The Tesla Roadster

What makes Tesla—named for the inventor of alternating current—any different? For starters, Tesla's timing may be perfect. Ever since Al Gore let us in on the inconvenient truth, the idea of an electric vehicle has emerged as the purest play against global warming, since cars spit out 20 percent of the greenhouse gases that heat the planet. Plus, Tesla's founders and financiers created a compelling car that blends Silicon Valley smarts with the kind of pulse-pounding performance that earnest, eat-your-peas electric cars always lacked. They're powering their car with a 950-pound bundle of 6,831 lithium-ion cells, each about the size of a AA battery, which come from a device these Valley boys know something about—a laptop computer. Lithium ion is the new battery of choice for electric cars—Toyota and GM are looking at it—because it goes farther on a charge (Tesla claims well over 200 miles) and doesn't take as long to juice up (about 3.5 hours with a special garage charger, or seven hours with a conventional plug). And all this technology is wrapped in a curvaceous car based on the exotic Elise by boutique British carmaker Lotus, which is building the Roadster for Tesla in Hethel, England. The first year's production of 600 cars is sold out.

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Barratt contracted to build UK's first eco-village

The village is expected to be built in three years' time, ahead of the government's 2016 target, when it wants all new homes to be zero carbon. The onsite biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant will deliver energy to all 200 homes.

The village also aims to create eco-friendly lifestyles. It will capture rainwater and include sustainable drainage, farmers' shops, a car club and bicycle storage.

Hanham Hall will be the first site to be built under the under the Carbon Challenge initiative, run by English Partnerships as part of the government's commitment to tackle climate change.

Cooper said: "We have set a world-beating target that all new homes must be zero carbon by 2016. People said this couldn't be done, but, in fact, this first carbon challenge site shows that developers are already preparing to build the first major development of zero carbon homes.

The government is proposing to build 10 eco towns that will house up to 20,000 new homeowners. Cooper said the smaller eco-villages would aid the towns' development.

"These Carbon Challenge eco-villages are now leading the way, showing what can be done. This marks a revolution in the way we design and build homes," she said.

Barratt, which is best known for its anonymous suburban "Barratt boxes", last year opened an eco-smart show-village in Lancashire to test small-scale renewable technologies including rooftop wind turbines, solar thermal panels and CHP boilers.

Mark Clare, Barratt Developments' chief executive, said: "We are delighted to be asked to deliver this ground-breaking project, which will be the first large-scale zero-carbon community in the country. It will enable a family occupying one of these homes to reduce their entire carbon footprint by 60%."

The housing minister also unveiled six shortlisted bidders for the second Carbon Challenge site in Peterborough, and two new sites in Wigan and Doncaster.

She said: "The challenge will deliver zero carbon homes and communities and help the housebuilding sector demonstrate that the targets are feasible and can be commercially viable."
Alison Benjamin
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Britain's wind power revolution

Hutton's dramatic policy shift signals less reliance on nuclear energy
Offshore farms could provide all UK homes with electricity within 13 years
Britain is to embark on a wind power revolution that will produce enough electricity to power every home in the country, ministers will reveal tomorrow.

The Independent on Sunday has learnt that, in an astonishing U-turn, the Secretary of State for Business, John Hutton, will announce that he is opening up the seas around Britain to wind farms in the biggest ever renewable energy initiative. Only weeks ago he was resisting a major expansion of renewable sources, on the grounds that it would interfere with plans to build new nuclear power stations.

The revelation rounds off an unprecedented week in the battle against global warming in Britain and the United States. On Wednesday and Thursday measures to boost US use of renewable energy for electricity and motor fuel and cut greenhouse gas emissions were approved in Congress. The move comes as 190 nations meet in Bali, Indonesia, to negotiate what is seen as the world's "last chance" of avoiding the worst effects of climate change.
By Geoffrey Lean

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Tories see 1m households selling electricity

At least 1m households and businesses in Britain could be generating large amounts of electricity for the grid within a decade, but it will need an overhaul of the electricity supply industry, the Conservative party said yesterday.

The party would create a mass market for decentralised "micro-energy" by encouraging everyone to invest in their own solar power and other renewable electricity generating schemes. A guaranteed price for the electricity generated in homes would be paid, with a further guarantee to run the scheme for at least 20 years.

The "feed-in tariff" scheme proposed by the Conservatives would bring Britain into line with Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries where householders and businesses generate electricity from rooftops, gardens and buildings.

In Germany more than 300,000 solar systems have been installed in three years and micro-generation provides nearly 12% of all the country's electricity. Householders can earn 8% to 10% returns on investing in their own home systems and in some cases pay their mortgages with the income earned.

Take-up of micro-power has been very slow in Britain, where no incentives are paid to small scale electricity generators. "We need to move from a top down, old world, centralised electricity system to a bottom up, new world decentralised system," said David Cameron. The party leader has applied to instal a small wind turbine on his roof but it is not yet working.

By John Vidal

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