The future of the world's largest offshore wind farm and a symbol of Britain's renewable energy future was thrown into doubt last night after it emerged that Shell was backing out of the project and indicated it would prefer to invest in more lucrative oil schemes.
Shell said the decision to sell its 33% stake in the £2bn London Array off the coast of Kent was part of an "ongoing review of projects and investment choices" and was not part of any major rethink about renewables versus other oil and gas projects.
But environmentalists will see the decision to drop one of only two renewable schemes being worked on by Shell in Britain as a further sign that the company is retreating back to hydrocarbons at a time when the price of oil has risen to about $120 a barrel.
Shell, which earlier this week reported first quarter profits of £4bn, has been selling off much of its solar business while moving more into Canada's carbon-heavy tar sands. The Department for Business said last night that a number of successful offshore wind projects had seen changes of ownership in the past "and we would therefore anticipate that the project will be able to proceed".
But Shell's partner, E.ON, expressed disappointment at the decision and made clear the project was now on a knife-edge. "While we remain committed to the scheme, Shell has introduced a new element of risk into the project which will need to be assessed," said Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK.
"The current economics of the project are marginal at best - with rising steel prices, bottlenecks in turbine supply and competition from the rest of the world all moving against us."
full article
Thursday, 1 May 2008
Top marques
Ask anyone on the street about the UK automotive industry and they might well ask 'what automotive industry?'
This would not be a surprise given the mainstream media's preoccupation with factory closures and economic gloom.
Fortunately, this special report paints a very different picture. The UK is not just an attractive place to make cars, but it boasts a disproportionately high number of globally recognised marques — spanning vehicle types from niche sports cars to heavy trucks and every sector in between.
Add to this an enviable reputation for contract manufacturing, a healthy smattering of world-leading research projects and an academic base that continues to produce some of the world's top engineers and designers, and it is clear that — far from being on its last legs — the UK's automotive sector is in pretty rude health. Here are 10 reasons why. The automotive sector has always embraced electronics, and more advanced technology is now finding its ways into cars. Here are 10 reasons why.
Hydrogen makes perky performer
From biofuels to hybrids and fully-electric vehicles, there are many routes to greener motoring and all will appear in greater numbers over the coming years.
But for true zero-emissions motoring, with vehicles capable of the performance we expect from petrol and diesel engines, most experts agree one candidate is more promising than all the others — the hydrogen fuel-cell.
The sticking point is the infrastructure. While biofuels can already be found on some garage forecourts, and electric cars can be plugged into the wall, the question of how to roll out a hydrogen infrastructure is more complex.
In a UK-led effort to solve this, fuel-cell specialist ITM Power last month joined Brentwood-based powertrain developer Roush Technologies on a project designed to stimulate the uptake of hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. 'There's a general acceptance that in the early stages of the technology it will be attractive for logistical and support reasons on fleets of vehicles which return to the same depot every night,' said Roush's Adrian Graves.
ITM is developing an electrolyser system that can be used by organisations to generate hydrogen, while Roush is investigating how this system could be applied to fleets of vehicles, and what modifications would need to made to a vehicle's engine and powertrain. Graves confirmed they are also working with an unnamed global manufacturer of commercial vehicles that has a facility in Essex (Ford's Dagenham plant would seem to fit the bill).
Meanwhile, Hugo Spowers, the automotive engineer behind Morgan's hydrogen-fuelled LifeCar (The Engineer, 10 March) believes fuel-cell vehicles will take off as urban vehicles. Through the HYRBAN project, Spowers is working with a loose alliance of motorsport engineers to develop a two-seater urban fuel-cell car that he hopes could kick-start this revolution. The powertrain for the vehicle is being tested at Cranfield University and, with a lightweight composite chassis, will be assembled into the vehicle this summer. Spowers believes the vehicle's perky performance will make it more attractive than existing low-emissions urban vehicles. 'It will have a cruise speed and a top speed of 50mph. It will get there very quickly and stay there and will accelerate to 30mph in 5.5 seconds.'
full article
This would not be a surprise given the mainstream media's preoccupation with factory closures and economic gloom.
Fortunately, this special report paints a very different picture. The UK is not just an attractive place to make cars, but it boasts a disproportionately high number of globally recognised marques — spanning vehicle types from niche sports cars to heavy trucks and every sector in between.
Add to this an enviable reputation for contract manufacturing, a healthy smattering of world-leading research projects and an academic base that continues to produce some of the world's top engineers and designers, and it is clear that — far from being on its last legs — the UK's automotive sector is in pretty rude health. Here are 10 reasons why. The automotive sector has always embraced electronics, and more advanced technology is now finding its ways into cars. Here are 10 reasons why.
Hydrogen makes perky performer
From biofuels to hybrids and fully-electric vehicles, there are many routes to greener motoring and all will appear in greater numbers over the coming years.
But for true zero-emissions motoring, with vehicles capable of the performance we expect from petrol and diesel engines, most experts agree one candidate is more promising than all the others — the hydrogen fuel-cell.
The sticking point is the infrastructure. While biofuels can already be found on some garage forecourts, and electric cars can be plugged into the wall, the question of how to roll out a hydrogen infrastructure is more complex.
In a UK-led effort to solve this, fuel-cell specialist ITM Power last month joined Brentwood-based powertrain developer Roush Technologies on a project designed to stimulate the uptake of hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. 'There's a general acceptance that in the early stages of the technology it will be attractive for logistical and support reasons on fleets of vehicles which return to the same depot every night,' said Roush's Adrian Graves.
ITM is developing an electrolyser system that can be used by organisations to generate hydrogen, while Roush is investigating how this system could be applied to fleets of vehicles, and what modifications would need to made to a vehicle's engine and powertrain. Graves confirmed they are also working with an unnamed global manufacturer of commercial vehicles that has a facility in Essex (Ford's Dagenham plant would seem to fit the bill).
Meanwhile, Hugo Spowers, the automotive engineer behind Morgan's hydrogen-fuelled LifeCar (The Engineer, 10 March) believes fuel-cell vehicles will take off as urban vehicles. Through the HYRBAN project, Spowers is working with a loose alliance of motorsport engineers to develop a two-seater urban fuel-cell car that he hopes could kick-start this revolution. The powertrain for the vehicle is being tested at Cranfield University and, with a lightweight composite chassis, will be assembled into the vehicle this summer. Spowers believes the vehicle's perky performance will make it more attractive than existing low-emissions urban vehicles. 'It will have a cruise speed and a top speed of 50mph. It will get there very quickly and stay there and will accelerate to 30mph in 5.5 seconds.'
full article
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Weather modification: The rain makers
Whether it is the Chinese firing weapons into the sky to make it rain, or the Thai government setting up a "royal rainmaking project", the science of weather modification has always had a touch of the sci-fi about it. So it is perhaps little surprise that the effectiveness of such an eccentric area of research has always been a little foggy. Indeed, no matter how hard you try – say, through launching silver-iodide particles into clouds to make them rain – it's hard to tell how influential you're actually being as it might have happened anyway.
But now, one of the world's leading weather experts thinks that the wind surrounding weather modification is set to change. Roelof Bruintjes, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, USA, believes that weather-monitoring technology is so hot nowadays that science fiction may soon become science fact. Speaking earlier this week, he said: "Now we can measure clouds so well – even from the inside – we can get many more answers as to what the effects of man-made intervention are, and separate them from what would have happened naturally.
"For the first time, we can discover whether humans have changed weather patterns. It's a whole new opportunity. We are at the most exciting time for weather modification in its history."
Many of the world's driest nations have dabbled in weather modification since its first major lab breakthrough in 1949, when researchers at General Electric in New York discovered that silver-iodide smoke caused the kind of droplets in clouds to turn to ice, a process vital to rain formation. Since then, however, experts came to the conclusion that the processes involved in rain formation were just too complex.
But that hasn't stopped many governments from trying. There are currently 150 weather-modification projects taking place in more than 40 countries. In many of these, researchers are using trials in which some randomly chosen clouds are "seeded" while others are not, and both groups are monitored. Arlen Huggins of the Desert Research Institute in Nevada, USA, is leading one of these studies in Australia's Snowy Mountains, where the snow pack has shrunk in recent decades. Reportedly, their results to date might suggest that seeding works (although there are still two years of the six-year project left to go).
full article
But now, one of the world's leading weather experts thinks that the wind surrounding weather modification is set to change. Roelof Bruintjes, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, USA, believes that weather-monitoring technology is so hot nowadays that science fiction may soon become science fact. Speaking earlier this week, he said: "Now we can measure clouds so well – even from the inside – we can get many more answers as to what the effects of man-made intervention are, and separate them from what would have happened naturally.
"For the first time, we can discover whether humans have changed weather patterns. It's a whole new opportunity. We are at the most exciting time for weather modification in its history."
Many of the world's driest nations have dabbled in weather modification since its first major lab breakthrough in 1949, when researchers at General Electric in New York discovered that silver-iodide smoke caused the kind of droplets in clouds to turn to ice, a process vital to rain formation. Since then, however, experts came to the conclusion that the processes involved in rain formation were just too complex.
But that hasn't stopped many governments from trying. There are currently 150 weather-modification projects taking place in more than 40 countries. In many of these, researchers are using trials in which some randomly chosen clouds are "seeded" while others are not, and both groups are monitored. Arlen Huggins of the Desert Research Institute in Nevada, USA, is leading one of these studies in Australia's Snowy Mountains, where the snow pack has shrunk in recent decades. Reportedly, their results to date might suggest that seeding works (although there are still two years of the six-year project left to go).
full article
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
How to make your home more energy-efficient in ten easy steps
Replace all light bulbs with energy-efficient ones. They are more expensive than normal bulbs, but they last far longer and are not the glaring and humming glass bricks of yore.
Treat your hot water cylinder to a cosy jacket. An 80mm-thick coat costs about £12 and will save you about £20 per year in heating bills and 160kg a year in emissions.
Set your heating correctly. Your boiler thermostat, time programmer and thermostatic radiator valves should only heat the rooms that you use at the times that you use them.
Bleed radiators to release trapped air. Turn off the heating and cautiously loosen the bleed valve at the top of the radiator: use a rag to catch the drips.
More substantial energy-efficiency measures in the home require a larger initial outlay, but these will be recouped through savings in energy bills over a period of years. There is a range of grants available. See what you are eligible for at: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/proxy/view/full/2019/grantsandofferssearch.
The big investment to consider is insulation. About half of the heat lost from a typical home is through the walls and roof.
Cavity wall insulation costs about £500 to install and saves you about £90 a year in heating bills and 750kg a year in CO2 emissions. The external walls of many houses consist of two layers with a gap between them. Filling the gap will substantially decrease the amount of lost heat.
Solid walls lose even more heat than cavity walls. They can be covered with a weather-proof insulating treatment which costs about £1,900 and will save you about £300 a year in bills and an annual 2.6 tonnes of CO2.
Timber floors can be insulated by laying mineral wool padding under the boards at a cost of about £90, saving £45 a year and 350 kg of CO2.
If you have no loft insulation (that yellow foam stuff), 15 per cent of your heat could be escaping through the roof. Installing the recommended 270mm will cost about £750 and save you £110 and 1 tonne of CO2 per year.
Get double glazing. This can cut heat loss through windows by half. Costs vary, but you could save £90 a year on bills and 740kg of carbon emissions. You can, of course, just do the rooms that cost the most to heat.
Buy a new high-efficiency condensing boiler. It's a pricey investment, but will save you about 1.7 tonnes of CO2 and £200 a year.
full article
Treat your hot water cylinder to a cosy jacket. An 80mm-thick coat costs about £12 and will save you about £20 per year in heating bills and 160kg a year in emissions.
Set your heating correctly. Your boiler thermostat, time programmer and thermostatic radiator valves should only heat the rooms that you use at the times that you use them.
Bleed radiators to release trapped air. Turn off the heating and cautiously loosen the bleed valve at the top of the radiator: use a rag to catch the drips.
More substantial energy-efficiency measures in the home require a larger initial outlay, but these will be recouped through savings in energy bills over a period of years. There is a range of grants available. See what you are eligible for at: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/proxy/view/full/2019/grantsandofferssearch.
The big investment to consider is insulation. About half of the heat lost from a typical home is through the walls and roof.
Cavity wall insulation costs about £500 to install and saves you about £90 a year in heating bills and 750kg a year in CO2 emissions. The external walls of many houses consist of two layers with a gap between them. Filling the gap will substantially decrease the amount of lost heat.
Solid walls lose even more heat than cavity walls. They can be covered with a weather-proof insulating treatment which costs about £1,900 and will save you about £300 a year in bills and an annual 2.6 tonnes of CO2.
Timber floors can be insulated by laying mineral wool padding under the boards at a cost of about £90, saving £45 a year and 350 kg of CO2.
If you have no loft insulation (that yellow foam stuff), 15 per cent of your heat could be escaping through the roof. Installing the recommended 270mm will cost about £750 and save you £110 and 1 tonne of CO2 per year.
Get double glazing. This can cut heat loss through windows by half. Costs vary, but you could save £90 a year on bills and 740kg of carbon emissions. You can, of course, just do the rooms that cost the most to heat.
Buy a new high-efficiency condensing boiler. It's a pricey investment, but will save you about 1.7 tonnes of CO2 and £200 a year.
full article
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