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Low-carbon, low-heat energy needed

02 December 2008

As well as being low-carbon, electricity generation technologies should generate low waste heat, according to two scientists.

The researchers claim that even if carbon emissions are curbed as is planned, heat lost into the atmosphere could end up leading to climate change.

Nick Cowern and Chihak Ahn of the School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering at Newcastle University predict that if energy use grows at one per cent a year less than it has been in recent history by 2100, enough heat will be lost into the atmosphere to negate the effect of reducing carbon emissions according to current targets.

They claim the solution is in part geoengineering and also selecting low-carbon technologies that have low heat wastage.

Nuclear technology harnesses energy that has been "'locked away" and so creates new heat.

By contrast solar photovoltaics use energy and heat already in the environment.

However, because they reflect the sun' energy, which could otherwise have been absorbed by the floor, they need to be carefully designed to absorb more heat themselves.

The discovery comes as the UK has become legally committed to cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2020.
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Author: Administrator User