Author: Joe Green

The country is not coping with the effects of current temperature rises, and should expect a 2°C rise by 2050. The independent government committee charged with preparing the UK for climate change has warned the government that the country isn’t ready for the 2°C global temperature rise predicted to take place by 2050. The Climate Change Committee sets targets for the reduction of carbon emissions in the UK, and comprises of a cross-party selection of legislators and climate academics. It says that the UK is not yet adapted to current levels of global warming, and calls for “clear long-term objectives”…

Laos has begun exporting power from a new wind turbine generation facility to neighbouring Vietnam, despite the country struggling to supply its own population. The Monsoon Wind Power Company has begun generating electricity from its 600 megawatt wind power project in Laos to Vietnam’s national electricity grid. It’s the first transnational renewable energy agreement in Asia, and is due to last 25 years. The Monsoon Wind Power Project comprises of 133 wind turbines and a 44 mile stretch of transmission lines that link Vietnam’s state-owned infrastructure with the 68,000 hectare installation in the Sekong and Attapeu Provinces over the border.…

World’s climate experts have responded negatively to a Department of Energy report that flips the consensus about human effects on the environment. More than 85 environmental scientists have submitted their review of the US government’s Climate Working Group report on climate change [PDF]. The report, released by the US Department of Energy (DOE), is heavily criticised by the scientists, who say that its contents cherry-pick or misrepresent climate data, and present a positive spin on climatic effects, such as stating that rising carbon dioxide levels can be of benefit to agriculture. Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University,…

Microplastics from human waste are being spread on UK farmland in fertiliser, remaining in the food chain and continuing the cycle of pollution and poor human health. A by-product of sewage treatment in the form of dry solids (AKA sludge) is used in the UK as agricultural fertiliser. In 2023, 819,000 tonnes of these solids were applied to over 375,000 acres of land in England, and similar practices take place in the UK’s other regions of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, according to environmental consultancy, EcoCognito. However, the company says that under current legislation, microplastics pollution from human waste is…

Viper Innovations, an engineering consultancy company that provides electrical monitoring and asset integrity solutions, has been announced as the winner of an Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult’s ‘Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence’ competition. The challenge was organised and run in collaboration with Flotation Energy and Simply Blue Group, and was designed to find autonomous solutions that could inspect and identify monitoring defects in the dynamic cables on floating offshore wind turbines. Viper Innovation’s success in the ORE (offshore renewable energy) challenge is largely based on its insulation protection, insulation monitoring, and mechanical condition assessment of dynamic cables. The company’s winning…

The UK government’s Electric Car Grant has £650 million to give to drivers between now and April 2029, as it attempts to address the carbon footprint of the private transport sector. Although in relative terms, £650 million is a drop in the ocean compared to total government spending, for individuals (or companies) buying new electric vehicles it means between £1,000 and £3,750 off each car bought new. The grant, which comes in the form of a discount against a new vehicle’s sticker price, applies to EVs costing up to £37,000, with those cars that are most environmentally friendly getting the…

UK-based Octopus Energy is to de-merge with its dedicated technology division, Kraken Technologies*. The new company will be valued at around $10 billion. Although the two companies are to separate, the new company will be owned by Octopus Energy shareholders, with new investors possibly being sought for minority holdings. Octopus Energy is the UK’s biggest energy supplier, larger than the previous title owner, Centrica British Gas. Octopus aims to serve 100 million accounts in the next two years. Despite its position as the country’s biggest power supplier, its key differentiation is its technology-first approach to both its domestic and business…

Technologies to transform how people can heat and better insulate their homes are some of the 10 clean energy innovations through to the final of the £2 million Manchester Prize. The Manchester Prize is funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, and is designed to reward UK-led breakthroughs that support the public good, grow the economy, improve public services, and help the transition to net zero. Heating Homes From The Outside In The finalists include EnergyWall by Underheat working in partnership with University of Salford. EnergyWall upgrades a building’s walls, warming or cooling from the outside, effectively turning…

Octopus Energy is a British company that’s expanded into several territories since its inception in 2015, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. It’s the UK’s biggest domestic energy provider, one that’s known for its technology-first approach to billing, supply, and variable pricing. Customers charging their electric vehicles, for example, can time when their car’s plugged in at home with cheaper electricity available overnight or when overall demand is low. It’s also a big investor in renewable sources of electricity, pumping money into wind and solar. It also installs technology like storage batteries and…

The global standards body overseeing communications protocols used in electricity infrastructure grids, the OpenADR Alliance, has announced the first products to be officially certified under the OpenADR 3.0 standard, which the organisation says reflects a growing demand for standardised energy management solutions. The newly-certified products cover several applications developed by alliance member companies, E.ON, EVoke Systems, and Universal Devices. One application is the first ever VTN (Virtual Top Node) solution to receive OpenADR 3.0 certification. A VTN acts as a central hub that communicates with energy-consuming devices, helping manage and improve energy allocation and use. The OpenADR 3.0 communications standard…