week ending 16 August 2013
Whisky Power
Renewable energy is also playing an increasingly important role in Diageo’s efforts to curb emissions, specifically the £17m bioenergy plant at the Roseisle Scotch whisky distillery in Speyside, Scotland, which won the award for Renewable Energy Project of the year at the 2013 BusinessGreen Leaders Awards last month. Since opening in 2010, the bioenergy plant has provided half of Roseisle’s electricity needs, while reducing the site’s carbon emissions by around 13,000 tonnes a year and minimising water consumption through a closed loop on the distillery condensers. The innovative plant combines a range of clean technologies, including anaerobic digestion to convert the draff and pot ale by-products into methane, which is fed into a biomass boiler, and clean water, which can be used for the malting process. Waste heat from the distilling process is also pumped to Diageo’s Burghead maltings plant next door for reuse.
Business Green 16th Aug 2013 more >>
European Standards
Andrew Warren argues that the government’s consultation on EU competence appears designed to undermine encouraging progress from Brussels on environmental issues.
Business Green 16th Aug 2013 more >>
Orkney Renewable Storage
In what could prove to be a major breakthrough for the UK’s renewables industry, Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD) yesterday connected the UK’s first large scale battery to local electricity distribution network on Orkney, kicking off a trial that will aim to help the island better exploit its clean energy resources.
Business Green 15th Aug 2013 more >>
Solar Portal 15th Aug 2013 more >>
Solar Storage
Storage is a buzzword in the PV community at the moment and it seemed like half the stands in some of the halls at InterSolar in Munich in June had storage products on display. But do they make sense in the UK yet – especially when most of the products on display seemed to cost upwards of ten thousand euros? What has familiarity with batteries taught me? Well, mainly to avoid them where possible.
Solar Portal 15th Aug 2013 more >>
Buying a Solar House
RECENT figures show that the South West is the nation’s leading area for homes with solar panels. The number of properties with solar panels on the roof is increasing all the time. This raises a number of issues for prospective purchasers to consider. The first thing to check is whether the panels are owned by the seller or installed by someone else with under a lease or licence. Even if they are owned by the seller, the buyer needs to check whether they are subject to a financing agreement such as hire purchase or the Green Deal. The second issue to check is whether the seller intends to remove the panels prior to vacating the property and, if he does, what the arrangements will be to ensure that any damage caused by the removal of the panels will be made good by him.
Herald Express 15th Aug 2013 more >>
Eco2Solar
KIDDERMINSTER-based renewable energy company Eco2Solar is set to represent the West Midlands at the “Oscars” of the renewable energy industry. Eco2Solar is a national finalist in the Energy Efficiency and Renewables Awards, being shortlisted as a contender for Solar PV Installer in the awards
Kidderminster Shuttle 15th Aug 2013 more >>
Green Communities
It would appear that the green economy is somewhat bucking the trend, while the rest of the economy remained virtually flat, sales in green markets grew by almost £6bn. This boost towards the overall economic well-being of the UK is clearly significant. The recently launched Rural Communities Energy Fund which WRAP launched on behalf of DECC and Defra, to help communities benefit economically and socially from the revenues renewable energy can provide. By providing rural communities with the opportunity to develop their own clean green energy you are quite literally putting the green economy at the heart of a community. People will be working together to realise the financial and environmental benefits of green growth.
Business Green 15th Aug 2013 more >>
Gaia Wind
World leading farm scale wind turbine manufacturer Gaia-Wind today announced the introduction of the “Self Raising Tower”. The new hinged and motorised tower makes the Gaia-Wind 133 the biggest small wind turbine (rotor diameter) that can be installed without heavy machinery.
Farming UK 14th Aug 2013 more >>
PV Installations
The latest PV installation figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) show that <50kW installations have hit around 6MW-a-week. The week ending 28 July saw 6.1MW of capacity added, while the week ending 4 August saw a further 6.4MW of solar installed. Solar installers have been buoyed by the news that feed-in tariff rates for all bands of solar will remain frozen until 2014. However, the current levels of deployment are back to the level they were in February – far lower than the average achieved from March to June (9.7MW-a-week).
Solar Portal 14th Aug 2013 more >>
Municipal Solar Farming
A civic solar farm, thought to be the first to be built in Lincolnshire and only the second of its kind in the UK, is being planned by West Lindsey District Council. Electricity generated at the proposed facility would provide income to the council which would help make up the shortfall in government funding cuts. The council hopes this will go some way toward staving off the need to increase council tax.
Solar Portal 14th Aug 2013 more >>
Nottingham Playhouse
To boost its green credentials Nottingham Playhouse has been awarded funding from Arts Council England (ACE) to install solar panels and other green energy measures. The Grade II listed, iconic Nottingham Playhouse building, is currently very difficult to efficiently heat and light due to its aged architecture. Solar panels, new light fittings, heat saving lobby doors and double glazing will be fitted to aid the theatre’s energy efficiency.
Solar Portal 14th Aug 2013 more >>
Quantum Energy
Perth micro-generation and efficiency firm Quantum Energy hopes teaming up with its landlord will lead to fresh opportunities for its designed-in solar PV cells. The company has installed a 49.5kW solar system on the building it rents from Algo Business Centre on Perth’s Glenearn Road and believes the partnership could boost the outlook for its efforts in the renewables market. If the trial installation delivers the savings and investment return expected Algo has agreed to offer Quantum’s technology on the new-build sites created by its design and construction arm.
Dundee Courier 14th Aug 2013 more >>
Building Regulations
The industry has expressed disappointment with the 6 per cent energy-efficiency requirements included in Part L of the updated Building Regulations. Micropower Council chief executive Dave Sowden said the move would increase energy bills for new homes by around a third and reduce carbon savings by more than 75 per cent when compared with the previous government’s outlines. Mr Sowden said the announcement “brings very little clarity and will not result in any material additional uptake of low-carbon energy technologies”.
H&V News 13th Aug 2013 more >>
Local Authorities
A new study from Newcastle University assesses which UK cities are doing the most to tackle climate change. It finds that while some local councils are ahead of the urban climate change policy planning curve, others look increasingly unprepared. So, how’s your hometown doing? Overall, the study found councils tended to have effective energy efficiency policies, but lag behind on providing renewable energy, cleaner transport, or – perhaps unsurprisingly, given cows’ aversion to heavy traffic – sustainable agriculture policies. The study covers 30 towns and cities in the UK, with a combined population of around 17.3 million. The researchers scored each the policies between zero and three – with three being marvelous, and zero being pretty dreadful. The map below shows the results.
Carbon Brief 13th Aug 2013 more >>
SCIENTISTS have criticised councils across the UK for failing to take action on climate change in a new report published yesterday. English and Northern Irish city councils criticised by scientists for failing to take policy action on climate change. Scottish city councils – Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen – who took part in survey praised by researchers as they cite SNP-led legislation as reason behind progress. The damning study of 30 cities by experts at Newcastle University found that although every local authority acknowledged that climate change was a serious threat many had done little or nothing to turn their strategies on reducing carbon emissions into reality.
Scotsman 13th Aug 2013 more >>
Many cities across the UK are failing to implement plans to deal with climate change such as reducing emissions and planning for extreme weather, a report has found.
Engineering & Technology News 13th Aug 2013 more >>
Bedford Plan
A UK council expects to save nearly £2,000 in energy costs and generate an income of more than £6,000 every year by investing in green energy. The first stage of a £1.7 million RE:FIT project for Bedford Borough Council included the installations of 212 PV panels on the roof of its car park. Contractor for the project MITIE claims the solar panels will generate enough energy to power the car park and sell the remaining back to the National Grid, cutting its bills and reducing 10.3 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.
Energy Live News 13th Aug 2013 more >>
Storage Catapult
Business Secretary Vince Cable will this morning announce plans for two new Catapult research centres focused on energy storage and combatting rare diseases, as part of the Technology Strategy Board’s (TSB) programme for strengthening the UK’s position in a host of strategic industries.
Business Green 13th Aug 2013 more >>
Glasgow Plan
GLASGOW City Council is planning to set up its own green energy company to tackle fuel poverty, cut carbon emissions and create new jobs. Last year the council spent almost £26 million heating buildings including schools, libraries, sport centres and museums and on powering street lights. Studies have now been carried out into harnessing hydro power from the rivers Clyde and Kelvin and generating power from waste at the Polmadie treatment plant. Experts have also investigated creating centralised heating networks similar to the hi-tech system used in the Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village. A number of green energy projects have been tested, including wind turbines on the Cathkin Braes and solar panels at St Benedict’s primary in Easterhouse. It is thought the new company would be able to sell energy to the National Grid, using any excess cash generated to help city pensioners with winter fuel payments. And it would protect the council from rising energy costs introduced by the big energy companies. Council chiefs believe the planned Glasgow Energy Services Company (GLESCo) will be one of the largest such schemes in Europe.
Evening Times 10th Aug 2013 more >>
Herald 16th Aug 2013 more >>
Zero Carbon Building
Fresh fears that the government’s path to introducing zero-carbon homes may put the nascent housebuilding recovery at risk have emerged after its long-awaited consultation on part of its plans failed to provide the industry with certainty on key questions. This week the government published its consultation plans for allowable solutions – where housebuilders undertake actions outside of the building itself to contribute towards meeting their zero-carbon obligations, such as renewable energy schemes for the community or paying into a fund to offset carbon emissions.
Building 8th Aug 2013 more >>
Green Deal
The Liberal Democrats have floated plans to significantly bolster the Green Deal and support green growth if they are elected to government in 2015. The plans form part of a policy paper on green growth which will be put to party members for approval at the party’s annual conference this autumn. The policy paper includes commitments to introduce incentives for people to take-up the Green Deal by bringing in variable rates of stamp duty and council tax based on the energy efficiency of a property. The paper, drawn up by a committee of party members including the director of the Association for the Conservation of Energy Andrew Warren and MEP and energy campaigner Fiona Hall, also proposed that the party should back the introduction so-called consequential improvement proposals, which would require householders to upgrade the performance of their homes when building extensions.
Building 7th Aug 2013 more >>