News Archive

week ending 4 July 2008

 

London’s Low Carbon Zones

Developers, schools, universities and even hospitals are set to be asked by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to nominate six new low carbon zones being established in London at the beginning of 2009. Measures planned for the zones include home insulation, energy efficient retrofits and locally generated renewable energy schemes. There will also be extensive energy and carbon assessments to work out how to reduce the existing carbon footprints of buildings. The six zones will join the four pilot zones already established in Barking, Wembley, Elephant and Castle and Mitcham They are being pioneered as part of efforts to cut carbon emissions in the capital by 60 per cent by 2025.

H&V News 4th July 2008 more >>

Building 4th July 2008 more >>

GLA Press Release 3rd July 2008 more >>

Welsh Planning

New buildings in Wales will be expected to raise their sustainability standards and include renewable and low carbon energy technologies, such as solar panels and combined heat and power, as part of tough new planning policies to tackle climate change. The proposed policies would expect a minimum standard for homes based on the Code for Sustainable Homes, and on the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Scheme (BREEAM) for other buildings. This standard will initially be set at Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 for housing and BREEAM ‘Very Good’ for other buildings. It is intended that the policy will commence in April 2009.

E-gov Monitor 3rd July 2008 more >>

Eco-Mosque

IT’S got solar panels, under-floor heating and low-energy light bulbs - welcome to Manchester’s first eco-mosque.

Manchester Evening News 4th July 2008 more >>

Scottish Permitted Development Rights

Aberdeenshire Council has set out its views to the Scottish Government on plans to make domestic renewable energy equipment easier to install.

Aberdeenshire Council 3rd July 2008 more >>

Croydon Rules

Croydon Council has launched a public consultation on new guidance it has drafted to improve the quality and green credentials of new housing and conversions being built locally. The council wants to see flexible, spacious, eco-friendly homes. Developers would need to ensure homes are sustainable and energy efficient by incorporating technologies such as renewable energy, solar water heating, green roofs, sustainable urban drainage systems and water conservation into their designs, and by providing communal recycling and compositing facilities.

Croydon Council 3rd July 2008 more >>

Kings Cross Turbines

PLANS to put turbines on the Town Hall roof – blown away because the civic centre experienced the “wrong kind of wind” – could be resurrected under wide-ranging green plans unveiled on Wednesday. The Lib Dem and Conservative ruling administration heard that “double-helix” turbines could provide the solution, as they are able to cope with changes of wind speed and direction.

Camden New Journal 3rd July 2008 more >>

Leicester CHP

Council bosses have unveiled a £10 million plan to provide “green” heat for homes, businesses, schools and university buildings. The city council’s cabinet is set to approve in principle a project to build a series of combined heat and power plants which would create electricity and heat. These would be linked by pipes under the streets, which would pump hot water to buildings. The electricity provided by the project would be sold back into the National Grid.

Leicester Mercury 3rd July 2008 more >>

Flintshire Solar Grants

Flintshire Council is one of the first local authorities in the UK to introduce a grant for solar hot water systems, which will help more small businesses and home owners take advantage of renewable energy sources. A top-up grant of £400 will be given to 20 private households in the county who claim the government’s Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) grant for solar thermal technology installations.

Evening Leader 3rd July 2008 more >>

Scotland & Microgeneration

Sarah Boyack MSP: Scotland is falling behind the rest of the UK in our slow progress on microgeneration for households. It’s an exciting agenda – with the potential to deliver secure, local green energy. With domestic fuel prices continuing to rise, we need to help people make their houses more energy-efficient and to produce their own heat and electricity. We also need to reduce our CO2 emissions to tackle climate change, so there is a win-win here if we act. There are success stories in Scotland. I’ve visited several projects in Edinburgh where the city council, local housing associations and householders have installed microgeneration devices. People are now experiencing lower bills – all year round.

Edinburgh Evening News 3rd July 2008 more >>

Oil-fired on the way out?

The Government may introduce legislation forcing householders to replace oil-fired boilers with green, energy-efficient alternatives, according to details contained in a consultation paper.

H&V News 3rd July 2008 more >>

Low Carbon Castle

A PIONEERING renewable energy scheme was unveiled at a Scottish castle yesterday. Roxburghe Estates will be able to significantly reduce the carbon emissions from Floors Castle - one of the leading tourist attractions in the Borders - with the installation of a specialised woodfuel heating system.

Herald 3rd July 2008 more >>

BBC 2nd July 2008 more >>

Torfaen

An environmentally-friendly building in Torfaen has scooped a prestigious design award. The development is part of a project aimed at improving environmental management. Constructed from timber and insulated using local straw bales, the building is designed to have minimal environmental impact and to demonstrate the use of sustainable materials and building techniques. Environmentally-friendly features include straw bale insulation, rainwater harvesting, photo-sensitive lighting, recycled cellulose insulation and a small photo-voltaic/wind turbine system.

Torfaen Borough Council 2nd July 2008 more >>

Grimsby Leisure Centre

THE new £11-million leisure centre for Louth could be powered by wind turbines or solar panels. They are among the measures being studied by officials anticipating the impact on the energy costs of powering the massive leisure centre at Wood Lane, Louth.

Grimsby Telegraph 2nd July 2008 more >>

Norfolk School

A Norfolk school demonstrated its green credentials by turning on £20,000 worth of solar panels. Brundall Primary School was one of 100 schools across the country chosen to receive the panels, which are half funded by the Co-operative Group’s £1m Green Energy for Schools scheme and half funded by the government.

Norwich Evening News 2nd July 2008 more >>

Green Night Club

PLANS for the “world’s first green nightclub” have been given the go-ahead by Islington Council. The Surya Centre in Pentonville Road, will have the latest eco technology, including a wind turbine, solar panels and even waterless air-flush toilets.

Islington Gazette 2nd July 2008 more >>

High Peak Hydro

Residents of New Mills will have the “first community-owned 80 megawatt hydroelectric power station” up and running later this month.

The Leigh Reporter 2nd July 2008 more >>

Education Education

Mark Kelly, chief executive of Baxi Group has urged MPs to introduce measures to encourage greater take up of micro-CHP. These include better information for consumers, a holistic financial incentives framework, and statutory targets for microgeneration.

H&V News 2nd July 2008 more >>

Wyre Forest

Experiments to help cut fuel bills are to be carried out in the Wyre Forest. Wind and water power could be used to provide power for towns and villages. Officials with regional development agency Advantage West Midlands have announced that a £780,000 fund is designed to help support the discoveries of alternative forms of energy, including wind and water power and crop fuels.

Express & Star 1st July 2008 more >>

TUC calls for German-style strategy

The TUC also argues that the logical next step, based on the German experience, would be for a Government-led programme of universal insulation measures, which could start in the poorest local authorities, as this would be a more effective way of overcoming all these hurdles. We might do well to look to Germany for wider inspiration in this area. The German Government has adopted a range of successful policies that eliminated barriers to renewable development. They have set aside £1bn a year for the next 20 years to bring all pre-1978 homes up to super energy efficient standard.

TUC 1st July 2008 more >>

Efficiency Boost

In the UK, business leaders - concerned that they will be asked to foot the bill for the UK government’s new £100bn renewable energy strategy in the form of higher fuel bills - could soon have access to a raft of new incentives and services designed to help them reduce their energy costs. The UK government has revealed it is preparing a major consultation on energy efficiency policies to be released in the autumn, which is expected to include a range of new incentives and support services for both businesses and households.

Enviro Solutions 1st July 2008 more >>

Norfolk Competition

Itteringham Mill, has applied for £62,800 to install a water source heat pump and solar panels to develop an economic and moral case to persuade mill owners to install renewable energy systems. Four Norfolk schools have jointly applied for £200,000 from the competition to help with their £500,000 project to become carbon neutral over the next three years. All of the schools are scheduled to have wind turbines installed within the next six months and other renewable technologies, such as solar and ground source heat pumps.

Norwich Evening News 1st July 2008 more >>

Forth Ports

Forth Ports says it has signed a joint venture agreement with Scottish and Southern Energy Plc. to develop renewable energy projects around Forth Ports’ sites in Scotland and England.

Orange 30th June 2008 more >>

Telegraph 1st July 2008 more >>

TWO of Scotland’s biggest listed companies have formed a joint venture to develop a series of renewable energy projects across the UK including biomass power generators in Leith.

Scotsman 1st July 2008 more >>

Green Fire Station

FIRE-FIGHTERS will get their new home after plans to replace their old station were approved last week. A 15 metre tall free standing wind turbine will also be built on the site to encourage the use of alternative, renewable energy sources.

Barking & Dagenham Post 30th June 2008 more >>

Windy City

CATHKIN Braes on the edge of Glasgow is likely to be the site of Britain’s first council-run wind farm. In February, the city council revealed plans for a £15million wind park with five turbines which would power all the city’s street lights. Officials launched a detailed investigation into possible sites and have opted for Cathkin Braes. The site is also where the Castlemilk and Carmunnock Community Windpark Trust wants to build its own project.

Glasgow Evening Times 30th June 2008 more >>

Farmers to become energy producers

The NFU vision for farmers to be energy producers has been strengthened with the publication of the Government’s draft Renewable Energy Strategy.

South West Farmer 30th June 2008 more >>

Biogas

Renewable energy from organic waste biogas, energy from waste and combined heat and power has been recognised as an option to rapidly expand renewables and help the UK meet EU targets.

Recycling and Waste Management 30th June 2008 more >>

Renewables Strategy

The government’s Renewable Energy Strategy has come under fire for failing to adequately promote the generation of electricity and heat by householders. As a new report from Ernst & Young today suggests that householders are unwilling to pay more to fund renewable energy investments under the strategy, renewables experts said the strategy does not offer sufficient benefits for householders to get them generating their own heat or power. They said the strategy, published for consultation on Thursday, “lacks urgency” in its microgeneration proposals and fails to set targets needed to instil confidence in investors.

New Energy Focus 30th June 2008 more >>

Micro-CHP Advice

Disenco Energy plc, a provider of highly-efficient, energy-saving micro-combined heat and power (m-CHP) appliances for domestic and small business premises using patented technology, is pleased to announce the appointment of Corfin Communications Limited to advise on financial public relations and corporate communications.

Business Wire 30th June 2008 more >>

Barratt Green House a Reality

The ‘zero carbon home’ has become concrete reality. The Barratt Green House is the first new home built by a mainstream housebuilder which measures up to the strict sustainability criteria they’ll all have to meet by 2016. Now on show at the BRE Innovation Park in Watford, the three-bedroom family home achieves Level Six (the highest level) of the government’s Code for Sustainable Homes. The code sets progressive minimum standards for new homes built between now and 2016, the deadline for the UK’s pacesetting requirement for all new homes to have zero carbon emissions (averaged over the course of a year).

Coffee House 30th June 2008 more >>

Barratt Southern Counties has applied to Slough Borough Council for permission to erect a three megawatt wind turbine at Cippenham to help meet the electricity needs of 1,500 homes in the Cippenham and Slough area.

Easier Property 30th June 2008 more >>

Tommy was filming Tommy Walsh’s Green Homes, a new programme for Discovery Real Time featuring environmentally - friendly innovations in house building, when he dropped by to see the solar panels that will provide heating and hot water to the future residents of Crown Green Mews. a development by Barratt West London.

Easier Property 30th June 2008 more >>

Olympics

A London Assembly Environment Committee report urged the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to aim for a zero carbon and waste Games with more use of renewable energy such as wind turbines, biomass and waste to energy.

Inside the games 30th June 2008 more >>

Glasgow CHP

Glasgow City Council has set up a consortium led by Strathclyde University to examine every aspect of life in the city. The objective is “to position Glasgow as one of Europe’s most sustainable cities within five to 10 years”. Ambitious plans include a new city-wide district heating scheme, more energy-efficient homes.

Sunday Herald 29th June 2008 more >>

Baxi Range Extended

Baxi has extended its renewable energy range to include evacuated tube solar collectors as part of its Baxi Solarflo offering. The Baxi Solarflo range uses the free energy provided by the sun to heat solar collectors on the roof to provide domestic hot water.

Easier Property 29th June 2008 more >>

Banchory

Banchory school children want to use their eco-prize money to buy a wind turbine.

Press and Journal 28th June 2008 more >>

Micro-CHP

The next big thing for your eco-home will be to install a combined heat and power unit, known as a micro-CHP, or a domestic CHP. A CHP provides heating and hot water through natural gas, but also creates a small amount of electricity as its own by-product (between one and three kilowatts) This typically creates enough electricity to power what are known as “baseload appliances”, ie those which are always running, such as fridges and freezers, and basic lighting.

Solutions for Property 27th June 2008 more >>

Eco-Business Park

Vesty Business Park in Bootle has 46 roof mounted wind turbines along with a landmark 26m free standing turbine, which together will provide 10% of the development’s entire energy supply.

Liverpool Echo 27th June 2008 more >>

 

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