IBM silicon waste can make solar panels - 31-10-2007 - 11:09

Semiconductor engineers at IBM have found a way of turning silicon from the production of microchips into silicon which can be used in solar panels.

The new process will help cut down the energy required to make the photovoltaic cells by up to 90 per cent and makes use of silicon which would otherwise have gone to waste.

Eric White explained to Accountancy Age that the process involved faulty or broken silicon wafers used to imprint patterns on computer chips.

These wafers, instead of being crushed or melted as would have happened before, are scrubbed clean with deionised water and an abrasive pad leaving pure silicon.

They are then used as monitor wafers to test the manufacturing process after which they can be scrubbed again.

The process can be repeated until the wafers are too thin for dummy manufacturing runs, but useful to solar panel manufacturers to whom they are then sold.

Mr White said: "The solar panel manufacturers love them because it gives them highly conversion efficient crystalline silicon that they can use directly in solar panels."

It also cuts the energy footprint of the wafers and IBM's costs "because repurposing scrap means that IBM no longer has to procure the usual volume of net new wafers to meet manufacturing needs".

Carbon calculator for construction companies launched - 23-10-2007 - 15:05

Construction firms have been given a new tool to learn what they can do to reduce their carbon industry.

The carbon calculator, which can be found on the Environment Agency website gives firms the chance to calculate what the carbon dioxide emissions add up to for the materials they have used on site.

Using the calculator will be compulsory for firms at the planning stage of all Environment Agency construction projects.

Andrew Powell, technical advisor at the Environment Agency, said: "At the Environment Agency we are always looking to ways of reducing the environmental impact from our own construction projects. We spend around £200 million a year on construction projects, which accounts for about three per cent of the construction civil engineering sector."

The carbon calculator will take into account the CO2 of the raw materials, emissions from personal travel by employees and the transportation of raw materials.

As well as adding up the carbon cost of construction projects, it gives companies the chance to compare waste management options.

Mr Powell added: "As an environmental regulator, our role is to lead by example and demonstrate what sustainable construction means in practice.

"Promoting resource efficiency and reducing carbon emissions from our construction projects is an important part of that."

Gas-fired power station gets conditional green light - 18-10-2007 - 11:07

Construction on a power plant that could power one million UK homes has been given a conditional go-ahead.

Electrical supplier E.ON was given permission to build a gas fired power station in south Derbyshire by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

Permission for the 1,220MW combined cycle gas power station at Drakelow on the site of an old coal-fired station has been made conditional on various environmental requirements.

The proposed power plant, on which construction will start in 2009, must have the capacity to be retrofitted with a carbon capture plant in the future.

IT must also have plant and pipework installed so that it can supply heat in the future.

Malcolm Wicks, minister of state for energy, said: "In consenting to this project I felt it was important that the potential for utilising heat and capturing carbon emissions from the station is kept open, and the necessary equipment is installed."

'Stunning building sets standards for future' - 15-10-2007 - 16:47

A building that has a range of environmentally-friendly measures, including a biomass boiler has received an award that recognises its "uncompromising commitment to sustainability".

The Dalby Forest Visitor Centre in North Yorkshire won the prime minister's Better Public Building Award at the British Construction Industry Awards.

Built from recycled materials to blend into its background, its energy efficiency impressed the judges from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe).

As well a biomass boiler that burns woodchips, the building sources its water from a local spring, uses rain water to flush toilets and has reused tyres to make the roof.

Its construction was also in keeping with sustainable principles, with materials, machinery and labour from the local area.

Presenting the award, culture minister Margaret Hodge said: "Each of the finalists for the Prime Minister's Award show what excellent design and procurement can bring to local communities and the environment.

"Dalby Forest Visitor Centre is a stunning example of this, setting high standards for the future."

Zero-carbon constructions 'can't use national grid' - 05-10-2007 - 15:07

House building companies will have their construction projects ruled ineligible for the zero-carbon label if they take their energy from the national grid.

As construction companies take into account government targets for all new build homes to be zero-carbon by 2016, the new Code for Sustainable Homes released on Monday revealed that homes that use off-site energy will not qualify.

The house building industry was surprised as it had been expected that the zero-carbon classification could be achieved by purchasing green power from sustainable sources such as wind or wave farms.

Now constructors face extra pressures as to comply with the new regulations they will have to generate energy on the development site.

Chris Watts, director of sustainable construction and technology at consultant Beyond Green, told the Building website: "Does it matter where the energy is produced as long as it is renewable? There are some developers who really want to do the right thing and this just makes it an impossible task."

Design engineers can effect climate change change - 01-10-2007 - 11:36

Design engineers are uniquely placed to influence changes towards more environmentally-aware production, according to the author of The Eco-design Handbook.

Alstair Fuad-Luke told the enigneerlive website that while engineers may feel they don't have the power to make a difference they can do more than they expect.

He suggests starting to make changes immediately, beginning within themselves.

"First raise your own level of awareness about environmental and socio-cultural issues. Newspapers often carry well-informed articles on these subjects, and there are websites that will enable you to keep up to speed with current thinking and the latest developments," he advises.

More practically, he suggested that design engineers look for the areas in which they do have the power to make decisions, highlighting materials selection as a possible area.

"One way to measure the eco-efficiency of materials is to consider the embodied energy. This energy relates to the energy required to extract the raw resources, transport them to a factory and process them into refined materials," he said.