Transition Island Blog

From The Arran Voice

Two weeks ago the Arran Voice flagged up the fact that the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) had withered to almost nothing.

It was effectively scuppered in May 2007, when grants for solar panels, ground source heat pumps and small wind turbines were slashed from a maximum of £15,000 to a mere £2,500, with many applications being refused altogether.

It was not through lack of public interest - quite the reverse. The huge enthusiasm for energy efficient houses meant that the original grants were all allocated within half an hour of each month’s fund being released. And yet the DTI, now renamed as BERR, (Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) has slammed the brakes on.

Why should a run-away success in the field of energy conservation be cut back just as it is beginning to blossom?

The answer is, at least £15 million from the LCBP has been diverted to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), where it has vanished into the huge expenses of cleaning up toxic waste at Sellafield and other sites.

read more…

Bugs found in water and soil make electricity by feeding on simple organic compounds.

New research shows that a vitamin called riboflavin is a key product that creates electron flow.

Rates of electricity production increased by 370 percent as riboflavin accumulated.

natural battery

Bacteria have been changing the chemistry of the environment for billions of years. Their ability to make iron soluble is a central part of the metal cycle in the environment. It is essential to most life on earth.

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Converting land for biofuels could actually worsen the problem of global warming.

Although proposed as a viable alternative to fossil fuels, it will create more major carbon emissions, a report has warned.

But there are alternative sources of biofuel, and today (26/2/08), the news is that biofuels should only be produced if they meet strict internationally agreed environmental standards.

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The world is only ten weeks away from running out of wheat supplies

The crisis has pushed prices to an all-time high.

It could lead to further increases in the price of bread, beer, biscuits and other basic foods.

Two successive years of disastrous wheat harvests have lead to this. Even though production has fallen by only 6.25%, this is significant, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation.

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A new type of ‘molecular sieve’ is capable of removing water out of solvents and biofuels.

It is a very energy efficient alternative to existing techniques like distillation.

The previous generation of ‘nano-sieve’ membranes, made of silica, degrade because they react with water and steam.

In the new membrane, part of the ceramic links is therefore replaced by organic links. By doing this, water doesn’t have the chance to ‘attack’ the membranes. Manufacturing the new hybrid membranes is simpler than that of ceramic membranes, because the material is flexible and will not show cracks.

The hybrid membranes are suitable for ‘drying’ solvents and biofuels, an application for which there is a large potential market worldwide. The main advantage of membrane technology is that it consumes far less energy than common distillation techniques.

This technology - mixing organic molecules with inorganic - to produce new materials is producing great advances.

Reversing the flow means that dirty water can be cleaned very easily, filtering out bacteria and dirt.

Another nano-sieve is suitable for filtering out carbon dioxide. This has great applications in exhaust fume management from cars to factories and coal-fired electricity generators.

A wind farm proposed for Lewis has been given the go-ahead by Western Isles councillors.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s environment committee approved 13 of the 16 planned turbines for Eishken Estate.

Although not big enough to be called in automatically by the Scottish Government, it could be for environmental reasons.

A decision on 181 turbines proposed for Barvas Moor on Lewis remains outstanding.

“Not content with refusing to lift planning regulations on installation of solar panels and wind turbines in this country our wonderful government now wants to throw a spanner in the works of European micro-generation.

55% of the world’s photovoltaic power is generated from the 300,000 systems in Germany. A ‘Feed-in’ system due to a German law obliges power companies to buy energy back from renewable resources at above market prices for a 20 year period.

The British government wants to scrap ‘Feed-in’ systems …”
Read more at the Ventbag Blog

An engineer has promised that within a year he will start selling a car that runs on compressed air, producing no emissions at all in town.

The OneCAT will be a five-seater with a glass fibre body, weighing just 350kg and could cost just over £2,500. Its engine is less than a quarter the size of an equivalent diesel motor.

Driven by compressed air stored in carbon-fibre tanks built into the chassis, it can be re-filled with air from a compressor in just three minutes - much quicker than a battery car. Alternatively, it can be plugged into the mains for four hours and an on-board compressor will do the job.

The designers say on long journeys the car will do the equivalent of 120mpg.
In town, running on air, it will be cheaper than that.

Another eco-friendly feature is that when driven this car will be pollution-free!

This design is an intelligent step toward energy-saving transportation. It may also urge the big manufacturers to set economy and ecological targets.

Three Island projects are going for green energy.

This will lower their carbon footprint and their utility bills, thanks to the Council’s Eco-Island initiative.

Yarmouth Harbour Commission headquarters has been fitted with solar panels funded by a government grant. This will help to heat the water at the building, where visiting yachtsmen and women take around 25,000 showers each year.

The Brading Centre has also been fitted with solar panels, which have been connected to the electricity grid. This project was part-funded by the Low-Carbon Buildings programme, with the IW Council.

Shorwell Village Hall has also benefited from a green energy project and is being fitted with a heating system which uses a pump to extract low grade heat from the ground to warm it.

Great News! Read more at the County Press.

A commercial tidal energy project - one of the world’s first tidal power farms - could be sited off the north west coast of Anglesey, energy giant npower said on 8/2/08.

Working with Marine Current Turbines, a specialist turbines outfit, they planned to crate an installation in The Skerries, off the Island’s north-west coast. 

A feasibility study will be launched soon, the firm said, with planning applications submitted in mid-2009. If planning permission is granted, the project aims to connect seven turbines to the National Grid and could be completed by 2011.

Each underwater turbine is capable of generating 1.5 megawatts of power using the tidal streams in the area, capable of providing energy for up to 6,000 homes.It is proposed that the tidal stream project be sited in an area of 25 metre deep open sea known as the Skerries, off the north-west coast of Anglesey, north Wales. The scheme will consist of seven (7) 1.5MW SeaGen turbines, each likely to stand approximately 9 metres above sea level.Previous independent surveys identified the Skerries as an ideal location for a tidal stream project, due to its favourable tidal conditions and natural shelter. The location benefits from good port facilities at Holyhead nearby, proximity to the National Grid facilitating good connection, and good transport links and access, to facilitate construction and maintenance.

The delayed Strangford Lough project is hoped to come on-stream in March.