The British Stainless Steel Association (BSSA) in conjunction with the Confederation of British Metalforming is holding a seminar: “New and Renewable Sources of Energy” on 9 June, National Metalforming Centre, West Bromwich, UK. Despite the economic slow down and the consequent downturn in demand for materials including stainless steel, one sector that is going to be active is power generation as investment in new capacity takes place. Over the next 12 years, the UK will lose about one third of its existing power generating capacity primarily due to the closing of ageing nuclear and coal-fired power stations and will need to be replaced. The use of stainless steel in renewable sources of energy, such as wave, wind, tidal and solar together with new sources such as carbon capture and storage, biogas and biomass is currently under discussion. The seminar will focus on these newer sources and will bring together experts from the different technologies who will describe the latest developments in their field and the service conditions that materials must be able to withstand. At the same time, the seminar will provide an opportunity for the stainless steel industry to highlight the potential of stainless steel to continue to play a key role as a material of choice for the power generation sector.
