week ending 12 November 2010
Solar Farms Clampdown
A loophole that could result in a rash of industrial-scale solar panel farms across the countryside is to be closed by the Government. Energy minister Greg Barker said subsidies for renewable power should not be exploited by companies planning massive ‘sun farms’ in rural areas.
Daily Mail 12th Nov 2010 more >>
DECC Minister, Greg Barker, commented in parliamentary questions this morning that the government had inherited a feed in tariff system that had failed to anticipate PV field arrays. He said that, while the Government would not act retrospectively, large field arrays should “not be allowed to distort the market” for roof-mounted PV or other renewables. The REA has issued a warning to potential investors in field arrays of the implications of this statement.
Renewable Energy Association 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Dorset Solar School
Rainscreens incorporating solar photovoltaic panels have been specified and installed in a re-development of the Blandford school in Dorset. The project was commissioned by the Children’s Services Directorate at Dorset county council.
New Energy Focus 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Muswell Hill Low Carbon Zone
Homes in Muswell Hill are being fitted out with energy saving measures under the latest stage of the Low Carbon Zone. Houses in Hillfield Park were among the first to benefit from efficiency fixtures including insulation, energy saving light bulbs, draught-proofing and energy monitors.
Haringey Council 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Go Green
Low- or zero-carbon solutions to help constituents save money on energy & water - and choose a greener way of life - were the focus of a visit by Jim Paice MP in Ely today. The MP went to his local branch of one of the UK’s largest plumbing & heating merchants to see how the trade helps voters make choices to get carbon out of their homes. Mr Paice toured one of only 5 “Go Green” showrooms in the company’s UK network.
James Paice MP 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Community Wind
Ethos PR has been tasked with building support for community-owned wind farm projects across the UK with a new brief from Energy4All. Energy4All operates as the support organisation for renewable energy co-operatives and is investing in Ethos to raise awareness and support for new and existing green power co-ops.
How Do 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Swindon Solar Farm
PROPOSALS to build a solar farm near Swindon, capable of generating electricity for 1,000 households a year, will go on display next week.
Swindon Advertiser 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Solar Cow Shed
Michael Eavis has installed 1,116 solar power panels on his cow shed at Worthy Farm, the site of the Glastonbury festival
Guardian 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Galloway Gazette 11th Nov 2010 more >>
New Energy Focus 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Low Carbon Economy 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Michael Eavis will be sharing his experience of solar farm technology at Worthy Farm in Glastonbury on November 16. He has just installed a large system on the roof of what he calls The Mootel – a cattle shed where his dairy cows are housed during the Festival. The workshop is being organised by Farming Futures to show farmers how they might diversify sustainably.
This is North Devon 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Hartlepool Heat Recovery
Technology capable of producing electricity from heat generated by process industries is being trialled in Hartlepool. Huntsman Pigments, which develops titanium dioxide pigment to be used in paints at its Greatham site, has partnered with DRD Power for the project. From March 2011, the plant will be trialling a system that uses the waste water to heat liquid with a lower boiling temperature, which in turn powers a generator. It is thought that the project could save between 600 and 750 tonnes of carbon emissions per year and will be capable of generating 200kW of electricity.
Low Carbon Economy 11th Nov 2010 more >>
Windy Cheese
Energy minister Charles Hendry has officially launched Dewlay Cheese’s 2MW wind turbine in Garstang, near Preston.
New Energy Focus 10th Nov 2010 more >>
Smart Meter
KyotoTV is a web application which tells staff at a glance how much electricity and gas is being used in the building – as well as how much it is producing if they have solar panels or wind turbines installed.
Nottingham Evening Post 10th Nov 2010 more >>
Chester Pioneers
SOLAR photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of a Chester home have produced more than 1,000KWh of electrical power in the year since they were installed. This represents around £430 cash in “Feed-In Tariff” (FiT) payments which are paid to domestic renewable power generators in the UK. Not only have the panels have provided a handsome cash output, but they have saved around £100 in day-time electricity consumption that was not purchased from the National Grid.
Ellesmere Port Pioneer 10th Nov 2010 more >>
Lincolnshire Solar
LARKFLEET Group companies are set to save a Lincolnshire farmer thousands of pounds on electricity bills after they installed photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof of a barn.
Peterborough Evening Telegraph 10th Nov 2010 more >>
Micropower Tour
WYRE Forest residents can enjoy a guided tour of renewable energy examples in the district’s homes and community buildings. People who book to go on the renewable energy trail will see technologies in action, including ground source heating, grey water, solar water heating and photovoltaic (PV) panels.
Halesowen News 10th Nov 2010 more >>
Merton Development
Merton Council, in partnership with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and house builder Crest Nicholson, is all set to transform a former school site into a landscaped public park and 217 homes. In line with Merton’s environmental policy - the Merton Rule - the site will be partly powered by renewable energy. The roofs of the Scout and community hall and the medical centre will accommodate solar panels, in addition to other state of the art sustainable energy measures. The buildings will also be well insulated to reduce the need for heating.
ADF Online 10th Nov 2010 more >>
Historic Insulation
Energy-efficient improvements are to be made to three of the UK’s major historic buildings. Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace’s Orangery and the Tower of London’s Queen’s House will all participate in an insulation project being carried out by Historic Royal Palaces, British Gas and Rockwool UK.
Low Carbon Economy 9th Nov 2010 more >>
RHI
FAMILIES in North Wales will be paid hundreds to heat their homes with renewable energy next year. As part of the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI), home owners across the UK could be paid up to £500 per year for going green. Despite the spending review announced earlier this month, the £850m government backed scheme which launches in June 2011 has escaped the axe. Families will be paid for the amount of energy they save by installing renewable technology in their homes, including solar panels or wood chip boilers.
Daily Post 9th Nov 2010 more >>
National Trust goes Solar
One of the largest installations of solar panels on a historic building is set to generate money from green energy and save cash on electricity bills, the National Trust said. The 113 square metre coverage of photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity from the sun has been fitted to the roof of the National Trust Carriage Museum at Arlington Court near Barnstaple, Devon.
Hawick News 9th Nov 2010 more >>
The Oldham Rule
Oldham Council was recognised for its implementation of a new planning policy requiring major developments in the borough to provide 10 per cent of their predicted energy needs from on-site renewable energy sources. To help deliver this, officers developed a new supplementary planning document to provide further guidance on the renewable energy policies contained within the Unitary Development Plan. Since its introduction in 2005 the council has granted planning permission to more than 120 major developments which have used a variety of renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines, solar power, air and ground-source heat pumps and biomass technologies.
Oldham Evening Chronicle 8th Nov 2010 more >>
Not just any AD – a Farmgen AD
WARTON-based renewable energy specialist Farmgen has secured a five-year deal to supply energy to retail giant Marks & Spencer. The firm took a £2.1 million loan from the Co-operative Bank – marking the first bank debt-financed on-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in the UK.
Blackpool Gazette 8th Nov 2010 more >>
Farmers Weekly 8th Nov 2010 more >>
New Energy Focus 10th Nov 2010 more >>
Marks and Spencer (M&S) has agreed to buy energy from a pioneering anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, in its latest effort to ensure it uses only green electricity by 2012.
Business Green 10th Nov 2010 more >>
Hull Tidal
Green energy is coming to Hull’s flagship attraction The Deep. The venue is looking to halve its energy bills next year using pioneering technology. Testing of the tidal machine Neptune Proteus has been completed successfully and the machine – which is regarded as unique for its capacity to produce electricity from relatively shallow tidal estuaries such as the Humber
Yorkshire Post 8th Nov 2010 more >>
Council Power Boost
CASH-STRAPPED Welsh councils could land a £1bn windfall if they use their assets to generate electricity, according to expert forecasts. Local authorities recently gained the right to sell electricity to the National Grid. Now they can cash in on generous 25-year payments for all electricity produced by new microgeneration equipment. One council alone stands to receive almost £35m of net payments, simply by fitting solar panels to less than a third of its housing stock and 13 other council-owned buildings.
Western Mail 8th Nov 2010 more >>
Scottish Rural Money
Scotland’s Environment secretary Richard Lochhead announced a further £35.7 million for rural Scotland to help create new businesses and kick-start a wide range of projects to tackle climate change and enhance biodiversity.
Scotsman 8th Nov 2010 more >>
Solar Meters
The electricity meter was changed last week because the old one had been running backwards. This phenomenon had originally caused consternation on a sunny day in summer when workmen, sent by the electricity suppliers to renew the earthing system, wanted to call the police. Only a consultation with head office persuaded them this was not a felony but a 1970s-style meter responding to output from a new set of solar panels on the roof. The panels were exporting electricity to the grid.
Guardian 8th Nov 2010 more >>
Solar Costs
One of the things for which Britain is justly famous is its lush, green, spectacularly beautiful countryside. One of the things for which Britain is not at all famous is its endless sunshine. Put these two basic facts together and you might reach one obvious conclusion: that any taxpayer-funded scheme to carpet that unspoilt landscape in solar panels in order to generate electricity at nearly three times the market cost is bound to end in disaster.
Telegraph 8th Nov 2010 more >>
Farmers are being offered up to £50,000 a year to fill fields with solar panels under a Government-backed green initiative that threatens to change the face of the British countryside. More than 100 planning applications have been submitted and work on a large-scale installation in Wiltshire is due to begin later this month. But with a 30-acre farm able to accommodate up to 18,000 of the 2ft-high panels, campaigners fear some rural areas could be submerged by a sea of black silicon slabs.
Daily Mail 7th Nov 2010 more >>
RHI
The Chancellor confirmed yesterday that the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will be launched in June 2011. £860 million funding, over the spending review period, will be provided from DECC’s own budget and not through the levy on energy companies as originally planned by Labour. This figure is a 20% decrease over the funding levels proposed in the original consultation released earlier in the year. DECC says this will drive a more-than-tenfold increase of renewable heat over the coming decade, “shifting renewable heat from a fringe industry firmly into the mainstream”.
ADF Online 7th Nov 2010 more >>
Renewable Skills
The College of North West London, Skills2Learn and partners are calling on all those who care about climate change and the Renewable Energy sector to attend a free and very important event on the 18th November 2010 at the College’s campus in Dollis Hill, Willesden. The event is aimed at anyone involved, or who would like to become involved, in providing training and qualifications for the Renewable Energy Sector. This event will provide up to date information, news and views on training, qualifications and accreditation through the two Sector Skills Councils involved (SummitSkills and EU Skills), BRE (Building Research Establishment), The Solar Trade Association and Ground Source Heat Pumps Association. Dr Majid Al-Kader, managing director of Skills2Learn, said: “This is a huge challenge and opportunity which we must prepare for now, rather than later.
ADF Online 6th Nov 2010 more >>
Welsh Microgen
The new Welsh Microgen Network was launched today by the Environment Minister Jane Davidson at the Kenfig Nature Reserve Visitor Centre in Bridgend. The network, which has been established with the co-operation of the industry, has been set up so that installers of renewable technology can have constructive discussions about the issues that really matter to them.
EGov Monitor 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Government Business 5th Nov 2010 more >>
South Wales Echo 9th Nov 2010 more >>
Fuel Cell Micro-CHP
IECHP, a joint venture between Intelligent Energy (IE) and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), has raised GBP3.7m (USD6m) in funding to develop its fuel cell-based combined heat and power (CHP) systems. The investment amount comprises GBP2.7m (USD4.4m) from IE and SSE, as well as up to GBP1m (USD1.6m) in equity funding from new shareholder Scottish Enterprises, via its Scottish Venture Fund.
Strategy Eye 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Islington
A scheme which is helping to bring microgeneration and energy-efficiency technologies to homes in north London has reached a major milestone. Islington Council’s Climate Change Fund programme involves eligible households being offered grants to install photovoltaic and solar hot water systems. The scheme has now been taken up by its 100th homeowner, 96-year-old Violet Allan from Holloway, who could save more than £400 per year on energy bills as a result.
Rapid 1st Nov 2010 more >>