Architect Turned Environmentalist Interviews with Saab

Posted on 13. Sep, 2007 by Ryan in 2000-2009, United Kingdom

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile UK

A very inspiring interview is now available on Saab U.K.’s BioPower website, check it out.

2007-09-13

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KEVIN MCCLOUD SHARES GRAND DESIGNS OF ECO LIVING WITH SAAB

Eco living has been the hot topic of 2007. But what does it actually mean and who’s doing it?

Kevin McCloud, architect-turned-environmentalist and presenter of Channel Four’s ‘Grand Designs’ programme knows only too well the meaning of eco living. In his latest interview, Kevin explains why:

* He has just installed a biomass boiler to heat his home and farm
* He is considering adding solar panels and wind turbines next
* His family grows a lot of their own food and shops at the local farmers market
* He drives a Saab BioPower car that runs on bioethanol E85 fuel

“The important thing for me is to put my money where my mouth is and part of this involves me trying out different technologies to see how easy and flexible they are,” explains Kevin.

The full interview with Kevin McCloud can be read on www.saabbiopower.co.uk. This is the second of “The BioPower Interviews’, the first being with Sir Richard Branson, another high-profile Saab BioPower driver.

About Saab BioPower technology

Premium car-maker Saab launched its BioPower flex-fuel technology in its domestic market of Sweden in 2005. Since that time, the Saab 9-5 BioPower has flown to the top of the country’s environmentally-friendly sales charts, with some 11,000 9-5 BioPowers sold in Sweden last year.

With the launch of the Saab 9-3 BioPower range of cars in 2007, Saab became the first volume car company in the UK to offer an alternative fuel engine choice in every model in its line up. Saab currently has three different BioPower engines currently for sale in the UK market, all of which enjoy substantially-reduced fossil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, whilst delivering significant increases in power when running on bioethanol E85 compared to when running on petrol.

Bioethanol is produced commercially from agricultural crops, such as wheat, sugar cane, sugar beet, and other forms of biomass. Also under development are second-generation processes which offer greater energy efficiency by using ligno-cellulose extracted from forestry and agricultural products, such as wood, straw and grass. The bioethanol is blended in high volumes with small amounts of petrol to create the eco-friendly yet potent fuel, bioethanol E85. Unlike petrol, bioethanol consumption does not significantly raise atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main ‘greenhouse’ gas. This is because emissions released during driving are balanced by the amount of CO2 that is removed from the atmosphere when crops for conversion are grown. In contrast, fossil-based fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, release new amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere which have been locked away underground in oil deposits.

For more information about Saab BioPower, visit www.saabbiopower.co.uk

About Saab

Saab is GM’s European premium brand, reflecting a unique Scandinavian design ethic, fused with a strong aircraft engineering heritage. Saab’s distinctive cars benefit from the best of GM’s worldwide capability, while being engineered and designed to cater for the exacting requirements of the global premium motorist.
Saab was founded in Sweden in 1937 as Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Aircraft Company), revealing the prototype for its first aircraft-inspired passenger car in 1947. UK sales commenced in 1960.

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