week ending 2 November 2012
German Efficiency
Germany has a virtually identical climate change commitment, of 80 per cent lower greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 than today. But in contrast the Berlin government equivalent is postulating a 25 per cent reduction in electricity consumption, together with a 53 per cent overall reduction in primary energy use (3,942 to 1,950 TWh). On most of the scenarios within the UK’s Pathways exercise, the UK’s per capita 2050 energy consumption is due to become 20 per cent (23.7 as opposed to 19.7 MWh) bigger than in Germany - in some scenarios, the gap will be far larger.
Business Green 2nd Nov 2012 more >>
National Trust Hydro
The National Trust will today officially open the capital’s first Archimedes Screw hydroelectric turbine at a ceremony at Morden Hall Park in south-west London.
Business Green 2nd Nov 2012 more >>
AD boost
Tamar Energy, the renewables developer that is part backed by the Duchy of Cornwall, has this week purchased the development rights for four new anaerobic digestion (AD) sites from Countrystyle Group as part of plans to build 40 plants by 2017. The deal secured three sites in the south of England with full planning permission and a fourth planned facility still subject to planning for an undisclosed sum. Construction at the three sites in Halstead, Essex, and Swanley and Otterpool in Kent, is expected to begin next year.
Business Green 2nd Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Target
Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker has once again publicly declared his desire to see the UK solar market reach 22GW by 2020. However, he said the target was only aspirational and would depend on the solar industry’s ability to continue driving down costs.
Solar Portal 2nd Nov 2012 more >>
Geothermal Dorset
A conference held at Christchurch Borough Council concluded that deep geothermal energy would allow the government to achieve their renewable energy targets - with the ‘Wessex basin’ having ideal conditions to harness the energy in Dorset.
This is Dorset 2nd Nov 2012 more >>
Bulk Buy Co-op
Energy bills across Greater Manchester could be slashed by up to £200 a year in a pioneering ‘bulk buy’ scheme. All our 10 town halls are joining forces to negotiate bargain prices for gas and electricity. The scheme is based on energy co-operatives run by Oldham and Rochdale councils, but now anyone across the region is invited to sign up. Council bosses say anyone taking part should get cheaper bills from next February. They say the energy collective would be the biggest of its kind in the country.
Manchester Evening News 1st Nov 2012 more >>
Renewable Heating in Northern Ireland
A new Government incentive scheme promoting renewable heating has been launched in Northern Ireland. Around £25 million is earmarked up to 2015 for long-term financial support for businesses wanting to switch from conventional heating to green energy sources such as biomass, heat pumps and solar hot water panels.
Belfast Telegraph 1st Nov 2012 more >>
Social Heat
Over 1,000 social housing tenants are set to have renewable heating systems installed in their homes as part of a government programme. The Department for energy and Climate Change has revealed the 44 social housing projects that will receive a share of the £3.2 million available under the third phase of its renewable heat premium payment social housing competition.
Solar Portal 1st Nov 2012 more >>
Business Green 1st Nov 2012 more >>
New FiTs
New Feed-in Tariff rates for solar photovoltaic technology begin today. The rates (in p/kWh) are: 0-4kW - 15.44; >4-10kW - 13.99; >10-50kW - 13.03; >50-100kW - 11.50; >100-150kW - 11.50; >150-250kW - 11.00; >250kW-5MW- 7.10; Stand-alone - 7.10; Export tariff - 4.50. However, recent electricity price rises mean these cuts will increase the return on investment from solar projects.
Heating & Ventilating 1st Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Portal 1st Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Co-op
Westmill Solar Co-operative has finalised its acquisition of Westmill Solar Park, making the £16.5 million project the UK’s first, and, it claims, the world’s largest, co-operatively owned solar farm.
Solar Portal 1st Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Farming
Landowners in the South West keen to diversify and establish a long-term, stable income – in some cases up to £50,000 per annum – should consider solar farms on their land, in spite of recent proposals to cut the subsidy payments available to developers.
Western Morning News 1st Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Health Centre
Eco Building Products supplied more than 200 photovoltaic panels rated at 245 Watts and SMA inverters which together convert the sun’s energy into usable electricity. The whole scheme is predicted to generate 41,000 kWh of electricity annually, which will substantially reduce the practice’s bills for electricity from the grid. Lark Energy , part of the Larkfleet Group, oversaw the planning and installation of the project and installation of the panels.
Industry Today 31st Oct 2012 more >>
Green Deal
Jenny Holland of the Association for Conservation of Energy points out the curious case of the disappearing carbon savings from Green Deal. Last year DECC added a new line in the annual ‘updated energy and emissions projections,’ relating to domestic ECO and Green Deal. This was the first year the line had appeared in the ‘non-traded savings from policy measures’ table, and a pretty sturdy new entrant it was. Savings will start in the second carbon budget at 3.0 megatonnes of CO2, rising to 9.5 mt in the third and 11.4 in the fourth budget, from 2023-2027. A mighty impressive total of 23.9 mts saved over three carbon budgets, and certainly a ringing endorsement of what might be projected as a worthwhile target for saving. But the 2012 projections show: 2013-17 budget; 1.5 mt CO2: 2018-22 budget 3.5 nt saving, and 2023 -27 4.9 mts. A not so impressive 9.9 mts overall. Not targets, but downgrading the non-targets by 70% in one year seems a little harsh, bearing in mind that, as of this moment nothing has actually happened on Green Deal yet. So maybe the scribes know something that we (and Greg Barker) don’t know.
Alan Whitehead MP 31st Oct 2012 more >>
Anesco
National energy efficiency solutions company, Anesco, is celebrating after being appointed to manage green upgrades for Westward Housing Group in the south west. Westward’s two housing associations, Tarka and Westcountry, have awarded contracts to Anesco to undertake a range of improvements in tenant properties, after successfully bidding for funding through the Government’s Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme.
Anesco 30th Oct 2012 more >>
Scottish Insulation Money
UP to 10,000 householders could get help to cut fuel bills this winter as the Scottish Government announces a £6 million insulation scheme. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the money would make homes “warmer and cheaper to heat”. But in a report last week, environmental charity WWF Scotland said more than £6 billion is needed to achieve Holyrood’s commitment to end fuel poverty by 2016.
Herald 30th Oct 2012 more >>
Co-operative Energy
With climate change increasingly having a disastrous global impact, growing numbers of local communities are responding by launching their own renewable energy co-operatives in an effort to slash the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. In fact green energy co-ops are now one of the fastest growing parts of the UK co-operative sector having grown by 24% in the past four years. “The first co-operatively-owned wind farm opened in Cumbria in 1997,” explains Rebecca Willis, co-author of a report into co-operative renewable energy published earlier this year. “Since then, over 7,000 individual investors have ploughed over £16 million into community-owned wind turbines and other renewable technologies resulting in that there are now over 40 co-operatively-run renewable energy projects across the UK.”
Guardian 30th Oct 2012 more >>
Another 7.6MW approved
Solarcentury has been given planning permission for a 7.6MW extension on an existing 700kWp ground-mounted array in Illminster, Somerset. The approved plans will see a further 31,200 solar modules added to the existing 3,000 module site, covering over 20 hectares of land. Once completed, the site will become one of the largest solar installations in the South West, the UK’s hotbed of large-scale solar development thanks to its high levels of sunshine.
Solar Portal 30th Oct 2012 more >>
Solar Henley
Henley Town Council has announced the installation of 179 black-framed panels at a cost of £68,013. The project needs to be completed by 1 November 2012 to qualify for the government’s feed-in tariff.
Solar Portal 30th Oct 2012 more >>
Green Deal Farce
David Hunt, Vice Chair of the Renewable Energy Association’s Onsite Renewables Sector Group says the Green Deal policy has variously been described to him as a “dog’s dinner”, “car crash” and “farce” by senior figures in the industry. “The Green Deal was never intended as a driver for renewable technologies, that is the role of feed-in-tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive,” Hunt said, speaking at the recent Energy Solutions summit in London.
Renewable Energy Focus 30th Oct 2012 more >>
Solar Joneses
Solar panel marketing efforts should target areas that already have a number of installations, according to US scientists who have found people are far more likely to install solar panels on their homes if their neighbours have done so.
Business Green 29th Oct 2012 more >>
Community Wind
When two areas in Gloucestershire were approached about plans to build wind turbines within close proximity, one was vehemently opposed, while the other seemed to embrace it as an investment opportunity.
BBC 29th Oct 2012 more >>
NIRO
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) has published a further consultation on aspects of the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO), it has announced. The consultation relates to proposed changes to banding levels for large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, biomass sustainability and value for money and grace periods for combined heat and power (CHP) projects. It is envisaged that the new rates will come into operation on 1 April 2013, alongside previously-announced changes to NIRO.
Out Law 29th Oct 2012 more >>
Community Energy goes Mainstream
Last year, when I co-wrote a little book on community energy, it still felt like a niche topic. There was exciting stuff going on around the country but unless you happened to be involved in local green group or living somewhere such as Settle then you probably wouldn’t have heard about it. Even if you had, there wouldn’t necessarily have be an easy way for you to invest. In the past couple of months, though, a host of new websites and projects have appeared, suggesting that community energy is quickly going mainstream.
Guardian 29th Oct 2012 more >>
Micro CHP
An ecological and economic analysis of fuel cell micro-CHP has been carried out by the German Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (IFEU) on behalf of the Initiative Brennstoffzelle (IBZ) and the fuel cell working group of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). The study was done in cooperation with the Research Institute for Energy Economics (FfE) and the German Institute for Economic Research (GWS). Fuel cells extend the technology portfolio of combined generation of heat and power (CHP) to smaller scales, commonly referred to as micro-CHP. Fuel cell micro-CHP systems can be a straightforward replacement for a large proportion of the ~3.4 million household boilers over 24 years old in Germany. They can also be used as add-on modules in around 17 million single- and two-family houses as a complement to modern gas heating.
Fuel Cell Today 29th Oct 2012 more >>
Solar College
A COLLEGE is seeing the benefits of solar power after saving £37,000 in six months. Cornwall College enlisted R-ECO, the Renewable Energy Co-operative, to install three photovoltaic panel systems at its campuses in Saltash, Camborne and St Austell.
Plymouth Herald 29th Oct 2012 more >>
Remote Wind Measurement
Dorset-based small wind turbine and power system manufacturer Ampair today announced the launch of the V2 version of its heliPod and trailerPod hybrid renewable energy generators and announces a further two models to the range. Ampair has been manufacturing ‘off the shelf’ hybrid renewable power systems for wind measurement met masts and Lidar for nearly four years and has been exporting its systems worldwide. The systems consist of a blend of micro turbine, PV, fuel cell or propane generator with the appropriate balance being determined by modelling power consumption scenarios with Ampair’s in-house developed simulation software ‘proAmpair’.
Green Energy Net 26th Oct 2012 more >>
Green Deal & Social Housing
When it emerged two months ago that, despite a lengthy consultation period, most social landlords were yet to make formal plans over how to manage the government’s green deal programme I was surprised. The opportunity to invest in retrofit and save tenants money when so many are facing fuel poverty seemed too good to miss. So why the reluctance? After I shared my concerns on this blog, housing providers contacted me to explain why they were still holding back. Even a month before launch, it just didn’t stack up financially or strategically for them – even with a £125m “cashback” pot to encourage landlords to get involved. The early lack of clarity on how the scheme would eventually be funded and a general low level of interest among tenants and the wider community meant most social housing providers adopted a “wait and see” approach .
Guardian 26th Oct 2012 more >>
Building Standards
Regulations covering building standards, including fire safety and wheelchair access, could be torn up in a government plan to cut costs for the construction industry and boost the economy. Ministers have ordered a wide-ranging review covering all aspects of building regulations, also including standards on energy efficiency. The review, which controversially includes the option of giving the building industry more scope for self-regulation, is the latest in a series of government initiatives intended to stimulate activity in the economy and drive job creation through investment in homebuilding.
Guardian 26th Oct 2012 more >>