Global businesses have called for a legally-binding and comprehensive international deal on climate change.
A binding agreement on emissions reductions would encourage business to invest in low-carbon technologies, a statement from 150 businesses said.
The statement - backed by Prince Charles - will be sent to environment ministers and heads of state ahead of talks in Bali on climate change.
Nokia, Tesco, Lloyds TSB and Nike are among the 150 firms that made the call.
The signatories represent companies from Europe, the US, China and Australia.
full article
Friday 30 November 2007
Thursday 29 November 2007
How solar power could become organic
Physicist Neil Greenham of Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory likes turning a good idea on its head. His PhD involved researching polymer light emitting diodes, since used for displays in some televisions, MP3 players and mobile phones. But then he joined a research group trying to use similar polymers to generate electricity from light. Now, more than a decade of pioneering work has resulted in an organic solar cell that doesn't use expensive silicon.
Conventional photovoltaic (PV) solar cells are made from a thin slice (around 200 microns) of silicon that is doped with chemicals to form a bilayer structure called a p-n junction. When photons of light are absorbed by the silicon, electrons flow, creating a small electric current. An organic solar cell takes a similar approach but uses an ultra-thin (100 nanometre) film mixture of two semiconducting polymers instead.
Is organic solar likely to replace silicon, then? Even though the more efficient silicon has an obvious cost penalty, Greenham doesn't think so: "There's going to have to be a lot more PV of all kinds. We want to make it cheap enough to really expand the market."
That view is shared by Professor Paul O'Brien at the University of Manchester. He's been involved with solar cells for more than 20 years, especially those that don't use silicon. "Silicon is made in a foundry and the technology is the same as we use to make silicon chips. That, of course, is far too expensive," says O'Brien, who reckons that solar cells need be no more pricey than high-performance self-cleaning glass. "Get the cost down, and the whole thing becomes viable."
Led by O'Brien and Professor Jenny Nelson at Imperial College London, a £1.5m Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council project is trying to do just that. Its target is a mass-produced hybrid solar cell with energy conversion efficiencies approaching 10%. The first laboratory prototype will be assembled next year.
"We're very interested in solar cells where we take an organic layer that's printable or sprayable containing an inorganic material like lead sulphide which will actually do the photon capture," O'Brien says. Photons knock out loose electrons, which then flow through the cell to produce electricity.
Lead sulphide (PbS) adds a new twist to silicon-free solar cells by using nanotechnology. The lead sulphide will be in the form of nanorods, 100 or so nanometres long and 20 by 20 nanometres in section. (One micron is 1,000nm.) When photons hit the rods distributed within a semiconducting polymer, electrons are released. Researchers also plan to use equally small "quantum dots" to achieve the same photovoltaic effect.
"The big driver for me is always cost reduction, not efficiency," O'Brien says. Despite falling short of silicon's efficiency, the benefit will be huge cost reductions. If all goes well, O'Brien reckons the new solar cell technology may be one hundredth of the cost of a silicon cell when in mass production - promising a solar energy revolution. "The world needs to look at alternatives to fossil fuels," O'Brien says.
The idea of solar cell research at UK universities delivering electricity as cheaply as fossil fuels do today is exciting. But waiting around for the science to become technology isn't an option, says Martyn Williams, senior parliamentary campaigner at Friends of the Earth. "We are aware of moves to find new ways to generate electricity from solar power. We have to move faster than that because every tonne of carbon we pump out is adding to the problem."
Six years ago, he installed solar PV on his Victorian terraced house when it needed a new roof. "It produced about £250 of electricity a year," says Williams, who received a £10,000 (50%) grant from the government.
Michael Pollitt
full article
Conventional photovoltaic (PV) solar cells are made from a thin slice (around 200 microns) of silicon that is doped with chemicals to form a bilayer structure called a p-n junction. When photons of light are absorbed by the silicon, electrons flow, creating a small electric current. An organic solar cell takes a similar approach but uses an ultra-thin (100 nanometre) film mixture of two semiconducting polymers instead.
Is organic solar likely to replace silicon, then? Even though the more efficient silicon has an obvious cost penalty, Greenham doesn't think so: "There's going to have to be a lot more PV of all kinds. We want to make it cheap enough to really expand the market."
That view is shared by Professor Paul O'Brien at the University of Manchester. He's been involved with solar cells for more than 20 years, especially those that don't use silicon. "Silicon is made in a foundry and the technology is the same as we use to make silicon chips. That, of course, is far too expensive," says O'Brien, who reckons that solar cells need be no more pricey than high-performance self-cleaning glass. "Get the cost down, and the whole thing becomes viable."
Led by O'Brien and Professor Jenny Nelson at Imperial College London, a £1.5m Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council project is trying to do just that. Its target is a mass-produced hybrid solar cell with energy conversion efficiencies approaching 10%. The first laboratory prototype will be assembled next year.
"We're very interested in solar cells where we take an organic layer that's printable or sprayable containing an inorganic material like lead sulphide which will actually do the photon capture," O'Brien says. Photons knock out loose electrons, which then flow through the cell to produce electricity.
Lead sulphide (PbS) adds a new twist to silicon-free solar cells by using nanotechnology. The lead sulphide will be in the form of nanorods, 100 or so nanometres long and 20 by 20 nanometres in section. (One micron is 1,000nm.) When photons hit the rods distributed within a semiconducting polymer, electrons are released. Researchers also plan to use equally small "quantum dots" to achieve the same photovoltaic effect.
"The big driver for me is always cost reduction, not efficiency," O'Brien says. Despite falling short of silicon's efficiency, the benefit will be huge cost reductions. If all goes well, O'Brien reckons the new solar cell technology may be one hundredth of the cost of a silicon cell when in mass production - promising a solar energy revolution. "The world needs to look at alternatives to fossil fuels," O'Brien says.
The idea of solar cell research at UK universities delivering electricity as cheaply as fossil fuels do today is exciting. But waiting around for the science to become technology isn't an option, says Martyn Williams, senior parliamentary campaigner at Friends of the Earth. "We are aware of moves to find new ways to generate electricity from solar power. We have to move faster than that because every tonne of carbon we pump out is adding to the problem."
Six years ago, he installed solar PV on his Victorian terraced house when it needed a new roof. "It produced about £250 of electricity a year," says Williams, who received a £10,000 (50%) grant from the government.
Michael Pollitt
full article
Tuesday 27 November 2007
Energy Saving Kettle
Can anything new be done with the humble kettle? Well, with the Quick Cup, Tefal claims it has made it faster and more eco-friendly.
The Quick Cup serves hot water on demand in only 3 seconds and uses only a third of the energy of an ordinary kettle. Using Tefal's patented ‘Opti-quick’ technology system, you don’t need to pre-heat your water. Just push the button and the water is sent up the heating element in a spiral movement, heating it immediately as it travels. So no energy heating water you don’t need, or boiling water you don’t use. In fact. According to Tefal, that could be a £31 cost-saving per year using Quick Cup compared to an ordinary kettle.
full article
Britain's CO2 emissions could be cut by 80%
The CO2 emissions from Britain's homes could be cut by 80 per cent by 2050 but it would require massive investment and a quantum leap in commitment from the Government, according to a new report.
Almost £13bn a year for the next 10 years needed to be spent involving a complete overhaul of the national housing stock and ensuring every house in the country became energy efficient.
It would deliver huge carbon cuts from UK homes, eliminate fuel poverty, cut household power bills and create jobs, according to the Home Truths report by the Oxford Environmental Change Institute.
It slated the Government for rhetoric over cutting emissions including a blizzard of programmes and reviews, while CO2 levels had actually risen by more than five per cent since Labour came to power in 1997.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the housing sector accounted for 27 per cent of the UK's carbon footprint. In London household energy use made up 38 per cent of the total emissions produced by the city every year.
Key recommendations in the report included:
Financial incentives in the form of tax breaks and investments to ensure every UK home became low carbon leading to lower energy bills.
A roll-out of low carbon technology as well as stricter regulations on appliances, and phasing out of all lighting which didn't use low-energy bulbs.
Reform of the energy market so that householders would be guaranteed a premium price for any electricity they sell back to the grid from renewable sources such as solar panels and to ensure energy saving - not high consumption - was rewarded in tariffs.
Tough minimum standards for homes, monitored by energy performance certificates, needed to be introduced and progressively tightened.
Legally binding targets for housing emissions to be reduced by 3.7per cent each year from 2008.
Street-by-street programme of building improvements such as wall and roof insulation by local authorities in high energy use areas.
By Paul Eccleston
full article
Almost £13bn a year for the next 10 years needed to be spent involving a complete overhaul of the national housing stock and ensuring every house in the country became energy efficient.
It would deliver huge carbon cuts from UK homes, eliminate fuel poverty, cut household power bills and create jobs, according to the Home Truths report by the Oxford Environmental Change Institute.
It slated the Government for rhetoric over cutting emissions including a blizzard of programmes and reviews, while CO2 levels had actually risen by more than five per cent since Labour came to power in 1997.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the housing sector accounted for 27 per cent of the UK's carbon footprint. In London household energy use made up 38 per cent of the total emissions produced by the city every year.
Key recommendations in the report included:
Financial incentives in the form of tax breaks and investments to ensure every UK home became low carbon leading to lower energy bills.
A roll-out of low carbon technology as well as stricter regulations on appliances, and phasing out of all lighting which didn't use low-energy bulbs.
Reform of the energy market so that householders would be guaranteed a premium price for any electricity they sell back to the grid from renewable sources such as solar panels and to ensure energy saving - not high consumption - was rewarded in tariffs.
Tough minimum standards for homes, monitored by energy performance certificates, needed to be introduced and progressively tightened.
Legally binding targets for housing emissions to be reduced by 3.7per cent each year from 2008.
Street-by-street programme of building improvements such as wall and roof insulation by local authorities in high energy use areas.
By Paul Eccleston
full article
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