News
Corus steelworks cuts carbon emissions
Fri, 14 May 2010Corus unveiled a £60m energy saving project at its Port Talbot site in South Wales on Wednesday which has cut its carbon emissions by 240,000 tonnes per year.
The company, which has been owned by India's Tata Steel since 2007, produces 5 million tonnes of steel a year at Port Talbot and employs 3,500 people.
The investment was made at the site's basic oxygen steel-making process which converts molten iron into steel. Corus has fitted new gas recovery equipment which catches and stores carbon monoxide gas for use as a fuel elsewhere on site. Previously the gas was flared, wasting energy and releasing carbon dioxide.
The recovered gas is used in the power plant to generate 10% of the site's electricity needs. This allows higher-energy gas from the coke ovens to be used more effectively in the steel strip mill, reducing natural gas consumption at the mill by 60%.
The energy saving means the investment will pay back in just two years.
Gas recovery will reduce Port Talbot's annual carbon emissions by 3% and Tata Steel Europe's emissions by 1%. It will also reduce the site's emissions of particulate matter by 40 tonnes per year, improving air quality.
Paul Brooks, Corus's group environment manager, said although gas recovery is widely used on newer steelworks, retrofitting it to an existing plant was a unique and challenging undertaking that involved re-engineering the site's energy system, a task that had previously been considered too difficult and too expensive.
Tata Steel Europe's chief executive Kirby Adams said the project was the biggest investment in the UK Steel industry since Tata acquired Corus and part of the company's commitment to steelmaking in Wales.
Further information
Coalition agreement heralds shake-up in environmental policy
Fri, 14 May 2010The new Lib Dem-Conservative government has agreed to make radical changes to policy on air transport and energy generation. But it will support a new generation of nuclear power stations, provided they require no public subsidy.
Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne, formerly home affairs spokesman, has taken control at the department of energy and climate change (DECC). He had opposed a new generation of nuclear power stations. Today he told the BBC the coalition had agreed the Lib Dems would abstain when parliament voted on the new National Policy Statement on nuclear power.
Caroline Spelman, a Tory, has been appointed Secretary of State for the Environment. She has many years' experience holding jobs connected with agriculture and is director of a food and biotechnology consultancy.
Ex-Conservative party chairman Eric Pickles will lead the communities department (DCLG), which he has shadowed, while Philip Hammond is transport secretary.
Few junior ministers have yet been announced.
A full document on the agreement between the two parties will be published in due course. But a brief summary of policy includes:
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A third runway at London's Heathrow airport has been scrapped. Any expansion at Gatwick and Stansted will also be refused. A per-flight, rather than per-passenger, duty will be introduced on airlines.
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Plans for a high-speed rail network have been brought forward.
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Import and possession of illegally-logged timber will be criminalised.
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A cap on carbon emissions from new power stations will be set, forcing coal-fired plant to fit sufficient carbon capture and storage to meet the standard. This would be permitted under draft EU legislation on industrial emissions (ENDS Report Bulletin 6 May 2010).
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A floor price for carbon emissions trading allowances is promised, alongside an undertaking to seek full auctioning across the EU.
A "huge increase" in anaerobic digestion is promised, plus a boost to renewable generation and the roll-out of a smart grid and smart metering. A vague pledge of the "full establishment" of feed-in tariffs is part of the agreement.
Further information
· 10 Downing Street press conference
· Coalition agreement between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats
Internship Opportunity
Thu, 13 May 2010We are offering an internship position to a highly motivated undergraduate or graduate. The role will be primarily focused with the development, marketing and take up of Marches Energy Agency's online carbon management tool WeSave (http://www.wesave.org.uk/).
What does WeSave do?
"Wesave.org.uk supplies users with the tools to perform their own energy audit through the wesave.org.uk interactive website, accompanied by its help screens and guide book. This process gives ownership to their own carbon descent, increasing their involvement in the process and resulting in large impacts on your carbon descent. Wesave.org.uk then continues to interact with the user, showing them how their energy consumption decreases over time and assisting with any future changes."
What does the internship role involve?
The tasks will involve:
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The study of the current use of WeSave
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Making case studies of positive examples in WeSave's use
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The preparation of promotional materials for WeSave
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The active involvement in the marketing of WeSave
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Acting as an assistant in the preparation and delivery of training sessions in the use of WeSave.
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General admin support
Gains for the successful applicant
The successful applicant will:
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Gain valuable experience working for one of the country's leading sustainable energy and climate change social enterprises
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Learn the ability to perform energy audits using WeSave
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Develop the ability to teach others how to use the tool
What we are looking for
The successful applicant should be able to show:
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Enthusiasm to combat climate change and their own part in making the world a better place.
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The ability to act under their own initiative when required
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A high level of adaptability, with the willingness to look up answers by themselves when required
The position will be for 3-5 days a week for 3 months (exact details to be agreed between the successful applicant and Marches Energy Agency). The position is unpaid although all reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.
Please express your interest along with your CV to info@mea.org.uk .
Carbon Footprinting and Energy Bike in Buxton
Wed, 12 May 2010