Last month, Dutch research institute, NRG, re-ignited interest in thorium nuclear projects by announcing a new investigation into the use of thorium reactors in collaboration with the EU. The Salt Irradiation Experiment (“Salient”), based at the High Flux Reactor in Petten, will begin with experiments to melt thorium fuel and then bombard it with neutrons to…
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Today I came across a fascinating piece of research which has the potential to be a real game-changer – an international research team led by scientists at The University of Texas and Hanyang University in South Korea has developed high-tech yarns that generate electricity when they are stretched or twisted. In their study, published in…
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The recent entry of Tesla into the PV market has generated renewed interest in building-integrated solar PV – a technology which allows the structure of buildings, walls and windows as well as roofs – to generate electricity thereby reducing the net load of the building. New developments go well beyond simple installation of rooftop solar…
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National Grid has published its latest future energy scenarios going out to 2050. The scenarios are based on the (in)famous energy trilemma: security of supply, de-carbonisation and affordability, and provide what National Grid says are “credible pathways for the future of energy for Great Britain”. In this post I will explore what these scenarios mean…
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Much has been made recently about the potential for electric vehicles (“EVs”) to transform transport and related industries, even going as far as to suggest that demand for oil is close to peaking as EVs displace petrol and diesel vehicles. According to a recent IEA report: “EVs of all types lie at the heart of…
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One of the downsides of the proliferation of smart devices is the seemingly greater proliferation of charging devices. Go on holiday, and one of the first questions is whether sufficient chargers (and adaptors) have been packed for all the phones, tablets, cameras, laptops, e-readers, gaming devices and so on, so it’s not surprising that wireless…
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Explosion of data in the energy industry Big data is everywhere in today’s energy industry and it’s getting bigger. To most people, energy data is about consumption metrics, however data is changing the market in all parts of the value chain. Generators use market data to optimise their dispatch, ramping flexible assets up and down…
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A significant energy innovation in recent years has been the emergence of electric vehicles (“EVs”), however one of the challenges inhibiting their mass deployment relates to the lack of charging points – 33% of households in outer London have no access to off-street parking to charge an EV, rising to 46% in inner London. Innovations in smart…
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Once upon a time we heated our homes and cooked by burning wood we had gathered and chopped ourselves. Later more energy efficient coal was delivered directly to our cellars via small trapdoors at street level. Later yet dirty coal was replaced by cleaner gas, piped to our homes, and/or electricity brought by wires. Instead…
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Last week saw the publication of Stephen Hendry’s long awaited report into the prospects for tidal energy in the UK, and the hyperbole in the press has been interesting to observe. In his report, Hendry concludes: “I believe that the evidence is clear that tidal lagoons can play a cost effective role in the UK’s…
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