A lot more to digest
Pictured above the methane gas storage tank at the anaerobic digester outside of Stornoway on the Western Isles.
The UK is lagging behind in the anaerobic digester league. The Germans have 4,000 generating 10.9 per cent of their renewable energy. In India, there are 300,000. Sainsbury’s alone produces 56,000 tons of food waste a year. By the end of this year, all of it will end up in digesters, rather than landfill sites. The country as a whole generates between 20 and 30 million tons of food waste, which could become a valuable resource rather than a toxic liability if we developed a network of digesters on the German scale.
Telegraph 2nd Oct 2009 more >>
week ending 2 October 2009
Scottish Plan
A FREE insulation scheme for all could be one of the surprise features of next year’s budget after the Scottish Government agreed to an all party meeting on the issue. The proposal by the Greens, originally costed at £1 billion over ten years, brought down last year’s budget and was eventually replaced by a means tested £15 million scheme which has failed to insulate any homes so far. Former Labour leader Wendy Alexander led the way stating ministers need to “go back to the scheme originally promoted by the Greens”. There was a hint that the Tories may follow their colleagues in Wales in supporting a similar scheme, while two senior Liberal Democrats, Iain Smith the committee convener and Liam McArthur, gave strong hint they backed it.
Scotsman 2nd Oct 2009 more >>
House of Straw
A rare chance to see a house being built out of straw bales.
Press and Journal 2nd Oct 2009 more >>
Positive News
Young Kenyans working with Greenpeace’s Solar Generation have installed solar panels and on the roof of the house of Mama Sarah – the US President’s grandmother and on the Senator Barack Obama School in the village of Nyang’oma Kogelo.
Environment Times 1st Oct 2009 more >>
Carbon Reduction Commitment
More than two-thirds of businesses in the UK are unaware of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) legislation, an insurance and energy management firm has revealed.
According to RSA, 41 percent of firms do not know about the CRC, while three-quarters of companies are in the dark about when the legislation comes into effect. This could see more than 5,000 businesses having to deal with rises of at least £55,000 in energy costs from next year. Companies will have to offset carbon through buying allowances for every tonne of CO2 they emit. Alex Matthias, energy management leader at RSA, urged firms to focus upon energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.
Low Carbon Economy 30th Sept 2009 more >>
Feed-in Tariff Exclusions
Investors who installed small-scale renewable generators before the launch of the government’s consultation on Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) have expressed anger that they will not qualify for the renewable energy subsidy despite being “pioneers” in the sector.
New Energy Focus 30th Sept 2009 more >>
Tesco Cuts
Tesco has announced a new partnership with an environmental technology firm as it tries to meet ambitious carbon reduction targets. The supermarket stated two years ago that it intends to cut its carbon footprint in half across its worldwide operations.
Low Carbon Economy 30th Sept 2009 more >>
Vertical Axis
If you are thinking of investing in a wind turbine there are two things you need in large quantities. One is wind (of course) but the other is dogged determination. Luckily, Monty Andrew has plenty of both.
Farmers Weekly 30th Sept 2009 more >>
Express View
About 1.5million households are to be encouraged to create their own clean energy through a “clean energy cashback” system through which they are paid for power they produce (see below). And those who refuse to make their homes more energy efficient will be penalised with higher gas and electricity bills. There are fears that the cost of this ambitious plan could add £250 a year to the typical household’s energy bill within 10 years. But the Government claims that any price hikes will be offset by energy efficiency savings, meaning typical consumers should be only £77 a year worse off by 2020.
Express 30th Sept 2009 more >>
Tesco Turbine
A new turbine for Tesco at Elgin has been approved.
Press and Journal 30th Sept 2009 more >>
Welsh Tory Plan
The Welsh Conservatives have put forward a new scheme to reduce carbon emissions in households through improved insulation. A £120 million investment is being planned by the political party, which would be used for loft and cavity wall insulation. It will take four years for the programme to be implemented if it goes ahead, with work being pencilled in to start after the next assembly government election in 2011.
Low Carbon Economy 29th Sept 2009 more >>
Cambridgeshire AD
Construction work is set to begin on a 2.5MW anaerobic digestion (AD) and renewable energy plant in March, Cambridgeshire, dubbed the “largest in the region”, after planners gave it the go-ahead.
New Energy Focus 29th Sept 2009 more >>
Clean Energy Funds
Clean energy technologies are to have access to an extra £20 million in government-backed venture capital support, Ed Miliband has announced. Advances in technologies such as wave, tidal, fuel cells, solar and energy efficiency are dependent on a mixture of research and development grant support and venture capital, but DECC claimed that the flow of private money for early stage development had fallen back since the downturn started in 2008. The allocation is the latest instalment of £405 million announced in this year’s Budget for low carbon
New Energy Focus 29th Sept 2009 more >>
Spanish Sun
Recurrent Energy, a distributed power company and a leading provider of solar energy, today announced 4.8 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar projects in Spain, which marks the company’s successful entry into Europe.
Euro Investor 29th Sept 2009 more >>
Solar Boost
Recent research into the silicon-based panels’ longevity has concluded that they last much longer than initially feared. Currently, home owners who generate green electricity are paid anything between 5p and 28p per unit they produce, depending on which electricity supplier they are signed up with. Under the Clean Energy Cashback consultation, from April 2010 small-scale domestic generators will be paid 36.5p per unit they generate and 41.5p per surplus unit they make above their own needs, massively increasing the income they will receive. The actual cost of solar panels is, finally starting to come down too.
Telegraph 29th Sept 2009 more >>
East Midlands Partnership
Ten local authorities in the East Midlands have joined a new programme which could help them reduce their carbon emissions by 13,000 tonnes a year and cut their annual energy bills by £2million or more. The East Midlands Carbon Management Programme has been launched by the Carbon Trust and the East Midlands Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (EMIEP) to help the ten authorities work together over the next three months and develop action plans to reduce their carbon footprints.
Carbon Trust 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Isle of Man Award
QUEEN Elizabeth II High School continues to top the Island’s green school league table with news that it has won a £5,000 prize in the EDF Energy Awards for Greener Schools a competition designed to celebrate inspirational schools, teachers and students across the British Isles.
Isle of Man Today 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Crosby Turbine
BIRKDALE doctor Christopher Nkonde successfully applied to set up a wind turbine in his back garden – the first of its kind belonging to a domestic property in the area.
Crosby Herald 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Derbyshire Leisure Centre
Derbyshire Dales District Council has accepted a £9 million tender for the construction of the new Central Area Leisure Centre, to be built on land between Matlock and Darley Dale. The building incorporates significant renewable energy features to minimise the new building’s carbon footprint. These include solar panels, rainwater recovery and Combined Heating and Power (CHP).
East Midlands Development Agency 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Derby Telegraph 29th Sept 2009 more >>
ASHP
As more customers opt for renewable energy heating systems, it is vital that manufacturers and installers are able to provide hot water solutions that are compatible with their requirements. The Ecodan air source heat pump (ASHP) from Mitsubishi Electric offers an ideal solution.
Heating and Plumbing Monthly 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Energy Saving Award
A SOUTH Yorkshire environmental group has won an award from Friends of the Earth in honour of a project looking at how residents can save energy. Penistone Friends of the Earth received the Earthmovers award in a ceremony at the organisation’s national conference.
Sheffield Star 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Renewable Grants
Ed Miliband will today announce a £10 million pilot scheme to help cities and towns reduce their carbon footprint. The money will be shared by up to 20 authorities to help pay for community wind turbines, fitting charging points for electric cars and local biomass plants. The Secretary of State, a popular figure among party members, hailed the “transition town” movement, born in the Westcountry, as precisely the kind of low carbon model others should adopt
North Devon Journal 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Politics 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Business Green 28th Sept 2009 more >>
24 Dash 28th Sept 2009 more >>
New Energy Focus 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Low Carbon Economy 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Kings College School
King’s College School in Wimbledon is one of the first schools in the country to sign up to the groundbreaking environmental campaign - “10:10”. “Our new science building has a wind turbine on the roof and we are looking to make greater use of renewable energy, as well as making our existing buildings more energy efficient.”
Richmond and Twickenham Times 28th Sept 2009 more >>
Inverurie Event
INVERURIE will host the first renewable energy showcase of its kind next month. The event, organised by Aberdeenshire Environmental Forum at the Thainstone centre on October 10, will highlight how new environmentally-friendly technologies can be used in both domestic and business premises.
Press and Journal 26th Sept 2009 more >>
Weardale Eco-village
PLANNERS will next week recommend the approval of a multi-million pound “eco-village” which supporters hope will revive a stagnant rural economy.
Newcastle Journal 26th Sept 2009 more >>
County councillors have given outline permission for homes, a hotel, and a geothermally-heated spa at Eastgate’s former Lafarge cement works.
BBC 29th Sept 2009 more >>
Newcastle Journal 30th Sept 2009 more >>
Eco-Swindon
ECO-FRIENDLY businesses got together to show Swindon how to go green. Yesterday’s Eco Family Day at Orchard Grange was a chance for eco or green businesses to set up a stall.
Swindon Advertiser 26th Sept 2009 more >>
Zero Prize
With a hefty $1 million payout the Zero prize will be awarded to the first building redesigned so that it contributes nothing to, or even mitigates, climate change. Architecture saves the planet. “Our goal is simple,” Dembo says. “Massive change. In Canada and the US, all the existing buildings make up 40 per cent of our carbon emissions. That figure can go up to 65 per cent in cities. In New York it’s 79 per cent. Now, we all concentrate on air travel and cars with climate change. But what about buildings?”
Times 26th Sept 2009 more >>
Southend
Newly refurbished Chalkwell Hall, has been leased to Arts group Metal by Southend Council. The group hopes to make the building carbon neutral and has installed wind turbines on the roof and solar panels in the windows.
Southend Echo 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Scottish Funding
The amount of funding available for projects in rural areas has been increased from 50% to 90%, the Scottish Government has announced. Small businesses, renewable energy schemes and community projects can apply. The scheme has about £58 million to distribute until 2013.
Blairgowrie Advertiser 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Small Island Sustainability
Delegates from island communities around the world will hear how Orkney is moving towards a “low carbon future” at the Sustainable Islands conference in Inverness today. “Sustainable Islands - Towards a Low Carbon Economy” will be exploring the impact small islands are likely to experience when faced with increased variability of weather and rising sea levels, associated with climate change.
Orcadian 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Orkney Islands Council 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Metrotile
Metrotile UK’s first Photovoltaic installation project has been completed on the beautiful island of Fair Isle, a renowned bird watching spot located off of Scotland’s north east coast. As Fair Isle is detached from the National Grid it has always been powered by a combination of generators and renewable resources, such as wind power. So when a new observatory building was touted, the implementation of sustainable and renewable energy resources was an essential part of the design process.
24 Dash 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Build 30th Sept 2009 more >>
Borders Schools
Eyemouth and Berwickshire High Schools have both been shortlisted in the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ category of the prestigious Builder & Engineer Awards. Energy requirements have been supplemented by renewable energy sources primarily in the form of biomass boilers fuelled by wood chip source form local woodlands. In addition, wind turbines have also been installed as a visual and practical educational tool to demonstrate to students the future of modern energy-producing technologies.
Scottish Borders Council 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Islington School
Ashmount Primary School in Islington is predicted to be ‘carbon-negative’, exporting energy to council housing in the neighbouring areas. The local authority brief called for zero-carbon operational emissions, and the design meets the BREEAM Outstanding rating.
Architects Journal 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Microgen Installers
A recent survey conducted by the Energy Saving Trust indicated that plumbers, above any other trade, are keen to provide energy saving advice to customers and with renewables soon to become a must across all sectors, it’s vital that installers understand how these technologies will benefit their customers.
Heating & Pluming Monthly 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Cashback Incentive Increase Call
According to the British construction industry, an additional 10p incentive is all that is needed to create nearly 30,000 jobs in the solar power sector by 2014. The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and Electrical Contractors’’ Association are calling for effective Clean Energy Cashback payments for solar electricity, with at least an additional 10p for every unit of solar electricity produced in the UK. In 2009, the level of payments to households, businesses and other organisations generating their own electricity from solar photovoltaics will be set by the government under its new Clean Energy Cashback scheme.
Heating & Plumbing Monthly 25th Sept 2009 more >>
AD Milestone
A renewable energy technology which diverts waste from landfill and produces fertiliser for farmland has been given a boost by the Environment Agency and Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) who have published a protocol.
New Energy Focus 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Leicestershire Post-16 Centre
The building will incorporate the latest environmentally friendly and energy-saving ideas. For example, high levels of insulation will be used to make the building heat-efficient, it has been designed to maximise natural light and ventilation and there will be a wind turbine on site to generate electricity.
Leicestershire County Council 24th Sept 2009 more >>
Ulster Revolution
The Government’s new energy plan must prepare Northern Ireland for a renewable energy revolution – that is the view of the RSPB as it responds to the Strategic Energy Framework published by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI).
RSPB Press Release 23rd Sept 2009 more >>