The latest Public Attitudes Tracker by the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) suggests that approx 80% of people in the UK expressed support for renewable energy, with 445 strongly supporting it. Only 2% oppose the use of renewable energy.
80% of the respondents support solar energy
79% support wave and tidal power
77% are in favour of offshore wind farms
73% are in favour of onshore wind energy generation
This ties in with the findings that 80% of the UK population are either very, or fairly concerned about climate change.
Using fossil fuels has major drawbacks in addition to their combustion emitting greenhouse gases. A considerable portion of the energy produced goes to waste, mostly heat in combustion processes, power plants, and due to high-temperatures.
Specialist consultancy Capgemini recently produced its report ‘Investments in next-generation clean technologies. 55 Tech Quests to accelerate Europe’s recovery and pave the way to climate neutrality.’ in which they identify 55 actionable recommendations around the solutions and projects that can be scaled up to help meet net-zero targets, from new generation solar modules and bifacial solar panels to large-scale hydrogen production and combined solar generation, energy storage, and grids.
Solar takes center stage
Solar technologies took center stage in the report when it came to energy generation, with Capgemini identifying the need for giga-scale manufacturing of new solar modules and increased use of bifacial panels to improve efficiency. This appears to be confirmed by the International Energy Agency’s recent ‘World Energy Outlook’ report in which they place solar energy as the ‘new king’ of the energy sector. They estimate that globally, annual additions of the technology are set to almost triple by 2030 from today’s levels, setting new records for deployment each year after 2022.
Floating offshore wind as a solution
Offshore floating wind was also identified as a technology quest, with a need to “unlock” 80% of Europe’s offshore wind potential through a rapid scale-up of new generation floating wind structures. In the UK there is a growing push in the sector, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently increasing the country’s target to 40GW of offshore wind by 2030. To reach this he has committed £160 million of funding to develop the supply chain, with a particular focus on floating wind.
Heat Pumps are a hot recommendation
The Capgemini report highlighted heat pumps as a technology quest in their own right, with Capgemini identifying the need to multiply the number of installed heat pumps, betting on synergies with the EV industry to launch low-cost heat pump factories.
Storing energy is important
Energy storage was also identified as its own separate technology, with a need to develop viable short to long duration storage alternatives to lithium-ion batteries, which the report suggests may not be the go-to choice for stationary storage for environmental and economic reasons.
More information
Wave energy can be married to offshore wind solutions.
On-site recovering and converting waste heat into energy instead of purchasing replacement electricity
We are delighted to be collaborating with Noviocean on their rapidly developing wave energy converter. We want to help Noviocean in their development of this exciting new technology in whatever way we can.
Noviocean’s mission statement reads “Saving the climate with profitable wave power”.
“We see wave generated energy as an essential part of the mix in our facilitation and funding of renewable energy generation projects around the world”.
Wave energy technology is not new – it has been experimented with for a few hundred years but without any remarkable success. Other wave energy converters are, of course, out there, but they can be too heavy, fragile, complex, and expensive to manufacture, and above all, they provide less electrical energy than they would like to.
Noviocean decided on a completely different approach with the conviction that to succeed, it must be lighter than others, to bring down the cost and to keep it so high in the water that it is not torn by the waves. Likewise, it should be simple, based on well-known technologies, have few parts, and have high efficiency, and not the least, be inexpensive in relation to its output.
Here is Noviocean’s director Jan Skjoldhammer’s story from airline captain to clean energy environmentalist.
After an economic success at a land deal, the plan was crystal clear for the environmentally engaged airline captain Jan Skjoldhammer. Instead of settling down, or continuing to fly, he decided to do something more meaningful with his time and capital. He would develop an innovative and revolutionary wave energy converter (WEC) with the potential to change the entire energy industry.
Given Jan’s background as a pilot, he has a burning passion as well as deep expertise in engines, technology, the sea, and large powerful machines. This, combined with both his willingness and ability to contribute to technical solutions, initiated the idea of a high-performing wave energy converter.
Wave energy technology, as such, is not new; it has been experimented with for a few hundred years but without any remarkable success. Other wave energy converters are, of course, out there, but usually, they are too heavy, fragile, complex, and expensive to manufacture, and above all, they provide far too little electrical energy.
“I decided on a completely different approach with the conviction that to succeed, it must be lighter than others, to bring down the cost and to keep it so high in the water that it is not torn by the waves. Likewise, it should be simple, based on well-known technologies, have few parts, and have high efficiency, and not the least, be inexpensive in relation to its output” says Jan Skjoldhammer.
With an awareness that solar and wind power will not suffice for the increased energy demand as well as the knowledge about the oceans’ potential, the foundation for the NoviOcean wave energy converter by Novige was established.
“I and the team are convinced that different technologies complement each other, which is a must if we are to solve the climate challenges and the problems surrounding energy access”, concludes Jan Skjoldhammer.
Learn more about Novige and Noviocean
Novige have a highly visual company page on LinkedIn with news, images and video.
They also have a highly informative website for more about the company, the team and the technology
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