School turbine
Quiet Revolution Turbine at Kings College School, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton.
week ending 25 September 2009
Sheffield Grants
Community groups across Sheffield have the chance to access part of a £350,000 funding pot available to help reduce the impact of climate change. The funding is available through each of the Sheffield City Council’s seven Community Assembly teams.
Build 24th Sept 2009 more >>
Thin film solar
General Electric plans to give its solar business a charge within two years by introducing panels with the same solar cell material used by industry cost leader First Solar. In 2011, the energy giant expects to produce solar panels made with cadmium telluride, a thin-film solar cell material, Michael Idelchik, vice president of advanced technologies at GE Global Research, said here Wednesday at the EmTech conference. The company now sells solar panels that use silicon solar cells, but its long-term bet is on thin-film--and specifically cadmium telluride--because it offers the cheapest cost per watt, he said. GE is developing technology to recycle solar cell material, as cadmium is a very toxic if it enters the environment.
Green Tech 24th Sept 2009 more >>
Stroud 50:50
The Stroud 5050 campaign aims to give a voice to local support for wind energy. It wants to empower people and Stroud District Council to make it happen. The idea is that votes will show people’s active commitment, or not, to the supply of 50% of Stroud’s energy needs from a clean, green source that will never run out – the wind.
This is Gloucestershire 24th Sept 2009 more >>
We Support Solar
An additional 10p per kWh incentive would see nearly 30,000 jobs in the solar sector created by 2014 and deliver more than six times the government’s target for solar electricity generation, according to the umbrella group ‘We Support Solar’, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC), and Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) which have brought together almost 16,000 building companies. The group said that the Government’s proposed feed-in tariff (FiT), or ‘Clean Energy Cashback’, rates represented a “missed opportunity”, and claimed that adding 10p would drive demand for 400,000 new solar photovoltaic (PV) installations on homes by 2014, and create 30,000 jobs in solar manufacturing, design, installation and servicing.
New Energy Focus 24th Sept 2009 more >>
Liberal Democrats
The Lib Dems proposed getting 40% of electricity from clean sources by 2020. Some of the ways in which the Liberal Democrats hope to achieve this figure are by: Developing an electricity grid that can integrate new, clean energy technologies; Introducing new energy efficiency legislation for products; Launching a ‘Warm Homes’ programme, aimed at making all UK homes energy-efficient by 2020; Merging the carbon and energy saving trusts into a single delivery authority, responsible for delivering all the UK energy and climate target.
New Energy Focus 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Eco Village
Revised plans for an “eco village”, designed to revitalise a rural area of County Durham, are due to be considered by councillors. The Weardale Taskforce, which is submitting the plans, said the site will feature all five forms of land-based renewable energy available in the UK - hydro, solar, wind, biomass and geothermal.
BBC 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Swansea Footprint
A website is being launched to help encourage businesses and other organisations to use renewable energy sources and cut their carbon footprints. Swansea Council has joined forces with The Carbon Trust to put www.swansearenewables.com together. The website has now gone live and provides information on renewable energy sources and low carbon technologies. It also gives examples of places in Swansea where such technologies can be seen in action.
News Wales 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Denbighshire Commitment
Denbighshire County Council is set to become a more greener, cleaner, environmentally-friendly organisation after a blueprint on reducing carbon emissions was approved by the Council. The council, as part of its on-going programme, has now agreed to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 33% by 2020, an annual reduction of 3%. The council will undertake a series of projects which will increase efficiency of the things it uses and the things it does, as well as increasing the use of renewable energy and considering the environment in every activity the council undertakes.
Denbighshire County Council 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Ecovision
RENEWABLE energy installers Ecovision has moved to plush new premises in Doughton, near Tetbury. The offices in Barley Court are in fact owned by renewable energy supporter HRH The Prince of Wales, who planted a tulip tree on site to mark the occasion. Formally based in Uley, the firm recently installed its brand of fuel-reducing heat pumps for Prince Charles at his residence in Highgrove.
Stroud News & Journal 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Sidmouth Solar
SIDMOUTH residents can find out if solar power could cut down high energy bills at a special event tomorrow. The Sid Valley Energy Action Group (SVEAG) has organised an information evening on Thursday.
Devon 24 23rd September 2009 more >>
Energy Performance
Homeowners in Manchester are being urged to asses whether or not their home is sufficiently green enough, as it is understood that government advisory organisation, the Energy Saving Trust (EST) wants it to become illegal from 2015 to put a home up for sale which has an energy performance rating lower than band E.
Salford Online 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Scottish Plan
Environment Minister, Roseanna Cunningham says Scotland is on the brink of a potentially lucrative “green revolution.” She said over 70,000 new jobs could stem from a major expansion in the number of companies developing state-of-the-art ways to tackle pollution, manage waste and reduce carbon. She said a new environmental and clean technologies (ECT) action plan would bring together various organisations in a bid to ensure firms make the most of the opportunities open to them.
Dundee Courier 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Great Yarmouth Trial
Nine homes in villages around Great Yarmouth have become the first to benefit from a £1m pilot study in the east of England looking at hi-tech solutions to tackling fuel poverty. The local authority homes, managed by Great Yarmouth Community Housing, have all been fitted with Mitsubishi Electric’s Ecodan air-source heat pump and solar thermal technology to provide up to 60pc of the residents’ hot water needs.
East Anglian Daily Press 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Great Yarmouth Mercury 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Heat Pump Surge
Nu-Heat is the UK’s biggest supplier of domestic underfloor heating systems. Its deal with Stiebel Eltron follows a trial of the German firm’s products which saw heat pumps sales surge. Nu-Heat’s Adrian Troop predicted heat pump sales would double in 2010 as the green energy sector grows.
Exeter Express & Echo 22nd Sept 2009 more >>
Community Renewables
The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) and The Co-operative have organised a high profile initiative to show the potential of community, business and locally based renewable energy schemes in the Fens of Cambridgeshire today.
Build.co.uk 22nd Sept 2009 more >>
New Energy Focus 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Bicton AD
A RENEWABLE energy source from animal waste and sewerage is the topic at a seminar at Bicton Arena next month. Energy from Waste is will present farmers the ‘opportunities’ open to them in Anaerobic Digestion (AD).
Devon 24 22nd Sept 2009 more >>
Banff CHP
AN £8 MILLION biomass heat and power plant with the capacity to power 2,500 homes could be the latest green energy development to be created at Boyndie. The plant, close to the existing seven-turbine wind farm, would create energy through the burning of wood chips which would otherwise be dumped in a landfill site.
Banffshire Journal 22nd Sept 2009 more >>
Norwegian Solar
Norwegian solar power specialist Renewable Energy Corporation has reaffirmed its expansion plans for the commercial roof-top segment of its market by decking out the roof of the new Hugo Boss logistics centre in Metzingen, Germany.
Small Cap News 22nd Sept 2009 more >>
Lib Dem Councils
The party backed an amendment promising that any council run or influenced by the Lib Dems would commit itself to the campaign’s objectives, and party members would make “similar personal commitments”.
Guardian 22nd Sept 2009 more >>
Farm emissions
FARMERS were yesterday urged to go on-line to check out how they could help reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from their farms while at the same time helping the financial viability of their businesses. The website funded by the Scottish Government and hosted by the Scottish Agricultural College, lists five areas where farmers should clean up their act. It urges using fuel and energy more efficiently, developing more renewable energy, optimising the use of fertilisers and manures, including the storage of waste, and the locking of carbon into the soil.
Scotsman 22nd Sept 2009 more >>
Warm Front
People living in two million homes in the UK have been helped by a government scheme to reduce carbon emissions and fuel poverty. The Warm Front initiative began in 2000 and has invested more than £2.2 billion into heating homes in England while helping the environment. In the last financial year, £397 million was spent providing help to people in 233,000 houses.
Low Carbon Economy 21st Sept 2009 more >>
Borders Methane
A new renewable energy project by Scottish Borders Council is set to create enough green electricity to power more than 1,000 homes, while cutting annual carbon emissions by the equivalent of around 30,000 tonnes.
Connecting Industry 21st Sept 2009 more >>
Gateshead Footprint
Householders in Gateshead are being offered advice on how to reduce their home’s carbon footprint. The council has produced a free renewable energy guide which describes the latest technology available, and advice on potential planning issues.
Peterlee Mail 21st Sept 2009 more >>
Selby Renewable Park
A VITAL £2.45m funding boost has been announced for a scheme to build a £20m green energy plant, creating 40 jobs in a North Yorkshire market town. Planning consent has already been given for the Selby Renewable Energy Park, which will be the largest of its kind in the UK to use technology which turns food waste into power.
Yorkshire Post 21st Sept 2009 more >>
Southampton Renewable Plan
THE possibility of introducing wind turbines, geothermal power and tidal energy to Southampton will be discussed by experts tonight. Southampton Friends of the Earth and Transition Southampton have organised a public meeting to discover how renewable energy can be introduced to the city.
Southern Daily Echo 21st Sept 2009 more >>
Renewable TNT
THE Exeter depot of delivery firm TNT is now getting 100 per cent of its power supply from renewable sources.
Exeter Express and Echo 21st Sept 2009 more >>
Northants Evening Telegraph 21st Sept 2009 more >>
Rotherham School Turbine
EDUCATION chiefs are likely to be given permission to build a 60ft-high wind turbine on the site of a brand new school later this week – despite the fact that it breaks all green belt planning rules.
Yorkshire Post 21st Sept 2009 more >>
Monmouth Hydro
A MONMOUTH man has built his own hydropower station after discovering the foundations of a 110 year old hydropower station near the River Monnow.
South Wales Argus 20th Sept 2009 more >>
Leeds Green
An eight-storey block of flats in Beeston, West Yorkshire, which had become a virtual no-go area because of the drunks and muggers that lurked round the run-down estate, is being transformed into one of the country’s first zero-carbon residential schemes. A range of energy-saving measures has been employed, including wind turbines and solar panels, and a heat transfer system that regulates the temperature naturally. There are also plans to build a nearby 320ft wind turbine that would be one of the biggest structures in Leeds.
Sunday Times 20th Sept 2009 more >>
Anaerobic East Lothian
WHERE there’s pig muck there’s brass. A farmer has been given a £568,000 government grant to convert porcine dung into electricity and cash. In the biggest project of its kind in Scotland, East Lothian landowner Jamie Wyllie will build a £1.5 million “anaerobic digester” to turn pig slurry into power for his farm, with any surplus being sold to the national grid.
Scotsman 20th Sept 2009 more >>
Micro-CHP
In the UK and other European countries where natural gas is currently the dominant heating fuel, it is anticipated that, micro CHP may soon provide 20% or so of the UK’s electricity generating capacity. This is more than is currently obtained from nuclear power.
Ezine articles 19th Sept 2009 more >>
Centre of Renewable Energy
CORE is a business and conference site which offers carbon neutral managed workspaces and meeting facilities. It is also a showcase for a range of cutting-edge renewable energy technologies. The building is designed to produce more heat, cooling, electricity and power through green technologies than it uses during its day to day operations, and is already exporting electricity back into the grid.
East Midlands Development Agency 18th Sept 2009 more >>
Smart Cities
Europe will select 30 cities to pioneer hi-tech energy systems, while half the power grid should be able to handle renewable energy using ‘smart’ systems, according to a draft EU document.
Enviro Solutions 16th Sept 2009 more >>
Green Building in Norfolk
ABOUT 6,000 eco-savvy Norfolk residents showed off their green credentials by visiting Felbrigg Hall over the weekend. The National Trust site was hosting the annual Green Build event organised by North Norfolk District Council. A wide range of stalls and exhibitions showing how families can live more environmentally friendly, such as solar panels, window renovations and water butts, drew record crowds.
North Norfolk News 15th Sept 2009 more >>