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utILIty WEEK | 16th - 22nd January 2015 | 31 Community Disconnector Editor: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellen.bennett@fav-house.com; News editor: Jillian ambrose, t: 01342 332061, e: jillian.ambrose@fav-house.com; Associate news editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathew.beech@fav-house.com; Insights editor: Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: jane.gray@fav-house.com; Research analyst: Vidhu dutt, t: 01342 332026, e: vidhu.dutt@fav-house.com; Reporter: Lucinda dann, t: 01342 332083; e: lucinda.dann@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ed roberts, t: 01342 332067, e: ed.roberts@fav-house.com; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, t: 01342 332077, e: sarah.wood@fav-house.com; Publisher: amanda Barnes, e: amanda.barnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Subscriptions: uK £577 per year, Overseas £689 per year, t: 020 8955 7045. ISSN: 1356-5532. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Printed by: Buxton Press, Palace road, Buxton, derbyshire SK17 6aE. Published by: Faversham house Ltd, Windsor Court, Wood Street, East Grinstead, West Sussex rh19 1uZ This water tastes funny Okay, so how many of you have dreamed of being rich? Not just well-off, mind, but really rich. EuroMillions rich. Bill Gates rich. Aer all, you can't get richer than Bill gets. The one-time computer nerd is the richest man on the planet, and has been for some years. Forbes last year estimated his personal wealth at $81 billion. So what do you think the richest man on the planet was sipping last week? If you said champagne out of a beauty queen's slipper, you'd be wrong. If you said water distilled from human faeces, you'd be right. Yup, as part of his long- running philanthropic efforts, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foun- dation has financed the develop- ment of the Omniprocessor, a waste processing machine that can turn human excrement into potable water. According to the scientist behind the machine, Peter Janicki, raw "sewer sludge" is first boiled, during which process the water vapour is separated from the solids. The solids are then put into a fire, producing steam that drives an engine producing electricity for the system's processor and for the local community. The water is put through a cleaning system to produce clean drinking water. To prove his faith in the system, Gates posted a video and blog on his website showing the sludge going into the processor at one end and him drinking a Disconnector glass of the clear water that came out of the other. "The water tasted as good as any I've had out of a bottle," he wrote. "And having studied the engineering behind it, I would happily drink it every day. It's that safe." All very laudable, thinks Disconnector. But the rich have a habit of eating and drinking disgusting things. The most expensive coffee in the world is civet coffee, which is made exclusively from beans that have been eaten – and passed through the digestive tract – of the Indonesian Asian palm civet. It's one thing if you choose to drink coffee that's passed through a tree rat, or drink water that's been distilled from human crap, but it's quite another if it's the only choice on the menu. WaterAid has hailed the invention of the Omniprocessor, but Disconnector can't help but suspect that the poor and thirsty multitudes of the world are kind of hoping someone comes up with a plan B. Water tower Such as the Warka Tower, for instance. Invented by Arturo Vit- tori and his team at Architecture and Vision, the 30-tall tower is made of bamboo and orange polyester mesh and turns water vapour into drinking water. The idea has been around for centuries, if not aeons, but the hard truth is that they don't produce very much water. Vittori claims the latest iteration of his system has produced up to 26 gallons a day in his lab in Italy and it is currently being trialled in Ethiopia. Disconnector reckons the locals are praying for its success. Price freezes These desperate sources of water are for the world's poor and unfortunate, of course. No- one's seriously suggesting that you or I, dear reader, need drink water sourced from anything but clear mountain streams. As long as we pay through the nose for the privilege. But for those of you fretting that you just aren't paying enough for water, let Discon- nector put you in touch with US company Gläce Luxury Ice Co. The company sells what it claims are "meticulous" and "revolutionary" ice cubes, in batches of 50 or more, for the princely sum of £5 each. That includes shipping, of course. The Californian company claims to hand cra each cube to deliver the "finest comple- ment" for premium spirits. Gläce Luxury Ice Co says the ice, unlike traditional frozen products, undergoes a special process to ensure there is "zero taste". Neither are the cubes made from ordinary water, which "clouds" the taste of a high-quality drink – although the company doesn't specify what it does use. Disconnector really, really hopes it's the Omniprocessor. 3,580 average circulation Jan–Dec 2014 Subscriptions: uK £577 per year, Overseas £689 per year fhcustomerservices@ abacusemedia.com Trust for London @trustforlondon Half of mothers cut back on #Christmas presents last year because of energy bill worries #fuelpoverty 3WhitehallPlace @3WhitehallPlace Dear Big Six, Please cut energy bills now instead of when it stops being chilly. You can put them up after the election. Yours, Ed Davey Paul Richards @Labourpaul What's a 'General Election Cabinet'? [Lib Dem idea] Peter Mannion 'MP' @PeterMannionMP @Labourpaul Isn't it where one keeps the Brandy? Rich Hall @richonlyinname Over 2.3m homes in England are suffering from latte poverty. Luckily Ofgem has a plan for the feckless caffeine poor Nathaniel Bullard @SolarConstant Clean energy investment is back with a bang. @BloombergNEF definitive figures: $310bn, +15% from 2013, nearly at all-time high Neil Smith @neil_in_barrow @Centrica_Energy celebrates 30 yrs of gas at the terminals near Barrow James Beard @JamesBeardWWF Campaigners including @TheFinanceLab call for an expanded Green Investment Bank after 2015 election #GE2015 Mark Johnston @mark_johnston UK wants EU #energyunion strangled at birth, says @ClaudeTurmes & @GreensEP #eu2030 ICISEnergy @ICIS_energy Wholesale power prices hit 4-year low & remain under pressure for 2015 #ICISPowerIndex #ICIS Peter Campbell @Petercampbell1 Labour calls for power price cut following wholesale drop. Liberum analyst: "Threat of a post-election price freeze remains a deterrent." Top Tweets