Currie Award
The wind turbine that helped Currie Community High school share a £15,000 first prize with a primary school in Surrey.
BBC 11th June 2009 more >>
week ending 12 June 2009
Biogas Vision
THE successful projects set to receive Government grants to develop anaerobic digestion (AD) technology were announced by Defra this week, with a number of projects set to trial on-farm digestion.
Farmers Guardian 12th June 2009 more >>
Irvine Paper Mill
IRVINE’S Caledonian Paper Mill has started up its renewable power station one month early. The £59 million renewable energy power plant now provides all of the heat and most of the electricity for the massive factory.
Irvine Herald 12th June 2009 more >>
Aberdeen HQ
ABERDEEN firm Active has opened its new headquarters, said to be one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the UK. The £3million Active Renewable Energy Centre will generate all the energy it requires by the end of this year through a range of technologies, including a wind turbine and a road energy system which gathers heat. There are also solar panels and ground and air-source heat pumps on the site at Minto Commercial Park, Altens.
Press and Journal 12th June 2009 more >>
Norfolk Hospital Turbine
LYNN’S Queen Elizabeth Hospital and green energy company Ecotricity hope it will be second time lucky with their latest proposal for an 80-metre wind turbine.
Lynn News 12th June 2009 more >>
Ayrshire School
DUNDONALD Primary blew the community away on Friday with the unveiling of their new wind turbine. The school’s eco-committee is the first in Scotland to receive funding for the eco-gear as part of The Co-operative’s £2m Green Energy for Schools scheme.
Ayrshire Post 12th June 2009 more >>
Ashden Awards
Solar electricity project in Ethiopia, Ugandan biomass scheme to prevent deforestation and a Surrey school that halved its electricity consumption among winners of Ashden Awards.
Guardian 11th June 2009 more >>
Business Park Turbine
A 66ft-high (20m) wind turbine has been built to try to help provide green power for up to 36 small firms. The 15kW turbine, at Yeovil Innovation Centre, is expected to generate about 28,995 units of electricity each year. The centre, which is owned and run by South Somerset District Council, was recently converted into offices. The £56,383 total costs were met by EDF Energy, along with the district council and the government’s low carbon building fund.
BBC 11th June 2009 more >>
Yeovil Express 12th June 2009 more >>
CHP
The Institution of Civil Engineers has called for the government to investigate the feasibility of capturing waste heat from existing power stations. The trade group for the nation’s engineers said switching just a handful of big power plants to combined heat and power (CHP) systems would immediately cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 10 million tonnes a year.
New Energy Focus 11th June 2009 more >>
Kirklees
The winner of a clean energy prize says government must show much greater urgency in insulating people’s homes. West Yorkshire’s Kirklees Council has won the prestigious Ashden award for its major home refurbishment programme. The council says the UK government could save families £200 a year and cut greenhouse gases if it guaranteed the cash for a nationwide “refurb”. The government says it plans a nationwide scheme based on Kirklees and says the criticisms are misguided.
BBC 11th June 2009 more >>
Winning Currie
An Edinburgh school, which has its own wind turbine, has won a prestigious environmental prize. Currie Community High has cut electricity bills by 13% by improving insulation and reducing waste and uses solar panels to heat its swimming pool. The school shares the £15,000 first prize with a primary school in Surrey.
BBC 11th June 2009 more >>
River Cottage
Good Energy has teamed up with River Cottage to help them make its HQ as sustainable as possible. River Cottage is a self-sufficiency-, cooking- and and local food-focussed organisation.
Greenbang 11th June 2009 more >>
Berwick Turbine
PLANS for a 20 metre tall wind turbine on the northern outskirts of Berwick have been approved by Northumberland County Council. The turbine would be sited on the Newfields playing field and provide electricity for the nearby St Mary’s First School and community centre changing rooms.
Berwick Advertiser 11th June 2009 more >>
Wind powered Turkey
Plans for five wind turbines near a Bernard Matthews facility in Suffolk have been submitted as part of the company’s multi-million pound scheme to power its East Anglian production plants with green energy.
The Advertiser 24 10th June 2009 more >>
Microgeneration Calculator
A new gadget launched last month calculates how much money a household or business could save on their energy bill by opting for solar panels or a wind turbine. Inventor Tony Hammond said the Power Predictor “takes the guesswork out of microgeneration”.
Fair Home 10th June 2009 more >>
Greenbang 11th June 2009 more >>
New Energy Focus 12th June 2009 more >>
Anaerobic Leap Forward
A German technology firm has linked up with a British food waste collection firm in a partnership they claim will “revolutionise” the UK anaerobic digestion sector. Saria Bio-Industries and PDM Group say they will create the UK’s “most advanced and comprehensive food recycling network”, generating energy from food waste that would otherwise go to landfill.
New Energy Focus 10th June 2009 more >>
Low Carbon Economy 10th June 2009 more >>
Scottish Renewable Heat Target
Legally-binding targets to deliver renewable heat in Scotland have been added to the Scottish Climate Change, in a government-sponsored move hailed as “significant and far-reaching” by the renewable energy industry. The measures included the requirement for the Scottish Government to come forward with a national action plan for renewable heat within 12 months of the Bill coming into force, along with a set of targets for a percentage of heat to be produced from renewable sources.
New Energy Focus 10th June 2009 more >>
London Biofuel
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced a £31 million funding package today to support five “bio-fuel” plants to generate energy from the capital’s waste. Speaking at the waste industry’s summer exhibition, Futuresource, at London’s ExCeL, Mr Johnson said the plants would be set up by 2012 to act as exemplar projects.
New Energy Focus 10th June 2009 more >>
Low carbon growth too slow
The global market for low-carbon building materials is expected to rise significantly over the next several years, but growth in green building projects is still too slow. That is according to the Green Register, which was responding to statistics from NextGen Research indicating that $571 billion (£354.9 billion) will be spent on green construction materials in 2013. Lucy Pedler, director of the sustainable building practices promoter, suggested that the “slow but steady” growth in green builds is incapable of dealing with the challenges posed by climate change.
Low Carbon Economy 9th June 2009 more >>
Leeds Turbine
The Leeds skyline is to get a dynamic new feature – a 125m tall wind turbine. Planners have given the go- ahead for the turbine to be erected at the Knostrop sewage treatment works in Cross Green. The three-bladed rotor will be 90m in diameter and stand at 125m from tower base to blade tip. It will generate up to 2.5MW of electricity and help power the plant, one of the largest in the region treating 456,500 cubic metres of sewage every day.
Yorkshire Evening Post 9th June 2009 more >>
Western Isles Community Wind
A series of community-owned wind farms have secured planning permission in the Western Isles, as the islands seek to turn around a disappointing record for generating wind power.The council has approved four wind projects totalling 18.6MW, just a few weeks after consenting another, 900kW project back in April.
New Energy Focus 9th June 2009 more >>
Water Source Heat Pump
The Hermitage River Project, a community programme located near Tower Bridge, has invested in a water source heat pump to provide heating and hot water to its dockside community buildings.
New Energy Focus 9th June 2009 more >>
Low Carbon Economy 12th June 2009 more >>
Google Opportunity
Ice-cream magnate, Maitland Mackie, wants landowners to get together to build 500 wind turbines across the north-east.
Aberdeen Press & Journal 8th June 2009 more >>
Yorkshire Biogas
DRIFFIELD-based green energy company GWE Biogas Limited is to receive funding from the Government’s Environmental Transformation Fund Anaerobic Digestion Demonstration programme towards construction of an £8 million+ Anaerobic Digestion (AD) facility on the outskirts of the town. Construction work is to start immediately.
Nafferton Today 8th June 2009 more >>
Plus four other biogas schemes get funding
The government has announced five new biogas projects that will receive funding through its £10 million Anaerobic Digestion Demonstration Programme. The £10 million fund has been under development since last year, when Defra decided more needed to be done to push the technology into the mainstream. The five projects that will benefit from the funds include plants Dorset, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Manchester and in Shropshire.
New Energy Focus 8th June 2009 more >>
Local Authority Generation
Scotland’s largest local authority is vying to become the UK’s first council to own and operate a wind farm, potentially allowing it to sell electricity. The scheme would see Glasgow City Council initially set up one turbine on high ground on the city’s southern boundaries, rising to five if it proves successful. According to the council, a five-turbine wind farm could generate more than 40m, a proportion of which would go to local communities.
Herald 8th June 2009 more >>
Scottish Rural Economy
Scottish Minister, Richard Lochhead said: “Rural Scotland has undoubted economic potential and we must ensure that we unlock it. “In these challenging economic times, we need to think in new ways such as exploiting our strong position on renewable energy and connecting people to new technologies to enable them to grow their business.”
BBC 7th June 2009 more >>
Environment Agency call to Councils
The Environment Agency and Partnerships for Renewables has urged public sector organisations in the UK to consider using their land and property to generate renewable energy, which has the potential to provide power for over 1.5 million households.
New Civil Engineer 6th June 2009 more >>
New Energy Focus 5th June 2009 more >>
Low Carbon Economy 8th June 2009 more >>
Aberdeenshire Solar
Mintlaw Academy in North East Scotland has become the latest school to switch on solar panels funded by the Co-operative Group.
Press and Journal 6th June 2009 more >>
Buchan Observer 8th June 2009 more >>
Solar Peace Festival
Environmental group Transition Town Leamington will be running a solar powered cinema at Leamington Peace Festival on June 13 and 14. The cinema will be housed in a giant dome made from renewable materials, which is being built by members of the Canalside Community Food project in Radford Semele. Power for the cinema will come from solar panels and a wind turbine provided by Action 21’s Renewable Energy Club.
Warwick Courier 5th June 2009 more >>
Hydro Advance
HYDRO power turbines could be installed in Ruswarp Weir to provide up to 160 homes with electricity as part of a £500,000 project. Esk Energy has submitted an application to the Environment Agency for permission to extract a maximum of 80million cubic metres of water a year from the weir. The voluntary agency hoped to install two 35kW Archimedes Screw type turbines on the south side of the River Esk adjacent to the existing fish pass.
Sleights Today 5th June 2009 more >>
Hexham Community Farm
Members of Transition Tynedale believe the town’s environs could support a commercially successful venture. They are investigating two possible options. Transition Tynedale can either go it alone and establish a small-scale windfarm with up to perhaps three turbines – or it can begin negotiations with a commercial developer. In either scenario, it will be looking to plough a proportion of the profits back into the local community.
Hexham Courant 5th June 2009 more >>
Irish Microgeneration
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) has urged the Government to reassess its position on the provision of incentives for the installation of small and micro-generation units. ICMSA Rural Development Committee chairperson John O’Donnell said current Government policy acts as a disincentive to many home and land-owners making a commitment in this direction. Set-up costs for a wind micro-generation unit varies between 17,000 and 30,000 - a sizeable outlay for potential domestic or farming customers.
Enviro Solutions 5th June 2009 more >>
Trust Biomass
A National Trust-owned castle in Devon has installed a brand new 400kW Binder biomass boiler to replace its oil-fired heating system.
New Energy Focus 5th June 2009 more >>
Luton Eco-houses
Luton’s urban renaissance is in for a big green boost - thanks to an innovative plan from a local entrepreneur to erect the town’s first low energy apartment block.
Dunstable Today 5th June 2009 more >>
Currie High School
An Edinburgh school has beaten off competition from around the United Kingdom to be shortlisted for a top energy award. Currie Community High School is the only Scottish entry to be recognised at the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy 2009.
City of Edinburgh Council 4th June 2009 more >>