A short time ago, following an article in the February 2015 Issue of Materials World Magazine on “Inside Fracking Fluids” I wrote a letter pointing out that it overlooked one of the most important constituents ” fracking sand”. The article is available on the internet My letter was based on what I had read in an American […]
Read MoreFull time job for power expert Large Combustion Plant Best Available Techniques Reference Document
Dave, Below is the link to the GH 40 post (2 years full time work based in Petten) we have open (closing date 31.01.2011) for a co-author of the rewriting of the Large Combustion Plant Best Available Techniques Reference Document (BREF). We are looking for someone with a few years of experience in the power […]
Read MoreVarious points concerning hydrogen transmission in existing gas grid. energy loss, embrittlement
1. Hydrogen will not embrittle existing natural gas pipelines. The stories one hears about hydrogen embttlement are caused by monoatomic hydrogen getting into steel from external corrosion or cathodic protection.Hydrogen at pressure does not cause these problems. . 2. The diffusion of hydrogen out of polyethylene distribution pipes will not be a problem. The […]
Read MoreCall for papers on Clean Fossil Fuels for Energy journal
The journal Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Energy enourages submissions on the topic of Clean Fossil Fuels. Here is the call for papers:
Read MoreRelative / comparative costs of wind energy, nuclear energy, hydro power, coal power, natural gas, geothermal energy, and biomass
In general it can be seen that there is not a lot to choose between the cost of wind energy, and coal, gas or nuclear. PV and CSP are considerablymore expensive however.
Read MoreA Claverton Group Think Tank Member Discusses the Real Efficiency of a CCGT
“55% efficient CCGTs” (David Olivier) – no such thing. The headline efficiencies cited now are 58% but they deliberately play a marketing trick in pretending that the latent heat of vaporisation in the wettish steam within the OCGT exhaust that is finally vented to atmosphere after passing through the heat exchanger is somehow doing useful […]
Read More"Lazy NPower can't be bothered to lay a heat main to re-gas the LNG at Milford Haven" – our correspondent
FOE Cymru were gutted by the recent consent given to the 2GWe CCGT Npower application at Pembroke power station site. Its on the south side of the Haven and will dump 9 TWh/y into the waterway (capturing 6 TWh/ would have been enough to heat 330,000 homes rising to 500,000 if insulation programmes reduced annual […]
Read More"These Fossil Fools" – Catherine Mitchell – excellent article in the Guardian on futility of market solutions to climate change
The UK’s energy policy has to focus on lowering carbon emissions by a combination of renewable energy and reducing demand. This requires a system almost entirely different from that we have in place today: one that is conducive to innovation and change; and one that is flexible and resilient to all sorts of technological futures.
Read More2008 Claverton Energy Group Conference Papers Available
Those that have been forwarded in text format have been published as News Articles. Those in PowerPoint or PDF format have been uploaded to the website, and can be downloaded for reading at:
Read MoreWhat is Microgeneration? And what is the most cost effective in terms of CO2 reduction
© Jeremy Harrison:
The UK Government definition of Microgeneration[1] applies to a rather surprising mix of heat and power generating technologies with a thermal output below 45kWt or an electrical output of 50kWe. It covers electrical generation from wind, solar photovoltaics (PV) and hydro, and heat generation from biomass, solar thermal and heat pumps as well as micro CHP which produces heat and power from renewable or fossil fuels. It is not just another term for small scale renewables, but comprises a portfolio of low carbon technologies.
There has been a tendency amongst advocates[2] and sceptics[3] alike to lump all Microgeneration technologies together, either as “all good” or “all bad”. This is particularly unhelpful when attempting to understand the potential contribution Microgeneration can make to UK energy strategy and it is important that we understand the particular characteristics and potential role of each technology.
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