News Archive

week ending 22 May 2009

 

Low Carbon Nuns

Benedictine nuns from Stanbrook Abbey in Worcestershire have moved into a new £4.7 million residence designed to let them lead a low-carbon lifestyle. Fitted with solar panels and a biomass boiler fuelled by local woodchips, the environmentally-friendly convent is situated in the North York Moors national park.

Low Carbon Economy 22nd May 2009 more >>

Scottish Biomass

The Scottish government has awarded £1.6 million in funding for small-scale biomass heat projects across Scotland, it has been announced. The funds have been distributed across 26 projects as part of the administration’s Biomass Heat Scheme.

New Energy Focus 22nd May 2009 more >>

Low Carbon Economy 21st May 2009 more >>

NFU Survey

If you’re generating renewable energy on your farm - or if you will be in the near future - the NFU wants to know about it.

NFU 22nd May 2009 more >>

Europe Plan

UK construction experts have reacted angrily to proposals from the European parliament that will oblige all buildings to meet their entire energy needs on site by 2019. If implemented, the directive would scupper plans being mooted by the communities department to allow developers to meet energy targets through off-site generation once they had exhausted other options. The European parliament voted in April to reform the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive to include the new clause.

Building 22nd May 2009 more >>

Solar Bristol

Elmlea Junior School in Westbury-on-Trym is the first in the city to benefit from free solar panels worth £20,000. They were switched on yesterday at a ceremony involving officials of The Co-operative, which has funded the panels through its Green Energy scheme. The 24 photovoltaic panels should generate about 3,300 kilowatt hours of electricity each year – enough to power a school computer for 33,000 hours or to make 180,000 cups of tea for thirsty teachers – saving about two tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Bristol Evening Post 21st May 2009 more >>

All Energy

The All-Energy 09 event is aimed at the renewable and green energy sectors and judging by the full car park and the throng of sharply-suited business people in the aisles this is a growth area. The exhibition also lays to rest any notion that innovation is dead. The halls were absolutely brimming with new and ingenious technology designed to wrestle energy from wind, water, soil or even from the most apparently unpromising biomass.

Dundee Courier 21st May 2009 more >>

Seven companies are bidding for business on an Invest NI stand at the All-Energy 2009 show in Aberdeen this week. A further four companies have also been assisted by the economic development agency to visit the event, the UK’s biggest renewable energy exhibition.

Belfast Telegraph 21st May 2009 more >>

Wind Farming

THERE has never been a better time for farmers to consider harnessing the power of the wind, according to renewable energy specialists at city firm Carter Jonas. It follows the lifting of funding restrictions on grants from 50 per cent to 100 per cent on projects which qualify for funding under the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE),

Peterborough Evening Telegraph 20th May 2009 more >>

Green Heat School

CHILDREN at a primary school near Tavistock will be kept warm with ‘green’ energy next winter. Gulworthy Primary School is installing a biomass boiler as part of a £60,000 project. Biomass boilers generate renewable heat and hot water by burning biomass such as wood rather than fossil fuels such as natural gas.

Plymouth Herald 20th May 2009 more >>

Moray Biomass

Among local groups to benefit were the Findhorn-based Moray Bio-energy Centre, who received £9,000. The organisation, which is a social enterprise, will hire professionals to carry out research with a view to updating an existing business plan regarding the production of sustainable heating fuel. The award will cover legal advice, architects fees, market research and research and development costs.

Forres Gazette 20th May 2009 more >>

Eco-builders

Rawle Gammon & Baker (RGB) builders’ merchants opened a new ‘eco centre’ on Marsh Barton. The outlet, in Alphinbrook Road, specialises in environmentally friendly technology and materials. The opening follows the success of a similar centre at the company’s head office in Barnstaple. Family-owned RGB now has 13 branches across the South West. Representatives of many of the firm’s suppliers were on hand at the opening to advise customers on products ranging from ground source heat pumps to energy efficient boilers.

Exeter Express & Echo 20th May 2009 more >>

Power in Your Own Hands

With household budgets tighter than ever, more and more people are planning to make a return on their investment by selling back to the grid some of the electricity they have generated from solar panels and wind turbines. The trend has been given impetus by the Government’s decision to introduce feed-in tariffs as an extra incentive for small producers.

Express 20th May 2009 more >>

Birmingham Wholesale Markets

A £100 million scheme to move Birmingham Wholesale Markets out of Digbeth has been given the green light - clearing the way for one of the UK’s biggest urban regeneration opportunities. The team designing the replacement market, near the M6 has been briefed to deliver an iconic building with extensive renewable energy systems.

Birmingham Post 20th May 2009 more >>

Renewable Training

SCOTLAND’s first training centre for the installation of micro-renewables is to be set up. Inverness College, which is part of the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), will work in partnership with Community Energy Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Scotsman 20th May 2009 more >>

Press & Journal 20th May 2009 more >>

CHP Expansion

Manchester company ENER-G has opened a new factory to boost production of its combined heat and power (CHP) systems. The systems, which run on natural gas or renewable biogas, have seen such a high global demand that the company has trebled its manufacturing capacity over the last two years.

New Energy Focus 19th May 2009 more >>

Regen South West

REGEN SW is the sustainable energy agency for the South West. Its mission is to speed up the transition to a low-carbon economy by unlocking sustainable-energy business opportunities, accelerating the uptake of the region’s renewable energy resources, and championing effective energy-demand-reduction initiatives in the region. Since 2002 the South West RDA has invested more than £5.3million in Regen SW.

Plymouth Herald 19th May 2009 more >>

York University

The next stage of the massive £500m expansion of York University has been unveiled. The development is being themed heavily around the environment to meet exacting carbon reduction and renewable energy targets. A biomass boiler is being installed to generate hot water using woodchip from sustainable sources.

Yorkshire Post 19th May 2009 more >>

Western Isles Community Wind

PLANNING permission was granted today (Tuesday) for community windfarms to be established in four areas of the Western Isles, subject to consultation being successful.

Stornoway Gazette 19th May 2009 more >>

One Fewer Tesco Turbines

TESCO’S plan for a 10m-high wind turbine in Plymouth have been opposed by town councillors who say it would be too noisy.

Plymouth Herald 19th May 2009 more >>

Carbon Neutral Seafood

Cumbrian Seafoods recently got planning permission for two wind turbines for its plant at Seaham in County Durham with a view to making this factory carbon neutral as soon as possible.

Invest in England’s North West 19th May 2009 more >>

Support for Solar Thermal Needed

A leading figure in the solar industry has called for the “right support and financial” mechanism to encourage the growth of solar-powered heating systems. Speaking at the New Energy Focus Renewable Heat conference in London on Thursday, Solar Trade Association chairman Howard Johns said that solar thermal technology was “ready to go”, but was waiting for government support

New Energy Focus 19th May 2009 more >>

Another Tesco Turbine is Go

TESCO supermarket has been given the planning green light to build a wind turbine within the car park of its store off Richmond Drive in Skegness.

Skegness Standard 18th May 2009 more >>

Hospital Heat Pump

A new hospital unit opened in Norwich last week boasting the UK’s largest ground source heat collection system. The new mental health unit at the Hellesden Hospital saw a 100kW system installed by local firm Econic, using 120 boreholes to draw up heat from the ground. The £9.4 million project installed on behalf of the Norfolk & Waveney Mental Health Foundation Trust has already been of huge interest to other hospital trusts, as the NHS seeks to move towards carbon neutrality by 2018.

New Energy Focus 18th May 2009 more >>

Pop goes Solar

DARWEN Live organisers hope to make a big impression this year by leaving a smaller carbon footprint. The two-day festival featuring talented local musicians, will also boast Europe’s only fully solar-powered stage.

Lancashire Telegraph 15th May 2009 more >>

NE Lincolnshire plugs in

ECO-friendly businesses in North East Lincolnshire have been praised for plugging into green technology. Millstone Garden Centre, Waltham and The Hall restaurant, Ashby-cum-Fenby, have both been granted permission to build wind turbines on their premises by North East Lincolnshire Council.

Grimsby Telegraph 15th May 2009 more >>

Government Heat Strategy

The Department of Energy and Climate Change said yesterday it is looking “very closely” at how to encourage the use of more district heating systems. As part of its review of UK heat policy, it is looking into how to encourage investment in local pipework networks to deliver low-carbon heat to entire communities of homes and businesses. Hergen Haye, head of distributed energy and heat policy in the Department, said yesterday that new research his Department had commissioned suggested one in five households could benefit from joining community heating systems.

New Energy Focus 15th May 2009 more >>

Waste should be better used as a low-carbon source of heat, government officials said yesterday, as they revealed their work to encourage it.

New Energy Focus 15th May 2009 more >>

Heat Mining

Tory leader David Cameron has pledged support for deep geothermal energy projects that could bring jobs to mining areas in Cornwall, Yorkshire and the North East. Mr Cameron was visiting Cornwall yesterday to find out about the potential for so-called “heat mining”, which experts believe could offer 10% of the country’s energy needs.

New Energy Focus 15th May 2009 more >>

Small Wind

Small wind turbine manufacturer Iskra has rebranded itself ahead of an “aggressive” expansion plan centred around a new 5kW wind turbine it launched this week. The Loughborough company is renaming itself “Evance”, pinning its hopes to a new R9000 product it describes as an “advanced” wind turbine designed for rural homes, schools and farms as well as light commercial applications.

New Energy Focus 15th May 2009 more >>

Biomass Swimming

Northern Ireland’s first 50-metre Olympic-sized swimming pool will be heated by burning waste wood dumped on council amenity sites in North Down, it has been revealed.

Enviro Solution 14th May 2009 more >>

Environment Agency Turbine

A WIND turbine may be installed at the Environment Agency site in Pevensey Bay. A planning application has been lodged with Wealden District Council to install a 29ft high grey pole with 18ft black blades. The turbine would be ground mounted at the site on Coast Road and connected to the Environment Agency office building.

Worthing Herald 14th May 2009 more >>

Eco Bling

Attempts to make buildings more energy-efficient by installing expensive ‘green technologies’ have resulted in the rise of ‘eco-bling’, a symposium in Trinity College heard. Academics and practitioners of sustainable energies said that much money was being spent on micro-renewable energy systems when extra insulation and draught-proofing would be more effective.

Enviro Solutions 14th May 2009 more >>

Moray Heat Pumps

A housing association in Moray, Scotland, has fitted air source heat recovery pumps to new-build properties in a pilot heating scheme aiming to cut carbon emissions. Working with support services company eaga, the Moray Housing Partnership is using the low-carbon heat systems in eight new houses in Burghead.

New Energy Focus 13th May 2009 more >>

Distributed Energy to Save the Planet

Economist Jeremy Rifkin galvanised the Research Connections 2009 conference in Prague with a roadmap to simultaneously solve the economic and energy crises. He proposed a pan-European strategy of small-scale energy generation and smart energy grids that make everyone a partner in energy. What is more, he said, the plan would create millions of jobs and foster investment that would see the end of the current economic crisis. Mr Rifkin leads a roundtable of 100 top CEOs and government officials who have subscribed to the plan. The roundtable is part of the Foundation on Economic Trends, which Mr Rifkin founded. He said old economic models will not see humanity through, and the combination of the climatic, energy and economic woes of the planet created a “perfect storm” that will see in a new era for its inhabitants.

BBC 11th May 2009 more >>

 

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