In the papers today - 19th June 2008

...The Renewable Advisory Board (RAB), made up of senior figures from across the industry, says the best the UK could realistically hope for is to generate 14% of its energy from sustainable sources by 2020 - The Guardian

George Bush, responding to public alarm over soaring petrol prices, yesterday proposed overturning decades-old bans for drilling for oil off the US coast and in the pristine Alaskan wilderness. "There's no excuse for delay," the president told a White House press conference - The Guardian

Britain and Europe will be forced to fundamentally rethink a central part of their environment strategy after a government report found that the rush to develop biofuels has played a "significant" role in the dramatic rise in global food prices, which has left 100M more people without enough to eat. The Gallagher report, due to be published next week, will trigger a review of British and EU targets for the use of plant derived fuels in place of petrol and diesel, the Guardian has learnt - The Guardian

Industries across the UK could generate as much electricity as 10 nuclear power stations and halve gas imports by installing or extending plants that generate energy while using the waste heat to warm local buildings. A report by Pöyry Energy Consulting, commissioned by Greenpeace, analysing the UK's potential for combined heat and power units – which capture the heat from the electricity generation process and recycle it – found nine sites where CHP could be applied or extended - The Financial Times

A school from Northern Ireland has won the 2008 Rolls-Royce Science Prize with a project on water contamination. St Anne's Primary School, Ballymena worked with the local council, Northern Ireland Water, a civil engineer, a marine biologist and an IT consultant to research contamination in local water supplies - The Daily Telegraph

Drivers who break down on motorways face being trapped in fast-moving traffic under a Highways Agency plan to turn the hard shoulder into a running lane and reduce the number of emergency lay-bys. More than 250 miles of motorway, including sections of the M1, M3, M4, M5, M6, M25, and M62, have been earmarked for "hard-shoulder running" as a cheaper alternative to widening roads - The Times

The group representing Britain's social housing industry is in talks with the government to free up £1bn of public money to help out the new homes market. The funds will be used to buy thousands of inner-city flats and homes at a discount from beleaguered housebuilders - The Times

Centrica, the owner of British Gas, wants to take control of Belgium's second-biggest electricity supplier, but will have to match a bid from EDF, the French state energy giant, to do so. Sources in Paris suggested that EDF could offer a premium of between 5% and 10% in an effort to knock Centrica out of the race - The Times