week ending 31 October 2008
Feed-in Prospects
The prospect of households with wind turbines and solar panels being able to sell power back to the national grid has come a step closer after the government tabled an amendment to a bill that would allow people to generate enough power to serve a community of more than 1,000 people.
Guardian 31st Oct 2008 more >>
Climate Guru sacked
Allan Jones goes as Boris Johnson shakes up climate policy at the London Development Agency. The chief executive of the London Climate Change Agency has been forced to leave his post by London mayor Boris Johnson. Allan Jones was hired by former mayor Ken Livingstone to promote renewable energy generation on development sites, particularly in large-scale regeneration schemes. However, Jones has lost his job as part of a restructuring of the London Development Agency (LDA) by Johnson.
Building 31st Oct 2008 more >>
Feed-in disappointment
Friends of the Earth said it was deeply disappointed with Government amendments to the Energy Bill tabled today (Friday 30 October 2008). The environmental charity, which had welcomed last week’s announcement that feed-in tariffs would be included in the Energy Bill, said legislation put forward today was too vague, lacked a timetable and failed to guarantee a feed-in tariff scheme would be introduced.
FoE Press Release 30th Oct 2008 more >>
Britain says it wants to guarantee a price premium for small producers of renewable power, for example from the wind and sun, from 2010.
Yahoo 30th Oct 2008 more >>
Staffordshire Plans
GREEN-THINKING Stafford pupils have launched their own eco council to set up environmentally-friendly schemes at the school. And they have some big ideas for the future, such as installing solar panels and a wind turbine.
Staffordshire Newsletter 30th Oct 2008 more >>
Archimedes Screw
A device invented by Archimedes more than 2,000 years ago is being used to generate electricity under the government’s drive for ‘green’ power. A crumbling 100-year-old hydro electric plant in the Yorkshire Dales is to be refurbished to once again supply electricity for the National Grid. The key to this English Heritage project has been adapting the famous Archimedes Screws to operate turbines.
Daily Mail 30th Oct 2008 more >>
Cross Border Approach
COMMUNITY groups and organisations from both sides of the border met at Berwick for an energy conference on Monday, encouraging them to look at energy generation and energy efficiency measures. The event, organised by Berwick Borough Local Strategic Partnership, Community Renewable Energy (CoRE) and Berwick Community Trust, was aimed at village halls and community building management committees and community groups, to explore how to reduce bills, improve efficiency and generate renewable energy.
Berwickshire News 29th Oct 2008 more >>
Devon Warm Zones
Torridge District Council is involved in Devon Warm Zones, an initiative that was set up to counteract the rising price of fuel and heating bills, whilst also improving the energy efficiency of people’s homes.
Torridge District Council 29th Oct 2008 more >>
London Olympics
London Olympics buildings will be “enveloped” with special insulation to reduce heat loss by 15 per cent, and the renewable energy target will be fulfilled by an onsite wind turbine and a wood chip-fired combined heat and power plant.
Business Green 29th Oct 2008 more >>
Exploiting the potential of combined heat and power (CHP) rather than experimental renewable schemes must be the focus for the organisers of the Olympic Games, according to London 2012’s event sustainability watchdog.
H&V News 30th Oct 2008 more >>
Yarmouth Heat Pumps
Home owners in remote rural areas around Yarmouth are now feeling the heat after an innovative renewable energy system was installed in their properties. Yarmouth Borough Council has given seven families air source heat pumps because they have no access to a mains gas supply.
The Advertiser 29th Oct 2008 more >>
Eco-council
Building work has started on South Gloucestershire Council’s £29-million eco-friendly office complex in Yate. It has been designed to incorporate a series of energy-saving features, such as lighting control systems, water-saving measures and solar collectors for the hot water supply.
Bristol Evening Post 29th Oct 2008 more >>
Colliery goes Green
AN ambitious campaign to buy part of the former Annesley Colliery site for community use has been launched by villagers. Plans include possibly building a number of wind turbines on the site to provide electricity to nearby Newstead Village.
Mansfield Chad 29th October 2008 more >>
Nottingham Green Loans
WITH committed leadership from their MP Alan Simpson the people of The Meadows have been at the forefront of debate on energy-efficient living. The community is planning its own energy company and now a new “green loans” scheme could make a real difference to local households. As a project shortlisted for the imaginative Big Green Challenge £1m award the loans system also has the potential to generate positive national headlines for Nottingham.
Nottingham Evening Post 28th Oct 2008 more >>
Nottinghamshire awards
Lawn View House, one of Nottinghamshire County Council’s most eco-friendly buildings, has won two Highly Commended Awards at the Constructing Excellence East Midlands Region Awards. Features include a ground source heat pump and wind turbines
Nottinghamshire County Council 28th Oct 2008 more >>
Avon Turbine
AVON Wildlife Trust has made a second bid to get planning permission for a wind turbine to provide power for its Folly Farm reserve at Stowey Sutton. Bath and North East Somerset Council turned down an earlier application on the grounds that the turbine could harm the landscape and because it believed not enough evidence had been provided about the impact on wildlife.
This is Somerset 28th Oct 2008 more >>
Another Tesco Turbine?
A major supermarket chain wants to put up a 33ft wind turbine at its store in Kidderminster but the plan has been branded “ridiculous” by a businessman.It would be installed as part of Tesco’s £100 million energy saving scheme.
Express & Star 28th Oct 2008 more >>
Solar Zoo
NEWQUAY residents are invited to visit Newquay Zoo free-of-charge to hear about plans to run the attraction on renewable energy. Newquay Zoo and Cornwall College Newquay are running the joint consultation to showcase proposals including the installation of solar panels.
Plymouth Herald 28th Oct 2008 more >>
Green Electricity
Good Energy, the UK’s only supplier of electricity from 100% renewable sources, has long argued for clear guidelines on green trariffs. However, by ignoring the independent sector and small-scale suppliers such as ourselves, Fred Pearce implicates us all in the same scandal. This is rather sad as the smaller end of the market tends to be where the innovation really comes from.
Guardian 28th Oct 2008 more >>
People Power
Lord Puttnam: If it becomes law, the UK’s climate change legislation will be the toughest of its kind in the world, says Lord Puttnam. However, in this week’s Green Room, he says the government is still failing to make the most of an untapped resource - local communities.
BBC 28th October 2008 more >>
German Micro-CHP?
Renewable energy firm Energetix Genlec is to collaborate with German company Stiebel Eltron to target the European domestic heating market. Heating supplier Stiebel Eltron has agreed to incorporate the Energetix Genlec micro-CHP unit into one of its boiler designs, while Energetix Genlec will provide technical expertise and a number of Genlec units for field-testing. Development of the product is expected to start in early 2009. The firms’ collaboration coincides with the introduction of new German legislation which supports micro-CHP.
Invest in England’s North-West 28th Oct 2008 more >>
Lords
The Government must explore increasing energy efficiency, renewable heat generation and micro-generation as well large scale renewable electricity projects if the UK is to meet European renewable energy targets, an influential group of Lords has claimed.
New Civil Engineer 27th Oct 2008 more >>
Easterhouse Turbines
Mr Swinney was accompanied by Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson on a joint visit to an innovative Easterhouse community project which uses wind turbines to reduce energy bills and electricity consumption.
Scottish Government 27th Oct 2008 more >>
Camden Solar
Solar panels, which help power Camden Council’s transport depot have now saved their first tonne in CO2 emissions. The roof of the York Way building was fitted with solar panels in July 2008.
Camden Borough Council 27th Oct 2008 more >>
Sewage Turbines
WIND turbines could be built in the grounds of Derby’s sewage treatment works. Water company Severn Trent is investigating the potential environmental impact of the turbines, which would be used to power its treatment plant in Spondon.
Derby Evening Telegraph 27th Oct 2008 more >>
Another Solar School
BRENT Knoll Primary School has secured funding for innovative plans to install 24 solar panels. The cash, which amounts to almost £25,000, has been provided by energy firm EDF and a Government scheme for renewable energy technology to power lights and computers.
Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News 27th Oct 2008 more >>
USwift
A home wind turbine already installed at 250 sites in Scotland is now being sold across the pond. Cascade Engineering said Monday the Swift wind turbine, for homes and other buildings, is available in the U.S. and Canada.
Green Tech 27th Oct 2008 more >>
Eco-Geek 30th Oct 2008 more >>
Feed-in Tariffs
Ed Miliband has said he will introduce a feed-in tariff for renewables. FITs work by paying an above-market rate for renewable electricity produced from things like wind turbines or solar photovolataics (PV) and fed into the grid. This pushes the yield on PV, for example, up to 8-10% and attracts huge investment from individuals, communities and industries. The idea is to kickstart nascent industries and reward early adopters of the technology.
Guardian 27th Oct 2008 more >>
Shapinsay Plans
The Shapinsay Development Trust is holding two public meetings to look at how Gigha, the first island community to own its wind turbines is benefiting from the experience and at how Shapinsay is hoping to gain from installing a community owned wind turbine.
Orcadian 25th Oct 2008 more >>
Transition Towns
The Transition Networks movement was founded in Ireland in 2005 to tackle global warming and declining oil production and so far several UK communities have joined up. For further information visit www.transitiontowns.org
East Anglian Daily Times 25th Oct 2008 more >>
Camden Eco-House
I’M absolutely delighted to be able to say that more than 1,800 people visited the Camden Eco House in the three months that it was open to the public. An astounding 890 people looked round it during Open House weekend in September. It’s proof, if proof were needed, that people want to see how a Victorian property can be refurbished to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent.
Ham & High 24th Oct 2008 more >>
Decentralising London’s Energy
Decentralising a quarter of London’s energy supply and locating power plants near the buildings that use energy could help the capital cut out 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, according to a report. A study by London First claims that locating electricity plants locally near housing estates, amenities and hospitals would cut down on energy waste compared to using current centralised systems. Heat and electricity is lost along the miles of high voltage cables required to transmit energy from central generators, claimed the report, which also noted local plants would be free of the expense of transmission lines.
Low Carbon Energy 23rd Oct 2008 more >>
Eco Barn
A thatched barn conversion equipped with a ground source heat pump will save its owners £70,000 in energy costs over a decade, according to its developer. The Manor Farm Barn conversion, which will have a net electricity and heating cost of zero, will get its heat from pipes installed underground.
Low Carbon Energy 22nd Oct 2008 more >>