week ending 9 December 2011
More Legal Threats on Solar
The European Commission is threatening to take the Government to court over its controversial decision to cut solar-power subsidies by half. The commission became the latest party to question the move publicly yesterday, revealing that it had contacted the Government as it investigates the impact of the cut. G nther Oettinger, the EU Energy Commissioner, said: “Whenever member states revise their support for support schemes for renewable energy, they need to do so in a manner which does not destabilise the renewable-energy industry or risk undermining their plans to achieve their 2020 targets.” The Government is legally obliged to generate 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Independent 9th Dec 2011 more >>
Business Green 9th Dec 2011 more >>
Biomass Supplies
Up to one fifth of global energy could be provided by biomass without damaging food production, according to a report from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC).
Renewable Energy Focus 9th Dec 2011 more >>
FiT not set in stone
The Micro Power Council has provided a Q&A regarding the Government’s plans to cut feed-in-tariffs payments for solar panels from 43.3p/kWh to 21p/kWh. It warns that, despite many companies already advertising the “new” rate, things are still likely to change following the consultation and advise customers to be ‘wary of fraud’.
24 Dash 8th Dec 2011 more >>
Food Waste
Wetherspoon’s pubs are raising a glass to environmental performance with the launch of a new trial designed to turn food waste into energy. The chain has started sending around eight tonnes of food waste each week from 28 of its pubs to the country’s largest anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, the Poplars facility in Staffordshire.
Business Green 8th Dec 2011 more >>
Green Deal
Businesses keen to invest in more energy efficient water systems look set to receive a boost, after the environment secretary today confirmed a range of hot water technologies could be included in the government’s flagship energy efficiency Green Deal scheme.
Business Green 8th Dec 2011 more >>
Community Fund
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has today announced funding of £10 million for local community energy projects, and a £20 million boost to the existing public sector energy efficiency loan scheme. We are making £10million available for communities to help spur an energy revolution at a local level.” The new £10 million Local Energy Assessment Fund, managed by a number of community networks and administered by the Energy Saving Trust, will be run as a competition, with the chance for around 200 community organisations to get to grips with energy efficiency and renewable energy generation.
DECC 7th Dec 2011 more >>
Business Green 7th Dec 2011 more >>
Wood Stoves Wanted
Britain will need a massive expansion of wood-burning stoves, wooden houses, wood-guzzling power stations and other similar technologies if greenhouse gas targets are to be met, the government’s advisers on climate change have warned. But green campaigners said strong safeguards were needed if such a high target was to be met, to ensure that biomass use did not put pressure on forests, mainly in the developing world.
Guardian 7th Dec 2011 more >>
Solar Cuts
Carillion said it expects a strong increase in profits in 2011, but has set aside £10million to downsize its solar energy division. Chief executive John McDonough confirmed the contractor has told 4,500 staff at its north-east based energy unit that some will lose their jobs following the government’s decision to halve subsidies for solar panel schemes. McDonough was unable to confirm how many jobs would go in the division, which accounts for less than 1 per cent of Carillion’s revenue, but added there would be more clarity later this month when the government completes its consultation on the tariff reduction.
This is Money 7th Dec 2011 more >>
Solar Outrage
Since the UK Government went public with its decision to slash subsidies for Solar PV – setting a cut off date of 12 December for the old tariff level – the repercussions continue to reverberate around the industry with a legal challenge now underway.
Renewable Energy Focus 7th Dec 2011 more >>
Solar Legal Challenge
The UK’s High Court has agreed to hear the applications from environmental group Friends of the Earth and two solar companies, Solarcentury and HomeSun, challenging the government’s proposed cut to solar feed-in tariffs (FITs). The legal challenge contests the government’s decision to reduce the FIT by over half for any installations completed after 12 December, which is two weeks before the consultation period on the proposals ends. Following an earlier High Court ruling rejecting the challenge, the Court has now agreed to hear the applications on 15 December.
Energy Efficiency News 7th Dec 2011 more >>
Solar Farm
A 5MW solar farm has opened at Kingston Farm near Bradford on Avon. Its owners say it will power about 900 houses and already powers the Anthony Best Dynamics business close to the site.
Bath Chronicle 7th Dec 2011 more >>
Solar Heat & Electricity
SOLAR panel inventor Paul Laidler is talking to potential investors in a bid to get his product on to the market. Laidler has nearly three decades of experience in sectors including engineering, aerospace and printing. His idea was to develop a type of solar panel that generates heat from the sun as well as electricity, but he needed assistance to make it a viable business.
Newcastle Journal 7th Dec 2011 more >>
South West Solar
So far more than 14,500 solar projects have been installed in the South West, the sunniest part of the UK – and research shows that 2,000 skilled jobs have been created in the region to fit the panels, with more than 380 companies qualified to install the technology. But after next Monday the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) will be reduced from 43.3p per kilowatt hour to 21p, and it is estimated that as a result, it will take owners about 18 years to break even on the cost of installing panels, compared with the current 10, making solar much less attractive. The current rate, which is guaranteed for 25 years and was due to remain in place until April 2012, will now only be paid to those who have physically installed and registered their panels before December 12 this year. Those installed after that date will receive the old rate until March 31, and then the new rate from April 1.
Western Morning News 7th Dec 2011 more >>
Cardiff Solar
The vacillations in the Government’s policy on feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for solar power have been frustrating for many thousands of installers and domestic consumers. Imagine if your whole business plan depended on the size and availability of FiTs for your potential customers. This is the position that Barrington Energy Group has been in over the past year. The Cardiff-based company initially planned to develop large solar parks on farms in South Wales and southern England.
Western Mail 7th Dec 2011 more >>
Solar Cuts
UK GOVERNMENT proposals to cut support for solar energy will “rip the guts” out of the industry in Wales, business leaders and politicians have warned. Plans to half the tariffs paid for generating electricity from small-scale renewables projects have spread panic through a booming sector.
Western Mail 7th Dec 2011 more >>
Lighting
UK businesses and the public sector could cut their annual energy bills by up to £700m a year by switching to energy efficient lighting technologies, according to a report from the Carbon Trust. The company yesterday launched a new guide detailing how embracing lighting best practices, such as installing efficient LED bulbs or automated sensor-based controls, can help the average organisation reduce energy bills by a fifth.
Business Green 6th Dec 2011 more >>
North West Solar
RENEWABLE energy firm, Strategic Energy, has secured a £10m funding to install solar panels at social housing properties in the North West. Strategic Energy, part of Yorkshire-based Strategic Team Group, is already working on the first phase of the project for Manchester-based St Vincent’s Housing Association. The £10m has been provided by Hazel Capital, a London firm which exclusively invests in clean-tech sectors. Phase One, has seen solar panels installed at 350 homes in Rochdale, & Oldham.
Business Desk 6th Dec 2011 more >>
Modest increase to save solar
Adding as little as £6.50 to annual power bills could ensure electricity from solar panels in the UK drops to the grid average cost within a few years, one of the country’s leading solar installation companies has claimed. Research by Engensa finds that a modest increase on the £2 currently tacked on to bills could build a viable industry and protect the 25,000 jobs the sector currently supports.
Business Green 6th Dec 2011 more >>
Solar Legal Action
The High Court has refused to proceed with legal action by Friends of the Earth and two solar power firms seeking to block government plans to slash feed-in tariffs for installations completed after next Monday. Friends of the Earth said today that it will appeal against the High Court’s decision alongside solar panel installers Solarcentury and HomeSun.
Business Green 5th Dec 2011 more >>
Supporters of Britain’s hugely generous solar panel subsidy scheme were thrown a lifeline today after the High Court agreed to hear an application for permission to challenge a decision that would see it scaled back. Friends of the Earth and two solar companies – Solarcentury and HomeSun - will argue their case at a hearing on Thursday 15 December. An earlier High Court ruling, on 25 November, rejected permission for a legal challenge.
This is Money 5th Dec 2011 more >>
Solar panel installers and Friends of the Earth have won a small battle in their challenge to overturn the Government plans to dramatically slash the rewards for putting the panels on homes.
Telegraph 5th Dec 2011 more >>
Edinburgh Community Turbine
Supporters of a plan to build Scotland’s first community owned urban wind turbine on the city’s shoreline at Seafield were celebrating after coming top in a public poll. The win means that the groups behind the project, Greener Leith and PEDAL Portobello, have now secured all the funds needed to complete the feasibility and planning phases of the project.
STV 5th Dec 2011 more >>
Scotsman 6th Dec 2011 more >>
Energy Aid
IBM and international development charity Practical Action announce the launch of Energy Aid, a new global charity with a mission to provide sustainable energy for those who have limited or no access for heating, lighting, cooking, communications and mechanical work.
Energy Aid 5th Dec 2011 more >>
FiT Shambles
The company behind the world’s largest solar PV farm looked at expanding into the UK before changes to renewable energy subsidies forced it to abandon the project. First Solar’s director of customer relations, Tom Kosnik, speaking exclusively to edie energy at his company’s Sarnia solar farm in the Canadian province of Ontario said the UK was not right for renewable investment at the moment.
Edie 5th Dec 2011 more >>
Solar Competitive
Solar energy could become a competitive energy source within 20 years, according to a new publication from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Energy Efficiency News 5th Dec 2011 more >>
Sheffield Solar
Government moves to cut incentives for new solar power installations could hit the Sheffield region harder than most, according to city accountants UHY Wingfield Slater. “In addition to being the UKs greenest city, Sheffield also tops the UK league for renewable energy per head of population and the local boom in solar power, aided by generous government incentives - known as feed in tariffs - has brought a well needed boost to the local economy,” says the firm, based at Broadfield Court, Heeley.
Sheffield Star 5th Dec 2011 more >>
Dorset Solar Farm
BOURNEMOUTH-based consultancy Terence O’Rourke has helped secure planning permission for a solar photovoltaic (PV) powered installation in Devon, which will generate up to five megawatts of electricity over the next 25 years. The award-winning agency’s work means that Langage Solar Park in Plympton can continue in its drive to produce energy for homes in the south west
Business Dorset 5th Dec 2011 more >>
One Renovation per Minute
One building will have to be given a green makeover each minute from now until 2050 if the UK is to meet its emissions targets, according to new research illustrating the enormous renovation challenge facing the country. Retrofitting is of huge importance, as 45 per cent of UK emissions come from buildings and around 70 per cent of the buildings that exist today will still be standing in 2050, the report by the Centre for Low Carbon Futures and the Energy Saving Trust says.
Business Green 5th Dec 2011 more >>
Plymouth Solar
AN IVYBRIDGE firm has donated solar panels to the town’s Dame Hannah Rogers Trust. Renewable energy company Eco NRG Ltd fitted the panels to two of the charity’s young adult transition bungalows, used so further education students can live independently. The installation beat the Government’s December 12 deadline for reducing the solar feed-in tariff. The Trust will now receive an income from the feed-in tariff and benefit from lower electricity bills.
Plymouth Herald 5th Dec 2011 more >>
Green Deal Skills
A coalition of skills groups have secured £1.4m of public funding to help employers train their staff to install and repair energy efficiency measures such as loft or cavity wall insulation.
Business Green 5th Dec 2011 more >>
Solar is Contagious
For every 1 percent increase in the number of installations in a single ZIP code, there’s a commensurate 1 percent decrease in the amount of time until the next solar installation. “solar is contagious!”
Climate Progress 4th Dec 2011 more >>
Green Deal to reach less than 20% of fuel poverty sufferers
The government should be highly embarrassed by new estimates that one in four English households is now in fuel poverty. But its reaction to this escalating problem would sadly suggest the contrary. Warm Front, the government’s one remaining grant programme for the fuel-poor, has had its budget slashed by two-thirds over the next two years and will end completely in 2013. Even more worrying was last week’s government consultation on the new Energy Company Obligation, which is designed to subsidise energy efficiency measures for low-income and vulnerable households from 2013. With 4.1m English households officially in fuel poverty in 2009 – and with a government duty to eradicate this scourge by 2016 – we hoped that the consultation would include ambitious plans for tackling the problem. Instead we find that, even on the most ambitious estimates, the ECO will bring relief to only 840,000 fuel-poor households by the end of 2015. This will mean at least 3m households left to choose between heating and eating.
Guardian 2nd Dec 2011 more >>
Solar Job Cuts
Thousands of workers for one of the country’s largest solar panel businesses have been put on notice of redundancy on the back of the Government’s decision to cut the subsidy for solar PV under the Feed-in Tariff scheme.
Birmingham Post 2nd Dec 2011 more >>
Micro-CHP
With the transition towards energy supply which has to be based more and more on energy efficiency and CO2 reduction the decentralized energy systems will play an important role now and in the future. In general the combined heat and power (CHP) technology is a well-known and established engineering solution for energy efficient energy supply. But it is new that the market is getting ready now also for small-sized CHP units for one- or two-family houses.
Rehva 30th Nov 2011 more >>