11th March 2021
Ukraine
Unabated coal burning does serious damage. As the dirtiest, most polluting way of producing energy, it’s cheap and plentiful, but it comes at a different sort of cost. Coalmines and coal-processing plants have caused heavy environmental damage: surface mining destroys natural habitats; burning coal releases large quantities of toxins into the air, increasing air pollution […]
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8th December 2014
Havana, Cuba
I was pleased to be able to visit Cuba’s new ‘Special Development Zone’ in Mariel recently. Mariel is a central element in the Cuban government’s plan to attract more much-needed foreign investment and seeing it first-hand is something I have wanted to do for a while. Several British businessmen, interested in investing in Cuba, have […]
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11th March 2014
Havana, Cuba
I spent much of last week in Isla de la Juventud, one of the many hundreds of islands that make up Cuba. It’s called Juventud because thousands of youths – Cuban and foreign – studied there in boarding schools in the 1980s. Out of the 100 schools that were planned to be built sixty-two were […]
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24th February 2014
Mumbai, India
Recently, I visited the School of Energy and Environmental Studies (SEES) at the Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV), Indore, and met with the Head, Dr. S. P. Singh, who introduced me to the various renewable energy projects going on at the school. His research interests include solar passive buildings and energy systems, rural development: decentralised energy […]
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25th June 2013
Kingston, Jamaica
Living in a country with almost constant sunshine has a myriad of advantages. Having the opportunity to go to the beach all year round, with the temperature never dropping below 60 degrees, offers lots of positives. Another one that immediately jumps at me is the harnessing of the sun to produce energy. Jamaica is in […]
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21st June 2013
Havana, Cuba
I didn’t see any tulips in Santa Clara but this week the town had a very Dutch flavour. Most of the people I met there on Monday were wearing orange, a colour which the local baseball team, Villa Clara, shares with the Dutch national football team. This week Villa Clara finally won the Cuban baseball […]
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19th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
This is my last blog of the year. Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to read my ramblings. Herewith twelve personal highlights from a fascinating, fun and fast-moving year in Sweden: January saw the first of many Ministerial visits this year. Lord Green, our Business Minister came for a big meeting […]
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14th February 2012
Toronto, Canada
The Technology Strategy Board (the UK’s national innovation agency) announced last week that a UK-wide consortium would set up the new Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult centre, with sites in Glasgow and Northumberland. You can read the press release here. Wind, wave and tidal power will be crucial components of the UK’s future energy mix if […]
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