week ending 26 April 2013
Renewable Heat Incentive
The ultimate guide to understanding how your business can benefit from the Renewable Heat Incentive, including interviews, how to guides and more.
Business Green 26th April 2013 more >>
For businesses, the attractiveness of the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme is driven by one compelling fact: the financial returns promised by the new tariffs should impress the most tight-fisted of finance directors.
Business Green 26th April 2013 more >>
Green Gas
The Suffolk brewer, Adnams, recently became the first company to inject biogas into the grid, and BusinessGreen Plus investigates how it took advantage of cutting-edge anaerobic digestion technology.
Business Green 26th April 2013 more >>
Solar Meadow
A five-acre site containing more than 2,500 solar panels is based at one of the most northerly locations for solar power in Europe at the Midlothian campus of Edinburgh College in Dalkeith. Construction of the meadow, designed and installed by SSE Energy Solutions, cost £1.2m to build and is predicted to save the college tens of thousands of pounds on energy bills as electricity demands from the campus will be met by solar power.
Herald 25th April 2013 more >>
Scotsman 25th April 2013 more >>
Solar Centre
Energy Minister Greg Barker officially opened a new national solar centre (NSC) in Cornwall today. The town of St Austell was picked as home for the centre because most of the UK’s solar PV installations are found in South West England with around 56,000 installations in the region. Cornwall itself offers the most sunshine hours of any county in the UK.
Energy Live News 25th April 2013 more >>
Solar Portal 25th April 2013 more >>
Utility Week 25th April 2013 more >>
ITV 25th April 2013 more >>
Solar Protest
Local protestors have picketed the entrance to the Large Scale Solar Conference in Cornwall today. The protestors are campaigning against the number and scale of large-scale solar projects being developed in Cornwall. The group are concerned that the cumulative impact of Cornish solar sites will damage the local countryside and are seeking to engage the council in a debate over its renewable ambitions.
Solar Portal 25th April 2013 more >>
Hampshire Solar
German solar energy company has completed the development of 4.5MW solar plant in a contract with solar PV developer, Lightsource Renewable Energy. The solar plant located in Hampshire, England, features 18,500 modules on Conergy SolarLinea mounting systems. It is expected to produce 4,600MWh solar power per year to cater to the power needs of around 1,350 homes.
Energy Business Review 25th April 2013 more >>
Somerset Solar
Plans for a solar park on a site covering more than 60 acres of land beside the A303 have been submitted to South Somerset District Council. Renewable energy company Lumicity Limited wants to erect photovoltic solar panels, transformer stations, a sub-station and fencing on land at Tintinhull Forts, by the village of Tintinhull, near Yeovil.
This is Somerset 24th April 2013 more >>
RHI step-by-step
If your firm is considering getting in on the act, how does it ensure that it maximises the benefits of the RHI. BusinessGreen Plus investigates with a handy step-by-step guide.
Business Green 24th April 2013 more >>
Algae Energy
As an energy source, algae may be growing up. A new apartment complex in Hamburg, Germany, intends to generate heat, as well as revenue, from growing the micro-organism. The five-story Bio Intelligent Quotient (B.I.Q.) building, which was expected to become fully operational on Wednesday, has a high-tech facade that looks like a cross between a Mondrian painting and a terrarium but is actually a vertical algae farm.
New York Times 24th April 2013 more >>
Oxford Hydro
A WEST Oxford group has won a race against time to save its community hydro scheme. In just ten days the group managed to raise £320,000 by selling shares in a power generating scheme at Osney Lock. Osney Lock Hydro, formed by residents, faced raising the money in just three weeks. It was given a tight deadline by the Environment Agency because the hydro work needed to coincide with major weir improvements at the site.
Oxford Times 24th April 2013 more >>
Gaia Wind
GAIA-Wind is working with researchers at Strathclyde University to develop more efficient small wind turbine. Engineers from the Glasgow business are collaborating with the university’s Centre for Advanced Condition Monitoring on ways to maximise the performance of systems in the future.
Herald 24th April 2013 more >>
Sewer Power
Waste oil and fat from restaurants and takeaways will be used to power a new electricity plant in east London. Currently, excess fat and oil collects in sewers, forming masses called ‘fatbergs’, which have to be flushed out by sewage workers. Thames Water plans to install ‘fat traps’ directly under sinks in restaurants which it will then collect and use at the plant.
Guardian 24th April 2013 more >>
Solar Protest
A Devon Lib Dem councillor has branded solar farms as being like concentration camps after the latest plans to install panels in the countryside was revealed.
Telegraph 24th April 2013 more >>
Green Deal
If you are considering making your home more energy efficient, consider getting a Green Deal assessment. A trained and accredited assessor will look at your property, recommend improvements and indicate if these will pay for themselves via reduced energy bills. A Green Deal provider will talk to you about whether the scheme is right for your home and give you a quote for the work. You can get as many quotes as you like from accredited providers and the provider you choose will write a Green Deal plan for you. The contract sets out what work will be done and the repayment schedule. The provider will then get an accredited Green Deal Installer to do the work. Your repayments will automatically be added to your electricity bill and should be no more than you expect to save.
Guardian 24th April 2013 more >>
All Energy 2013
All-Energy 2013, the UK’s largest renewable energy exhibition and conference opens in Aberdeen four weeks’ today on Wednesday 22 May. The two-day event, the largest in its 13-show history, has some 580 exhibitors filling 8,000m2 (net) at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC); over 320 speakers from home and overseas in the world-class multi-stream far ranging conference; and a further 60 in three showfloor seminar theatres which are devoted to offshore wind, wave and tidal and business energy efficiency.
Altenenergy Mag 24th April 2013 more >>
Heating & Ventilating.net 23rd April 2013 more >>
Biomass
FORT William-based biomass heating specialist HWEnergy has extended its reach into northern England in alliance with Pennine Biomass.
Herald 23rd April 2013 more >>
NI solar boost
Alliance South Down spokesperson, Councillor Patrick Clarke, has welcomed the announcement by the Environment Minister that schools, businesses and farm buildings will no longer need planning permission for solar panels.
4NI 23rd April 2013 more >>
Lewes Solar
Plans have been put forward for a massive solar farm between Lewes and Ringmer. It would cover an area of farmland roughly half the size of the village.
Sussex Express 23rd April 2013 more >>
Efficiency Investments
Investments in efficiency help manage rising energy costs and can enhance a company’s role as a corporate citizen, as well as being profitable and low-risk. A 2008 McKinsey report estimated that $170bn could be invested in energy efficiency yielding an average internal rate of return of 17%. That’s good news for the company as it increases its efficiency, good news for investors and good news for the planet. Why wouldn’t more companies want to be investing in efficiency?
Guardian 22nd April 2013 more >>
Highland Hydro
Scottish land owners and other enterprises have identified the diversification and income generation opportunities that hydropower can bring. Green Highland Renewables is one company at the forefront of delivering this technology.
Water Power 22nd April 2013 more >>
Wind & Solar Combo
Combining wind turbines and solar systems results in up to twice the amount of electricity being generated across the same surface area with losses of just 1% to 2% through shading, a study has found.
renews 22nd April 2013 more >>
Glasgow Geothermal & Community Energy
Scientists at Glasgow Caledonian University have received funding from ScottishPower to map the maze of abandoned tunnels which exist beneath the city. The team is identifying underground reservoirs of water which have the potential to heat homes and potentially to power under street heating. Microgenius aims to link people with an interest in sustainable energy with communities that are developing micro-generation projects and simplify the process of buying and selling shares. Small-scale energy generation is becoming more and more common. Microgenius recently support Woolhope Woodheat, a co-operative regenerating neglected woodland to produce fuel for hard-toheat local buildings.
Holyrood Magazine 22nd April 2013 more >>
Passivhaus
Modern building standards are set to leave a legacy of high bills and potential poor health, according to a report from the University of East Anglia (UEA). Published last autumn by UEA’s Adapt Low Carbon Group, the ‘Delivering a low-energy building’ report reveals that energy bills for new homes are likely to be higher than anticipated and that occupant health may suffer from poor indoor air quality. It showed that today’s quality standards for construction could leave the country unable to meet climate change targets, and makes recommendations for radical changes in construction practice.
Holyrood 22nd April 2013 more >>
Renewable Heat
The financial returns for businesses installing renewable heat technologies are likely to increase from next year, after climate minister Greg Barker confirmed an upcoming consultation on the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme will increase tariffs for some technologies.
Business Green 22nd April 2013 more >>
Killing Solar Thermal
Imagine you work in government and you’ve been asked to really slow down the development and growth of a new industry. How would you go about it? How about just outlawing it? You could pass a law that makes it illegal. Bit too obvious for your tastes? Perhaps not clever enough? Yes, you’re right. It could get messy, people might protest, take you to court, that kind of thing. OK then, how about about this? Why not announce a scheme that is going to actually pay a subsidy to people who buy the products this industry produces, but that its going to start in 12 months’ time. Anyone thinking of buying will wait for this scheme to start, so no one will buy anything this year. Then, just before you were going to launch it – delay it for another year. Then do the same again. And again. Genius!
Solar Blogger 20th April 2013 more >>
Efficiency Investments
COMPANIES sitting on cash piles should use their money to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings, according to the former mayor of Toronto. Speaking after his keynote address at yesterday’s Scottish Council for Development & Industry (SCDI) forum in Edinburgh, David Miller said that businesses were not receiving the returns they were used to on their cash. So he called on firms to invest the money in their buildings, which he claimed would give them a return on their investment within five-to-ten years through cuts to their energy bills.
Scotsman 20th April 2013 more >>
Green Deal
Scotland’s first small “Green Deal” provider has said it expects to double its workforce when the energy-saving scheme arrives. Glasgow based PV Solar created Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Systems (Helms) to benefit from the new incentives for energy efficiency. Founder Doug Wilkie says he hopes to increase the workforce of 150 to about 300 in response to Green Deal.
Herald 19th April 2013 more >>
Commonwealth Games
Scotland’s first major scale carbon free development. The whole design and construction team genuinely set their sights high seeing the project as potentially an industry game changer. One of the key areas of innovative design that we enjoyed exploring which benefited from collaborative working with other design specialists was in the development of the Carbon Reduction Strategy for the Village which we described as ‘The Blended Solution’; following is an extract from our proposal.
Urban Realm 18th April 2013 more >>