Greener Teign

Green Electricity

Thought about changing to a sustainable electricity supplier?

We have reviewed the options and recommend ECOTRICITY as our favourite green supplier. This is because:

Of every Ł you spend, 84p is invested in renewable electricity generation. Ecotricity operates a not-for-dividend model so all profits are invested in wind farms etc. The next best supplier puts 8.6p per Ł into renewable generation (data average of 2004-09).
In 4 years the company has doubled the percentage of electricity it generates from renewables from 20.2% in 2005/06 to 41% in 2009/10 and aims for 50% in 2010/11. The UK average is 6.6%.
Investment has been primarily in wind but ecotricity are now constructing their first solar PV farm and intend to build anerobic digesters for green gas.
There is no premium for being green - the tarrif is guaranteed to match the local supplier, EDF.
Green gas is available as well, currently imported from Holland.
Whilst there are companies that supply 100% green electricity (Good Energy, Green Energy for example) they invest little or nothing in generation but buy in their electricity from others.
100% green tarrif is available from Ecotricity at a slight premium.

A bonus for Greener Teign is that we receive Ł20 for every household that switches to Ecotricity.

To switch, go to Ecotricity and click on the 'switch' link under the Greener Teign logo, bottom right, or call 08000 302 302 and quote Greener Teign.

Switching is easy and doesn’t cause supply problems.

Feed-In-Tariffs

FITs apply to microgeneration projects (up to 50MW!) from 1st April 2010 for the following technologies: wind, hydro, solar photo-voltaic, anerobic digestion and microCHP. The rates have been set to produce a very generous 5-8% return on capital and run for 20 or 25 years from the date of installation. Stop Press: government proposes to halve the tariff from 1st April 2012. Under the proposals, currently out for an 8 week consultation period ending on 23rd December 2011, the reduced rates would apply to any installation completed after 12 December 2011. See the proposed rates here.

Renewable Heat Incentive

RHIs are similar to FITs but apply to microgeneration technologies producing heat rather than electricity. Examples include solar thermal (hot water) systems and biomass systems (eg wood pellet or woodchip boilers). The Government had agreed to implement RHIs for non-domestic generators from 30 Sept 2011 but had to withdraw for redrafting at the last minute because of EC concerns. For domestic installations the scheme is being introduced in the autumn 2012, timed to coincide with the Green Deal (see below). The rates have yet to be announced. However, in the meantime, a Renewable Heat Premium is available. This is a one-off grant to help with cost of installing one of these systems. The grants are: Ł300 for solar thermal and, only for those not connected to mains gas, Ł950 for a biomass boiler, Ł850 for an air-source heat pump and Ł1250 for a ground-source heat pump.

The Green Deal

This is a government scheme to provide loans for energy efficiency measures (insulation etc) and microgeneration systems (solar thermal, solar PV, heat pumps, biomass etc). The loans will be repaid though electricity bills, the key feature being that the savings generated by the new additions will be not be less than the loan repayments so there will be no net cost to the homeowner. The loan is lodged against the property and repayments are made by whoever pays the electricity bill, be they the owner, tenant or subsequent owner (where the property is sold). The scheme is scheduld to start in Autumn 2012. More details can be found here.

4 degree map

Met Office Hadley Centre has produced a fascinating 4 degree map (22 Oct 09) showing the massive environmental impacts of an increase in average global temperature of 4 deg C.

Climate change news

Some good news from around the world

Berkeley Earth Project announces findings 20 Oct '11. This project was set up by Prof Richard Muller in the wake of the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit (CRU) email disclosures to take a fresh look at the historical temperature data using independant scientists of a high calibre. Essentially Muller took a sceptical view of global warming claims so was somewhat chastened to have to report that there was no discernable difference between the new results and those of CRU (and 2 US studies). Full story is here and a nice video of global temperature changes is here.

2degC Challenge 20 Oct '11. Leaders of nearly 200 companies around the world have signed a communique calling for tougher action on climate change. The companies, including Tesco, EDF, Philips, Unilever, eBay and Rolls-Royce, say that climate change is putting society's future prosperity at risk.

Population: one planet, too many people? 15 Jan '11. Two reports argue that not all is gloom and doom:

This report from UK Institute of Mechanical Engineers shows how humanity already has all the tools at its disposal to deal with the projected increase in population. "There are no insurmountable technical issues in meeting the needs of 9 billion people (by 2050).......sustainable engineering solutions largely exist." Switching to a low-carbon energy, for instance, does not require more research breakthroughs. We need instead to fix "market failures" that prevent the widespread adoption of extant technologies, like concentrated solar energy and nuclear power.

A second report from the French national agricultural and development research agencies (INRA & CIRAD) gives the results of a 5-year study to see if the world can feed everyone with 3000 calories per day. They conclude it can be done provided excessive fluctuations in food prices (which inhibit imports) are prevented, the rich consume less (800 calories/person are wasted each day in the rich nations) and solutions are tailored to individual regions.

Cancum summit has been hailed as a success. 11 Dec '10. Whilst no legally binding agreement was produced, all 194 counties participating, with the exception of Bolivia, signed up to the following:

Objectives that emissions should peak as soon as possible with a long-term emission reduction of 50% by 2050 and that the temperature rise be limited to 2 deg C with 1.5 deg considered in the near term.
On emissions, details of what both the developed and developing counties are doing to tackle climate change (as pledged in Copenhagen) to be brought into the UN system for assessment. A review of the gap between the pledges and the levels the science requires to be instigated.
Monitoring, reporting & verification (MRV) system to be set up to ensure countries live up to their promises on emisssions.
Green Climate Fund to be set up to help developing countries go 'low carbon' and adapt to climate impacts.
Agreement to slow, halt and reverse the desruction of trees and to rules for delivering as well as monitoring progress.
Mechanisms to help developing counties access low carbon technology and adapt to climate change to be set up (at least $100b a year by 2020).

Summary by one delegate: "Cuncun may have saved the process but it did not yet save the climate". There was a real danger that the UN process would completely collapse so saving the process was vitally important. It means there is now a basis for building on and hopes that a binding agreement can be reached in Durban next year are rising.

For a more downbeat (and perhaps more realistic) assessment, see the World Development Movement comment.

The Copenhagen summit has been held as a failure but, whilst the hope that a legally binding agreement would be reached was not achieved, important progress was made. Dec 2009. The agreed 'Accord' included:

Recognition that climate change is one of the greatest challanges of the present day and that action should be taken to keep the temperature increase to below 2 deg C.
Larger pledges of financial support for developing nations
Developed countries commit to goal of $100b a year by 2020 to address needs of developing countries.
Recognition that reducing deforestation and increasing forestation are crucial to reducing climate change and that finances to bring this about are required.
Developed countries to commit to emissions targets for 2020 by 31 Jan 2010.
Developing counties to commit to mitigation action by the same date
Establishment of a Green Climate Fund

The Accord has now been supported by over 100 countries which together produce 80% of global emissions. 70 counties have submitted emission reduction targets which, if implemented, will see emissions peak at around 2020. Analysis shows that this will keep the global temerature incease to 4.2 deg C. Clearly further progress needs to be made.

The need for action

Game over if we exploit the Canadian tar sands? For those with a scientific bent, the website for climate scientists report on an analysis of how much further CO2 we can emit and still remain within the critical 2 degC of global warming (Nov 11). Answer: if we extract all the oil from these sands we are pretty much on the limit without any other increases in CO2 emissions.

Report by coalition of McKinsey & Company, Swiss Re, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Environment Facility, ClimateWorks Foundation, the European Commission, and Standard Chartered Bank states (Oct 09) that climate change could reduce the GDP of less developed countries by up to 19%, by 2030. "The climate risk to the world's economies is real and present, and its impact on people's lives and livelihoods will worsen rapidly if we do not take action now."

Lestor Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute and author of the definitive book "Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilisation", stated (30 Sept 09):

Asia is the epicentre of the food crisis where wheat and rice production will fall because water shortages caused by past over-pumping and the melting of the Himalayan glaciers which store water that suppliers the region's main rivers: The Indus, Ganges and Yangtse.

"The potential loss of these mountain glaciers is the most massive projected threat to food security ever seen."

The International Food Policy Research Institute have issued a report (30 Sept 09) stating that, by 2050, 25m more childen will suffer from malnutrition as a result of food shortages caused by climate change with the most vulnerable being south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Richard Betts, Head of Climate Impacts at the Met Office Hadley Centre, presented calculations on the effects of continued unmitigated burning of fossil fuels (29 Sept 09), concluding:

…… an increase in average summer temperatures of at least 2⁰C is inevitable by the 2040s because of accumulated carbon dioxide already emitted into the atmosphere.
….. a "best estimate" is that 4⁰C will be reached by 2070, with a possibility that it will come as early as 2060.
“Four degrees of warming, averaged over the globe, translates into even greater warming in many regions, along with major changes in rainfall.” In some areas warming could be significantly higher (10 degrees or more).
Richard Betts described himself as "shocked" that so much warming could occur within the lifetimes of people alive today. "If greenhouse gas emissions are not cut soon then we could see major climate changes within our own lifetimes," he said.
Dr Betts added: “Together these impacts will have very large consequences for food security, water availability and health. However, it is possible to avoid these dangerous levels of temperature rise by cutting greenhouse gas emissions. If global emissions peak within the next decade and then decrease rapidly it may be possible to avoid at least half of the four degrees of warming.”
The Times commented: “……..it would be hard to dispute the quality of the science that underpins this report — the product of 12 years of detailed research by the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, part of the Met Office.”

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