News Archive

week ending 2 May 2008

 

Devon Eco-town

Welcome to Sherford, the Prince of Wales’s south Devon ecotown for 12,000 people, which has been granted planning permission. Cars are likely to be banned from some areas and the sun’s rays will be harnessed to heat water in what the prince’s advisers believe will be the greenest new settlement in Britain.

Guardian 2nd May 2008 more >>

Smile Revolution

POP star Lily Allen helped MPs to deliver one of the biggest-ever rebellions against Gordon Brown when they defied the government on efforts to tackle climate change. Thirty-three Labour MPs voted against their party and demanded the introduction of a system of rewards for people who install solar panels and wind turbines at home.

Scotsman 2nd May 2008 more >>

Devon Community Centre

The first plans for a £3.6million Kingsbridge Community Centre, which could become an eco flagship for sustainable design, are being unveiled. It will incorporate the very latest in sustainable design and renewable energy ensuring it will become carbon neutral.

Devon Herald Express 1st May 2008 more >>

Bath School

Work is now complete on a multi-million pound maths and science centre at an independent Bath school. The £4.1 million new facility at Monkton Combe School is the culmination of more than a year’s work to renovate and extend a three-storey building put up in the 1950s. The design, created by Tektus Architects, also includes solar panels and it is hoped to be able to introduce a wind turbine.

Bath Chronicle 1st May 2008 more >>

Good Energy

More and more people in Britain are making the decision to generate their own energy. And more and more are choosing to be provided with electricity sourced purely from renewable means. Providing a window for this supply and demand chain is Good Energy, an electricity supplier which prides itself that all of its energy has been generated through renewable sources.

Western Morning News 1st May 2008 more >>

Community Hydro

The once destructive power of the East and West Lyn Rivers could be harnessed to make the communities that were once destroyed by them “the first in the country” to be self-sufficient in power.A feasibility study into a number of small hydro-electricity plants along the banks of both rivers, has revealed they would generate enough power - more than 5 million kW a year - to heat, light and power 1,100 homes.

North Devon Journal 1st May 2008 more >>

Park and Wind

The county’s only park and ride will be driven by wind power in another first for the highly-acclaimed transport link.

Essex Chronicle 1st May 2008 more >>

De-carbonise existing buildings

Making new buildings zero carbon is an excellent requirement, but by focusing our efforts (and a hell of a lot of money) on ratcheting down the heat demand from new buildings, we throw away the huge opportunity of using new developments to slash emissions from existing stock. By using new developments as energy hubs and extending heat networks into built up areas we can drastically reduce emissions from heat guzzling stock. Now we can take advantage of the economies available at the block or district scale and bring to bear a whole arsenal of low carbon energy sources: gas CHP, biomass boilers, biomass CHP. New schemes can provide the platform and existing buildings will share in the benefit.

Carbon Limited 1st May 2008 more >>

Feed-in tariffs vote lost

Labour rebels have failed in a bid to force the government to introduce a scheme within a year to boost Britain’s take-up of renewable energy. The Energy Bill amendment would have made it more cost-effective for people generating their own renewable energy using solar panels and wind turbines. The “feed-in” tariffs would have set long-term fixed prices for renewable energy fed into the national grid. The move, led by Labour’s Alan Simpson, was defeated by 250 votes to 210. It had garnered cross-party support with some 276 MPs from all parties signing a Commons motion ahead of Wednesday’s vote. Some 35 Labour MPs voted against the government. Among the Labour rebels were former ministers Kate Hoey, Frank Field, Michael Meacher and Chris Mullin.

BBC 30th April 2008 more >>

Guardian 2nd May 2008 more >>

eGov Monitor 1st May 2008 more >>

Labour MP Alan Simpson said: ‘I just want to be part of a Labour government that does not have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the present, let alone the future.’

Metro 30th April 2008 more >>

Nottingham Evening Post 1st May 2008 more >>

This vote clearly shows that Labour MPs are unhappy with the Government’s appalling record on renewable energy. Feed-in tariffs could provide a real financial incentive for homes, businesses and communities to install green energy systems and help tackle climate change.

FoE (EWNI) Press Release 30th April 2008 more >>

Thin Green Line

A pioneering, eco-friendly police station has opened in Aylsham. Among its green highlights are a sedum moss green roof, a solar passive ventilator to remove stale warm air and a wind turbine to generate electricity.

Norfolk Constabulary 30th April 2008 more >>

Norfolk Constabulary 1st May 2008 more >>

Solar Expansion

Buoyant times signal 15 new job opportunities at a hi-tech Lincoln firm. Recruitment is under way at Dynex Semiconductor, which has just celebrated a 27 per cent rise in sales, to around £14m. Dynex supplies components used by the solar panel industries to produce solar cells and others which go into converters for wind turbines.

Lincolnshire Echo 30th April 2008 more >>

Green Concierge

Ken Livingstone has set up a scheme with a rather Sloaney title: the Green Homes Concierge Service. For £199, the service will send an assessor to your home to see what energy-efficiency measures it requires — you even get an air-leakage audit and an infrared energy-loss profile.

Independent 30th April 2008 more >>

Feed-in Tariffs

Letter from various academics: We urge the government to adopt a feed-in tariff policy, which has proved so successful in other countries. A feed-in tariff works by guaranteeing a long-term fixed price to be paid to renewable electricity generators and giving priority access to the grid for the electricity they produce. Both academic studies and the practical experience of those countries that have adopted it show that a feed-in tariff supports the development of a greater volume of renewable energy at lower cost than the UK’s renewables obligation policy. It is why Germany has installed 200 times more solar power and 10 times more wind power than the UK. It is vital that the government amend the energy bill, being debated in parliament today, to include legislation to introduce this established and effective policy.

Guardian 30th April 2008 more >>

Engineers, trade unions, farmers and house builders today backed a campaign by Friends of the Earth and the Renewable Energy Association to introduce a “feed-in tariff” system that would improve Britain’s take-up of renewable energy. Ahead of a crucial House of Commons vote on Wednesday, which aims to add a feed-in tariff to the energy bill currently going through parliament, organisations such as the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the House Builders Federation , the TUC and the National Farmer’s Union said they wanted to see a feed-in tariff .

Guardian 29th April 2008 more >>

Bodies representing the house building industry and the renewable energy sector today joined forces to support a proposed amendment to the Energy Bill that would see homeowners, business and a range of renewable energy schemes rewarded for the energy they produce.

Renewable Energy Association 29th April 2008 more >>

Merton Measured

Merton Borough Council has convinced a number of private firms, including The Big Yellow Self-Storage Company, to submit measurements from renewable power generated on-site. The scheme, pioneered by the borough’s principal environmental officer Adrian Hewitt, with students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Massachusetts), involves attaching sensors to meters on turbines, solar PVs and other generators and outputting the information to a data logger. The information can then be accessed over the internet and available for viewing by the borough.

Building 29th April 2008 more >>

Windsor and Maidenhead

An ambitious new energy-saving programme agreed by the Royal Borough not only aims to cut the council’s carbon footprint by 25% over the next five years but is also likely to bring good news for council taxpayers with savings of around £1 million. A detailed action plan, agreed by cabinet on Thursday April 24, sets out 33 projects that will enable the borough to take a local lead in tackling climate change.

Windsor and Maidenhead Council 29th April 2008 more >>

The energy-saving action plan sets out 33 projects ranging from installing timer switches on vending machines and occupancy sensors on lighting, to longer-term plans for renewable energy systems like solar water heating and ground source heat pumps.

Maidenhead Advertiser 30th April 2008 more >>

Community Wind

A COMMUNITY centre has installed two giant wind turbines in an attempt to be the greenest in Glasgow. Glenburn Centre in Easterhouse will now get its electricity from two 15-metre turbines sited just behind the building. The £58,000 project, one of the first of its kind in the city, should reduce the centre’s electricity bills by around 40%.

Glasgow Evening Times 30th April 2008 more >>

Green Shop HQ

The new Greenshop HQ features log and solar thermal heating, photovoltaic solar panels on the roof producing electricity, green and brown roofs with plants and miniature ‘bio-systems’ for wildlife, a rainwater harvesting system, natural insulation, natural paints and finishes, natural lighting and ventilation, oak, bamboo and recycled tyre carpet and flooring.

This is Gloucestershire 29th April 2008 more >>

Wind-powered Park and Ride

Chelmsford’s park and ride service will become even greener when a wind turbine is set up to power the site. The new turbine will eventually generate 40% of the site’s power - saving tonnes of carbon dioxide from being pumped into the atmosphere.

Banbury Guardian 29th April 2008 more >>

Richmond Plan

Richmond’s approach is to implement a series of projects, some of which have a self-evident effect on reducing the council’s own carbon footprint, and others which act more as psychological drivers of behavioural change. An example of the latter involves the installation of renewable technologies, such as the 42 solar panels recently erected on the roof of the civic centre.

LocalGov.co.uk 29th April 2008 more >>

Grant taken away

A Bristol school is going into battle after the Government promised it a grant of half-a-million pounds - and then took it away. Students at St Mary Redcliffe and Temple Comprehensive are challenging Schools Minister Jim Knight to give them the chance to tell him why they deserve the money, which is for eco-friendly measures. They believe the withdrawal of the grant from a school that is passionate about becoming carbon neutral is unfair and unreasonable.

Bristol Evening Post 29th April 2008 more >>

Solar Smile

Householders should get rewards for installing solar panels at home, pop star Lily Allen has urged.

Daily Mirror 29th April 2008 more >>

FoE Press Release 29th April 2008 more >>

Green Builder 29th April 2008 more >>

Building 29th April 2008 more >>

Solar Parking Meters

Improvements in the efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels are making it increasingly feasible for councils to slash emissions from traffic infrastructure, and in some cases run technologies such as parking meters entirely from solar power.

Business Green 28th April 2008 more >>

Eco-apartments

An apartment complex in London has succeeded in gaining an ‘excellent’ rating from BRE, as well as remaining affordable with some properties being available at a medium rent. Tower Homes ‘Centre View’ development has incorporated environmental innovations, creating sustainable and affordable housing for all. The scheme includes CHP and wind turbines.

Green Builder 28th April 2008 more >>

24 Dash 28th April 2008 more >>

Hospital Turbine

Plans for an 80m wind turbine in the grounds of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn were thrown out by councillors this morning after an objection was received from the MoD which claimed the turbine would cause “unacceptable interference” to the air traffic control radar at nearby RAF Marham.

East Anglian Daily Press 28th April 2008 more >>

End of oil-fired central heating?

A new initiative part-funded by the government aims to cut the costs of those who currently rely on heating oil, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and other solid fuels. The not-for-profit company Community Energy Solutions (Ces) is working with regional development agencies in Yorkshire and the North East to either connect people to mains gas or find ways of reducing their bills through renewable energy. It estimates that it has already lifted hundreds of families out of fuel poverty, and is in talks with development agencies further south about how similar projects could be rolled out in their area.

Observer 27th April 2008 more >>

Taunton Solar

LADYMEAD Community School, in Taunton, is reducing its carbon footprint by installing 32 solar panels to help generate some of the school’s energy. The panels, funded by Somerset County Council and the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, will be used as an educational tool to show how carbon emissions can be reduced by using renewable energy.

This is the West Country 26th April 2008 more >>

Western Daily Press 29th April 2008 more >>

Micro-CHP

Micro combined heat and power (CHP) appliances are expected to represent the next generation in domestic heating products with a mass-market appeal. Energetix Genlec has developed a domestic micro CHP product that generates electricity whilst heating the home, saving energy costs and allowing individual home-owners to contribute to combating climate change. The market potential for micro CHP is significant with over seven million domestic boilers sold in Europe each year.

Power Engineering International April 2008 more >>

Accreditation

BRE Global has been awarded accreditation for the certification of installers, plus heat pumps, solar heating collectors, micro wind turbines and non-roof integrated photo voltaic products. This is expected to be extended to cover roof integrated solar photo voltaics, inverters, biomass, hydro turbines, combined heat and power and fuel cell products once standards have been completed later this year.

BRE 18th April 2008 more >>

 

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