11 Apr 2008 - 18:00 13 Apr 2008 - 15:00 Etc/GMT Claverton Energy Group is...An independent energy specialists’ forum. =x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x= http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/claverton/message/3911 Conference – Friday evening the 11th, 12th and 13th April. Wessex Water is kindly going to let us have the building again for a third Claverton Conference – Friday 11th, 12th and 13th April. Please put this in your diary if you can. We plan to have short presentations on each topic on the Fred Starr proposed book format ( nominally about how to deal with the UK, Europe and World energy situation) which Earthscan have indicated they are interested in publishing. If you come please do not hesitate to bring a poster about your activities or interests – these get togethers are in part all about stimulating contacts and information exchange that continue outside the forum and the conference. Please be unashamedly commercial – or academic also whatever suits you. I expect Allen and Young will be there offering energy jobs etc. Jeremy Harrison’s company – Power Gen – promoters of domestic Stirling CHP Engines, kindly paid a substantial sum for the catering last time – any more volunteers this time? Please let me know if you can come and if you can present. Further details to follow. Dave Andrews =x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x= http://www.allen-york.com/newsletters/energy/expertinsight1.jsp Expert Insight This is now a Network of about 140 energy experts, most of senior rank and expertise, who regularly intercommunicate primarily by email. The group had its origins in the Open University Energy Research Group (ERG), in 1980 then under Dr Jake Chapman at Milton Keynes with a group of PHd students, Dr Bob Everett, Dr Mark Barrett, Professor Robert Lowe and Dave Andrews amongst others, looking closely at all aspects of energy but primarily building energy use. Dave Andrews was convinced that part of the problem of energy wastage and over use, was lack of communication within and between organisations, he coined the phrase 'Relevance Paradox' where people didn't have information in one group, but it was readily available in another group or organisation and consequently they; a) didn't seek out the information and/or b) made bad decisions due to the lack. A simple example of this would be that not all water companies routinely digested sludge to create methane for power generation before putting it to land - an agriculture and water miscommunication. Also, most power stations in the UK do not use the waste heat for heating buildings which they very easily could. Dave proposed a network of massively enhanced electronic communication between individuals based in small groups called Lateral Access Networks (LANs) then laterly Information Routing Groups (IRGs) of up to 100 members say, whereby relevant information packets could be send between members and guided by some sort of automatic ranking and sifting system to ensure people only got what they wanted or more often importantly NEEDED to know. It was then envisaged then that because of the now well known 'Small World and 6 degrees of separation' concept, these messages could be passed to people outside the original group (IRG), then from IRG to IRG, thus defeating the Relevance Paradox by reaching any other member no matter how remote in network terms. Some of these IRGs were started and run using clunky main frames and looked at the issues of Bilharzia, a water born disease caused by building irrigation systems ignorant of the even then well know guidelines that could have prevented it. (Relevance Paradox) A book was subsequently written called 'The IRG solution' in 1984 outlining these ideas in great detail, but which were received with scepticism since at that time no one could envisage a network of computers based in everyone's ones home linked by modem. "Why would people want to do that?" was a common response. Now of course the Internet does more or less exactly what was envisaged and much more! To cut a long story short, about 6 years ago, with most of the original ERG members in proper jobs by then, they got in touch again and started emailing various bits of energy information amongst themselves quite informally. By inviting in other experts they had met along the way, plus their friends the network has now grown to about 140 people, professors, power station operators and owners, transmission experts, biologists, engineers, economists and financiers who regularly swap information on a daily basis. The extraordinary thing is how you can see the Relevance Paradox being played out and then being defeated, as every member unwittingly reveals an area of incorrect assumption which is then corrected by another, and how requests for often obscure information can be readily produced by a member with the particular expertise and far less effort than would have taken the enquirer. For example, I had long believed that WW2 torpedoes were compressed air driven, (thats what my father told me and that is generally how they are described) but it turns out that whilst they do have compressed air, it is only to run a small diesel engine. This became apparent in a discussion on the relative storage capacities of compressed air and batteries for cars. The IRGs are currently engaged in a project to produce the Claverton Energy Statement which is an attempt to pool expertise and come up with a feasible strategy for not only UK and Europe, but also the whole world. Wessex Water, kindly allowed its Headquarters in Claverton, Bath to be used for an conference in February of this year, (hence the name) and a repeat is planned for November / December2007. Since the group has now become rather large, the plan is to create several more sub-groups with specific subjects interests like Solar Energy, Long Distance Power Transmission, Wind Power etc. and by having random interlinks and overlaps information will still get swapped as required. More info at: http://energydiscussiongroup.wikispaces.com/ =x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x= Claverton Energy Group is...An independent energy specialists’ forum. 180 subscribers have been debating energy and climate change issues and solutions in some cases going back 30 years and on line for the last 5 years, Objectives: Subscribers: Subscribers include senior executives of energy utilities, UK and other National Grids, large power station operators, journalists, Civil Service, senior academics, engineers, consultants, biologists, economists, renewable energy financiers, bankers, policy analysts, architects, sociologists, agronomists, reflecting a wide range of expertise and knowledge. A subset of subscribers are producing the Claverton Energy Briefing Note - a coherent summary of the critical issues facing us and the appropriate responses. Following various conferences and on line debate, this will appear as a book in 2008. Subscribing to the Claverton Group does not imply endorsement of any part of the Briefing Note - many subscribers disagree with some elements) See http://energydiscussiongroup.wikispaces.com/ |
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