The new frontier of offshore wind power is floating wind turbines. That’s because they can be installed in deep water where wind speeds are consistently higher. The new designs have the floating turbines, that bob and sway with the waves and wind, stabilised with ballast or anchored with chains to the seafloor. Emma Edwards at Oxford University looks at the six major categories of design: Spar, Barge, Tension-leg platform, Semi-submersible, … [Read more...]
Heat Pump + Gas Boiler hybrids can reduce bills and emissions faster than a 100% heat pump roll out
The reduction in buildings emissions is well off track, not least in the residential sector. Something governments and millions of households are well aware of. The problem with replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump is the up-front cost and disruption. Installing the heat pump alone can cost several thousands more than replacing a gas boiler. On top of that, you should properly insulate your home and replace the radiators. Jovana Radulovic at … [Read more...]
The 10 big problems with simply replacing fossil cars with electric
The planned rapid transition to electric vehicles has major challenges. Schalk Cloete compiles them into a list of ten, including: preserving our car-centric cities preserves its inefficiencies and societal costs; it works against much of the personal “behaviour change” we need; though BEVs (battery electric vehicles) are better in cities, when infrastructure costs are included they are less efficient than hybrids and modern ICEs for many driving … [Read more...]