energy – Page 8

New approaches needed for nuclear

By Juan Matthews and Neil Irvine Filed Under: All posts, Digital Futures, Energy and Environment, Industry 4.0, Science and Technology Posted: January 22, 2018

Nuclear power is an essential part of the low carbon energy mix and in this piece for Policy@Manchester Professor Juan Matthews and Dr Neil Irvine explain why new approaches are needed to reduce its cost. Nuclear power needs to become cheaper, safer and more flexible. It needs to contribute to a wider usage of energy […]

Keeping us charged- addressing energy storage related issues

By Richard Fields Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering Posted: August 3, 2017

Last week, the Government announced that new diesel and petrol cars and vans will be banned in the UK from 2040 in a bid to tackle air pollution. In light of this, it was also announced that the Government would invest £246m in battery technology. Here, Richard Fields, a Research Associate at the National Graphene […]

The road map to renewable energy

By Patricia Thornley Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Energy and Environment Posted: May 8, 2017

Patricia Thornley, Director of The University of Manchester’s SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub, comments on the UKs desperate need for a road map to renewable energy implementation. In the UK around a third of our energy consumption is used for heating – the next government should mandate energy efficient building design in all new housing developments. Low […]

VIDEO BLOG: Wood stove emissions – how significant are they and how do we minimise them?

By Patricia Thornley Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment Posted: March 22, 2017

Following on from her blog about the role of wood stoves and biomass (wood-burning) energy generation, Professor Patricia Thornley discusses in further detail the factors associated with biomass heating and the emissions they produce.

We must allow nuclear power to play its part in tackling climate change

By Melissa Denecke Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: November 28, 2016

This month, the twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) took place in Marrakech, Morocco. Here, Prof Melissa Denecke reflects on the letter that Women in Nuclear Global wrote on the occasion of COP21 last year and argues that investing in Nuclear Energy is vital to tackling climate change. Decision-makers across the […]

Negotiating for the climate: COP22 vs. The election of Donald Trump

By Simon Chin-Yee and Lauren Gifford Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment Posted: November 16, 2016

This week, the twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) is taking place in Marrakech, Morocco. In light of the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, Simon Chin Yee and Lauren Gifford blog from the conference, reflecting on what the election might mean for global climate change policy. […]

Chernobyl anniversary: dealing with the fallout

By Francis Livens Filed Under: All posts, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: April 26, 2016

Today marks the 30-year anniversary of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl. There are important lessons for governments to learn from the nuclear incidents of the past. The implications of their actions have significant and far-reaching consequences, says Francis Livens, as he reflects on his own experiences of the events during spring 1986. I find it […]

Are land-use policies jeopardising the UK’s resilience to climate change and population growth?

By Claire Hoolohan and Maria Sharmina Filed Under: All posts Posted: April 22, 2016

Land provides a wide range of goods and services to society. But with multiple demands placed on our land, both now and into the future, Claire Hoolohan and Maria Sharmina ask why are land-use policies failing to make the most of UK land? Land is an invaluable resource that sustains much of the UK economy […]

Radiation and risk – why policymakers and the public need facts not fears

By Laura Leay Filed Under: All posts Posted: March 11, 2016

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that caused nearly 20,000 deaths and triggered a major emergency at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station, Japan. In the days that followed, Japanese authorities evacuated around 100,000 people from the area as radiation was released into the atmosphere. But, asks Laura Leay, are policies around radiation […]

Plugging the energy gap: keeping our reactors running, to keep the lights on

By Barry Marsden Filed Under: Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: March 3, 2016

Demand for power continues to increase, and without enabling sufficient access to it, we run into serious economic, social and health problems, argues Prof Barry Marsden. EDF Energy has recently announced the plant life extension of four of their Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactors – in Hartlepool, Heysham and Torness. Extending the operating lifetime of these reactors […]