US offshore energy plan unveiled

On Earth Day, President of the US, Barack Obama announced a plan to allow offshore electricity which is generated from wind, waves and ocean currents.

According to Obama this move will help to reduce the emission of carbon. It will certainly help the combat against global warming too. Another pro is the creation of jobs. Wind could generate as much as 20% of the US electricity demand by 2030. Coastal US States, such as New Jersey and Delaware have already developed plans to build these offshore renewable energy projects.

It’s just a matter of a win-win-situation. It’s not about making a choice between saving our environment and saving our economy, but it’s a choice between prosperity and decline. Obama is really insisting on the fact that his plan for offshore energy will not damage the economy! To approve his meaning: the investment in offshore energy will create 250,000 jobs. In that way, he is tackling the subject of unemployment as well.

Combating climate change is one of the priorities of the administration top. They have also pledged to pass legislation for establishing a "cap and trade" system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Although members of Congress from both parties are likely to block the changes, or water them down.

It’s a good initiative of the US president. I’m quite sure that these measures will not only help us to provide damaging our environment but that investing in new projects for a better environment will also help to stimulate our economies in past-crisis times. All these new projects are certainly leading to a raise of demand for employees. Nevertheless, the discussions about goodness and badness of new projects will never disappear. People have to be convinced about the good of something new before they can believe in it!

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8013494.stm

Posted by Joachim De Zutter

Solar loans light up rural India

The UN Environment Programme is leading a big project in India. The main goal of the project is to help families to get a loan for buying home solar power systems. The UN supports Indian bankers who offer cheap loans to the Indian people to purchase a system unit.

The rural Indian people are used to light their homes with kerosene lamps, which are expensive and polluting. These lamps can be a danger for the health of the people in their poorly ventilated houses and produce more than 205 kg of carbon dioxide a year by one family. The UN thought that solar energy could be a solution. There was one disadvantage, the cost. An average solar power system (able of powering two to four small appliances or lights) costs about $300-$500 and that’s too expensive for the most families over there. For this the UN started the project, the Indian Loan Programme helps banks to offer lower interest rates and longer payback periods to the people who want to invest in a solar power system. According to the UN, the project is a success. More than 100,000 people in rural India have benefited from an innovative loan scheme.

I support this project of the UN. The main goal of the project is to make life better for the people, so I think that everybody would support it. It is true that the use of solar energy will be healthier than kerosene lamps and will make energy bills cheaper. Another small advantage is that it will reduce the pollution. There will be more than 100,000 people less who use kerosene lamps. The reduction of pollution will not be that much, but I think that every little thing can help to solve the pollution problem and to stop global warming.

Robby Lampens

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6600213.stm

Plans for energy park submitted

Plans for a £20m renewable energy plant that could provide electricity to 10,800 homes have been submitted to Selby District Council.

Whites Renewable Energy has put forward the proposition to turn the site of an old Tate and Lyle citric acid factory into a renewable energy park.

The new plant would create 120 new jobs.

The plant would use anaerobic digestion technology, which breaks down leftover food into compost and biogas, which can be burned to produce heat and electricity.

Spokesman David Balderson said that Anaerobic digestion is one of the best solutions for disposing of organic waste.

He also said that the site at Selby is ideal as it is well connected to the local motorway network via Selby bypass, it already has an anaerobic digester and a connection to the National Grid.

And according to him, this project will provide a significant boost to the local economy by creating jobs and will also make available a cheap non fossil fuel heat source that will attract businesses to the area.

According to me, one of the most important benefits of renewable energy is the fact that it’s non-polluting. Also the fact that they are going to produce renewable energy from waste is an advantage. Which means more energy and less waste.

It's a large investment, but I think it's worth it. Because the plant is going to produce renewable energy, so after a period of time, they will have the investment back.

The new plant will also create 120 new jobs, which is positive for the local economy.


Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/7850755.stm


Dominique Van Huffel

Renewable energy: E.ON looks at £300m investment to build Britain's largest biomass plant

E.ON, a big energy company in the energy sector, has said that it was considering a £300m investment in building one of the biggest biomass power plants in Britain.
The company said that it wants to build a 150 megawatt plant at the port of Bristol as a part big investment program in a range of generating technologies.

The CEO of E.ON stated that this project would be very good for the UK, according to the CEO the project will help the government to meet their renewable energy targets.
"Schemes such as this, together with cleaner coal, gas and new nuclear, will help us to keep the UK's lights on, while reducing carbon emissions and ensuring energy is as affordable as possible for our customers," he said.

E.ON's investment program in Britain exists of large gas-fired power station, a gas-fired plant, an offshore wind farm and plans for the Humber Gateway wind farm. It is also a partner in the London Array wind farm and has invested in marine energy projects.
The proposal to replace the coal-fired power station into a coal plant has attracted fierce controversy.
Environmental protesters have already held its week-long Climate Camp outside the existing Kingsnorth power station as part of the campaign of opposition against the new plant.

A representative of Greenpeace has said that if E.ON wants to have the image of one of the country’s leading green generators it should drop the plans for the new power station.

According to E.ON, the plant would be able to generate enough electricity to supply 250,000 homes. The carbon dioxide emissions will decrease by 500,000 tons a year
If the proposal will be approved anyway , E.ON is hoping to start work in 2010, with the first power produced in 2013 and the plant coming into full operation in 2014.


According to me this article has 2 points of view. First of all this new project of E.ON will provide plenty of new jobs, and will deliver green energy for 250,000 homes. The creation of the jobs is also good for the economy, especially in times of crisis. At the other hand the people of Greenpeace will have their reasons to be against the proposal.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/20/utilities.renewableenergy

Kevin De Pauw

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament to switch off the lights for Earth Hour

Saturday night, lights went out all over the world to mark “Earth Hour”. Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). People were asked to turn off their non-essential lights and other electric appliances for one hour. The intention of this event is to raise the awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

Almost all the big cities around the world participated in this event. The Eiffel Tower, Shanghai’s Hong Kong New World Tower, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro and Sydney’s Opera House are a few examples of monuments that took part in the action. The most striking monuments in central London switched off their lights too, namely the Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. It is clear that this action saved a lot of energy, but campaigners have not calculated the exact amount of energy that might be saved. Earth Hour is more symbolic than a direct action to save energy and to decrease carbon emissions.

I think this is a great event organized by the WWF. I would even say that they have to do it more often, like 4 times in a year. It’s great that there is saved a lot of energy and a decrease of the carbon emissions for one hour, but the main point is still to keep people aware of the problems in the environment and the climate change. People have to remind that the climate change is a very big danger in the near future. It’s great that governments all over the world participate in this event and give an example with the participation of the world famous monuments.


Robby Lampens

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/27/earth-hour-climate-change-wwf

Obama pledges billions for renewable energy projects

Barack Obama declared that he is planning to spend billions of dollars on renewable energy projects over the next few weeks. The president said the $129bn allocated for encouraging the use of solar power, hybrid cars and renewable energy projects would not be subject to start a political war between the White House and Congress.

His pledge on clean energy came as the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) was telling the White House that global warming was endangering public health. It comes after years of resistance by George Bush. The move by the EPA could lead to nationwide measures to limit carbon emissions in the US.

Defending his plans to spend on renewable energy, Obama said that they can remain the world’s leader of exporting foreign oil or become the leading exporter of renewable energy. It’s very important for the coming generations he said too. Obama had a meeting with some clean energy entrepreneurs and he told them he hoped they could help the US out of recession by creating 300,000 jobs.

Republican and Democratic congressional members are growing increasingly sceptical about the scale of Obama's budget. He is also creating a fight to prevent the Congress to cut back the plans. The White House said his budget would provide $75bn over the next 10 years to make permanent existing tax cuts for clean energy. His $787bn economic stimulus package aimed to help the US out of recession, included $39bn for clean energy projects and $20bn in tax incentives. Jared Bernstein, a White House economics adviser, said Obama was prepared to negotiate details with clean energy entrepreneurs but not with Congress.

Obama is facing opposition to his budget from conservatively fiscal Democrats who are worried about the size of his spending plans. Also the Republicans opposed to plans to penalise high pollution companies.

For me it’s clear Obama wants to improve the living climate. Improving this climate means there are a lot of measures that has to be taken. Obama is willing to spend an enormous budget to execute his plans, and maybe it’s really necessary. As he said, it’s important for every one in the world that they are one of the biggest exporters of oil in the whole world. But if we proceed, just like we are living today, it will be necessary too that the US becomes the biggest exporter of clean energy all over the world. When they are able to reach this target, they will be able to help a lot of countries.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/23/barack-obama-environmental-spending-budget

Posted by Joachim De Zutter

'Spy plane' to find energy waste

A spy plane has been flying over Brit homes and businesses to know how much energy they waste.

A Council, in Norfolk, spended £30,000 to hire an aircraft for five days which is fitted with a thermal imaging camera. With these images the council knows the locations of the houses and businesses where the most heat is being lost.

With this project the council hoped to identify the firms who were losing the most heat and to advise these firms on the grants they could be receiving.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance said that people are sick and tired of being heckled and spied on by local government and they have slammed the latest spy scheme as just another example of the local authorities poking their noses into the lives of Brits. They also said that in a period of recession the council had better ways to spend the £30,000. In their eyes the project was just a waste of money.

According to me this spy plane is a good initiative took by the government. Because the plane helps to find houses and businesses were a lot of energy is waste by losing heat. If they know that they are losing heat, they can do something about it.

I can follow the opinion of the TaxPayers’ Alliance. It could be that the government is poking its noses into the lives of the Brits, but I think that this project can help the Brits to reduce their energy bill. If they know that they are losing energy, they can take measures to do something about it.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/7960201.stm

Dominique Van Huffel