Energy: Dalkia-achieving sustainable efficiency
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011Tony Doherty explores the issues at stake for public establishments striving to achieve sustainable energy efficiency. Public facilities have long since recognised the critical role that providing a comfortable environment plays, by maintaining appropriate levels of heating, cooling, lighting and air quality within buildings – from hospitals to schools and government offices. At the same time, growing budgetary pressures and rising prices are putting a focus on reducing the cost of providing these services. These cost and efficiency drivers necessitate the delivery of more energy services...[full story]
Energy: EST-times are changing
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011EST has operated in Northern Ireland for the past 15 years and is best known for the provision of free and impartial energy saving advice to householders, communities and energy-related business. Patrick Thompson explains the way ahead. Briefly outline EST’s current work in Northern Ireland: We provide free and impartial energy saving advice to around 50,000 householders in Northern Ireland each year. In the face of rising fuel prices and last year’s cold winter, the provision of advice and information on the smaller ‘behaviour changes’ is as essential as insulation and helps...[full story]
Innovation: Scandinavia’s R&D success
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011Northern Ireland must follow Scandinavia’s lead and cut business grants which don’t back R&D. Graham Gudgin discusses a radical new direction with agendaNi. “We’ve got to look for good role models and not merely the nearest but our real problem in Northern Ireland is complacency,” says Graham Gudgin in a sharp critique of the region’s economic culture. Gudgin currently works at Cambridge University’s Centre For Business Research and has analysed Northern Ireland’s economy since 1985. “The most immediate place to look is the Civil Service,” he says of the problem....[full story]
Energy: Kingspan-fuel poverty and telemetry
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011Kingspan Environmental is a division of Kingspan Group PLC that offers affordable environmental solutions for off-mains drainage, rainwater harvesting systems, fuel storage and intelligent telemetry solutions to meet the needs of sustainable building projects. Kingspan Telemetry Solutions Kingspan Environmental is the market leader in oil measurement technologies. The Kingspan Telemetry portfolio comprises of the SonicSignalman which is an easily installed one piece unit that uses technology to sense the level of fuel or liquid in the tank and communicates this data via GPRS mobile networks...[full story]
Energy: The Crown Estate and renewables
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011Dermott Grimson discusses the Crown Estate’s role in renewables with Peter Cheney. “A property company” is the best way to sum up the Crown Estate, according to Dermott Grimson. As Head of External Affairs for a unique organisation, he is increasingly involved in preparing the seabed for renewable development. The Glaswegian explains that “like any other property owner, we want to invest in our property in order to make the most of our assets and help others make something of the asset too.” Profits have totalled £1.9 billion over the last 10 years. It generates money from...[full story]
Energy: Fracking explored
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011Stephen Dineen explains fracking and the increasing controversy surrounding it. Gas production companies need to be transparent, according to incoming American Gas Association President Ronald W Jibson. The Questar Corporation CEO told agendaNi that producers need to be willing to show what their frack method is: “They all have their own recipe and they need to be open about what’s in that frack load and then maybe change that.” Gibson believes that “if there are harmful products there, they [the producers] may need to change that,” and that producers need to work with environmentalists...[full story]
Energy: Renewable planning
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011Planning reform could help to increase electricity generated from renewables to 40 per cent by 2020. agendaNi reports. PPS18 was released in 2009 in order to prepare for an increase in renewable energy applications stemming from the European Union’s 2020 targets (to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent on 1990 levels, to generate 20 per cent of energy from renewables and increase energy efficiency by 20 per cent.) The Strategic Energy Framework’s target to generate 40 per cent of electricity and 10 per cent of heat from renewables by 2020 adds more pressure to bring about...[full story]
Energy: Translink-new Antrim station
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011Translink’s leading the way in energy efficiency with new state-of-the-art station. Sustainability is a key priority for Translink. Most recently, the 2010-2011 Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme ranked Translink as the highest scoring organisation in Northern Ireland and the highest ranking transport organisation in the UK. A mandatory scheme run by the UK Government’s Environment Agency, it encourages large private and public sector organisations to reduce their carbon footprint by developing and implementing energy management strategies and included more...[full story]
Energy: Veridis-energy from waste
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011An overview of plans for Northern Ireland’s first major energy from waste project. Veridis Energy believes that its proposed energy from waste (EfW) plant on the outskirts of Belfast provides a ‘win-win’ solution for diverting waste from landfill. Despite encountering many obstacles, Jim Lynas and Harry McCourt have remained committed to their vision of creating Northern Ireland’s first major EfW designed to accept the residual fraction of municipal, commercial and industrial wastes which can not be recycled or composted. This shared vision would make a valuable contribution to...[full story]
Energy: Future gas scenarios
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011Gas will play a significant role going forward, according to energy consultant James Greenleaf. “Given the uncertainty around technological developments and alternative energy, keeping the high gas future option open is relatively cheap compared to everything else,” James Greenleaf tells agendaNi. Greenleaf is a senior energy consultant at Redpoint which conducted a study examining four scenarios ranging from gas being used at levels similar to today, to its elimination from the energy mix by 2050. It found that there is a “credible and robust” case for the continued use of gas. Gas...[full story]
