News archive
week ending 23 October 2009
Green Map
NORTH Dorset has been chosen as one of only two places in England to develop a new ‘green map’ of action by local communities to tackle climate change. The map will be an on-line internet resource that will help anyone interested find out what is going on ion their area and how they can get involved. The other map is for Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Western Gazette 23rd Oct 2009 more >>
Geothermal
£6million is available from to fund exploration for natural energy under the ground. Deep geothermal is a renewable energy that uses the natural heat from deep underground to produce non-intermittent electricity and heat at the surface.
DECC Press Release 22nd Oct 2009 more >>
Business Green 22nd Oct 2009 more >>
West Yorkshire Tackles Climate Change
Calderdale Council along with the 4 other West Yorkshire Councils has signed a joint statement to tackle climate change collaboratively. The West Yorkshire Councils have agreed to focus work initially on schools in the region, which includes a carbon reduction conference aimed at Secondary School Headteachers, Bursars and Senior Management, providing measures to support teaching of climate change issues in the school curriculum and work to reduce carbon emissions from school buildings and facilities.
Calderdale Council 22nd Oct 2009 more >>
Clean Energy Cashback
The government’s consultation on its ‘Clean Energy Cash Back’ scheme has closed amid widespread anxiety that the current proposals will not attract sufficient investment to achieve even the government’s un-ambitious target of two per cent of electricity from local renewables by 2020.
Electrical Times 22nd Oct 2009 more >>
Audit Commission
Councils are in the front line of battle against global warming, says the Audit Commission. Councils can help shrink the domestic carbon footprint. The new national report ‘Lofty Ambitions - the role of councils in reducing domestic CO2 emissions’ proposes tackling homes - responsible for one third of England’s greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon emissions from houses could be cut far more quickly and cheaply than those from industry or transport. Lagging, insulating, re-glazing and modernising can make homes more energy efficient. These measures would also benefit the four million people who cannot afford to heat their homes adequately – half of whom are pensioners.
eGov Monitor 21st Oct 2009 more >>
ASHP
Daikin Altherma air source heat pump product range has, after preliminary judging of the Green Business Awards2009, been shortlisted for the “Green Product” category. Daikin Altherma represents the most diverse range of air source heat pump solutions available for the domestic housing market in the UK. The range includes the Daikin Split and Monobloc (Low Temperature) systems as well as the Daikin Altherma HT (High Temperature), an industry first system which provides heating and hot water up to 80oC.
ADF 21st October 2009 more >>
B&Q VAT Campaign
VAT on energy saving products such as water butts and solar panels should be scrapped, according to the retailer B&Q, which has launched a campaign to ditch the tax on green devices.
Telegraph 21st Oct 2009 more >>
Hackney Wind Turbine
Plans to erect a 120-metre-high wind turbine on east London’s Hackney Marshes have been proposed by the Olympic Delivery Authority.
Regen.net 21st Oct 2009 more >>
Hackney Council 20th Oct 2009 more >>
Hackney Gazette 22nd Oct 2009 more >>
Country Park
Each year up to 80 tonnes of wood that is harvested from the surrounding land at Queen Elizabeth Country Park in Hampshire. It is used to fuel a biomass boiler which has successfully supplied the visitor centre and offices with heating and hot water for nearly two years.
Hantsweb 20th Oct 2009 more >>
Cornish Co-op
BEEF and sheep farmers from across Cornwall have set up a co-operative company to sell ‘green’ electricity. From next year Cornish Renewable Energy Ltd will allow the nine farms taking part to provide electricity to local businesses and other customers from 18 wind turbines – two per farm.
This is Cornwall 20th Oct 2009 more >>
Micro CHP
The micro CHP (combined heat power) systems being developed by MTT would be used to provide on demand hot water and heat for homes and small businesses. The system would produce 3Kw of energy and 15Kw of heat. Using this micro turbine system would lower electricity bills by 20 – 25 percent and CO2 emissions by 3-6 tons per year.
Green Blorge 20th Oct 2009 more >>
Cornish Heat Pumps
Ground Source South West have been working with local renewable energy company, Capture Energy, on several horizontal collector systems in Cornwall. Horizontal collectors are generally cheaper to install then borehole systems but need a large free area on site for installation. The sites were tricky involving excavation and reinstatement of private drives and gardens and our clients are delighted with the quality of our work. They are to be connected to Danfoss and Kensa Ground Source Heat Pumps.
Applegate 20th Oct 2009 more >>
Cumbria Solar
He has climbed Nelson’s Column and taken part in direct action campaigns against whaling, pollution, nuclear power and the destruction of wildlife. Years later Martin Cotterell is still fighting for the environment. These days, however, he does it by running his own business. And this latest green initiative has proved so successful that Martin was named as Cumbria’s top company boss in this month’s Institute of Directors awards. His solar electricity company, Sundog Energy, is looking forward to a bright future. The business’s rapid growth has demonstrated that even in northern Europe there is enough sunshine to make solar energy a serious alternative to our carbon-producing power stations. “We might not live in the Mediterranean, but there is still enough potential sunshine here to generate all our electricity.”
Carlisle News & Star 19th Oct 2009 more >>
Boiler Scrappage Campaign
It will take time for consumers to adopt some of the different microgeneration applications, such as PV and wind turbines, in big enough numbers to make an impact on carbon emissions. However, micro-CHP provides a great opportunity for householders to use technology they are familiar with (gas boilers) and generate a large proportion of the electricity they need to run their homes. If all SE boilers are converted to micro-CHP, carbon emissions will reduce by 5.39Mtc pa, which equates to 6.7% of 2006 household emissions.
Baxi Blog 19th Oct 2009 more >>
Bolton Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s is set to become the first in the world to be powered by a special new “eco” boiler. The supermarket wants to install a biomass boiler at its new store in Cricketers Way, Westhoughton. If the boiler is approved, it will supersede plans for a wind turbines and solar panels at the store.
Bolton News 18th Oct 2009 more >>
Newport Urban Turbine
A NEWPORT chemical company has started with its plans to install two wind turbines. Solutia UK was granted planning permission by Newport city council in August to have a pair of 2.5 megawatt wind turbines
South Wales Argus 18th Oct 2009 more >>
Oxford Sustainability
The Thrive Sustainably event was held at West Oxford Community Centre and West Oxford Primary School and saw experts on climate change, composting, renewable energy and other related areas giving talks and demonstrations and sharing information.
This is Oxfordshire 18th Oct 2009 more >>
Hydro Smokery
Scottish fine food supplier Rannoch Smokery has developed a £2m hydroscheme and will supply renewable energy exclusively to M&S. Under the scheme, excess water from two rivers on the Rannoch estate is siphoned off before being transported through underground pipes. It drives a turbine to produce energy, which is fed into the National Grid.
The Grocer 17th Oct 2009 more >>
Feed-in Disaster
Geoffrey Lean: Under a “plausible policy scenario” nine million dwellings – about one in three in Britain – could be exploiting “micropower” by 2020, producing as much energy as five large nuclear power stations. A less expensive programme could equip three million homes. Instead – under plans on which public consultation ended on Thursday – the Government is aiming at a modest 870,000, producing just two per cent of Britain’s power, one sixteenth of the technical potential. Solar electricity, the most promising of all the technologies, is planned to provide only half a percentage point
Telegraph 17th Oct 2009 more >>
Feed-in tariffs to stimulate small-scale use of renewable energy must be raised to a 10% return for the first three years to be effective claim green campaigners today.
New Civil Engineer 16th Oct 2009 more >>
Tory Commitments
Cameron reiterated his commitment to a number of previously announced environmental policies that are also being pursued by the government, pledging that a Conservative government would introduce a smart meter in every home, launch a feed-in tariff to encourage roll-out of onsite renewable energy systems, and deliver a Green Deal that would allow households to undertake green home makeovers at no up-front cost and then pay for the service through their energy bills.
Business Green 16th Oct 2009 more >>
Waitrose AD
Food waste at Waitrose in Balham is being recycled into renewable energy. The store uses anaerobic digestion techniques to recycle raw meat and liquids, and packaged and out-of-date stock.
This is Local London 16th Oct 2009 more >>
Thames Gateway
New technologies and initiatives for homes and businesses in the Thames Gateway to tackle climate change will be tried out in the country’s first eco-quarter, Thames Gateway Minister Shahid Malik has announced. The Thames Gateway is designated an eco-region and the eco-quarter will provide the first real exemplar of the standards Government aspires to achieve throughout that region.
24 Dash 16th Oct 2009 more >>
Build.co.uk 16th Oct 2009 more >>
Green Building 16th Oct 2009 more >>
Windsave
Wind Save Ltd, the Glasgow-based roof turbine company created by entrepreneur David Gordon, owed “several million pounds” to around 100 creditors when it went into liquidation a month ago.
Herald 16th Oct 2009 more >>
Scottish Low Carbon Zones
A designer has been commissioned to turn local communities in Scotland into low carbon zones. Andres Duany is to work on projects in Dumfries, Aberdeen and Fife, holding design workshops in these areas to help the country move towards a greener future. He is best known for his designs used in the southern parts of the US which needed to be rebuilt after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The scheme has been backed by the Scottish government, which is keen to create communities that offer a good quality of life to residents and allow them to keep their carbon footprints to a minimum.
Low Carbon Economy 16th Oct 2009 more >>
