last
updated 20th January 06
By 4ecotips.com
15-point plan
for sustainable solutions
Next Monday, 23 January, the UK government
will announce a formal public consultation
of UK energy policy. It will be launched
with a statement of current evidence
on the 2003 Energy White Paper goals
and the government's plans for engagement
with the public.
Tony Blair announced that there would
be a review of the Government's Energy
Strategy on 29 November 2005. The
review, he said, would investigate
how the UK should meet its future
energy needs, and specifically ask
whether or not the UK should build
a new generation of nuclear power
stations.
A separate review of the Government's
failing climate change programme is
expected within weeks. Emissions of
carbon dioxide have increased by 5.5%
since Labour came to power.
But, say campaign group Friends of
the Earth, in a lengthy, 15 point
plan for sustainable energy solutions,
much of our energy is wasted. Preventing
this waste would improve our energy
security, save money and reduce our
emission of harmful carbon dioxide.
For example all but 38 per cent of
energy from fossil fuels is lost during
its conversion to electricity.
Of all the fossil fuels, natural
gas produces less carbon dioxide for
the amount of energy it produces.
However, as UK sources of gas supplies
have decreased, concerns have been
raised about increased prices and
security of supply. These concerns
should not be overstated, as most
of the UK's gas imports are currently
from Norway.
FOE say gas could be used far more
efficiently to produce electricity
by using it in combined heat and power
plants (CHP). Coal-fired stations
could cut their emissions by replacing
inefficient boilers and burning biomass
crops, as well as coal. All new fossil-fuel
fired power plants should use efficient
technology and be "capture-ready",
ie able to adopt carbon capture and
storage technologies when it becomes
available.
Vast quantities of energy could also
be saved by ensuring that homes and
offices are properly insulated, and
by setting tough energy efficiency
standards for electrical appliances.
Homes are responsible for almost a
third of carbon dioxide emissions
in the UK
The Environmental Change Institute
at Oxford University has suggested
that emissions from the UK's housing
stock could be reduced by 60 per cent
by 2050. According to the Carbon Trust,
UK business wastes £1 billion
a year in lost energy.
84% of the energy used in households
in 2002 was for space or water heating.
Since 1970 energy use for space heating
has increased by 31%, for water heating
by 13% and for lighting and appliances
by 132%. By contrast energy use for
cooking has fallen by 40%.
The average energy efficiency of
houses in the UK is 51 out of 120.
120 indicate an extremely efficient
house. Only 18 per cent of houses
had full insulation by 2003.
Amongst many other energy efficiency
ideas, FOE suggest that we could generate
20-30 per cent of current domestic
electricity and heat demand through
micro-generation technologies in homes,
e.g. solar panels, micro-wind turbines,
solar water heating, small combined
heat and power boilers, biomass heating.
220 TerraWatt Hours (TWh) of heat
and electricity could be generated
this way by 2030 and 320 TWh by 2050.
Current UK heat and electricity demand
is around 1,100 TWH.
More information www.foe.co.uk.
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