Diana Davidson MRAU FEMA FWES FRSA FEI

Interesting series of articles from the Guardian myth busting heat pumps. This one looks at noise, which is a curious concern that the anti-change lobby seem to have picked up on. Right now I can hear wind in the trees, cars on the nearby road, a plane overhead, dogs barking, a lady trying to stop her dog barking (unsuccessfully), a small child playing, a gate closing, a car door closing, someone running.... That's because I'm actively listening. But 99% of the time my mind ignores all these noises. It's hard to imagine heat pumps dramatically adding to my current suburban noise array. https://lnkd.in/eEtWtDSZ #heatpump #sustainablehomes #netzero

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Honoured to sponsor and speak at an insightful panel event in Parliament on greening the UK gas grid through biomethane. With Rachael Burford from the Evening Standard leading the discussion, we explored practical approaches to decarbonising gas usage and reducing harmful methane emissions. Future Biogas' Carbon Harvest project demonstrated how unsubsidised biomethane is already supporting industries in reaching Net Zero while providing a practical alternative to fossil fuels. It's clear that demand for gas will persist beyond 2050, as renewable electricity alone can't meet the needs of all industrial practices. We heard how AstraZeneca has reduced its gas usage, introducing biomethane to fulfil essential requirements for sterilisation and steam in the pharmaceutical sector. With methane having 80 times the warming impact of CO2, using biomethane derived from agricultural and food waste not only harnesses a valuable energy source but also helps reduce the climate impact of waste. Biomethane can play a key role in our clean energy transition, particularly in sectors where electrification isn’t feasible, like brick and glass manufacturing, in heating historic buildings such as Parliament and in hospitals requiring energy intensive processes for sterilisation. A smart, flexible, low carbon energy mix will need green gases like biomethane, hydrogen, and synthetic gases—not fossil fuels. This was a fascinating discussion about a technology and industry already making a positive impact on our economy and climate. Huge thanks to Philipp Lukas of Future Biogas, Howard Forster of Cadent Gas Limited , and Lord Rupert Redesdale for their insights into the role of biomethane on our journey to net zero. Let’s keep advancing green gas initiatives! #biomethane #cleanenergy #netzero

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📝 NEW REPORT: State of the Climate for the UK Energy Sector Professionals in weather, climate and energy can now benefit from a 16-month analysis of the key challenges and impacts that face the energy industry. Download the report at https://lnkd.in/eG2adBbg

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Is the Energy from Waste sector really the 'dirtiest' form of power in the UK? We hear about the sector's thoughts, plus many more news stories in this week's EfW Net news bulletin. 👉 Read it here: https://lnkd.in/e7Pnty72

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📢 The CCSA welcomes the Labour Party’s 2024 General Election Manifesto commitments, confirming an additional £1 billion to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture, and setting out a further £8.3bn a year for Great British Energy to co-invest in capital-intensive projects in leading technologies to deliver clean power. 🗨 CEO Ruth Herbert MPhys FEI highlights the need for timely financial decisions on Track-1 clusters and swift progress on Track-2 and expansion projects to meet the 2030 operational targets and CO₂ capture goals. Read Ruth's full statement below. 👇 👇 #CCUS | #CarbonCapture | #NetZero

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❌ Myth: Renewable energy projects have a negative impact on biodiversity. ✔️ Fact: UK renewable energy developers must adhere to stringent planning processes, including conducting biodiversity assessments and submitting nature plans, to safeguard local ecosystem habitats. This means that the coexistence of renewable projects and biodiversity is not only possible, but essential. But at NatPower UK, we're committing to at least double the biodiversity net gain targets mandated by law for all of our projects, striving to create value for the land and local communities 🐝 Discover more about how NatPower is championing a nature-positive and clean energy future: natpower.uk

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The Scottish Climate Intelligence Service (SCIS) is now on LinkedIn! 🎉 The #SCIS is a climate change capacity-building programme for local authorities in Scotland, combining a national digital platform and a support service co-designed by the delivery partners and local authorities from across the country. Our digital platform - ClimateView - will collate area-wide emissions data to create standardised emissions inventories across all 32 of Scotland's local authorities. It will also calculate and visualise the emissions reduction impact of particular projects and interventions taken by local authorities in delivering their own area-wide emissions reduction strategies. Through workshops, knowledge-sharing sessions and 1-2-1s, our tailored support service will help local authorities to build the skills, knowledge and influence to use this data to better plan, monitor and deliver #climateaction at the scale and pace required for achieving their #netzero targets. The SCIS is delivered by a partnership between Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, ClimateView and the Improvement Service. This partnership brings together expert climate knowledge, practitioner insights and a track record of successfully supporting local authorities to deliver high quality, efficient local services both in Scotland and across the world. Follow us here to stay up to date with the SCIS journey and share this page with any colleagues and contacts who might be interested! If you have questions about who we are and what we do, you can contact us at [email protected]. COSLA Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) Sustainable Scotland Network #climatechange #localgovernment #NetZero #collaboration #knowledgesharing #

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🚨New Consultation on Expanding the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS)🚨 The UK ETS Authority, comprising the Scottish Government, UK Government, Welsh Government, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland, has launched a consultation on extending the UK ETS to include energy from waste and waste incineration. 🔍 Consultation Details: • Scope and coverage • Adjusting the UK ETS cap for waste • Participation in the scheme • Impacts and risk reduction 📢 Call for Evidence on incentivizing heat networks through the UK ETS. 📄 Read the full consultation here: https://lnkd.in/efeeXUMq ⏳ Deadline for response: Thursday, 18th July 2024. Submit your responses via our online portal: https://lnkd.in/etzRnPiB 📚 Additional Resources: • Analytical annex with impact factors • Research on Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (to be published soon) For questions, please contact: [email protected] Let's work together for a greener future! 🌍💚 #UKETS #ClimateAction #Sustainability

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Read the blog on European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry (ECMI) by our Professor Owen Jones! He dives into the statistics behind wastewater monitoring, an area that's become critical as the UK faces rising raw sewage releases due to growing populations and underfunded infrastructure. Go to 👉 bit.ly/3AyXtbk

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In 2022, the total GHG #emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O) for the geographical area of #Cambridgeshire were 6.45 million tonnes CO2e. #Transport was the highest emitting sector in the county, accounting for 27% of emissions, followed by land use, land use change and forestry (#LULUCF), at 23%. The #carbon footprint of the geographical area of Cambridgeshire comprises GHG emissions from commercial and industrial sources, domestic homes, transport, agriculture, waste and land use. The vast majority of this is outside of the control of the Council. We have used the data published by the UK Government Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on GHG emissions by local authority area to identify the #carbonfootprint of the geographical area of Cambridgeshire. These emissions are broken down into sub-sectors as illustrated in this chart. This shows that most of the transport emissions are from A-roads, most of the LULUCF emissions are from #peatland, and most of the domestic emissions are from #gas use. Land use and agricultural emissions are both very high in Cambridgeshire, partly due to the prevalence of peat soils and also due to the county’s rural economy, being a significant producer of food. Cambridgeshire’s emissions per person in the population are 9.4 tonnes CO2e in a year, which is higher than the UK average of 5.6 tonnes, due to being mainly a rural area and the larger emissions from land use, agriculture and transport in our county. However, in the city of #Cambridge, emissions per person are lower than average, at 3.7 tonnes CO2e per person, due to the higher population density there. Chart by me, using data from DESNZ.

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In 2022, the total GHG #emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O) for the geographical area of #Cambridgeshire were 6.45 million tonnes CO2e. #Transport was the highest emitting sector in the county, accounting for 27% of emissions, followed by land use, land use change and forestry (#LULUCF), at 23%. The #carbon footprint of the geographical area of Cambridgeshire comprises GHG emissions from commercial and industrial sources, domestic homes, transport, agriculture, waste and land use. The vast majority of this is outside of the control of the Council. We have used the data published by the UK Government Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on GHG emissions by local authority area to identify the #carbonfootprint of the geographical area of Cambridgeshire. These emissions are broken down into sub-sectors as illustrated in this chart. This shows that most of the transport emissions are from A-roads, most of the LULUCF emissions are from #peatland, and most of the domestic emissions are from #gas use. Land use and agricultural emissions are both very high in Cambridgeshire, partly due to the prevalence of peat soils and also due to the county’s rural economy, being a significant producer of food. Cambridgeshire’s emissions per person in the population are 9.4 tonnes CO2e in a year, which is higher than the UK average of 5.6 tonnes, due to being mainly a rural area and the larger emissions from land use, agriculture and transport in our county. However, in the city of #Cambridge, emissions per person are lower than average, at 3.7 tonnes CO2e per person, due to the higher population density there. Chart by me, using data from DESNZ.

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👩‍💻 🏛 The #UK government is committed to integrating more renewable energy into the UK Energy Grid. However, the variable nature of these energy sources, compared to fossil fuels, poses challenges to the capacity and stability of the grid. In this policy brief, Dr Ahmed F. Zobaa reports on how Hosting Capacity Assessments can help the UK Energy Grid address these challenges. 👉 Read the policy brief here: http://tiny.cc/otonzz CBASS Research, Justin Fisher, Rosanna Smith

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How is the weather impacting the UK’s energy sector? The new State of the Climate for the UK Energy Sector report details key information to help the energy community better understand the impact of weather on their operations, and prepare for future extremes in a changing climate. Download the report today at https://lnkd.in/eG2adBbg.

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Biomass power station produced four times emissions of UK coal plant, says report Drax received £22bn in subsidies despite being UK’s largest emitter in 2023, though company rejects ‘flawed’ research The Drax power station was responsible for four times more carbon emissions than the UK’s last remaining coal-fired plant last year, despite taking more than £0.5bn in clean-energy subsidies in 2023, according to a report. The North Yorkshire power plant, which burns wood pellets imported from North America to generate electricity, was revealed as Britain’s single largest carbon emitter in 2023 by a report from the climate thinktank Ember. The figures show that Drax, which has received billions in subsidies since it began switching from coal to biomass in 2012, was responsible for 11.5m tonnes of CO2 last year, or nearly 3% of the UK’s total carbon emissions. Drax produced four times more carbon dioxide than the UK’s last remaining coal-fired power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, which is due to close in September. Drax also produced more emissions last year than the next four most polluting power plants in the UK combined, according to the report. Frankie Mayo, an analyst at Ember, said: “Burning wood pellets can be as bad for the environment as coal; supporting biomass with subsidies is a costly mistake.” The company has claimed almost £7bn from British energy bills to support its biomass generation since 2012, even though burning wood pellets for power generation releases more emissions for each unit of electricity generated than burning gas or coal, according to Ember and many scientists. In 2023, the period covered by the Ember report, it received £539m. The government is considering the company’s request for billpayers to foot the cost of supporting its power plant beyond the subsidy scheme’s deadline in 2027 so it can keep burning wood for power until the end of the decade. Drax has won the support of the government thanks to claims that its generation is “carbon neutral” because the trees that are felled to produce its wood pellets absorb as much carbon dioxide while they grow as they emit when they are burned in its power plant. The company plans to fit carbon-capture technology at Drax using more subsidies, to create a “bioenergy with carbon capture and storage” (BECCS) project and become the first “carbon-negative” power plant in the world by the end of the decade. A spokesperson for the company dismissed the thinktank’s findings as “flawed” and accused its authors of ignoring its “widely accepted and internationally recognised approach to carbon accounting”. https://lnkd.in/gFFueizW

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New toolkit for council clean energy plans A​​​​​​​ new toolkit​​​ from distribution system operator UK Power Networks and local climate network UK100 aims to equip local authorities with the knowledge and resources for clean energy ambitions. ​​​Called Navigating the Net Zero Energy Transition: A toolkit for local authorities, it has been d​​​​​​esigned specifically for elected ​​​leaders​​​​​​​, cabinet members, and officers.​​ ​​​Local authorities across the UK are already witnessing changes, from a rise in local renewable energy projects to increasing demand for electric vehicle chargepoints and other green energy infrastructure. ​​ Now councils can collaborate and share insights with peers who are facing similar challenges and working towards similar goals. Read the full story on the Transport + Energy website: https://lnkd.in/eFm6g6Ak UK100 , UK Power Networks , Christopher Hammond , Lynne McDonald James Watson , Tracey Elsey #transport #energy #councils

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As the UK seeks to publish a ‘spatial plan’ to map clean energy infrastructure - after research identified 15 year waits for £200bn of renewable energy projects. What might we learn from HS2 to keep this National infrastructure program on time and budget? #systemsthinking #designthinking #infrastructure

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How far along are you with your Phase 4 Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) application? Let us know in the comments! 👇 1️⃣ Read the Phase 4 Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme webpage 2️⃣ Downloaded the guidance notes 3️⃣ Watched our videos on carbon cost calculations and targeted allocation 4️⃣ Attended one of our webinars 5️⃣ Browsed our FAQ page 6️⃣ Discussed your application internally 7️⃣ Registered for your Salix account on our application portal 8️⃣ Started your application 9️⃣ Saved your progress 🔟 Submitted your application

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Commercial solar panels can significantly reduce your electricity bills and carbon footprint. 🌞 🌱 Find out why solar energy is transforming UK businesses and how you can join the revolution: https://lnkd.in/dYBBHS_F #SolarPower #SustainableBusiness #EnergySavings

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