Piggy Bank or Guinea Pig?

Pig farmers considering setting up a poo-eating anaerobic digester might want to reconsider their motives.  It could be an attractive proposition to generate your own heat and power at the moment, with energy prices what they are, you’d be investing in something that could save you cash in the future, a bit like an enormous piggy bank.

But the cost of a reasonably small-scale AD plant is pretty steep, and may take a long time to pay back.  There is another option, which is becoming more attractive to a certain farmer of my acquaintance.  That is to look at a larger digester which takes “feedstock” (what you put into the digester) from other sources, and turns the digester into a pig-poo-powered money generator (or “guinea-pig” as I call it).

One of these sources could be food waste, diverting grotty smelly stuff away from landfill sites and turning it into energy.  Our farmers could then not just cover their own heat and energy costs, but make that tantalizing transition from food producer to electricity generator.

Breaking Wind

So what’s the deal with wind power? On 10th December 2007 – the Guardian declares ” Thousands of new offshore wind turbines could power every home” echoed by the BBC “10 Dec 2007 … All UK homes could be powered by offshore wind farms by 2020″

Roll the clocks forward, and in May 2008, Shell sells it stake and backs out of the London array.

Meanwhile, in April, the Crown Estate steps in and buys the world’s largest wind turbine for deployment in UK waters, its representative saying It is widely recognised that offshore wind energy will provide the majority of the required contribution needed to ensure that the UK meets its demanding renewable energy target to supply 15 per cent of our consumed energy from renewable sources by 2020.

We’re getting some mixed messages here. Are we breaking records in wind power – or on a heading to breaking our promises?

Some consistency in our approach to wind power would be welcome. All this to-ing and fro-ing makes investors nervous – and nervous investors don’t like to take risks on any project.

It’s not just up to the Government to make the renewables targets achievable, we all have to do our bit to make these projects happen. Sometimes that means seeing things through. Sometimes that means taking a risk. Let’s not make this setback put us on the back foot with our renewables targets. Deep breath. Dust off. Start again. I wish the remaining partners of the London Array luck as they push forward with their plans, and hope they will find the extra support they need to deliver this project without too many delays.