London Mayor Boris Johnson backs US scheme Recycle Bank which gives people shopping vouchers to value of recycling
Hélène Mullholland
guardian.co.uk, Monday 18 January 2010 00.05 GMT
The mayor of London Boris Johnson will today outline plans for a scheme that rewards recycling households as he aims to cut the amount of rubbish going to landfill sites.
Johnson is backing a London-based trial of an American scheme called Recycle Bank, which gives householders shopping vouchers or donations to charity to the value of how much they recycle.
Johnson estimates a typical London household would make £14 a month under the scheme, one of a series of proposals contained in a draft municipal waste strategy.
Figures show the capital's recycling rates lagging behind both the rest of the UK and other international cities.
Johnson, who chairs the London Waste and Recycling Board, wants to save £90m per year through more recycling, better co-ordination and greater investment in less polluting technologies.
Just 25% of the four million tonnes of household waste generated each year by Londoners is recycled, with half going to landfill sites. The remainder goes to incinerators. Johnson is writing to all London borough leaders to ask them to redouble their efforts in recycling and, reminding them of pressure on future council tax bills if they fail to act.
Monday, 18 January 2010
How to tackle Chinese crab invasion: send them home
Creatures regarded as pests in Britain are prized by diners across the Far East
By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor
Monday, 18 January 2010
They are becoming as big a pest in Britain as the grey squirrel or Japanese knotweed, and seemingly impossible to control. But the answer to dealing with Chinese mitten crabs, the invasive species infesting the Thames and other English rivers with damaging results, may be simple: eat them.
The large and aggressive Asian crabs with their hairy mitten-like claws are damaging native wildlife and river embankments as they spread across the country. Yet diners in China, Japan and Singapore consider them a tremendous delicacy, and will pay the equivalent of £24 for a single mitten crab in the right condition. It is a famous ingredient of Shanghai cuisine, and the roe is especially prized.
There has been no check, natural or otherwise, on the species' expansion. But Paul Clark, a marine biologist at the Natural History Museum, believes human consumption may be the answer. "It is a huge pest problem," he said. "It burrows into river banks and causes them to collapse, and is very damaging to native wildlife." In the Thames, it is now present in such numbers that there is also a risk that the crabs may clog the water intakes of power stations and other industrial facilities along the river. It is steadily spreading across Britain and it is "only a matter of time" before it reaches Scotland, he added.
Dr Clark is organising a conference in London in March to explore whether the abundant mitten crabs of the Thames – and there may be millions of them – can be harvested commercially, as a means of controlling their numbers. The possibility of setting up a mitten crab fishery in the Thames has been mooted thanks to a recent study which concluded that mitten crabs from the river were fit for human consumption, and that the population was large enough to be exploited.
Trials have shown that the best way to catch them is by the use of fyke nets, long bag-shaped nets which are held open by hoops. The fishery would have to be located in the lower Thames, between Greenwich and Erith, because it is to here, in the more saline water, that all the mature mitten crabs of the river migrate in the autumn to spawn – which is when they are their most edible.
Dr Clark said the conference will also be looking at the risks posed by a commercial fishery. The trials showed that the fyke nets used to catch the crabs attracted a substantial bycatch of eels, which are increasingly considered a threatened species in Europe. Furthermore, he thinks there is a risk that if a fishery took off and was commercially successful, people might intentionally disperse the crabs into other UK rivers, with the intention of making money.
"We are damned if we do and damned if we don't. "Mitten crabs have few natural enemies capable of reducing their numbers, but the establishment of a fishery would certainly carry risks."
The mittened mini-monster was first recorded in Britain in the Thames in 1935 having almost certainly arrived as larvae in the ballast water of ships from the Far East. It is found as far upstream as Windsor, and has also spread to other watercourses as far north as the Tyne. With a body the size of a human palm, and legs double the width of that, Eriocheir sinensis has spread around most of Europe during the last century, and has also arrived in the US, where it is considered a major pest.
Not welcome in Britain: Troublesome aliens
Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is the UK's most invasive non-native plant. The Victorians introduced it as an ornamental plant, but fertile British lands lacking in biologicalenemies have enabled it to flourish.
Grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis)are to blame for the decline of the UK’s native red squirrels, of which there are estimated to be only 140,000 remaining. Greys were brought fromAmerica in the late 19th century,and red squirrels are usually displaced within 15 years of theirarrival locally.
Harlequin ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis) are a recent addition to Britain and are the most invasive ladybirds on earth. They arrived in the UKin 2004, but were introduced to North America in 1988 and have since become the most widespread ladybird species on the continent.
The Rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri) has already caused serious damage to crops in Britain. It is found mainly in London and southern England, but how it wasfirst introduced is unclear. It is noted for its loud, screeching calls.
By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor
Monday, 18 January 2010
They are becoming as big a pest in Britain as the grey squirrel or Japanese knotweed, and seemingly impossible to control. But the answer to dealing with Chinese mitten crabs, the invasive species infesting the Thames and other English rivers with damaging results, may be simple: eat them.
The large and aggressive Asian crabs with their hairy mitten-like claws are damaging native wildlife and river embankments as they spread across the country. Yet diners in China, Japan and Singapore consider them a tremendous delicacy, and will pay the equivalent of £24 for a single mitten crab in the right condition. It is a famous ingredient of Shanghai cuisine, and the roe is especially prized.
There has been no check, natural or otherwise, on the species' expansion. But Paul Clark, a marine biologist at the Natural History Museum, believes human consumption may be the answer. "It is a huge pest problem," he said. "It burrows into river banks and causes them to collapse, and is very damaging to native wildlife." In the Thames, it is now present in such numbers that there is also a risk that the crabs may clog the water intakes of power stations and other industrial facilities along the river. It is steadily spreading across Britain and it is "only a matter of time" before it reaches Scotland, he added.
Dr Clark is organising a conference in London in March to explore whether the abundant mitten crabs of the Thames – and there may be millions of them – can be harvested commercially, as a means of controlling their numbers. The possibility of setting up a mitten crab fishery in the Thames has been mooted thanks to a recent study which concluded that mitten crabs from the river were fit for human consumption, and that the population was large enough to be exploited.
Trials have shown that the best way to catch them is by the use of fyke nets, long bag-shaped nets which are held open by hoops. The fishery would have to be located in the lower Thames, between Greenwich and Erith, because it is to here, in the more saline water, that all the mature mitten crabs of the river migrate in the autumn to spawn – which is when they are their most edible.
Dr Clark said the conference will also be looking at the risks posed by a commercial fishery. The trials showed that the fyke nets used to catch the crabs attracted a substantial bycatch of eels, which are increasingly considered a threatened species in Europe. Furthermore, he thinks there is a risk that if a fishery took off and was commercially successful, people might intentionally disperse the crabs into other UK rivers, with the intention of making money.
"We are damned if we do and damned if we don't. "Mitten crabs have few natural enemies capable of reducing their numbers, but the establishment of a fishery would certainly carry risks."
The mittened mini-monster was first recorded in Britain in the Thames in 1935 having almost certainly arrived as larvae in the ballast water of ships from the Far East. It is found as far upstream as Windsor, and has also spread to other watercourses as far north as the Tyne. With a body the size of a human palm, and legs double the width of that, Eriocheir sinensis has spread around most of Europe during the last century, and has also arrived in the US, where it is considered a major pest.
Not welcome in Britain: Troublesome aliens
Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is the UK's most invasive non-native plant. The Victorians introduced it as an ornamental plant, but fertile British lands lacking in biologicalenemies have enabled it to flourish.
Grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis)are to blame for the decline of the UK’s native red squirrels, of which there are estimated to be only 140,000 remaining. Greys were brought fromAmerica in the late 19th century,and red squirrels are usually displaced within 15 years of theirarrival locally.
Harlequin ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis) are a recent addition to Britain and are the most invasive ladybirds on earth. They arrived in the UKin 2004, but were introduced to North America in 1988 and have since become the most widespread ladybird species on the continent.
The Rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri) has already caused serious damage to crops in Britain. It is found mainly in London and southern England, but how it wasfirst introduced is unclear. It is noted for its loud, screeching calls.
EU's emissions struggle
Ministers must overcome differences in climate-change strategy
By BERND RADOWITZ And JUAN MONTES
SEVILLE, Spain—European Union countries are struggling to agree on a target for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions ahead of a Jan. 31 deadline to deliver a concrete offer to the United Nations following the Copenhagen accord.
France, Germany, the U.K. and Spain said they favor adopting a more-ambitious target to reduce emissions to 30% below 1990 levels by 2020, compared with the 20% target the EU is committed to—if others were to match that offer.
But EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said member states weren't unanimous on a target, and French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said Poland opposed going deeper than the 20% target. Italian Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo said even to talk about boosting the target to 30% after the "failure of Copenhagen" as if nothing had happened is "frankly surreal."
EU environment ministers were meeting in Seville this weekend to discuss climate-change strategy after the Copenhagen climate summit in December rendered only a nonbinding accord. It still needs to be fleshed out by concrete emission-cut targets by industrialized countries and voluntary actions from developing countries by Jan. 31. "We definitely think we should maintain the 30%. It has always been a conditional offer, but it is a very important signal that it is maintained," said Ed Miliband, the U.K.'s energy and climate-change secretary.
German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen said the EU should move beyond its commitment made in Copenhagen.
"Twenty percent is not enough," he said. "Twenty percent won't make Europe the global driving force" in climate-change policies. Germany has committed itself to a 40% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from 1990 levels.
Ms. Prestigiacomo said no one has explained how going from a 20% to a 30% emission-cut target could unblock the stalled global climate talks, while a 20% cut is already a gigantic strain on Europe's productive system.
By BERND RADOWITZ And JUAN MONTES
SEVILLE, Spain—European Union countries are struggling to agree on a target for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions ahead of a Jan. 31 deadline to deliver a concrete offer to the United Nations following the Copenhagen accord.
France, Germany, the U.K. and Spain said they favor adopting a more-ambitious target to reduce emissions to 30% below 1990 levels by 2020, compared with the 20% target the EU is committed to—if others were to match that offer.
But EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said member states weren't unanimous on a target, and French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said Poland opposed going deeper than the 20% target. Italian Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo said even to talk about boosting the target to 30% after the "failure of Copenhagen" as if nothing had happened is "frankly surreal."
EU environment ministers were meeting in Seville this weekend to discuss climate-change strategy after the Copenhagen climate summit in December rendered only a nonbinding accord. It still needs to be fleshed out by concrete emission-cut targets by industrialized countries and voluntary actions from developing countries by Jan. 31. "We definitely think we should maintain the 30%. It has always been a conditional offer, but it is a very important signal that it is maintained," said Ed Miliband, the U.K.'s energy and climate-change secretary.
German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen said the EU should move beyond its commitment made in Copenhagen.
"Twenty percent is not enough," he said. "Twenty percent won't make Europe the global driving force" in climate-change policies. Germany has committed itself to a 40% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from 1990 levels.
Ms. Prestigiacomo said no one has explained how going from a 20% to a 30% emission-cut target could unblock the stalled global climate talks, while a 20% cut is already a gigantic strain on Europe's productive system.
Toyota to double hybrid output in 2011 -Nikkei
Reuters, Monday January 18 2010
* Plans to introduce about 10 new hybrid models - Nikkei
* 1 mln hybrid production in line with expectations - analyst
* Toyota shares down 1 pct vs 1.2 pct Topix decline (Adds company comment)
By Taiga Uranaka
TOKYO, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp aims to double its global output of gas-electric hybrid cars to 1 million units in 2011, as it fights to stay in the lead in the growing market for low-emission cars, the Nikkei business reported on Monday.
Toyota, the world's largest automaker, had said it aimed to sell 1 million models annually worldwide soon after 2010 and has been ramping up its push on hybrids, introducing the Sai sedan in Japan recently, the brand's second hybrid-only model.
Low emission hybrids have enjoyed strong sales thanks to generous subsidies and tax breaks. The Prius, Toyota's flagship hybrid, became Japan's best-selling car in 2009.
"For the foreseeable future, the focus of Toyota's (low-emission car) strategy will be on hybrids, not electric or fuel-cell cars," said Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Kazaka Securities, adding the production volume reported by the Nikkei was in line with his expectations.
"Except for Honda, Toyota is facing little competition in hybrids and is set to put distance between itself and other automakers."
Honda Motors produces a rival hybrid, the Insight, whose popularity has so far trailed behind that of the Prius.
Toyota plans to add about 10 new hybrid models in the next few years to its existing lineup and to increase the number of sites where it can assemble hybrid models, the Nikkei said without citing sources.
Toyota's global production of hybrid cars is likely to have been 500,000 units in 2009, accounting for about 8 percent of its overall production, the paper said.
Toyota has already expanded its hybrid production sites beyond Japan to include China, the United States, Thailand and Australia, typically receiving some form of state-backed incentives to build the fuel-efficient vehicles locally.
Shares of Toyota were down 1 percent at 4,160 yen as of 0200 GMT, compared with a 1.2 percent decline in the Topix index. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by David Dolan)
* Plans to introduce about 10 new hybrid models - Nikkei
* 1 mln hybrid production in line with expectations - analyst
* Toyota shares down 1 pct vs 1.2 pct Topix decline (Adds company comment)
By Taiga Uranaka
TOKYO, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp aims to double its global output of gas-electric hybrid cars to 1 million units in 2011, as it fights to stay in the lead in the growing market for low-emission cars, the Nikkei business reported on Monday.
Toyota, the world's largest automaker, had said it aimed to sell 1 million models annually worldwide soon after 2010 and has been ramping up its push on hybrids, introducing the Sai sedan in Japan recently, the brand's second hybrid-only model.
Low emission hybrids have enjoyed strong sales thanks to generous subsidies and tax breaks. The Prius, Toyota's flagship hybrid, became Japan's best-selling car in 2009.
"For the foreseeable future, the focus of Toyota's (low-emission car) strategy will be on hybrids, not electric or fuel-cell cars," said Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Kazaka Securities, adding the production volume reported by the Nikkei was in line with his expectations.
"Except for Honda, Toyota is facing little competition in hybrids and is set to put distance between itself and other automakers."
Honda Motors produces a rival hybrid, the Insight, whose popularity has so far trailed behind that of the Prius.
Toyota plans to add about 10 new hybrid models in the next few years to its existing lineup and to increase the number of sites where it can assemble hybrid models, the Nikkei said without citing sources.
Toyota's global production of hybrid cars is likely to have been 500,000 units in 2009, accounting for about 8 percent of its overall production, the paper said.
Toyota has already expanded its hybrid production sites beyond Japan to include China, the United States, Thailand and Australia, typically receiving some form of state-backed incentives to build the fuel-efficient vehicles locally.
Shares of Toyota were down 1 percent at 4,160 yen as of 0200 GMT, compared with a 1.2 percent decline in the Topix index. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by David Dolan)
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Gulf’s oil sheikhs tapped for green gold
Tricia Holly Davis
BRITAIN will go cap in hand to Middle East oil producers this week to seek funds to prop up the recession-hit green energy industry.
Every year Abu Dhabi, holder of 8% of the world’s oil reserves, hosts the World Future Energy Summit, a showcase event for the $3 trillion (£1.8 trillion) global clean technology sector.
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the international business development organisation, has sent its biggest delegation to the event, which opens tomorrow, in the hope of helping British firms get cash from oil-rich backers. Last year investment in the sector collapsed by a third, according to Cleantech Group, a research firm.
“The Middle East is known for its huge oil industry but British companies are visiting the region to highlight cutting-edge sustainable energy,” said Sir Andrew Cahn, UKTI’s chief executive.
Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, will also be attending the summit.
Abu Dhabi has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund after China, estimated to be worth $700 billion. It may have been built up through oil but in recent years the emirate has invested billions in an effort to transform itself into a global hub of green technology.
It has also invested its money abroad, backing big projects such as the London Array, the wind farm proposed off the Thames estuary.
The government is hoping that it and other wealthy Arab investors can plug the financing hole. “Given the liquidity in the Middle East, the region is a key source of finance for the future energy sector and is helping to fill the gap left by the recession,” said Simon Currie of Norton Rose, the law firm.
Dean Cook, head of I-CanNano, a London nano-technology company, is heading to Abu Dhabi in search of capital. His firm’s technology can be used to make lightweight plastics to replace heavier steel car frames. “We’re very excited about the prospects in the Middle East,” he said.
Plumina, a Newcastle-based developer of low-energy street lamps, landed a multi-million pound contract to install more efficient highway lighting in Qatar.
Tim Cantle-Jones, the chief executive, has already raised $2m from Middle East investors to develop heat controls that allow LED lights to withstand extreme desert temperatures. He hopes to get fresh funding to build two manufacturing plants, one of which will be in Britain.
The irony of petrodollars funding a green industry is not lost on investors. “It’s not normal for an oil economy that is thriving to go into renewable energy,” said Azhar Iqbal Qureshiof Al Sarya, a Qatari investor who over the next three years will put $700m into green businesses.
“The Arab world realises that we need to change our image and look for new business opportunities. We have trillions of dollars to spend — it can’t all go toward oil.”
BRITAIN will go cap in hand to Middle East oil producers this week to seek funds to prop up the recession-hit green energy industry.
Every year Abu Dhabi, holder of 8% of the world’s oil reserves, hosts the World Future Energy Summit, a showcase event for the $3 trillion (£1.8 trillion) global clean technology sector.
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the international business development organisation, has sent its biggest delegation to the event, which opens tomorrow, in the hope of helping British firms get cash from oil-rich backers. Last year investment in the sector collapsed by a third, according to Cleantech Group, a research firm.
“The Middle East is known for its huge oil industry but British companies are visiting the region to highlight cutting-edge sustainable energy,” said Sir Andrew Cahn, UKTI’s chief executive.
Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, will also be attending the summit.
Abu Dhabi has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund after China, estimated to be worth $700 billion. It may have been built up through oil but in recent years the emirate has invested billions in an effort to transform itself into a global hub of green technology.
It has also invested its money abroad, backing big projects such as the London Array, the wind farm proposed off the Thames estuary.
The government is hoping that it and other wealthy Arab investors can plug the financing hole. “Given the liquidity in the Middle East, the region is a key source of finance for the future energy sector and is helping to fill the gap left by the recession,” said Simon Currie of Norton Rose, the law firm.
Dean Cook, head of I-CanNano, a London nano-technology company, is heading to Abu Dhabi in search of capital. His firm’s technology can be used to make lightweight plastics to replace heavier steel car frames. “We’re very excited about the prospects in the Middle East,” he said.
Plumina, a Newcastle-based developer of low-energy street lamps, landed a multi-million pound contract to install more efficient highway lighting in Qatar.
Tim Cantle-Jones, the chief executive, has already raised $2m from Middle East investors to develop heat controls that allow LED lights to withstand extreme desert temperatures. He hopes to get fresh funding to build two manufacturing plants, one of which will be in Britain.
The irony of petrodollars funding a green industry is not lost on investors. “It’s not normal for an oil economy that is thriving to go into renewable energy,” said Azhar Iqbal Qureshiof Al Sarya, a Qatari investor who over the next three years will put $700m into green businesses.
“The Arab world realises that we need to change our image and look for new business opportunities. We have trillions of dollars to spend — it can’t all go toward oil.”
Greenhouse Effects: Raising chickens
Tony Juniper
If you have a garden, why not get some chickens? It may not feel like it at the moment, but spring is not that far away, so this is a good time to think about whether they might work for you.
After consistent lobbying from one of our children, we got some a few years ago. We bought an incubator, got fertile eggs from a local rare-breed farm and hatched our own chicks. It was a great thing to do, but, as well as a couple of hens, we finished up with a cockerel. His early-morning crowing gained a mixed reception locally, so he’s gone to live in the country. We have since bought more hens from a local breeder, and now have a flock of six laying birds.
We keep them in a wooden-framed run, covered with mesh attached to an old shed. They have sufficient indoor and outdoor space to be content, but come into the garden as well. You can make your own hen house and run, but there are dozens of good designs on the market (poultry.allotment.org.uk).
We feed ours pellets, grain and kitchen waste. We put straw on the brick floor of the outside run and a product called Hemcore in the shed. Inside are a couple of nest boxes and various perches.
Before you take the plunge, do pause to think. Do you have space for a fox-proof hut and run? Will someone clean, feed and water them, even in midwinter? Do you have room to store food and fresh straw? Is there somewhere to put waste straw and droppings?
If you think it will work, there is nothing nicer than picking eggs from a straw-lined nest box, taking them indoors and making breakfast. If you have children, chickens are a wonderful way to help them understand the source of food and to have a connection with at least some of it.
Tony Juniper is an environmental campaigner and former director of Friends of the Earth; tonyjuniper.com
If you have a garden, why not get some chickens? It may not feel like it at the moment, but spring is not that far away, so this is a good time to think about whether they might work for you.
After consistent lobbying from one of our children, we got some a few years ago. We bought an incubator, got fertile eggs from a local rare-breed farm and hatched our own chicks. It was a great thing to do, but, as well as a couple of hens, we finished up with a cockerel. His early-morning crowing gained a mixed reception locally, so he’s gone to live in the country. We have since bought more hens from a local breeder, and now have a flock of six laying birds.
We keep them in a wooden-framed run, covered with mesh attached to an old shed. They have sufficient indoor and outdoor space to be content, but come into the garden as well. You can make your own hen house and run, but there are dozens of good designs on the market (poultry.allotment.org.uk).
We feed ours pellets, grain and kitchen waste. We put straw on the brick floor of the outside run and a product called Hemcore in the shed. Inside are a couple of nest boxes and various perches.
Before you take the plunge, do pause to think. Do you have space for a fox-proof hut and run? Will someone clean, feed and water them, even in midwinter? Do you have room to store food and fresh straw? Is there somewhere to put waste straw and droppings?
If you think it will work, there is nothing nicer than picking eggs from a straw-lined nest box, taking them indoors and making breakfast. If you have children, chickens are a wonderful way to help them understand the source of food and to have a connection with at least some of it.
Tony Juniper is an environmental campaigner and former director of Friends of the Earth; tonyjuniper.com
Scottish Power's Nick Horler reveals 'carbon capture hubs' scheme
Published Date: 17 January 2010
By Erikka Askeland
SCOTTISHPOWER chief executive Nick Horler has revealed plans to develop a series of carbon capture hubs across the UK as he steps up moves to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.
Horler says the company and its partners in developing the technology – Shell and the National Grid – want to install the hubs in factories, foundries and refineries in the Forth Valley, Teesside and on the Thames. He says the plan could remove 500 megatonnes of carbon dioxide from the environment annually for more than 100 years – roughly the equivalent of taking 275 million cars off the road. "If you look at the Forth Valley it emits about 15 million tons of carbon a year. You are talking about refineries, steel mills, foundries. Stretch down to the north-east of England, Tyneside and Teesside, it is even more," he said after addressing an audience in Aberdeen. "Imagine if we took it further and linked up the steel mills, the paper mills and the cement manufacturers too. That's possibly up to 500 megatonnes of CO2 every year for the next hundred years. So if you can start to create capture hubs, we are talking about a vision whereby we can decarbonise a lot of UK industry."Horler intends to exploit the "wonderful accident of geography" which makes the North Sea so suitable for burying carbon. He cites a study carried out by the Scottish Centre for Carbon Capture which said the "unique geology" of the central North Sea would be suitable to accommodate all of Europe's CO2 until well into the next century.He also sees a use for the existing networks of pipes and wells to tuck away extracted carbon.The plan is currently dependent on ScottishPower winning a £1 billion government grant to test carbon capture technology at its coal powered plant at Longannet, in Fife. ScottishPower is heading up one of two bids to win the funding. The scheme involves retro-fitting carbon capture technology, capturing 20 per cent of the station's carbon emissions. If the plan goes ahead, it will be the largest carbon capture scheme in the world."There are about 70 projects running around the world but nothing of this scale or ambition," said Horler. The government has set a deadline for the scheme to be up and running by 2014. E.on, which is competing with ScottishPower for the funding, recently announced a delay in the building of its Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent, which is now not expected to be up and running until 2016.ScottishPower has brought together a team of companies to get the project off the ground. The technology will be provided by Norwegian firm Aker Clean Carbon, while National Grid will transport the carbon and Shell will bury it in the North Sea. Consultancy Accenture will work with ScottishPower to make the technology available to other coal-burning stations. Horler estimates there are 20,000 such stations around the world that could use its carbon capture system, ushering in "clean coal" use on an international scale. He insists coal remains an essential part of the mix required to meet growing energy demand in the UK. ScottishPower and its parent company Iberdrola of Spain are currently pursuing projects across the spectrum of power generation. It has established a joint venture with Perth-based Scottish & Southern Energy to develop nuclear power stations in the UK. It is working with SSE to build the controversial Beauly to Denny power line that recently received government backing. It is also currently one of the largest windfarm developers and operators in the UK and is testing a Norwegian wave power device off Orkney."Coal has an important part of the mix so long as we can do something about the CO2," said Horler. "Coal-powered stations are flexible, so the performance can be flexed to meet demand. It is a source of fuel that is indigenous to the UK and therefore we aren't subjected to the price volatily that might be associated with international supply and demand of gas. It has its place."
By Erikka Askeland
SCOTTISHPOWER chief executive Nick Horler has revealed plans to develop a series of carbon capture hubs across the UK as he steps up moves to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.
Horler says the company and its partners in developing the technology – Shell and the National Grid – want to install the hubs in factories, foundries and refineries in the Forth Valley, Teesside and on the Thames. He says the plan could remove 500 megatonnes of carbon dioxide from the environment annually for more than 100 years – roughly the equivalent of taking 275 million cars off the road. "If you look at the Forth Valley it emits about 15 million tons of carbon a year. You are talking about refineries, steel mills, foundries. Stretch down to the north-east of England, Tyneside and Teesside, it is even more," he said after addressing an audience in Aberdeen. "Imagine if we took it further and linked up the steel mills, the paper mills and the cement manufacturers too. That's possibly up to 500 megatonnes of CO2 every year for the next hundred years. So if you can start to create capture hubs, we are talking about a vision whereby we can decarbonise a lot of UK industry."Horler intends to exploit the "wonderful accident of geography" which makes the North Sea so suitable for burying carbon. He cites a study carried out by the Scottish Centre for Carbon Capture which said the "unique geology" of the central North Sea would be suitable to accommodate all of Europe's CO2 until well into the next century.He also sees a use for the existing networks of pipes and wells to tuck away extracted carbon.The plan is currently dependent on ScottishPower winning a £1 billion government grant to test carbon capture technology at its coal powered plant at Longannet, in Fife. ScottishPower is heading up one of two bids to win the funding. The scheme involves retro-fitting carbon capture technology, capturing 20 per cent of the station's carbon emissions. If the plan goes ahead, it will be the largest carbon capture scheme in the world."There are about 70 projects running around the world but nothing of this scale or ambition," said Horler. The government has set a deadline for the scheme to be up and running by 2014. E.on, which is competing with ScottishPower for the funding, recently announced a delay in the building of its Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent, which is now not expected to be up and running until 2016.ScottishPower has brought together a team of companies to get the project off the ground. The technology will be provided by Norwegian firm Aker Clean Carbon, while National Grid will transport the carbon and Shell will bury it in the North Sea. Consultancy Accenture will work with ScottishPower to make the technology available to other coal-burning stations. Horler estimates there are 20,000 such stations around the world that could use its carbon capture system, ushering in "clean coal" use on an international scale. He insists coal remains an essential part of the mix required to meet growing energy demand in the UK. ScottishPower and its parent company Iberdrola of Spain are currently pursuing projects across the spectrum of power generation. It has established a joint venture with Perth-based Scottish & Southern Energy to develop nuclear power stations in the UK. It is working with SSE to build the controversial Beauly to Denny power line that recently received government backing. It is also currently one of the largest windfarm developers and operators in the UK and is testing a Norwegian wave power device off Orkney."Coal has an important part of the mix so long as we can do something about the CO2," said Horler. "Coal-powered stations are flexible, so the performance can be flexed to meet demand. It is a source of fuel that is indigenous to the UK and therefore we aren't subjected to the price volatily that might be associated with international supply and demand of gas. It has its place."
SeaEnergy seeks China wind partner
Jane Bradley
A firm behind one of the new offshore wind farm consortia announced for Scotland, SeaEnergy Renewables, is in talks with Chinese energy companies about joint venture projects there.
The Aberdeen-based Sea-Energy, formerly Ramco, wants to tap into the Chinese wind farm market, one of the biggest in the world.
“We want to form an agreement there with a key player with whom we can partner,” said Allan MacAskill, the company’s business development director. “We want to be a minority partner with a local business. It’s a long, slow process, but it will be worth it.”
Representatives from the company recently spent more than a month in China, where the government aims to have 100gW of wind power capacity installed by 2020.
SeaEnergy is a 25% stakeholder in the winning consortium behind the proposed Moray Firth offshore wind farm, part of the Crown Estate’s round-three licensing programme.
EDP Renovaveis, the Portuguese renewable-energy giant, is the bigger player in the Scottish project, which is set to involve the construction of a wind farm featuring about 250 turbines, stretching from 16 miles off the northeast coast in an area known as the Smith Bank.
A firm behind one of the new offshore wind farm consortia announced for Scotland, SeaEnergy Renewables, is in talks with Chinese energy companies about joint venture projects there.
The Aberdeen-based Sea-Energy, formerly Ramco, wants to tap into the Chinese wind farm market, one of the biggest in the world.
“We want to form an agreement there with a key player with whom we can partner,” said Allan MacAskill, the company’s business development director. “We want to be a minority partner with a local business. It’s a long, slow process, but it will be worth it.”
Representatives from the company recently spent more than a month in China, where the government aims to have 100gW of wind power capacity installed by 2020.
SeaEnergy is a 25% stakeholder in the winning consortium behind the proposed Moray Firth offshore wind farm, part of the Crown Estate’s round-three licensing programme.
EDP Renovaveis, the Portuguese renewable-energy giant, is the bigger player in the Scottish project, which is set to involve the construction of a wind farm featuring about 250 turbines, stretching from 16 miles off the northeast coast in an area known as the Smith Bank.
Methane galore on whisky island
Distillery waste will be converted into gas to help make Islay self-sufficient in green energy.
Jonathan Leake
Energy from whisky? Lovers of the amber spirit may think it sounds like the environment movement’s worst-ever idea but the Scottish island of Islay is pioneering a system that uses whisky to create green energy.
Bruichladdich Distillery is to build an anaerobic digester to convert thousands of tons of yeasty waste into methane gas, which will be burned to make electricity.
Islay is home to some of Scotland’s best-known whiskies. Seven other distilleries on the island — Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain and Kilchoman — are understood to be considering similar schemes.
If the idea is a success, the distilleries could end up generating much of the island’s electricity and may even have enough gas left over to power vehicles.
Mark Reynier, the owner of Bruichladdich Distillery, said: “We are going to install two anaerobic digesters on our site where the waste will be broken down to produce biogas, which can then be burnt to make electricity. In theory, it could meet all our power needs.”
The first digester will be installed next month. The innovation is driven by several factors. One is the whisky industry’s growing concern over its product’s carbon footprint, thought to be one of the highest for any food or drink.
None of the main distillers will release figures but the process of distilling alone is highly energy intensive. Added to this is the fact that most whisky is exported in heavy bottles and elaborate packaging.
On Islay, there is also the environmental impact of the many tons of distillery waste, which is disposed of in the sea each week. A pipeline carries this waste to the Sound of Islay.
Reynier, whose plant produces 46,000 12-bottle cases a year, spends £20,000 a year simply on ferrying waste in tankers from his distillery to the pipeline terminal. The anaerobic digestion system should remove this cost as well as supplying 80% of the power the distillery requires, currently costing £36,000 a year. These savings will be augmented by government subsidies for renewable power generation.
Reynier said: “The digesters will cost about £300,000 in capital outlay so it should take just three to five years to recoup the cost.”
He hopes to use such innovation to help market Bruichladdich as one of the greenest whiskies. “Whisky has a very high carbon footprint,” said Reynier. “We have already cut it by using locally grown and organic barley rather than importing it, and these digesters will bring it down further.” Indeed, Diageo, the drinks giant, has invested in a similar scheme at its Cameronbridge distillery.
There are other reasons for the distilleries’ interest in the technology. Islay has an antiquated power supply based on a single cable from the mainland, and voltage fluctuations exacerbated by the distilleries’ demands can cause problems with computers and other electronic equipment. Generating power on the island would help reduce this problem.
Anaerobic digestion works by allowing bacteria to break down organic waste without oxygen. This means the bacteria cannot digest the waste completely so, instead of just producing carbon dioxide they produce methane, the main constituent of natural gas.
Such systems have been known for a long time but initially they were industrial-scale installations based on huge “reactor tanks”. The waste has to be collected and brought to them, and it then takes about 30 days for bacteria to break down a single large tankful of waste. This makes such systems impractical for most small businesses. In recent years, however, systems have been developed that have reduced the size of the reactor tanks, and this allows a single tank to be processed in a matter of hours.
Bruichladdich’s system is being built by Biowayste, a Northamptonshire firm that has installed five such plants, including at Muntons, a brewing company in Suffolk, and at Orchard House Foods in Northamptonshire. It has eight others in the pipeline or under construction.
Barry Howard, chairman of Biowayste, said: “There are 5,000 small food manufacturers around Britain, all generating waste material and then paying to get rid of it. We can take that waste and turn it into electricity on their own sites, saving them money on waste disposal and power. We can also use the system to generate heat for their factories.”
The green nature of the power and the capture of the heat makes such systems lucrative. Each megawatt hour of power attracts two government renewables obligation certificates, one for the power and one for the re-use of the heat. These can be sold for a profit to other companies needing to offset their pollution.
Howard believes that Islay is ideally placed to benefit from the technology. “The whisky distillers are increasingly aware of their environmental impact, so if we can prove our systems at Bruichladdich work, I hope we will get the other seven distilleries interested, too.”
The project will delight Islay’s environmental movement, which is strongly supported by the 3,200-strong population on the south Hebridean island. There is already a wave-power system near Portnahaven, which supplies electricity for the island’s grid. Islay Energy Trust and Scottish Power Renewables have plans for 10 tidal turbines fixed to the seabed in the Sound of Islay. This is a tidal race where the currents are strong and therefore ideal for generating power.
David Protherough, project manager at Re-jig (Recycle — Jura/Islay Group), said the distillery project would help to cut tanker traffic on the island’s roads and also reduce marine pollution. “We have spoken to the managers of the distilleries on the island and they are keen. Our hope is that the distilleries will make so much biogas that there will be enough to power some of the island’s vehicles too.
“If you put it all together with the wave and tidal power systems, Islay could be one of the greenest communities in Britain,” said Protherough.
Jonathan Leake
Energy from whisky? Lovers of the amber spirit may think it sounds like the environment movement’s worst-ever idea but the Scottish island of Islay is pioneering a system that uses whisky to create green energy.
Bruichladdich Distillery is to build an anaerobic digester to convert thousands of tons of yeasty waste into methane gas, which will be burned to make electricity.
Islay is home to some of Scotland’s best-known whiskies. Seven other distilleries on the island — Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain and Kilchoman — are understood to be considering similar schemes.
If the idea is a success, the distilleries could end up generating much of the island’s electricity and may even have enough gas left over to power vehicles.
Mark Reynier, the owner of Bruichladdich Distillery, said: “We are going to install two anaerobic digesters on our site where the waste will be broken down to produce biogas, which can then be burnt to make electricity. In theory, it could meet all our power needs.”
The first digester will be installed next month. The innovation is driven by several factors. One is the whisky industry’s growing concern over its product’s carbon footprint, thought to be one of the highest for any food or drink.
None of the main distillers will release figures but the process of distilling alone is highly energy intensive. Added to this is the fact that most whisky is exported in heavy bottles and elaborate packaging.
On Islay, there is also the environmental impact of the many tons of distillery waste, which is disposed of in the sea each week. A pipeline carries this waste to the Sound of Islay.
Reynier, whose plant produces 46,000 12-bottle cases a year, spends £20,000 a year simply on ferrying waste in tankers from his distillery to the pipeline terminal. The anaerobic digestion system should remove this cost as well as supplying 80% of the power the distillery requires, currently costing £36,000 a year. These savings will be augmented by government subsidies for renewable power generation.
Reynier said: “The digesters will cost about £300,000 in capital outlay so it should take just three to five years to recoup the cost.”
He hopes to use such innovation to help market Bruichladdich as one of the greenest whiskies. “Whisky has a very high carbon footprint,” said Reynier. “We have already cut it by using locally grown and organic barley rather than importing it, and these digesters will bring it down further.” Indeed, Diageo, the drinks giant, has invested in a similar scheme at its Cameronbridge distillery.
There are other reasons for the distilleries’ interest in the technology. Islay has an antiquated power supply based on a single cable from the mainland, and voltage fluctuations exacerbated by the distilleries’ demands can cause problems with computers and other electronic equipment. Generating power on the island would help reduce this problem.
Anaerobic digestion works by allowing bacteria to break down organic waste without oxygen. This means the bacteria cannot digest the waste completely so, instead of just producing carbon dioxide they produce methane, the main constituent of natural gas.
Such systems have been known for a long time but initially they were industrial-scale installations based on huge “reactor tanks”. The waste has to be collected and brought to them, and it then takes about 30 days for bacteria to break down a single large tankful of waste. This makes such systems impractical for most small businesses. In recent years, however, systems have been developed that have reduced the size of the reactor tanks, and this allows a single tank to be processed in a matter of hours.
Bruichladdich’s system is being built by Biowayste, a Northamptonshire firm that has installed five such plants, including at Muntons, a brewing company in Suffolk, and at Orchard House Foods in Northamptonshire. It has eight others in the pipeline or under construction.
Barry Howard, chairman of Biowayste, said: “There are 5,000 small food manufacturers around Britain, all generating waste material and then paying to get rid of it. We can take that waste and turn it into electricity on their own sites, saving them money on waste disposal and power. We can also use the system to generate heat for their factories.”
The green nature of the power and the capture of the heat makes such systems lucrative. Each megawatt hour of power attracts two government renewables obligation certificates, one for the power and one for the re-use of the heat. These can be sold for a profit to other companies needing to offset their pollution.
Howard believes that Islay is ideally placed to benefit from the technology. “The whisky distillers are increasingly aware of their environmental impact, so if we can prove our systems at Bruichladdich work, I hope we will get the other seven distilleries interested, too.”
The project will delight Islay’s environmental movement, which is strongly supported by the 3,200-strong population on the south Hebridean island. There is already a wave-power system near Portnahaven, which supplies electricity for the island’s grid. Islay Energy Trust and Scottish Power Renewables have plans for 10 tidal turbines fixed to the seabed in the Sound of Islay. This is a tidal race where the currents are strong and therefore ideal for generating power.
David Protherough, project manager at Re-jig (Recycle — Jura/Islay Group), said the distillery project would help to cut tanker traffic on the island’s roads and also reduce marine pollution. “We have spoken to the managers of the distilleries on the island and they are keen. Our hope is that the distilleries will make so much biogas that there will be enough to power some of the island’s vehicles too.
“If you put it all together with the wave and tidal power systems, Islay could be one of the greenest communities in Britain,” said Protherough.
Saturday, 16 January 2010
ERI Offers a Refreshing Investment in a Thirsty World
By LIAM DENNING
Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" bewailed seeing "Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink."
If only he had packed a seawater reverse osmosis desalination unit, he would have been fine—although, admittedly, poetic rhythm would have suffered a tad.
We will need to claim ever more fresh water from the briny seas in the years to come. The United Nations expects the global population to expand by three billion people by 2050, many in developing regions without sustainable access to safe drinking water. Growing demand for food will add pressure, given that 70% of water consumed is for crop irrigation.
Treating seawater to remove salt, either by heating it or forcing it through membranes (reverse osmosis), is one way to cope. About 60 million cubic meters a day of desalination capacity exists world-wide, according to Global Water Intelligence. That's up more than 12% from 2008 but still represents only 1% of global consumption.
Energy Recovery Inc. offers an investment angle. ERI makes advanced pressure exchangers, which capture and recycle up to 98% of excess energy otherwise wasted in reverse osmosis desalination. Energy represents the single-biggest cost in desalination. ERI's patented technology captures more energy than older products and requires less maintenance.
ERI shares were listed in July 2008 at $8.50 a share. Its stock has been volatile and Friday closed at $6.57. Besides general market turmoil, frozen credit markets and lower oil prices–arid Middle Eastern countries are big buyers—have delayed big desalination projects. In April, a competitor of ERI, Calder AG, was acquired by Flowserve Corp. Calder's technology has much lower market share. But it is now part of an industrial group with a market capitalization of $5.9 billion, compared with ERI's $344 million.
Despite delays, though, the long-term growth story remains intact. ERI's proprietary technology and net cash position provide resilience. The consensus earnings estimate for 2011 is 25 cents a share, implying a heady multiple of 26.3 times. But Jefferies & Co. estimates each incremental one million cubic meters a day of desalination capacity built translates to a $17.5 million revenue opportunity for ERI assuming its current market share, or three cents a share of earnings.
Moreover, some 43% of ERI's revenue is spent on research and development, sales, marketing and administrative expenses. That should be leveraged across more end markets to improve margins. Last month's acquisition of smaller rival Pump Engineering LLC, expanding ERI's product range and addressable markets, was a step toward this.
Water stress, climate change, expensive energy, and infrastructure needs weigh on the global outlook like the proverbial albatross. ERI represents one way of investing in efforts to address the burden.
Write to Liam Denning at liam.denning@wsj.com
Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" bewailed seeing "Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink."
If only he had packed a seawater reverse osmosis desalination unit, he would have been fine—although, admittedly, poetic rhythm would have suffered a tad.
We will need to claim ever more fresh water from the briny seas in the years to come. The United Nations expects the global population to expand by three billion people by 2050, many in developing regions without sustainable access to safe drinking water. Growing demand for food will add pressure, given that 70% of water consumed is for crop irrigation.
Treating seawater to remove salt, either by heating it or forcing it through membranes (reverse osmosis), is one way to cope. About 60 million cubic meters a day of desalination capacity exists world-wide, according to Global Water Intelligence. That's up more than 12% from 2008 but still represents only 1% of global consumption.
Energy Recovery Inc. offers an investment angle. ERI makes advanced pressure exchangers, which capture and recycle up to 98% of excess energy otherwise wasted in reverse osmosis desalination. Energy represents the single-biggest cost in desalination. ERI's patented technology captures more energy than older products and requires less maintenance.
ERI shares were listed in July 2008 at $8.50 a share. Its stock has been volatile and Friday closed at $6.57. Besides general market turmoil, frozen credit markets and lower oil prices–arid Middle Eastern countries are big buyers—have delayed big desalination projects. In April, a competitor of ERI, Calder AG, was acquired by Flowserve Corp. Calder's technology has much lower market share. But it is now part of an industrial group with a market capitalization of $5.9 billion, compared with ERI's $344 million.
Despite delays, though, the long-term growth story remains intact. ERI's proprietary technology and net cash position provide resilience. The consensus earnings estimate for 2011 is 25 cents a share, implying a heady multiple of 26.3 times. But Jefferies & Co. estimates each incremental one million cubic meters a day of desalination capacity built translates to a $17.5 million revenue opportunity for ERI assuming its current market share, or three cents a share of earnings.
Moreover, some 43% of ERI's revenue is spent on research and development, sales, marketing and administrative expenses. That should be leveraged across more end markets to improve margins. Last month's acquisition of smaller rival Pump Engineering LLC, expanding ERI's product range and addressable markets, was a step toward this.
Water stress, climate change, expensive energy, and infrastructure needs weigh on the global outlook like the proverbial albatross. ERI represents one way of investing in efforts to address the burden.
Write to Liam Denning at liam.denning@wsj.com
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