Vodaphone Debuts Clothes That Harvest Energy http://www.energy-broker.co.uk/vodaphone-debuts-clothes-that-harvest-energy/

Music fans at the ongoing Isle of Wight Festival (ongoing, to Sunday 16th) are taking part of an experiment, although not of a sonic nature. British cell phone company Vodafone is using the festival to try out the Power Pocket, a wearable gadget designed to power peripherals with body heat and movement. Now, that is some kind of amazing renewable energy!

The Power Pocket is built into Power shorts and the Recharge sleeping bag, which the company developed with the Electronics and Computer Science Department at the University of Southampton. Besides the Isle of Wight festival, the company will be taking its ingenious device to other festivals that take place during the summer season of music.

The research that led to the creation of this energy-harvesting device goes back to the late 1980s, to the days of printed smart material, which was designed to be used on ceramics, says Stephen Beeby, a professor of electronic systems at the University of Southampton. In the 1990s the energy harvesting concept was introduced and the researchers brought the two together to make smart materials for energy-generating purposes.

In 2003 they started to create printed thermoelectric material, which now can be made so small it can be stitched into a pair of shorts or a sleeping bag. “Basically, we’re printing down pairs of what are called ‘thermocouples’,” explains Professor Beeby. “You print lots of those down and connect them up to make a thermoelectric module. One side of that is cold and the other is hot, and when you get a flow of heat through it you can create a voltage and a current. Voltage and current together equals electrical power.”

via Vodaphone Debuts Clothes That Harvest Energy | The Energy Collective.

Vodaphone Debuts Clothes That Harvest Energy

The energy industry is nearly as hated as the banks. But the Government needs to keep it on side http://www.energy-broker.co.uk/the-energy-industry-is-nearly-as-hated-as-the-banks-but-the-government-needs-to-keep-it-on-side/

There’s nothing that sparks outrage like a gas and electricity bill. Much to the dismay of the country’s “Big Six’”energy suppliers, they risk overtaking the banks as public enemy number one.

But a new YouGov poll shows that, despite the fury, the companies may have a more sympathetic hearing if they managed to explain their side of the story.

YouGov found that 76 per cent of the nation want the Government to do more to crack down on the sector. This is to be expected. Yet when asked what an acceptable profit margin on the average bill would be, nearly one in five people said between 10 to 20 per cent.

British Gas would kill for a margin that high. Sam Laidlaw, the chief executive of British Gas parent Centrica, regularly points out that the supplier’s margins bounce around the 5 per cent mark. Npower insists it hasn’t made a profit for three years. The industry points out the average annual bill is £1,400, just over £3 a day.

via The energy industry is nearly as hated as the banks. But the Government needs to keep it on side – Telegraph Blogs.

The energy industry is nearly as hated as the banks. But the Government needs to keep it on side

True cost of Britain's wind farm industry revealed http://www.energy-broker.co.uk/true-cost-of-britains-wind-farm-industry-revealed-2/

A new analysis of government and industry figures shows that wind turbine owners received £1.2billion in the form of a consumer subsidy, paid by a supplement on electricity bills last year. They employed 12,000 people, to produce an effective £100,000 subsidy on each job.

The disclosure is potentially embarrassing for the wind industry, which claims it is an economically dynamic sector that creates jobs. It was described by critics as proof the sector was not economically viable, with one calling it evidence of “soft jobs” that depended on the taxpayer.

The subsidy was disclosed in a new analysis of official figures, which showed that:

• The level of support from subsidies in some cases is so high that jobs are effectively supported to the extent of £1.3million each;

• In Scotland, which has 203 onshore wind farms — more than anywhere else in the UK — just 2,235 people are directly employed to work on them despite an annual subsidy of £344million. That works out at £154,000 per job;

via True cost of Britain’s wind farm industry revealed – Telegraph.

True cost of Britain's wind farm industry revealed

Solar power could transform food industry in hot countries http://www.energy-broker.co.uk/solar-power-could-transform-food-industry-in-hot-countries/

Dr Christopher Sansom, concentrated solar power team leader and senior lecturer in ultra-precision engineering at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, told FoodManufacture.co.uk forms of solar power had massive potential in hot countries.

He had been involved initially in looking at the domestic potential of solar power in countries such as Africa, Asia, India, Pakistan and South America.

“We were looking for countries that have high direct sunlight and remote communities that have no way of cooking food.”

More well-known photovoltaic (PV) solar power converted the energy from the sun’s rays into electricity, he said. But other solar thermal initiatives he had been involved with either used parabolic mirrors to focus the sun’s heat, which could then be used immediately to cook food or stored for later use.

via Solar power could transform food industry in hot countries.

Solar power could transform food industry in hot countries

Only third of SME energy buyers understand how brokers earn | Energy Live News http://www.energy-broker.co.uk/only-third-of-sme-energy-buyers-understand-how-brokers-earn-energy-live-news/

Only a third of SME energy buyers understand how energy brokers earn money according to a new poll. However there are “high levels of trust” in consultants working in the energy market, finds Gazprom Energy.

In the energy supplier’s poll among its SME customers, just a third (33%) of respondents said they had a good understanding of how their broker makes money, while only 35% rated their broker to be highly transparent.

Trust is high though as more than 90% of those quizzed said they would recommend their broker to another business. More than half also said they had a good understanding of their broker’s business values and principals.

via Only third of SME energy buyers understand how brokers earn | Energy Live News.

Only third of SME energy buyers understand how brokers earn | Energy Live News

Energy from waste: the risks http://www.energy-broker.co.uk/energy-from-waste-the-risks/

Increasingly waste is being used to generate power, which is creating new risks for the developers and operators of energy from waste plants, and a growing market for insurers.

In the UK we recycle 43% of household waste and more than half of business waste, according to figures released earlier this month by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Unfortunately, not all waste can be recycled, but there are now a number of innovative ways to turn waste into power, heat and biofuel, rather than send it to landfill.

Green “energy from waste” technologies include anaerobic digestion (micro-organisms and waste are used to produce a biogas), gasification and pyrolysis (processes that turn biomass into a biogas and other products). These technologies use a variety of waste products as fuel, from agricultural by-products like olive pips, straw and sugar cane, to animal, clinical, industrial or municipal solid waste and sewage. And there is potential to use even more types of commercial and industrial wastes, WRAP says.

Biomass boom

The energy from waste sector is undergoing a boom time, according to Jatin Sharma, head of business development at GCube, a specialist renewable energy coverholder backed by Lloyd’s syndicates and Munich Re.

“In the age of austerity we have to find ways to maximise energy generation by using waste that would otherwise find its way to landfill. There is no silver bullet to the decarbonisation of the power sector – so we need to look at all sources of energy including wind and solar, as well as energy from waste options like biomass,” says Sharma.

The biomass industry – which uses organic waste as fuel – currently generates just over 60 gigawatts of power globally and is growing by around 12% per year, according to GCube. Growth in the UK is expected to accelerate with a significant pipeline of recently consented projects, it says.

via Energy from waste: the risks – Environment – Lloyd’s.

Energy from waste: the risks

Q&A: What difference will Ofgem's energy market 'shake-up' really make? http://www.energy-broker.co.uk/qa-what-difference-will-ofgems-energy-market-shake-up-really-make/

What are the changes?

Ofgem is trumpeting its objective of a ‘simple, clearer and fairer’ energy market. The main planks of reform are as follows:

Limit of four ‘core’ tariffs – for each of gas and electricity, and for each payment type. Suppliers will also be able to offer extra fixed term tariffs via collective switching schemes.

End of ‘dead’ tariffs: If an old tariff isn’t ‘value for money’ then those customers will be moved onto their supplier’s cheapest variable deal.

Suppliers must give customers personalised info on the cheapest tariff they offer for them and use the new Tariff Comparison Rate in all communications with customers.

Ofgem will have more power to take action and fine suppliers who treat customers unfairly.

A ban on price increases during the term of a ‘fixed-price’ contract.

via Q&A: What difference will Ofgem’s energy market ‘shake-up’ really make? | This is Money.

Q&A: What difference will Ofgem's energy market 'shake-up' really make?