week ending 16 November 2012
Community and Co-operative Energy in Edinburgh
Community and Co-operative Energy in Edinburgh: The Next Steps Conference, Edinburgh City Chambers 7th December. Free but please register. Speakers from Bath & Bristol Energy Co-ops.
Edinburgh Community Energy Co-op 2nd Nov 2012 more >>
German Solar
More than six percent of Germany’s energy needs are covered by home-grown solar power. That is a larger percentage than anywhere else in the world. The German solar industry employs about 100,000 people. They work in factories that produce solar panels and power inverters, in solar research labs and for installation companies. German firms are in demand overseas, where they are building new factories for solar panels and solar technology.
Deutsche Welle 16th Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Farm
Solar development and construction company Lark Energy has secured the planning permission to begin construction of a 32MW solar farm on the former Wymeswold airfield in Leicestershire. The project will comprise of 125,000 panels installed on land between the old runways, covering an area of about 150a.
Energy Business Review 16th Nov 2012 more >>
Melton Times 15th Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Portal 14th Nov 2012 more >>
Business Green 14th Nov 2012 more >>
Community Wind
A wind turbine paid for by villagers which generates both electricity - and income for community projects - has begun producing power at Blackshaw Head on the Pennines near Hebden Bridge.
ITV 16th Nov 2012 more >>
Bio-gas
Southern Water’s Ford Sewage Treatment Plant is investing £1m to install the combined heat and power (CHP) plant, using the gas, which would otherwise have been burnt off in a flare, to produce renewable energy. Power and heat from the plant will be supplied to the works, with any surplus energy exported to the National Grid. As well as generating electricity, the CHP plant also recovers heat from the engine and exhaust systems via water from heat exchangers. This water is then used to warm the treatment tanks, helping speed up the bacterial digestion of the waste.
Littlehampton Gazette 15th Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Confidence
Apparent attempts by senior government figures to dismantle UK renewable energy commitments will prove “disastrous” to solar and other clean technologies, leading industry figures have warned.
PV Tech 15th Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Portal 15th Nov 2012 more >>
Energy Efficiency
With the ambitious goal of kickstarting “a revolution in UK energy efficiency,” England’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has just launched a new program called the Government’s Energy Efficiency Strategy. The goal is to cut the equivalent of 22 power stations worth of energy consumption throughout the United Kingdom by 2020.
Triple Pundit 15th Nov 2012 more >>
Business Green 12th Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Portal 12th Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Ambulances
One of the largest ambulance fleets in Britain has begun installing solar panels across its frontline vehicles as it aims to cut its annual fuel costs by up to £400,000.
Fleet News 15th Nov 2012 more >>
Small Wind in the Highlands
In recognition of the demand and potential of small-scale wind turbine developments in the Highlands, and following a public consultation, The Highland Council has revised its Supplementary Guidance for Small-Scale Wind Turbines. The document will now, as part of the statutory adoption process, be passed on to the Scottish Government.
Northern Times 15th Nov 2012 more >>
Solar School
A primary school is looking to use the sun’s rays to help slash thousands of pounds off its annual electricity bill. With energy prices soaring, pupils at Ellistown Community Primary School, near Coalville, have launched a £15,000 fund-raising appeal to pay for the installation of four solar panels on their school roof.
Leicester Mercury 14th Nov 2012 more >>
Green Buildings
The government-backed Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has this week announced a series of new funding awards to projects designed to accelerate the development of affordable low and zero-carbon building technologies.
Business Green 14th Nov 2012 more >>
Carlisle Solar
Social landlord, Riverside and partner Keepmoat, have started work on installing solar photovoltaic panels in one of the largest ‘rent a roof’ schemes in the country. Riverside’s contract with Consensus Capital Private Equity will result in 6,000 of its properties, starting in the North West and Carlisle, having solar panels fitted. The project is one of the first to be given the green light by banks, following government cuts to similar projects within the social housing sector. Tenants may save, on average, over £200 each year on their electricity bills, while environmental savings will be nearly one tonne of carbon per property.
24 Dash 13th Nov 2012 more >>
Ecotricity goes Solar
Green energy company Ecotricity’s Fen Farm Sun Park in Lincolnshire, Britain’s first large-scale solar farm, has hit electricity generation targets in its first 12 months of operation. In its first year, the park generated over 884,000kWh of electricity from its 1MW installation with 5,157 solar panels spread over 1.95 hectares. It has since passed the one million kilowatt hour mark.
Solar Portal 13th Nov 2012 more >>
Lincolnshire Echo 12th Nov 2012 more >>
Cornish Fund
Cornwall Council has launched a £1 million loan fund to help community groups bring their renewable energy projects to fruition. The Revolving Loan Fund aims to provide groups with access to capital funds to support the cost of initial construction on renewables schemes which it says will pay for themselves over a short period of time, once they are up and running.
South West Business 13th Nov 2012 more >>
Northern Irish Wind Co-op
NORTHERN Ireland’s first community-owned wind energy co-operative has been given the green light following a successful public share offer which raised £1.6 million - enough to build two 250kW wind turbines. The funds have been raised by Drumlin Wind Energy Co-operative since its launch in June when it first offered local people, businesses and organisations the chance to invest between £250 and £20,000 in the scheme.
Newton Abbey Today 13th Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Strawberries
MILLIONS of strawberries are being cooled and prepared for consumers using solar energy thanks to a Lincoln company. Stow-based Freewatt has installed nearly 400 solar panels at two farms in Cambridgeshire that grow and pack strawberries.
Lincolnshire Echo 13th Nov 2012 more >>
Efficiency
The government has today unveiled a package of measures to boost energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions across the UK. BusinessGreen outlines its key findings, including the main barriers to cutting energy consumption and how ministers plan to overcome them.
Business Green 12th Nov 2012 more >>
Findings from a two-year solar energy project at the University of Sheffield have revealed nearly all of the 2,000 systems in the scheme are performing better than expected. Researchers running Sheffield Solar Farm say 98 per cent of more than 2,000 systems involved in the scheme are working to their specifications across the UK.
H&V News 12th Nov 2012 more >>
Hole in the roof
Central heating companies are set to roll out a major campaign designed to tackle the difficult task of changing homeowners’ wasteful energy consumption and driving interest in the government’s imminent Green Deal energy efficiency scheme. The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) will today launch the “Hole in the Roof” campaign, backed by prominent environmentalist Tony Juniper.
Business Green 12th Nov 2012 more >>
Scottish Heating
The Scottish government has launched its £50 million warm homes fund with two renewable energy schemes. West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative in Glasgow and West Highland Housing Association in Oban both received funding for biomass heating schemes, which together will serve more than 550 households.
Building 4 Change 11th Nov 2012 more >>
Malvern Solar
A MALVERN green energy firm is bucking the economic trend as the number of property owners looking to generate green energy increases. Family-owned renewable energy specialists Solar Solutions has seen a successful 12 months with the firm’s father and son partnership increasing turnover and bringing new jobs to the town.
Evesham Journal 11th Nov 2012 more >>
Huhne Job
Former Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has won a new job – as a £437-an-hour energy consultant. The ex-Cabinet Minister, who resigned in February after being charged with perverting the course of justice over a 2003 speeding case, which he denies, has joined a firm specialising in home energy efficiency. The move is likely to raise eyebrows because three months before leaving the Cabinet, Mr Huhne unveiled the Coalition’s ‘green deal’, which promises a cash incentive to households if they pay to insulate their homes. Now Mr Huhne has been signed up by Nationwide Energy Services, which ‘provides advice to people wanting loft and cavity wall insulation and solar panels’.
Daily Mail 10th Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Factory
An engineering firm aims to dramatically reduce its energy consumption by installing more than 200 solar panels at its factory. Bosses at Formax, in Narborough, which manufactures materials used in supercars and yachts, says the solar panels will generate around 40,000 kWh, equivalent to £12,000 of electricity per year. The firm has also insulated the roof of its production hall.
Leicester Mercury 10th Nov 2012 more >>
Perthshire Hydro
A controversial hydro scheme at a Highland Perthshire beauty spot made famous by Robert Burns has finally hit the buffers.
Dundee Courier 9th Nov 2012 more >>
Solar Gedling
Gedling Borough Council in Nottingham has fitted one of its largest leisure centres with PV panels by South Yorkshire-based manufacturer Nationwide Solar.
Solar Portal 9th Nov 2012 more >>