SUMMER OF SUN. AND WIND. AND COAL. AND NUCLEAR.

One of the biggest things on my agenda over the past few months has been the Energy Review. It was launched by the Prime Minister last November and reported last week with the publication of a far-reaching range of proposals.  We needed such a big review to consider and reinforce the UK’s long-term energy policy in the face of the mounting global threats posed by climate change and to energy security. 

The proposals should reduce the demand for energy that we use, make that energy more environmentally friendly, but also make sure that the lights stay on.

It has become clear over recent years that climate change – which is caused by carbon emissions - is the greatest threat to our way of life and the planet. We have to act now to safeguard our planet for our children and grandchildren. 

I welcome what has been announced. There’s to be a big push on energy efficiency, increasing renewables five-fold to 20%, and new opportunities for decentralised energy.  The most important thing now is to have an informed debate, and get everyone on board.  The Government can’t save the planet on its own and needs your help.

In this article, I will look at a different aspect of energy policy – renewables, heating your home, travel and more established technologies like coal and nuclear. I’ll explain the issues, and look at ways that each of us can get involved to make a difference.  The way that we use energy is changing, and I truly believe that North Staffordshire can be at the forefront of this change.  If we can, then the planet would thanks us, and our economy could see some gains too.

If you would like to comment, or would like me to look at any particular aspects of the energy debate, then please be in touch.  It’s a huge topic, but there is none more important. 

IS THE ANSWER BLOWING IN THE WIND?

Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. There’s a lot of debate about how we are going to face up to this challenge, but my belief is that many of the answers can be found in the energy that exists naturally all around us. By using state of the art and modern technology, sufficient energy to power whole cities can be harvested from the wind, waves, tide or the sun.

Currently about five percent of the electricity we use comes from renewable power. But if we are going to seriously reduce our emissions and clean up our act, this level needs to increase substantially. The Renewables Obligation is a target set by Government, which requires power companies to source a certain proportion of their generation from renewables. At the moment, the target is 10% by 2010, but I was pleased to see that the recent Energy Review will push this up to 20%.  There will also be help announced for emerging renewables, to encourage the growth of other new technologies, for example, tidal power.

So in practice, what does investing in renewables mean? The most established technology is onshore and offshore wind – basically windmills built on land, or out to sea – sometimes many kilometres out.  Onshore wind remains the cheaper option, but concerns do remain in some circles about the appearance of windmills – some of which can be up to 80 meters high. I believe that these critics must carefully consider the importance of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, and that planning authorities must understand the need to have these power sources – it simply isn’t possible to say ‘not in my back yard’ anymore.

One type of renewables which is developing quickly is Microgeneration.  This involves the installation of small wind turbines or solar panels very close to where the energy is needed – maybe on your household roof, for example, or on a school or an office building.  There is huge potential here because no energy is wasted in transmission and any unused electricity can be ‘sold’ back to the grid – helping to earn back the cost of equipment. More can be found out about microgeneration at www.micropower.co.uk

I was a sponsor of a new law which helps to make it easier to install microgeneration at hour house, or at your place of work, as well as requiring local authorities to encourage the inclusion of microgeneration in building projects. But if you are not able to invest in microgeneration yourself, then you can show your support for renewable energy by contacting your electricity supplier and asking to be put on one of their ‘green electricity’ plans. Doing this lets the power companies know that people are eager to see a green and renewable future.

HOME HEATING AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

 Joan celebrates Warm Homes Week in the constituency

Fuel poverty is sadly a growing phenomenon once again.  A household is said to be ‘fuel poor’ when over 10% of its income goes on paying the electricity and heating bills.  Over this level, people are often going to have to choose between warmth and other of life’s necessities.

Figures out last month show that there are now 2.2million fuel poor households in the UK – and this has almost doubled from two years ago.  It’s not that households are getting poorer, it is due to the rising fuel prices of which we are all too aware.  Where the average gas bill was £330 in 2003, it’s now £516, and set to go even higher.

These price increases are out of any one person’s control.  They are largely down to increasing demand for gas and oil around the world – with a growing economy especially in India and China.  Fossil fuels are by definition of limited supply, so when demand for them goes up, so too does the price.

In other articles in this series, I have looked at what alternatives there are to fossil fuels.  But today I want to consider ways in which we can reduce the amount of energy used altogether.  The secret is using less energy, more efficiently, and not wasting what we have.  It’s easier than you might think. The Government is behind this agenda and supporting initiatives like the Energy Savings Trust.

It’s worth contacting the Energy Savings Trust on 0800 512 012, and they can help you do a free home energy check.  In the mean time, remember their ten point guide to saving energy:

1. Turning your thermostat down by 1ºC could cut your heating bills by up to 10 per cent and save you around £40 per year.
2. Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat shouldn't need to be set higher than 60ºC/140ºF.
3. Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.
4. Always turn off the lights when you leave a room.
5. Don't leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily.
6. If you're not filling up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher, use the half-load or economy programme.
7. Only boil as much water as you need (but remember to cover the elements if you're using an electric kettle).
8. A dripping hot water tap wastes energy and in one week wastes enough hot water to fill half a bath, so fix leaking taps and make sure they're fully turned off! 
9. Replace your light bulbs with energy saving recommended ones: just one can reduce your lighting costs by up to £100 over the lifetime of the bulb - and they last up to 12 times longer than ordinary light bulbs.
10. Do a home energy check. Just answer some simple questions about your home and we'll give you a free, impartial report telling you how you can save up to £300 a year on your house hold energy bills.

I have also been working to get a Warm Homes Zone in North Staffordshire, whereby help may be available to improve the fabric of your home, keeping the heat in and the bills down.   And I have been doing my bit in Parliament, lobbying ministers to improve the minimum building standards, so the thousands of new homes that we are building are sustainable and fit for the future.

Wasting energy hits the back pocket and jeopardises the planets future.  A huge part of the solution in the energy debate is about getting smarter about how we use the limited supplies that we have. 

SWITCHING YOUR APPLIANCES ON TO SAVINGS

Domestic energy usage on electrical products has doubled in the last 30 years. Some of that is because we all have more gadgets in the home. But some of this is simply wasted electricity, which could be saved if we used new technology as much as we could.

I am doing what I can in Parliament and here in the constituency to get the right products into people’s homes.  People spend £1.2 billion per year powering their electronics, so It is a win-win situation.  As you reduce the energy you use, the savings roll in. I am pleased that the Government has recognised this, and has set up the Energy Saving Trust. It is one of the UK’s leading organisations tackling climate change and it is important because it helps each of us to do our bit.  Already, their work has resulted in lifetime savings of more than 44 million tonnes of CO2 and their national network of Energy Efficiency Advice Centres reaches around a million customers a year.

It’s worth phoning getting them to help you and they will do it for free – just also 0800 512 012.  You can also look out for their energy saving recommended mark. It’s currently seen on over 1,800 products and it identifies the most energy efficient appliances, heating, insulation, glazing and lighting products. And now it has just been expanded to include consumer electronics.

So it is easier than ever to do your bit and here are some facts which show how much can be saved:

• Washing your clothes at 40 degrees instead of 60 will use a third less electricity.
• An energy efficient bulb uses a quarter of the electricity and lasts 12 times longer. If every home installed them, it would pay for all the street lighting in the country.
• Before you go and splash out on a plasma screen TV, just remember that they can use up to four times as much electricity as your old cathode ray screen.
• An efficient new fridge or freezer uses half as much electricity as an older model.
• Leaving a mobile phone charger plugged in will cost £25 per year. If each house were to do this, it would use enough energy to power 66,000 homes.

So getting involved doesn’t just mean talking or signing up to things. There are little things that we can all do everyday as part of this ongoing energy debate.

TRAVELING TO THE FUTURE

Joan chooses the greener option with the Environmental Audit Committee

With many of us taking our holidays in August, travel becomes the order of the day.  Whether you are flying to Spain, or driving by car or coach to somewhere in our own country – we’ll all be using limited energy supplies to get around.  And in this country nearly a quarter of CO2 emissions come from transport, so there is a long way to go.

Most of our transport – road, air and some rail – relies upon refined oil. As we all know prices have been going up recently with continued instability in the Middle East, and rising long term demand from around the world. We’re getting used to seeing fuel surcharges on airplane tickets, and rising prices at the pumps. Trains that run on the West Coast main line through North Staffordshire are powered by electricity, but this is largely generated by fossil fuels. As electricity prices go up, so too will train fares.

But it is worth remembering to consider our planet as well as our pockets when we choose how to make a trip. Buses and trains are up to 5 times more energy efficient than the car. And a train uses up to 70% less energy and causes up to 85% less air pollution than a plane. Of course, a bike will use virtually no energy, and is cheap to boot.

A lot of progress has been made locally to build cycle routes, like route 55 which runs on the old railway line through Smallthorne. There is also scope for cycling for leisure and British Waterways have a key role to play to improve access to their towpath.

There is a lot of opportunity to improve the cars we use as well.  I was pleased to see that Ford is starting working on a 70mpg model of their Focus, and hybrids are becoming a common sight on our roads. Government initiatives to make energy efficiency a cheaper option are finally kicking in, and you can now save on fuel, road tax and company car tax by choosing a more efficient model. The Government and many private companies are switching their fleets to reduce their energy use, but also to reduce their costs. 

Of course, the answer isn’t to stop travelling.  The answer is to think about if the journey is really necessary, and if so, what is the cleanest way of getting there.  I shall continue to work in Parliament to see that these options are the most convenient and the most affordable.

The Environmental Audit Select Committee report, of which I am vice chair, published in August has scrutinised government policy.

THE NUCLEUS OF THE ISSUE

This spring’s energy review was a wide sweeping consultation which was there to decide how we will get our energy in the decades to come.  Energy generation is something which must be considered in the very long term – some of the decisions we make now will decide generation half a century from now.

The two biggest challenges we face are a shortage of fossil fuels and a shortage of time to reduce our CO2 emissions if we are to slow the pace of climate change.  There is evidently a need to find affordable ways of producing energy that create no emissions, and that do not rely on fossil fuels.

Some commentators point to nuclear fission as the answer.  The technology is not new and has been used in this country for half a century.  The debate now is whether we should replace the aging plants once they are decommissioned in the coming years.  Supporters point to how nuclear can provide a ‘base load’ capacity – huge quantities of electricity which can power whole cities and industrial sites with little chance of failure. It also produces no CO2, and the ‘raw material’ – the uranium – is available cheaply and from countries such as Canada and Australia.

Some commentators though, point to the carbon produced in the construction of nuclear power stations and the finite reserves of high quality uranium.  Other point to some of the very serious shortcomings of nuclear power.  The fact that nuclear provides a base load is also a weakness, because it can’t be shut off if the power is no longer needed. Nuclear is an expensive and inflexible option and not immediately relevant for our changing world.  It is so expensive, in fact, that there is reason to believe that if it goes ahead, then there will have to be huge public subsidy, which may limit investment in newer technology – like renewables. And then there are the safety issues.  Twenty years after Chernobyl, there are still British farms which are dangerously radioactive.  In times of heightened security, I believe that it is simply too risky to build large and vulnerable nuclear installations.

As well, what do we do about nuclear waste? The recent CORWM report refers to deep depositories as a possible solution, but who want them near their home, and who could be the custodian for thousand of years in the future.

Instead, the answer is to be a lot more imaginative, efficient and ambitious about how we generate our energy.  Renewables are part of the answer, but so too is better energy efficiency and an improvement of our electricity network to prevent wastage.

A FUTURE FOR COAL?

As part of my work on this subject for the Environmental Audit Committee, I have realised that one of the answers might come from cleverly using an ancient material which is very much part of our North Staffordshire heritage.

In the 1980s we were told that there really wasn’t a future for coal.  But the current situation would make you think again.  Coal currently provides 30-50% of our electricity.  Although much of this is imported, with rising energy prices and the application of new technology, there could be a growing future for the British coal industry. The Government sees a continuing role for both gas and coal fired generation and will convene a coal forum to bring together UK coal producers and suppliers to help them find solutions for the long term future of UK coal-fired power generation and UK coal production.

Clean coal technology is the collective name for a range of technologies which are being developed to take the carbon and other pollutants out of the emissions which are produced when coal is burned. Coal can be ‘washed’ to remove its impurities. It can be gasified, and then burned in a more flexible and efficient process. Or it can be filtered, using a sophisticated system of gas filtration.

There is also a mechanism called carbon capture and storage, which involves taking the carbon which was extracted in the processes above, and ‘storing’ it in disused oil fields. Cleaner coal technologies could cut emissions by as much as 80 to 90% and we have some natural and commercial advantages – like a strong oil industry and old oil fields where CO2 can be stored. The next step would be a commercial demonstration if it proved to be cost effective. The UK is working with Norway and the industry in developing this and I am pushing the Government to take the necessary steps to make this commercially viable. 

Carbon capture could lead to saving several millions tonnes of carbon by 2020. It is also an example of technology which could very easily be exported to the countries around the world that rely on coal for their electricity.  By making this technology affordable, the UK could help other countries do their bit, and bring jobs here at the same time.

 PUTTING THE THEORY INTO PRACTICE: THE WOKING CASE STUDY

Joan with the sort of CHP technology that is getting Woking talked about

We have looked at a lot of possible solutions, but I am a firm believer that we have to look at what is possible and practicable.

As a member of the Environmental Audit Committee, I recently made the short trip to Woking in Surrey.  Woking is a testimony to the sort of people that have a vision, believe it can be done, and make it happen.  Since 1990, energy consumption there has fallen by nearly half. CO2 emissions have fallen by nearly three quarters.  These savings have added up to £5.4 million for the council, and thousands of local residents have been saved from fuel poverty.  In 2002 Woking became the first town in the country to adopt a comprehensive Climate Change Strategy which will take it to 60% reductions of CO2 by 2050 and 80% by 2100.

So what has been done? Money raised through recycling projects has been ploughed back into the pioneering work on the supply of green electricity using small scale Combined Heat and Power (CHP). CHP in this instance can be seen as a kind of community boiler and generator system – where a plant near your house or office supplies both heat and electricity.  This is usually a very affordable and efficient option.

I see distributed energy as one of the best ways forward for the UK. It delivers cooling, lighting and power (rather than just electricity and gas), to homes, offices and factories. It can save the energy wasted in transmission, and CHP can make use of the majority of energy which is wasted as heat in a typical power station. 

For example, a CHP project at Woking Park is designed to support the Pool in the Park, Leisure Lagoon and Woking Leisure Centre heating and power systems and Woking Park's lighting. Heat produced by the CHP also provides the buildings' air conditioning, cooling water and dehumidification requirements. Furthermore, surplus electricity is exported to the Council’s corporate buildings and sheltered housing schemes.

Outstanding work has also been done on recycling and on sustainable transport in the town.

I am doing what I can to encourage councils in North Staffordshire to take the lead from Woking’s example and make the step change in how we think about the environment and generate energy here.

CONCLUSIONS

 Joan discussing environmental policy with the Secretary of State, David Milliband and Stafford MP, David Kidney

In this article, I have looked at some of the issues that are being discussed as part of the Government’s energy review, and things which we can all take up in our everyday lives to reduce our energy consumption. I hope that readers have found it interesting and feel that they understand a little bit more about the debate that is going on at the moment.

There are the issues which we can all start working on immediately – simple things like changing our lightbulbs, the way we get to work and the way that we use our electrical appliances.

Then there are the efforts that we could all take if the Government set up the right schemes to make them happen. Putting a microgeneration turbine on your roof, installing a state of the art boiler, or switching your car to a hybrid would all be much more possible if the Government were to actively encourage these things.  So we have to get the planning system right, and make the grants available.  Pushing for this is part of my job at Westminster, and I shall continue to lobby hard to see that Government is promoting sustainable development, purchases and behaviour.

And then there are the issues which seem very distant – like the decision about what type of power plants are going to provide our electricity in the coming decades. On this one, the most important thing is to stay informed because the choice does actually affect each and every one of us and our every day lives.  I am pressing Government to make the step change which is necessary to convert our electricity to the next generation of sustainable and clean energy.

The effects of climate change are already becoming an everyday reality, and I hope that everybody in the constituency can sign up to an active agenda of each person doing their part and thinking about the energy that we use.

Inevitably, political decisions have to be made about energy.  Government will have to decide what its strategy is and will have to account of what public support there is for its energy policy.  I hope for a well informed and engaging public debate as a basis for the action plan that will come out of the energy review. But as well as what governments, local councils and business can do, individuals can play their part as well.