Climate Change vs Conservation Area

Question - what should have priority, an individual's attempt to do a little to tackle climate change or the aesthetics of a conservation area? Well, there's no one answer to that. There will be times when perhaps aesthetics win; in other situations the "damage" rendered by modern installations will be minimal. As a parish councillor in a parish with 3 conservation areas I know that the argument can become heated on both sides!

My good friend Paula Owen has blogged on just such a case. I urge you to read Paula's blog because, judging by the photos of the site in question, and assuming that the narrative is substantially accurate, I think there is something of an injustice being perpetrated here.

Pickles Pickled!

If you're an avid reader of my intermittent posts you'll know that I have little regard for one Eric Pickles MP. Well, for once, he's on the receiving end. His various interventions into renewable energy planning decisions have roused the ire of many in the industry. Now, the High Court has overturned one of his decisions to reject an on-shore wind farm planning application. I don't know the details of the particular project but isn't refreshig to see decisions being made in lower tiers of government (in this case the local planning authority) being upheld rather than sat upon by Planet Pickles?

A Bit of Pragmatism

In an interview in the Grauniad last month Sir Mark Walport makes some telling remarks about the need to focus more on climate change mitigation. It's worth a read.

Capacity Margin to Fall to as Low as 2%?

"It would never have happened in my day".

The National Grid last month published two tenders - for demand side load shedding and supply side capacity retention - all aimed at "keeping the lights on" given that Ofgem's capacity assessment indicated the potential for the capacity margin to fall to as low as 2% in 2015/16.

This, to me, is another example of the scramble to cope with HMG's hopeless mismanagement of the power sector.

Fiddle; Rome; Burning - Make a Well Known Phrase

As regular readers will know - I am once again well behind the news. However, I couldn't help but let forth an electronic cry of despair at the juxtaposition in the Queen's Speech of a levy on plastic carrier bags (delayed until after the general election!!) and the introduction of "allowable solutions" (aka buying your way out) for zero carbon housing. This Edie report says it all.

Pretty-looking Wind Turbine

The Liam F1 Urban Wind Turbine looks really pretty but does it do what it says on the tin? From my feeble knowledge of physics I thought that Archimedes screw-based solutions tend to be less efficient than other configurations. Perhaps someone out there could enlighten me?

Energy Resource Black Hole

A recent report from the Global Sustainability Institute at Anglia Ruskin University paints a bleak picture for the UK's natural energy resources. It suggests that the UK reserves are just 5.2 years of oil, 4.2 years of coal and 3 years of gas. Not-with-standing the fact that the odd pinch of salt is required when reviewing these figures they should, none-the-less be concentrating policy makers' minds. The thought of increasing reliance on the likes of Russia and Qatar is not a pleasant one.