Heat and power must be decarbonised

Electricity and heat generation must be completely decarbonised, according to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).

The independent group has called for a higher greenhouse gas reduction target and claimed that to reach it only sources of heat and power that don’t emit carbon must be used.

In a letter to Ed Miliband, the newly installed secretary of state for energy and climate change, the CCC urged the raising of the emissions reduction target from 60 per cent to 80 per cent by 2050.

To achieve that goal and help reduce the chances of a rise in global temperatures by two degrees centigrade, electricity would have to come from clean sources, the CCC claimed.

Lord Turner of Ecchinswell, the committee chairman, told the Guardian: "We have to almost totally decarbonise the power sector by 2030, well before 2050."

The report called for the replacement of fossil fuel burning plants with renewables, nuclear power and plants fitted with carbon capture and storage technology.

Scotland has already adopted the higher 80 per cent target and plans to renewably source 20 per cent of all energy including electricity, heat and transport.

Research centre looks to get £1m

A research centre which could become an international facility for environmental science could receive a £1 million lift from Norfolk County Council.

The Genome Analysis Centre, to be built at Norwich Research Park, is being led by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

If completed, the centre would research the genomes of animals, plants, microbes, fish and farm animals, according to the Norwich Evening News.

It could have applications that supported the growing biofuel industry in the region.

The paper reports that councillors are being recommended to support the project, which is expected to create up to 750 jobs in Norwich.

Daniel Cox, leader of Norfolk County Council, told the newspaper: "Norfolk County Council is keen to do all it can to support the growth of the Norwich Research Park.

"The proposal for the Genome Analysis Centre is an exciting prospect for Norwich and would certainly enhance the city’s reputation for research and development."

The BBSRC has a total budget of £400 million, supports around 1,600 scientists and 2,000 research students and is funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Suffolk firm teams with automaker

A Suffolk based water filtration company has teamed up with automaker Mazda to create a low carbon car that also harvests rainwater to keep its passengers hydrated.

The car, unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, is still at concept stage but as well as featuring low carbon emissions, includes a Lifesaver ‘bottle citi’ which filters rainwater.

As well as giving the car better aerodynamic performance than the automaker’s current city model, the roof also channels rainwater through an active filtration bottle and into a specially designed Lifesaver bottle.

The bottle uses a membrane with pore size of 15 nanometres to remove pathogens and microbiological contamination to make the rainwater safe to drink.

Michael Pritchard, chief executive officer of Lifesaver Systems, said that he hoped the bottle would help reduce the amount of bottled water people used.

He told EADT24: "I look forward to the Lifesaver bottle citi going into production and preventing millions of tonnes of plastic water bottles being dumped each year into landfill."

The car itself fits four seats into its 3,770 millimetre frame and is powered by a 1.3-litre petrol engine.

Its lightweight and aerodynamic carbon fibre body would help it achieve emissions of 90 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre, well below the suggestion by the European parliament of 130 grams CO2 per kilometre.

Cambridge to be sustainable nanotechnology satellite

Cambridge was selected as the location for Japanese-funded research into nanotechnology that could contribute to sustainable development.

The Japanese government has set up a $150 million (£86.25 million) investment initiative to develop sustainable materials which mimic natural processes.

Professor Mark Welland, director of the university’s Neuroscience Centre told Business Weekly: "It is a huge honour to be part of one of the world premier institutions funded through the Japanese government. The resources this will bring both directly to Cambridge in collaboration with facilities in Japan will have long term and substantial benefits to our research."

Cambridge is one four universities outside Japan that will host a satellite of the International Centre for Materials Nanoarchitectonics.

The others are The University of California, Los Angeles, the Georgia Institute of Technology and France’s CNRS.

According to Nanowerk, nanotechnology could help make the transition away from fossil fuels, initially contributing to the reduction in use by making more efficient use of fuel and ultimately contributing to the sustainable energy industry.

Eco-house plans unveiled

Plans for an eco-house that will be built into a bank and use the earth itself as an insulating material have been unveiled.

The house has been designed to create a minimal impact, both visually and environmentally.

Stephen Clarke told the Lowestoft Journal: "I have lived opposite this site for 45 years and remember it as a lovely paddock. In more recent times it has become overgrown but we want to see it looking good again. This is why we asked our architect to come up with a scheme that had a home on the site but would also give the village the green area it deserves."

The building could face planning difficulties, as the Wangford Parish council is recommending refusal because the site is outside the village limits.

However, architect Vaughan Keal claims the zoning was a result of misconceptions which have now been cleared up.

He told the newspaper: "We believe that the site was originally left outside of the settlement boundary when first drafted and restricted because they assumed a priory existed on the land, but it turned out the Victorian church was built directly on the priory and no part extends beyond the church grounds. This was recently acknowledged by Suffolk Archaeology to be the case following extensive research and digs on the site."

Campaigners have also shown reticence over allowing an eco-town to be built at the former RAF Coltishall airbase.

Norfolk companies lead on energy efficiency

Businesses in Norfolk are more energy efficient than other areas of the UK, according to a new report.

A survey of 3,000 companies was carried out by the British Chambers of Commerce.

It revealed that Norfolk firms led the way in using energy efficiency measures ranging from using recycled print cartridges to waste recycling.

Half of Norfolk firms said climate change was a significant issue, with the cost of energy being the big driver of efficiency measures.

The report claimed that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for half of the UK’s business energy usage but have not been engaged by the Carbon Trust as much as larger companies have been.

Caroline Williams, chief executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, told the Eastern Daily Press: "A co-ordinated approach is needed to ensure that Norfolk businesses obtain the information they need to help them minimise the risks of climate change and maximise their cost saving opportunities."

Wind farm installer expects growth

An offshore wind farm installation specialist has prepared for rapid growth in the industry by buying a new installation platform.

Danish company A2SEA, which worked on the Scroby Sands wind farm, has bought a new rig, which will be named Sea Worker, so it can carry out more installations in a wider variety of conditions.

The new rig will be able to operate in water depths of up to 50 meters and will complement the existing four vessels and one other rig, all of which it claims are 100 per cent booked.

According to the company, it has been involved in 70 per cent of all offshore wind farm installation projects and expects to work on the upcoming Greater Gabbard turbine deployment.

It expects its turnover to triple to triple to £13.5 million this year, assisted by the continued growth of the industry.

As a result of European targets for 20 per cent of all energy needs to be met by renewable generation by 2020, the installed capacity in Europe is set to rise from 750 megawatts in 2006 to 12,000 megawatts in 2015.

Businesses welcome new energy and climate change department

Green business leaders have welcomed the creation of a new Department for Energy and Climate Change, which will have Ed Miliband as its first secretary of state.

The new department was created by prime minister Gordon Brown, in a cabinet shake up that leaves Hilary Benn in charge of a reduced Defra, now the Department of Food and Rural Affairs.

Craig Bennett, director at the Prince of Wales’ Corporate Leaders on Climate Change group, told Business Green that he welcomed the move to create a separate department.

He said: "Having a dedicated department for climate change should help move it up the political agenda and having climate change championed in cabinet will be useful."

But he said that it also had the potential to be problematic.

Environmental campaigners also welcomed the move, with WWF-UK campaigns director David Norman saying: "It shows a clear recognition that the UK’s chances of hitting its climate targets are inextricably linked to its energy policies."