Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘renewable energy’ Category

pellet delivery 2
Maurizio brought round our last one-tonne bag of wood pellets a few weeks ago and I’ve been meaning to post photos since. He’s been holding the last bag for us since last autumn when we only managed to get five of the six tonnes we’d bought into the pellet store.

We’ve now got plenty of pellets. A few too many, actually, because when you buy pellets you should a) buy in the summer when pricespellet delivery 1 are lower and b) buy as much as you can so you spread the cost of transport across as many tonnes as possible. We’ve now got enough pellets to get us through to the start of the heating season, which is a problem. If we buy in the next few months we won’t be able to fit more than 3 or 4 tonnes in the store because of our leftovers. If we buy in winter, we’ll buy at a premium and have to wait in line with everyone else. As a solution I’m hoping to find storage space somewhere (like Carletti’s barn or Marco’s cantina) so we can buy maybe 10 tonnes over the summer and transfer them to the pellet store as we need them.

Read Full Post »

After I mocked Italy’s efforts to combat climate change, it turns out their funding for microgen (in particular photovoltaic panels) makes the UK’s policy look even more pathetic. If that were possible. (more…)

Read Full Post »

pelletsAt least around 3000 kilometres. Here’s why:

The BRE gives a carbon intensity of 0.025kgCO2/kWh for biomass. This includes an allowance for planting, harvesting, processing, and delivery to point of use. See the 2001 emissions report and the 2003 update.

But we need to vary the emissions figure based on distance travelled. The European Environment Agency gives a figure of just over 0.12 kgCO2 per tonne per kilometre for road transport, quoted here. Even more pessimistic, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution says 0.18 – 0.27 kgCO2 per tonne per kilometre (see table 4.4). (more…)

Read Full Post »

A few weeks ago at the end of a post about the myth of stone walls as insulation, I mentioned that high mass materials can be useful when included inside the insulation layer. Here’s why. (more…)

Read Full Post »

WWF and IPA published a report on Wednesday showing that the carbon reduction due to the dash for gas in the 1990’s has been wiped out by increased use of coal. Here’s the press release.

It looks to me that the government hopes nuclear and CCS will save the day. This keeps the CBI and power industries happy and is the BIG, politically safe option. Renewables will continue to receive lip service and as for demand side reduction (the cheapest of all emissions reduction measures), it will be gently encouraged but never demanded. As Tony has told us before: you can’t expect people to change their lifestyles just to fight climate change.

By the way, does this mean we can stop using the unrealistic figure of 0.422 kgCO2/kWh for grid electricity? This was based on the carbon intensity falling, not rising! Someone call the BRE.

Anyway, the main points of the report can be summarised as:  (more…)

Read Full Post »

Biofuel is all over the news right now. The recent agreement between US and Brazil, Al Gore’s presentation at the World Biofuels Conference, and the latest UK budget are just a few examples. At first glance biofuels promise to be a key element in a sound strategy to mitigate climate change. But under the surface rages a fierce debate. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started