Two Degrees #17: Decentralised Energy
First Broadcast: 27 February 2007
Featuring:
Continuing our look at solutions...
In a coal- or gas-powered electricity plant in the UK a staggering 60% of
the energy is wasted as heat. In a decentralised model you can use that heat
to warm people's homes using a technology called Combined Heat and Power.
CHP is a proven, market-ready technology (unlike hydrogen or "clean coal")
that is already widely used in Europe. Denmark, for example, generate 50% of
their electricity in this way. George Monbiot unconvincingly dismisses CHP
in his book “Heat”, whereas The Tyndall Centre have made an important
feature of it in their future energy scenarios and it forms a central part
of London's trailblazing plans to reduce CO2 emissions by 60% by 2025 which
were unveiled today (see: http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=11011 and
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/environment/climate-change/index.jsp).
For this programme I interviewed Jim Footner of Greenpeace. Unfortunately
there was a technical problem with the recording which rendered it
unbroadcastable. So instead what you’ll hear is a useful introduction to
decentralised energy in the form of the soundtrack to the Greenpeace film
“What are we waiting for” which was produced by Memory Box films and
narrated by Clive Anderson.
Afterwards, I attempt an assessment and run past some of the main points
that came out of the discussion with Jim.
At the very least, the UK should institute a law (simillar to the one they
have in Denmark) that forbids any new build fossil fuelled electricity
plants without heat capture (whether in the UK or abroad with UK support).
Links:
What are we waiting for? - youtube film link
www.youtube.com/v/klooRS-Jjyo
Decentralising Power - An Energy Revolution for the 21st Century
(Greenpeace, 2005)
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/MultimediaFiles/Live/FullReport/7154.pdf
Powering London Into the 21st Century (Greenpeace/GLA, 2006)
http://www.greenpeace-digital.org.uk/MultimediaFiles/Live/FullReport/7474.pdf
Scotland (Greenpeace/WWF Scotland, 2006)
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/MultimediaFiles/Live/FullReport/8056.pdf
Energy Revolution - A Sustainable World Energy Outlook (Greenpeace/EREC,
January 2007)
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/energyrevolutionreport.pdf
Available Audio
2768-1-20070228-the_two_degrees_show-17-rfa – Listen Online | Download .mp3 (22.55 MB)