Big Fine for Companies Who Provide Inaccurate CRC Reports

Time is running out for UK organisations whose half hourly electricity consumption totals more than 6,000 MWh per year (equivalent to approximately £500,000 annual spend) and are yet to compile all data for their CRC report.

Companies covered under this Energy Efficiency Scheme must provide a carbon emission report based on their annual energy consumption by the end of July, more precisely the 31st. Those who fail to meet the deadline will face severe financial penalties.

For instance, companies who hand in their CRC reports after the deadline will have to pay a fine of £5,000, plus £500 for each day that the report is overdue.

Inaccurate reports could cause serious damage to a business’s energy bill with increases of 5 to 10 percent. For each tonne either over or under-reported the fine is £40. For example, an organisation spending £20 million on energy could expect a fine of £1 million for a 20% error. Ouch!

A more realistic example would be, an organisation with an energy bill of half a million pounds, submitted 20 days late and with a 20% error, could face a fine of £55,433 (11% extra).

Recently the consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCooper conducted a research and found that only 21% of the companies interviewed were monitoring and reporting their carbon emissions. Out of the 160 companies surveyed only 67% reported that they were CRC participants.

Henry Le Fleming, carbon reporting specialist at PwC, said, however, that many companies are unprepared for the process of collecting the data, having not “stress tested their processes, systems and controls”.

In fact, the Carbon Commitment Reduction Scheme is not a considered scheme anymore, it is a straight forward tax intended to promote energy efficiency by the country’s largest users of energy.

Companies who comply with the scheme providing accurate CRC reports will enjoy significant financial benefits in the long run, due to improved energy efficiency. If done accurately these companies could reduce energy expenditure of 10% every year.

Complete information about the CRC can be found at our Carbon Commitment Reduction page. For more details about PWC’s research visit their website at: http://www.pwc.co.uk

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Should Britain Turn its Back on Nuclear?

The catastrophic events in Japan that led to Fukushima’s nuclear crisis made the world review their concepts about nuclear energy generation. What once was seen as an effective way to generate carbon free electricity is now being questioned about its safety that will sure comprise its economical viability.

What happened at Fukushima’s nuclear power plant caused deep wounds on the nuclear industry, forcing governments in every corner of the globe to review their nuclear development policies.

As countries around the globe start to decarbonise their economies, nuclear power is seen universally as a vital and cost effective carbon free energy generating resource. But new safety policies and other costs for new and existing nuclear power plants could turn nuclear power less economic or even uneconomic.

The nuclear industry has a strong safety record and there is no reason to believe that this cannot be maintained into the future but events in Japan have changed these parameters. Although we don’t have a detailed report of what happened at Fukushima nuclear power plant further improvements on the current high safety levels will sure be implemented and required by new nuclear power plants.

This leads us to the question: “Is it safe for Britain to go on building new nuclear plants?”

Writing to the telegraph Lord Hutton of Furness former secretary of state for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, 2007-8, answered this question with an emphatic “YES” stating:

“Safety must, of course, always be at the heart of the case for nuclear energy, and regulators must make this their top priority. In 2008, when I had responsibility for energy policy, the safety case was fundamental to my decision to sanction a new generation of nuclear power stations for Britain. I have every confidence that this will be the same approach taken by ministers today. Modern nuclear technologies have multi-layered safety systems in place that offer a huge improvement on the older power plants.”

With ageing power plants due to close in coming years, time is running out for Britain and nuclear power seems like the most probable solution to not only to keep the “lights on” but also to cut down carbon emissions.

If Britain turns its back on nuclear the Government would be limited to very few energy generating resources. Renewables would be one of them, for the delight of the energy secretary Chris Hune. The second option would be gas as it is unlikely that the Government would sanction a new coal-fired power plant.

Meanwhile one thing is for sure the nuclear crisis in Japan will result in rising business gas prices and consequently higher business energy prices as LNG cargoes are diverted to the Far East to fill the gap left by the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

To sum things up I leave you with the question: “Should Britain Turn its Back on Nuclear?” – Share your thoughts and opinions in our comments section.

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Japan’s Disaster Impacts on the UK Energy Market

As uncertain to the future of the UK energy market, Japan’s disaster has caused even more uncertainties. Should the government stick with the nuclear energy programme? Or was what happened at Fukushima’s nuclear plant a warning that as efficient as nuclear might be, safety comes first?

Once again energy market specialists are divided into two groups. Those that believe Japan’s nuclear crisis will change global energy markets for good and those that despite knowing the risks of nuclear power plants still think the Government must not divert from its nuclear energy programme.

The events at Fukushima nuclear power station are likely to change national energy policies in nuclear countries and that includes the UK.   China has already suspended new nuclear plant approvals and those that are under construction that do not conform to safety standards must immediately cease construction.

New safety policies and other costs for new and existing nuclear power plants could turn nuclear power less economic or even uneconomic. Nuclear’s loss could be natural gas and renewable’s gain. Although it is very early to say how this will affect the British power sector potential changes should not be downplayed.

Speculative analysis shows that gas could significantly be impacted by long-term policy changes which could lead to higher gas prices.

“With gas-fired power stations normally the marginal source of generation capacity in the UK, this is likely to result in higher electricity prices.” – stated an Energy Broker.

Unfortunately the UK relies on nuclear power stations to replace coal-fired stations that will be switched off over the next decade. Even those who once described nuclear energy as a “tried, tested and failed technology”, are now advocating that Britain needs a more balanced energy strategy, in which nuclear will be crucial.

On Sunday, Chris Hune, the energy secretary, ordered the chief nuclear officer to conduct an immediate review of the safety of Britain’s nuclear power stations.

Mr Hune who once was totally against nuclear power has recently turned into a supporter for new nuclear stations. Right now there are plans for five nuclear plants to be built in the UK over the next decade. Shifting to nuclear is crucial if Britain is to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.

Despite agreeing that the UK will need to rely on nuclear to “keep the lights on”, Mr Hune still believes the UK can meet its climate change commitments without relying too much on nuclear.

“We can do the 80 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050 without new nuclear, but it will require a big effort on carbon capture and storage and renewables.”

On the other hand, the Conservatives are likely to oppose any move to scale back the nuclear programme. The prime minister said that nuclear should be par of the mix.

I leave you with the questions asked in the beginning of this article – Should the government stick with the nuclear energy programme? Or was what happened at Fukushima’s nuclear plant a warning that as efficient as nuclear might be, safety comes first?

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Innovative Renewable Energy Generation Ideas

Portable Ethanol Refinery Turns Food Waste into Fuel – Every year in the UK alone thousands, maybe millions of tones of food goes to waste. What if we could find a use for all this waste? That is exactly what a California based company did, they’ve created a portable ethanol refinery that produces the fuel out of food waste.

Launched in 2009 the E-Fuel Microfueler replaces the traditional ethanol reflux column system with a solid state distillation technology, making it possible for homeowners and small businesses to safely and cost-effectively create their own fuel, on-site.

How it works

Compatible with just about any type of organic waste (discarded liquids rich in sugar, waste sugar, liquids with residual alcohol, cellulosic materials and even algae) that will be used as feedstock. The Microfueler uses a patented technology consisting of micro sensors and state-of-the-art semiconductor technology to produce ethanol in a combustion free process, making it possible for homeowners and small businesses to safely and cost-effectively create their own fuel, on-site.

About Ethanol

For those of you how don’t know what Ethanol is here is quick explanation. If you already know what Ethanol is please skip this section.

Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, yes the same alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. As a fuel it can be classified as biofuel since it is made by the fermentation of feedstock sugarcane and corn. In countries like Brazil Ethanol is widely used as an alternative fuel for gasoline and diesel.

Whilst there aren’t many if any cars in the UK that run on Ethanol. The Microfueler can be used with another purpose, as an independent renewable energy generator suitable for household use and even for small businesses.

With the GridBuster electric generator home and business owners will be able to drop off the conventional and expensive electrical grid and generate their own electricity.

According to its manufacturer the E-Fuel MicroFueler can produce a US Gallon – equivalent to 0.8 imperial gallons – of ethanol for only 56 cents of Dollar. With a weekly production of 233 gallons per week can be a cost effective renewable energy resource for small to mid-size business.

For more information about E-Fuel’s Microfueler please visit.

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We need Innovation, Not Insulation Says Bill Gates

Conservation and behaviour change alone will not get us to the dramatically lower levels of CO2 emissions needed to make a real difference. We also need to focus on developing innovative technologies that produce energy without generating any CO2 emissions at all.

These are the words of Bill Gates about global warming and the global urge to reduce CO2 emissions. Recently we published an article about Mr. Gates quest to find a clean source of energy that will “save us” from the eminent threats of climate change. The man who revolutionized personal computing is now investing millions to stop global warming.

In his article “Why We Need Innovation, Not Just Insulation“, published on his personal blog “The Gates Notes“, he says right now the world has two goals for CO2 reduction – 30% (off of some baseline) by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

The first target seems to be more achievable and it is why we tend to focus on it. According to Bill Gates to achieve the 80% CO2 reduction goal by 2050 we will have to reduce emissions form transportation and electrical production in participating countries close to neutral levels.

But we would still be left with emissions from other activities such as domesticated animals, making fertilizers and decay processes. Not to mention that some countries will still be too poor to invest in new technologies to reduce their CO2 emissions.

That is when the problem grows more complex. As the demand for energy from poor countries increases and it is clear these countries won’t have the money to invest in the latest and green energy generation resources it will be hard to reduce CO2 emissions.

Reason why Bill Gates defends the theory that: “no amount of insulation will get us there, only innovating our way to what is essentially zero carbon energy technology will do it. If we focus on just efficiency to the exclusion of innovation, or imagine that we can worry about efficiency first and worry about energy innovation later, we won’t get there.”

Cutting a long story short, we need an “energy miracle”, a carbon free energy generation resource. Will we ever find it? Do you agree that we need innovations and not insulations to stop global warming? Have your say in our comments section.

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Bill Gates Investing Millions to Stop Global Warming

The man who revolutionised personal computing now wants to revolutionise the way we generate energy. After stepping down as the CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates has been investing millions of dollars to fight global warming; his ultimate goal is to find an energy source completely free of CO2 emissions.

Will Bill Gates ever find a way to generate carbon-free energy? Have your say here.

For the past few years Gates has dedicated most of his time and money to projects that range from the development of high voltage batteries to machines capable of extracting CO2 from the air.

As one of the most successful business men in history his words carry enormous credibility which gives more visibility to projects that might not leave the drawing board. Above all Bill Gates is seen as a visionary and if he believes such projects could change our lives, a lot of people will sit and hear what he has to say.

According to Mr. Gates the world needs an “energy miracle”, an energy source that is reliable, cheap and carbon free. He says we shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket and purse every available path to achieve this really big breakthrough.

Around the globe there are many countries generating energy from renewable energy resources that look very promising but not big enough to cause the impact needed to make a change. Tidal energy, geothermal and even wind are all good and clean energy generating resources but we need more than that.

The father of Windows is working on a new nuclear approach called travelling-wave reactor, which uses waste uranium for fuel. That dream is far from becoming a reality but if it does we could have cheaper energy with no CO2 emissions.

To sum things up Bill Gates points out two immediate solutions the American and other Governments around the globe should take note to make the transition towards a carbon free society quicker. Increase investment in research and development of new energy generating technology and a well structured energy plan that considers each option based on the likelihood of success.

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The Internet’s Energy Consumption and Its Carbon Footprint

Over the past few years there has been an ongoing debate about the growing amount of energy needed to power the World Wide Web, a.k.a the Internet, and the impacts on our environment.  Many have tried to pin down the exact amount of energy needed to power the internet and its carbon footprint. Recently The Guardian published an article saying that the Internet’s carbon footprint was around 300 million tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to every person in the UK flying to America and back twice over.

The article was published in August and with the number of internet users growing by the day worldwide I wouldn’t be surprised if these figures were higher nowadays.  According to the UN by the end of the year there will be 2 billion world internet users, that is 1/6 of world population.

Hypothetically, if these growth rates remain the same, the entire world would be online by 2020.

To measure the Internet’s exact power consumption and then determine its carbon footprint we would need to know the precise number of computers, laptops and mobile phones that are online these days (which we don’t). Add that to the amount of energy consumed by all the Data Centres worldwide to then determine the internet power consumption and its carbon footprint.

Scary isn’t it? But we gathered some data just to give you a better understanding of roughly how much energy is needed to power the World Wide Web these days.

Back in 2006, data centres in America consumed a total of 61,000,000,000 kWh (yes you read it right 61 trillion kWh), which is enough to power the UK for 2 whole months.

A single Google search produces 0.2g of CO2. Not that much right? But now, 3,100,000 Google searches emit enough CO2 to power an average house for a whole month.

The monthly searches processed by Google produce 260 tons of CO2 which is equivalent to power an American fridge-freezer for 5,400 years. This consumes 3,900,000 kWh of energy, which is equal to washing 5.57 million loads of laundry.

But wait, it gets worse! A single spam message produces the equivalent of 0.3 grams of CO2. Multiply that by 62 trillion pieces of spam circling the World Wide Web each year and we have the emissions equivalent of driving around the Earth 1.6 million times.

Despite its huge energy consumption the internet is likely to play an important role as we move towards a low carbon economy. Thanks to advances in communication technologies an estimated 40% of the working population could work from home. If 40% of American workforce worked from home twice a week, carbon emission would be reduced by 53 million metric tons year, equivalent of taking 10 million cars on the road.

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