Be Eco Friendly

A new study has revealed that new designs in the wind sector could make offshore wind farms a viable option for renewable energy production.

The BusinessGreen study indicates that the development of floating wind turbines could allow for access to areas where water is deeper and winds remain stronger, thus more reliable. Wind energy’s biggest downfall in the past has been its unpredictability. However, now scientists at the Energy Technology Institute (ETI) claim that high-up front costs of such technology will be far outweighed by the benefits of such equipment.

Read full article: http://www.recycle.co.uk/news/2698000.html

The historic Savoy Hotel has reopened after three years of renovation, claiming to be the most eco-friendly luxury hotel in the city.

After a £200 million refurbishment project, the Savoy Hotel opened on Sunday with £2.4 million worth of green technology, which could reduce the hotel’s energy bills by up to 50 per cent and reward it with the title of London’s most environmentally responsible luxury hotel, according to management.

The energy efficient technologies and other improvements installed will result in a 40 per cent reduction in overall energy consumption and an annual carbon reduction of around 3,000 tonnes. In addition, 90 per cent of waste will be diverted from landfill, food waste turned into electricity, and a green procurement policy implemented. In keeping with its luxury standards, the hotel has added a dedicated Green Butler to the 25-strong butler team and offers a green stay package for guests.

Read full article: http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20101013/savoy-hotel-claiming-most-eco-friendly-luxury-hotel-city.htm

According to a government-funded waste reduction body, more than 40 UK retailers have managed to slash food and packaging waste by 1.2 million tonnes between 2005 and 2009.

WRAP said in a statement that around 670,000 tonnes of food waste and a further 520,000 tonnes of packaging waste had been eliminated in a five year time span. Among the retailers that helped reduce the waste are Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda.

According to WRAP chief executive Liz Goodwin, the evidence indicates that people are becoming increasingly aware of food waste as a national issue. She added that more householders are checking their food stocks before they shop. The eliminated food and packaging waste is estimated to be worth around 1.8 billion pounds.

Lowering waste generation within the UK will be essentially to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of land required for landfill sites. Supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda have been joined by retailers Marks & Spencer and Waitrose to also cut down the use of plastic bags by 50 per cent under a voluntary initiative.

Other measures to reduce UK packaging waste have include Coca-Cola’s pledge to use less weight in its bottles. Heinz ketchup bottles will now use more sustainable types of plastic and Kraft Foods Inc’s Cadbury unit cut the cardboard packaging used in its Easter eggs.

In March, food waste went down by 270,000 tonnes per year, which surpassed the group’s target goal of 155,000 tonnes in reduction. However, the companies did miss a target to deliver absolute reductions in packaging waste for 2010, with the total still remaining at 2.9 million tonnes per year.

Chiefs on the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) have predicted that wind power will surpass 400GW of capacity by 2014.

Additionally, the industry body has said that the cost of offshore wind farms could drop by 25 per cent by 2025. By the end of this year, it is expected that installed wind power capacity across the world will reach 200GW.

In the latest projections published yesterday by the GWEC, it was revealed that 40GW of new capacity is being added in 2010, which will ensure that three per cent of globally energy capacity is now provided via wind power.

According to Steve Sawyer, secretary general for the global trade association, in spite of a fall in orders during the recession in the US last year, it was still expected that the wind power industry will double its capacity by 2014. He added that overall wind energy continues to be an emerging market and has weathered the economic downturn better than many analysts predicted.

Furthermore, Mr Sawyer added that the biggest growths have been seen in China and Europe, but said that South America and North Africa will also begin to play an increasingly vital role in the expansion of the sector.

Citing the increasing competition in wind power, he said that half of the growth in wind energy was being seen from developing countries in Latin America including Brazil, Chile and Mexico.

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In a recent statement, energy secretary Chris Huhne admitted to having serious concerns about the future of the UK wind industry.

Voicing is worries over financing of major wind farms, Mr Huhne said that the UK currently has the worst installed rate for renewable capacity of the EU’s 23 member states. With the UK hoping to get a third of its power from renewables in the relatively near future, the energy secretary has said that the UK’s wind targets will be a challenge.

Currently, a funding pot of nearly £60m – set to be used for port infrastructure developments – is being reconsidered as the Government looks to cut spending under the Comprehensive Spending Review. Yet Mr Huhne says that the money could be used to attract major energy players like Siemens and GE into wind turbine factory investments using the port funding.

He said that the investment in offshore wind needed to happen to make the renewable targets attainable would be substantial, meaning that all funding devoted to promoting offshore wind investments should be given the green light. According to analysts, Britain needs roughly £200bn in investments by 2020 in order to improve its existing energy infrastructure and build more low-carbon generation sources.

However, in a CBI conference held yesterday, BG group – one of Britain’s largest oil and gas giants – said that there was enough gas storage and infrastructure in the UK at present to last until 2020.

Adnams’ brewing waste is now used to produce biogas that feeds back into the national grid.

The brewery, based in Suffolk, uses the left over methane from its malted barley to generate a biogas using the process of anaerobic digestion. With the new technology, the brewing company hopes to provide an environmental fuel for its lorry fleet as well as supply natural gas back to the grid.

The plant will also utilise local food waste, including the scraps from seven local supermarkets. According to the brewery, waste from just 600 pints of beer can generate enough gas supply for one home per day.

Adnams Bio Energy is running the project in a partnership with British Gas. The organising body said that it hoped to achieve enough production capacity to be able to power the entire brewery and its fleet of lorries. Furthermore, it added that additional waste can be used as fertiliser by the farmers that grow the barley for Adnams beer.

The scheme marks the first time that food waste has been used to produce green gas to be fed back into the grid. The announcement comes only days after Thames Water, also partnered with British Gas, announced its biogas production using sewage water. Thames Water’s biogas will also supply the grid.

Climate Change Minister Greg Barker stated that renewable energy has had an excellent week in terms of progress. He added that Adnams Bio Energy was setting a great example for how the community can come together to combat climate change.

Green issues are beginning to take a hold in the UK manufacturing market. A survey by the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) found many more companies are going for businesses involved in low carbon products. The swing follows a worldwide trend in environmental and green commerce.

Over 50% of the small and medium sized business questioned reported that they had adapted their business to the low carbon market. The survey also revealed that 56% were already investing in low carbon plant manufacturing procedures. Roger Parr, the National Network manager for MAS said these were encouraging times.

It shows that manufacturers have started to direct their attention to, the opportunities these markets can create for UK businesses.The worldwide low carbon products and services market is growing rapidly and had a value of  £3.2 trillion last year. The market is projected to grow 4% per annum over the next five years and in the UK alone there is a market value of £112 billion.

The move to a low carbon economy could increase business by up to 80% commented Mr. Parr. One manufacturer to have adapted its product to the low carbon markes is already reaping the benefits. The Grantham-based BGB Innovation.  saw the potential for our generator slip ring assemblies to supply the wind turbine industry.

As a result they have become one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of the components MAS,who helped BGB become aware its low carbon potential,is  hoping other small and medium enterprise manufacturers to do the same. The Manufacturing Advisory Service has a network of experienced manufacturing advisors through its Low Carbon Opportunity Programme.

A new recycling initiative is being rolled out across the country that will aim to use volunteers to increase light bulb recycling.

In a new scheme being launched around the UK, volunteers will be asked to collect old low-energy light bulbs from retailers around the country that have specially designed recycling receptacles. The Community Bulb Recycling Alliance seeks to use volunteers to collect the used bulbs to cut down on cost and promote the recycling of used low-energy light bulbs.

The scheme, which was conceptualised after a partnership was formed between Recolight and Cornish-based CoBRA, will see the specialised containers collected by volunteer teams and taken to a central location for processing prior to being collected by Recolight.

It has been forecasted that low-energy light bulbs will become even more popular and widely used by 2012. The government currently has plans to begin phasing out older incandescent light bulbs – which are less efficient and more expensive – over the next two years. Lord Henley said that consumers must begin to move towards using the low-energy light bulbs and recycle them when they become redundant.

According to the waste and recycling minister, this new scheme will help people begin to take responsibility for recycling light bulbs in their community and will also make recycling facilities more widely available for local householders.