week ending 14 November 2008
Retro-greening
“Retro-greening” older homes – improving their insulation and energy efficiency – is racing up the political agenda. Not only does it save home owners thousands of pounds in bills, but the Government’s climate change strategy, which commits the UK to reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, depends on tackling the housing sector, which accounts for more than a quarter of our total emissions. Later this year, the Government is launching a consultation document, to see how our country’s historic period homes can be made more energy-efficient – but many home owners are starting to act now.
Telegraph 14th Nov 2008 more >>
Tesco 50% cut plan
SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is hoping its every little helps philosophy can help beat climate change. As part of plans to cut its carbon footprint by 50%, Britain’s dominant grocery chain is installing 10m-high wind turbines in supermarket car parks across South Wales. The white, six kilowatt turbines have been designed to create energy in swirling winds found in built-up areas.
South Wales Echo 13th Nov more >>
Wind Open Day
THE Blake family from Three Holes showed off their successful wind turbine at an open day on Saturday. John Blake and his family live at Hartley House, and use power from the turbine to power their home, and they sell surplus power back to EDF Energy. Visitors to the open day were able to see the Iskra 5kW small wind turbine in operation, and discuss its installation with Mr Blake and representatives of installation company Segen, who put up the turbine in 2006.
Wisbech Standard 13th Nov 2008 more >>
Ilfracombe Solar School
ENERGY-SAVING sunshine will be the focus of a Solar open morning at Ilfracombe Junior School on Saturday. Through a series of grant-funded projects the school now has 231 solar photovoltaic panels which generate electricity and three solar thermal panels for hot water.
North Devon Gazette 13th Nov 2008 more >>
Keele Plan
KEELE University’s plans to generate its own power in a pioneering £20 million project were unveiled to the public at a launch event. On top of a windy hill rich with unmined gassy coal, planners believe the campus is in a unique position to harness the elements and become completely self-sufficient. Alternative energy sources could include wind turbines, solar panels, coal methane, bio-gas from vegetable peelings and hydropower from nearby lakes.
The Sentinel 13th Nov 2008 more >>
Future Outlook
Renewable energy will overtake gas-burning as a source of electricity worldwide by 2015, according to the International Energy Agency. And microgeneration will play a part.
DEADirect 13th Nov 2008 more >>
Reduce Energy Bills and Tackle Climate Change
Briefing on the Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Bill for debate in the Scottish Parliament.
MicrogenScotland 13th Nov 2008 more >>
Press Release 13th Nov 2008 more >>
Debate in the Scottish Parliament on Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration 13th Nov 2008 more >>
THE Scottish Government is not going far enough in its efforts to tackle climate change, MSPs heard today. Labour’s Sarah Boyack called for more measures on “microgeneration” and energy efficiency during a debate in the Scottish Parliament this morning. Ms Boyack has drafted her own members Bill but said she was prepared to hold off and see if the Government was prepared to put such measures in its forthcoming climate change Bill.
Scotsman 13th Nov 2008 more >>
Devil in tariff detail
The renewable energy industry has applauded Government efforts to boost the take-up of microgeneration technologies with financial incentives. But it said insufficient detail and the absence of a timetable for implementation risks watering down the impact and suggested it was up to industry to keep the Government on track.
H&V News 13th Nov 2008 more >>
RE4D
RE4D or Renewable Energy for Devon has created 55 new jobs in the renewable energy sector and is generating around 1322 tonnes in CO2 savings.
Devon County Council 12th Nov 2008 more >>
Redditch Grants
Redditch Borough Council is offering a helping hand to local people who want to install renewable energy equipment. A £6,000 grant fund has been set up to help people install equipment such as solar panels, wind turbines, hydro turbines, ground source heat pumps and pellet stoves. The funding is available through the Council’s share of the Regional Housing Capital Pot 2007/8 to assist in improving private sector properties.
Redditch Borough Council 12th Nov 2008 more >>
Yorkshire Schools
CHILDREN and teachers at two schools have made a bid to the Government for money to equip their buildings with environmentally-friendly solar panels. Volunteers from Friends of the Earth have helped Thurlstone Primary School and Millhouse Primary School in Penistone with the idea. If the schemes are approved, both schools could be awarded £20,000 from the Government’s Low Carbon Buildings project to install the panels.
Yorkshire Post 12th Nov 2008 more >>
Torfaen award
AN ENVIRONMENTALLY-friendly building in Torfaen has scooped a prestigious sustainability award. Environmentally-friendly features include straw bale insulation, rainwater harvesting, photo-sensitive lighting, recycled cellulose insulation and a small photo-voltaic/wind turbine system.
Free Press 12th Nov 2008 more >>
CBI low carbon call
The government must increase by tenfold its investment in low-carbon technologies if it wants the UK to meet its climate change goals, according to business leaders.
Guardian 12th Nov 2008 more >>
Market Opportunities Report
Microgeneration is currently a cost-inefficient and unreliable alternative to large scale offshore wind generation. Yet, with greater commercialisation, microgeneration has the potential to become part of a commercial mass market decentralised energy system with the potential to deliver up to 14% CO2 reductions and 30-40% of the UK_s total electricity demands by 2050. As it stands, microgeneration will achieve a fraction of its full potential unless facilitated as part of an overall programme.
Live PR 12th Nov 2008 more >>
Isle of Wight Money
Applicants with project ideas ranging from farm food processing, village shops, community halls, forest processing, renewable energy projects and tourism projects, should apply to the IoW Economic Partnership who will manage the project, which is expected to run until the end of 2013.
Southern Daily Echo 11th Nov 2008 more >>
Energetix
Alternative energy group Energetix said today that its Energetix Genlec subsidiary had formally launched the Genlec micro-CHP product at a reception in London. The launch was attended by Mike O’Brien MP. The Genlec micro-CHP module can be integrated into domestic wall-mounted boilers, and is capable of meeting all of the heating and hot-water needs of the home while generating electricity, enabling significant reductions in both energy bills and carbon emissions.
Small Cap News 11th Nov 2008 more >>
Liverpool Daily Post 12th Nov 2008 more >>
Fife Plaudits
FIFE COUNCIL was showing off its green credentials yesterday after becoming the first local authority in Scotland to be publicly recognised for tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions. The announcement was made after the Carbon Trust, an independent company set up by government in response to the threat of climate change, recognised Fife Council as one of only seven organisations to achieve Carbon Trust Standard certification. The council’s drive to cut carbon levels includes an innovative project where the council collects methane gas from landfill sites to generate electricity, and introducing renewable energy into council housing.
Dundee Courier 11th Nov 2008 more >>
CHP
What if I told you that the electricity generators actually throw away and waste 60 per cent of the energy contained in the gas or coal that they burn in their power stations? Would you be completely outraged? What if we took all that wasted heat from the power stations and used it to heat our homes? This is precisely the idea of combined heating and power (CHP), a way in which the efficiency of a power station can be increased to close 90 per cent. The answer is to generate electricity locally and export any excess to the local energy grid. If new blocks of 20 or more flats had their own CHP plant they could generate all their own electricity, and in many cases export it to the Grid, while providing free heating and hot water for residents.
Telegraph 11th Nov 2008 more >>
TUC
The TUC will today urge the UK government to emulate the energy policies proposed by US president-elect Barack Obama and increase investment in the creation of green collar jobs as part of a “green industrial revolution”. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber will call on the government to increase its focus on emerging green industries such as clean coal technology and microgeneration as it seeks to rebalance an economy that has become dangerously reliant on financial services.
Business Green 11th Nov 2008 more >>
TUC Press Release 11th Nov 2008 more >>
Ross-shire School
PUPILS at Gairloch High School have something to “Shout About” as a result of their success in a national Friends of the Earth climate change competition. By winning the “Shout About” competition, the school now has a 1,000 watt Windsave Wind Turbine attached to the school building, which is producing electricity. Pupils impressed Friends of the Earth with their fly-on-the-wall film showing ex-janitor, Allan Wade, demonstrating to school eco-wardens how to monitor and save energy.
Ross-shire Journal 11th Nov 2008 more >>
Wembley School
A network of pipes under the sports pitch of Wembley Manor Primary School in the London Borough of Brent will pre warm air in winter and cool it in summer, reducing energy use as well as the building’s carbon footprint. The school was designed to allow for natural lighting and ventilation wherever possible to reduce fuel bills, limit the school’s contribution to global warming, and create a comfortable environment for the pupils.
Green Building 10th Nov 2008 more >>
Solar sent to Coventry
Grandmother Janet Alty has fixed giant solar panels to the side of her Leamington home - slap bang in the middle of a conservation area. When Mrs Alty first came up with the idea, council officers recommended planning permission should be refused. But Warwick District Councillors overruled the advice, giving the eyecatching alterations the thumbs-up. Now the panels take pride of place on the corner house, sitting directly beneath Mrs Alty’s roof-mounted wind turbine.
Green Building 10th Nov 2008 more >>
Lincolnshire Biomass
A farmer plans to build a mini village on his own land in Lincolnshire to show how biomass fuel can be used to heat whole communities. And he says that the idea can cut also people’s fuel bills in half.
Lincolnshire Echo 10th Nov 2008 more >>
Comrie
A SCOTTISH village will today launch a groundbreaking project that could save residents £300,000 on their energy bills, and cut their carbon footprint by 1,350 tonnes a year. During a visit today to the picturesque village of Comrie in Perthshire, Richard Lochhead, the environment minister, will announce the latest phase of the Comrie Carbon Challenge project, which will see the homes of all 3,000 residents visited by energy surveyors.
Scotsman 10th Nov 2008 more >>
Herald 12th Nov 2008 more >>
Scottish Government 11th Nov 2008 more >>
Mainstream Solar
It’s clear that solar energy harvesting is poised to go mainstream, but it’s not clear which of the many diverse technologies vying for dominance in this emerging market will take precedence. From bulk and thin-film silicon to more exotic compound materials such as III-Vs and new printable organics, the designer has many choices but, as we explain here, each has its own pride of place on the totem pole of conversion efficiency, availability, reliability and cost.
EE Times 10th Nov 2008 more >>
Development
This paper analyses the positive impact of decentralised renewable energy technologies that enhance climate change adaptation capacity in developing countries facing increasing climate change-related hazards.
Eldis 8th Nov 2008 more >>
Tesco Turbines again
Tesco has applied for permission for a micro wind turbine at its store in Witham. The supermarket chain lodged an application for permission with Braintree Council on October 30. The proposal is for a 10.6 metres tall micro wind turbine to be situated at the Tesco store in the Grove Shopping Centre, Witham.
Braintree and Witham Times 7th Nov 2008 more >>
Sustainable Haddington
The community group Sustainable Haddington is celebrating the success of a £5,000 bid to the national Climate Challenge Fund. The group plans to establish a limited company with charitable status, to support and deliver projects for local action on climate change and sustainable living in the Haddington area. It has already launched the Haddington ‘HotSpot’ scheme for household energy saving.
East Lothian News 7th Nov 2008 more >>
Micro-CHP
Baxi Group has signed a preferred supplier agreement with British Gas to distribute the Baxi Ecogen micro Combined Heat and Power (m-CHP) unit. The agreement will see the units being made exclusively available to British Gas customers from the second quarter of 2009 with Baxi predicting the link up could generate revenue of £40million per year.
H&V News 7th Nov 2008 more >>
Aberdeen CHP
Aberdeen City Council has scooped the top prize in the prestigious UK Housing Awards. It has been named as the best UK local authority for Outstanding Achievement in Housing, for an ambitious project which cut residents’ fuel bills by up to 50%. At the Chartered Institute of Housing’s UK Housing Awards the council scooped two awards – both for its Combined Heat and Power project which slashed fuel costs and carbon emissions in the buildings involved.
Aberdeen City Council 7th Nov 2008 more >>
Dublin Heat
As much as 15 per cent of Dublin’s hot water and heating could be provided by geothermal energy within the next five to seven years. The Irish Times reports that early results of testing at Newcastle in southwest Dublin showed that 10,000 homes in that area could benefit from a geothermal system extracting heat from 4,000m to 5,000m below ground.
Enviro Solutions 6th Nov 2008 more >>
Community Project Funding
ENVIRONMENTAL community projects have been given a £100,000 funding boost by the ScottishPower Green Energy Trust. The Trust has unveiled its latest round of successful funding applicants, which include an innovative solar power project and a sustainable energy-saving alternative to outdated storage heating. The eight projects which will receive their share of the funding come from all over the UK from Aberdeen in the north to a school project in London.
Scottish Power 6th Nov 2008 more >>
Green Homes
Renewable energy features are attractive features of a home and are being used in the marketing material for a new development.
DEA Direct 3rd Nov 2008 more >>