All articles by Lindsay Dodgson
Lindsay Dodgson
Cuts and uncertainty: the UK’s anaerobic digestion sector
The UK Government has proposed to reduce support for anaerobic digestion projects in the UK by slashing subsidies and reducing the amount of energy they can provide. There is a lot of innovative technology in the sector, but is this enough to keep projects standing, or does the industry still need a significant amount of support?
SunShot: standardising solar across the US
The US Department of Energy recently launched the SunShot Orange Button initiative, a plan to simplify and standardise data across solar projects while also improving quality and transparency. Organising so many varied players won’t be easy, but the project could vastly improve the way the industry integrates and operates, and potentially boost the sector.
Iceland CCS: Transforming emissions into limestone
A project in Iceland has shown that carbon dioxide can be safely stored in basalt rocks by transforming captured and dissolved CO2 into limestone. The researchers think this could be the perfect solution to make CCS a viable option for fossil fuel operators, but can companies be convinced?
Are low oil prices good news for offshore wind?
As costs fall and renewables become a higher global priority, big players in oil and gas are turning their attention to offshore wind. But will there be a market for them in the years to come?
Rising tide in the UK: Isle of Wight tidal project
In April the Marine Management Organisation granted approval for the deployment and operation of a 30MW tidal project off the Isle of Wight called the Perpetuus Tidal Energy Centre. The team believes that tidal power is set to surge and this project could set a precedent for the future, but can it compete with other more common renewable energy generation methods?
Capturing emissions: ExxonMobil and FuelCell take on CCS
Oil giant ExxonMobil is hoping to make its name in the carbon capture and sequestration market after pairing up with FuelCell Energy to try out a new technology which involves fuel cells. The combination of expertise is likely to result in a more efficient means of capturing emissions, as well as saving power plants money, but is this enough to finally make the process mainstream?
Is nuclear storage in South Australia a glowing prospect?
An Australian royal commission has released tentative findings backing an idea to store other countries’ spent nuclear fuel in South Australia, arguing that risks could be mitigated by storing it in geologically stable areas with techniques borrowed from Scandinavia. Could this idea work in practice, and what could it mean for the future of nuclear power around the world? Rod James reports.
Steama.co: smart energy management for rural Africa
Steama.co is the market leader in technology for managing off-grid renewable energy networks in emerging markets, and it is helping utilities and customers communicate and link up in rural Africa. The continent is home to millions of people who go without electricity every day, and Steama.co is helping to change that with more distributed energy generation and data analytics.
Lean and clean: why modern coal-fired power plants are better by design
New coal-fired power plant design prioritises operational efficiency and emissions reduction. Julian Turner looks at lessons learned from China, pioneering technology in Denmark, Germany and Japan, and asks if ‘clean coal’ has a meaningful role to play in the future global energy mix.
Trans Mountain Oil Sands: new pipeline, same old problems?
The National Energy Board of Canada has recommended that plans for the Trans Mountain oil sands pipeline go ahead, initiating protests from tribal and environmental groups. The plans could benefit Canada’s economy, especially after the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, but it could also have detrimental effects on wildlife; arguments that Prime Minister Trudeau has until the end of 2017 to weigh up.