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THREE EASY-TO-DO ACTIONS ...... TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE HUGE POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE FORMS OF ENERGY, ESPECIALLY CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER (CSP) In connection with the recently-announced 3-month public consultation on UK energy policy, I would like to suggest three easy-to-do 'actions' that people may like to do, designed to raise public awareness in the UK of the huge potential of renewable forms of energy, especially 'concentrating solar power' (CSP), a rather different technology from the better-known 'photovoltaics' (see www.trec-uk.org.uk/csp.htm and other sources detailed below). Greater awareness that big cuts in CO2 emissions are possible without undue cost, inconvenience or risk should help smooth the path for mandatory 3% annual cuts in UK emissions of CO2 as proposed in EDM 178 (edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=28373). At present, the nuclear lobby is making headway because politicians and the general public perceive renewable forms of energy to be worthy but somewhat impotent. If the real potential were better understood, there would be much less reason to accept the argument that building new nuclear power stations is the only way to plug the gap left as the old ones close down. The first easy action I am proposing is simple: in the next two or three months, send one or more letters or press releases to the UK media about the great potential of CSP and other renewable forms of energy and how they can meet our needs quite easily without the expense and risks of building new nuclear power stations. Even if the letters and press releases don't get published immediately, they may help to raise awareness amongst journalists that renewable forms of energy are much less feeble than currently perceived and thus lead to relevant newspaper articles or TV and radio programmes in the future. The second easy action that may interest you is to say something about the potential of CSP and other kinds of renewable energy in the Government's current consultation about energy policy (www.dti.gov.uk/energy/en_consult.shtml). A draft submission may be found at www.mng.org.uk/green_house/mechanisms/government/energy_consultation_2006.htm. The third easy action is to make comments on "What is the Economics of Climate Change?" (a document prepared for the UK Government's "Stern Review"). In your comments, which should be sent to [email protected] by the 17th of March 2006, you may like to highlight the huge economic potential of CSP, throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Putting the main focus on CSP should help to maximise the impact of these actions, because the potential of CSP is so enormous and because it is currently almost invisible in the media. Judging by the DTI and DEFRA websites, it is almost invisible in Government thinking too. In connection with CSP, the following sources are particularly interesting:
You will have your own lists of media email address and fax numbers but
another one that may be useful is at
www.mng.org.uk/green_house/resources/media_email_fax_list.htm. Dear Editor, If the recently-announced public consultation on UK energy policy is not mere shadow-boxing while plans are laid to build more nuclear power stations, the Government should be looking closely at the huge potential of 'concentrating solar power' (CSP), a relatively simple, practical technology for tapping in to the enormous quantities of energy falling as sunlight on the world's hot deserts (see, for example, the website of the US Department of Energy Sun Lab at http://www.energylan.sandia.gov/sunlab/). Trough systems, for example, use parabolic trough-shaped mirrors, each one of which focuses sunlight on to a pipe containing oil or similar fluid that takes the heat to where it can be used to raise steam and generate electricity. Solar power plants like this can be replicated many times to generate as much electricity as required. There are methods for storing solar heat so that electricity generation can continue through the night. The Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) argues that it is feasible and economic for CSP plants in North Africa and the Middle East to provide electricity for those areas and for the whole of Europe via high-tension power lines. CSP can provide inexhaustible pollution-free power very much more cheaply than nuclear power and without its many headaches (which include vulnerability to terrorist attack, facilitating the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the production of waste that is dangerous for thousands of years, and the release of significant amounts of CO2 in the mining, transportation and processing of uranium and in the transportation, processing and disposal of nuclear waste). When one considers that there is also great potential in wind power and interesting new developments in wave power and tidal power, it is abundantly clear that building new nuclear power stations would be a monumental blunder. Further information about CSP may be found at www.trec-uk.org.uk/csp.htm. Sincerely, XXX Last updated: 2006-11-07 (ISO 8601) |