Harnessing and avoiding wind

The UNEP Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2008 Report makes some interesting reading. It appears that sustainable energy is on the rise; nearly $150 billion of new money was raised in 2007 representing a 60% increase from 2006. Wind energy appears to be leading the way and this trend is set to continue according to the European Wind Energy Technology Platform . In their recently published Strategic Research Agenda they indicate that wind energy could provide up to 28% of EU electricity consumption by 2030. Certainly it appears that the UK will be have more wind capacity online soon with the recent announcement that a 315MW wind farm off the coast of Norfolk have been given the thumbs up by Government. However, a word of warning has been sounded about a shortage of skilled operation and maintenance teams for wind farms – it appears that in the US up to 60% of turbines may be behind in critical maintenance.

Moving from wind to solar energy, scientists at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute have proposed to turn asphalt roads and car parks into a giant solar collector. The idea relies on capturing the heat by passing water in pipes through the hot asphalt roads. The hot water could be used "as is" for heating buildings or in industrial processes, or could be passed through a thermoelectric generator to produce electricity.

Maintaining a surprisingly consistent animal theme it has been proposed that Australia should switch farming focus from sheep and cows to kangaroos. It has been estimated that belching (cows) and flatulent (sheep) livestock contribute a whopping 11% of Australia's carbon emissions. Kangaroos, of which there are around 60 million or so (that's three kangaroos to every Australian if my calculations are correct), have a more climate friendly digestive system that means they produce virtually no methane.