Energy & Environmental Management articles from September 2004

Energy & Environmental Management archives from September 2004

Good for GRETA.(electronic emissions trading registry software)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Nine other EU countries are to use the UK's own electronic emissions trading registry software, dubbed GRETA. They signed a deal with Defra in August. Environment Minister Elliot Morley said this was an important milestone in the drive to...

Roads as flood channels?(Public Notice)
September 1, 2004... Views are invited on new ideas for tackling flooding and coastal erosion. 'Making Space For Water' looks at coastal, river, groundwater, sewers and urban and road drainage problems. It includes ideas such as creating saltmarsh buffer zones and...

Protecting groundwater.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A new set of guidelines for the handling, storage and disposal of solvents to help ensure they don't contaminate ground water is available at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/ground /solvents/, or tel. 08459 556000, email:...

Energy prices rise.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... British Gas is raising gas charges by 12.4% and electricity charges by 9.4% from September 20. It is the biggest rise in gas and electricity bills since competition in the industry began.

Fund for sustainable consumption.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Groups are invited to apply for the latest round of the Environmental Action Fund (EAF). This Defra scheme can help English voluntary sector groups run schemes making sustainable living attractive to consumers, and sustainable behaviour...

Environmental crime--Government acts: more action to tackle environmental crime and encourage safer, cleaner living environments will result from the creation of a single funding stream to improve "liveability" in communities.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Safer and Stronger Communities Fund draws together existing funding streams held by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Home Office. Furthermore, measures proposed in Defra's 'Clean Neighbourhoods' consultation will give...

Welcome for Renewables Obligation commitment.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The energy industry has welcomed the renewal of the Government's long-term commitment to the Renewables Obligation, the main plank of its strategy for increasing the proportion of renewable electricity supplied. A current review of the RO...

Defra expects extra 871m [pounds sterling]: energy efficiency end climate change policy will benefit significantly from Defra's 1.2% real-terms budget increase in the 2004 Spending Round.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The extra 261m [pounds sterling] per year by 2007-2008 will also enable much-needed work on waste management. At least 610m [pounds sterling] of efficiency gains in 2007/8 are expected, including 300m [pounds sterling] within local government...

50m [pounds sterling] boost for wave and tidal power: a 50 million [pounds sterling] fund has been created to help make the UK a world leader in wave and tide power..(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Announcing the 50 million [pounds sterling] Marine Research Development Fund, Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and industry, said: "The UK's wave and tidal flows are the greatest in Europe and I want to ensure we harness these...

Pelamis sitting pretty: Ocean Power Delivery Ltd (OPD) has raised over 7.5m [pounds sterling] of investment, including over 1.5m (pounds sterling] from the Carbon Trust, for its offshore wave energy converter, Pelamis..(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Following successful North Sea trials and others at Orkney's European Marine Energy Centre, Pelamis delivered its first electricity generation--the first from an offshore UK wave machine--into the UK grid in late August. Russell Pullan,...

Beckett praises European Constitution: Margaret Beckett has warned that unless the UK remains fully engaged in Europe, our influence will be diminished and the EU's environmental achievements put at risk.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... In a speech to the Green Alliance's Environment Forum Mrs Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, praised European action as instrumental in securing improvements to the quality of life in the UK and elsewhere. ...

Renewables--guides.(News)(Natural resource policy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Town & Country Planning Association was among many groups to welcome the new fast-track planning guidelines from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, designed to speed up the implementation of renewable energy projects. The Planning...

Fall in prosecutions for industrial pollution: regulation and fines have helped to cut pollution caused by Industry in 2003, but fines could still be higher, according to the Environment Agency's annual Spotlight on Business report..(News)
September 1, 2004... Prosecutions for industrial pollution were 12% down on the previous year, to 613, with farming and waste management being especially praised for making progress. "Our risk-based approach to regulation, developed with business, is working." said...

Energy--on show: explore the vital role energy ploys in society and question how future demands will be met when fossil fuel runs out. These are the sort of issues examined in the Science Museum's new gallery 'Energy--fuelling the future'.(Energy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... You'll find no traditional artefacts in this bold gallery, which opened in late July. It uses thought-provoking, interactive displays to trigger debate and ask questions about the political, social and environmental issues surrounding energy...

BETTA times ahead--Energy Bill becomes law.(Energy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Energy Bill finally reached the stature book on 22 July, triggering the establishment of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), whose Chair will be Sir Anthony Cleaver, a Civil Nuclear Police Authority, and the development of offshore...

Clear Skies cash.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Clear Skies renewable energy grant scheme has given a further 651,000 [pounds sterling] to a range of schools, housing associations, local authorities and other organisations, in its fifth round. More: www.clear-skies.org

Energy suppliers on track.(Energy Efficiency Commitment)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Gas and electricity suppliers are on track to meet Government energy efficiency targets, Ofgem says in its second annual report on the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC). To date, Ofgem has approved 120 EEC schemes estimated to have saved 47...

Northumberland runs on green power.(Npower)(Northumberland County Council)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Northumberland County Council (NCC) has become one of the first authorities in England to be powered totally by green electricity. A deal with nPower supplies 500 buildings at a saving of 12,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year. More:...

Biodiesel plant grows.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Interest in biodiesel continues to grow up and down the country. A new plant at Newarthill, Lanarkshire, will turn animal Fats and recovered vegetable oil into the transport fuel. The Scottish Executive has given 15 million [pounds sterling] to...

BETTA law.(United Kingdom. Office of Gas and Electricity Markets)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Ofgem has published the proposed text of the legal framework for creating a single GB-wide electricity market, due to be introduced in April 2005. To see and respond to it, go to www.ofgem.gov.uk; under 'Ofgem's work' view BETTA 'Associated...

Fuel Mix Disclosure.(Electricity )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Electricity suppliers are now required to highlight the source of their electricity. Fuel Mix Disclosure, an EU directive which came into force on July 1, means consumers can make more informed decisions on suppliers. The DTI guidelines can be...

Wind or nuclear: a devil's pact: accepting that climate change is the number one challenge facing the planet, environmental specialist Peter Harper argues for an open debate and trade-off between the anti-wind and anti-nuclear lobbies, to get us through this century.(Energy)
September 1, 2004... Climate change appears set to become the great issue of this century. The growing unanimity of climate scientists is getting hard to ignore. Expected changes caused directly by human activity are bad enough, but far worse would be the...

2.2m [pounds sterling] solar awards.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Twenty four new solar schemes expected to provide 650kWp are to share 2.2m [pounds sterling] of grant funding, in the latest round of the Government's 25 million [pounds sterling] Major Photovoltaics (PV) Demonstration Programme, which supports...

Building regs rejigged.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... New Building Regs would seek to set energy-saving performance standards for buildings as a whole rather than for individual elements. Views of energy professionals are invited for amendments to Part L & Implementing the Energy Performance of...

Wood replaces coal in power plants.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Biojoule is a new venture between AEA Technology and Climate Care, set up to supply UK wood to power stations. Its first production plant, in East Anglia, is now operational and produces 15,000 tonnes of wood a year, from residues in Thetford...

Give energy more priority--Lords Committee: a Government committee has cast doubt on whether the target of 10% of UK electricity from renewables by 2010 can be met, because it doesn't believe there are sufficient long-term incentives for investors. At current rate it thinks 6-7% will be the level of renewable electricity reached in six years' time.(Energy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The House of Lords Science & Technology Committee looked at all relevant technologies and concluded that current support arrangements favour only those with a quick financial return, such as onshore windfarms. "If the government wants the...

Renewables blocked.(Energy)(Wind power plants, planning.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Planning hitches have blocked over 2.5 GW of proposed renewable power projects over 10 MW in size across England, according to a survey by Platts' Power UK. The most common cause was lack of clear guidance on windfarms for local councillors....

Wind energy still blowing strong.(Energy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Community Power, a team within Powergen Renewables, Powergen's green generation arm, is launching a power scheme for local communities. The aim is to build small wind farms, usually just two or three turbines, on sites recommended by local...

Windier Wales.(Energy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Welsh Assembly Government says that by 2010, 4TWh--about 10%--of its electricity should come from renewable sources. The lion's share of this, a minimum of 800 megawatts, will come from onshore wind. This will be controversial, but the WAG...

Green power trails consumption: new figures show that fossil fuel consumption is rising globally, and so is overall energy consumption, both at a rate faster than the implementation of non-fossil energy supplies.(Energy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Global consumption of non-hydro green power increased 629% between 1982 and 2002, but only 175% between 1992 and 2002, according to the latest International Energy Annual from the US Department of Energy. The growth rate of energy consumption...

We're depending on you ...(News)(insulation industry )
September 1, 2004... "We are depending on the insulation industry to deliver the most Important elements of our plans for energy efficiency in the domestic sector - and this must be done efficiently and cost effectively. We expect the insulation industry to...

Renewables--passing on good practice: the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) and the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) are passing on lessons learned from the US experience with Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and other policies that advance renewables.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The two organisations are creating a Utility Green Tariff handbook for regulators on best practice, green tariffs, tradable renewable certificates and analysis on why some renewable energy projects work and others do not. Finally, the CRS will...

Recycling centre to create 100 jobs.(Waste News)(Thames Gateway)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A hundred new jobs are to be created in the Thames Gateway at this new recycling centre to be built by Shanks plc for the East London Waste Authority. The 70 million [pounds sterling] regeneration investment will be the largest single...

Builders' brickbats.(Waste News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A new Code of Practice aims to save Bob the Builder and his mates 100 million [pounds sterling] a year, by reducing some of the estimated 92 million tonnes of waste and 13 million tonnes unused material the construction industry chucks away...

Government to cut own waste mountain.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Government departments are to practise their own waste management message. Targets for buying more re-usable and recyclable products, and recycled-content materials have been set, and for returning used products to manufacturers. Waste...

Problems with EU laws.(European Union)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Several current, key problems with EU legislation on waste are confusing operators. Most complaints arise from EU law stating that waste recovery processes should be Classed as either recovery or disposal, but in practise many modern processes...

Recycling batteries.(battery recycling plant)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The first battery recycling plant in the UK has been built by AEA Technology. Its Lithium-ion batteries are used by the Ministry of Defence, but are also found in mobile phones and laptops. The UK plans to open its first recycling plant for...

Sustainable buildings--a new code: nearly half of the UK's C[O.sub.2] emissions are caused by making, maintaining and occupying buildings; and half of that is from homes. To tackle this, a new Code for Sustainable Buildings is being developed with industry to raise the bar for energy and water efficiency, as well as waste and materials use.(News)
September 1, 2004... The Code should be ready for January's Sustainable Communities Summit. Its details are in a report by the Sustainable Buildings Task Group, co-chaired by Sir John Harman (Environment Agency) and Victor Benjamin (English Partnerships). It was...

Industry warned over hazardous waste: don't 'dump and forget': Environment Minister Elliot Morley has warned UK industry to change its hazardous waste disposal practises. He says he wants to end the 'dump and forget' culture.(focus on waste & recycling)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Now that the co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste is banned, and the number of disposal sites reduced, the cost of transporting and disposing of hazardous waste will rise. There is a real temptation towards flytipping, and in...

New powers.(focus on waste & recycling)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Local authorities and the Environment Agency are to have new, improved powers to deal with fly-tippers. These include fixed penalty notices for illegal carriers of waste, the ability to instantly seize and impound vehicles involved in...

Landfill has peaked--says Morley: in 2002/3 the amount of waste going to landfill fell for the first time in four years, according to the latest figures.(focus on waste & recycling)
September 1, 2004... "There has been a welcome improvement on all waste indicators, but the priority is minimisation, re-use and recycling, and landfill is bottom of the hierarchy," Environment Minister Elliot Morley told the Chartered Institute of Wastes...

Combat disposal costs.(focus on waste & recycling)
September 1, 2004... Implementation of the Landfill Directive in the UK will have a significant impact on the way waste is managed across industry. From 16 July 2004 landfill operators were banned from mixing hazardous wastes with other types of waste. Envirowise,...

To burn or not to burn..: incinerators--can they unlock the waste logjam?(focus on waste & recycling)
September 1, 2004... Some 2,300 new waste treatment facilities costing 30 billion [pounds sterling] need to be on line by 2020 if the UK is not to sink under a mountain of untreated waste. However, plans for new incinerators are blocked at almost every turn by...

Farmers need to face facts: new regulations set to extend waste management controls to agriculture are expected soon. The Environment Agency is urging farmers to start preparing now, as a survey shows that one in three are unaware of forthcoming rules relating to disposal of farm waste.(focus on waste & recycling)
September 1, 2004... The survey of 800 farmers in England and Wales showed that 71% of farmers knew only 'a little' or 'not much' about the implications of the new regulations. Only 20% felt they knew 'a lot'. While those working larger farms were more familiar...

Gunning for builders' waste.(focus on waste & recycling)
September 1, 2004... As mentioned on the news pages, a new DTI Code of Practice for creating Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) aims to tackle the phenomenal wastage in the construction industry and save builders some of the estimated 100m [pounds sterling] a year...

Raising the recycling stakes.(focus on waste & recycling)
September 1, 2004... England steps up a recycling gear this autumn with the launch of a national awareness campaign by WRAP, the Waste & Resources Action Programme. The RecycleNow campaign, to go live on 27 September, is about stimulating participation. It is based...

Getting rid of radioactive waste.(focus on waste & recycling)
September 1, 2004... News in July of the early closure of the Chapelcross nuclear plant in Dumfries highlights the question of what we are to do with our growing stocks of radioactive waste. There are currently 80,000 cubic meters of high and medium level nuclear...

Europe's most advanced waste reprocessing plant: Onyx Environmental Group's new 13 million [pounds sterling] material recovery facility (MRF) near Alton, Hampshire, is due for completion in September.(focus on waste & recycling)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... It will be the most advanced in Europe with the capacity to process 85,000 tonnes of recyclable material collected from households across the county. Situated by the A31, this is the second MRF to be built in Hampshire. Its sophisticated...

Herhof MBT--converting waste to recyclables and renewable fuel.(focus on waste & recycling)
September 1, 2004... The UK produces over 30 million tonnes of municipal waste per year, most of which ends up in landfill giving no further value and producing methane gas a substance over 20 times as harmful as C[O.sub.2] in relation to global warming. EU...

Success ... almost in the can: 2003 was a year of significant recycling progress for steel packaging in the UK, with steel con recycling hitting an all time high. John May, manager at Corus Steel Packaging Recycling, shares some of the reasons behind this success and explains why he believes there is still room for improvement.(focus on waste & recycling)
September 1, 2004... Recent years have seen a steady growth in steel recycling rates--with 44% of all steel packaging, including 2.5 billion steel cans, recycled every year. In 2003, an additional 14,000 tonnes of steel packaging was recycled, taking the annual...

Landfill tax credit scheme digs in: many landfill operators might consider the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS) to be a complete distraction, while others have turned it into an opportunity.(focus on waste & recycling)
September 1, 2004... One operator that has managed to deal with this supposed distraction in an ordered and ultimately successful way is Waste Recycling Group Ltd. The LTCS was first introduced by Government with the Landfill Tax in 1996 and was designed to...

Renewables are so right: even a small shift of support away from fossil fuels toward clean renewable energy could save millions of lives and help avert global warming, says a report, The Price of Power, released by the New Economics Foundation (nef).(Renewable energy)
September 1, 2004... The report warns that a fast approaching global energy and climate crisis threatens to reverse human development. The combined spiralling costs of climate change and dwindling supplies of oil mean that without a major shift to renewable energy,...

Public 'right to know' extended.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... New rules will permit greater public access to to environmental information held by public authorities. Amendments to the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) have been put forward by the Government to: * permit access unless...

Still too much gas ...(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... France has announced its 2004 Climate Plan. 90 million [euro] is to be invested in 60 measures to reduce global warming gases, but it avoids action on polluting vehicles and has been criticised as without substance.

Globalisation--force for good? Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt wants UK trade and investment policy to make globalisation a force for good.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Government's mechanism is a new Trade and Investment White Paper, which specifies changes that will permit poorer countries greater flexibility in opening their markets, as part of their broader plans for tackling poverty. Ms Hewitt...

Biofuels miss target--but will grow.(Euro News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Production of biofuels in Europe rose 26% last year to 1.7m tonnes, according to EurObserver. However this was substantially less than the five million tonnes target of the 'Campaign for Take Off'. The European Biodiesel Board wants a "real...

EU 'polluter pays' directive--coming your way.(Euro News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... After 15 years of negotiations, the European Parliament and Council have agreed on the first European Directive based on the 'polluter pays' principle. The Environmental Liability Directive aims to form the basis of a European-wide approach to...

European cities pioneering ... clean transport.(Euro News)
September 1, 2004... Lung disease has now overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of deaths In the UK. Respiratory diseases such as lung cancer, asthma, pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease account for 105 deaths per 100,000 people, twice the EU...

Call for shared standards across Europe.(Euro News)
September 1, 2004... Civitas spreads Since EU enlargement, 17 more cities have joined the Civitas network. Six cities of Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovenia will benefit from the Euro 50 million CIVITAS programme for the promotion of clean urban...

Tackling environment related disease.(Euro News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A new European Commission action plan could help reduce diseases caused by a polluted environment. It would make available EU-wide information on the state of the environment, the ecosystem and human health, and includes initiatives to help us...

Raising the standard in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.(Advertising)(United Nations)
September 1, 2004... SGS United Kingdom Ltd, part of the world's largest verification, testing and certification company, has successfully obtained the UKAS accreditation to cover greenhouse gas (GHG) baseline verification in the forthcoming EU Emissions Trading...

Energy alert.(Advertising)(Advertisement)
September 1, 2004... Uncertainty in the Middle East, more stringent legislation, and rising transportation costs are all conspiring to give rise to major increases in the cost of energy. These increased costs along with ever increasing environmental pressures...

Delivering a cleaner, cheaper future.(Advertising feature)(Energy industries)(Advertisement)
September 1, 2004... We have watched rising oil prices and at the time of writing they are still rising. The rising prices will have a knock on effect on all other energy prices, including gas and electricity. Installing thermal solar is environmentally justified...

Costing climate change.(Resources)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... 'Costing the impacts of climate change in the UK' is the latest UKCIP (UK Climate Impacts Programme) tool for decision-makers. It introduces a way of quantifying the economic costs of climate change impacts and shows how to compare these to the...

Want to save the planet? Read on ...(Resources)(Greenleaf Books)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... 'How We Can Save the Planet' by Mayer Hillman, of the Policy Studies Institute, argues for a radical decrease in energy consumption and calls for rigorous government intervention. He believes there should be a global switch to energy-thrifty...

Waste 2004.(Resources)(Waste management)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The focus of this key event will be on the Waste Management Industry. It will debate the latest strategic planning and regulatory guidance, the best applied research to help achieve specific goals, and showcase practical and cost-effective...

Plug into green power.(Resources)(Department of Trade and Industry)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The DTI's renewable energy group continues to generate new developments through a programme of events and publications. Their events calendar is at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/renewables /news/events.shtml. Download publications from...

Events diary.(Resources)(Energy industries)(Calendar)
September 1, 2004... Sept 12-15: Contaminated land: achievements and aspirations--SOCI conference; Loughborough University; Jannette Niccolls Tel. 020 7598 1563, www.soci.org. Sept 13: Strategic Environmental Assessment--Leading the way in Europe; Scotland;...

Mapping London's rubbish.(Resources)(Waste management)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... It is now possible to check out how much each London borough recycles on an upgraded version of the website www.capitalwastefacts.com. This reveals how individual London authorities handle the waste they collect and the recycling services they...

X-appeal.(Resources)(Renewable energy)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A toolbox, dubbed GREEN-X, is being developed to figure out important strategies towards maximising the generation of renewable electricity in a liberalised market, with minimal costs to consumers. An 'International Conference and...

Sewerage charges aide.(Resources)(Effluent Online Club)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Mogden Formula Tool, available on the Effluent Online Club (EOC) website, has been updated to include the new trade effluent charges for 2004/05 applied by the water companies of England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scottish Water....

Indoor pollution.(Resources)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The World Health Organisation has published an Atlas of Children's Health and the Environment. It tackles the impact of indoor air pollution, the unfashionable yet huge tragedy of sanitation, and climate change. Nearly one million children die...

'The Outlook for Green Certificate Markets in Europe' is a new Reuters Business Insight report.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... 'The Outlook for Green Certificate Markets in Europe' is a new Reuters Business Insight report, examining current national green energy markets, certificate systems and the system for Guarantees of Origin: www.greenprices.nl/eu/doc/rbe...

A new website provides energy suppliers, consumers, NGOs and governments.(Non-Governmental Organization)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A new website provides energy suppliers, consumers, NGOs and governments with effective information on green energy markets and products: www.eugenestandard.org. Among the latest developments featured is the accreditation of the first...

IDeA has posted a new set of tools for local authorities and others to help them assess.(Resources)(Improvement and Development Agency)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... IDeA has posted a new set of tools for local authorities and others to help them assess their performance and ensure that future decisions are made with regard to sustainable practice. http://list.ideaknowledge.gov.uk/ t/170/125934/64/20/

Degree days--June 2004 & July 2004.(Resources)(Atmospheric temperature)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
September 1, 2004... Degree Days--June 2004 & July 2004 Thames South Southern South Severn Valley Eastern Western Valley 20 yr. avg 44 62 66 58 44 June...