Biomass Campus
The 1.3MW Biomass Boiler which provides heating at the new Queen Margaret University campus just outside Edinburgh.
week ending 2 January 2009
Timber Houses
TRADITIONAL brick-and-mortar homes will never be as efficient as wooden houses, Welsh designers believe. Even if they are fitted with an array of solar panels, wood fuel boilers and energy-saving devices, standard homes will always struggle to match up to their timber rivals, a housing conference heard. Delegates were told that timber-framed buildings, made from Welsh wood, can help the Assembly Government reach its low carbon housing targets .
Daily Post 1st Jan 2009 more >>
Tesco CHP
A GREEN heating and power system for the Tesco store in St Neots has been approved. The combined heat and power plant will enable Tesco to generate its own energy from gas which the firm says is more energy efficient than using grid electricity because it makes use of the heat created when electricity is generated.
Cambridge News 31st Dec 2008 more >>
Solar Schools
A MACHYNLLETH based renewable energy company has received a £7m funding boost for its work in providing solar power systems for schools and other public sector buildings. Dulas Ltd has played a leading role over the past two years in a £50m government initiative to make microgeneration a reality.
Daily Post 31st Dec 2008 more >>
Fire Turbine
A wind turbine could be put up outside a new environmentally-friendly fire station in Lincolnshire. Bardney Fire Station, which is currently under construction, could be the first in the county to get its own turbine alongside a raft of ‘green’ technologies to cut its carbon emissions
Lincolnshire Echo 31st Dec 2008 more >>
Anaerobic Hotel
LEFTOVER food thrown out by a Doncaster hotel could soon be playing a small part in solving the country’s energy crisis. The Mount Pleasant Hotel in Great North Road is collecting the waste so it can be processed as a renewable energy source without being sent to landfill where it gives off methane gas when it rots.
Sheffield Star 30th Dec 2008 more >>
Training
A BRIGHOUSE roofing and building company has become the first in the country to train its workers to install a revolutionary renewable energy product. Six roofers at Ploughcroft Building Services have so far completed training from UK solar energy company Solarcentury to fit its new solar electric roof slates.
Huddersfield Examiner 30th Dec 2008 more >>
YMCA
YOUNGSTERS in Bridgwater rejoiced after plans were unveiled for a new £5 million YMCA complex. It will incorporate an environmentally friendly and efficient design, which includes solar water heating, a wind turbine and advanced recycling techniques.
Bridgwater Mercury 30th Dec 2008 more >>
Co-op Turbine
THE Co-op has taken a step closer to installing a giant wind turbine in Oxford which could reach 85m (280ft) high.
This is Oxfordshire 30th Dec 2008 more >>
Feed-in Tariffs
The entire decentralised energy sector should receive a substantial boost from 2010, when renewable energy tariffs are due to be introduced. These will pay system owners a defined payment for every kilowatt hour of energy produced. This mechanism should prove attractive for energy users, while the RO will continue to support energy producers.
Small Cap News 30th Dec 2008 more >>
School Turbine
A primary school on the outskirts of Carlisle is renewing its bid for a wind turbine to help cut its energy bills. A new planning application for a turbine to be put in the grounds of Stoneraise School at Durdar has been submitted to Cumbria County Council by headteacher Andrew Mason. A bid earlier this year stalled after concerns were raised about noise and potential flickering from a turbine’s blades. There were worries too about its location near to a footpath.
Carlisle News and Star 29th Dec 2008 more >>
Penrith Zero Carbon
The man behind what could be the country’s first zero carbon house says Eden Council is facing a test planning case which could revolutionise new homes in the UK. Matthew Nielsen has appealed against the council’s refusal of his application for the four-bedroom house, complete with wind turbine, solar panels and low electricity boiler in Greystoke Gill, near Penrith. The proposal was turned down on the grounds that it does not meet with the council’s planning policy.
Carlisle News and Star 29th Dec 2008 more >>
Swansea Hospital
ONE of Swansea’s oldest hospitals is powering up for a 21st Century makeover. Health chiefs have unveiled plans for an innovative energy centre that will support Cefn Coed Hospital’s future power needs in a more environmentally friendly way. Green bio-fuels and a wind turbine are options for the centre, which, if it goes ahead, will be clad in cedar panels to help it blend in with surrounding woodland.
Swansea Evening Post 29th Dec 2008 more >>
Anaerobic Digestion
FARMERS treating manure and slurry in anaerobic digestion (AD) plants have been granted a welcome reprieve as the Environment Agency (EA) announced they would no longer need waste permits to spread digestate on their fields.
Farmers Guardian 28th Dec 2008 more >>
Scottish Funding?
SCOTLAND could receive tens of millions of pounds in European Union funding if MSPs agree to agree to a groundbreaking £100 million environmental scheme being proposed for next year’s budget by the Green Party. The EU Commission is to open its £300 billion European Regional Development Fund to co-finance national, regional or local schemes which reduce carbon emissions and promote domestic renewables.
Scotsman 27th Dec 2008 more >>
The Scottish Greens have renewed their call for a large cash injection to create a warm homes scheme and help more Scots access microgeneration.
Energy Helpline 29th Dec 2008 more >>
Feed-in Tariff
Small-scale wind turbine manufacturer Proven Energy has said it wants the government to set a 20p per unit feed-in tariff rate for wind when they are introduced in the UK, as the company looks to the new scheme to take some of the financial burden off its customers.
New Energy Focus 24th Dec 2008 more >>
Anaerobic Digestion
Residents in the East Riding have been given their first look at plans for a £5m scheme to turn waste food into energy. Ambitious plans for one of the UK’s first anaerobic digestion (AD) energy generating stations, proposed for land near Driffield, went on public display this afternoon. The aim of the event is to let people have their say on the development before the plans are submitted to East Riding Council in January.
Hull Daily Mail 23rd Dec 2008 more >>
Public Buildings
Public buildings in England and Wales are pumping out 11m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, more than Kenya’s entire carbon footprint, the Guardian can reveal. Unpublished findings of an energy efficiency audit of 18,000 buildings including ministerial offices, police stations, museums and art galleries reveal that the 9,000 buildings audited so far produce 5.6m tonnes of CO2, with one in six receiving the lowest possible energy efficiency rating.
Guardian 23rd Dec 2008 more >>
Telegraph 23rd Dec 2008 more >>
Eco-church
The new church at the village of Bankfoot in Perthshire is buzzing with activity. There are wind turbines, a ground source heat pump and roof tiles made of recycled quarry dust.
BBC 23rd Dec 2008 more >>
This week’s Tesco Turbine
Members of Coventry City Council’s planning committee gave Tesco the go ahead to install the turbine in the car park of the store in Clifford Bridge Road, Walsgrave, Coventry.
Coventry Telegraph 22nd Dec 2008 more >>
DEA Direct 23rd Dec 2009 more >>
Somerset Hydro
A series of watermills in Somerset, used in centuries gone by for grinding cereals to produce bread, have been adapted into microgeneration plants, producing enough cheap energy to power buildings in the local community. South Somerset Hydropower Group was created seven years ago and used funding from local authorities as well as a grant from the Energy Saving Trust, to make the necessary conversions to ten local watermills.
Energy Helpline 22nd Dec 2008 more >>
Harlow
COUNCIL chiefs have been left red-faced over their green credentials after their town centre offices were given one of the worst energy efficiency ratings. Energy watchdogs have said more must be done to reduce the carbon footprint of the Civic Centre and recommended the council considers installing wind turbines and solar panels to cut down electricity consumption.
Harlow Star 22nd Dec 2008 more >>
Zero Carbon Reality on Unst
If you travel to Unst in Shetland you may come across a worldwide eco-phenomenon – a self-built zero-carbon house has been built on this remote, windy island. It has been designed, constructed and powered to minimise its impact on the environment. Even the food eaten by its residents is considered. The story of the zero-carbon house is being followed by thousands of people
Scotsman 22nd Dec 2008 more >>
Bats halt school turbine
COUNCILLORS have refused to let a school press ahead with a plan for a wind turbine because of fears it will kill bats. Askam Village School had asked Barrow Borough Council for permission to install a 11.7-metre tall turbine in the school grounds, about 40 metres from Lots Road.
North West Evening Mail 22nd Dec 2008 more >>
Nottingham Turbine
THE dreams of a determined West Bridgford school council look set to become reality as plans to build a wind turbine at the school are expected to be agreed today.
Nottingham Evening Post 22nd Dec 2008 more >>
DEA Direct 22nd Dec 2008 more >>
Heads of the Valleys
Europe’s largest low carbon zone could be created in Wales’ Heads of the Valleys (HoV) region, according to plans to combat fuel poverty and child poverty in the area. The HoV Low Carbon programme would see 40,000 microgeneration units or their equivalent installed in the area over the course of the programme’s 15 years. At the same time 65,000 homes would have their energy efficiency measured with 39,000 energy reduction measures implemented.
Low Carbon Economy 22nd Dec 2008 more >>
Pontypridd Observer 25th Dec 2008 more >>
Heating Grants
Small Business across the north of Scotland interested in taking advantage of clean green energy are being urged to apply for grants for biomass heating systems.
Press and Journal 20th Dec 2008 more >>
Holyrood Magazine 19th Dec 2008 more >>
Good Energy
Good Energy is now working with more than 500 independent renewable generators. Good Energy works with wind, wave, hydro, solar and bio-energy generators of all shapes and sizes, paying them for the energy they produce. Good Energy’s latest innovation in microgeneration is Good Energy HotROCs, the UK’s first Renewable Heat Incentive that pays domestic solar generators money for the heat energy they produce.
Wiltshire Business 19th Dec 2008 more >>
Planners help
The UK’s Planners are to get help from government with understanding the requirements of green town planning. They will also be briefed in the best ways to respond to the challenges of climate change, Planning Minister Iain Wright announced today. Communities and Local Government (CLG), the Homes and Communities Academy and the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) have joined forces to provide new web-based guidance on green planning issues and climate change. The new guidance will, for example, help councils deliver a new wave of local renewable energy and community power schemes like combined heat and power plants (CHP), as well as climate proofing new development.
Green Building 19th Dec 2008 http://www.newbuilder.co.uk/news/NewsFullStory.asp?ID=2787
Green Buildings
Architects and clients throughout the U.K. are striving to make greener buildings, with many attracted to cost savings, according to a new survey. 88 percent of architects believe they should utilize green practices where possible. Seventy percent said their clients are the primary drivers of green building.
Green Building 19th Dec 2008 more >>
CSH5
Solar panels and a biomass boiler feature at the Ecos Homes Stawell Homes development in Somerset. The five home project has attained level five in the Code for Sustainable Homes, the second highest possible. As well as using renewable technologies such as photovoltaics and biomass boilers, other features also helped the development achieve the standard.
DEA Direct 18th Dec 2008 more >>
Amory Lovins
Amory Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, explores halting climate change, reducing oil dependence and using micropower instead of nuclear.
Fora TV 12th Dec 2008 more >>