Most motorists have heard of biofuels but not many know much more about them. But as we progress towards an electric-powered future, biofuels should become an important medium term fuel for motor vehicles because of the environmental advantage they will provide, at least until 2040. That is the year, when the UK Government will ban the [...]
There are two important facts about off-shore wind: the first is that the UK is the world leader, with more installed capacity than any other country; the second is that global off-shore wind capacity currently only represents 0.3 per cent of all the electricity generating capacity in the world. What is new and important is [...]
In the UK in the first half of 2019, hybrids and battery electric cars accounted for over 6 per cent of all registrations. Dept. of Transport figures (in percentages) were as follows:- 2019 Q1 66.6 (Petrol) 27.2 (Diesel) 4.0 (Hybrid Electric) 1.2 (Hybrid plug-in) 1.0 (Battery Electric) 2019 Q2 65.6 (Petrol) 27.7 (Diesel) 4.5 (Hybrid Electric) [...]
This is a complex and intriguing book, which seemed to get better the more that I read. On one level, it blends a description of the main elements of fracking in the US with an account of the continuous and continuing physical problems suffered by Stacey Haney and her family and their neighbours , the [...]
Last week, BP published their latest Energy Outlook (for calendar year 2018). It does not make for comfortable reading because it shows that the actual speed of decarbonisation is not keeping up with the timetable and limits set by the Paris agreement. In 2018 global energy demand and carbon emissions from energy use grew at [...]
On 18 June NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF)reported on their positive performance in the calendar year to 31 March 2019. NESF is a closed-end fund, based in Guernsey, investing in solar photovoltaicassets in the UK (and Italy). Established in 2014, the company is now large enough to be included in the FTSE 250 Index as from [...]
No-one can deny that profound change is on its way in the motor industry: electricity, batteries and launch of numerous electric versions of new cars are the stuff of daily discourse. But the Formula E Championship for electric cars, as distinct from the Formula 1 Championship for high performance motor cars, would seems to have [...]
We are sadly watching the slow demise of PVCrystalox, the British company which at one time produced multicrystalline silicon ingots and wafers, the key component in solar power systems. The Board of the company has announced that they expect to return to shareholders about £38.5 million on, or around 21 June 2019. This represents approximately 95.49 per [...]
Over 80 per cent of the world’s trade travels by sea and ship transport accounts for around 3 per cent of all the world’s carbon emissions. So a change in the emissions regime for ships should be big news. But somehow a substantial change has crept up on us without everyone noticing. The International Maritime [...]
In June 2018 BP announced that it was purchasing Chargemaster, the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging company, for £130 million. That seemed quite a lot to pay for a company with an annual turnover of £12 million and a gross profit of less than £4 million, though BP is not short of money. The company [...]