Energy
URGENT – Please click Shrewsbury Hydro to help us generate power from the river in Shrewsbury!
The Energy Group aims to
• Provide information on everything to do with Energy
• Look at Energy in relation to Shrewsbury
It is particularly concerned with energy from renewable sources and with community energy projects.
The Energy Group holds regular meetings in Shrewsbury. Please contact the energy co-ordinator, Mark Scutt at mscutt@btconnect.com if you are interested in coming to the next meeting or if you have an energy query which we may be able to help with.
Points of interest from latest energy group meeting (21.11.11)
1. CO2 parts per million in the atmosphere still rising steadily. Latest monthly mean from Mauna Loa (for August) was 390.02ppm.
2. DECC have proposed changes to Feed-in Tariff rates for solar PV for installations completed after 12th December. Proposal for consultation running until 31st December is that FiT for installations below 4kWp should fall from April 2012 from present 43.3p to 21.0p/kWh ( to achieve DECC estimate of 4.5% return on investment). Also new installations will only be eligible for FiTs if building is rated at least C energy efficient. Community schemes are going to be looked at carefully to see if they can be encouraged.
3. DECC statistics published under Digest of Energy Statistics since last meeting showed
(a) electricity from renewables was 6.8% ( or 7% on ROCs basis) of total electricity in 2010 v 6.7% in 2009.
(b) renewables as % total energy use was 3.3% in 2010 v 3.0% in 2009. (UK target remains 15% by 2020).
(c) UK CO2 emissions in 2010 were UP 4% on 2009 ( recovery from recession but still Up).
(d) North Sea natural gas production in 2010 was down 4.3% in 2010 and was 47.3% down on peak year of 2000. Net gas imports now account for over 40% of gas used and over one-third of gas imported is now LNG ( mainly from Qatar).
