News Archive

week ending 21 November 2008

 

Heat Obligations?

Energy minister Mike O’Brien said yesterday that the government was hoping to introduce its Renewable Heat Incentive “not too long” after feed-in tariffs for renewable electricity begin in April 2010. But there was industry concern at how effective the measure would be at promoting combined heat and power (CHP) projects. The minister was speaking in London, at the annual conference of the CHP sector, where he said the new heat incentive and the changes to the Renewables Obligation “can help to promote CHP as an alternative option”.

New Energy Focus 20th Nov 2008 more >>

Mike Rolls, CHPA chairman, said “ there are still many opportunities in the industrial sector and in our towns and cities where proven CHP technology should be put to work. Without a focused approach these opportunities will be missed - at precisely the time when we most need to take them.”

Heating & Ventilation 20th Nov 2008 more >>

Important Micro-CHP

Fuel Cell Power proposes that ‘pump priming’ by the Government, would enable micro CHP to make a substantial contribution to demand reduction and would facilitate the introduction of renewables. Small scale renewables will contribute to electricity, heat and transport fuels, with batteries, hydrogen fuel cell systems and other innovative devices storing off peak power. This will reduce the need for back up power from the grid and smart meters will ensure that the energy is applied most effectively.

Fuel Cell Power Nov 2008 more >>

Sustainable Bakewell

A new eco-group is offering help to people in the Bakewell area who are thinking of starting renewable energy projects. Sustainable Bakewell is on the look-out for people who have a solar, hydro-electric, wind, ground-heat or bio-mass renewable energy project they would like to discuss. The newly-launched community interest company will help with feasibility queries, and put residents and businesses in touch with expert help and guidance.

Matlock Mercury 20th Nov 2008 more >>

Selling Surplus Power

Businesses across the UK are off-setting the costs of going green by selling the surplus power generated by their wind-turbines to Opus Energy. The cost of installing a 6kW wind turbine at a premise is around £18,500 after available grants. At a national average wind speed (6m/s) at current electricity prices, this turbine could start to ‘pay for itself’ in its seventh year. The smallest wind turbine installed by Eagle Power is 3.5 meters in diameter, with 2.5 kW output

SME Web 20th Nov 2008 more >>

Asda Turbine Opposition

PLANS to build a massive wind turbine in the car park of one of Kirkcaldy’s biggest supermarkets have met with fierce opposition.

Fife Today 19th Nov 2008 more >>

Somerset Hydropower

An eco-development in Somerset is to offer residents virtually free electricity from its microgeneraton hydropower plant.

DEA Direct 19th Nov 2008 more >>

Help for Scottish Fuel Poor

A new Energy Assistance Package is to be made available for the one million Scots who are ‘fuel poor’. Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon announced that the new package, which was the central recommendation of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum, will replace the Central Heating and Warm Deal programmes in a drive to tackle all aspects of fuel poverty, not just energy efficiency. The package offer an integrated package of measures including enhanced energy efficiency measures - including central heating, renewable heating systems and insulation for hard to treat homes - for low income households including families living in homes with the lowest energy efficiency

Scottish Government 19th Nov 2008 more >>

York Biomass

Biomass for heating is to be used to meet the University of York’s commitment to provide at least 10 per cent of its new campus expansion’s energy needs through renewable sources. It is part of an ambitious plan to develop renewable energy to power both the University of York’s £500 million Heslington East development and its existing Heslington West campus.

York University 19th Nov 2008 more >>

Another Islington Turbine

Night-time football matches in Market Road are getting greener, thanks to a new wind turbine which helps power floodlights on the pitch. The electricity generator, funded by Islington Council’s Climate Change Fund, also provides power for the changing room block at the grounds, in N7. It is Islington’s fourth wind turbine; the others are on the council’s Municipal Offices building in Upper Street, N1; the Ecology Centre in Drayton Park, N5; and at Kestrel House in City Road, EC1.

Islington Council 19th Nov 2008 more >>

Ilfracombe Solar

ENERGY-SAVING sunshine was the focus of a Solar open morning at Ilfracombe C of E 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 19th Nov 2008 more >>

Feed-in Tariffs by 2010

The government last night fended off an attempt to force it to introduce feed-in tariffs for small-scale renewable electricity projects within 12 months - but ministers pledged to bring in the tariffs for April 2010.

New Energy Focus 19th Nov 2008 more >>

eGov Monitor 19th Nov 2008 more >>

Miliband argely succumbed to a cross-party campaign to amend the energy bill to create feed-in tariffs for power, allowing small-scale energy producers - such as homes with wind turbines or solar panels - to sell on the electricity at a guaranteed price. Countries such as Germany have been far ahead of Britain in allowing feed-in tariffs, so creating a huge solar industry.

Guardian 17th Nov 2008 more >>

Carbon Neutral Keele

A university is hoping to build a £20m environmental research centre and become carbon neutral as part of its ambitions to become a hub for sustainable energy.

Edie 18th Nov 2008 more >>

Farm Energy

A farm energy event, sponsored by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) in partnership with The Environment Agency and Natural England, will consist of a number of seminars covering a wide range of subjects from looking at renewable energy opportunities for farmers and landowners to how dairy farmers can cut energy costs.

EMDA 18th Nov 2008 more >>

Islington School

The new Highbury Grove School will reduce CO2 emissions by twenty per cent through the use of onsite renewable technology. The sustainable design incorporates earth tubes, combined heat and power, green roofs and solar shading to prevent the sun from excessively heating the building.

Islington Council 18th Nov 2008 more >>

Green Bourneville

A Birmingham house belonging to the Bournville trust has had a green retrofit, and was used as a demonstration home during last winter, open to the general public for information on environmental good practice initiatives. Now the house has been let, and is being monitored against a ‘control’ house for running cost performance for a period of at least 12 months. Hopefully this will allow assessment of products / microgeneration technologies for the benefit of upgrading the performance of existing housing stock. A geothermal ground source heat pump is combined with underfloor heating, and solar thermal panels are installed for domestic hot water. A wind turbine and solar photovoltaic panels were considered but were not practical for this property.

Green Building 18th Nov 2008 more >>

East Sussex Partnership

AN ENERGY scheme managed by East Sussex councils was launched this week, which is expected to provide free or discounted energy saving measures. The East Sussex Energy Partnership consists of representatives from Rother and Wealden district councils as well as Eastbourne and Hastings. The scheme is worth £2.5 million over the next three years and pledges to offer thousands of households the chance to cut heating bills with methods such as wall and loft insulation.

Kent and Sussex Courier 18th Nov 2008 more >>

Solar Worthing

A PRIMARY school that already boasts a tribe of eco-warriors will soon be seeing its pupils become sun worshippers. They won’t be spending their time sunbathing though – they’ll be studying how renewable energy works through sun-powered electricity in the school. St Mary and St Paul First School at South Harting now has 52 photovoltaic cells on its roof, thanks to grant support and fundraising.

Worthing Herald 18th Nov 2008 more >>

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament has backed the Scottish Green Party’s £100 million budget proposals for home energy efficiency programs. The vote saw Holyrood back the principle of a comprehensive Scotland-wide energy efficiency scheme, including support for energy audits, insulation and appropriate microrenewables.

Renewable Energy World 18th Nov 2008 more >>

Irish Lobby

A cross-border lobby group has been set up to advance the case of green businesses, energy minister Eamon Ryan has announced. The Sustainable Energy Association (SEA) is to help businesses in the renewable energy sector make their voice heard and ensure operators work to high standards.

Edie 18th Nov 2008 more >>

Hospital Turbine

A green energy firm is launching a fresh bid to build a wind turbine in the grounds of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Ecotricity wants to build an 80m turbine outside the QElH so it can become the country’s first public sector organisation to generate its own power.

East Anglian Daily Press 17th Nov 2008 more >>

Welsh Houses

UP to 400 new sustainable homes will be built across Wales as part of a unique project announced today by the Assembly Government. The £80 million scheme will see 22 projects constructed in both urban and rural locations. All the properties will be built to the highest green standards, known as levels four and five of the Code for Sustainable Houses.

Swansea Evening Post 17th Nov 2008 more >>

Daily Post 18th Nov 2008 more >>

Ullapool Award?

AN Ullapool renewable energy company is in the frame for two major accolades after being shortlisted in the industry-leading Scottish Renewables Green Energy Awards. Invisible Heating Systems has been shortlisted for the Best Business Achievement award sponsored the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group and the Best Renewable Innovation award sponsored by Scottish Enterprise Grampian.

Rosshire Journal 17th Nov 2008 more >>

French Consumers

French consumers have the greatest interest in improving the energy efficiency of their homes and cars, according to a survey of six countries by Strategy Analytics. The report, Benchmarking Consumer Energy Profiles – Strategic Implications, analysed consumer interest in adopting ‘green’ behaviour and energy-saving measures such as insulation, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and microgeneration technologies.

Energy Efficiency News 17th Nov 2008 more >>

Shropshire Biomass

Shropshire is fast becoming a logging capital of the shires, with thousands of households and businesses switching from oil to wood to heat their properties. And with much of its countryside covered in woodland, the Shropshire Hills area of outstanding natural beauty could eventually become self-sufficient in energy.

Shropshire Star 16th Nov 2008 more >>

Findhorn

Central to the community of 400 are about 55 ecologically benign buildings, serviced by four wind turbines and a biological Living Machine sewage-treatment system. This heady eco-mix has had a new edition Munro House. Solar-heat collector panels are fitted in the roof and a solar-calorifier tank, which acts as a heat exchanger, is in the ground-floor utility room.

The panels heat the water this runs the thermostatically controlled central heating system any electricity required to top it up comes from the community’s wind turbines. For an extra boost in the winter, there is the wood-burning stove in the ground-floor sitting room and a small gas fire in the main living area upstairs.

Sunday Times 16th Nov 2008 more >>

Free Electricity

Eco-development Chudleigh Mill, situated near the river Yeo in Somerset, is promising homeowners free electricity for 10 years, thanks to a hi-tech hydroelectric generator that uses river water to produce power. The generator will cover at least 95 per cent of electricity costs, so even if residents do receive a bill, it will most likely be minuscule.

Observer 16th Nov 2008 more >>

Hydro Power

Britain’s iconic water mills, some of which date back to the 11th century, are to become a major force in the fight against climate change. Mill owners around the UK have started to refurbish their old buildings and install turbines in order to show that they can be used as a source of clean electricity. Government figures suggest that if the resource is fully tapped, small-scale hydropower from the old mills and weirs could provide up to 10,000GWh per year - 3% of the UK’s electricity needs.

Guardian 16th Nov 2008 more >>

The hydro-electric Linton Falls Dam in Grassington, Yorkshire, is being redeveloped to produce electricity for 100 homes. At least 50 more old mill sites are earmarked as further dam busters

Observer 16th Nov 2008 more >>

Truro’s Solar Primary

A Truro primary school has switched over to solar energy with the help of a £20,000 grant. Bosvigo School turned on its new solar roof panels on Wednesday (November 12), thanks to funding from the Co-operative group and the Government’s green energy for schools scheme.

This is Cornwall 15th Nov 2008 more >>

Chorley Grants

Businesses in Chorley are being invited to a special event where they can learn about green grants to help them cut fuel bills and improve their environmental performance. Chorley’s Local Strategic Partnership will be announcing the new grants at the launch of its climate change strategy.

Lancashire Telegraph 15th Nov 2008 more >>

Eigg

Eigg is to become Scotland’s first green power island, according to the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (Nesta). Islanders have won a £20,000 grant after making it to the final of Nesta’s UK-wide Big Green Challenge. The funding will be used to help residents reduce carbon emissions to zero and launch a website called Build Your Own Green Island. Eigg and nine other finalists are vying for a share of a £1m prize fund.

BBC 14th Nov 2008 more >>

Peckham Power

A GROUP of residents have launched their very own sustainable power business. Peckham Power Company (PPC) is being officially launched next weekend and hopes to help families insulate their properties and use the sun to power their homes and heat their water.

South London Press 14th Nov 2008 more >>

Decentralising London

Decentralising a quarter of London’s energy supply could help the capital reduce carbon emissions by 3.5m tonnes according to a study published by London First. The report, Cutting the Capital’s Carbon Footprint - Delivering Decentralised Energy, calls for collaboration between central Government, the Mayor and his agencies, energy companies, developers and boroughs to decentralise a quarter of London’s energy. Linking large heat users such as housing estates, leisure centres and hospitals to locally-placed electricity plants can deliver massive efficiency gains, instead of centralised generation with its huge waste heat losses and losses from many miles of high voltage cables or expensive to install and low output roof-top solar panels or mini-wind turbines. Some local energy centres may produce power from renewable sources such as unrecyclable waste.

CHP Association 14th Nov 2008 more >>

Micro-CHP launch

Utility giant British Gas is launching the UK’s first micro-combined heat (micro-CHP) boiler in the consumer market. The utility company will market it as a unit that can generate electricity and as a result heat, therefore helping to make savings on energy bills and cut CO2 emissions by 20%. The boiler will be available from 2009, and will join a portfolio of “microgeneration” products that the company plans to market next year. British Gas has signed a distribution deal with its maker, Baxi Group.

Marketing Week 13th Nov 2008 more >>

Alternative energy group Energetix said today that its Energetix Genlec subsidiary had formally launched the Genlec micro-CHP (micro combined heat and power) product at a reception in London. 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.

Power Engineering International 13th Nov 2008 more >>

H&V News 10th Nov 2008 more >>

 

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