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[BusinessGreen.com > News > Investment]
US offers international help with shale gas extraction
Dirty gas better than dirty coal, US energy officials argue
Danny Bradbury, BusinessGreen, 27 Aug 2010
The US has offered to help developing countries use shale gas as a cleaner alternative to coal.
Making the offer at a conference earlier this week involving 20 countries, US officials pointed to national security and climate change mitigation as key drivers.
Shale gas is derived from underground shale deposits that are broken up using a process known as hydraulic fracturing. Liquid is injected into faults in the shale, extending them and opening them up, which in turn frees up gas to be lifted to the surface.
The hydraulic fracturing process involved with shale gas extraction comes with its own severe environmental implications and it costs more to recover than conventional gas or coal. But, proponents argue, even accounting for the environmental penalty of extraction, burning shale gas is less carbon intensive than burning coal – which is the only viable alternative for many countries.
Analyst reports suggest that shale gas could provide up to half of America’s gas supply by 2020. And a study by Rice University indicates that US and Canadian shale gas could could help European countries reduce their dependence on Russian gas supplies.
State-owned Russian gas export company Gazprom cut off supplies to the Ukraine in early 2009 over payment disputes. It took similar steps with Belarus this June.
Reports suggest that developing countries are already moving to capitalise on their own shale deposits and others overseas. China opened a centre to research shale gas earlier this month, based on data suggesting that it may have up to 30 trillion cubic metres of the resource at its disposal.
Indian state-run oil company Oil India also announced that it would partner with several banks and other Indian oil companies to acquire shale gas deposits in the US or Australia during this fiscal year.
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Renewables]
Anaerobic digestion offers farmers food for thought
Farmgen starts work on £30m anaerobic digestion project as Heathrow signs deal to turn food waste into fertiliser
Jessica Shankleman, BusinessGreen, 27 Aug 2010
The UK's emerging anaerobic digestion (AD) industry was thrust into the limelight this week after two major new projects that promise to demonstrate the viability of the waste-to-energy technology were unveiled.
First up, energy firm Farmgen broke ground on the first in a wave of anaerobic digestion plants, designed to provide farmers with an additional revenue stream from "energy farming".
The £2.5m project at Carr Farm in Warton, Preston will be the first AD plant built under Farmgen's proposed £30m UK-wide investment programme. Local crops will be used to create biogas that will generate 1MW of electricity, which will then be exported to the national grid.
Farmgen said that it also plans to build a second £2.5m plant in Silloth, Cumbria later this year and is preparing planning applications for sites in Lancashire and Staffordshire.
The coalition government has earmarked the accelerated roll out of AD plants as a key part of its renewable energy strategy and last month launched a consultation designed to assess how new policies could help increase support for the emerging sector.
Under the existing feed-in tariff scheme, farmers or businesses installing AD systems generating up to 500 kilowatt hours (kWh) a year are eligible for payments of 11.5p per kWh, while those installing larger systems producing 500kWh to 5MW receive 9p per kWh.
Industry insiders have warned that the rates are not currently high enough to drive the widespread roll out of AD plants and have been calling on the government to increase in the incentive.
In related news, airport operator BAA announced yesterday that it has signed a deal with food management firm Vertal that will see travellers food and drink waste turned into fertiliser for use on local farms.
The company said that food waste from Heathrow's daily 180,000 passengers will be collected separately and sent to Vertal’s recycling facility in South London where it will be composted within 72 hours.
It added that it hoped the initiative would save carbon emissions equivalent to around half a million air miles.
Vertal founder and managing director Leon Mekitarian said he hoped the deal would encourage other firms with large amounts of food waste to invest in composting technology to reduce their carbon footprint.
"Our accelerated composting technology is significantly more carbon positive than any other process," he said. "And as the market matures and new legislation comes on stream, that's becoming a very important business factor."
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Technology]
Exclusive: Microsoft opens up about Windows 7 energy savings
Online modelling tool to help businesses work out how much energy they can save with new operating system
James Murray, BusinessGreen, 27 Aug 2010
Microsoft has revealed that it is working on a major project with Reading University designed to highlight the energy savings that companies can realise by switching to its latest Windows 7 operating system.
According to the company, Windows 7 operates using about 30 per cent less energy that its previous operating system Windows XP – savings that when multiplied globally are likely to lead to significant cuts in carbon emissions.
"IT accounts for somewhere between three and five per cent of global carbon emissions and when you consider that there are a billion Windows PCs around the world, we have the ability to deliver substantial carbon savings," said Darren Strange, head of environmental sustainability at the company. "We are currently working on modelling the savings that Windows 7 can deliver with a team at Reading University."
Strange said the research would not only allow the company to calculate potential cuts in global carbon emissions, but would also provide the foundations for a new online tool that will provide companies with the ability to work out how much energy they can save by upgrading to Windows 7.
"An organisation will be able to say how many PCs or laptops they have in their estate and then work out how much energy and carbon they could save," he explained.
Strange predicted that the new service would help highlight the extent to which effective use of technology can help firms cut their energy use. "When you say to people that technology can help them save energy, they tend to agree but will then often fail to take action," he observed. "But when you go in and can say 'this can save you £200,000 a year and save you this much carbon', then people tend to react."
In addition to the modelling tool, Microsoft has just completed a pilot project with two mid-sized firms where the company undertook a carbon and energy efficiency audit of their IT estates and provided recommendations on how to cut their energy bills.
Strange said that once the modelling tool is in place, the company is likely to work with consultancy partners to also offer onsite energy and carbon audits for customers.
The work to highlight the energy savings offered by Windows 7 is part of a wider energy efficiency push from Microsoft that has also seen the company use the prospect of reduced carbon emissions and energy bills to promote its cloud services, whereby Microsoft hosts applications for businesses in its own datacentres.
"The cloud has huge potential to improve energy efficiency," said Strange. " Businesses can move applications into our state-of-the-art datacentres, the latest of which are 50 per cent more efficient than facilities built just three years ago."
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Investment]
US offers international help with shale gas extraction
Dirty gas better than dirty coal, US energy officials argue
Danny Bradbury, BusinessGreen, 27 Aug 2010
The US has offered to help developing countries use shale gas as a cleaner alternative to coal.
Making the offer at a conference earlier this week involving 20 countries, US officials pointed to national security and climate change mitigation as key drivers.
Shale gas is derived from underground shale deposits that are broken up using a process known as hydraulic fracturing. Liquid is injected into faults in the shale, extending them and opening them up, which in turn frees up gas to be lifted to the surface.
The hydraulic fracturing process involved with shale gas extraction comes with its own severe environmental implications and it costs more to recover than conventional gas or coal. But, proponents argue, even accounting for the environmental penalty of extraction, burning shale gas is less carbon intensive than burning coal – which is the only viable alternative for many countries.
Analyst reports suggest that shale gas could provide up to half of America’s gas supply by 2020. And a study by Rice University indicates that US and Canadian shale gas could could help European countries reduce their dependence on Russian gas supplies.
State-owned Russian gas export company Gazprom cut off supplies to the Ukraine in early 2009 over payment disputes. It took similar steps with Belarus this June.
Reports suggest that developing countries are already moving to capitalise on their own shale deposits and others overseas. China opened a centre to research shale gas earlier this month, based on data suggesting that it may have up to 30 trillion cubic metres of the resource at its disposal.
Indian state-run oil company Oil India also announced that it would partner with several banks and other Indian oil companies to acquire shale gas deposits in the US or Australia during this fiscal year.
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Renewables]
Anaerobic digestion offers farmers food for thought
Farmgen starts work on £30m anaerobic digestion project as Heathrow signs deal to turn food waste into fertiliser
Jessica Shankleman, BusinessGreen, 27 Aug 2010
The UK's emerging anaerobic digestion (AD) industry was thrust into the limelight this week after two major new projects that promise to demonstrate the viability of the waste-to-energy technology were unveiled.
First up, energy firm Farmgen broke ground on the first in a wave of anaerobic digestion plants, designed to provide farmers with an additional revenue stream from "energy farming".
The £2.5m project at Carr Farm in Warton, Preston will be the first AD plant built under Farmgen's proposed £30m UK-wide investment programme. Local crops will be used to create biogas that will generate 1MW of electricity, which will then be exported to the national grid.
Farmgen said that it also plans to build a second £2.5m plant in Silloth, Cumbria later this year and is preparing planning applications for sites in Lancashire and Staffordshire.
The coalition government has earmarked the accelerated roll out of AD plants as a key part of its renewable energy strategy and last month launched a consultation designed to assess how new policies could help increase support for the emerging sector.
Under the existing feed-in tariff scheme, farmers or businesses installing AD systems generating up to 500 kilowatt hours (kWh) a year are eligible for payments of 11.5p per kWh, while those installing larger systems producing 500kWh to 5MW receive 9p per kWh.
Industry insiders have warned that the rates are not currently high enough to drive the widespread roll out of AD plants and have been calling on the government to increase in the incentive.
In related news, airport operator BAA announced yesterday that it has signed a deal with food management firm Vertal that will see travellers food and drink waste turned into fertiliser for use on local farms.
The company said that food waste from Heathrow's daily 180,000 passengers will be collected separately and sent to Vertal’s recycling facility in South London where it will be composted within 72 hours.
It added that it hoped the initiative would save carbon emissions equivalent to around half a million air miles.
Vertal founder and managing director Leon Mekitarian said he hoped the deal would encourage other firms with large amounts of food waste to invest in composting technology to reduce their carbon footprint.
"Our accelerated composting technology is significantly more carbon positive than any other process," he said. "And as the market matures and new legislation comes on stream, that's becoming a very important business factor."
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Technology]
Exclusive: Microsoft opens up about Windows 7 energy savings
Online modelling tool to help businesses work out how much energy they can save with new operating system
James Murray, BusinessGreen, 27 Aug 2010
Microsoft has revealed that it is working on a major project with Reading University designed to highlight the energy savings that companies can realise by switching to its latest Windows 7 operating system.
According to the company, Windows 7 operates using about 30 per cent less energy that its previous operating system Windows XP – savings that when multiplied globally are likely to lead to significant cuts in carbon emissions.
"IT accounts for somewhere between three and five per cent of global carbon emissions and when you consider that there are a billion Windows PCs around the world, we have the ability to deliver substantial carbon savings," said Darren Strange, head of environmental sustainability at the company. "We are currently working on modelling the savings that Windows 7 can deliver with a team at Reading University."
Strange said the research would not only allow the company to calculate potential cuts in global carbon emissions, but would also provide the foundations for a new online tool that will provide companies with the ability to work out how much energy they can save by upgrading to Windows 7.
"An organisation will be able to say how many PCs or laptops they have in their estate and then work out how much energy and carbon they could save," he explained.
Strange predicted that the new service would help highlight the extent to which effective use of technology can help firms cut their energy use. "When you say to people that technology can help them save energy, they tend to agree but will then often fail to take action," he observed. "But when you go in and can say 'this can save you £200,000 a year and save you this much carbon', then people tend to react."
In addition to the modelling tool, Microsoft has just completed a pilot project with two mid-sized firms where the company undertook a carbon and energy efficiency audit of their IT estates and provided recommendations on how to cut their energy bills.
Strange said that once the modelling tool is in place, the company is likely to work with consultancy partners to also offer onsite energy and carbon audits for customers.
The work to highlight the energy savings offered by Windows 7 is part of a wider energy efficiency push from Microsoft that has also seen the company use the prospect of reduced carbon emissions and energy bills to promote its cloud services, whereby Microsoft hosts applications for businesses in its own datacentres.
"The cloud has huge potential to improve energy efficiency," said Strange. " Businesses can move applications into our state-of-the-art datacentres, the latest of which are 50 per cent more efficient than facilities built just three years ago."
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