week ending 28 January 2011
Demo AD
A CHESHIRE college has built a demonstration anaerobic digestion (AD) plant to help farmers realise the potential of the technology. Reaseheath College has invested £900,000, with support from the North West Regional Development Agency, in an on-farm plant which, it says, farmers can replicate.
Farmers Guardian 28th Jan 2011 more >>
Solar Farming
PRODUCING green electricity from solar photovoltaic panels has generated a hotbed of interest in the farming community this year. But is this really the future for British agriculture? With a £500,000 loan over 10 years from Triodos Bank, and £70,000 of his own capital, Mr Eavis visited a solar panel factory in Durham to learn about the technology and negotiate on price. “We should be generating £50,000 of electricity a year - it will pay back within 10 or 12 years.” About 40 per cent of the electricity would be used on the farm, with the remainder exported to the National Grid.
Farmers Guardian 28th Jan 2011 more >>
Cumbria AD
CONSTRUCTION work has begun on a £3 million on-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in rural Cumbria which should create enough electricity to supply more than a 1,000 homes by the end of this year.
Farmers Guardian 28th Jan 2011 more >>
Cornwall Solar
Efforts to position the Westcountry at the forefront of renewable energy projects have been boosted after councillors approved plans for a £15 million solar farm. Cornwall’s bid to become a leader in green technology was further strengthened when members of Cornwall Council’s strategic planning committee approved Kronas Solar’s bid to create a photovoltaic solar park on farmland at North Petherwin near Launceston.
This is Cornwall 27th Jan 2011 more >>
Wrexham Solar Factory
Sharp, Europe’s largest solar panel manufacturer, has announced the creation of 300 new jobs at its European manufacturing plant in Wrexham, North Wales. The new jobs follow the extension of production facilities at the factory and take the total number of employees from 800 to 1,100. Sharp has invested in excess of £20 million in the factory.
Electrical Times 27th Jan 2011 more >>
Business Green 27th Jan 2011 more >>
Micro CHP Progress
WhisperGen, Stirling engine based microCHP. It is a hotly contested area but Whisper Tech can perhaps claim to have introduced the first commercial distributed power unit that could replace a domestic boiler. In 2004, E.On signed an order with Whisper Tech for a commercial quantity of WhisperGen units. However, Honda can claim to have developed the first domestic microCHP unit, with their Ecowill system, offered commercially in 2003, although this is designed to be installed outside. Progress is also being made with wall mounted fuel cell based microCHP, for example the high efficiency system under development by CFCL.
Powergen Worldwide 27th Jan 2011 more >>
Negative Carbon School
A £13 million project to create one of the country’s first zero carbon schools in London has been awarded to Willmott Dixon. Located in the borough of Islington, the school will have a negative carbon footprint once it is up and running, thanks to a system which allows it to share its heat with nearby properties.
Low Carbon Economy 26th Jan 2011 more >>
Feed-in Tariff
The Renewable Energy Association has urged government not to amend the feed-in tariff rates for solar before the scheduled review next year. It says any “knee-jerk” policy change could damage investor confidence in the sector and believes hard evidence is needed in order to inform policy-making
Farmers Weekly 26th Jan 2011 more >>
Solar Lincolnshire
GOVERNMENT subsidies for the production of renewable energy have created a new cash crop in Lincolnshire’s countryside – solar power. With uncertainty hanging over future UK energy supplies, energy alternatives are increasingly attractive to a range of businesses in the county. Solar energy photovoltaic (PV) parks are already commonplace across Europe.
Business East Midlands 26th Jan 2011 more >>
Alloa Biomass
PLANS for a biomass plant on the former Oran site at Lambhill Farm in Blairingone will be scrutinised by the public at a Q&A next month. The proposal, by newly formed company Lambhill Energy, is for a Renewable Energy Combined Heat and Power Plant and associated wood chip and shavings production facility. Creating up to 18 jobs, the facility would both generate electricity and heat using wood chips as fuel – a carbon saving of c.11,000 tonnes per annum over using fossil fuels – while also producing “high quality” wood shavings for animal bedding.
Alloa Advertiser 26th Jan 2011 more >>
Kirklees Solar Church
COUNCILLORS will decide this week whether to give a church thousands of pounds to help pay for solar panels. Newsome South Methodist Church, on Birch Road, plans to spend £15,000 on an array of 3.9 kilowatt panels. The renewable energy generated would bring the church about £1,200 a year.
Kirklees Council’s Huddersfield Committee has been asked to contribute £5,000 to the plan.
Huddersfield Daily Examiner 25th Jan 2011 more >>
Sevenoaks Eco Firm
A SEVENOAKS eco business is one of the first in the country to land permission for a large-scale solar energy farm. Foresight, in South Park has had its application accepted for a 27-acre green energy project, which will produce 5 megawatts of power – enough to run 1,500 homes. The asset-managing firm was at the front of the queue, with partners Cornwall Power to submit plans for a solar farm after the Government introduced its Feed in Tariff scheme last April, which offers subsidies to projects plugged into the National Grid.
This is Kent 25th Jan 2011 more >>
South Yorkshire Solar
The UK’s largest solar housing project is underway, with more than 500 homes in South Yorkshire to be powered by solar electricity by 2012. With 120 homes already generating electricity from solar, South Yorkshire Housing Association (SYHA) is on course to own more solar powered properties than any other organisation in the country. 719 kWp of solar electricity from Solarcentury is being installed to help to protect residents from energy price rises and reduce fuel poverty.
24 Dash 24th Jan 2011 more >>
Renewable House
Housing is responsible for more than a quarter of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions. But from 2016, all new homes must be built to Level 6 of The Code for Sustainable Homes. This means that during their life they must remove more carbon dioxide than they release into the atmosphere. This presents the construction industry with a considerable challenge. Effectively making new homes a carbon sink is likely to require microgeneration of electricity and heat from wind or solar technology. However, significant carbon savings can also be made by using renewable materials in construction, which have far less embodied carbon (the carbon used to make any product, bring it to market and dispose of it) than their non-renewable alternatives.
Business Green 24th Jan 2011 more >>
Hydrogen Office
Tony Martin, Fife’s environment, enterprise and transport chairman, believes the region is already taking advantage of the opportunities being thrown up by the renewable energy sector-and is well positioned to do likewise in future. He was speaking after the opening of the £4.7 million Hydrogen Office at Fife Energy Park, expected to become one of Europe’s leading locations for innovation and the development of renewable energy.
Courier 24th Jan 2011 more >>
Revolutionary House
NOVELIST Mark Burnell is set to write a new chapter on green technology after winning his long fight to build a revolutionary carbon-free country house in rural Northumberland. After a long saga to rival his series of thriller novels, Mark and artist wife Isabelle have been given permission to turn the semi-ruined Paise Farm steading at Lowgate, near Hexham, into an unprecedented eco-friendly luxury home. The unique design, incorporating solar panels, glazed walls, pre-insulated roof, wind turbine, reed-bed filtration and even a heating element to the house from a swimming pool, has won glowing praise from all quarters.
Newcastle Journal 22nd Jan 2011 more >>
Somerset Solar Park
A PIECE of farmland in Bleadon has been earmarked as a potential site for a solar park. Enfinity UK Ltd wants to build the renewable energy park on around 25 acres of land on South Hill Farm off Accommodation Road. The solar park developer, which has branches across the globe, has asked North Somerset Council if an Environmental Impact Assessment is needed before it considers submitting a planning application.
North Somerset News 24th Jan 2011 more >>
Lancashire Hydro
Anglers groups in Lancashire are angry about plans to generate hydro electricity along rivers and streams in the county. And conservation organisations which oversee the River Ribble catchment area are also concerned about the potential damage caused by hydro electricity turbines to the river and the wildlife within it. The concerns have been raised after a study looking into the feasibility of 35 potential hydro electric sites across the region was launched earlier this month.
Lancashire Evening Post 24th Jan 2011 more >>
District Heating & Heat Storage
District heating networks, using gas, waste heat from power stations or heat from biomass combustion, to heat houses and other buildings collectively, are common across much of continental Europe, especially in the North. There are also some large solar-fed heat grids and many heat stores. There are even some inter-seasonal heat stores, which help to deal with variable supplies over the year, and variable demand for heat, e.g. during winter evenings. By contrast, we have a long way to go in the UK. Heat accounts for about 44% of UK energy consumption, mostly for heating homes and providing hot water, using individual domestic boilers – 84% of UK homes are heated by gas. This may change as and when the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and the Zero Carbon Houses programmes kick in and domestic-scale solar, biomass micro-CHP and so on are taken up. But what about the larger scale and all of the waste heat from power stations?
Environmental Research Web 22nd Jan 2011 more >>
Renewable Planning Application Soar
A PLANNING consultancy which has an office in Weston says applications for renewable energy have soared in recent months. The consultancy, which advises landowners seeking planning permission for wind turbines and solar parks, is currently handling dozens of renewable energy applications nationally.
North Somerset Times 22nd Jan 2011 more >>
Bristol Airport
A WIND turbine has been installed at Bristol Airport to try out the use of renewable energy. It is located on the approach road to the terminal building and began providing wind power earlier this month. Although it is about 60ft high, the turbine is shorter than lighting masts on the airfield and therefore there is no danger of interference with radar and airport safety systems. Wind turbine specialists, Aeolus Power Wind Energy, based in South Gloucestershire, ran the project from site survey to installation.
Bristol Evening Post 22nd Jan 2011 more >>
Husky Heat Pumps
A NEWLY-opened Southport business has heralded a “revolutionary” renewable energy system that provides home heating and hot water using extracted air. Husky Heat Pumps, based on Eastbank Street, promises savings of up to 60% on existing bills, with added green benefits. The air-source pump is the brainchild of local businessman Mike Kellett, who formed the company in line with changes in legislation.
Southport Visiter 21st Jan 2011 more >>
Ipswich Solar
Midlands-based renewable energy company Going Solar has won a contract worth £1m to install a large solar power project, in which it will fit around 2,200 photovoltaic panels on to a series of warehouse roofs in Ipswich, Suffolk, spanning just over one acre. The installation, set to start in February and due to be completed in early March, is designed to generate up to 500kW, enough power to supply more than 100 homes.
The Engineer 21st Jan 2011 more >>
Business Desk 25th Jan 2011 more >>
Stourbridge News 25th Jan 2011 more >>
Accrington Eco School
An eco-classroom in Accrington is to be created by Empire State Building chiefs – to thank the town for providing the stone used to build it. The foundations of the 1,454ft Empire State Building were made of Nori bricks exported from Hyndburn to America in 1931 because they were the densest and strongest in the world. Now Malkin Holdings, the management company of the 102-storey Empire State Building, has pledged to sponsor some of the Nori bricks which will be used in the building which has been designed by pupils – as a thank you to the town
Manchester Evening News 21st Jan 2011 more >>
Britain’s First Solar Town
Nothing so revolutionary has happened to the Cornish town of Wadebridge since 1460, when its 17-arch crossing of the river Camel was built by a local divine, lengthening its moniker from the original Wade. For today it will launch an attempt to become Britain’s first solar town. Backed by the local MP and chamber of commerce, the scheme aims to generate a third of the electricity used by the town’s 10,000 people from renewable sources – mainly the sun – by 2015, and make up to £450,000 a year for community projects from the Government’s feed-in tariff. The Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network, a not-for-profit co-operative, will put solar panels gratis on the roofs of local homes and businesses, allow them to use the free electricity, and collect the tariff for the community fund.
Telegraph 21st Jan 2011 more >>
CAT Heat Pump
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) has installed a state-of-the-art Sanyo air-source, carbon dioxide-based heat pump as part of its sustainable technology programme. The centre, based at Machynlleth in Wales, will use the Sanyo system to demonstrate the latest heat pump technology in action, as part of practical courses for people visiting the centre from all over the UK and the world.
ADF Online 21st Jan 2011 more >>
Hybrid Heating
Glow-worm’s Hybrid system automatically chooses the most cost effective method of heating their home. It brings together renewable and traditional energy sources to offer homeowners a heating system that is environmentally conscious and cost efficient for domestic heating and hot water. Clearly Hybrid uses its advanced control system to automatically choose when to use low carbon renewable energy from the heat pump or traditional energy from the high efficiency boiler, depending upon which source provides the most cost effective option, based on your customer’s heating requirements, energy tariff and outside temperature.
Heating & Plumbing Monthly 21st Jan 2011 more >>