Nuclear Plans Ruled Unlawful

The UK Government recently announced their support for continued nuclear development as the way forward for 'greener' energy, including the building of more power stations. This was after 'consultation' (I use that word loosely!) with the appropriate bodies, and looking at relevent 'facts' and figures etc.

This descision was opposed by many groups, including Greenpeace who 
challenged the descision in court and got it overturned.

Sarah North, head of the Greenpeace nuclear campaign, said:

"The government's so-called consultation on nuclear power was obviously a sham,
and we're pleased that the judge has agreed with us."

"The government completely failed to consult adequately and even kept relevant documents to themselves. They've now been forced back to the drawing board to
conduct a proper and lengthy review."

Result! 

Read more here.

Save energy ... change colour!

Earlier in the month I talked about software, and whether it could be environmentally friendly. Well, staying on a techie theme, here is an interesting article from WinBeta that was passed on to me by a friend regarding the colour of web pages of all things!

The example given uses Google, but it applies to all web pages, and to be honest I was amazed!

An all white web page uses about 74 watts to display, while an all black page uses only 59 watts. See what happens when you do the math on Google's home page. Astounding.

So what does happen when you do the math? Click here for the full article.

Now what if all web pages were black or dark in colour ... just think how much energy that could save!

Can software be environmentally friendly?

Well, lets start off with a happy new year to you all!

I work in the IT industry, and have always had more than a passing interest in software ... or more precisely, free software. I think everybody loves something for nothing!

But what has this to do with being green, or environmentally friendly?

The answer to this can easily be seen by just walking around the software department of any large computer store ... PC World in the UK is a good example. You'll see row, upon row of big, bright colourful boxes, excessive plastic wrapping, and other eye catching gimmicks.

These boxes contain nothing more than a single disc, and perhaps a booklet or a manual, and yet most are large enough to hold perhaps 20, 30 discs or more!

It's rather sickening to think that the majority of this packaging will quickly end up in the bin as soon as the software gets into the home or office where it is going to be used. It is a dire waste of resources and materials, and all for the sake of self promotion.

It is intended to be big and brash so that the consumer is attracted to it. Unfortunately, its boldness is just such a waste. Even if you recycled most of the packaging, you still have the energy and resources expended to produce it, and spent again to recycle it.

This is where free software has the advantage. Unless it comes on a disc on the cover of a magazine, then you need to find it and download it from the Internet. The ecological advantage of this is now obvious - no waste from over ambitious packaging!

Now this is also true of commercial software or shareware that you can pay for online and download, but, as with most people, I prefer free when I can get it, and if I want a backup of the install file I just burn it to CD.

This brings us to our next problem - where to download from?

There are thousands of sites that you can download software from, the trouble is much of it is not free. It expires after 30 days, or useful features are crippled after a set length of time, or worse still, your computer gets infected with some malware, spyware or some other nasty! Another thing I have found in the past is that it's not always easy to find what you actually need, or there are a dozen titles that 'appear' to do what you want ... leaving you wondering which one do you download?

A good starting point for downloading safe free software is the Lessfuss Collection. It's free to join and has one perhaps two of any type of program considered to be the best of its kind currently available making your choice a lot easier. All of the programs are free to use forever, and they are also selected because they do not contain any adware, spyware, or malware.

Now, with broadband becoming more prevalent, I urge you all to download your software from now on instead of purchasing overly packaged 'boxed' versions. Yes, software can be green or at the very least 'greener' if you follow this advice. So get downloading, and leave those overly packed puddings on the shelf!

Eco-friendly Electricity

So, you want to do your bit for the environment and use renewable energy, but you can't afford to install solar, wind, or other means of green power in your home - what can you do?

Well, there is something you can do, you can do it right now, and you can make a difference!

With the deregulation of the UK's energy market you can choose who supplies your electricity, and make your voice heard with your money.

"The other thing that not many people realise is that we can now all choose who supplies our electricity, and therefore how it's made, so wherever you live in the country you can actually choose to have your home or business supplied by clean energy. The funny thing is switching takes about five minutes but it's the biggest single step you can take to reduce your emissions and protect the environment."

There are several green suppliers about, but only one that stands out for value AND their future plans, and that company is Ecotricity. Why Ecotricity you may ask?
Well, Ecotricity was formed in 1996, and have so far (Q4 2005) invested in and constructed 11 windfarms with more at planning stage and construction starting on several other projects.
Just click the previous link and take a look! (link opens in new window).

"Wind is an abundant source of energy that will never run out. It's also the world's fastest growing energy source and in the UK we're lucky enough to have around 40%of Europe's wind resource, potentially enough to power the country 3 or 4 times over".

There are other 'green' suppliers including; Green Energy UK, and Good Energy, but both of these companies have 'bought into' the green energy market by purchasing existing renewable sources including wind and hydro (water) from other companies. Their actual investment in new projects has so far been zero. An interesting comparison of green and traditional suppliers (including their 'green' efforts) can be found at www.whichgreen.org.

Ecotricity promise to match the price of every regional supplier, so therefore it should cost you no more than you currently pay, they also promise to invest the profits from you back into renewable resources, therefore increasing the amount of UK energy produced by environmentally friendly means.

So make a difference now - change your electricity supplier to Ecotricity and you know you are not only making a difference, but your money is also being invested in all our futures.

Further interesting facts and figures regarding electricity and wind power can be downloaded from here . ( in PDF format - Free Adobe Acrobat Reader required: www.adobe.com )

Solar Power - Part 1

We have all heard of Solar power, but what is it, how does it work, and why use it?

Solar is defined as; derived from or related to the sun or utilizing the energies of the sun. Therefore, anything that manages to harness the power of the sun may be called Solar Power.

The 3 Main Types of Solar Power

There are 3 main types of solar energy systems:

1. Solar Water Heating.
2. Solar Cells (Photovoltaic).
3. Solar Concentrator Systems.

The first two types are commonly used for household and general business installations, whereas the last (Solar Concentrator Systems) is for large industrial, or solar energy farms and solar power station applications. A brief explanation of each:

1. Solar Water Heating.

Solar water heating in its simplist form is a flat coated metal panel, insulated underneath and with pipes containing water lying on the surface. As the panel heats from the sun, so does the water held in the pipes. The water is circulated over the panels, and back into the buildings hot water system.

A more advanced (and therefore more expensive) system uses very well insulated evacuated glass tubes. The collector plate is held within the tubes vaccum, and so heat loss is virtually eliminated due to the vaccum and insulation.

In the UK, it is estimated that you can save about 50% of all water heating bills. Both of these types of panel are suitable for home use, and are also available in the UK. This type of system is also great for underfloor heating, general water heating, or even to heat a swimming pool, which is something to consider.


2. Solar Cells

Usually referred to as Photovoltaic cells/panels (PV), which are composed of specially formulated cells that produce an electric current when light falls upon them. These are the same technology that a solar powered calculator uses for power, only on a larger scale.

The majority of pv solar panels are silicon based, although other materials have or are being used, especially as research and development in this area progresses. Recently scientists have discovered how to acheive similar results using a type of plastic composite which is also able to use the infra-red spectrum, previously not within the ability of existing panels, and thereby making them even more efficient than many current designs.

All of this development means that the overall cost of an installation is rapidly decreasing, especially as demand increases allowing photovoltaic panels to be used for far more projects, including domestic use.


3. Solar Concentrator Systems

Concentrator systems are generally commercial installations or for large solar electrical generators.

This site is primarily concerned with houses and domestic systems, so for anyone interested in what these are, and how they work can follow this link to read all about Concentrating Solar Power.


The UK recieves a vast amount of radiation from the sun over the course of a year, this means that even somewhere as weather challenged as the UK is able to benefit enormously from using either type of solar energy system stated above.

Next ... part 2 - domestic installations, diagrams, selling or storing your excess power.

Fuel Cell Technology

Fuel cell technology has been with us a long time - invented by a welshman named William Grove in 1839. Despite the technology being around for the last 150 years, it's true potential and actual use has been limited, in fact, practically none existent.
NASA employed the use of fuel cell technology as early as the Apollo missions, some submarines have used them since the 1980's, and most car manufacturers have produced a prototype car to utilise this power source.

Unfortunately, readily available commercial products have been a long time coming, primarily due to the expence of production. This is soon to change with a number of manufacturers developing fuel cell technology for use in mobile phones, laptops and other portable devices.

Personally, I have a particular interest in hydrogen fuel cells in conjunction with photovoltaic cells as a potential power source for our homes. These type of system uses the photovoltaic cells to produce electricity, and any unused, excess power is then used to generate hydrogen which is stored for use in the fuel cell to provide electricity when the solar source isn't readily available (at night for example). This system is very much like the experimental house built by the University of Kebangsaan in Malaysia. Other examples being developed for home use are Panasonic's Household Fuel Cell Cogeneration System, a unit that runs on natural gas, and Honda's Home Energy Station III, also running on natural gas and which provides the energy required for the Fuel Cell Car aswell as the home.

There is still a while before a fully self-sufficient system is developed and available for household installation, but I believe it is more a case of when as opposed to if such a fuel cell will become available.

I am very much open to comments and suggestions regarding the idea of household fuel cells, so any comments, links or additional information will be greatfully recieved!

Welcome To The Solar Century!

solarcentury are the UK's leading supplier of photovoltaic panels (solar panels that are able to produce electricity). This year named as the 25th fastest growing British technology company by the Sunday Times, they have completed many installations all over the UK both commercial and domestic.


solarcentury are completely independent from the fossil-fuel industry, and their 50+ member team at the time of writing, is headed by CEO Jeremy Leggett who as well as being the author of the book The Carbon War, was an award-winning scientist, oil-industry consultant, and Greenpeace campaigner.

"Jeremy Leggett is one of the half-dozen experts most responsible for putting climate change issues on the international agenda."

Mark Hertsgaard - Washington Post.

Jeremy has recently completed another book which may be of interest to readers - published in November 2005 by Portobello Books, it's called 'Half Gone' : Peak of Oil, Gas and the Global Energy Crisis.

The technology of solar panels has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years, with panels able to be made in many finishes and shapes, from flat to curved, and even plastic and glass laminates an example of which is the glass laminated roof commissioned from solarcentury by Orange for one of their office buildings.

Modern photovoltaic can generate electricity from light regardless of weather conditions, this makes them very suitable for even the UK climate.

Electricity is produced during day light hours, and any unused electricity is either stored for later use (battery or fuel cell for example), or the excess clean power is channeled back to your electricity supplier for which you are paid. An illustration of how a photovoltaic system works can be found on their site, along with many images and explanations of the various installations, materials, and systems that they can supply.

There isn't really much need for me to harp on about the ecological or environmental benefits over conventional electricity production methods; such as oil, coal or nuclear, as this should be immediately obvious. But the benefits to your own pocket in energy costs should be stated, as well as the added value a property aquires with such an installation.

Sustainable Energy - Education

With Christmas just around the corner, how about an educational toy/building kit as a gift? Suitable for 11 years to Adult, and teaches you (amongst other things) about sustainable energy ... I'd love one!


The Power House stocked by Mindware has 20 building projects, and 70 experiments to complete. This mini eco house project includes solar panels, windmill, water heating, a greenhouse, and much more. This is truly an educational piece for any child or adult who may have an interest in ecological issues, and/or sustainable energy. What a fantastic idea, and a novel way to learn about alternative energy!

Sorry I couldn't put a direct link to the product here (kept getting an illegal URL error?), as it looks like the product is no longer available. But, you could try going to mindware.com and doing a search.