Here’s what we’ve got for you this week:
- Energy firms extend ‘meter reading day’ deadline.
- Europe’s energy plan: is it enough to get through winter?
- From Scotland to Sweden: How smart cities are helping residents save energy.
- The Long-Sought Step-Change In Renewable Energy Battery Tech May Have Arrived.
- The Sustainable Future of Food Must Bring Everyone to the Table.
Energy firms extend ‘meter reading day’ deadline
If you use a domestic or commercial energy meter that requires manual readings to be taken, then this is important information for you.
Energy companies have told customers they have up to a week to submit readings. Submissions must be taken before the next rate increase on October 1. In March, providers’ websites buckled under the strain of thousands of customers trying to submit meter readings at the last minute. This is what energy providers are trying to avoid.
British Gas and Shell Energy have offered customers up to 30 days to submit a reading. Submitting a reading today would ensure that energy companies have an accurate picture of households’ usage.
Europe’s energy plan: is it enough to get through winter?
European energy ministers are due to convene on Friday to discuss an EU-wide package of national windfall taxes. Some 15 member states wrote to EU energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, this week demanding a ceiling on wholesale gas prices.
Deutsche Bank predicts that real gross domestic product in the euro area will fall by nearly 3 per cent in aggregate between the second quarter of this year and the same period in 2023. Other EU capitals are watching intently for signs that the soaring cost of living might drive popular unrest and push voters towards more extreme parties.
From Scotland to Sweden: How smart cities are helping residents save energy
The question of what our cities can do for us, energy-wise, has become more urgent than ever. It seems now more cities are utilising IoT and technology to become more efficient and sustainable. As you might imagine, this is right up our street (pardon the pun).
EU-funded RUGGEDISED project aims to decarbonise three cities: Umeå, Rotterdam and Glasgow. Smart cities are built on simple ideas around digitising transport, buildings and other infrastructure. Umeå’s most impactful solution has been better management of demand, says one stakeholder. Sensors were installed in its university buildings, collecting data on human presence, temperature, light and CO2 levels.
The Long-Sought Step-Change In Renewable Energy Battery Tech May Have Arrived
The CEO of vanadium flow batteries hopes to build support for his project in the United States. Vanadium is one of the most abundant minerals on earth, with twice the global volume of zinc.
The United States should not rely on foreign countries for this supply, he says. “The supply chain is just totally nascent”. A vanadium processing plant in Shreveport, Louisiana, could produce 80 million pounds of vanadium per year.
The Sustainable Future of Food Must Bring Everyone to the Table
The world’s food systems are uneven, fragile, and becoming more fragile with the climate crisis. A new coalition of investment entitie s is launching to minimize global hunger through technological innovation. They plan to distribute $2.5 billion in new private investment over the next three years. This and more were recently covered at RE:WIRED Green 2022, you can read all about it over at Wired.
That’s everything for this weeks Hark Friday Five, thanks for reading – we’ll see you next week.
