Space Saving
Making the most of space at a restaurant car park in Italy. Solar panels shade customers’ cars at the same time as generating hot water for the restaurant.
week ending 12 September 2008
Prize Eigg
The 86 islanders on Eigg could win a £1m prize after proving their environmental credentials again and becoming the only Scottish finalists in a prestigious competition to tackle climate change. Ten communities across the UK have a year to slash their CO2 emissions and prove that communities can work together to develop new approaches to saving energy. Eigg beat 350 entries, including Knoydart, Assynt, Barra and Vatersay.
Herald 12th Sept 2008 more >>
Eco-Quakers
A QUAKER cottage has reopened – revamped, refurbished and completely eco-friendly. Worfolk Quaker Centre in Staintondale will be officially reopened on Sunday by Recording Clerk, Gillian Ashmore. The new carbon neutral centre includes a total of 25 different eco-friendly developments including a ground source heat pump, a wind turbine and solar panels.
Scarborough Evening News 11th Sept 2008 more >>
Lochaber School
A new primary school in the Highlands will be so well insulated and draught-proof that the heat from the children, staff and computers is enough to heat the building. Most of the school is made from wood: the structure is solid wood, the insulation is wood, and the building will be clad in durable European larch. There is a wind turbine on the hill behind the school to provide hot water for classrooms and toilets. Electricity consumption will be significantly reduced through the use of large triple-glazed windows to optimise daylighting levels, and by using very energy efficient appliances.
Lochaber News 11th Sept 2008 more >>
Zero Carbon Shetland
If Gordon Brown is looking for the ultimate eco-friendly house, he could do worse than travel to Britain’s most northerly island. Michael and Dorothy Rea’s zero-carbon house on Unst, part of the Shetland Islands, has demonstrated the potentially enormous benefits of living “off grid” in a house that has no carbon “footprint” whatsoever.
Times 11th Sept 2008 more >>
Micro-CHP
Disenco Energy plc, the Sheffield-based company that is poised to transform energy consumers into energy producers with its micro Combined Heat and Power (m-CHP) appliance, welcomes Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s initiatives to provide £910 million in fuel measures to address rising energy costs, but agrees with consumer groups that much more must be done to combat the soaring burden of home energy fuel bills, which could be significantly reduced by the adoption of Disenco’s disruptive technology.
Tambang 11th Sept 2008 more >>
Climate Challenge
With an estimated six million people rapidly approaching fuel poverty in Britain and energy prices reaching all time highs, UK 8020 has the answer to returning the power to the people in winter 08 - namely renewable energy generation (REG). Supported by the likes of pop superstar, Madonna, world famous inventor, Trevor Baylis OBE, and social entrepreneur and founder of UK 8020, Robert Lee, the not for profit company has campaigned for over a year to bring an end to fuel poverty through energy efficiency and micro generation using REG.
Climate Challenge 11th Sept 2008 more >>
Tesco Turbines
An engineering firm has won a multi-million-pound deal to build wind turbines at 20 Tesco stores.Galliford Try Renewables, an arm of Wolvey construction firm Galliford Try, will supply and install the first batch of 27 turbines for the retail giant for £1.4 million.
Business East Midlands 11th Sept 2008 more >>
Air-source heat pumps
The EU is not seeking to relegate air source heat pumps (ASHPs) to ‘energy-efficiency instrument’ status but is working with experts to develop criteria enabling the technology to retain its renewable energy source status.
H&V News 11th Sept 2008 more >>
Lancashire Schools
Five new Lancashire Schools opened this week powered by bio-mass boilers, fuelled by wood chips from renewable sources. Solar panels and photovoltaic panels also generate renewable energy, there are plenty of large windows providing natural light, even the rainwater is gathered from the roofs to be recycled.
Lancashire County Council 10th Sept 2008 more >>
Norwich Open-Day
Fifteen eco-buildings and energy-efficient developments will open their doors to the public from tomorrow for free guided tours. The open days, which run until Sunday, are part of the Heritage Open Days scheme and will give people the chance to learn about how renewable energy and sustainable building design works in practice, by meeting owners, architects and builders responsible for some of the most ground-breaking properties in the county.
Norwich Evening News 10th Sept 2008 more >>
Northern Ireland
The Northern Irish Green Party has called for alternative energy to be introduced into social housing, for renewables to be included in building standards and for grants to be made available to households switching from fossil fuels to solar or wind energy.
Belfast Telegraph 10th Sept 2008 more >>
Bootle Turbines
BOOTLE’S newly-constructed Vesty Business Park incorporates 46 roof-mounted wind turbines along with a 26m freestanding turbine, which together provide at least 10% of the development’s energy supply.
Liverpool Daily Post 10th Sept 2008 more >>
Transition Town
The original working group of the Lewes Transition Town has now formed itself into the Ouse Valley Energy Services Company Ltd, and with the help of government grants is rolling out subsidised renewable energy technologies across the area. Lewes is planning on following in the footsteps of Totnes, which last year launched its own currency, accepted only by local businesses, in order to support the local economy and to start people thinking about the way they spend money.
Guardian 10th Sept 2008 more >>
Camden tackles Victorian houses
The opening of the EcoHouse at 17 St Augustine’s Road with Camden Council and other partners involved in the project featured expert discussions on the heritage issues and techniques of turning existing homes into energy efficient ones. A tour of the Victorian property highlighted the techniques and renewable energy used. Changes made to the house, which was built in 1850, will cut carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent.
Camden Borough Council 9th Sept 2008 more >>
Eco-dream or nightmare?
The Government has angered local residents with its plans for a huge eco-friendly housing development in Long Marston, Warwickshire. As part of the consultation process, the Government put together a ‘day in the life’ scenario outlining what life would be like in the Middle Quinton eco-town in 2020, while opponents have drawn up their own vision of the future.
Birmingham Post 9th Sept 2008 more >>
Croydon-sur-Seine
A team of architects is investigating proposals for reducing Paris’s carbon emissions, including local renewable energy plants, and a congestion charge inspired by the success of the London system.
Daily Mail 9th Sept 2008 more >>
York Eco-depot
York’s award winning Eco Depot has become even more environmentally friendly, after having a new wind turbine installed. The device will generate ten per cent of the energy used at the building. The wind turbine is the final feature included in the original plans for the eco depot and will join the biomass boiler, straw insulation and solar panels – all of which reduce the building’s energy consumption.
Green Building 8th Sept 2008 more >>
Dundee Trailblazers
A DUNDEE couple, encouraged by The Courier’s coverage of energy-saving devices and “green” issues, have put forward a planning application to Dundee City Council to have a wind turbine added to their property.
Dundee Courier 8th Sept 2008 more >>
Fuel Poverty
A group of charities and consumer bodies have called for the government to follow a 10-point charter on fuel poverty. The charter, supported by Friends of the Earth, the Association for Conservation of Energy and National Energy Action, urges the government to properly insulate UK homes, install renewable energy systems and provide short-term crisis payments to low earners. Ed Matthew, Head of UK Climate at Friends of the Earth, said the government’s current fuel poverty plan was “hopelessly off course” and must be transformed.
BBC 8th Sept 2008 more >>
Express 8th Sept 2008 more >>
Herald 8th Sept 2008 more >>
Green Building 9th Sept 2008 more >>
Green New Deal
Caroline Lucas MEP, the new leader of the Green Party has outlined their ‘Green New Deal’ programme for tackling climate change. The £50bn a year package is intended to decarbonise electricity and heat generation as well as reducing emissions from the housing sector, using a range of measures from insulating individual homes to building/district heating CHP. Lucas believes that the programme will stimulate the creation of a so-called ‘carbon army’ of environmental workers: “To reduce carbon dramatically will require expertise ranging from large-scale engineering projects such as combined heat and power and offshore wind.”
Green New Deal Group 7th Sept 2008 more >>
Chorley Schools
Schools in Chorley could benefit from a £1million investment in green energy. Albany Science College, is among the schools to receive free solar panels, worth £20,000, thanks to the first phase of The Co-operative’s Green Energy for Schools scheme. Now the organisation is investing a further £1m in more solar panels and other renewable technologies including wind turbines, biomass boilers and ground source heat pumps.
Lancashire Evening Telegraph 6th Sept 2008 more >>
Energy Ball
Swedish company Home Energy recently announced an innovative wind turbine that spins in a spherical formation.
Inhabitat 3rd Sept 2008 more >>