All articles by Gary Peters
Gary Peters
Operating a UK wide carbon capture project: can it be done?
Carbon capture and storage has long been mooted as a promising method of making coal-fired plants environmentally acceptable in the 21st century, but last year the British Government scrapped plans to invest £1bn in the nascent technology. Patrick Kingsland finds out what lay behind this decision and asks whether a new parliamentary report led by Lord Oxburgh can revive the case for CSS in the UK.
Grohnde: the world’s most productive nuclear power plant
Grohnde nuclear power station in Lower Saxony, Germany, is the most productive power plants of its size anywhere in the world since it came online in the mid-1980s.
Silent flight: suppressing noise from wind turbine blades with owl-inspired coating
The silent flight of owls is the inspiration behind a research project that aims to reduce the noise of wind turbine blades without affecting aerodynamics. But how could this benefit wind farm operators, and what’s the next step?
Power surge: preventing exploding pavements in London
Over the past five years, there have been 80 incidents of pavements blowing up or catching fire as a result of faults in underground power lines across London. Politicians have called on UK Power Networks to do more, but what is behind the explosions and how can they be stopped?
An uncertain path: Pakistan’s push for nuclear power
Pakistan is eager to expand its use of nuclear power with a fleet of new plants by 2050, backed by support from China. However, this has caused jitters among some, who fear the country could be looking to increase its nuclear arsenal. Gary Peters reports.
A robotic future for nuclear fusion
In May, it was announced that Amec Foster Wheeler will develop a remote handling system for the ITER fusion reactor in France. The seven-year robotics contract will focus on a system that can handle hazardous and sensitive materials remotely, all with the aim of demonstrating the feasibility of nuclear fusion as a future power source.
London’s electric vehicle revolution – ready at last?
Is London on the cusp of an electric vehicle revolution? The announcement of a new car sharing scheme, to start early next year, and an overhaul of the city’s charging points, does point in the right direction, but why has it taken so long?
Sinfonia: energising the European smart city
The EU-funded Sinfonia smart cities project aims to retrofit more than 100,000m2 of living space in two pioneer districts, optimising technologies for electricity grids and district heating and cooling. At the project’s heart is collaboration – the sharing of processes to increase energy savings and develop a coherent framework to expand the use of renewables.