Green Energy Republic

A new type of Va Va Voom

More than 60 eco-friendly cars competed in a road race with a difference last weekend. Taking place the day before the traditional annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run and running the 60-mile route in reverse, the inaugural Future Car Challenge show-cased some of the coolest low-emission cars of the future. The aim was to complete the race using the lowest amount of energy possible.

Good Energy customer and Tesla electric roadster owner Kevin Sharpe took part in the event alongside vehicles such as the electric Mini E, Toyota Auris and Prius Hybrids and the hydrogen-powered Honda FCX Clarity.

Kevin travelled a total of 527 miles in his Tesla over the course of the weekend driving to and from his home in Bradford-on-Avon. Over 200 of these miles were powered by 100% renewable electricity thanks to Good Energy. “Next year I’ll try and ensure its all 100% renewable,” says Kevin.

Below are a few photos from the event.

 
 
 

Re-news

DECC feeling the heat
Ed Miliband’s Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is feeling the heat as its decision to scrap opening windows in favour of energy-guzzling air-conditioning has come under fire from environmental campaigners.

DECC, which is responsible for the UK achieving its carbon emissions targets, abandoned its plan to cut energy consumption by opening windows a mere three days into the trial! Apparently, an internal memo said that "Concerns have been raised about higher temperatures, reduced air flow, noise from the building works and security concerns”. This is a bit ironic – surely higher temperatures are exactly what they ought to expect if they insist on turning their air-conditioning back on?!  It is also worth noting that DECC’s newly refurbished offices have been awarded the lowest possible energy efficiency rating (G) - a classic case of do as we say, not do as we do.

Environmental organisations are, unsurprisingly, unimpressed with DECC’s apparent lack of commitment to energy-saving measures by the government body that should be fighting hardest for them. Come on DECC - we know you can do better than that!

East meets West as China gears up for Copenhagen
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has spoken about the need to stay focused on the bigger picture at climate talks in Copenhagen later this year during a recent visit to Beijing. He maintains that a definite, positive outcome could be threatened if leaders get too caught up in ‘precise percentages’ – basically, arguing about who should reduce emissions by how much.

We’re already seeing this kind of dispute: Beijing, for example, is keen that the West leads the way with massive emissions cuts, whilst the West is similarly pressing Beijing to give an exact target for its own reductions. That said, it looks like things are moving in the right direction. Though China is still the world's biggest emitter (read more about this in a previous post here) it is putting more and more cash into renewables projects, with a recent report in The Telegraph claiming the country now has a third of the world market for solar cells and is on course to build 100 gigawatts of wind turbines by 2020.

There’s no doubting that negotiations are going to be difficult, but we agree with Tony: Copenhagen must not be a battle between East and West.

The kids are united
Around 700 children from all over the world got together in Seoul, South Korea, last week to discuss their concerns about climate change ahead of the Copenhagen talks. They called for world leaders to take positive action saying: ‘We now need more actions and less talking.” It’s good to know that the future looks safe in the hands of the next generation.

Australia passes 20% renewable energy bill
The Australian parliament has passed a law to ensure that 20% of its electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020 - enough clean energy sources to power all of Australia’s households.

This is a positive move, but there are fears that it may not prove as successful as hoped. Critics have argued that, although the amount of renewable energy will increase, if this isn’t supported by strong cuts in greenhouse gas emissions the country’s CO2 emissions might actually increase over the next ten years. Australia’s climate change minister said “The only way we're going to be able to turn around the growth in our carbon pollution ... is to put a firm legislated limit on the amount of carbon that we produce and make those who create the pollution pay for it."

A politician with some sound advice – let’s hope that the Australian government takes it on board.

 And finally...
An ingenious idea to cut carbon using artificial trees could be a reality within 10-20 years. A new report from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers has suggested that this could be a viable way to ‘soak up’ CO2 in the atmosphere.

The trees would work by capturing carbon dioxide in a filter from which it would then be removed and stored. The technology would be developed alongside carbon storage techniques – which the government is already planning to use on a large-scale. The report claims that each tree would be around the size of a shipping container and could remove thousands of times more CO2 from the atmosphere than a real tree of the same size.

This invention is currently at the prototype stage so will need a lot more testing and development, but it’s certainly something we’re going to keep an eye on!  Although, it must be said that this isn't a solution long term, just a way of clearing up the mess we are making currently.

Green Energy Republic

Tomorrow's Products

Solar Window

A team at the Masschusetts Insititute of Technology (MIT) have developed a clever new technology that could reduce the cost of generating solar power massively.

The technique uses transparent organic dyes that are painted onto the surface of a pane of glass. Depending on their colour, the dyes trap different wavelengths of sunlight, concentrate it and redirect it along the surface to photovoltaic (PV) cells in the frame of the window. This could mean that PV cells would only be necessary at the edges of the window in order to convert the concentrated and redirected light into electricity.

With less PV cells this would mean a less expensive technology and greater availability. It is estimated that the edges of the glass panel could be 100 times smaller than the surface itself which would mean 100 times fewer PV cells would be necessary. By using the dyes in carefully chosen ratios the scientists were able to accurately control how much light was absorbed by the panel and transported across it.

The engineers at MIT claim the 'organic solar concentrator' device is relatively easy to manufacture and could be available within three years. In the mean time they have also suggested that the technology could be applied to standard solar panels to improve their efficiency. This would involve coating the panels to boost their collecting ability and it is estimated that this could nearly double the performance of existing solar cells for a minimal added cost. If it all works out the future could be brighter and cheaper.