week ending 27 July 2007
Green Brigade
The Boys and Girls' Brigades in Beeston hope to go green by having a wind turbine on their new headquarters and photo-voltaic cells.
This is Nottingham 26th July 2007
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Lancashire
THOUSANDS of pounds has been made available for green community projects in a bid to tackle climate change. Community groups across the county will be able to apply for funding from a pot of £25,000 from Lancashire County Council's climate change fund.
Lancashire Evening Telegraph 26th July 2007
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Democratic Energy
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recently released the results from their Small Wind Turbine Global Market Study, reporting that high up –front costs are preventing small wind systems from reaching their growth potential. The small wind industry has been experiencing annual growth in the range of 14-25% since 1985. AWEA says that Increased federal incentives could double the growth rate. While homeowners and businesses are installing solar photovoltaic (PV) at an increasing rate in the past few years, small wind is lagging.
Democratic Energy 26th July 2006
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All you need is Lovins
Interview with Amory Lovins. Worldwide, less than half of new electrical services are coming from new central power plants. Over half are coming from micropower and negawatts, and that gap is rapidly widening. The revolution already happened -- sorry if you missed it.
Grist Magazine 26th July 2007
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Barnet
CONSERVATIVE councillor Brian Coleman has come under attack this week after it emerged that he opposed a school’s bid to install a wind turbine, on the grounds that the school is located on green belt land, stating that the additions would be out of character.
ICNorthLondon 26th July 2007
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North Shields
THE first stone has been laid in the creation of an eco-village on an estate once plagued by riots. Back in the early 1990s the Meadow Well made the headlines for all the wrong reasons when yobs ran riot on the estate. Now local people are hoping to help change the image of the North Shields estate by creating the state-of-the art eco project. Wind turbines will be built to generate electricity and a new well installed to recycle rainwater.
Newcastle Evening Chronicle 25th July 2007
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Scotland
The Scottish executive has published responses to its Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Consultation.
Scottish Executive 25th July 2007
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Call for faster progress on carbon neutrality
Campaign group Friends of the Earth has criticised the government's Housing Green Paper, released yesterday, for not going far enough towards creating sustainable housing stock. The group called for all new houses built after 2010 to be carbon neutral - a target some six years earlier than the government's plans. A carbon neutral house would generate electricity and heat equivalent to the amount consumed by the property.
Ecologist 25th July 2007
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Micro-CHP
The Netherlands-based energy player Nuon has signed an agreement with Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited and Remeha to develop a fully integrated micro-combined heat and power unit for the residential market. The company said that the new-generation high-efficiency boilers will enable households and small businesses to generate both heat and electricity on the premises. The new boiler looks like a normal high-efficiency boiler but, as well as generating heat, it also generates enough power to meet an average household's energy needs.
Energy Business Review 25th July 2007
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Fuel Cell Today 25th July 2007
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Forbes 24th July 2007
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Green Schools
Pupils want their schools to use renewable energy sources and rainwater resources, a survey finds. The poll of 850 13 to 15-year-olds in England found 81% backed the use of these forms of energy in schools.
BBC 24th July 2007
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Cambridge Evening News 26th July 2007
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Leicester Mercury 25th July 2007
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Europe’s Greenest Town
It doesn't look like the heart of a green revolution. The smoke stacks stick up jarringly above the line of pine trees and don't make for the most scenic view as you meander around the clear blue waters of the nearby lake. But it is this power plant that has helped the small Swedish city of Växjö (pronounced vek-shur) become arguably the greenest place in Europe. On closer observation, the only thing emerging from the chimneys is the faintest wisp of steam. And inside it smells more like a sauna than a furnace. That's because it is not oil fuelling the plant, but woodchip and other wood waste from the area's sawmills. And as well as generating electricity, it also supplies 90 per cent of this southern Swedish town with heating and hot water.
Independent 24th July 2007
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Basildon
Plans are already being drawn up for ways of making the Basildon Centre a green, solar-powered base for Basildon Council as part of its multimillion-pound revamp with renewable heating. The council also wants to secure cash to make new buildings in Craylands, the Five Links estate and town centre as green as possible. Basildon Renaissance Partnership wants to introduce new planning policies to reduce local carbon emissions. The partnership consists of Basildon Council, English Partnerships, the East of England Development Agency, Thames Gateway South Essex and the Department of Communities and Local Government. The partnership also wants to set up training courses to teach about renewable energy technologies.
Chelmsford Weekly 24th July 2007
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See also Councillor Steve Horgan’s Blog: more >>
Peterborough Business
MORE forward-thinking businesses are now implementing changes to reduce their carbon footprint and, in turn, make their contribution towards tackling climate change. And while it may cost money to do so in the first instance, don’t be put off. These changes are a major investment in your company’s future and can save money in the long term.
Peterborough Today 24th July 2007
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Malvern
QUEEN Elizabeth High School in Bromyard could soon be wind-powered if money is found to install an eco-friendly wind turbine. The school already has planning permission for the turbine and has now been awarded a £5,000 grant towards its purchase from the Co-operative fund. Though the school needs to raise a further £17-£18,000 to fund the facility, its citizenship co-ordinator Sue Taylor said she was delighted with the grant.
Malvern Gazette 24th July 2007
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Hereford Journal 26th July 2007
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Eco-homes
Yvette Cooper announced a huge £8 billion building programme yesterday to help first-time buyers and families on low incomes. An extra 210,000 affordable homes will be built over the next three years. Council building will get a big boost and the Housing Minister unveiled a range of reforms to help young families get on the property ladder, including an equity scheme for those earning less than £60,000 a year.
Times 24th July 2007
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Town halls and developers have been asked to bid cash for five new eco-towns where all infrastructure and houses will be carbon neutral.
Times 24th July 2007
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Local councils and developers are today invited to bid to host at least five new zero carbon eco-towns, with a new prospectus published today - each eco-town will provide 5,000 - 20,000 new homes, by 2016. A Government-led design competition will boost the architectural standards of eco-towns. The Government today confirmed its target that from 2016 all new homes should be zero carbon, with milestones that by 2010 new homes should emit 25 per cent less carbon; and by 2013, 44 per cent less carbon
Dept for Communities and Local Government Press Release 23rd July 2007
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The long-awaited Housing Green Paper was finally unveiled on 23 July, following many leaks to the media. Communities department housing minister Yvette Cooper launched the programme as large swathes of the West of England and the Midlands were engulfed in the biggest flood for half a century, begging many questions about the sustainabililty of building more homes on flood plains.
Sustainable Building we 27th July 2007
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Parliamentary statement: Hansard, 23 July: Columns 580-593
Housing Green Paper (CM7191) - Homes for the future: more affordable, more
sustainable
Regulatory Impact Assessment
Harrow goes solar
Solar panels are currently being installed in 20 homes in the borough, with another 20 planned for next year. The council is hoping to lead the way with renewable energy, and have the most solar powered homes in London within the next two years.
Harrow Times 23rd July 2007
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Prestwich
THE GREENEST - and newest - street in Prestwich has been given the thumbs-up by environmental cam-paigner and TV presenter, Michaela Strachan. The 10 properties which costs upwards of £245,000, feature energy-saving initiatives like solar panels and wind turbines (subject to planning permission), water butts to capture rain water, high-quality insulation, efficient central heating and an air recycling system, which, combined, can cut a third of energy usage and bills.
Prestwich and Whitefiled Guide 22nd July 2007
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Fuel Poverty
A coalition of energy companies, including EDF Energy, E.ON UK and Scottish Power, have threatened to take the Government to court if, as appears likely, it misses its fuel poverty targets. In 2000, the Government made the legally binding commitment to completely eradicate fuel poverty among the vulnerable – the elderly, disabled and families on low incomes – by 2010. Households are defined as fuel poor if they spend more than 10 per cent of their disposable income, excluding housing benefits, on utility bills. But the number of fuel-poor households in the UK actually doubled between 2004 and 2006 from 1.2 million to 2.5 million as bills soared. The Government has been criticised for not providing enough funds to its Warm Front subsidy scheme tasked with tackling fuel poverty. The Treasury has earmarked £800m over the last three years to provide free insulation and heaters. But officials are working on the next Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), which will fix government department budgets for the next three years. There are fears that the budget for the Warm Front scheme – which stood at £350m this year – could be cut by one third. This would effectively end any remaining chance that the Government's 2010 fuel poverty target could be met.
Independent on Sunday 22nd July 2007
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Fall in home generators
Suppliers of mini-wind turbines and solar panels for the home have reported falls of up to 90 per cent in customer enquiries after the Government cut subsidies in May. While Energy minister Malcolm Wicks and Conservative leader David Cameron struggle with the vagaries of the UK's planning system (see below) to get their wind turbines erected, fewer ordinary households are now even bothering to apply.
Independent on Sunday 22nd July 2007
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Poor old Malcolm Wicks. The Energy minister can't win. He is busy promoting the Government's green credentials but is being stymied in his own token efforts by his local Conservative council which won't let him erect a wind turbine on the roof of his house. Maybe he should compare notes with Tory leader David Cameron, whose attempts to put up a turbine have run into as many problems. We can chortle at Mr Wicks's predicament, but planning authorities must be supportive of genuine attempts to increase microgeneration in the UK.
Independent on Sunday 22nd July 2007
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Malcolm Wicks, the recently reinstated Energy minister, has been refused planning permission to install a wind turbine on the roof of his house. The Conservative-run council of Croydon, south London, where he is MP, decided that the turbine would have been too "visible" from the street. Mr Wicks is the latest politician whose attempts to showcase his green credentials, literally from the rooftops, have failed.
Independent on Sunday 22nd July 2007
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Cornwall heat pumps
A local energy partnership has given Penwith Housing Association £54,000 towards the costs of installing ground source heat pumps (GSHP) into nine homes at Trewellard.
Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership Press Release 20th July 2007
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Unplugged
Hjaltland Housing Association has "exciting" plans for Eshaness, where it has outline planning permission for two environmentally friendly "unplugged" houses (unplugged means not connected to any utilities). An architect was now working on detailed plans, said Mr Leask, and it was hoped to get the hydrogen fuel cells and wind turbines in this week.
Shetland Times 20th July 2007
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Norwich
World-famous designer Sir Terence Conran has had a hand in exciting proposals for an eco-development in Norwich. Abel Homes, has big plans for the 20-acre site and said: “We are looking at lots of different things to increase the eco-friendliness of our homes, including water recycling facilities and solar panels.”
Norwich Evening News 20th July 2007
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Micro-CHP
Ceres Power has announced that it has designed and built an integrated, wall-mountable combined heat and power unit (‘the CHP Unit’) which will form part of an up-coming demonstration at the Company’s headquarters. This technical achievement demonstrates the commercial potential of the product and also represents an important milestone in the Company’s residential CHP programme with British Gas.
Ceres Power Press Release 19th July 2007
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The Engineer 20th July 2007
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South-west homes
Over the next three years Ecos Homes is proposing to build a mix of up to 80 sustainable and affordable houses on at least four new sites in the South West of England with a total capital value of approximately £15M. Each project has been selected because it has the potential to develop an aspect of best practice.
Renewables SW July 2007
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English Partnership
Housebuilders were invited to submit expressions of interest to build England’s first large scale development of zero carbon homes today, as national regeneration agency English Partnerships published its pre-qualifying questionnaire (PQQ) for a 150 home site in Bristol.
English Partnership Press Release 5th June 2007
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