Tidal Energy

An interesting little piece about a new form of tidal electricity generation.

Harnessing the vast energy of the UK's coastal tides could become much simpler and cheaper with a new design for the next generation of underwater turbines.

Leaving aside the technical details (essentially, put it the other way around, vertical not horizontal, as can be done with certain windmill designs) this is good news. Cheaper to build, cheaper to maintain than current designs. All good stuff.

However, this isn't a good argument for immediately investing in installing renewables. In fact, it's an excellent argument for not installing yet.

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Mindboggling

I'm at the UKIP party conference today and just by chance this story turns up in the Register.

A former chief scientific advisor to the government has said that EU renewable-energy quotas will cause widespread fuel poverty. Sir David King believes that European heads of state, in agreeing the targets, may have mistaken electricity usage for total energy consumption - leading to overly ambitious and expensive goals being set.

The question is, how did we end up with a target of 20% of all energy from renewables? Given that almost all renewable generation methods, as well as being horrendously...

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They've done it

The Russian billionaires behind TNK-BP must surely be rejoicing as it emerges Robert Dudley has finally given in and says he will step down before the year’s out. He will be replaced by a new Russian-speaking independent chief executive, according to the Times, with several new independent directors joining the board. So for now both sides may have called a truce but I doubt this is the last of the strife we hear from BP’s turbulent Russian venture.

The September issue has arrived

The September issue of Spectator Business can now be accessed online by clicking here. This month we have a special report on energy. Take a look at Andrew Kenny’s article on why nuclear power makes sense and then flick over to Matthew Lynn’s piece on why biofuels don’t!