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Energy Market Report May11:

Catalyst Commercial Services Ltd — Thu, 05 May 2011 07:05:41 +0000

Energy Market Report May 2011

Our monthly analysis of the UK gas and power markets is now available on line for the month of May 2011. The service is intended to keep you up to date with all the major news in Europe’s gas and power markets. It is also designed to keep power executives focused on market activity in an easy to digest format.

Your find our May 2011 report here and all historical energy reports can be located here.

If you would like more information on our services or would like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

Or you might want to subscribe for further updates direct from our site.

Inaccurate CRC Report Fines:

Felipe — Wed, 04 May 2011 07:15:51 +0000

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

If you would like more information on our range of energy services or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

Or you might want to subscribe for further updates direct from our site.

Influenced UK Gas Prices:

Felipe — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 08:00:59 +0000

Never Have So Many Factors Influenced UK Gas Prices

Back in the days when British North Sea natural gas reserves were at full throttle Britain use to be self sufficient for natural gas. In those days only a couple of factors had major influence in UK gas prices, they were weather and demand, the golden days as many energy brokers referred it. Nowadays the UK gas and energy market has grown more complex with several factors influencing prices on a daily basis.

In 1998 the first gas pipeline between UK and continental Europe was opened which automatically hooked British gas prices to European oil indexed prices. That was when British prices started to be influenced by marginal factors.

This is how it works. When crude oil prices rose, so did natural gas prices for continental Europe and consequently the UK, because of pipeline connections to Europe. Since UK gas prices aren’t completely hooked up to European oil indexed gas prices, gas in the UK becomes cheaper than in continental Europe and European gas traders end up buying gas from the UK. That is when the demand in increased and UK gas suppliers put their prices up to stop the flow to continental Europe and to contain the price surge in the UK gas market.

One factor that recently started to play an important role in the British gas and energy market was LNG imports. Liquefied Natural Gas imports brought a global component to business and commercial gas prices. Predictions are that in a few years time the UK will be importing as much as 50% of its total gas supply needs from LNG which will make UK gas prices compete with American and Asian markets.

The biggest issue with LNG imports is where to store it. Britain is lacking LNG import terminals but the issue is being addressed with two new large terminals under construction in Wales and the expansion of the Isle of Grain should increase UK’s LNG storage capacity considerably.

Commercial and business gas prices continue to be influenced by weather and demand but as afore mentioned not as much as it use to. Proof to that is what happened the past winter, when temperatures were way below seasonal average pushing gas for heating consumption to extremely high levels and instead of going up wholesale gas prices dropped.

As if energy brokers didn’t have enough to worry about, two new factors are concerning energy brokers across the land. It first started with the turmoil in Egypt that extended to Libya which made crude oil prices surge over the $120 US Dollar mark, causing a rally in the UK gas market. As a consequence UK gas prices climbed to its highest levels in more than 21 months.

The second factor that is taking away the sleep of UK energy brokers is the earthquake and tsunami that devastated part of the eastern coast of Japan. You may ask why? The answer is simple, Japan is the biggest LNG importer and a reduction in its nuclear energy generation increases the likelihood of LNG tankers being diverted from the UK to Japan, as the second biggest Japanese energy generation resource is gas power plants.

As you can see the UK Energy and Gas Market are more complex than what many people think. Now imagine you having to watch all those factors in order to find the cheapest business gas and business energy prices for you company. You wouldn’t have time to focus on what really matters for your business. That is why when it comes down to finding the best deals in gas or energy it’s best to leave it to the professionals: Energy Brokers.

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Japan’s Disaster Impacts on UK:

Felipe — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:17:42 +0000

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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Middle East Unrests Continues:

Felipe — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 02:29:12 +0000

Middle East Unrests Continue to Influence Gas Prices

UK gas prices climbed to its highest levels in more than 21 months supported by conflicts in Middle East which are pushing Brent crude oil prices close to the $120 a barrel. On Monday Brent crude oil prices firmed at $117.40 a barrel, causing a rally in the UK gas market. Winter gas contract prices climbed to 68.50 pence per therm on Monday morning, the highest since May 2009.

Concerns about the turmoil in Libya, tensions in Saudi Arabia and rumours of the wave of anti-government protests spreading across the Middle East and North Africa, spooked the market early this week.

So far Libya has cut off only 2 percent of Europe’s gas supply but as unrests spread to countries like Oman, Yemen and Algeria, the uncertainties about future oil and gas production in these countries increase.

“The potential disruptions of gas production in countries currently under social unrest are significant,” – said an energy broker.

Higher oil costs push up some mainland European gas contracts and affect prices in the U.K. because of pipeline connections to Europe. Stronger oil also means that European gas suppliers may buy gas in the UK over the coming months as their oil hooked up prices rise in price.

Gas for summer 2011 contracts rose 1.75 pence to 59 pence and April’s climbed to 58.90 pence. Meanwhile spot gas prices were traded at 59.75 pence on Monday, up 2 pence from Friday. On Tuesday prices continued to surge hitting 60 pence per therm. At the time of writing.

Stronger gas prices means higher energy prices, baseload power for Tuesday was traded at 51 pounds per megawatt-hour. The biggest rise was seen on Winter 2011/12 contracts with increases of 2 pounds trading at 56.90 pounds per megawatt-hour. At the time of writing.

Updated

U.K. natural-gas and power contracts declined after two days of gains as crude fell and milder weather was forecast.

Gas for summer, the six months from April, lost as much as 1.55 pence, or 2.6 percent, to 58 pence a therm, according to broker prices compiled by Bloomberg. It was at 58.4 pence as of 9:25 a.m. in London. The winter contract dropped as much as 1.05 pence to 67.75 pence.

Gas for same-day delivery fell 0.9 pence to 58.9 pence.

Power for next month dropped for the first time in nine days, losing 90 pence, or 1.8 percent, to 50.10 pounds a megawatt-hour.

source: Bloomberg Businessweek

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How to Hire An Energy Broker:

Felipe — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:01:32 +0000

The Importance of Hiring an Energy Broker

Every week we bring you the latest UK energy and gas prices. These prices vary on a daily basis influenced by a series of factors that we talked about in our article: “Understanding the Fluctuation of UK Gas Prices“. As professional gas and energy brokers it is our job to stay on top of the news in order to find the best deals for our clients.

Now imagine you having to do all this for your business or allocating employees that have no experience in the UK energy market, to find your organisation the best business energy and business gas prices. First you would be wasting time that could be used on other projects that matter to your business, and second these professionals wouldn’t be able to find you the best deals because they don’t have the market knowledge to do so.

That is why it is extremely important to hire independent energy brokers if you want to not only find the best energy and gas contract, but also improve the energy efficiency of your business.

Energy brokers have the market intelligence to understand and predict market conditions, therefore, finding the best contracts that will reduce costs and improve efficiency. Leaving you with the calm and tranquillity to focus on what really matters to your business.

There is nothing like a fresh pair of eyes to uncover areas for significant improvement that may not have been previously identified. Energy consultants have the advantage of working with many different organisations in various niches which make them versatile professionals capable of finding energy management solutions for just about any business.

Another factor that highlights the importance of hiring independent energy brokers is supplier relation. Here at Catalyst for instance we work on behalf of thousands of UK companies which give us a bigger bargain power when purchasing energy or gas from suppliers.

Before you ask if we were not going to bring you the latest gas and energy prices, here they are:

Gas Prices

Gas for Tuesday delivery rose 0.20 pence to 56.00 pence per therm at 1005 GMT, and day-ahead contracts gained 0.25 pence to 55.95 pence. Gas for April rose to 54.90 pence and gas for delivery next summer went up 0.05 pence and traded at 54.80 while winter gas surprisingly fell 0.15 to 64.35 pence.

Energy Prices

Day-ahead power gained 0.25 pounds on the previous session to 48.45 pounds per megawatt-hour (MWh).

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Middle East Price Impact:

Felipe — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 23:47:43 +0000

Gas Prices Rise as Middle East Unrest Continues

What started in Egypt seems to be spreading all over the Middle East. Popular revolt and political uncertainty is making investors plan for the unpredictable, as crude oil prices continues to rise, which in turn is contributing to higher gas and energy prices.

When the protests started in Egypt crude oil prices were below the $100 mark, more precisely at $98 a barrel. Last Monday the Brent crude oil barrel was traded at $108. As UK gas prices are tied up to oil prices, prompt and curve gas prices rose too.

Prompt gas contracts for immediate and day-ahead delivery were both up nearly one penny from Monday’s close at 54.55 pence. While winter 2011 gas contract traded at 63.50 pence per therm, the highest level since October 2009.

On Tuesday morning National Grid data showed that the system was undersupplied which associated with a slightly higher increase in demand was also responsible for higher wholesale gas prices.

Since nearly 50% of UK power production uses gas as a fuel day-ahead energy prices also reported an increase of 0.75 pounds and were traded at 47.25 pounds per megawatt-hour. A drop in wind power generation also added to higher energy prices.

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Gas Prices Rise Again:

Felipe — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:14:20 +0000

Commercial Gas Prices Rise Again

UK spot gas prices rise as Norway’s biggest gas platform Troll shuts temporarily overnight. Just as UK gas market analysts and gas brokers were talking about how reliable and important Norwegian gas supplies has been to the British gas market this winter. Two weeks of unexpected outages and shut downs due to power cuts in Norwegian gas platforms and gas processing plants made the rollercoaster of UK gas prices move again.

Wholesale spot gas prices hit a season high of 55 pence per therm on Tuesday, up 2.20 pence, after gas flows from Langeled pipeline plunged from 65 mcm to scary 13 mcm and supplies into Scotland dropped from 54 mcm to only 10 mcm.

A brief overnight shutdown of Norway’s biggest gas platform Troll A and then a reduction of 40 percent in exports due to an unrelated power problem from Norway’s second largest export plant were responsible for the plunge of gas flows into Britain.

In the early hours of Tuesday, talks were that the issues in Norway were resolved and Langeled was ramping up again and gas flows would go back to normal over the course of the day.

Within a day gas prices had eased to 54.70 pence by 1120 GMT, while gas prices for Wednesday eased from highs of 54.25 pence to 53.25 pence after Troll operator Statoil said the shutdown had been due to a “false alarm,” which should mean more gas coming to Britain yesterday afternoon.

Despite below average demand for this time of the year, the UK gas market was apprehensive as flows into eastern England and Scotland remained at low levels, late Tuesday morning.

The good news was that inputs from LNG terminals and Britain’s biggest gas storage site Rough compensated for some of the lost supply from Norway.

If you would like more information on our range of Commercial Gas services or how we compare gas prices, or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

Or you might want to subscribe for further updates direct from our site.

Compare Gas Prices:

Felipe — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 05:10:38 +0000

Understanding the Fluctuation of UK Gas Prices

With the decline of North Sea gas production the UK went from being self sufficient and an exporter of natural gas to being a net importer. This has caused many changes to the UK gas market, mainly in business and commercial gas prices volatility. Back in the days when the UK was self sufficient for natural gas few factors influenced gas prices. They were weather and demand, nowadays, the UK gas market has become more complex and several factors have a direct effect on prices.

Since 1998 when the first pipeline between the UK and Europe was opened UK gas prices were automatically hooked to European oil indexed prices. Since then, UK gas prices were determined by marginal transactions. Basically if oil prices raise so does UK gas prices.

Recently a new factor has come into play which brought a more global component to business and commercial gas prices, the imports of LNG (liquefied natural gas) cargoes. According to industry experts, over time LNG imports could account for 50% of total UK gas supply which will make UK gas prices compete with American and Asian markets.

The biggest issue with LNG imports nowadays is where to store it so a number of LNG import terminals are under construction, with two new large terminals in Wales due to be completed later this year and further expansion at Isle of Grain near London.

Weather and demand still have their influence in business and commercial gas prices. But this winter gas traders saw a different scenario; with temperatures way below seasonal average which pushed gas for heating consumption to sky high levels, wholesale gas prices dropped.

Normally with the colder weather gas price tend to rise due to an increase in demand. This winter a steady supply from Norway and the Netherlands plus strong LNG imports kept the gas prices at low levels.

“Before trading gas in the UK Market was rather simple. Now things have become more complex and we have to keep an eye on several factors in order to deliver the best prices for our costumers” stated a business gas broker.

To sum things up, natural gas is an important factor of the UK fuel mix in electricity generation and it has great influence in UK energy prices.

If you would like more information on our range of business gas services or how we compare gas prices, or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

Or you might want to subscribe for further updates direct from our site.

Rising Business Gas Prices:

Felipe — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 02:15:36 +0000

UK Business Gas Prices are on the rise

Colder Weather, Oil and Nuclear Reactor Outages influencing gas prices

The colder weather forecasted for this week and the rise of oil prices, are forcing UK gas prices to go up. But strong supply from the continent and steady LNG gas imports kept a cap on gains. Surprisingly on Monday, gas demand forecasts were 6 percent lower than seasonal levels. Last week demand had been 10 percent lower year on year, according to National Grid data.

According to forecasts from the Met Office temperatures will plunge this week which will lift the demand for gas used for heating.

“We’ve seen a move to colder weather but it’s nothing serious. There is plenty of gas around but still plenty of buyers out there,” one business gas trader.

On Monday a gas price for day-ahead delivery rose 1.50 pence from the previous session and was traded at 55.35 per therm.

The rise on UK gas prices could’ve been worst if it wasn’t for strong gas flows from LNG terminals and imports from Norway and Netherlands, transporting nearly 100 mcm into the British gas market.

“A lot of gas has been injected over the weekend and more today that should last us into March easily, as there doesn’t seem to be any serious cold weather on the horizon,” said another business gas broker.

Meanwhile, with oil prices closing in on $100 US Dollars a barrel, UK gas prices are likely go up too as both fuel prices are closely linked.

On the other hand, despite a scheduled nuclear reactor outage and low wind power generation forecasts, business energy prices remained steady. Spot price traded at 47.35 pounds per MWh on Monday.

If you would like more information on our range of energy broker services or would like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

Or you might want to subscribe for further updates direct from our site.

Latest Business Gas Prices:

Felipe — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 03:44:16 +0000

Business and Commercial Gas Prices Drop with Mild Weather

UK gas prices plunged to seven week lows to levels last seen before the cold snap. Milder weather and strong supply from LNG terminals kept the market well supplied pushing business and commercial gas prices down.

On Monday gas for day ahead and February delivery fell to prices similar to November, before we were hit by the coldest spell on record. Spot prices fell 1.55 pence and were traded at 54.75 pence per therm, while gas for delivery in February was traded at 55.00 per therm, 1.20 pence lower than previous sessions.

“Weather and LNG supply are weighing on prices. Some may be going short here with the idea that it has room for downside in the week,” said a business gas broker.

With weather forecasts predicting that North West European temperatures will rise 1 to 6 degrees Celsius over the next 5 days. The biggest question now is how far gas prices will drop.

Energy and gas brokers are having a tough time this winter predicting energy and gas prices. Back in mid December when the coldest spell on record was forecasted UK gas prices dropped. The same happened last week when gas prices plunged 60p for spot contracts.

In both cases strong supply from the continent and steady imports on LNG helped gas prices drop despite the cold weather. Now we are experiencing a more logical scenario.

Temperatures are climbing and business and commercial gas prices are falling. Which is easier to understand even though gas demand remained above seasonal averages.

“All seems to be about the weather today. There is still potential cold weather at the back end of the forecast but everyone is looking at warm weather over the next few days,” one energy broker said.

The power market is also looking strong thanks to gas. Despite loosing two nuclear reactors over the weekend, day-ahead power contracts traded at 48.00 pounds per megawatt-hour (MWh), 2.20 pounds below the previous session.

But with Dungeness B-21 and Hartlepool 1 reactor expected to go offline on January 15 and January 17, respectively, supply margins could tighten pushing energy prices up.

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Energy Market Report Jan11:

Catalyst Commercial Services Ltd — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:18:36 +0000

Our monthly analysis of the UK gas and power markets is now available on line for the month of January 2011. The service is intended to keep you up to date with all the major news in Europe’s gas and power markets. It is also designed to keep power executives focused on market activity in an easy to digest format.

Your find our January 2011 report here and all historical energy reports can be located here.

Or you might want to subscribe for further updates direct from our site.

UK Business Energy Prices Drop:

Felipe — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:59:23 +0000

Energy Prices Drop Despite The Cold Weather

Despite going through one of the coldest winters in history, UK energy prices dropped. Strong gas supply from Norway, imported LNG and the restart of a nuclear reactor helped bring household and business energy prices down.

Normally when temperatures drop gas prices go up. This winter temperatures are several degrees below seasonal average which should have rocketed gas prices. Energy prices are highly influenced by gas prices, so every time gas prices go up energy prices soon follow.

“Everything has traded lower on gas,” said an energy broker.

Back in December we reported that UK Business Gas Prices Drop despite Forecasted Cold Spell, at the time a strong supply from Norway and Netherlands plus strong imports of LNG forced gas traders to lower their prices.

The same is happening again. National Grid data showed Norwegian gas via Langeled was flowing 69 mcm/day, while the Interconnector was adding 12mcm/day and Britain’s LNG terminals were supply around 90 mcm.

Gas prices for Wednesday dropped 60p for spot contracts compared to late December and were traded at 57.80 pence per therm. Gas for February and March was down 2 pence and was traded at 57.80 and 57.50, respectively.

In the power market energy prices followed and British baseload power prices for delivery on Wednesday was 49.85 pounds per megawatt-hour (MWh) and 55 pounds per MWh in peak, down GBP1.65 per MWh.

On the N2EX wholesale power exchange, the day-ahead power auction cleared GBP3.51 lower than the previous day at GBP48.65/MWh.

But gas wasn’t the only reason energy prices dropped. The restart of Oldbury 2 220 MW nuclear reactor and its reintegration to the grid also played an important role in plunging UK energy prices.

There are also energy brokers that believe floods in Australia might influence UK gas and energy prices if coal supply is interrupted. UK coal surplus is high which means it won’t affect prices just yet.

Further more, weekend base was heard at GBP48/MWh, down GBP3 from the previous weekend, and week 2 base was offered at GBP50.75/MWh.

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Internet’s Energy Consumption:

Felipe — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:04:01 +0000

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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New Wind Farms All Over Britain:

Felipe — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 02:33:20 +0000

Wind Farms To Spring Up All Over Britain

Wind Power a low cost green technology for the future - It is becoming ever so clear that the Government is planning in relying mostly on wind power to achieve its climate change bills commitment. By 2020, 15% of all energy generated in Britain must come from renewables. As the windiest place in Europe it is only logical that we rely on this type of renewable energy resource.

The Government is subsidising a handful of projects that are working on making eolic energy generation more efficient. Two of these projects have caught our attention – Floating Wind Farms and the new generation of giant wind turbines.

Floating wind farms have been discussed for quite a while now and the progress in research made by companies like Statoil are making a viable business opportunity for the near future.

The technology basically copies the principles from floating oil rigs and it will allow wind turbines to be sited in waters as deep as 300m. At the moment wind farms are usually sited at depths of up to 30m before it becomes difficult to build a standing structure.

These floating wind farms could also solve the complaint problems of many communities that are against onshore and offshore wind farms which are close to the shore and are blamed for ruining views.

But that problem won’t be solved anytime soon as a new generation of giant wind turbines taller than anything which has been built so far in the UK are planned for Norfolk and Lincolnshire.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that two companies lodged plans to built wind farms with turbines of 493ft high. For reference these turbines will be three times taller than Nelson’s Column and two-thirds the height of Canary Wharf Tower.

According to the Sunday Telegraph that is only the tip of the iceberg as there is a total of 20 projects for these giant wind turbines.

As expected communities where the turbines will be built fear they are far too big and will blight the British landscape. Some claim that if it wasn’t for consumer subsidies made available by the Government these turbines would not be economically viable. Others go as far as saying that these turbines will be built in places where there is not much wind.

A spokeswoman for RenewableUK, the trade body for the renewable energy industry, said: “The increase in size is actually improving the economic benefits of wind energy since greater yields can be achieved, while maintaining the low environmental impact of smaller sized turbines.”

And added:

“Those seeking to block wind farm developments on the grounds of aesthetics are actually preventing the flow of thousands of pounds of investment into their local communities.”

Whether wind farms are built onshore or offshore and if they reach sky high heights or not don’t really matter to me as long as they prove to be efficient. So the Government and its regulatory bodies must be very strict when approving subsidies to renewable energy generation projects.

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The UK's Largest Energy Blog - Catalyst-Commercial.co.uk » UK Energy Suppliers

Energy Market Report May11:

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