given more expensive deals.

The regulator takes over the voluntary code of practice for price comparison companies in January. Currently 12 switching companies are accredited, which means they have agreed to independent audit, can display a Confidence Code logo on their website and adhere to a set of rules for how prices are displayed.

The regulator has already announced plans to remove complexity from tariffs. It wants customers to be able to say what their tariff price for gas and electricity is. Currently even Phil Bentley, managing director of British Gas is unable to do this. He told MPs on the Energy Select Committee that he would struggle to answer if asked what he paid for his gas and electricity.

Once the tariff price that customers pay for their dual fuel – whether it be their electricity, green fuel or other type - becomes the currency that is talked about, Ofgem’s idea is that price competition on default, standard tariffs will be more effective.

More customers will have the confidence to switch to these standard, widely available lowest tariffs, or energy companies might even be forced to move consumers onto lowest tariffs by legislation.

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Friday 5 October 2012

Electric cars 'pose environmental threat'


Electric cars might pollute much more than petrol or diesel-powered cars, according to new research.

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology study found greenhouse gas emissions rose dramatically if coal was used to produce the electricity.

Electric car factories also emitted more toxic waste than conventional car factories, their report in the Journal of Industrial Energy said.

A battery electric vehicle, with electricity produced by the power generation mix we currently have in Europe, compares favourably in the magnitude of 10% or so with diesel”

Dieter Zetsche Chief executive, Daimler

With electric car production being so damaging to the environment, these cars have already polluted a great deal by the time they hit the road, the report says.

However, if the cars were then powered by electricity made from low-carbon electricity sources, they could nevertheless offer "the potential for substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and exposure to tailpipe emissions" over time.

However, in regions where fossil fuels are the main sources of power, electric cars offer no benefits and may even cause more harm, the report said.

"Electric vehicles powered by the present European electricity mix offer a 10% to 24% decrease in their global warming potential relative to conventional diesel or petrol vehicles."

This is in line with calculations made by some carmakers.
Drax Cars powered by electricity produced in coal power stations pollute more than petrol or diesel cars

"According to our results, a battery electric vehicle, with electricity produced by the power generation mix we currently have in Europe, compares favourably in the magnitude of 10% or so with diesel," Daimler's chief executive Dieter Zetsche told the BBC.

Longer lives

The report pointed out that the longer an electric car in Europe stays mobile, the greater its "lead" over petrol and diesel engines.

"Assuming a vehicle lifetime of 200,000km exaggerates the global warming benefits of electric vehicles to 27-29% relative to petrol and 17-20% relative to diesel," it said.

"An assumption of 100,000km decreases the benefit of electric vehicles to 9-14% with respect to petrol vehicles and results in impacts indistinguishable from those of a diesel vehicle."

An electric car's longevity depends a great deal on how long its battery lasts, not least since it is very expensive to replace them.

Batteries are gradually getting better, which could result in electric cars being used for longer.

However, as petrol and diesel engines are also improving, the relationships between the different types of vehicles are not constant.

"A more significant reduction in global warming could potentially be achieved by increasing fuel efficiency or shifting from petrol to diesel," the report said.

"If you are considering purchasing an electric vehicle for its environmental benefits, first check your electricity source and second look closely at the warranty on the batteries," said Professor Stromman.

Those in power, meanwhile, should recognise "the many potential advantages of electric vehicles [which] should serve as a motivation for cleaning up regional electricity mixes".

full article

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Liquid air 'offers energy storage hope'


Turning air into liquid may offer a solution to one of the great challenges in engineering - how to store energy.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers says liquid air can compete with batteries and hydrogen to store excess energy generated from renewables.

IMechE says "wrong-time" electricity generated by wind farms at night can be used to chill air to a cryogenic state at a distant location.

When demand increases, the air can be warmed to drive a turbine.

Engineers say the process to produce "right-time" electricity can achieve an efficiency of up to 70%.

IMechE is holding a conference today to discuss new ideas on how using "cryo-power" can benefit the low-carbon economy.

The technology was originally developed by Peter Dearman, a garage inventor in Hertfordshire, to power vehicles.

A new firm, Highview Power Storage, was created to transfer Mr Dearman's technology to a system that can store energy to be used on the power grid.

The process, part-funded by the government, has now been trialled for two years at the back of a power station in Slough, Buckinghamshire.

IMechE says the simplicity and elegance of the Highview process is appealing, especially as it addresses not just the problem of storage but also the separate problem of waste industrial heat.

The process follows a number of stages:

"Wrong-time electricity" is used to take in air, remove the CO2 and water vapour (these would freeze otherwise)
the remaining air, mostly nitrogen, is chilled to -190C (-310F) and turns to liquid (changing the state of the air from gas to liquid is what stores the energy)
the liquid air is held in a giant vacuum flask until it is needed
when demand for power rises, the liquid is warmed to ambient temperature. As it vaporizes, it drives a turbine to produce electricity - no combustion is involved

IMechE says this process is only 25% efficient but it is massively improved by co-siting the cryo-generator next to an industrial plant or power station producing low-grade heat that is currently vented and being released into the atmosphere.

The heat can be used to boost the thermal expansion of the liquid air.

More energy is saved by taking the waste cool air when the air has finished chilling, and passing it through three tanks containing gravel.

The chilled gravel stores the coolness until it is needed to restart the air-chilling process.
Delivering durability

Highview believes that, produced at scale, their kits could be up to 70% efficient, and IMechE agrees this figure is realistic.

"Batteries can get 80% efficiency so this isn't as good in that respect," explains Dr Fox.

"But we do not have a battery industry in the UK and we do have plenty of respected engineers to produce a technology like this.

"What's more, it uses standard industrial components - which reduces commercial risk; it will last for decades and it can be fixed with a spanner."

In the future, it is expected that batteries currently used in electric cars may play a part in household energy storage.

But Richard Smith, head of energy strategy for National Grid, told BBC News that other sorts of storage would be increasingly important in coming decades and should be incentivised to commercial scale by government.

He said: "Storage is one of four tools we have to balance supply and demand, including thermal flexing (switching on and off gas-fired power stations); interconnections, and demand-side management. Ultimately it will be down to economics."

full article