2013-05-24T22:54:26-04:00 Sara Custer http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=sara-custer Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Sara Custer Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1321729 2012-03-05T15:16:17-05:00 2012-05-05T05:12:01-04:00

Sara Custer http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-custer/ Green Deal" in which he will tell businesses to "get serious about saving energy". It is essential that he also not miss this opportunity to get serious about creating green electricity through modern day alchemy: Anaerobic Digestion (AD).

AD transforms biomass made up of base materials like food waste, energy crops, crop residues, slurry, manure and sewage into noble, golden, renewable methane. The biomass from homes, supermarkets, businesses and farms is broken down in sealed containers by naturally occurring micro-organisms producing Biogas- a mixture of 60% methane, 40% carbon dioxide which can be used for heating or electricity.

Currently there are 60 functioning AD plants in the UK - paltry compared to Germany's more than 3,000. In the past AD was used in sewage treatment plants but in the last few years, the National Union of Farmers has established standards for a long lasting AD industry. Indeed at the same time the government is pushing 15% renewable energy goals, the NFU is campaigning to increase AD plants to 1,000 by the end of the decade.

Germany understands that more AD plants means self-sustainable farms and greenhouses, year-round home-grown food, green electricity being pumped into the grid and less waste going into landfills.

Private investors are starting to get the idea as well. Tamer Energy has just secured financial backing of £65m to develop a network of 40 AD plants around the UK. Funding came from The Prince of Wales, financier Jacob Rothschild and J Sainsbury.

It might seem a bit unfair to compare the UK to green bastion Germany, but I'm not the only one. In his first week on the job, environmental think tank Green Alliance hosted an invitation only debate between Davey and former German Environment Minister Professor Dr Klaus Töpfer to discuss what impact the financial crisis will have on the green economic transition.

A post on GA's blog written by Dr. Caroline Johnson outlining what Germany can learn from England came out before the debate and an infographic explaining just what the green growth differences are in both countries after.

What the UK government and GA's post and subsequent infographic leave out however is: how the UK can learn from Germany and take AD from just waste management to a viable source of electricity. I wasn't at the debate so I can't say first hand what was covered but following #gadebate12 on Twitter, I assume AD didn't come up there either.

Government has been slow to improve the lot of the AD industry. If Mr. Davey ever hopes to embed efficient energy across the sector, he should take more practical action to encourage AD through clearer regulations, more financial backing and establish fair trading in the electricity market between the companies who have a monopoly and AD producers. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1281971 2012-02-16T19:00:00-05:00 2012-04-17T05:12:01-04:00

Sara Custer http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-custer/ Friends of the Earth, recently argued that biofuel could add £2bn to the price of petrol by 2020 based on its recent research. Not only is this announcement a simplified criticism of an emerging industry, but coming from an environmental agency it could potentially harm public view of the bio fuel sector.

Before you can walk you must crawl. If you've ever seen a baby standing up for the first time, you'll know that going from four-ped to two is never instantaneous. It's a cautious process involving sways, tumbles, bumps and sometimes even tears.

The UK Bio fuel industry is trying to find its feet as the EU and international government set ambitious sustainable development goals. It's true the bio fuel sector lacks balance, there have already been plenty of bumps and tears I'm sure, but that's no reason to negate the impact it will have on decreasing the UK's greenhouse gas emissions in the future.

EU renewable energy directives are aiming to increase green energy usage to 20% by 2020. The UK has set its sights on a target of 15% with transport energy making up 10% of that.

Currently, biofuel makes up four per cent of road transport fuel with regulations demanding that rise to 5% by 2013. Getting to 10% in just eight years is a big ask considering the nascent stages of biofuel technology and investor interests.

Friends of the Earth predict that bioethanol fuel will be 16-35p more expensive than petrol per litre and biodiesel 29-42p more expensive than diesel putting a strain on consumers and businesses.

Any oil market investor will tell you the difficulties in foreseeing the price of oil-per-barrel in three months, much less eight years. Instead of disregarding bio fuels as a future burden on consumer's wallets, Friends of the Earth should encourage the industry to expand on cheaper alternatives that not rely so heavily on food biomass.

A new project in Teeside looks promising as it uses bio-degradable commercial and household waste to make car fuel and electricity. Rubbish to make your car run, who would have thought?! Plans like this would also alleviate some of Friends of the Earth's concerns about the biofuel industry's impact on poor and developing nations.

According to its research, international biofuels companies have claimed land larger than the British Isles, robbing local communities of their livelihoods and pushing up food prices. The study also claims that the C02 emissions from growing crops for biofuels could increase by 13 million tonnes a year.

It's good that Friends of the Earth are coming forth with this information as a harsh criticism of an industry that in theory holds sustainability to high regard. This industry, like any other, could contribute to the decline of social sustainability which is why UK and EU governments need to establish standards and tight regulations, especially if they are going to push such ambitious green energy goals. Not only will strict governance keep costs down and prevent exploitation of poorer countries, it will show the public that biofuels are a safe and reliable alternative to petrol or diesel.

There is no one solution to lowering green house gases and certainly no one solution within biofuels. We've got still much to learn about alternatives to fossil fuels. While government targets might be demanding, the technology developed today will form the foundation for better and more sustainable technology tomorrow which could be used in tandem with the other green alternatives Friends of the Earth propose like improved public transport, more efficient cars and safer cycling networks.

If we and future generations are ever to benefit from the growth in leaps and bounds of the biofuel industry, we must first accept that there are going to be tumbles and falls along the way.]]>