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Peter Bennett on Muck Rack

Peter Bennett

London
As seen in: LinkedIn, Wiley Online Library, National Geographic, SAGE Publishing, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, PV Tech Power Magazine, Credible, British Safety Council, Solar Power Portal, Construction Management and
Covers:  solar, solar energy, 'green' living, global energy issues, renewable energy, going green, energy and environment, green energy, electric cars
Environmental Journalist. Editor of Solar Power Portal, Next Energy News and Solar Business Focus UK
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The escalating politicisation of solar farms

The escalating politicisation of solar farms

www.solarpowerportal.co.uk — Here we go again. On Sunday, the department of environment and rural affairs (Defra) released one of the most astonishing press releases I've ever seen. In it, environment secretary Elizabeth Truss claimed that solar farms are 'blighting' the countryside and that her department was taking steps to help control the spread of 'wasteful' solar farms across the beautiful British landscape. First of all, the disconnect from other governmental departments is astonishing: clearly Truss hasn't read the department of energy and climate change's (DECC) national solar strategy very closely and can't have looked at DCLG's revised planning guidance for solar farms (not to mention industry efforts to enforce best practice through STA's 10 Commitments and the National Solar Centre's biodiversity document).
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Does solar need storage to become an integral backbone of UK power?

Does solar need storage to become an integral backbone of UK power?

www.solarpowerportal.co.uk — This article originally appeared in Solar Business Focus UK -- to read more articles on UK solar market developments subscribe today. The very nature of solar energy means that the electricity output from solar PV is variable. One of the most common criticisms levelled at solar energy - and renewables in general - is that the energy generated doesn't align well with the energy demand curve It's a tired criticism that is often recycled in any energy debate. Much to the solar sector's surprise, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) recently advised the government against investing in solar PV in the short term until the perceived problem of 'intermittency' can be fixed by storage.
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Biodiversity is vital for solar developers

Biodiversity is vital for solar developers

www.solarpowerportal.co.uk — Tim Rose from Solarcentury shows Peter Bennett around Saxley solar farm, and discusses the enormous environmental and agricultural benefits of responsible solar development.
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The Next Energy News Show: Robert Llewellyn, BMW i8, and Passivhaus | Next Energy News

The Next Energy News Show: Robert Llewellyn, BMW i8, and Passivhaus | Next Energy News

www.nextenergynews.co.uk — In the inaugural Next Energy News Show, Robert Llewellyn talks about taking on climate change trolls and his disdain for Daily Mail journalists, I get to look around BMW's hybrid batmobile the i8, and we talk to a man who's attempting to use renewables to go off-grid.
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CfDs and the ROC cliff face

CfDs and the ROC cliff face

www.solarpowerportal.co.uk — Developers across the UK feel like they have been dealt a "kick in the teeth" by the government's latest proposals to constrain the deployment of solar in the UK. From April 2015, the government wants to remove all RO support for solar developments over 5MW. The reason being that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has failed to accurately model the current explosion in solar farm deployment. As a result, the proportion of the Levy Control Framework (LCF) budget being eaten up by solar has been deemed too much (no mention of why DECC isn't allocating onshore wind under spend to help support continued solar farm growth though).
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Conservation: Solar farms' greatest ally

Conservation: Solar farms' greatest ally

www.solarpowerportal.co.uk — Earlier this week, a number of conservation groups rallied around solar farms, elucidating on the many benefits that ground-mounted developments can bring. The cause? The potential for large, ground-mounted solar sites to help alleviate one of the UK's most pressing issues - the decimation of our natural habitat. The landmark State of Nature report brought together all of the UK's wildlife organisations for the first time to deliver in a unified voice a stark warning. Sixty-percent of UK species have declined over the last 50 years and 31% have declined strongly.
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How will solar in the UK fare in 2014?

How will solar in the UK fare in 2014?

www.solarpowerportal.co.uk — 2013 proved to be another tumultuous year for the solar industry in the UK, despite early optimism that the UK solar market had finally managed to secure a steady policy framework with sensible degressions, the EU anti-dumping investigation threw all this into disarray. The uncertainty surrounding the European Commission's investigation acted as a severe constraint to deployment and created a " lost quarter " in the UK. Although the fallout from the anti-dumping investigation is still being felt across the market, the UK solar sector has continued to perform strongly.
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Solar industry must fight back after Julian Brazil's deplorable concentration camp analogy

Solar industry must fight back after Julian Brazil's deplorable concentration camp analogy

www.solarpowerportal.co.uk — During a Devon Council meeting about a proposed solar farm, Liberal Democrat councillor, Julian Brazil, reportedly said the following: "They [solar farms] look horrible, not dissimilar to concentration camps. But we are told by the planning minister to press ahead with these." Breathe. Take a moment. Yes - a democratically elected, functioning (that may be questionable ) member of modern society actually compared solar farms to concentration camps. There are a range of reactions to his choice of words: my initial reaction was to laugh at the absurdity of the statement. After a while though, the statement really began to eat away at me.
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Solar in the UK is more compelling than ever

Solar in the UK is more compelling than ever

www.solarpowerportal.co.uk — This week British Gas reported an 11% rise in profits. A particularly cold snap was to thank for a 12% increase in gas consumption that was worth £606 million to the energy giant. British Gas's profit announcement comes less than four months after the supplier upped its tariffs by 6.5%. According to the Express , the average annual British Gas energy bill has risen from £543 in 2004, to £821 in 2008, and now stands at £1,336. What's more concerning is that energy bills in the UK are only going one way - up.
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10 Upcycled Gadgets for Those Who Just Can't Say Goodbye

10 Upcycled Gadgets for Those Who Just Can't Say Goodbye

www.gizmodo.co.uk — For most of us, not even a crippled global economy can temper our insatiable thirst for new technology. The noughties school of consumerism dictates that products older than 18 months are automatically obsolete and destined for nothing more than eBay or the landfill. Why not buck the trend and take a nosy at this collection of 10 upcycled gadgets, mercifully snapped from the icy grip of the grim reaper, and reimagined as new products entirely. There are a lot of people who will argue vociferously that vinyl's still alive and well but, apart from audiophiles, the world and his wife are listening to MP3s.
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E.Tree Found Near Swindon

E.Tree Found Near Swindon

www.gizmodo.co.uk — HOT NEWS IN WILTSHIRE! A 70-year old pensioner called Ken has discovered an effigy of everyone's favourite extra-terrestrial hiding in a tree
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