Back in 1882, Thomas Edison built the United States' first electric power plant. It supplied electricity for lighting and steam for manufacturing and was around 50% efficient. 125 years on, the typical UK power plant is just 38% efficient. So how did Edison do it? And where are we going so wrong?
Micro-hydro power needs no fuel but offers a constant supply of electricity which often increases in winter, along with demand. It has a long life cycle. It can have low implementation and maintenance costs. And, unlike some large scale hydroelectric power schemes, it has minimal environmental and visual impacts.
Every year, we bury thousands of tonnes of waste food in landfill sites around the UK. In all, about half of our total landfill comes from biodegradable waste, where it becomes part of the problem that contributes to climate change. Instead of sending it to landfill, anaerobic digestion allows us to convert this waste into ‘biogas', making it part of the solution.
The Olympic Delivery Authority has unveiled a design for its energy centre - complete with a combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) plant fuelled by sustainable biomass (woodchip) and natural gas.
An overview of decentralised energy: what it is, how it works and how it differs from our present outrageously inefficient energy system.
