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UTILITY WEEK | 28TH OCTOBER - 3RD NOVEMBER 2016 | 31 Community CO2 to ethanol – simples! Many important scientific discoveries are stumbled upon by their inventors, who were actually trying to do something entirely different at the time. Thus Alexander Fleming was doing routine work in the lab when he came across penicil- lin, while a chap trying to invent a better gun sight in 1942 came up with superglue. Perhaps last week we wit- nessed something similar with the news that scientists at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an electrochemical process that uses tiny spikes of carbon and copper to turn carbon dioxide into ethanol. Okay, perhaps it's a bit of stretch to say that Dr Adam Rondinone and his team stumbled upon the discovery, since turning CO2 into a useful fuel source was the aim of their research. But what they assumed to be the first step in a lengthy process turned out to be the whole deal: they discovered a single catalyst that delivered a 63 per cent yield of ethanol from a solution of CO2. "It's extremely difficult to go straight from carbon dioxide to ethanol with a single catalyst," said Rondinone. "By using common materials, but arrang- ing them with nanotechnology, we figured out how to limit the side reactions." Okay, such a process cannot be the total solution, but recy- cling CO2 into more fuel could be a Eureka moment. Assuming the discovery ever makes it out of the lab and into a scaled up industrial application, that is. Burgers without the belching Another breakthrough on the emissions front last week came with the announcement that scientists in Denmark are on the verge of making a break- through on methane. To wit: they are producing a new grass that makes cows burp less. While in the popular imagination it's cows' farts that generate all the methane, in reality it's the burps, and researchers at Aarhus Univer- sity have managed to produce a grass that's easier for cows to digest, meaning less gas builds up in their stomachs. The damage done by methane is no laughing mat- ter. Methane is judged to be 23 times more damaging to the Earth's atmosphere than CO2, and every cow produces enough CO2 equivalent in a year to run an average family car for 8,000 miles. And let's face it, while you might be able to wean people off fossil fuel power plants, and even petrol-driven motor vehi- cles, there's no way the western world is going to do without its beeurgers no matter what it costs the environment. All at sea One very effective source of renewable energy already exists, of course, in the form of nuclear power, but people tend to be a little nervous about living anywhere near a nuclear plant, given the catastrophic consequences of an accident. Disconnector was tickled to read about a proposed solu- tion to this problem by one Lim Soon Heng, a businessman from Singapore. Writing in the Straits Times, he tackles the prob- lem head on: why not build a nuclear plant floating out to sea? "Aer all," he muses, "in the event of a dangerous situation, we should move the plant – not the people around the plant." Problem solved. Hmm. Disconnector can't help but wonder if neighbour- ing Indonesia and Malaysia would be quite so sanguine about Singapore simply prod- ding the thing out to sea in the event of a nuclear meltdown. If you're wondering where Mr Lim gets such a le-field idea, the answer might lie in his job title. He's the managing director of a firm called Float- ing Solutions LLP. Disconnector Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Acting editor: Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: janegray@ fav-house.com; Insights editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathewbeech@fav-house. com; News editor: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080, e: loisvallely@fav-house.com; Networks correspondent: Lucinda Dann, t: 01342 332083, e: lucindadann@fav-house.com; Reporters: Saffron Johnson, t: 01342 332050, e: saffronjohnson@fav-house.com and Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Richard Powell, t: 01342 332062, e: richardpowell@fav-house.com; Business development executive: Nigel Searle, t: 01342 332009, e: nigelsearle@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amandabarnes@ fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332507, e: peterbissell@fav-house.com. 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 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2015 Membership subscriptions: UK £637 per year. Overseas £749 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332507 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK's magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact the editor, Ellen Bennett, at ellenbennett@fav-house.com. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk Liz E @EErrington1 "The new policy should be firmly based on the principle of social justice" – call for new "fuel poverty" definition. Dan Cundy @danielcundy Liking the @edfenergy cinema advert to at- tract girls into #STEM careers. My 8 year old impressed before Storks! Aurora ER @AuroraER_Oxford #Hinkley Point C expensive by historical standards, but not relative to other generation III+ reactors. The Crown Estate @TheCrownEstate We've collaborated with @infoforenergy to create an info hub that hosts 100+ docs on #offshorewind. William Marchant @richonlyinname Farcical. You can opt-out of the spammers' charter. But suppliers are banned from telling you this after an initial letter you'll likely bin. William Marchant @richonlyinname As we enter the era of principles-based regulation, good to see Ofgem is finally em- powered to prescribe the format of envelopes. Ann Robinson @AnnRobinson8 Five of EDf's nuclear reactors in France out of action. Will this impact on us as we do import electricity from France at peak sometimes? James Sommerville @jas_energy Bittersweet news: too many renewables! NAO critical of high early subsidies, but would cost have gone down without? Tim Rotheray @trotheray If all capacity market diesels come through we'd get c 5GW. It costs £100s/MWh to run and will not run just 1-2 hrs a year. Bills will rise. Top Tweets