week ending 10 December 2010
Green deal
The government will today confirm that businesses of all sizes will be able to take advantage of its planned Green Deal scheme with the publication in parliament of its flagship Energy Bill.
Business Green 9th Dec 2010 more >>
Future Proofing
Sustainability is creeping up the agenda as businesses look to “future-proof” their assets, one expert has claimed. Speaking at the Sustainability Now event, Paul King, chief executive at the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC), said cost-cutting is causing businesses to consider sustainability much more seriously than when “times were good”. Mr King said companies are looking at the way their assets will be performing in five or ten years time, even if they are not currently seeing a premium on green buildings.
Low Carbon Economy 9th Dec 2010 more >>
Low Carbon Leeds
The Leeds City Region, in which Selby District Council is a partner, has secured over £300k in funding to support projects that will help achieve a low carbon economy across the city region. Projects include a trial domestic energy efficiency scheme to deliver insulation and renewable energy to homes in one area of the city region, with the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions from homes and reduce fuel poverty.
Selby District Council 9th Dec 2010 more >>
Prison Energy
Lancashire-based green energy producer Farmgen is in talks with Kirkham Prison about using crops grown by inmates as fuel to heat the prison. A planning application has been submitted by Farmgen for a £3m plant at Cooper House Farm, Kirkham Road in Freckleton. Kirkham houses 590 inmates and has 65 acres of farmland
Place North West 9th Dec 2010 more >>
Solar Conference
Experts in solar technology will be discussing the present and future of this growing form of renewable energy at the second Solar Flair conference in County Durham. Here are a few of the topics of conversation that will be raised at Lumley Castle today, from the bid to make solar cells thinner to the role of solar energy in powering the world’s largest radio telescope.
Newcastle Journal 9th Dec 2010 more >>
Housing Associations & Green Deal
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has confirmed this morning that it will be encouraging social landlords - councils and housing associations - to operate as ‘accredited’ Green Deal providers. The Energy Bill, due to be published today, will leave the door wide open for housing associations to be able to partner with energy companies and financiers to provide tenants and the wider community with retrofit services.
24 Dash 9th Dec 2010 more >>
Bristol goes Solar
ALL houses in Bristol will be assessed to check whether solar panels can be fitted to them. The city council plans to use specialist software and satellite images to establish how many roofs would be suitable for the panels. The authority wants to make the findings available to residents wishing to purchase solar equipment to generate electricity for their homes. The council will also seek to fit solar panels to some of its own buildings once the survey has established which ones would be best suited to harnessing the sun’s energy to generate power.
Bristol Evening Post 8th Dec 2010 more >>
Green Deal
A flagship coalition policy to provide homeowners with thousands of pounds to make their properties more energy-efficient will be introduced to parliament today. The energy security and green economy bill is expected to place legal obligations on power companies to cut the greenhouse gas emissions in their customers’ homes. It is expected to allow the companies to offer incentives, such as holidays abroad, to encourage take-up of the “green deal” loans.
Guardian 8th Dec 2010 more >>
Solar Cornwall
TWO OF THE first solar energy farms in the UK have been earmarked for land near Truro. Developers hope the sites near Summercourt and Cubert – which are about the size of 20 football pitches – will be up and running within 18 months, at a total cost of £30 million. Each farm would produce enough electricity to power 1,000 local homes, although the energy will be funnelled straight into the national grid’s “communal pot”. The directors of Solar Securities held day-long consultation events in both villages last week to gauge public opinion on their plans.
South West Business 8th Dec 2010 more >>
Solar Farming
Solar PV has grabbed a lot of headlines recently, especially as the UK’s first ‘solar parks’ come closer to being built. But, the future for farmers is likely to centre around rooftop systems, if a recent survey by Solarcentury is to be believed. It suggests over 80% of farmers want solar PV on their roofs within three years and just 20% are interested in field-scale systems. Now, Solarcentury is a specialist supplier of solar kit for buildings, so the survey may need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but the findings are hardly surprising given the complexity, security and planning issues that surround field-scale solar parks.
Farmers Weekly 7th Dec 2010 more >>
Kirklees Solar Plan
The proposal is to invest £6m in solar PV technology for 1,000 council homes. The solar panels will generate income through the ‘Feed in Tariff’ and will be re-invested. Cllr Mehboob Khan, Leader of the Council and Cabinet member for renewable energy, said: “The council will work in partnership with Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing on this scheme which will see people benefiting from reduced bills. As well as contributing to the council’s carbon reduction targets the other benefits of the scheme will be to stimulate the local economy by creating jobs and improving the skills base. This builds on our commitment to reduce carbon through schemes such as Warm Zone.”
Kirklees Council 7th Dec 2010 more >>
Yorkshire Post 8th Dec 2010 more >>
Huddersfield Daily Examiner 8th Dec 2010 more >>
Training
PLUMBING, electrical and renewable energy training company PPL has secured £850,000 of new investment to fund its expansion plans. The North Yorkshire-based firm employs 18 people providing a range of training programmes at locations across the country.
Business Desk 7th Dec 2010 more >>
Cornish Transition
A Cornish community at the forefront of renewable energy projects has won recognition for its green endeavours. Ladock and Grampound Road Transition group has been named Best South West Community Initiative in the 2010 Green Energy Awards. The award, which recognises the achievements communities that have been effective in working to reduce energy consumption and increase renewable energy generation for the benefit of the community, was presented at a ceremony in Bath.
This is Cornwall 7th Dec 2010 more >>
North Wales Micro-Hydro
AN ENERGY firm is leading the way on sustainable energy by looking to Wales’ industrial past. The Ty Cerrig hydro electric power station in Gwynedd powers 150 households and generates 7oo megawatt hours of energy per year. Last week, Environment Minister, Jane Davidson met with renewable energy specialists at the plant in Dolgellau to launch a brand new scheme. It will aim to revive North Wales’ disused water mills to create energy and communities will be paid thousands to restore old mills to working order.
Daily Post 7th Dec 2010 more >>
Getting a PV Quote
Even though snow has been falling, Steve Emsley has been thinking about making good use of his roof space for when the sun’s shining. OVER the last couple of months I have been writing about exploring solar electrical generating panels (PVs) for our roof. After getting one company (Access Renewables) to have a look at our south-facing roof, and doing a rough measure up, we got a quote for having either 12 or 15 panels fitted. According to my own measurements, this was about the largest system we could fit without resorting to shaded areas of roof, or accepting some on a west-facing roof.
Newcastle Evening Chronicle 7th Dec 2010 more >>
Discounted Heating Supplies
Along with the more standard products Discounted Heating Supplies provide the latest cost saving technologies such as Air Source Heat Pumps and AuroTHERM Solar Sets from leading suppliers such as Trianco and Vaillant.
ADF Online 7th Dec 2010 more >>
PVT
Ecomerchant are pleased to introduce a new range of solar PVT (Photo Voltaic Thermal) panels to their renewable energy generation range. Launched at the Big Green Home Show the Hybrid Solar PVT collectors generated a large amount of interest, centred around the working model on the Ecomerchant stand. Solar PVT panels are revolutionary new renewable solutions incorporating a Photovoltaic module with a solar thermal collector behind, to generate thermal energy and electrical energy from one panel.
ADF Online 7th Dec 2010 more >>
Climate Change Committee snubs solar
The CCC recommends a radical decarbonisation of energy markets to reduce the carbon intensity of electricity by 90% by 2030, achieved through rapid investment in low-carbon technologies including wind, nuclear and carbon capture and storage (CCS) applied to coal and gas plants. Green groups broadly welcomed the thrust of the new report, but Renewable Energy Association chief executive Gaynor Harntell said she was surprised to see no mention of solar power.
Business Green 7th Dec 2010 more >>
Chocolate Heating
An energy saving heating and cooling system installed at one of Nestle’s UK chocolate factories has earned an industry award for its designer, Star Refrigeration. Star’s ammonia heat pump plant at Nestle’s confectionery production facility in Halifax, West Yorkshire, has won an RAC Cooling Industry Award as the industrial and commercial project of the year.
The Engineer 6th Dec 2010 more >>
Radisson AD Glasgow
The Radisson Blu in Glasgow has begun a new food recycling project using anaerobic digestion. The hotel has partnered with recycling business William Tracey Group to recycle food waste into electricity. The project will use anaerobic digestion (AD) to treat the waste to produce renewable energy and organic fertilizer.
Edie 6th Dec 2010 more >>
Danfoss Online
Heating engineers who choose to work with Danfoss Heat Pumps can now reap the benefit of practical support the heat pump manufacturer is providing thanks to a new course being launched. Research shows that customers are increasingly searching online for suppliers of renewable energy and Danfoss Heat Pumps’ new course provides attendees with a better insight into attracting more business opportunities via the web.
Heating and Plumbing Monthly 6th Dec 2010 more >>
Ulster Geothermal
As ‘deep freeze’ weather conditions swept across the British Isles, a ‘ground-breaking’ way to obtain power has been underlined as a way to heat-up NI’s economy. Geothermal energy and ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) use the thermal energy that is contained naturally in the ground - even under layers of snow - with underground pipes that transfer heat to the inside of a building. One local company has already been successfully supplying the innovative pumps - with a senior executive noting that much more can be achieved if Stormont politicians agree to boost such ‘green’ energy.
4NI 6th Dec 2010 more >>
Cornish Solar Race
Plans to propel Cornwall to the forefront of green technology could be given a boost if proposals for the county’s first sustainable energy park get the go-ahead. Goonhilly Wind Farm on the Lizard will challenge Cornwall Council in the race to build the first large-scale solar energy park in the county. The council recently announced plans to develop land at St Mawgan, near Newquay Cornwall Airport.
This is Cornwall 6th Dec 2010 more >>
Green Homes
Grant Shapps, minister for housing, responds to George Monbiot’s comment that the government has abandoned its green homes commitment
Guardian 6th Dec 2010 more >>
Home Sun
A BRAUNTON resident has become one of the first homeowners in Britain to have a free solar electricity system installed to combat rising energy bills. Julie Jarvis will save a around a third on her energy bill after having solar panels fitted to her roof by leading free energy company, HomeSun. The completely free installation was all made possible by the Government’s Feed-in-Tariffs (FiT) scheme. Introduced in April 2010, the FiT scheme means that energy companies have to pay for every unit of renewable energy generated by homes. Any unused energy is sent back to the National Grid.
Devon24 4th December 2010 more >>
Feed-in Review
Fears are mounting that the plug could be pulled on Cornwall’s solar energy ambition by Energy Minister Greg Barker. He is considering bringing forward a review on Feed-In Tariff (FIT) payments to large-scale solar energy firms, which could spell disaster for the county’s hoped-for solar-led economic boom. Under current rules, green energy schemes plugged into the National Grid by April 2012 will benefit from a guaranteed index-linked tariff for the electricity they export to the National Grid over the next 25 years. But the cash-back pot is finite and the Minister believes that large-scale solar developments will consume cash intended to boost the growth of community projects and small-scale renewable energy generation among homeowners and small businesses.
This is Cornwall 4th Dec 2010 more >>
South West Business 6th Dec 2010 more >>
Farming Opportunity
LOCAL farmers had the opportunity to explore ways they can implement renewable energy recently in an event organised at Minerva Mill Business Centre in Alcester. With several incentives on offer to farmers from the Coalition government through feed-in tariffs for electricity, farmers were given the chance to take a closer look at generators from solar and wind power, to thermal pumps and anaerobic digestion. The event was organised by Alcester company, Greenwatt Rural Energy, who were offering advice to farmers on business plan for implementing the new energy.
Redditch Advertiser 3rd Dec 2010 more >>
Danish micro-CHP
Danish households could soon generate their own heat and electricity with considerably less carbon dioxide emissions, thanks to a fuel cell-powered, mini cogeneration power plant being developed by Ris DTU and two Danish companies.
Eco-seed 2nd Dec 2010 more >>
Engineers Edge 29th Nov 2010 more >>
Low Cost Solar PV
Achieving low cost solar PV report.
Rocky Mountain Institute September 2010 more >>