UK // Current TV

Facebook Cited in 1/3 of UK Divorce Cases

"Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed his status to “married”... more

Truthitswhatsfordinner
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6 days ago
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France Goes With the Socialist

The austerity regime in Europe took a big hit Sunday, with French voters electing... more

BakedFresh
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23 days ago
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Best food in Brixton market?

Listing and review of Brixton Market restaurants.

ezzye
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24 days ago
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Lots more trouble in Murdochland | Scholars and Rogues

Elsewhere in the report, the committee determined that senior executives at News Of... more

hoosierdaddy
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28 days ago
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The Interview: Irish Setter Seamus Romney Tells The True Story Of His 1983 Car Top Ride To Canada

The real deal.

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1 month ago
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British noise rockers Dragged Into Sunlight tell all

The most mysterious band since Ghost....no they are better... reveal their musical... more

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1 month ago
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ALLFLAWS release Manufactured Violence

UK experimental act Allflaws have released a new single called Manufactured Violence.... more

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1 month ago
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Wildlife and farming disaster warning as drought spreads across England

Most of England is now in drought and the dry spell could last beyond Christmas, the... more

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1 month ago
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Iceland's volcanoes may soon power UK

The energy minister is to visit Iceland in May to discuss connecting the UK to its abundant geothermal energy.

Iceland could soon be pumping low-carbon electricity into the UK under government-backed plans for thousands of miles of high-voltage cables across the ocean floor.

The volcanoes of Iceland could soon be pumping low-carbon electricity into the UK under government-backed plans for thousands of miles of high-voltage cables across the ocean floor.

The energy minister, Charles Hendry, is to visit Iceland in May to discuss connecting the UK to its abundant geothermal energy. "We are in active discussions with the Icelandic government and they are very keen," Hendry told the Guardian. To reach Iceland, which sits over a mid-ocean split in the earth's crust, the cable would have to be 1,000 to 1,500km long and by far the longest in the world.

Hendry has already met the head of Iceland's national grid about the plan. The web of sea-floor cables – called interconnectors – planned for the next decade would link the UK to a Europe-wide supergrid, which is backed by the prime minister. The supergrid would combine the wind and wave power of northern Europe with solar projects such as Desertec in southern Europe and north Africa to deliver reliable, clean energy to meet climate change targets and reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports.

There are two existing international interconnectors, to France and the Netherlands, but nine more are either in construction, formal planning or undergoing feasibility studies. The next to open, in autumn 2012, will be a link between the Republic of Ireland and Wales, allowing green energy from the windswept Atlantic coast of Ireland to be delivered to British homes.

The UK has been energy independent for virtually its entire history. But with the North Sea's oil and gas failing and coal banned as too polluting, Hendry is frank about the future: "We will be dependent on imported energy." The cables "are an absolutely critical part of energy security and for low carbon energy", he said.

The government's legally binding targets to reduce carbon emissions is another key driver for the new interconnectors, which if all built could supply a third of the nation's average electricity demand. Renewable energy, such as the offshore wind power at the heart of the government's renewable plans, is zero carbon once built but is also intermittent, meaning back-up gas plants or energy storage are needed. A 900km interconnector to Norway, due to open by 2019, would enable excess wind energy to pump water into storage lakes above the fjords. Then, when the electricity is needed, floodgates are opened and the water flows back down through turbines. Both the pump storage and the high-voltage direct-current interconnectors lose very little energy.

Another ambitious interconnector would link England to Alderney, where very strong tides could produce 4GW of electricity, and then on to France and the new 1.6GW nuclear power plant being built at Flamanville. Commercial agreements for this were signed in February.

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