Research on the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) and Zero Carbon Britain

The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) 

(CAT Logo) 

(About the Centre for Alternative Technology) 

The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) was established by environmentalist, Gerard Morgan-Grenville in 1975, constructed in the disused Llwyngwern Slate Quarry in Powys (mid-Wales) the centre covers a 7 acre site and is dedicated to providing post graduate programmes and short courses based around providing practical solutions to sustainable living. It is one of the few centres of its type in the country acting basically as a living workshop for environmental technologies, it provides functional, physical and hands on displays in all forms of renewable energies and materials. 

"Our site is a unique and valuable practical demonstration centre, a living laboratory with an enormous range of live examples of sustainable solutions. CAT has the largest range of installed renewable systems anywhere. These include: 

• Photovoltaic's 
• Solar thermal
• A micro-grid
• Off-grid and grid-connected systems 
• Biomass combined head and power (CHP) 
• Hydro 
• Air source heat pumps 
• A community heat main
• A range of small to medium wind turbines 
• We also have two reed bed systems, our own off mains water supply and extensive organic gardens." Description taken from the following website link, http://content.cat.org.uk/index.php/about-cat-what-do-we-do. 

Further developments have enabled the centre to offer information on environmental building, energy efficiency and organic growing, thus, attracting a diverse range of disciplines not just engineering. The centre aims to provide the 'green work force' for the future, resultantly, filling the skills gaps in architecture, design and planning. 

I feel that this is an efficacious method of demonstrating to those who are interested in the potential of renewable materials, energy and resources, it provides our populous with the opportunity to alter their lifestyle in favour of the environment. The question is how many people will be prepared to change? 

Zero Carbon Britain 

(Zero Carbon Britain Logo) 

(Short Video on Zero Carbon Britain) 

One of the primary projects that The Centre for Alternative Technology is involved in is 'Zero Carbon Britain', this program aims to reduce the UK's greenhouse gas emissions to net zero, by the year 2030. Research is currently exploring the possibility of consistent renewable energy at all times (i.e. when there is no wind and no sun light), Energy Modeller, Tobi Kellner declares that...

"We looked at all the renewable energy we envisioned for the future, we took weather data for every hour of a 10 year period, for every single one of those hours we looked at how much supply we could have provided, how much demand would there have been, including electricity, heating and transport and how would they have matched. We found that it is absolutely possible, to power the country only on renewable energy" - Quote taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S--isZgYKDM. 

The official website of Zero Carbon Britain explains the methodology of how they would accomplish balancing variable supply and demand...

"In our scenario electricity supply from renewables exceeds demand 82% of the time. We manage a variability to meet demand 100% of the time by: 

• Shifting energy demand by using 'smart' appliances, demand management, and short term energy storage (pumped storage, batteries, heat storage and hydrogen) for storage over hours or days. This means supply meets demand a further 3% of the time. 
• Using long-term energy storage (for weeks or months) in the form of carbon neutral synthetic gas to cover demand the remaining 15% of the time. This represents only 3% of total electricity supply, but is crucial to managing variability as it can be dispatched quickly as and when necessary." - Description taken from the following website link, http://zerocarbonbritain.com/index.php/zcb-latest-report/zcb-managing-variability-with-100-renewables.

I believe that the Zero Carbon Britain program is achievable but potentially unrealistic, this is due to the fact that I am unsure as to whether the entire populous would be willing to give up their luxuries for the more renewable lifestyle. The ideology of altering elements of living such as eating less meat and dairy products in your diet might, for example, result in the extreme carnivore and dairy lover turning away in distaste, additionally motoring sectors such as the Formula 1 and drag racing would not be permitted in England (unless electric) leaving the common petrol head raging in anger. This leaves the question unanswered, what would we be willing to sacrifice for a sustainable lifestyle?