Research on fuelling fuel cells in Japan

Two more energy-related items from Japan for Sustainability:

Project to Create Hydrogen from Food Waste and Used Cooking Oil
Kyoto City has launched a research project to produce hydrogen for fuel cells from food waste and used cooking oil for the first time in Japan. This is a joint research project with Kyoto University, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Biogas Study Group.

Solid Methanol for Fuel Cells
Kurita Water Industries Ltd. has announced that it has solved the safety and portability problems of methanol fuel by developing the world's first solid methanol. The company applies its clathrate compound technology to liquid methanol, which is used as fuel for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs).

100% Renewable Energy Microgrid using a Private Transmission Line

News from the ever-interesting Japan for Sustainability site:

The Japanese New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), an independent administrative agency, has begun a test to demonstrate a new decentralized energy supply system using a private transmission line (5 kilometres in length) in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture. A total of 710 kilowatts of electricity generated by gas engines, photovoltaics and wind turbines, is being supplied to city hall, elementary and junior high schools and other buildings in the city.

The NEDO web site has more information on this project, including a diagram.

UK Energy Review Consultation

In the UK the Secretary of State (chief minister) at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Minister for Energy have launched the public consultation document "Our energy challenge: securing clean, affordable energy for the long term" as part of the review of UK energy policy.

The consultation has a broad scope and considers all aspects of the energy system, including energy supply and demand. It sets out the energy challenges the UK is now facing, and invites responses to the evidence presented and to what should be done to secure clean, affordable energy for the long term.

DTI wants to stimulate a wide-ranging and informed debate on energy policy issues both over the 12-week consultation period and beyond.

Follow this link to access the consultation document. A summary of the main questions asked in the consultation follows:

Q.1. What more could the government do to reduce UK carbon emissions?

Q.2. With the UK becoming a net energy importer and with big investments to be made over the next twenty years in generating capacity and networks, how should the government develop the UK market framework for delivering reliable energy supplies?

Q.3. The Energy White Paper left open the option of nuclear new build. What particular considerations should apply to nuclear new build, including long-term liabilities and waste management, and how should the government address them?

Q.4. Are there particular considerations that should apply to carbon abatement and other low-carbon technologies?

Q.5 What further steps should be taken towards meeting the government’s goals for ensuring that every home is adequately and affordably heated?

Comments are also invited on the following issues:

i. The long term potential of energy efficiency measures and how best to achieve that potential;

ii. Implications for the transmission and distribution networks of significant new build in gas and electricity generation;

iii. Opportunities for more joint working with other countries on energy policy goals;

iv. Potential measures to help bring forward technologies to replace fossil fuels in transport and heat generation in the medium and long term.