zerochampion

Payback time, again

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A return to the office today and unfortunately to a rehash of figures released by the RICS last October claiming that the the payback on solar is over 200 years. I blogged concern after the announcement but am bemused and seriously dis chuffed that the dubious numbers have resurfaced. Hardly the ideal figures in these ever gloomier economic times, which appear to have reached wrist-slitting status since I departed for some sun a week and a half ago. Why has the RICS re-released these numbers, which manufacturers Solarcentury and Velux have today now been forced to redismiss as tosh? No idea. In their statement the RICS claims it if offering "impartial expert advice" but they need a serious rethink as they are even more dangerous now as they were last autumn.

My energy switch fun

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I finally got round to addressing my energy providers yesterday - perhaps all the headlines on energy bills infected my subconscious. I'm currently on what is claimed to be a 'green' dual energy (electricity and gas) service but scratch beneath the surface and the facts don't fully bear out the claims. So there's the inevitable few hours of searching around comparison sites and the utility providers' own sites, to discover that... there really ain't much out there.

Re: REA; the Renewable Energy Annual Conference

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When I am making notes at conferences, in an attempt to remember what might make good copy later, I put asterisks next to speaker points. At today's REA Energy Annual Conference  today, Rab Bennetts got three stars as did Bill Dunster (although he speaks so fluently of technical matters, that I am not quite sure what they referred to just now.) Even the Shadow Energy Secretary, crinkly-haired Greg Barker, did quite well with two - mostly for speaking longest about investment in carbon capture and storage which is a proven technology, just not on, ahem, a large scale. Tim Evans, of Renewable Zukunft (it means future) did very well, of which more later.

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But our own, dear, drab, Bob Ledsome, who is deputy director climate change and sustainable development team at the DCLG, got no stars at all.

Renewables and the dotcom crash

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A boss of mine recently made the comparison between the growth of sustainability in the past two years as a potential business stream and the dotcom boom at the turn of the century. The analogy supposes a huge leap from a sector of the economy into new technologies and markets via a big idea (the internet will fundamentally change the way we communicate/ climate change will transform how we generate and supply energy) before they fully work out whether there's actually any money in it.

The Geiger counter

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Excellent coverage on the state of the solar market in today's FT. While the market is set to surge in size by threefold in the next four years this could lead to victims, as prices for panels could collapse. The key to success is the "holy grail" of "grid parity", solar analyst Dean Cooper says. Grid parity is producing solar energy at the same price as getting electricity via fossil fuels - currently solar is about double. Apparently Italy is set to be the first country that will achieve grid parity, but not surprisingly the Middle East is set to make ambitious strides to shake-up the market.

The bubble effect

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One always has to be wary of overinflated expectations. This is clearly an issue for Government - the BBC reports this morning that a fund the UK launched last year to offer developing countries money for climate change adaptation will now partly consist of loans - but also for the private sector. Companies and investors can go crazy for the latest fad, pile everything in and then the market over inflates. We're all painfully aware of such a phenomenon. Two recently released report warn of such a bubble effect in renewable and green circles.

The optimists

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Two trips in the last week that crystallised a newly determined optimism on my part. I've had enough of whingeing at Government incompetence and inaction and want to concentrate on what can and is working.
This cheeriness may be a little at odds with the prevalent national mood, which if you judge by the recent reports on economic woe is on a par with a Bergmann film. Perhaps we should be taking more inspiration from Sally Hawkins, the relentlessly cheery leading protagonist in Mike Leigh's newly released effort Happy Go-Lucky.
I digress. First destination was Leamington Spa for the almost open new Wolseley Sustainable Building Centre.

Bovine Belching

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I was very excited to receive information via email on 'Alexander's Cattle Methane Capture Device,' a new patent application for a device that you might be already guessing attempts to achieve. The original message, passed on to me, reads as follows: "I have invented a device to capture methane directly from a cow's third stomach to be used for energy production.

Virtual event

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Here's a new thing I'm working on - an virtual show called Sustainability Now. It will take place on 15 and 16 April and works a bit like an online conference. More information here. Interested in any thoughts on the content of the show, which will be programmed similarly to a live event, with seminars, audio, debates, surgeries etc. I'll be putting up the programme I'm working on later in the week. You can register for it for free here.

Weekend Review

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Ken's Congestion Charge is mutating into an emissions charge with confusing results. Some people point out that, since the area covered is expanding, more residents will be able to travel for free. The Charge is getting increasingly complex and Livingstone doesn't seem to have worked out the difficulties of pursuing this new policy - such as the need to raise targets based on performance over time. The Sunday Times points out others say that increasing numbers of cars - 10% - are now able to sneak in beneath the new £25 fee. Janice Turner in the Times says all these new, free-to-enter runarounds are driven by potential voters.