A summary of Wednesday’s news…
ENERGY DESK
Fracking licences in Osborne, Hague and Davey’s constituencies. Just under half the Cabinet may face drilling for shale gas or oil within their constituencies. Check which MPs face fracking in their back yard with our interactive map.
UK
Lib Dems could embrace nuclear power and shale gas
As part of the party’s Green Growth and Green Jobs policy motion, the Lib Dems could say yes to using “limited” amounts of nuclear power and shale gas to shift the economy towards a "zero carbon Britain". The policy will be debated at their upcoming annual conference in Glasgow.
Lib Dems propose banning petrol and diesel cars by 2040
Also to be voted on in Glasgow is a radical plan for the roads. Under the plan only electric vehicles and ultra-efficient hybrid cars would be allowed on UK roads. However petrol and diesel vehicles would still be allowed for freight.
Research by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) suggests ground source heat pumps could earn homeowners without access to mains gas up to £3,000 a year. The findings are based on the new Renewable Heat Incentive tariff of 18.8p/kWh for ground source heat pumps. The EST also found air source heat pumps could generate income worth around £1,350.
Balcombe activists set to up the ante
As protests against fracking in the West Sussex village enter its 14th day, the campaign No Dash For Gas announced it plans to hold a six-day action camp between 16th-21st August with the intention of stopping Cuadrilla drilling.
WORLD
Poland: seven charged over shale gas bribes
Four Energy Ministry officials and three businessmen have been charged with accepting bribes to help companies win shale gas exploration licences. The Polish government has handed out over 100 exploration licences but many major investors have abandoned the country, once seen as the Europe’s shale goldmine.
World Bank gives major African hydro power plant go ahead
The Bank has approved $340m funding for the project in central Africa’s Great Lakes region. The facility will deliver 62MW electrical power to one of the most energy-impoverished regions in the world. According to Reuters less than 15% of the population in Burundi, Tanzania and Rwanda currently have access to electricity.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced his government will get directly involved in the Fukushima clean-up. Toxic water is now threatening to spill out into the Pacific, in what Mr Abe described as an “urgent issue.
Will black wind turbines help birds?
A trial in Norway by Statkraft has begun to reduce the impact of wind farms on birds by painting turbine blades black or covering them with ultra violet paint. Although research has shown wind turbines do not lead to a long term decline in populations, birds are known to collide with them.
