Fukushima iodine detected in Glasgow

Low levels of radioactive iodine thought to be from the crippled Fukushima power plant in Japan have been detected in Glasgow. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) revealed today that an air sampler reported the presence of the radioactive material. The value reported is extremely low and is consistent with reports from other European countries […]

Need for nuclear in UK has never been stronger says David King

Despite the events in Fukushima in Japan, the case for a new nuclear programme in the UK has never been stronger. And Britain could realise a £10bn economic opportunity through adopting a new approach to nuclear that would tackle concerns over security of supply, rising oil prices and safety issues. That’s the conclusion of a […]

More people call time on clock switch plan

The number of people opposed to single dounble summertime (SDST) has fallen by 17% over the past six months, according to new research. SDST proposes moving the clocks forward by one hour throughout the year to Greenwich Mean Time+1 in winter and GMT+2 in the summer. This is compared to the current hours of GMT […]

Food waste leads to 6% of UK water footprint

Households in the UK use 6.2 billion cubic metres of water every year to produce food that they then throw away. The statistic is the highlight of the first ever study of the water and carbon footprint of wasted household food in the UK. The survey was jointly published by the Waste & Resources Action […]

Electric car test drives hit the fast lane

Fourteen people yesterday each took delivery of a 100% electric Nissan Leaf car as part of a major low carbon vehicle test drive in North East England. The Switch EV project, which began last September, is one of eight UK projects supported by the Technology Strategy Board’s £25m Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles Demonstrator Programme and […]

Government has failed builders over Green Deal says FMB

The Federation of Master Builders says last week’s Budget “failed to ignite the forthcoming Green Deal programme to retrofit our nation’s homes”. The trade group has attacked George Osborne and the government for not introducing incentives such as a cut in VAT for energy efficient repairs. FMB director general Richard Diment said: “The Chancellor missed […]

Edinburgh takes Green Bank bid to Parliament

A bid to bring the Green Investment Bank to Scotland will begin tomorrow at Westminster. Leading business players and Scottish MPs will be at the House of Commons to make a case for locating the bank in Edinburgh. The site of the bank seems to be a two-horse race between London and Edinburgh. London’s backers […]

UK drops out of global top 10 for clean energy finance

The UK suffered the largest decline in clean energy finance and investment of all the G-20 countries last year. And the reason for this, says a report published today, is that uncertainty surrounding clean energy policies in Britain is causing investors to look elsewhere for opportunities. The study by US group The Pew Charitable Trusts […]

Tata Steel steps up £11m PV factory work

Global steel giant Tata is stepping up its photovoltaic project in Wales. Tata is in a joint venture with solar cell manufacturer Dyesol to set up the world’s first continuously manufactured dye sensitised photovoltaic product on steel. The £11m project is due to open in Shotton in North Wales in June and this week the […]

Dong sells half of Anholt wind farm for £708m

Dong Energy has sold half of its soon-to-be-built Anholt offshore wind farm to a consortium for £708m. PensionDanmark will take a 30% stake while fellow pension company PKA will acquire 20%. Dong will start building Anholt next year, and with 111 turbines generating 400 megawatts, it will be Denmark’s biggest wind farm. In December, Dong […]