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United Kingdom: Engineers call for technical fix to tackle rising rainfall
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on January 3rd, 2013
BusinessGreen: Engineers have today called for the creation of a new national Water Security Task Force, as the Met Office confirmed that 2012 came within a few millimetres of being named the wettest year since records began.
The Met Office announced this morning that total annual average rainfall for the UK reached 1,330.7mm last year, just 6.6mm short of the record set in 2000.
In addition, the agency reported that England achieved its wettest year since records began, despite spending the first three months...
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Microsoft to debut sewage-powered data centre
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on November 23rd, 2012
BusinessGreen: With the world's leading IT companies rushing to develop renewable energy projects to power their giant data centres, Microsoft might be about to take the prize for the most unlikely clean power source -- sewage.
US firm FuelCell Energy this week revealed it is working with the IT giant on a trial that could see biogas from a waste water treatment facility in Wyoming utilised by a fuel cell, providing "ultra-clean and carbon-neutral electricity" to a Microsoft data centre.
The initial trial...
UK dash for gas would be illegal, says climate committee
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on September 13th, 2012
BusinessGreen: The independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) has today warned unequivocally that the government would breach the Climate Change Act if it pursues Chancellor George Osborne's plans for a surge in new gas investment.
In what will be seen as an explosive intervention in the simmering row between the Lib Dems and the Chancellor over whether to include a target to decarbonise the electricity sector by 2030 in the upcoming Energy Bill, the CCC today stated categorically that "extensive use of unabated...
EU raises fresh concerns over environmental impact of Shale Gas
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on September 10th, 2012
BusinessGreen: The chances of the European Union taking tough new action to regulate controversial Shale Gas projects received a major boost late last week, with the publication of three new in-depth reports that raised serious concerns about the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" as it is more commonly known.
The EU-commissioned reports from the EU Joint Research Centre and environmental consultancy AEA assessed the risks shale gas projects pose to the environment and human health,...
Republicans vow to end ‘war on coal’, torch green regulations
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on August 30th, 2012
BusinessGreen: The extent to which the Republican Party plans to eviscerate US environmental protection rules and dramatically increase support for fossil fuel production was again laid bare this week, as the Platform document adopted at the GOP Convention reiterated the party's opposition to the low-carbon economy.
The document, which was formally adopted by the Convention earlier this week, makes only one mention of "climate change ", attacking the Obama administration for incorporating the topic in its most...
Australian renewables to be cheaper than coal by mid-2030s
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on August 2nd, 2012
BusinessGreen: Australia, one of the world's most coal-dependent economies, will rapidly transition towards cleaner and more cost-effective sources of energy over the next two decades, according to a major new report.
Released earlier this week, the Australian Energy Technology Assessment (AETA) report from the government's Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics analyses 40 different energy technologies and concludes solar and wind energy will provide the lowest levelised costs for electricity generation by...