GREEN TECH FOR THE HOME

Government cut to solar tariffs blocked as appeal fails

2012-01-25T12:28:00.000Z

The court case involved the government's move to halve the payments made to households with solar panels, which it says are unsustainable.

Solar businesses and campaigners had warned thousands of jobs could be lost as a result of the move.

Under the feed-in tariffs programme, people in Britain with solar panels are paid for the electricity they generate.
Confusion

The decision will lead to widespread confusion over what the tariff level is.

The previous tariff was just over 43p per Kilowatt-hour generated.

The new tariff of 21p per kilowatt-hour had been expected to come into effect from 1 April.

But in October, the government said the reduced rate would be paid to anyone who installed their solar panels after 12 December, sparking anger from environmental groups and installers.

The government announced a consultation on the proposals, which closed on 23 December - 11 days after the decision was to have been implemented.

The High Court ruled that changing the tariffs in this way was "legally flawed", a ruling the Court of Appeal has now upheld.

The change had particularly upset industry as it affected projects which may already have been commissioned but not installed.

"This decision has very important implications for the whole renewable energy sector in the UK," said Ben Warren a partner at Ernst and Young.

"It is a clear message that retrospective adjustment of support is not acceptable,"
Appeal

The government has put a contingency plan in place which would see the current tariff, of 43p, remain in place until the start of March.

However, they are also considering appealing in the Supreme Court against the latest ruling, potentially allowing them to return to the cut-off date of 12 December.

A DECC spokesperson said: "The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court ruling on FITs. We are now considering our options."

They added that it meant there were "no guarantees" on any tariff consumers were offered after 12 December.

The tariff for surplus electricity exported to the national grid remains 3.1p per kilowatt-hour paid in addition to the tariff, and is unaffected by the changes.
Money shortage

There is also uncertainty about the sustainability of the reduced rate - as a rush of installations now may use up the scheme's remaining budget.

"The future of the feed in tariff beyond April 2012 is now hugely uncertain. Government and industry now need to work together to create a sustainable solar industry in the UK," added Mr Warren.

The Renewable Energy Association has called for the overall budget to be increased.

"The government's action and the subsequent court case had together thrown the solar industry into a state of extreme uncertainty," said chief executive Gaynor Hartnell.

"We now want to put this behind us as swiftly as possible, and work with government and supporters to secure a larger budget for small scale renewable energy generation," she added.

full article

cut your energy bills

2012-01-18T17:24:00.001Z

All of the 'big six' companies have announced small price reductions in the past week, taking the average total annual energy bill from £1,293 to £1,259 — a £34 cut, according to comparison site uSwitch.

British Gas has reduced electricity by 5 per cent with immediate effect. This will mean 5.3million people will save £24 a year on average.

EDF will reduce gas prices by 5 per cent from February 7, allowing 1.4million people to save £36 a year. Scottish & Southern Energy will cut gas prices by 3.8 per cent from March 26. It means 3.5million customers will save £28 a year.

Npower is cutting gas prices by 5 per cent from February 1, so 1.9million gas customers will save an average of £38. For the next two months, it is also waiving the £20 exit fees it charges 140,000 customers on fixed tariffs.

E.ON is cutting electricity prices by 6 per cent from February 27. This means 3.7million people will see an average reduction of £33 and exit fees will also be waived.

Scottish Power will reduce gas prices by 5 per cent, also from February 27, knocking an average £36 off 1.4million people’s bills.

Bills increased by an average of £224 last year, so the recent cuts have only wiped out 15 per cent of this.

Why has this happened?

Wholesale gas and electricity prices have fallen over the past year. British Gas says the 'longer term trend' of gas prices will be for them to rise.

But Adam Scorer, of Consumer Focus, says: 'Companies will respond differently depending on where they think wholesale prices are heading.'

Should I switch to a new deal?

Now that all of the big six suppliers have changed prices, it is a good time to switch because there is a level playing field.

If you are on a fixed tariff, it will depend on when you signed up as to whether you can now save money. You should also calculate if the exit penalties — typically £20 for gas and £20 for electricity — are more than the savings you could make by switching, although Npower and E.ON are waiving these fees.

For example, those on British Gas’s dual fuel deal that expires in June 2012 are currently paying over the odds at £1,217, but those whose deals expire in October 2012 are paying only £1,045 — which is hard to beat, according to comparison site Moneysupermarket.

The average standard tariff is now £1,251. But you can save money by switching to an online deal — where you input your meter readings and receive your bills via email. The cheapest online deal is First Utility's iSave v9 at £1,030, or Scottish Power’s Online Energy Saver 17 at £1,085. If you want a fixed tariff, the cheapest is Ovo’s New Energy Fixed at £1,059.

How do I switch?

If you have access to the internet, you can use a comparison website such as Moneysupermarket, uSwitch or Confused. You can also use This is Money's energy bill finder to switch.

To get the most accurate comparison, you will need your annual usage in kWh (this should be on the back of your bill or on your annual statement) and the exact name of the tariff you are on.

If you don’t have the internet, comparison website uSwitch’s free service ‘Send us your bill’ allows people to send them a copy of their latest energy bill and an adviser will call you back. Send your bill and phone number to FREEPOST USWITCH.

Copies of bills will not be returned afterwards, but will be destroyed. Alternatively, you can call uSwitch on 0800 093 06 07.

Is there anything else I can do?

you should submit a meter reading the day before your price fall comes into effect, to ensure as many days as possible are billed at the lower price. Keep our table to remember when to do it.

Which is the cheapest energy tariff?

The cheapest online tariff is currently First Utility's iSave Dual Fuel V9, with an annual bill size of £1,030. The cheapest of the 'big six' is nPower - with its Go Fix 10, with an annual bill size of £1,078.

However, customers are tied into a fixed contract until 8 April 2013. The cheapest of the 'big six' online, if you do not want to fix your prices, is with Scottish Power for an annual bill size of £1,085.

The cheapest standard plan (which means paying on receipt of the bill) remains EDF Energy for an annual bill size of £1,202.

The cheapest fixed is OVO's New Energy Fixed - this plan is an online and fixed plan. Prices are fixed for one year from live date. Average bill size is £1,061.

The longest fixed is Scottish and Southern Energy's Price Fix 7 - prices are fixed for three years from going live. Annual bill size of £1,307.

These estimations are all based on a medium user consuming 3300kWh electricity and 16,500kWh gas with bill sizes averaged across all regions.

full article

There are more charging points than electric cars in UK as sales slump

2012-01-15T18:48:00.002Z

Sales of electric cars have slumped so badly that there are now more charging points than vehicles on the road.

Just 2,149 electric cars have been sold since 2006, despite a government scheme last year offering customers up to £5,000 towards the cost of a vehicle.

The Department for Transport says that around 2,500 charging points have been installed, although their precise location is not known.
The government grant has boosted sales - from 138 in 2010 to 1,1082 last year - but only £3.9million of the £300million set aside has been paid out.

A spokesman for the DFT told The Sunday Times: 'It's fair to say that there hasn't been a huge take-up over the past year.'

The high cost of electric cars has put many off. The Nissan Leaf still costs £25,990 even after the £5,000 grant has been deducted.

Electric cars are also only suitable for short journeys, with a maximum range of around 100 miles on a full charge.

The government is spending £30million on publicly-funded charging points and those in private companies.

These range from points which take between six and eight hours, to those which provide an 80 per cent charge in half an hour.

Drivers can pay an annual fee to use the majority of the points, with authorities charging a membership fee for the year but no extra charge for electricity.

full article

Which? urges halt to smart meter installation

2012-01-15T11:25:00.001Z

The consumer group Which? said the cost of fitting the digital meters would fall on hard-pressed consumers, but the benefits would be reaped by energy companies which have announced record profits in recent years.

Ministers want energy companies to install the new generation of high-technology meters, which allow users to monitor their energy use in real-time, in all homes by 2020.

The flagship policy is a key part of plans to make the UK more energy efficient and was initially introduced by Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, while serving as energy secretary in the last government.

Smart meters will save energy giants hundreds of millions of pounds in administration costs as they will no longer have to pay staff to read meters.

Supporters say they will also enable consumers to reduce their energy consumption and take advantage of cheaper off-peak tariffs.

However, Which? said there is increasing evidence that consumers do not use less gas or electricity once a smart meter is installed.

It also said that some meters already installed can only be used with one energy provider – thereby discouraging home owners from shopping around for the best deal.

Richard Lloyd, executive director at Which?, said: "Consumers won't accept [smart meters] at any cost, or from suppliers they don't trust. It's naive to hope that competition in the energy market will keep under control the cost of installing smart meters in every home in the country.

"The Government must not write a blank cheque on behalf of every energy customer, especially at a time when millions of people are struggling to pay their bills.

"The energy department should stop and review the smart meter roll-out before it becomes an £11 billion fiasco."

A report by the Centre for Sustainable Energy, commissioned by Which? and seen by The Sunday Telegraph, states that there is a "meaningful risk … that the programme will fail consumers".

This week the Public Accounts Committee, a powerful panel of MPs, is also expected to publish a critical report on the introduction of smart meters.

British Gas, which has already installed nearly 400,000 smart meters in homes and business, urged the Government to continue with the programme.

Gearóid Lane, managing director of British Gas New Markets, said: "Our customers have told us loud and clear about how they are benefiting from smart meters.

"Smart meters put an end to the frustration of estimated bills, give customers more direct control over their energy use and open the door to new energy saving technologies.

"There is more to smart meters than just cost savings, and any slowdown of this crucial investment will frustrate energy customers."

Charles Hendry, the energy minister, said: "As Which? themselves reported last week, the major cause of complaints to energy companies is poor and inaccurate billing.

"Smart meters will mean more accurate information and an end to estimated billing – so no more nasty surprises for consumers.

"The benefits of smart meters are £18.1 billion for an £11 billion investment – that's a £7 billion net benefit to the nation, and we want to realise it sooner rather than later."

full article

Liquid-cooled LED light

2012-01-14T11:41:00.001Z

A revolutionary liquid-cooled LED light developed by a Californian-based firm is the first “eco” light that is as bright as a normal 100 watt bulb.

The new generation LED light bulbs are all set to go on sale and are expected to result in energy savings for consumers.

The design, developed by makers Switch, offers a longer life and a better performance than a regular bulb.

However, unlike the traditional design, it will use a fraction of the watts to emit a brightness that matches up to its 100-watt counterpart.

The bulb which was showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, is set to retail for £24 when it eventually goes on sale.

“The big thing about this bulb is it uses 80 per cent less energy than an incandescent,” the Daily Mail quoted Brett Sharenow, strategy officer for the company as saying.

“In commercial applications in general, they really would like to get back to the light quality that you get from an incandescent bulb,” he said.

The LED light bulbs are presently available only for the US 120-volt system, but the company plans to release versions of the bulbs for use in the UK and Europe by the end of 2012.

Sharenow believes the bulbs will be a particular hit in the UK, where energy costs are as much as double those in the US.

“For a commercial application, the payback is about six months. To commercial users, it is a no-brainer.” he added.

full article

Six easy tips on saving energy

2012-01-13T14:58:00.001Z

Switch supplier

Nothing could be easier — in principle. But we all know that those comparison websites are a minefield. You spend ages punching in figures, but one mistake and you’re back where you started. More than a third of us have never made the switch.

What you need is someone to do the leg-work for you. So, come in incahoot.com. All that’s required is that you send them a copy of your latest bill and they will work out the best deal. They will even contact your old provider and set up a direct debit with the new company.
Get insulated

By simply installing cavity wall and loft insulation you can make savings of between £185 and £310 a year, according to the National Insulation Association.

What’s more, there are plenty of grants available to meet green targets set by the Government.

If you’re over 70 or on qualifying benefits, you might even be entitled to have the work done for free. Remember that nearly a quarter of all heat loss in an uninsulated house is through the roof. The recommended depth for mineral wool insulation is 270mm and you can do it yourself perfectly easily.

Visit nationalinsulationassociation.org.uk for more information.

Natural heat

There has been a big resurgence for wood-burning stoves in the past decade. No wonder. They are carbon-neutral, energy-efficient and have a habit of cheering people up.

Of course, open fires are atmospheric, but most of the heat goes up the chimney. While an open fire is estimated at being between 15 per cent to 20 per cent efficient, a wood-burning stove is about 70 per cent efficient. And wood is also one of the cleanest sources of energy.

‘Wood-burning cassettes,’ as they are called, are popular. They’re installed flush into a wall that backs into a chimney. Stovax.com (01392 474000) has a good range.

Green and clean

Hard water affects 60 per cent of Britain. What this means is that calcium builds up inside pipes, boilers and heating appliances, wasting energy. The result? It costs more to heat your home and shortens the life of your boiler, dishwasher and washing machine.

The solution? Install an electronic water conditioner that removes limescale, saving up to £200 a year from your fuel bill. Plug in the machine in and wrap its cord around the main incoming water pipe.

It costs £69.99 (special offer until end of January), guaranteed money back if you’re not happy (01491 419200, scalewizard.co.uk).

Tackle the draught

Wooden floors look lovely, but 15 per cent of heat can be lost through them. Put down rugs during winter and remove them in summer.
Windows and external doors will let in the cold. Buy self-adhesive foam strips to tackle the problem.

If you’re unsure where the draughts are coming from, walk around the house with a candle and see when it flickers.

Temperature control

Most of us live in homes that are far too hot. Turning the temperature down just one degree can save about £55 a year. Now put on a jumper and fill those hot water bottles.

Fuel bills are bad for your blood pressure — and your wallet. Mark Palmer has some simple remedies

full article

British Gas and SSE announce price cuts

2012-01-12T15:18:00.000Z

British Gas has cut its electricity prices by 5% with immediate effect, while SSE will reduce gas tariffs by 4.5% on 26 March.

The moves come a day after EDF Energy announced plans to cut its domestic gas tariff by an average of 5% owing to low energy use during the mild winter.

The price cuts will add pressure on the rest of the major suppliers to cut their tariffs as wholesale prices dip.

British Gas said the average annual domestic bill would fall by £24.

"We want to keep prices as low as possible for our customers. Household budgets are stretched, and we are doing everything we can to help our customers keep their bills down," said Ian Peters of British Gas.

"This price reduction means British Gas is once again offering the cheapest standard electricity, on average, of any major supplier."

The price cut comes after a 16% rise in electricity prices and an 18% rise in gas prices for British Gas customers in August.
Future costs

The company said that 5.3 million customers on variable tariffs, including those on dual-fuel deals, would benefit from the price cut.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

It may be interesting to note that a 5% gas price cut would have cost British Gas more than double this electricity price cut”

Mark Todd Energyhelpline.com

The reduction comes into effect ahead of the EDF gas price cut which comes into force on 7 February. The EDF change is set to cut the typical annual bill by £38.

British Gas said that it was not changing its gas charges because, although there had been some short-term falls in the cost of gas, the longer term trend in wholesale prices was upward. It said it bought its energy in advance.

The company said it was too early to predict what would happen to prices in the future.

The choice to cut the cost of electricity, rather than gas - for which British Gas has more customers - has caused some debate.

"Every drop is welcome but consumers will find it baffling that the company cannot also reduce gas bills as well - especially after the EDF Energy move," said Mark Todd of Energyhelpline.com.

"The maths do not seem to add up so British Gas need to do something on gas as well if they want to look like they are passing on wholesale falls fairly. It may be interesting to note that a 5% gas price cut would have cost British Gas more than double this electricity price cut."
Following suit

Just a few hours after British Gas dropped its electricity prices, SSE - which runs Southern Electric and Scottish Hydro - announced the planned reduction of its gas price in late March.

Some 3.5 million customers would see their typical annual gas bill fall by £28, SSE said.

"Virtually all of the gas being supplied to customers this winter was bought some time ago, but some of the gas that will be supplied to customers from the spring onwards has been purchased since the period of lower wholesale prices began," it said.

"Having analysed and considered the position for some time, SSE is able to announce this reduction in household prices."

The company raised gas prices by 18% and electricity prices by 11% in September.

Adam Scorer, of watchdog Consumer Focus, said that companies would react differently depending on how they expected wholesale prices to change. But he said any drops in wholesale costs should be reflected in the price the consumer paid.

full article

EDF Energy to cut gas price by 5%

2012-01-11T10:38:00.001Z

One of the UK's largest energy suppliers, EDF Energy, has said it is to cut its gas bills by 5% from 7 February.

The move follows a sharp fall in the price of wholesale gas over the winter period due to the mild weather.

EDF increased its gas bills by 15.4% in November in response to rising wholesale gas prices.

The move to cut bills is the first by a major supplier and is likely to be followed by other energy companies.

The company did not announce any cut to the price of its electricity bills, which rose by 4.5% in November.

"What customers want more than anything else is fair, clear and transparent prices. We know they want action rather than words. That is why we are the first major supplier to announce a cut and were the last to increase prices," said Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy.
'Join in'

The company said that the wholesale price of gas had fallen 9.2% since it announced it was putting up bills on 10 November last year.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

Now the pressure is on for the rest of the major suppliers to follow suit”

Richard Lloyd Which? executive director

The typical bill will fall by about £38 a year, according to price comparison website Uswitch, with the average dual-fuel customer paying about £1,203 a year.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has called on the rest of the major suppliers to follow suit and cut their prices.

Some smaller suppliers have announced price cuts of some tariffs or cancellation of price rises in recent weeks.

EDF has been one of the most active in marketing price changes. It was the last of the six major suppliers to cut prices this autumn. Last winter, it held its prices until March amid widespread price rises.
Dissatisfaction

However, the price cut comes as an annual customer satisfaction survey carried out by the consumers' association Which? showed EDF second bottom of the "big six" energy suppliers.

In all, 43% of customers said they were satisfied with the company's service or likely to recommend it to others.

Of the big six suppliers, only one, Scottish and Southern Energy, received a score of more than 50%, getting 51%.

Richard Lloyd, Which? executive director, welcomed EDF's upcoming price cut.

"Now the pressure is on for the rest of the major suppliers to follow suit. But as our survey today shows, there remain huge problems with customer service in energy as well as high prices," he said.

This report suggested that, when customers had gripes about their energy company, some 90% of unsolved complaints were not taken to the energy ombudsman for resolution.

The ombudsman can get involved if the complaint has been outstanding for eight weeks, or if the supplier sends a letter saying the two parties are in deadlock.

Some 95% of complaints looked at by the ombudsman are upheld and 70% of them receive financial redress, Which? said.

full article

Power company says overcharging cost UK £134m

2012-01-04T10:02:00.002Z

A study by power company Eon has found that British households waste £134 million a year in electricity costs by overcharging mobiles phones and laptop computers.

One can only assume that over the festive period the authors of the report didn't feel like checking in with any remotely qualified engineers that would point out that the vast majority of chargers, and all chargers for anything with a lithium-chemistry battery like phones and laptops, stop charging the battery when its full.

If they didn't, the battery would dangerously overheat. For batteries using nickle cadmium or nickle metal hydride chemistries, typically chargers will fast charge and then switch to a trickle when the battery is near full. That trickle is important to maintain the cell capacity, lest you want to pick up your device and find it has no charge at all.
That said, there is a nugget of truth regarding wasting of power by leaving devices plugged into a charger after they have finished charging. A small amount of residual power will be drawn by the AC adaptor, usually a couple of watts or so.

In recent years there's been a raising of awareness over so-called phantom power consumption of devices with unusually large power draw when in stand-by, such as set-top boxes. The upshot of that was that manufacturers improved their standby power consumption and it's still an area worth highlighting.

Ironically Eon was using the report to draw attention to their Energy Fit plan which consists of a power meter and a free smartphone app.

full article

Five ways to save money on your energy bills

2012-01-03T15:03:00.002Z

Insulate your home

There's no point in spending money heating your house if it is simply leaking into the atmosphere, so make sure your home is as insulated as possible. According to the Energy Saving Trust, cavity wall insulation is the most effective energy-saving measure you can take.

This simple measure, which involves injecting foam into the gap between your walls, can save £110 a year. There are grants available for installing this, especially if you are over 60. Try the Energy Saving Trust's grant search tool on www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

Loft insulation, which saves around £40 a year on the average house, can also be installed at a subsidised cost, if you can get a grant. Most homes have some loft insulation, but normally fall short of the recommended level of 220mm.
Switch to the cheapest provider

The biggest change you can make to energy bills is by making sure you are on the cheapest tariff for gas and electricity. This won't make any difference to the quality of the energy supplied to you, but it could make a vast difference to the cost.

Give your boiler an MOT

If you buy boiler insurance cover you may get a service with it – however, this has risen by as much as 20pc since last year and now costs between £150 and £200, so it pays to check whether you really need it.
If your boiler is really old and does need replacing, it may pay to do it sooner rather than later. The Energy Saving Trust calculates that the difference between gas bills from a home with an old boiler to one with an ultra-efficient new one is as much as £225 a year for an average three-bedroom semi. Getting a new one sorted before winter kicks in could be sensible if you know that yours is on its last legs.

Keep an eye on your usage

Some companies, are energy monitors out free to customers; or you can buy one from theOwl.com for from just over £20.

These can be attached to your electricity meter, and can act as a powerful incentive to switch off lights and appliances by showing you exactly how much your usage is costing.

Studies suggest you could save 5pc of your electricity bills by using one, although of course this is a behavioural saving – you won't get cheaper bills just from looking at the monitor.

Sadly, these do not yet exist for gas meters.

Stop up the gaps

You can also increase your winter comfort factor by blocking draughts, especially if you have single-glazed windows. Just fitting draught stripping across your doors could save you £25 in winter. Even when the figures sound unimpressive, don't underestimate the extra comfort that thick curtains, draught excluders and other cheap measures can bring.

Rosalyn Dungate, of the Energy Saving Trust, suggests blocking cracks between floors and skirting boards with material, newspaper or decorator's caulking, a cheap home-made solution that could save money and make life far warmer.

Plenty of heat is also lost through your chimney if it is open, so if you're not having fires, try using a chimney balloon to seal it. These are easily deflated and removed.

full article

Postponement of solar tariff cuts welcomed

2011-12-31T11:16:00.000Z

The region’s renewable energy suppliers have welcomed a High Court ruling which postponed planned cuts to solar tariffs – but warned uncertain times still lay ahead for the industry.
East Anglia’s domestic energy sector has grown dramatically in recent years as homeowners rushed to cash in on a government incentive guaranteeing a payment for every kilowatt generated by solar panels on their roofs.

But the burgeoning industry was thrown into panic on October 31 when energy minister Greg Barker announced the feed-in tariff (FIT) would be halved from 43p to 21p/kWh for systems up to 4kW registered after December 12.

The five-week deadline prompted an unprecedented rush for installations – and a legal challenge by Friends of the Earth and two solar companies who said it was creating “huge economic uncertainty”.

Last Wednesday, Mr Justice Mitting agreed the decision to set the deadline 11 days before the consultation into the scheme had finished was unlawful.

But after the government  announced it would appeal against the ruling, the region’s suppliers are once again anxiously awaiting confirmation of changes which could affect their customers and employees.

full article

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

2011-12-06T16:19:00.002Z

Carbon monoxide is lethal because it hijacks haemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells. This starves the body of oxygen, affecting vital functions, causing a heart attack, coma and ultimately death.

While most households have a smoke detector, less than a third have a carbon monoxide alarm, which cost from £10.

Even if you have no fuel-burning appliances in your home, you still need an alert because the gas can pass though walls from next door.

Tony Brunton, of CO Awareness, says always look for a UK certified alarm that makes a noise, rather than flashes, if the gas is detected. ‘Carbon monoxide can kill in three minutes,’ he says. ‘If it’s in the house, you want something that tells you to get out immediately, not flashes up a different colour.’

Beware if:
■ You see yellow or orange flames in boilers and heaters when there should be blue ones.
■ There is soot on the walls around fires and water heaters.
■ Your chimney is blocked by nesting birds or your exit flue or airbricks are covered by plants growing up the walls.

The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are, in many ways, similar to flu.

The key difference is that they tend to disappear as soon as you go outside and get fresh air as the oxygen levels in the blood are restored. That’s why it’s important to mention any concerns about ventilation or heating in your home to your doctor.

Symptoms to watch out for include:

Headaches
Anxiety and depression
Nausea
Tiredness and drowsiness
Dizziness
Vomiting
Heart palpitations
Chest pain
Personality change and clumsiness

full article

Fraudsters selling dangerous energy saving devices

2011-12-05T09:39:00.000Z

More than 200 complaints about phone calls from fraudsters fooling people into buying dangerous energy saving devices are probably only "the tip of the iceberg" warned the Trading Standards Insitutute.

The victims are called by the fraudsters who claim to be their energy supplier or working in partnership with them. Victims are offered a £99 plug in device which the callers claims can save people 40 per cent on their energy bills.

But according to tests run by trading standards, a number of the items sold not only failed to satisfy electrical safety standards but do not deliver any tangible energy savings.

full article

Surge in orders as householders cash in on solar power

2011-12-04T14:27:00.000Z

Staff at a leading regional renewable energy company are working through the night to cope with a surge in orders as householders rush to beat a looming “cash” deadline.

Since the Government announced it was reducing the money it pays for electricity generated by solar panels on domestic properties, Harrogate-based Clean Energy (Yorkshire) have been working around the clock to cope with demand.

A month ago, the business, based at Pannal Business Park, was working on an average of 10 installations a week. But, when it was announced the feed-in tariff was to be cut from 43.3p per unit to 21p per unit from December 12, this number has now soared to more than 25 a week.

full article

Homeowners could get £100 energy bill reprieve

2011-12-02T09:29:00.001Z

Energy customers could see their bills fall by £100 in the next year due to falling wholesale prices if the Eurozone collapses.
According to figures from comparison website Energyhelpline.com the wholesale cost of gas has already slumped 21pc since the peak in early September. Then, it was 78.3 pence per therm. It now stands at 61.5 pence per therm. During the same period, wholesale electricity prices dropped 15pc, falling from £5.62 per Megawatt Hour to £4.79 per Megawatt Hour.

Forecasts from the site indicate that, should the euro collapse, the impact on global energy markets is likely to be similar to the period 2008-09 following the demise of Lehman Brothers' when wholesale prices crashed by 66pc. This led to two years of tentative price drops in residential energy prices with reductions of 6.9pc in 2009 and of around 5pc in 2010.

Applied to the current average annual dual fuel bill of £1,345, a 6.9pc price drop would lead to residential price cuts of £93 next year.

full article

Ten money-saving tips for winter

2011-11-25T15:41:00.002Z

1. It's NOT cheaper to leave heating on all day. The Energy Saving Trust says it's better to switch on for just an hour before you wake up and arrive home.

2. Anyone can get £300 of cavity wall and loft insulation FREE. This can cut your energy bill by £200 a year. EDF and Tesco Home Efficiency are offering the freebie even if you are not their customer, so long as you have a suitable home. British Gas also have a similar deal for their customers.

3. Find your stopcock and check how to turn it off. Damage from water when burst frozen pipes thaw can cost £25,000. If you go away, drain the water system or leave the heating on a little each day.

4. Switch your gas and electricity tariffs. It's the perfect time to shop around and you could even offset the past year's hikes. Switching takes up to six weeks, so act now. Use a comparison site approved by consumerfocus.org.uk. Or go to mse.me/gaselec for a top deal PLUS £30 cashback.

5. Claim your winter fuel payments. Households with someone born before January 6, 1951, are entitled to up to £200 tax-free (£300 for the over-80s). If you have never claimed before, register on 0845 915 1515.

6. Pre-payment meter users can save too. Ask to convert to a "credit meter", where you are billed. It works out cheaper. Some providers do this for free.
If not, or it's unaffordable, you can compare and switch tariffs and, when switching, see if your new supplier will let you switch to a credit meter for free. See mse.me/prepay.

7. Slash £100 a year off your boiler insurance. Don't always stay with your energy provider's cover, see comparison sites uswitch.com, energyhelpline.com and boilerchoices.co.uk — and check out those missed, including Npower's Hometeam 50 and Eon.

8. Chuck on another jumper. It's cheaper than turning up the heat — even adding just one degree can cost £60 a year. Full draught-proofing also helps, saving about £55 a year.

9. A monthly direct debit can save £100 a year. But do regular meter readings to keep your payment accurate.

10. Switch your nan's tariff! Many elderly people overpay. With their consent, sit down and compare prices for them — it could save them hundreds a year

full article

British Gas has said it is simplifying its tariffs

2011-11-24T11:47:00.002Z

Earlier this year, the regulator Ofgem told energy companies they must offer simpler tariffs.

Following a comprehensive review of the UK energy market sparked by claims that energy companies were making excessive profits, Ofgem said suppliers needed to change the way they operated by next year.

Ofgem welcomed the move, saying that British Gas had recognised that suppliers need an "open and honest dialogue" with their customers.

It said it would examine the company's proposals in detail to see how far they met its own objectives to simplify tariffs.

Earlier this week, E.On announced it had "pressed the reset button" on its relationship with customers, while other major energy suppliers have said they are working towards simplifying their tariffs.

"As part of urgently restoring confidence we are calling on all suppliers to get behind Ofgem's reforms to deliver what consumers tell us they want - a simpler, more competitive energy market," said Ian Marlee, of Ofgem.

"Without the decisive break with the past that Ofgem's reforms offer consumers will continue to mistrust energy suppliers."
'Complete breakdown'

Mr Bentley told the BBC's Newsnight that British Gas was making the changes because its customers had said they did not like the current pricing structures.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

It is clear that we need to make things better for our customers”

Phil Bentley Managing director, British Gas

How to read your bill
How to switch suppliers

"We are very conscious of our social responsibility," he said.

He said bills were going up in part due to increasing transport costs and green levies.

He also admitted that British Gas had offered cheap deals at a loss to the company in order to attract customers because they would be at the top of price comparison tables. The company would no longer be doing this, he said.

"It is not right if we are charging honest customers more [to fund these deals]," he said.

The supplier is sending a letter to all its customers explaining its new policy, in which Mr Bentley says: "It is clear that we need to make things better for our customers. To make sure we do that, I am committed to having an honest conversation with [them]."

As well as offering just two tariffs, the supplier said that, from this month, it will include a "complete breakdown" of all the costs that make up its customers' bills.

Earlier this week, British Gas announced it had secured a £13bn gas supply contract with Norway's Statoil designed to help insulate customers from volatility in global gas prices.

Hundreds of tariffs

Watchdog Consumer Focus said there had been 70 new tariffs launched this year by energy companies, bringing the total to about 400. It said that simplifying tariffs would not have a direct effect on prices.
Gas ring The regulator Ofgem has told energy companies to make their tariffs simpler

"Energy is a simple product, it should also be a simple market. Reducing the number and complexity of tariffs will not bring prices down by itself, but it will help people understand their energy costs and get the best deal available," said Adam Scorer, of Consumer Focus.

Energy company E.On said its own review would take six months to complete, and would look at tariffs, bills, customer support and how it sells its products.

Ofgem has said that it wants to see one standard tariff per fuel per payment option - such as by direct debit, prepayment meter, or cash or cheque.

It said fixed-term contracts would also be allowed, where the price would be unchanged or track a particular index.

As well as calling for simpler tariffs following its review, the regulator said that it had found evidence the so-called big six energy firms had increased their prices in response to rising costs more quickly than they had lowered them in response to costs falling.

The suppliers, it said, should face more competition.

full article

Keep Showers Short

2011-11-23T16:42:00.002Z

A survey, using innovative technology, has offered an insight into people's showering habits.

The average shower lasted eight minutes - much longer than previous studies suggested, using almost as much water and energy as the average bath.

The information was compiled from "data loggers" that recorded 2,600 showers by 100 families over a 10-day period.

The survey was carried out by producer Unilever, which wanted to find out how people were using their products.

According to the data, an eight-minute shower used 62 litres of hot water, compared with an average bath's 80 litres.
And, it suggested, that if people were using a power shower - an appliance that adds extra pressure to the water flow - then an eight-minute shower would require twice as much water and energy as a bath.

"Most people have now got the message that, generally, taking a shower is more environmentally friendly than a bath, but what this research shows is this is not necessarily the case," she told BBC News.

Dr Owen, who produced "eco action trump" cards to help people understand the environmental and economic impact of everyday activities, said that she recommended that people took four-minute showers.

"People always consider the running costs of cars and phones, but no-one considers the running costs of everyday appliances such as showers, washing machines and TVs."

The survey suggested that taking eight-minutes showers would cost an average UK family £416 a year; using a power shower would see the annual bill soar to £918.

"Water companies often give away timers that help you limit your time in the shower and attachments are available to fix to your shower head that will reduce the flow but not the bathing experience," she explained.

"If you are partial to singing in the shower, pick a short pop classic to shower to; and when lathering up think about turning the flow off until you are ready to rinse."

full article

Backlash grows over Cameron's green sell-out

2011-11-13T17:25:00.000Z

David Cameron today faces a revolt of business leaders, councils, environment campaigners and unions furious at his decision to cut funding for household solar energy, severely undermining his claim that the coalition would be the "greenest government ever".

The funding for households who feed excess electricity generated by their solar panels into the national grid is to be cut from 43p to 21p per kilowatt hour (kwh) from next month, doubling the length of time people would have to wait before their solar panels became economically viable.

The feed-in tariff scheme is one of the most popular environmental measures introduced by any government. It has already been adopted by 100,000 private and housing association homes, and was championed by David Cameron within weeks of him becoming Conservative leader.

Yet last month ministers announced that, from 12 December, the subsidies would be cut in half, despite claims they were consulting on the plan.

full article

solar panels feed-in tariff halved

2011-11-13T17:13:00.002Z

Householders who are in the process of having solar panels put on their roof have six weeks to complete the job or face seeing the predicted income they generate slashed after the government said it was cutting feed-in tariffs by 50%.

Despite pledging to be "the greenest government ever", the Tory-led coalition last week shocked the renewables sector by announcing that only installations completed by 12 December would get the full payments they were promised. Hundreds of householders who had signed contracts to have panels fitted have now pulled out and others are expected to follow.

More worrying, say installers, is a proposal to make future feed-in tariff (Fit) payments dependent on the home meeting tough energy performance standards. Around 85% of UK homes would need to spend around £5,600 to meet the requirements. Such a move, which is subject to the consultation exercise announced by ministers, would kill the solar industry, insiders say.

The much-trailed decision to halve the Fits – the amounts those installing photovoltaic panels on their roof get for each unit of electricity generated – sent the solar industry rushing for its calculators in a bid to work out whether solar panels will still be worth installing. It looks as though all but the most committed environmentalists will decide it is not worth the hassle.

Under the original scheme, householders had been promised the higher Fit payments provided they installed their panels before 1 April 2012. Since the scheme's introduction in 2010, around 100,000 householders have taken advantage of the generous terms.

So what do the changes mean?

• The feed-in tariff payable on installations of up to 4kW used to attract a generation rate of 43.3p per kWh. This will be reduced to a proposed 21p for all installations with an eligibility date on or after 12 December – unless the government relents voluntarily, or is forced to by a legal challenge. This slashes their viability; the financial return on the investment falls from around 12% to 5%-7%.

• If you are in the middle of an installation, you need to have it completed and registered with your power company by 12 December. If your supplier won't play ball and demands paperwork by 5 December (as some reportedly have), switch to Good Energy, which says it is planning to take registrations right up to the deadline.

• If you complete your installation between 12 December and 1 April, you will get the new Fit of 21p, but won't have to conform to any energy efficiency measures.

• Perhaps the biggest change, and the one that has attracted the least publicity, is the plan to make the payment of Fits dependent on other energy efficiency measures. Ministers have indicated they want only homes that have an energy performance certificate rating of C or better, ruling out many homes, as it will be prohibitively expensive. Most pre-1919 homes require the installation of some or all of the following measures: loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, heating controls, hot water cylinder insulation, replacement boiler and solid wall insulation – at a typical cost of £5,600.

Critics say that for the hardest-to-heat houses, solar PV is a practical way of reducing carbon emissions, and probably much less disruptive than solid wall insulation.

• The proposals are also expected to put an end to free solar installations (often called "rent-a-roof" schemes) through a new multi-installation rate – where an individual or company receives Fits from more than one installation. They will get just 16.8p per kWh for systems up to 4kW, a rate which the chief executive of HomeSun says makes the business no longer worth pursuing.

Friends of the Earth's energy campaigner Donna Hume says the changes have cast a shadow over the UK's thriving solar industry. "The government should be encouraging more people, not fewer, to save money by making their own electricity, freeing us from the stranglehold of the big six energy firms which are pushing up our bills."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change says it is consulting on proposed new tariffs to protect consumers from footing the bill for excessive subsidies: "The government stands by its pledge to be the greenest government ever. We are taking action to ensure that the Fits scheme stays within budget, and to put the solar industry on a steadier, clearer and sustainable growth path, avoiding boom and bust.

In 2010, anyone spending the typical £13,000 to fit an average sized (2.5kW) system would receive around £900 a year in payments, on top of a £140-a-year saving in reduced electricity bills. Feed-in tariffs are paid for 25 years, tax-free, and rise in line with inflation. To really make it work, you had to plan to stay in your home for at least 15 years. The price of installations has fallen by 20%, which is why the industry expected a cut to Fits from next April.

Gabriel Wondrausch, the man behind one of Britain's longest established installers, SunGift Solar, says investors will be still able to get an average 5%-7% return under the new rules. He says that by switching to cheaper Chinese panels (rather than the better European ones he favours), it is possible to make a decent-ish return. His estimates beat the government's claim that the return is now 4.5%.

However, he predicts the changes will lead to a return to pre-Fits days, which saw only the keenest "greens" making the investment – particularly if the government goes ahead with its plan to impose the energy performance requirement, which will rule out most potential buyers if they have to spend £5,000 on a new boiler and other measures.

full article

Fuel poor could miss out on help

2011-10-15T15:12:00.000+01:00

The BBC has learned that not everyone eligible for the new Warm Home Discount will receive it because of funding limits.

Warm Home Discount replaces the current social tariffs provided by the energy firms to help customers on low incomes.

More than half a million pensioner households will get £120 off their bills this winter.

But other people suffering fuel poverty may miss out because of caps imposed by other energy companies.

Changing subsidies

While many pensioners qualify automatically for fuel poverty subsidies, other people have to satisfy a number of other criteria.

To be eligible most firms require customers to be in receipt of a means tested benefit, and either have a child under 5 or in receipt of disability benefit.

But Radio 4's Money Box has learnt that the companies set limits on the number of people they are prepared to offer subsidies to.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

We're looking for about 40 - 45,000 customers, so it's a case of first come, first served”

Valentine Mulholland Energy policy officer, EDF Energy

EDF Energy will offer subsidies to about 45,000 of its customers.

And according to EDF energy policy manager Valentine Mulholland, it will be a case of "first come, first served" for the rest.

Four of the other "big six" energy companies which Money Box spoke to said they too would be capping their fuel poverty funds.

Scottish and Southern Energy said it would help a minimum of 4,800 customers, although it expected to be able to help more.

Limited funds

However British Gas has a broader set of criteria than the other companies.

It is inviting applications from customers who have a household income of below £16,190 and spend more than 10% on fuel for adequate heating.

Ian Peters, the managing director of energy at British Gas, told Radio 4's Money Box programme "no eligible customer" would lose out:

"If they apply before the end of January for the first year, then I would have every confidence that they would get £120. I will guarantee we'll pay them," he said.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

If they apply before the end of January for the first year, then I would have every confidence that they would get £120”

Ian Peters Managing director of energy, British Gas

Jonathan Stearn of Consumer Focus said he welcomed the move by British Gas to help all those eligible, but other companies needed to do more.

He said: "If energy firms are able to offer help to more people, as British Gas has said it will be doing, this would clearly be welcome.

"But there is a wider issue of how to fund helping more vulnerable households. This needs to be tackled as part of a comprehensive fuel poverty strategy."

BBC Radio 4's Money Box is broadcast on Saturdays at 1200 BST, and repeated on Sundays at 2100 BST.

full article

Energy companies' profit margins soar

2011-10-15T15:08:00.000+01:00

Britain’s big energy companies are making profit margins of £125 a year from every household in the UK, up from just £15 in June, according to Ofgem, the energy regulator.
The eight-fold increase follows recent above-inflation rises in household energy bills and has led to accusations that the energy firms are profiting from consumers’ misery.

Ofgem, which said that the average annual gas and electricity bill is now £1,345 per household, has called for “radical reform” in the way that the so-called big six energy companies deal with their customers. The regulator has instructed the companies to make it easier for consumers to compare prices and switch suppliers

full article

Energy suppliers and Government launch Warm Home Discount

2011-09-21T16:17:00.003+01:00

EDF Energy last week became the final one of the Big Six suppliers to reveal inflation-busting increases.

Yet Your Money can reveal a bid to ease the pain of rocketing bills will ignore millions of families who need help the most.

Experts fear this year’s double dose has plunged another 840,000 households into poverty, leaving 6.9 million with a daily struggle to afford heating. Until now, suppliers tried to lessen the blow by offering cheap-rate deals – known as social tariffs – to those facing hardship.

In 2009/10, firms provided an average discount of £84 each to 1.6 million customers. But many people don’t know they exist and suppliers have different rules on who qualifies.

To tackle this, the Government has launched the Warm Home Discount, setting legal targets for suppliers to help the most needy.

Under the scheme, costing £1.1billion over four years, those deemed the most vulnerable will automatically get electricity rebates of £120 in the first year, eventually rising to £140.

You don’t have to apply, instead letters will be sent to those who qualify, with the money credited to accounts by next March. There are different arrangements for pre-payment meter customers.

The vast majority of people getting help – more than 600,000 households – are pensioners, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said.

Yet only households who get the guarantee element of pension credit will receive the money this winter.

Pensioners who only get the savings element, because they’ve put money aside, won’t get the rebate until later years, depending on age.

PAYMENTS

The boost is in addition to winter fuel payments for pensioners.

This will see households with someone under 79 get £200 this year, down from a temporary jump of £250 last year.

For those over 80, the amount is down from £400 to £300.

It’s also in addition to cold weather payments that older people (along with disabled households and families with children under the age of five on income-related benefits) get in extreme conditions during the worst months of the year.

But, while the scheme is a positive step, critics are worried about the many others facing a bleak winter.

Industry regulator Ofgem is talking to suppliers about how to provide emergency help but the DECC admits as few as 26,000 households in what it calls a “broader group” will get the £120 rebate this year.

This will rise to 650,000 by 2014/15 but they will have to apply rather than get the rebate automatically.

Yet it’s a fraction of those struggling to make ends meet, with campaigners fearing this year’s price hikes will leave as many as 12 million people in “fuel poverty” – defined as spending at least 10% of their income on energy.

The automatic rebates for pensioners came after the Department for Work and Pensions shared information with suppliers about who is in need.

DEAL

“We want to see more measures to protect the poorest from energy price rises so that families aren’t sitting in the cold this winter.”

Suppliers’ trade body the Energy Retail Association says social tariffs will be offered for the next four years, so those who don’t get rebates at first still benefit from cheaper deals. Policy adviser Alun Rees said: “The rebates are just one way of helping those in fuel poverty. Another is energy efficiency and suppliers will have invested £5.5billion in providing things such as insulation by the end of 2012.”

EDF Energy will raise gas prices by 15.4% and electricity by 4.5% in November, following recent hike announcements by British Gas, npower, E.ON, Scottish Power and Scottish & Southern Energy.

Since November, suppliers have increased average prices by £224, or 21%, leaving the typical family facing an annual bill of nearly £1,300.

Tom Lyon, energy expert at comparison website uSwitch.com, said: “You cannot have two consecutive rounds of energy price hikes in less than a year without seeing casualties.

“The visible victims are the 6.9 million, or over a quarter of all households, now living in fuel poverty, but they are more than matched by those who struggle to pay their bills and are starting to self-ration their usage.

“We are in danger of seeing energy becoming an unaffordable luxury instead of a household basic.

“My concern is the impact will really become apparent this coming winter.

full article

Jelly batteries: Safer, cheaper, smaller, more powerful

2011-09-11T10:23:00.001+01:00

A new polymer jelly could be the next big step forward for lithium batteries.

The jelly replaces the volatile and hazardous liquid electrolyte currently used in most lithium batteries.

Researchers from the University of Leeds hope their development leads to smaller, cheaper and safer gadgets.

Once on the market, the lithium jelly batteries could allow lighter laptop computers, and more efficient electric cars.

In 2006, Dell recalled four million laptop batteries because of concerns that they might catch fire. Dell replaced them with batteries that used lower-performance electrodes, but these batteries were significantly larger.

Battery size still dictates the size and weight of most laptops, say the developers of the new battery.

Electronics manufacturer Apple got around the safety problem for their lightweight laptops with a solid polymer electrolyte, but in doing so, the power output of the computers suffered.

Overheating is also an issue for electric cars. Developers have had to use reinforced, steel-clad battery housings, multiple fuses and circuits to protect the battery during charging. All of these contribute to the cost and weight, and hence efficiency, of electric cars.
Thermal runaway

The newly developed jelly batteries should prevent "thermal runaway", during which batteries can reach hundreds of degrees and catch fire.

The Leeds-based researchers are promising that their jelly batteries are as safe as polymer batteries, perform like liquid-filled batteries, but are 10 to 20% the price of either.

The secret to their success lies in blending a rubber-like polymer with a conductive, liquid electrolyte into a thin, flexible film of gel that sits between the battery electrodes.

"The polymer gel looks like a solid film, but it actually contains about 70% liquid electrolyte," explained the study's lead author, Professor Ian Ward from the University of Leeds.

"The remarkable thing is that we can make the separation between the solid and liquid phase at the point that it hits the electrodes.

"Safety is of paramount importance in lithium batteries. Conventional lithium batteries use electrolytes based on organic liquids; this is what you see burning in pictures of lithium batteries that catch fire. Replacing liquid electrolytes by a polymer or gel electrolyte should improve safety and lead to an all-solid-state cell," said Professor Peter Bruce from the University of St Andrews, who was not involved in the study.

Professor Ian Ward spoke to Quentin Cooper about his battery breakthrough on BBC Radio 4's Material World.

full article

Dryer sales tumble

2011-08-07T17:40:00.001+01:00

Families are switching off their tumble dryers and pegging out their washing to save money.
As a result, sales of dryers have slumped more than 30 per cent.
The tough economic conditions and rocketing energy prices have persuaded many people that there is no shame in hanging out their smalls to dry in public.
It seems people nationwide agree and it has had a dramatic impact on the sales of dryers, which are down from 1.3 million in 2006 to 900,000 last year.
Less than half of the country’s 27 million households now own a tumble dryer.
Supermarkets have expanded ranges of lines and pegs, fuelling a boom for manufacturers of traditional clothes lines, rotary lines and indoor airers
The Energy Savings Trust says using a tumble dryer for every wash costs more than £70 a year.
But pegging out the washing comes with its own cost. More than 400 people a year are admitted to hospital with clothes-peg related injuries

full article

China heats up solar market with new feed-in tariff

2011-08-07T09:39:00.001+01:00

China is already the world’s biggest solar panel manufacturer, but now it is making a move to become a major solar energy consumer as well, with a nationwide feed-in tariff to pay people or businesses a subsidy for electricity they produce with solar panels. This follows on the heels of the country’s wind energy feed-in tariff in 2009, which led to explosive growth in their wind industry.

China had a mishmash of solar incentives before, but the new policy will give a clearer signal to the market and “encourage more companies to participate in the industry,” said an analyst from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

China’s latest five-year plan, released in March, set the goal of using 20 percent renewable energy by 2020, and a solar feed-in tariff has been expected for months—so in anticipation many solar installations have already gotten rolling, and a flurry of projects may soon qualify.

Fast and Steady Wins the Race?

China, Germany and the U.K. have the most stable and consistent clean energy policies, which helps boost investment, according to a new report by Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors.

However, on the same day as China’s announcement, the U.K. put into place a cut in its solar power subsidy for installations over 50 kilowatts, “effectively ending solar farm development” in the country, Business Green argued.

There was a stampede of projects trying to get completed before the deadline, but some are planning more large installations nonetheless. Also, it turns out a loophole in the solar feed-in tariff would have allowed large projects to still get high subsidies—but the government is now moving to close that.

The U.K. had planned to raise subsidies for other clean energy—but it is delaying the raise in the feed-in tariff for anaerobic digesters.

Besides the U.K., a number of other European countries—including Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic—hacked away at their solar subsidies before, and now the Australian state of Western Australia has also eliminated theirs.

The Canadian state of Ontario, on the other hand, is trying to protect clean energy projects by changing regulations to make it harder to cut clean energy subsidies.

Meanwhile, solar installations have been rising fast worldwide as the price of solar panels has fallen about 20 percent in the past year. But manufacturer’s margins are also falling, so it is not clear how much longer these price trends can continue.

full article

'Air-conditioned clothes' help Japan beat heat

2011-07-24T16:46:00.001+01:00

As jackets go it looks far from fashionable, but its Japanese maker cannot meet sky-rocketing demand for "air conditioned" coats with built-in fans.

Kuchofuku Co. Ltd - whose name literally means "air-conditioned clothing" - has seen orders soar amid power shortages in Japan after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

As parts of the nation sweat out an uncomfortable summer shackled by restrictions on electricity use, demand has grown for goods that provide guilt-free respite from the unrelenting summer heat.

Two electric fans in the jacket can be controlled to draw air in at different speeds, giving the garment a puffed-up look. But this has not deterred those happy to be cool rather than "hot" when it comes to fashion.

full article

Japanese firm perfects fuel cell for homes of the future

2011-07-24T10:44:00.001+01:00

A Japanese company has perfected the technology that will store green energy in the homes of the immediate future and control where and when that power is provided to the building.

Other firms are working on similar storage and control systems for individual homes, but Japanese companies have redoubled their efforts in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeast of the country in March and destroyed the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.

NEC Corporation has made a breakthrough with the launch of its household energy storage system, which is equipped with lithium-ion batteries and can simultaneously control electrical power throughout the home.

The first 100 units of this industry first will be made available to home construction companies and businesses from July 18, NEC said.

The system automatically controls power to the building by connecting to the distribution panel and enabling interactive coordination with the power supplied by a commercial energy company and the home's electrical devices, its solar power systems and other equipment.

"This interactivity enables the system to store power during nighttime hours, when power consumption is low, then to use the stored power during afternoon hours, when power consumption reaches its peak," NEC said.

"This reduces both the demand on power companies as well as household electricity charges.

"Furthermore, households have become increasingly aware of the importance of access to electricity for essential needs in the event of an emergency or blackout, in addition to the necessity of power conservation," it said.

The model home incorporates solar panels, pipes that carry hot water beneath the floor in the winter and cool water in the summer and reduced-energy lighting.

Until now, however, the largest obstacle to such systems being introduced on a large scale to homes has been the lack of a reliable storage system for the energy that is generated, a problem that NEC appears to have overcome.

full article

You have the power to slow the ever rising cost of energy

2011-07-10T10:58:00.003+01:00

These latest increases will push the average annual household energy bill up to £1,193 from 18 August, taking bills to an all-time high. Incredibly, in just over five years energy bills have rocketed by £472 or 71 per cent.
These price increases have started to make affordability and fuel poverty a real issue. Fuel poverty levels in the UK are spiralling dangerously with 6.3 million or almost a quarter of all households now classed as fuel poor - this is where 10 per cent or more of net household income is being spent on energy.

Unfortunately, consumers are paying the price for an energy policy that is disjointed, incoherent and unaffordable. The problems with the market run deep. Massive investment of £200 billion is needed to keep the lights on and to reach the government's ambitious carbon emission reduction targets. This will see the cost of energy rise even further as cheaper, dirty sources are no longer an option.
t's more than likely that consumers will have to foot the bill, seeing the costs passed on through their energy bills. We already pay £84 a year in "hidden" green taxes or levies on our energy bills, but as the need for investment rises and suppliers struggle to hit green targets these taxes could go up, causing our household energy bills to keep growing.

There are discounts available for taking both gas and electricity (dual fuel) from the one supplier plus further discounts for paying by monthly direct debit.
The other key step for people to take is to reduce the amount of energy they use by being more energy efficient. Just doing simple common- sense things can save you money. Don't keep appliances on standby, don't leave mobile phones charging up all day and switch lights and gadgets off when no longer needed.

Households should also look to invest in longer-term energy efficiency measures such as insulating lofts and cavity walls, which can cut bills by up to 25 per cent.

Those who would struggle to afford this kind of investment in their home should contact their energy supplier to see whether they qualify for any energy efficiency grants or financial support. Suppliers have a pot of money available to help customers in this way.

full article

Solar panels 'save just £70 a year'

2011-07-10T10:45:00.000+01:00

The benefits of solar panels have been called into question after the Energy Savings Trust (EST) reduced the estimated saving on electricity bills to just £70 a year.
The EST had previously estimated the savings to households at around £120 annually.

The admission will be a blow to the growing number of "rent-a-roof" schemes, where households receive free solar panels in return for savings on their electricity bill. However, as many of these schemes lock households into a 25-year contract, many householders are expected to be reluctant to take part for such paltry savings.

Under "rent-a-roof" schemes, the company that installs the panels, which typically cost around £14,000, keeps the income generated from selling the surplus energy back to the grid via the Government's feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme – typically earning more than £1,000 each year.

Launched last year, the FIT scheme means that home owners who install solar panels will receive money for any energy that is generated at home. Payments are index-linked for 25 years and at present generate 43.3p for every kilowatt hour produced by the system, plus an additional 3p per kWh as an "export tariff".

With free solar panel installations, the company that owns the panels will receive the income from the generation and export tariffs from your panels, while the homeowner will benefit from reduced energy bills.
Rosalyn Foreman of the EST said: "We followed trials of other technologies which you'd expect to export much less back to the grid than solar panels, but they showed lower levels of electricity used on site than expected, so we've altered our expectations of solar accordingly.

"While these are typical estimates, it's quite possible that someone could save more than £70 if they were at home in the day or set all their appliances to run in daylight hours."

The news comes after a Which? investigation found that three quarters of solar panel salesmen used "dodgy sales tactics" and misled customers on potential savings. In an undercover investigation, the consumer group found that 75pc of companies overestimated how much energy the solar panels would produce and most of them underestimated how long it would take for the system to pay for itself.

Which? found that the Government's rules to work out energy output did not take into account key factors such as where people live.

More than 28,000 households installed solar panels in the last financial year, with the number growing by 1,000 homes each week.

full article

'The Days of Cheap Energy Are Over'

2011-07-08T18:12:00.002+01:00

Consumers last saw a year of double price hikes in 2008 when energy bills rocketed by £334 or 41% as a result of consecutive rounds of price increases.

For most of us though, today’s news tells us something really important – the days of cheap energy are over and it’s time that we all started to understand what this means for our bills and how we use energy.

Once these hikes kick in the average household energy bill will be an eye-watering £1,193 a year.

This is an all-time high and makes it imperative for customers to start thinking about how they can bring this cost down.
There are two key steps to this – pay the lowest possible price for your energy and cut down on the amount of energy you use.

To pay the lowest price you need to be thinking of going onto dual fuel (this means taking both gas and electricity from one supplier and paying by monthly direct debit.

Suppliers offer attractive discounts for customers doing this.

You could also sign up to an online energy plan – these are consistently the most competitive plans in the market.

In fact, the difference between the cheapest online plan and the most expensive standard plan will be £450 a year from August – that is the equivalent of saving around a third off your yearly fuel costs – an amount well worth saving!

That said, in the face of rising prices many of us will prefer the security of a fixed price energy plan.
Switchers are signing up to fixed price energy plans.
Energy deals can disappear swiftly from the market so people need to act quickly to secure the best deals while they can.

Having sorted out your energy tariff the next thing is to look at how much energy you use.

Energy efficiency is a real buzz term at the moment, but it is a powerful weapon in every household’s armoury when it comes to fighting off high energy prices.

The key thing is to start thinking of these things now and not to leave it until your bills have gone through the roof.

full article

Green energy investment hits record global high

2011-07-07T18:04:00.001+01:00

Global investment in renewable energy sources grew by 32% during 2010 to reach a record level of US$211bn (£132bn), a UN study has reported.

The main growth drivers were backing for wind farms in China and rooftop solar panels in Europe, it said.

It also found that developing nations invested more in green power than rich nations for the first time last year.

The Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011 report was prepared for the UN by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

"The continuing growth in this core segment of the green economy is not happening by chance," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme.

"The combination of government target-setting, policy support and stimulus funding is underpinning the renewable industry's rise and bringing the much needed transformation of our global energy system within reach."
n 2010, developing economies spent more on "financial new investment", pumping $72bn into renewable projects compared with the $70bn outlay by developed economies.

China topped the table of investors again, spending $48.9bn - up 28% from 2009. There were also sizeable increases in investment from other developing or emerging economies:

South and Central America: up 39% (from 2009 levels) to $13.1bn
Middle East and Africa: up 104% to $5bn
India: up 25% to $3.8bn

However, the report stated, there was not growth in all sectors. There was a 22% decline in the investment in large-scale projects - such as windfarms - within Europe, where the funding fell to $35bn.

But there was a surge in small-scale projects, such as photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, especially within Germany, where investment in a "micro-solar boom" had increased by 132% to $34bn compared with 2009 figures.

As the renewable technologies continued to mature, the report added, the cost per megawatt (MW) continued to fall. It said that the cost of PV modules had fallen on a per-MW basis by 60% since 2008.

The authors forecasted: "Further improvements in the... cost of energy for solar, wind and other technologies lie ahead, posing a bigger and bigger threat to the dominance of fossil-fuel generation sources in the next few years."

full article

Your definitive guide to turning your home into a power station

2011-06-26T10:57:00.003+01:00

Solar power stations have, so far at least, proved expensive follies singularly incapable of producing anything like the energy we so hungrily need. But for ordinary home owners, matters are rather different, as the multitude of solar-panel firms proves.
Indeed, small solar panels on our roofs can actually be a solid earner. It's not that they are any better than their industrial cousins - indeed, the amount of energy they produce would ordinarily be too small to justify their existence. At best, you'll usually only produce half the energy your home requires.

But then the very generous 25-year government Feed-in Tariffs (FIT), or subsidies, come in. This means solar panel owners get paid to have them, to encourage 'green' power.

The government has been heavily criticised for its benevolence: taxpayer groups complain non-solar users - ie, the vast majority of us - are being made to subsidise solar users. Indeed, the first tariff system worked out as the equivalent to a savings account offering more than 11 per cent per year - far more than any bank.

'Had we not acted urgently to reduce tariffs, the whole Feed-In-Tariff scheme would have been entirely swamped,' Climate Change Minister Greg Barker admitted.

The cuts targeted businesses, but for homeowners, solar can still make sense, although set-up costs are high - an installed solar electricity system costs £4,500 to £8,000 per kilowatt of output (we'll come to what that means in terms of power later); which means a standard 2.2kW system is around £12,000 (including VAT).

You'll need to be confident that you're staying put, in other words - the systems only start to pay for themselves after a decade or so. You'll also need to be in the right place - a home in Plymouth produces up to 50 per cent more solar energy than less sun-drenched locations such as Lerwick.
WHAT YOU CAN EARN

Under the FIT scheme, when you install a solar system, you get paid for the amount of electricity it generates, regardless of whether you use that energy (thus reducing your bills), or you sell it back to the National Grid (making money in the process) - so the bigger the system you install, the more money you'll make.

The average home uses roughly 3,400kWh per year: the maths used to calculate output is rather complicated, but roughly a 2.5kWp (kilowatt peak) system will provide just over half your power needs. Average tax-free profits hover around £1,000 per year.

The FIT is fixed for 25 years at the rate they are offering at the time of installation. The price of electricity you 'sell' back to the grid goes up with along with the general price for units of electricity.

'Previously, solar panels did nothing to improve the appeal of a property, but if you can prove your solar panels make a tax-free profit each year, I can see them attracting more than just the sandals brigade,' says Trevor Kent, former president of the National Association of Estate Agents.

Indeed they have piqued people's interest, and companies looking to cash in on the FIT scheme are offering free solar installation to your home. They receive the profit from the FIT while you get a healthy reduction in energy costs. But buying your own panels - even with a loan - makes better financial sense.
THE TWO TYPES OF SOLAR

There are two types of domestic solar technology:
Solar PV (Photovoltaic)

This type generates electricity.
Solar Thermal

This only heats water.

At present, the solar tariffs only apply to solar PV systems, but there are plans to extend these to the simpler and cheaper solar thermal systems, which cost just £3,000-£5,000 each.
SOLAR AND YOUR HOME

So is your home suitable? South-facing is ideal - you'll lose 15 per cent for east or west - as is a 25-45 degree pitched roof and around 30 sq m of roof space (all the energy figures quoted for systems here refer to 'ideal' homes). Shade from trees or buildings will reduce performance.

Planning permission is not generally required as long as it doesn't protrude more than 200mm above the roof line. Restrictions may apply for listed buildings or conservation areas - visit planningportal.gov.uk for details.
HOW ELECTRIC SYSTEMS WORK

With solar PV systems, each panel houses a cell made from layers of semi-conducting material, usually silicon. When light shines on the cell it creates an electric field. Choose between standard roof-mounted panels (the cheapest), built-in panels which sit flush within the roof, or solar tiles, which completely replace traditional tiling. Tiles are more expensive, but costs can be offset if your roof already needs replacing. Prices range from £4,500 to £8,000 per kWp installed.

With either system, a wire leads to a 'solar meter' in your loft which shows you how much money you've earned, then the electricity travels to your home electrical system, or back to the National Grid, where you can profit.

Energy isn't usually stored or saved up for use later. If you don't use it, the energy is sold back to the National Grid. The money you get for this is - slightly - less than what you'll pay per unit on your bills, so if you've got solar, it pays to run high-drain appliances such as washing machines during the day, when your panels will be generating electricity.
HOW THERMAL SYSTEMS WORK

Solar thermal systems employ a series of tubes filled with anti-freeze that are mounted behind glass on the roof. The sun heats the liquid, which is pumped through a coil inside your hot water tank generating temperatures up to 60ºC - perfect for showering. A two-panel system (4 sq m) should provide around 50-60 per cent of your hot water needs.

Although final details are still shaky and subject to change, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has indicated that payments of £300 per system, and 8.5p per kWh of heat produced, could be o ffered to people installing solar thermal heating at home.

You'll have to choose between 'flat plate' and 'evacuated-tube' systems. Evacuated tubes are more expensive but o er greater e fficiency. Don't forget, you will still need a regular boiler to top up the hot water at night or on cloudy days.

Budget £3,000 to £5,000 for an installed system - kits start from £1,000, but you will need DIY experience and sca ffolding to install.

full article

The giant 'anaerobic digesters' that will convert our slop buckets to electricity

2011-06-19T16:04:00.003+01:00

They are set to divide our communities as efficiently as they break down our waste.

Huge ‘anaerobic digester’ plants the size of two football pitches will be built across Britain as a multi-million-pound industry develops to convert waste food scraps into usable electricity.

Fuelled by the Government’s drive to introduce kitchen slop buckets in every home, the units can transform 120,000 tons of scraps into six megawatts of power, enough to power 6,000 homes 24 hours a day.
Critics call them unsightly and smelly, but those in favour regard them as the ‘future of waste’.

Last week, rubbish disposal giant Biffa opened the country’s first ‘super’ £24 million plant in Cannock, Staffordshire, and the £800 million company is planning more.

Biffa chief executive Ian Wakelin said: ‘I am a man in a hurry. Over the next few years I would like to see these really large plants around London, the North-East, the South-West and the West. This is the future of waste. It is taking food that could once only be sent to landfill and turning it into something of value on a truly industrial scale.’

The Cannock plant, whose 60ft containers tower over the landscape, is based on an existing landfill site.

Spread over several acres, it includes a vast storage shed in which lorries can unload the waste, pipes to carry the methane gas it produces, and a balloon to store gas.

Cannock gets much of its waste from local restaurants, nightclubs and pubs, but increasingly such plants will use leftover food scraped by householders into ‘kitchen caddies’ for separate roadside collection.
The Government is pushing the fledgling industry because it is required by European legislation to reduce its use of landfill sites.

The Environment Department predicts the industry could produce enough energy for nearly a million homes within a decade.

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Redesdale, chairman of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association, said the industry would bring down gas prices by making Britain less reliant on imported gas.

He said: ‘It’s a big ask but the Germans managed to build 1,000 new plants in ten years. This is not new technology. We are building on what is already out there.’

full article

Eco charity boss travels length of Britain in electric car - for just £20

2011-06-17T15:13:00.003+01:00

An eco-friendly charity boss has completed a gruelling end-to-end journey across Britain by driving 894 miles in an electric car using public charging points.

Kevin Sharpe, 51, stopped six times to charge his Tesla Roadster along the route, at a cost of just £20.

The electricity used by the car was a fraction of the £138 it would have cost in fuel in a typical family vehicle.
Each charge of his car cost Mr Sharpe £3 or £4 and allowed him 200 miles of travel at 70mph before he had to power his vehicle again.
The charity has created the network of nine public charge points in hotel car parks across the country.

They cost £250 to install and users are charged for the electricity they use.

Drivers can opt for a quick three-hour charge or an eight-hour overnight top-up using a 70 amp plug.

Mr Sharpe, of Bath, Somerset, and David Peilow, 34, a satellite systems engineer of Winchester, Hants, set off from John O'Groats in the £86,000 Tesla on May 21.

Mr Sharpe said: 'This is another landmark because these are production cars, not prototypes.

'Nissan has already produced the leaf which costs around £25,000 and Mitsubishi, BMW, Audi and VW are all set to go to market with affordable electric cars in the next two years.

'Tesla are planning a family saloon too with a 300 mile range and 45 minute charge time. 'You could coincide a trip with a meal at a service station say and make a long distance journey in the same time you would now.'

The Tesla Roadster, produced by Tesla Motors in California, is based on a Lotus Elise and is the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells.
full article

Geo-Engineering Elimate Solutions

2011-06-16T09:19:00.002+01:00

Lighter-coloured crops, aerosols in the stratosphere and iron filings in the ocean are among the measures being considered by leading scientists for "geo-engineering" the Earth's climate, leaked documents from the UN climate science body show.

In a move that suggests the UN and rich countries are despairing of reaching agreement by consensus at global climate talks, the US, British and other western scientists will outline a series of ideas to manipulate the world's climate to reduce carbon emissions. But they accept that even though the ideas could theoretically work, they might equally have unintended and even irreversible consequences.

The papers, leaked from inside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), ahead of a geo-engineering expert group meeting in Lima in Peru next week, show that around 60 scientists will propose or try to assess a range of radical measures, including:

• blasting sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight into space;

• depositing massive quantities of iron filings into the oceans;

• bio-engineering crops to be a lighter colour to reflect sunlight; and

• suppressing cirrus clouds.

Other proposals likely to be suggested include spraying sea water into clouds to reflect sunlight away from the Earth, burying charcoal, painting streets and roofs white on a vast scale, adding lime to oceans and finding different ways to suck greenhouse gases out of the air and deposit heat deep into oceans.

The meeting is expected to provide governments with a scientific assessment of geo-engineering technologies, but is widely expected to be in favour of more research and possibly large-scale experimentation despite an international moratorium adopted by the UN last year in Japan.

£120 heating discount for 2 million homes

2011-06-16T09:13:00.000+01:00

Two million households will receive discounts to their heating bills this winter as the government forces energy firms to help pensioners pay soaring gas and electricity costs.
Ministers announced that 800,000 of the poorest pensioners will be among the first to receive the new Warm Home Discount, worth at least £120 this year.

Payments are also expected to be made to disadvantaged families, the disabled and the long-term sick.

Energy companies are to be required by law to give rebates totalling £1.1 billion over the next four years, three times as much as they provided under the previous voluntary arrangements.

The regulations introducing the new scheme are already in force, according to the Department for Energy and Climate Change. The Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, said: “The Warm Home Discount will give the most vulnerable pensioners practical help to manage rising energy bills through an annual rebate. Energy companies will be required by law to provide this support.”

The move follows warnings that consumers face steep rises in fuel bills. Last week, Scottish Power announced that prices will rise by up to 19%, increasing gas and electricity costs by up to £200 a year. Other companies are expected to follow suit.
full article

Why is it SO hard to find the cheapest energy deal?

2011-06-15T09:23:00.001+01:00

WHICH TARIFF?

So who should you switch to? The very cheapest tend to be variable online tariffs.

The problem is that prices can go up. Your account must be managed entirely via the internet, so you input meter readings online and receive statements by email.

The cheapest way to pay is by direct debit. You will normally be charged more if you receive paper bills or have a prepayment meter.

You are also penalised if you don’t want to use direct debit and choose to pay quarterly by cheque.

With other suppliers set to follow Scottish Power’s lead, the biggest worry for people is that their new supplier will increase prices.

Therefore, it may be best to opt for a fixed rate. You will pay a small premium for fixing, but your bill won’t go up. The best is EDF’s Fix Saver v2 which the supplier says should work out at £1,009 a year for a typical semi-detached home.

This is £69 more expensive than its cheapest variable deal — but your costs will not go up until September 2012.

These fixed-rate deals have limited capacity and are likely to be snapped up very quickly.

If you are in fuel poverty — where one-tenth or more of your income goes on gas and electricity — ask if you are eligible for your supplier’s social tariff, which gives a discount to the most vulnerable customers.

Each supplier has different eligibility criteria for social tariffs. EDF, for example, requires people to be either in fuel poverty or receiving income support or pension credit.

Social tariff customers can normally save £150 per year.

full article

Chris Huhne urges energy customers to switch suppliers

2011-06-12T17:14:00.001+01:00

Consumers should vote with their feet and switch to a different supplier if their power company raises its charges, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has said.

In an interview with the Observer, Mr Huhne said people did not have to take price increases "lying down".

He urged people to hit firms "where it hurts" by finding a cheaper supplier.

Scottish Power has this week announced big rises in gas and electricity prices and there are fears the other five major suppliers will follow suit.

Mr Huhne said: "Consumers don't have to take price increases lying down. If an energy company hits you with a price increase, you can hit them back where it hurts - by shopping around and voting with your feet."

Mr Huhne is expected to announce new measures this week to make it easier for smaller companies to compete in the energy market.

He said: "Right now, only one in five people switch suppliers. I want to see more switching, more competition and more companies in the market.

"The big six only have a few minnows snapping at them, who are kept artificially small. By scrapping red tape for small players they can become serious challengers and help keep bills down."
'Deep concern'

On Tuesday Scottish Power revealed price increases of 19% for gas and 10% for electricity from 1 August, affecting 2.4 million households in the UK.

The company blamed the rises on a sharp rise in the wholesale cost of gas.

Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has called for talks with the supplier over the move.

He said: "I am deeply concerned at the scale of Scottish Power's price increases and I am seeking an urgent meeting to hear why they think increases of this scale are justified.

"Any fuel price rises have an impact - yet these increases will leave many households, in particular vulnerable consumers, in real, real difficulty."

A spokesman for Scottish Power said the company always co-operated with parliamentary requests and it looked forward to the meeting with Mr Swinney.

full article

It's a Swiss Army bike!

2011-06-11T10:40:00.002+01:00

This extraordinary new electric bicycle looks sharp and folds out just like a Swiss Army knife.

The creation by Swiss brand Voltitude, has been dubbed the ultimate space saver.

Designed for city-dwellers, the compact 18.5 kilogram bike measures just under two feet in width, 2ft 7in high when folded and 3ft.6in when stretched out.
The bike can be charged by hooking it up to a standard mains socket and takes around four hours to reach full power.

It can reach speeds of around 15 miles per hour and can be ridden for 25 miles before needing to be recharged.
The bike, which is set to sell for around £2,650, is not yet in full production but it can be pre-ordered through the Voltitude website.

full article

Car-hire giants in U-turn over electric fleet

2011-06-10T19:25:00.000+01:00

A pioneering scheme to provide cheap, "help yourself" electric cars for Parisian residents and tourists faces a last-minute legal challenge from the traditional car-rental industry.

The first 700 Autolib' cars – based on the city's successful bicycle self-hire operation, which inspired a similar scene in London – will appear in the French capital from December at a modest €5 (£4.40) for the first 30 minutes.

But a pressure group representing large car-rental firms such as Avis and Hertz has belatedly accused city hall of organising unfair and publicly subsidised competition. The administrative tribunal, which hears complaints against public authorities, must decide within weeks whether to abolish the scheme in its present form.

Manufacture of the first Autolib' cars – roughly the size of a Twingo or Mini, and with a battery life of 250 kilometres – has already begun in Turin. The Socialist Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, is convinced that the scheme will be a popular and groundbreaking success like his do-it-yourself bike-hire programme, Vélib'.

The small, blue four-seater cars will be available from street or underground docking stations for €5 for the first half-hour for Parisian residents and €7 for visitors. As with the Vélib' bike scheme, long-term rentals will be more expensive. The idea is to offer a "green", cheap alternative for cross-town journeys.

Joining the scheme will cost a further €10 a day, €15 a week or €144 a year. "Autolibbeurs" will use a credit card to pick up a car from a docking station and leave it in a spare place at any other station when finished. Each car will have a radio, a GPS route-finding system and an onboard computer to direct the driver to empty docking spaces.

full article

Government subsidy cut prompts solar outrage

2011-06-10T13:56:00.002+01:00

The Government's decision to cut subsidies for solar energy to all but the smallest projects will threaten investment and job creation in the alternative energy sector, environmental and industry groups warned yesterday.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said the change to feed-in tariffs would maintain funding for households to put up panels by diverting them from larger projects.
But campaigners said the decision would kill off schemes planned by schools, housing associations and other community organisations.
Feed-in tariffs were launched in April last year and more than 40,000 installations have registered.

The change, trailed earlier this year, will prioritise domestic and other small solar power installations of up to 50kW, which typically cover several houses and will be unaffected.

Feed-in tariffs for bigger projects will be slashed. Installations between 50 kW and 150kW will get 19p per kilowatt-hour, down from 32.9p, and bigger installations will have their subsidies more than halved.

When the Government announced its review it said it needed to avoid large-scale solar "farms" squeezing out the domestic market. DECC said yesterday that every 5MW large-scale solar scheme would cost about £1.3m a year. That means that 20 such schemes would cost the same as installations for more than 25,000 households.

Friends of the Earth said the consultation had been "a farce" and that the results threatened the creation of thousands of new jobs in the fledgling green energy sector.

full article

Green taxes make up 20 per cent of household energy bills

2011-06-09T19:36:00.000+01:00

Families are being forced to pay an average of £200 a year in taxes on their energy bills to fund Britain’s investment in wind and solar power.

Campaigners last night demanded greater transparency from energy companies over the levies and accused the government of hiding behind suppliers to raise revenues by the back door.

The call comes amid mounting pressure on energy companies for a fresh inquiry into price rises after the latest round of increases led to accusations of profiteering.

Dr Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, said the rising price of fuel was partly caused by Britain’s “stubborn but wrong headed commitment to renewable energy”.

He said: “So called green stealth taxes are already adding 15 to 20 per cent to the average domestic power bill and even more to business users.”
British households spends £608 a year on gas and another £424 on electricity on average. Green taxes make up between £154 and £206 of that bill, said Dr Peiser.

“Despite the growing cost of these taxes, you won’t find any mention of them at all on your gas and electricity bills,’ he said.

“That, of course, suits the Government down to the ground. If it raised the huge sums required to encourage renewable energy and limit carbon emission through general taxation it would make the Government itself very unpopular.

“But by doing it through electricity and gas bills, the Government has cleverly ensure that it’s the power companies that take the blame.”

Under the Climate Change Act, the Government is legally bound to cut Britain’s C02 emissions by 34 per cent by 2020 and 50 per cent by 2025.

To meet its targets the Government is encouraging the building of 10,000 wind turbines. It also wants power companies to install £7 billion worth of smart meters in homes.

full article

Consumer protection assurances added to Green Deal

2011-06-05T11:59:00.000+01:00

04 June 2011

The government has assured the public that consumers will be protected under the Green Deal.

It has launched a Green Deal Code, which includes an advice line that will refer customers to accredited assessors, installers and providers undertaking the green home improvements and allow customers to complain if they need to.

The new Consumer Protection in the Green Deal document also sees the appointment of the UK Accreditation Service, which will ensure assessors and installers adhere to the standards for participating in the Green Deal.

"The Green Deal will be the biggest home improvement programme since the Second World War shifting our outdated draughty homes from the past into the future, so it's vital people can trust it," explained climate change minister Greg Barker.

Additional information on the scheme's plan to help vulnerable people retrofit their home has also been published, as well as details on hard to treat homes.

Each household undertaking the scheme when it launches next year will be able to access up to £10,000 upfront to pay for energy efficiency work and repay the cost through their energy bills.

Posted by Mark Stephens

full article

Liverpool social landlords join £50bn retrofit scheme

2011-06-04T09:21:00.000+01:00

A group of social landlords and four local authorities in Liverpool have launched a joint project to retrofit 100,000 homes. Project Viridis is being co-ordinated by Liverpool Mutual Homes and is estimated to be worth around £50bn to the city's economy. The first stage will be the installation of photovoltaic panels to make the most of the government's Feed-In Tariff scheme. It will be followed by a more comprehensive measures including energy-saving schemes, conservation, outsourcing and power generation.

full article

France To Ban Fracking

2011-05-21T17:44:00.000+01:00

The French Parliament has voted 287-146 to ban hydraulic fracturing or fracking, a crucial part of the shale gas extraction process that activists say is harmful to the environment, according to France24. The bill will be voted on by the Senate on June 1 before it becomes a law.

The bill to ban to fracking, but not shale gas exploration itself, was drafted by France's ruling UMP party and the vote comes after months of protests by environmentalists who are concerned that the process contaminates the water table. Earlier this year, the government granted energy giants exploration permits for work without public consultation, but announced a temporary freeze on shale gas exploration in February.

France could become the first country to ban the controversial practice that involves using 'slick' water a combination of water, chemicals and mud, to fracture the rock with hairline cracks and prop open underground fissures.
Fracking fluids can be fatal. In Louisiana fracking fluid made it to a pasture killing 17 cows at the farm.

full article

Neville out to make game greener

2011-05-20T10:12:00.002+01:00

Gary Neville yesterday placed himself at the head of a campaign to make football more environmentally sustainable, declaring that he wants to drive change in fan behaviour in the same way that the Kick it Out campaign has driven out the scourge of racism.

Neville, who will devote a large slice of the revenue from his testimonial game against Juventus next Tuesday to the environmental cause, told The Independent that he would engage football's governing bodies to reduce carbon emissions and drive home an environmental message.
"Sport is such a powerful [vehicle for change]," Neville said. "If Manchester United want to get a message across in something, they will do, they have that power, and so do the Premier League. It is worldwide – watched by 1.15 billion people every week. While United have 75,000 people coming every week, there is an audience there that means sport can be at the forefront of this. We have a team of people behind this to make sure we can become as powerful as possible in the next few years."

full article

Is Britain really getting greener?

2011-05-18T17:55:00.001+01:00

The Government yesterday signed up to cutting Britain's greenhouse gas emissions by nearly half – but with no clear agreement on how to achieve the target.

The Green Investment Bank

Unveiled in the budget, the Green Bank is the centre-piece of the Coalition's promise to be the "greenest government ever". It will invest exclusively in low-carbon infrastructure, renewable energy and financially support the development of new clean technologies. Current Government proposals stipulate it will not have powers to borrow or raise money (such as issuing ISAS and bonds) until 2015. Until then it has £3 billion of public money to invest. Not allowing it to borrow earlier, green groups say, is disastrous as investment decisions on replacing Britain's power generation plants need to be taken long before 2015.

The Green Deal

The Green Deal will allow 14 million UK households to apply for up to £10,000 to pay for energy efficiency improvements on their homes such as insulation, double glazing and energy-efficient boilers. The money will be provided upfront by the private sector and paid back in energy savings by homes over a 20-year period. The first Green Deals are expected to appear in Autumn 2012 after consultation and review, so for now it isn't working at all.

Investing in renewable energy

Greening our electricity is key to reducing emissions. The need for a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy has long been accepted by everyone but the harshest climate sceptics, and in response the Coalition Government is pursuing multiple options including on- and off-shore wind farms and nuclear power subsidies. The CCC's report last week recommended developing multiple new technologies. Initially there would likely be a focus on cost-effective nuclear power plants and wind farms across the UK. The Coalition claims this could feasibly result in renewable sources providing up to 40 per cent of all our energy by 2030.

However, while Britain is locked in an ongoing battle between communities and environmentalists trying to protect the countryside, Germany has forged ahead with plans for a huge wind farm in the Baltic, and Denmark and Finland are aggressively pursuing alternative energy.

Green Transportation

The Coalition has put transportation policy at the heart of its pledge for energy and climate change. Fossil fuels would be restricted in the air by opposing a third runway at Heathrow; by the prevention of additional runways at Stansted and Gatwick; and by replacing air-passenger duty with per-plane duty. They would also be restricted on the ground by the Barclays' bike campaign in central London; by more emphasis on public transport; and by encouraging widespread use of electric cars.

Is it working? Aviation policies have had some success. The third runway at Heathrow has been scrapped. However, the per-plane duty promised in the Coalition agreement was not introduced, instead the Chancellor promised a "consultation on the reform of air-passenger duty", which had already risen by 55 per cent in the previous year.

Take-up of electric cars is still small – but the technology is rapidly developing and they are likely to be a familiar sight in the Britain of 2015.

However, rail fares rocketed and there is no sign that gas-guzzlers are on the way out just yet.

full article

The electric scooter that costs only 1p per mile to run

2011-05-15T10:30:00.002+01:00

Similar in classification to 50cc scooters, they can be driven by anyone with a pre-2001 driver's licence or who's taken the compulsory basic training (CBT) course.

The Scoot is very cheap to insure and exempt from road tax and the congestion charge, making it ideal for dodging commuting hell.

You'll have to supply your own helmet, but that could be the only thing about it which isn't impressively stylish.

full article

Blackpool uneasy at prospect of 'fracking' boom on its coastline

2011-05-14T17:48:00.002+01:00

The allure of Blackpool rock and the rejuvenating effects of its sand and water once made it a magnet for the toiling classes as they took a break from the drudgery of the Lancashire cotton mills.
Cuadrilla Resources, a British company specialising in the development of shale gas wells, has been hard at work in the resort's rural hinterland since August last year after being given permission by the Government.
But following claims over the safety of the process in the United States, some locals are concerned, with councillors petitioned to object. Blackpool's Green Party chairman Philip Mitchell said an industry was being introduced without adequate investigation by the authorities.

"The potential is catastrophic," he said. "We don't know the science of this or how it will affect people. We are introducing something that we do not know the full dangers of."

Greens claim that there is the risk of explosive well blow-outs, fire, traffic disruption and noise. They fear that, so significant are the deposits and so huge the rewards, the industry could be on the verge of major expansion not just across Lancashire but the whole of the UK.

How Hydraulic Fracturing Works

Fracking, or chemical fracturing, is the process by which water, sand and chemicals are used to increase the quantity of gas that can be extracted from the ground.

The mixture is pumped at high pressure into natural gas or methane gas fields, cracking open the rock deep beneath the surface to release trapped reserves.

Gas then flows out of the fissures, which are kept open by the sand and chemicals, and into pipes that lead to the surface.

Drilling companies claim that chemical additives make up less than one per cent of the liquid poured into the gas field. However, the quantities involved are so large that a typical well is likely to pump about 34,000 gallons of chemicals into the ground.

One of the chemicals used is diesel, which contains toxic substances. Other chemicals used can include hydrochloric acid, formaldehyde and arsenic.

full article

£10,000 payout for a green home revamp

2011-05-10T09:04:00.002+01:00

Households will be given up to £10,000 to spend on home improvements under plans to be unveiled today.

The money can be used to install energy-saving measures such as roof insulation, double glazing and cavity walls.

But homeowners will also be able to benefit from desirable mod- cons such as under-floor heating and new efficient boilers. They could also get public cash to install water-efficient taps and showers, light fittings and draught proofing.

The Government says 14million homes will benefit. Homeowners will qualify if their houses can be made more energy efficient and energy costs can be cut, though not all will qualify for the full £10,000.

This will leave them with cheaper bills, warmer homes and potentially higher house prices.
Consumers will have no up-front costs. The scheme will see utility companies, High Street retailers and charities send advisers to houses to identify potential savings.
They can then re-fit the homes, bearing the initial cost.

The customer will repay the fee in small instalments levied on their electricity and heating bills over 25 years.

full article

The Cube World’s Smallest Eco-friendly Home

2011-05-08T19:18:00.004+01:00

Conceived, designed and managed by Dr Mike Page, engineer and Reader in Cognitive Psychology at the University’s School of Psychology, the Cube is said to be the world’s smallest eco-home, featuring an internal space of 3x3x3 metres. Built from sustainable materials with the predominance of wood, the Cube is designed to be comfortable and includes a host of advanced products with low energy use.

The Cube includes a lounge with a table and two custom-made chairs; a small 120cm wide double bed; a full-size shower; a kitchen with energy-efficient fridge, induction hob, re-circulating cooker hood, sink/drainer, combination microwave oven and storage cupboards; a washing machine; and a composting toilet.

The Cube is illuminated with ultra-efficient LED lights and heated using an Ecodan air-source heat pump with heat recovered from extracted air. It features cork flooring with two-metre head height throughout.

The Cube is insulated with a timber-frame shell, interior surfaces of birch plywood, and sweet-chestnut cladding on the exterior. It features a south-facing monopitch roof covered with solar panels. The south wall is also covered with solar panels. This generating capacity is expected to make the Cube carbon-neutral over the year.

If registered for the UK Government’s feed-in tariff, the Cube would have no utility bills and would raise around £1,000 ($1, 625.3) per year in income.

full article

Shortfall in electric car charging points

2011-05-08T12:14:00.001+01:00

Just over a tenth of electric car charging points needed in the UK have been built so far, the BBC has learned.

Only 700 of the 5,000 required by the end of the year are in place and two-thirds of towns with a population of over 150,000 do not have any public charging infrastructure.

David Martell, of charging supplier Chargemaster, said the lack of points can be very stressful for drivers.

The Department of Transport said it plans to install 9,000 points by 2013.

It said it has also provided up to £30m to kick-start installation in 'test-bed' areas.

There are about 30 million vehicles on British roads - 3,000 of which are electric vehicles.

Mr Martell said many electric vehicle drivers suffer from "range anxiety", which concerns their fear that they run the risk of running out of power due to a lack of charging points.

"It's a concern. It's a barrier to some people," he said.

Experts say that nearly two million of the cars on Britain's roads will be electric powered by 2020.

full article

UK shale plans target cheap gas

2011-04-02T10:22:00.003+01:00

The land here in Lancashire's Fylde region was on the sea bed in the age of the dinosaurs. That was when the gas was formed, as fragments of organic matter ran off the hills, became squashed amidst grains of clay, and decayed. But the heavily-compressed shale rock trapped the gas molecules so tight that they can't escape into a conventional gas bore.

Now a controversial technique called fracking (fracturing) allows that gas to be extracted, by setting off small controlled explosions more than a mile below ground then pumping in water and lubricant chemicals to set the gas free.
Environmentalists want a delay in fracking until a major review of the practice by the US Environmental Protection Agency has been carried out - maybe sometime next year. The government believes its own safety regulations are strict enough.

So far, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) appears to be cautiously welcoming the advent of shale gas in the UK. Shale's not anticipated to supply a large proportion of Britain's gas needs, but it is contributing to a worldwide flow of gas that has halved gas prices in the US domestic market, and led to a glut in world markets.

At the moment, gas producers are succeeding in pegging global gas prices to oil prices but some analysts say this will have to change if gas remains in such plentiful supply compared with demand.

full article

Smart meters save just £23

2011-03-31T19:21:00.001+01:00

So-called smart meters, digital devices which will be installed in all households and businesses, are designed to end unreliable estimated gas and electricity bills and stop the need for companies to send out meter inspectors. Instead, information about how much energy consumers have used will be sent electronically to their suppliers.

However, documents published by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc) have confirmed that households will have to pay for the £11.3 billion roll out, and that they will only save £23 a year by 2020.

That saving equates to just 2 per cent of the current average household energy bill of £1,132 and does not take into account forecasts that gas and electricity bills will climb substantially over the next decade. Ofgem, the industry regulator, has predicted that bills are likely to rise by between £168 and £700 a year by 2016 because of the need by the energy companies to invest vast sums in new power stations.
Various green measures are likely to increase household bills even further. Tom Lyon, energy expert at uSwitch.com, the price comparison site, said:“The average household energy bill is already £1,132 a year with £84 of that made up by hidden taxes. Policies launched under the previous Government are expected to add a further 6 per cent or £72 in levies over the next decade – this means that the hidden taxes on our energy bills will add up to £156 a year, far outweighing the potential £23 net saving offered through smart metering.”

full article

Warm front contract extension for Eaga

2011-03-31T10:15:00.000+01:00

Energy efficiency firm Eaga has negotiated an extension of its contract with the Department of Energy and Climate Change to deliver the department’s Warm Front Scheme across England.

The scheme will now run to 31 March 2013 on commercial terms in line with previous expectations.

Total funding allocated to the Warm Front scheme across the period to March 2013 is in the region of £210m.

full article

Safe nuclear does exist

2011-03-21T17:51:00.000Z

This passed unnoticed –except by a small of band of thorium enthusiasts – but it may mark the passage of strategic leadership in energy policy from an inert and status-quo West to a rising technological power willing to break the mould.

If China’s dash for thorium power succeeds, it will vastly alter the global energy landscape and may avert a calamitous conflict over resources as Asia’s industrial revolutions clash head-on with the West’s entrenched consumption.

China’s Academy of Sciences said it had chosen a “thorium-based molten salt reactor system”. The liquid fuel idea was pioneered by US physicists at Oak Ridge National Lab in the 1960s, but the US has long since dropped the ball. Further evidence of Barack `Obama’s “Sputnik moment”, you could say.

Chinese scientists claim that hazardous waste will be a thousand times less than with uranium. The system is inherently less prone to disaster.

“The reactor has an amazing safety feature,” said Kirk Sorensen, a former NASA engineer at Teledyne Brown and a thorium expert.
“If it begins to overheat, a little plug melts and the salts drain into a pan. There is no need for computers, or the sort of electrical pumps that were crippled by the tsunami. The reactor saves itself,” he said.

“They operate at atmospheric pressure so you don’t have the sort of hydrogen explosions we’ve seen in Japan. One of these reactors would have come through the tsunami just fine. There would have been no radiation release.”

Thorium is a silvery metal named after the Norse god of thunder. The metal has its own “issues” but no thorium reactor could easily spin out of control in the manner of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, or now Fukushima.

Professor Robert Cywinksi from Huddersfield University said thorium must be bombarded with neutrons to drive the fission process. “There is no chain reaction. Fission dies the moment you switch off the photon beam. There are not enough neutrons for it continue of its own accord,” he said.
Dr Cywinski, who anchors a UK-wide thorium team, said the residual heat left behind in a crisis would be “orders of magnitude less” than in a uranium reactor.

The earth’s crust holds 80 years of uranium at expected usage rates, he said. Thorium is as common as lead. America has buried tons as a by-product of rare earth metals mining. Norway has so much that Oslo is planning a post-oil era where thorium might drive the country’s next great phase of wealth. Even Britain has seams in Wales and in the granite cliffs of Cornwall. Almost all the mineral is usable as fuel, compared to 0.7pc of uranium. There is enough to power civilization for thousands of years.
full article

Safety concerns are only one big reason wind and solar better

2011-03-20T14:48:00.003Z

The powerful earthquake and tsunami that caused reactors at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant to shut down - releasing radiation and endangering workers and evacuees - have many Americans asking whether nuclear energy is worth the investment and risk.

I say not. In fact, it should not have taken a disaster of this kind to move us decisively away from nuclear and toward safe, clean, renewable energy.

First, consider the meltdown. The risk of such a catastrophe is not trivial. In fact, the five reactor meltdowns in history represent more than 1% of the more than 440 nuclear reactors on Earth. Meltdowns can be caused not only by human error and natural disasters, but also by a terrorist with a large plane.

This scary possibility, though, is dwarfed by the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation, as evidenced by the attempted or actual development of weapons capabilities in Pakistan, India, Iran and to some extent North Korea secretly under the cover of nuclear energy facilities.

If the world's energy needs were converted to electricity for all purposes - and nuclear supplied such energy - 15,800 large nuclear reactors, one installed every day for the next 43 years, would be needed. The installation of even 5% of these would nearly double the current number of reactors, giving many more countries the potential to develop weapons. If only one weapon were used in a city, it could kill 1 to 16 million people.

***

Why do we need nuclear energy when we have safer, cleaner options that can provide greater power for a much longer period and at lower cost to society? These better options are called WWS, for "wind, water and sunlight." The chance of catastrophe caused by nature or terrorists acting on wind or solar, in particular, is zero.

During their lifetimes, WWS technologies emit no pollution - whereas nuclear does, since continuous energy is needed to mine, transport and refine uranium, and reactors require much longer to permit and install than do WWS technologies. Overall, nuclear emits 9 to 25 times more air pollution and carbon dioxide than does wind per unit energy generated.

***

Some argue that nuclear is more reliable than WWS systems. This is not true. A nuclear reactor affects a larger fraction of the grid when it fails than does a wind turbine. The average maintenance downtime of modern wind turbines on land is 2%. That of France’s 59 reactors is 21.5%, with about half due to scheduled maintenance.

What about matching energy supply with demand? Nuclear power plants most efficiently provide constant power when they are on. But power demand varies continuously. Some WWS options (such as geothermal and tidal) also provide constant output. However others (wind, solar, wave) are variable, and hydroelectricity can be turned on and off quickly. It has been shown with data that combining WWS technologies as a single commodity allows power demand to be supplied hour by hour with virtually no backup.

What about resources and space? Solar power in sunny locations can power the entire world for all purposes 30 times over; wind in windy locations on or near land can power the world 6 to 15 times over. Only 0.4% more of the entire planet’s physical land would be needed to power everyone, everywhere with WWS.

What about cost? Despite what you may have heard, on-land wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power are cost-competitive with conventional energy. Solar costs are higher but decreasing.

Policy makers who have begun leaning toward nuclear should consider the health and safety of the United States and the scientific method, instead of the trail of lobbyists, when deciding the future of this country.

full article

72 days that broke hearts

2011-03-12T19:00:00.002Z

THIS year nature is trying to tell us we are only here on sufferance.

We have had floods, cyclones, more floods, a massive earthquake and now an even bigger earthquake.

And we are not even halfway through March.

The death tolls from this year of natural disaster will probably never be known - at least 550 people died in mudslides in Rio de Janeiro in January, more than two dozen are dead and missing in Queensland, two more died in our floods in Victoria.

Next there were more than 160 killed in Christchurch. And now Japan, where authorities estimate at least 1000 people died.

If there is a god up there, he doesn't seem very pleased with us this year.

The footage from Toowoomba's inland tsunami might have seemed graphic when we saw it in January but after Friday's display of natural power, it would be hard not to argue that we got off lightly.

The same goes for the destruction wreaked on Christchurch last month.

It's as though nature was saying to us, "you think a 6.3-magnitude earthquake is bad? Have a look at what 8.9 on the Richter scale looks like!"

While we stare appalled at the damage nature has done in Japan, it is sobering to reflect that as high as the death toll is likely to be, it would have been much, much higher anywhere else.

Japan is a rich country with a long history of earthquake preparation.

Most of its major population centres were rebuilt after 1945 to withstand earthquakes. It also has the world's most sophisticated tsunami warning system.

To get an idea what might have happened in a poorer country without Japan's strict earthquake building codes, one only has to look at what happened last time a major earthquake struck Tokyo in 1923. The 7.9 quake was almost 10 times less powerful than the one that struck on Friday but it was estimated to have killed between 100,000 and 150,000 people - mostly from the fires that engulfed the densely crowded slums.

Any way you look at it, 2011 has been an extraordinary year for natural disasters and it's only 72 days old.

The records are mind boggling - the worst cyclone to hit Australia in a century, the worst earthquake to hit Japan, and the deadliest natural disaster to hit Brazil in four decades.

When you add the floods in Sri Lanka, which killed 27 and left 900,000 people homeless, the 40 dead and 1.3 million displaced in the Philippines as well as the two dead and 3000 displaced in Thailand, you could be mistaken for thinking we are living in biblical times.

All we need now is a plague of locusts. Come to think of it, we've got that too in Victoria.

Given such a large number of extreme events, it would be natural to ask if they are connected.

In the case of earthquakes, if there is a connection between them, science has yet to discover it. About 100 earthquakes the size of the one that hit Christchurch occur each year around the world.

Most happen in places where they do no damage.

Quakes the size of the one that struck on Friday are much rarer - one happens about once a year.

Incidentally, if you think a major earthquake can't happen here, think again.

While the Newcastle earthquake that killed 13 people in 1988 is the best remembered and deadliest recorded in Australia - at 5.6 on the Richter scale - it was not even close to the biggest.

In 1988, Tennant Creek was hit by three earthquakes in a day - the biggest of which was measured at 6.7.

But the biggest earthquake recorded on land in Australia was the 7.3 whopper that struck Meeberrie in Western Australia in 1941.

While there may be no link between earthquakes, experts say the floods that have plagued the world this year are all connected to the La Nina weather system.

La Nina is the periodic weather event in which strong South American trade winds drive warm waters, moisture and rain across the Pacific towards Australia for at least 12 months. It is associated with above average rainfall here and elsewhere and increased cyclone activity.

Experts say the current La Nina is the second-strongest in the 130 years of meteorological records.

Whether it is the result of man-made global warming is a matter of dispute.

The idea that we are responsible for causing natural disasters is in some ways comforting because we tend to think that if we created something, then we should by rights be able to fix it.

In the past, when people thought about their responsibility for natural disasters, it was in moral terms.

Thus, when a massive earthquake struck Lisbon on All Saints Day in 1755, destroying almost the whole city and most of its churches, it was taken by many as proof the people needed chastening.

Perhaps that is not so different to those who were quick to attribute this year's floods to global warming.

The alternative view of natural disasters - that they are random acts of violence committed by a pitiless natural world - is a much more unsettling idea.

But even if we accept that, from time to time, nature will show its teeth, we still like to believe that we live in a benign physical world.

A string of natural disasters challenges that comforting belief.

What if there is no end to the destruction?

Tsunamis, just like the bushfires here two years ago, show us that we can be blown away like dust from the pages of a book.

And it's still only March.
full article

Global Warming Natural Disasters

2011-03-12T18:54:00.001Z

Hours after a massive earthquake rattled Japan, environmental advocates connected the natural disaster to global warming. The president of the European Economic and Social Committee, Staffan Nilsson, issued a statement calling for solidarity in tackling the global warming problem.

“Some islands affected by climate change have been hit,” said Nilsson. “Has not the time come to demonstrate on solidarity — not least solidarity in combating and adapting to climate change and global warming?”

“Mother Nature has again given us a sign that that is what we need to do,” he added.

Global warming enthusiasts have also taken to Twitter to raise awareness of the need to respond to the earthquake by finally acting on climate change. And the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Lee Doren compiled some of the best ones.

Some examples:

AliceTMBFan said “2 hours of geography earlier talking about Japan has left me thinking…maybe global warming is way more serious then we thought…”

Arbiterofwords tweeted “I’m worried that Japan earthquake, on top of other recent natural ‘disasters’, is a sign we’ve passed point of no return for climate change.”

MrVikas said “Events like the #Japan #earthquake and #tsunami MUST keep #climate change at forefront of policy thought:
Tayyclayy noted her frustration by tweeting “An earthquake with an 8.9 magnitude struck Japan.. And some say climate change isn’t real?!”

DanFranklin postulated “Never really believed all this global warming talk, but after the earthquake in NZ and today in Japan. Maybe we’ve ruined the world.”

And TeamIanHarding tweeted “While Japan witnessed an earthquake we were talking about the problems that global warming leads to in school. Think. Pray. And change.”

Do they have a point?

“Global warming alarmists will exploit any natural disaster to promote their anti-fossil fuel agenda,” Tom Borelli of the Free Enterprise Project told The Daily Caller, adding that the climate change reaction is a result of the “global warming spin machine.”

“First it’s global warming, then it’s climate change, now it’s probably tectonic instability — no doubt all caused by man,” he said.

When contacted by TheDC, Dan Weiss, Director of Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress, also expressed skepticism at the link between global warming and the earthquake in Japan.

“I am not a scientist,” said Weiss, “but I have never heard of a link between global warming and earthquakes.”

full article

FIT for purpose?

2011-02-13T16:49:00.001Z

This week, the UK’s Energy Secretary Chris Huhne announced a comprehensive review of the Feed in Tariffs (FITs) scheme “following growing evidence that large-scale solar farms could soak up money intended to help homes, communities and small businesses generate their own electricity.”
Feed-in-tariff system (inherited from the previous Labour government), is a curious affair, particularly if one considers that the primary goal of such instruments is arguably incentivising the installation of renewable technology that will produce the greatest amount of clean, low-carbon power at the lowest possible price. Under the current arrangements the greater the capacity installed for any one project, the lower the feed-in-tariff. Furthermore, photovoltaic systems get preferential subsidies to wind turbines, particularly at the higher end of the scale in terms of generating capacity. A 5MW solar farm would, in the first year of the scheme, receive 29.3p/kWh over a 25 year period, while a 5MW wind farm would be receiving just 4.5p/kWh over a 20 year period. The scheme has GBP360m allocated to it, making it something of a zero-sum game for the various technologies positioned to take advantage of it.

full article

Is investing in on-farm solar power worthwhile?

2011-02-13T16:38:00.002Z

Glastonbury festival’s Michael Eavis has become the UK’s first farmer to install a large solar array on the roof of a cow shed. Many others are queuing up to follow his lead, but how beneficial is this technology, and is the large capital outlay it requires really worthwhile?
With a £500,000 loan over 10 years from Triodos Bank, and £70,000 of his own capital, Mr Eavis visited a solar panel factory in Durham to learn about the technology and negotiate on price.
The 1,116 panels, weighing about 25 tonnes, were fitted to the roof of the 1,500sq.m barn, and are capable of producing 200kW per hour - enough to power 40 homes annually.
“We should be generating £50,000 of electricity a year - it will pay back within 10 or 12 years.”

About 40 per cent of the electricity would be used on the farm, with the remainder exported to the National Grid.

“There is a lot of form-filling to export to the grid - they treat it like a nuclear power station,” says Mr Eavis. He also had to upgrade the farm’s transformer to cope with the extra load, at a cost of £50,000.
Anyone considering installing solar PV should get an independent performance appraisal for the site to get an accurate forecast of productivity.

A grid survey by the electricity supplier, at a cost of about £1,000, would reveal whether upgrades to the network - costing £100,000s - may be required.

In-field solar arrays may also need extra security, and could change the land use away from agriculture, says Dan Davies from SolarCentury. Large installations up to 5mW would probably require backing from an investor. A variety of agreements are available.

Most small installations will not require planning permission, but in-field arrays may do.

Take advice from your local planning authority, and consult with neighbours and local stakeholders to ensure you have their support before you start.

Feed-in Tariff Income could be tax-free for individuals, but business rates are likely to be payable on any installation, while in-field arrays could reduce the Single Farm Payment and eligibility for agricultural tax reliefs.

full article

Huhne takes action on solar farm threat

2011-02-08T20:57:00.002Z

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has launched a review of the Feed in Tariffs (FITs) scheme following growing evidence that large scale solar farms could soak up money intended to help homes, communities and small businesses generate their own electricity.
More than 21,000 installations have been registered to date. The vast majority of these are domestic installations, including solar panels, wind turbines and microhydro plants.
“Large scale solar installations weren’t anticipated under the FITs scheme we inherited and I’m concerned this could mean that money meant for people who want to produce their own green electricity has the potential to be directed towards large scale commercial solar projects.”
full article

UK Feed-In Tariff Enjoys Early Success

2011-02-06T14:00:00.002Z

A recent report has revealed that, since its introduction in April 2010, the United Kingdom's renewable energy feed-in tariff has enjoyed record levels of success.

The latest official figures published by UK energy regulator Ofgem (PDF) show that an impressive 15,468 installations have registered to take part during the first six months.

The scheme, designed to promote the uptake of small-scale renewable electricity generation, has already paid out more than £2.5 million (around US $4 million) to applicants – with the subsidies proving particularly popular in the solar PV sector, which has accounted for the lion’s share (around 60%) of participants to date.
“What makes it especially attractive now is that, with the guaranteed rate of return [offered] by the FiT, you can sit down with a calculator and figure out roughly when the investment will pay for itself,”
However, amid a climate of global financial austerity, similar FiT schemes are being gradually reduced across Europe. In this light, it is perhaps likely that the UK will follow other countries, notably Germany and Spain, in scaling-back subsidies.
“The key in phasing out FiTs – along with subsidies for conventional energy, which the International Energy Agency estimates far exceed renewables subsidies worldwide – is a gradual reduction in subsidies, to avoid any sudden shocks that would send investors fleeing, and to avoid retroactive cuts,”
full article

Now Is The Best Time To Compare Domestic Energy Prices

2011-02-04T11:18:00.003Z

Energy firm EDF became the last of the big six to unveil inflation busting price rises yesterday.Millions of customers with EDF Energy have been warned of rises in gas and electricity tariffs that are expected to add £72 to average annual bills,electricity prices jump by 7.5% and gas by 6.5%.Unlike most of its rivals, EDF has waited to push up tariffs until the worst of the winter is over. Tariffs will rise from March 2.

Now this round of price increases has been completed consumers should be able to enjoy a period of stability.
"This means that it is an excellent time to shop around for a better deal, potentially saving up to £458, which would wipe the effect of price increases out and put money in the pocket ready for next winter.

worlds first Energy House

2011-01-31T12:19:00.002Z

Scientists at the University of Salford plan to use the mock home to test the effectiveness of a wide range of energy saving technologies.

The house is being built inside a three-storey laboratory, which will allow a team of researchers to control heat, light and humidity levels.
"We need to find ways to make these old-build properties more energy efficient as they will continue to house people for generations to come," observed Professor Stephen Donnelly, dean of the university's Faculty of Science, Engineering and Environment.

"But to cost-effectively retro-fit old properties and make them as carbon-efficient as possible requires detailed and robust research."

The Energy House project is expected to last for about three years before the team will demolish the house and replace it with a replicated public building, such as a hospital ward or school classroom.

full article

Hydrogen Based Artificial petrol For 90p A Gallon

2011-01-29T12:15:00.003Z

The new hydrogen-based fuel costs only 90 pence per gallon and could even run in existing cars.

The environment-friendly fuel has been developed in secret at a laboratory in Oxford and could be available in as little as three years.

Motorists could even be able to drive for 300 to 400 miles before needing to fill up.

Energy from hydrogen can be harnessed by burning the gas or combining it with oxygen in a fuel cell to produce electricity.

But current methods of storing hydrogen are expensive and not very safe.

To get round this, scientists from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, near Oxford, University College London and Oxford University have found a way of densely packing hydrogen into tiny beads that can be poured or pumped like a liquid.
They have developed a way of making tiny micro-fibres 30 times smaller than a human hair. These form a tissue-like material
that is safe to handle in air. The new material contains as much hydrogen for a given weight as
the high pressure tanks currently used to store hydrogen.

'Early indications are that the micro-beads can be used in existing vehicles without engine modification. The materials are hydrogen-based, and so when used produce no carbon emissions at the point of use, in a similar way to electric vehicles.’

http://www.cellaenergy.com/

Volkswagen XL1 Super Efficient Vehicle

2011-01-26T16:11:00.003Z

The third car to emerge from VW’s efficient vehicle study program, the XL1 is a hybrid using an 800cc TDI two-cylinder diesel engine of 47bhp linked to a 27bhp electric motor.

The modest 74bhp total is compensated by the mere 795kg weight of the car, thanks to much of it being built in carbon fibre.

A seven-speed DSG gearbox is fitted and the electric motor can power the car alone for up to 22 miles before the diesel engine cuts in.

The car offers 0-62mph times of 11.9 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 99mph. The eco figures are likely to be of most interest, however, VW quoting combined cycle fuel economy of 313mpg and CO2 emissions of just 24g/km.

The XL1 is visually striking in terms of styling. But just as much of the prototype’s shape was determined in the wind tunnel as it was on a designers sketchpad. All of the attention in the wind tunnel was towards reducing the drag (Cd) on the car as it moves through the air. Less drag translates to more efficiency. As a comparison, the aerodynamic drag of the XL1 is 2.5 times lower than a current model Golf.

full article

Warm Front Suspends Grants

2011-01-21T20:08:00.003Z

Warm Front grants suspended until April 2011.Warm Front provides support to vulnerable groups in, or at risk of, fuel poverty. This typically includes low income households and families, disabled and elderly groups. It provides a package of insulation and heating improvements up to £3,500 (or £6,000 where oil, low carbon or renewable technologies are recommended)). To qualify for Warm Front, applicants must either own their home or rent it from a private landlord. They should also be in receipt of certain qualifying benefits.

CERT funding is not affected by the suspension of Warm Front funding and grants are still available.
Energy suppliers will provide grants and offers to help you pay for energy efficiency measures and renewable energy technologies for your home. The key thing to note here is that you can take up CERT grants and offers from any energy company, regardless of whether they supply your gas and electricity. This could help reduce the amount of energy you use, reducing your CO 2 emissions as well as helping you to save money on your energy bills too.

Shale Gas Threat To Renewables

2011-01-19T18:13:00.003Z

Dr Birol warned that efforts to tackle climate change through renewable energy were under threat from the world revolution in unconventional gas sources. He said the shale gas boom in the US has already led to a gas rush which had contributed to a 50% drop in investment in renewable energy.

Shale gas has become an energy phenomenon since firms in the US found economic ways of extracting gas previously trapped in shale rocks, which have metamorphosed from clay deposits under pressure and heat.

The process involves drilling horizontally into shale formations far underground, then using small explosions to fracture the shale - followed by a slurry of water, sand and chemicals to free the trapped gas.
The US was gearing up to import gas, but experts suggest that the shale reserves may provide the nation with gas supplies for 100 years.

Large deposits of shale gas are expected to be unearthed in China, Europe and South America too.

Experts say the technological breakthrough increases energy security worldwide and reduces the diplomatic power of gas-rich nations, such as Russia.

But there have been reports of problems with the technology in the US, such as cattle dying after drinking water from the fracturing process that found its way to the surface.

In Pennsylvania, some residents can now set fire to their drinking water after methane leaked into wells. They are blaming shale gas extraction.

full article

Nissan Leaf Zero Emissions Electric Car

2011-01-15T15:57:00.005Z

Top speed: around 90 mph 0-62 mph: 11.9 seconds; Emissions: zero;
Price: £23,990 (with Government grant)

Nissan's new Leaf, a five-seat Focus-size hatchback, will make sense for some people. If you spend your day pounding the motorways it isn't for you, but most people's average journey is quite short, and the Leaf's 100-mile range will be more than adequate for that.
There’s no extended-range-parallel-series-hybrid-fuel cell powertrain to explain. The Leaf has an electric motor up front and a battery under the cabin floor. For all that matters, it really is as simple as that.
It is powered by 48 laptop-sized lithium-ion batteries arranged low in the car to give it better balance and rigidity.
An overnight recharge using a domestic plug socket will cost about £2 but Nissan is building a network of fast-charge points which can deliver 80 per cent of full power in about 20 minutes.
If you need more detail, it is specifically an 80 kilowatt AC synchronous electric motor that pumps out 107 horsepower. That’s not at lot, but with 207 pound-feet of torque it’s enough to accelerate the 3,400-pounder as quickly as most economy cars
Regular use in extreme temperatures and frequent quick charges, which heat up the cells, will hasten the effect, but as hybrid owners have come to know, that’s part of the deal. An 8-year/100,000-mile warranty protects it against actual defects.
Using the heater, will reduce about 10 percent off of the projected range . More energy-efficient heated seats aren’t available, but should be coming to later editions.

Baxi Ecogen Boiler

2011-01-14T11:24:00.003Z

It's a revolutionary wall-hung combined heat and power appliance that can provide efficient gas central heating and hot water like any other boiler, but also generates electricity for use in your home.
One of the ways to become more efficient may be through Combined Heat and Power (CHP), where facilities in the home use a fuel source to generate both electricity and heat.
Micro-CHP is the process of generating both heat and electricity from one source. CHP has been used for years on a bigger scale in hospitals, school and office blocks, so it's a well trialled system.
The electricity can then be used within the home, with excess being fed back into the National Grid. The Engine produces 1.1kW of electricity but it also produces 6 kW of heat for hot water and central heating. If this is not enough then there is a supplementary heater unit that puts additional heat into the hot water system. The whole system is 90% efficient.
Electricity suppliers will pay householders a generation tariff of 10p every kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity generated and an export tariff of 3p for every kWh of electricity exported back.

Key features and benefits:

* For the environment: electricity generated close to where it is to be used has fewer carbon emissions and is much more efficient
* For the householder: saving money on electricity bills. In addition, from April 2010 electricity suppliers will pay a Feed-in Tariff to householders for every kWh of electricity generated and exported back to the electricity grid.
* For specifiers and housebuilders: micro-CHP offers an effective way of meeting the UK Government's targets towards zero carbon homes
* For utilities: micro-CHP offers an effective way of meeting the UK Government's Carbon Reduction Targets with the CERT Program

VPhase device save 10% on electricity

2011-01-12T10:48:00.001Z

The UK electricity distribution network operates at a nominal 230V, although in practice average voltages are more likely to range between 240V and 245V. The VPhase unit manages voltage to a stable level, normally 220V in the UK, regardless of the incoming supply voltage.

The amount of energy saved is device specific, for example: testing by VPhase on fridges and freezers shows 17%, 15% on normal light bulbs and 10% on energy saving light bulbs. One digital cordless phone showed an extraordinary saving of 44%. Savings will vary dependent incoming voltage and individual devices.

Further savings can be made on washing machines, tumble driers, dishwashers, televisions and numerous other electrical appliances across the whole house.

VPhase plc is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Eaga Heating Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Eaga plc, for the nationwide supply of the VPhase device that is the smart new way to help homeowners immediately and significantly cut their electricity bills typically by 10%, reduce carbon emissions and lower energy use; all without changing their lifestyle or supplier.

Eaga will be offering to supply and install the VPhase unit for £349 including VAT.

New solar fuel machine 'mimics plant life'

2010-12-24T14:16:00.004Z

A prototype solar device has been unveiled which mimics plant life, turning the Sun's energy into fuel.

The machine uses the Sun's rays and a metal oxide called ceria to break down carbon dioxide or water into fuels which can be stored and transported.

Conventional photovoltaic panels must use the electricity they generate in situ, and cannot deliver power at night.
If as in the prototype, carbon dioxide and/or water are pumped into the vessel, the ceria will rapidly strip the oxygen from them as it cools, creating hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide.

Hydrogen produced could be used to fuel hydrogen fuel cells in cars, for example, while a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide can be used to create "syngas" for fuel.

It is this harnessing of ceria's properties in the solar reactor which represents the major breakthrough, say the inventors of the device. They also say the metal is readily available, being the most abundant of the "rare-earth" metals.

Methane can be produced using the same machine, they say.

It has been suggested that the device mimics plants, which also use carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to create energy as part of the process of photosynthesis. But Professor Haile thinks the analogy is over-simplistic.

"Yes, the reactor takes in sunlight, we take in carbon dioxide and water and we produce a chemical compound, so in the most generic sense there are these similarities, but I think that's pretty much where the analogy ends."

full article

Cost of Going Green as Energy Reform Will add £500 a Year to bills

2010-12-12T12:22:00.002Z

Environmental reforms to the energy market, to be unveiled this week, will result in huge gas and electricity price increases over the next ten years.

Under the changes, householders will have to pay an extra £500 a year by 2020 effectively to subsidise the cost of new nuclear power plants and wind energy.

The Government is also expected to propose capacity payments for low-carbon electricity generation. This would reward companies for making their electricity generation capacity available to the grid, even if it is just as a back-up.

It is also expected to stop the building of new coal-fired power stations unless they are equipped with carbon-capture technology.

These measures will cost money. Britain now pays about £1 billion a year in subsidies for renewable energy, which adds about £80 to a typical household's annual bill.

Energy experts say that propping up nuclear and renewable energy could cost every household more than £500 a year by 2020.

full article

Cheap Boilers

2010-12-12T10:59:00.002Z

The Magic Boiler Scheme run by PTS Plumbing was a very successfull promotion and was discontinued over a year ago now.The good news is that it has been replaced and is called Energy Smart and can be found at www.energy-smart.org.uk.

Mackie's challenge on renewable fund

2010-12-03T14:53:00.000Z

Farmer, ice cream maker and potato crisp manufacturer Maitland Mackie yesterday challenged to the Scottish Government to come up with the cash to enable rural communities to benefit from the current surge of interest in renewable energy.
A year ago, Mackie suggested a rolling fund so that communities rather than multinational energy companies could become involved in bringing forward their own projects and benefiting from the income generated.
His advice on how the whole rural community could benefit came from his own experience where renewable energy in the form of three wind turbines has transformed the family business.

These are not only fuelling the business but also feeding large quantities of electricity into the National Grid. He reckons the family firm will get a double digit return on their investment. Having seen what can be achieved, he is keen to promote the idea of local communities "getting in on the action", describing the current subsidy system, the Feed In Tariff, as promoting the wrong scale of power generation.

"Feed In Tariffs, where electricity suppliers get paid for putting power into the grid, incentivise the innocent to invest in very inefficient small-scale power generation. As a vehicle to deliver renewable energy, they encourage dreadfully inefficient investment and they deliver an insignificant amount of energy."

For farmers and landowners approached by major energy companies, he said, it was too easy for them to "sell the pass" to the big operators leaving them to develop big projects in return for a rent.

full article

Renewable energy seminar held for Cornish landowners

2010-12-03T14:49:00.000Z

“We have seen a number of farmers and other landowners come to us to appraise offers made to them by developers. So the time was right to organise an event that would not only advise on what terms the landowners maybe should and should not be signing up to, based on what we and other professionals had collectively experienced, but also to give a heads up on other related issues, such as tax planning.

“We were delighted that other professionals involved in the sector were likeminded about the need for such an event and the high attendance is testament to the demand for impartial advice in this area.”

full article

Spain To Cut Wind, Solar Power Subsidies In December

2010-11-24T19:27:00.000Z

Spain's government is seeking to press ahead with planned cuts in costly renewable energy subsidies in early December, as part of ongoing austerity moves, a spokesman for the country's Industry Ministry said Wednesday.

The plan, which is designed to make annual savings of around EUR100 million, should be fairly similar to draft cuts discussed with sector representatives in July, spokespeople for the ministry and the wind and solar power sectors said. The cuts are more drastic for solar power generation, they said.

However, the cuts may also effectively shelve projects to build solar power that would have received around EUR1 billion in subsidies in coming years.

Solar power, the most expensive contributor to Spain's electricity generation, currently accounts for around 3% of Spain's power generation and around half of renewable energy subsidies. Wind power accounts for around 13% of generation.

Spain is among the countries most reliant on renewable energy--a policy that has made it less dependent on fossil fuel producers but has resulted in higher energy prices, stoking up inflation and hitting the economy's international competitiveness at a time when domestic demand has weakened.

full article

Industry growth sees photovoltaic costs plummet

2010-11-24T19:21:00.001Z

THE capital costs of photovoltaic plants have fallen more than 40% in the past two years because of the growth of the industry, says the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association.

The lower capital costs put photovoltaic on an equal footing with other solar technologies, the association said yesterday.

Photovoltaic technology is traditionally more expensive compared to other solar technologies, and involves the conversion of solar radiation into direct-current electricity using semiconductors.

The National Energy Regulator of SA’ s October 2009 renewable energy feed-in tariff guideline put photovoltaic at R3,94/kWh and concentrated solar at R3,14/kWh.

"Since 2008, when the (feed-in) tariffs were calculated, the size of the installed (photovoltaic) market has more than doubled, resulting in the capital cost of (photovoltaic) power plants dropping by over 40%," photovoltaic association found er member Ryan Hammond said yesterday.

"The current cost-effectiveness of photovoltaic is equivalent to any other solar technology and it remains the most versatile renewable technology choice, capable of being easily applied in installations from 10W to over 100MW and more," he said.

In Europe, the renewable energy feed-in tariff for photovoltaic is about R2/kWh, he said. "We need to sit down with the Department of Energy and look at the real numbers. We would love to see the R3,94/ kWh revisited. There is no gain for SA in using outdated numbers. Government must recognise that (photovoltaic) costs have fallen," he said.

full article

Feed In Tariffs-factsheet

2010-11-19T21:04:00.002Z

open fact sheet

Farmers rush for solar panel riches

2010-11-07T11:22:00.001Z

Worthy Farm in Somerset is well known for setting records.

It plays host to the Glastonbury music festival - the largest in the world.

Now, one of its cowsheds is set to become the UK's largest agricultural solar array, benefiting from the governments new feed-in tariff scheme, which rewards people for generating solar power.And it is unlikely to be the last.

But as farmers around the country rush to take advantage of the scheme, the government is considering lowering the subsidy as part of the Spending Review.
On-farm solar

The tariff is designed to reward people for installing renewable energy by paying for the electricity they generate.

It pays up to four times the retail cost of electricity, whilst also allowing the power to be used for home appliances.

Or, as is the case here, for a dairy farm.

For Michael Eavis, owner of Worthy Farm and host of the Glastonbury festival, it is the perfect opportunity.
Mr Eavis's solar roof should generate enough power for about 40 homes.

Unusually, it is built using solar panels made in the UK by a local firm, Solar Sense.

"We've seen a 200% plus growth in inquiries and resulting business since February," says their director Kerry Burns.

"It's difficult for a company to keep up with."
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

If they touch the feed-in tariff, you can forget about private sector funding for renewables”

End Quote Ray Noble Renewable Energy Association

But the money, like much of the expertise for the new industry, is coming from Continental Europe.

Dutch ethical bank, Triodos, has extensive experience with similar tariffs in Spain and Germany and has provided £500,000 to this project.

The bank is aware of the pitfalls. Spanish tariffs had to be changed due to their generosity.
Funding worries

But the money to fund all this ultimately comes from energy bills, not the government.

Some energy experts, such as Professor David Newbury from the University of Cambridge, argue this is the wrong way to fund a scheme that generates little electricity for the grid.

"It's essentially research, and I'm not sure that the right way to finance research... is a tax on electricity consumers, many of whom are poor," he says.

The latest Ofgem figures show a dramatic pickup in demand, with more than 10,000 installations since the scheme started.

Most are small domestic projects, but larger farm-based schemes are due to be installed, and so claiming the guaranteed payments, during spring.

The scheme was only launched in April, with cross party support, but the government has now confirmed it will be subject to the Spending Review, with a view on its impact on bills.

With projects already underway, this has sparked fury in the industry.

"If they touch the feed-in tariff, you can forget about private sector funding for renewables," says Ray Noble from the Renewable Energy Association.

full article

Feed-in Tariffs any drawbacks to solar panelling?

2010-11-07T11:01:00.003Z

Q I am considering an offer from British Gas to install solar panelling on my house. The offer is very generous. There is no charge, a 25-year guarantee and all work involved is done by its employees. Is there any drawback to solar panelling?
A Yes, there are several drawbacks. Earlier this year (March 21) I answered a query about the Feed-in Tariff (FIT), whereby home owners generating their own electricity are paid for every unit of power they feed into the national grid. It is the FIT that makes photovoltaic (PV) solar panels worth considering as an investment, because it might earn the average PV panel owner about £900 a year. (Although, as I pointed out at the time, it would still take about 13 to 17 years for this income to compensate for the installation costs of some £12,000 to £15,000.)

Without the FIT payments, generating your own electricity from the sun is not such an attractive proposition. At the times when you most need to use electricity – that is, after dark – your PV panels won’t be generating any, so you’ll be paying for your power at the normal rate through your meter.

You get free electricity to use only when the sun is shining brightly and directly enough on the panels to generate a current. But that is chiefly in the summer, between 10am and 2pm, and with little or no cloud cover (with respect, not the most common conditions in your part of Britain). And, of course, at those times, you are unlikely to be using much electricity anyway.

You won’t have the lights on, you won’t be watching television because you’ll be out in the garden and you won’t be needing to heat the house. Possibly the only benefit you will get is free power for your fridge. The surplus electricity generated at these times will be fed into the grid, earning FIT money for the owner of the panels, which won’t be you because it will be British Gas.

The promotional literature from British Gas (and the other companies who are making similar offers) suggests that the average householder signing up for this “rent-your-roof” scheme will reduce their electricity bills by about £150 per year. However, many people will save much less. It depends how much electricity you use during those sunny periods. People who are out at work during the day, for example, will not see much benefit.

In return, by installing its PV panels on your roof, British Gas will be claiming all your Feed-in Tariff payments for itself. You will have to sign a contract leasing your roof and the air space above it to British Gas for 25 years, for no additional payment. The lease will be lodged with the Land Registry, and therefore legally binding. You will not be able to change your mind or remove the panels during the 25 years and, should you sell the house, the new owners will also be bound by the terms of that lease.

For me, this is a major stumbling block. I personally would be hesitant about buying a house with these unsightly black rectangles stuck on the roof and even more hesitant once I found that I wouldn’t even benefit financially from the surplus electricity they produced.

I’m sure there must be many other potential homebuyers who would feel the same way, and you might even find your house “blighted” by this 25-year commitment.

full article

Thank God man-made global warming was proven to be a hoax.

2010-08-27T20:29:00.002+01:00

Thank God man-made global warming was proven to be a hoax. Just imagine what the world might have looked like now if those conspiring scientists had been telling the truth. No doubt Nasa would be telling us that this year is now the hottest since humans began keeping records. The weather satellites would show that even when heat from the sun significantly dipped earlier this year, the world still got hotter. Russia's vast forests would be burning to the ground in the fiercest drought they have ever seen, turning the air black in Moscow, killing 15,000 people, and forcing foreign embassies to evacuate. Because warm air holds more water vapour, the world's storms would be hugely increasing in intensity and violence – drowning one fifth of Pakistan, and causing giant mudslides in China.

The world's ice sheets would be sloughing off massive melting chunks four times the size of Manhattan. The cost of bread would be soaring across the world as heat shrivelled the wheat crops. The increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be fizzing into the oceans, making them more acidic and so killing 40 per cent of the phytoplankton that make up the irreplaceable base of the oceanic food chain. The denialists would be conceding at last that everything the climate scientists said would happen – with their pesky graphs and studies and computers – came to pass.
This is all happening today, except for that final stubborn step. It's hard to pin any one event on man-made global warming: there were occasional freak weather events before we started altering the atmosphere, and on their own, any of these events could be just another example. But they are, cumulatively, part of a plain pattern where extreme weather is occurring "with greater frequency and in many cases with greater intensity" as the temperature soars, as the US National Climatic Data Centre puts it. This is exactly what climate scientists have been warning us man-made global warming will look like, to the letter. Ashen-faced, they add that all this is coming after less than one degree of global warming since the Industrial Revolution. We are revving up for as much as five degrees more this century.

Yet as the evidence of global warming becomes ever clearer, the momentum to stop it has died. The Copenhagen climate summit evaporated, Barack Obama has given up on passing any climate change legislation, Hu Jintao is heaving even more coal, David Cameron has shot his huskies, and even sweet liberal Canada now has a government determined to pioneer a fuel – tar sands – that causes three times more warming than oil. True, the victims are starting to see the connections. The Russian President, Dmitri Medvedev, had been opposed to meaningful action on global warming until he found the smoke-choked air in the Kremlin hard to breathe. But if we wait until every leader can taste the effects of warming in their mouths, the damage will be irreparable.

Given the stakes, the reasons why so many people still refuse to accept the evidence can seem oddly trivial. A common one is: "It snowed a lot in the US and Britain last year. Where was your warming then, eh?" But scientific theories are based on patterns, not individual events. You might know a 90-year-old woman who has smoked a pack of cigarettes every day of her life, and is totally healthy. (I do.) It doesn't disprove the theory that smoking causes lung cancer. In the same way, one heavy snowfall doesn't prove anything if it is part of a wider overall pattern of dramatic warming. And that snow probably was. While it snowed a lot in a few places, there were at the very same time harsher, more bitter droughts in many more places – making it globally the fifth hottest winter ever recorded, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (All the others were in the past decade). And that winter is your punchline proof that warming isn't happening?

But the broader public mood, smeared like sun-screen over us all, isn't active denial. No – it's the desire to endlessly postpone this issue for another day. In 1848, a 25-year-old man called Phineas Gage was working on constructing the American railroads. It was his job to lay explosives to clear rocks out of the way – but one day his explosive went off too soon, and a huge metal rod went through his skull and out the other side. Amazingly, he survived – but his personality changed. Suddenly, he was incapable of thinking about the future. The idea of restraining himself was impossible to grasp. If he had an urge, he would act on it at once. He could only ever live in an eternal present. As a civilisation, we are beginning to look like Phineas Gage on a planetary scale.
Yet scattered among us there is a fascinating group of people who are offering a path to safety. Every summer since 2006, ordinary British citizens have built impromptu camps next to some of the most environmentally destructive sites in Britain, and taken direct action to shut their pollution down. So far, it has worked: they played a crucial role in the cancellation of the third runway at Heathrow and a big new coal power station at Kingsnorth.

That's how earlier this week I found myself on a high wooden siege tower in a camp in the Scottish hills, staring down across a moat towards the glistening, empty offices of the Royal Bank of Scotland. You own this bank: 84 per cent of it belongs to the taxpayer after the bailouts. Yet it is using your money to endanger you, by financing the most environmentally destructive behaviour on earth, like burning the tar sands. The protesters chose to come here democratically – everything at the climate camps is done by discussion and consensus – because they have a better idea. Why not turn it into a Green Investment Bank, transforming Britain into a global hub for wind, solar and wave power? Why not go from promoting misery across the world to being a beacon of sanity?

So the protesters risked arrest in marching on RBS's offices because they know the stakes. As Professor Tim Flannery, one of the world's leading climate scientists, explains: "My great fear is that within the next few decades – it could be next year, or it could be in 50 years, we don't know exactly when – we will trap enough heat close to the surface to our planet to precipitate a collapse, or partial collapse, of a major ice shelf... I have friends who work on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and they say [when a collapse happens] you'll hear it in Sydney... Sea levels would rise pretty much instantaneously, certainly over a few months. We don't know how much it would rise. It could be 10 centimeters, or a metre. We will have begun a retreat from our coasts... Once you have started that process, we wouldn't know when the next part of the ice sheet would collapse, we don't know whether sea level will stabilise. There's no point of retreat where you can safely go back to... I doubt whether our global civilisation could survive such a blow, particularly the uncertainty it would bring."

Nature doesn't follow political fashion. Global warming may not be hot today, but the planet is – hotter than ever. When you stare out over the wave of Weather of Mass Destruction we are unleashing, who looks crazy – the protesters, or the people who have yet to join them?

You can follow Johann Hari on Twitter at twitter.com/johannhari101

j.hari@independent.co.uk

full article

Scheme to 'pull electricity from the air'

2010-08-27T10:16:00.003+01:00

Tiny charges gathered directly from humid air could be harnessed to generate electricity, researchers say.

Dr Francesco Galembeck told the American Chemical Society meeting in Boston that the technique exploited a little-known atmospheric effect.

Tests had shown that metals could be used to gather the charges, he said, opening up a potential energy source in humid climates.
"The work I'm presenting here shows that metals placed under a wet environment actually become charged."

Dr Galembeck and his colleagues isolated various metals and pairs of metals separated by a non-conducting separator - a capacitor, in effect - and allowed nitrogen gas with varying amounts of water vapour to pass over them.

What the team found was that charge built up on the metals - in varying amounts, and either positive or negative. Such charge could be connected to a circuit periodically to create useful electricity.

The effect is incredibly small - gathering an amount of charge 100 million times smaller over a given area than a solar cell produces - but seems to represent a means of charge accumulation that has been overlooked until now.

However, experts disagree about the mechanism and the scale of the effect.

"The basic idea is that when you have any solid or liquid in a humid environment, you have absorption of water at the surface," Dr Galembeck, from the University of Campinas in Brazil, told BBC News.
full article

Free solar energy panels

2010-08-23T13:34:00.000+01:00

What’s the deal?

Alternative energy companies including Isis Solar, Home Sun, and A Shade Greener are offering free solar panels that can deliver electricity bill savings of up to hundreds of pounds.

Their offers typically include the supply, installation and maintenance of solar panels worth up to about £12,000.

Homeowners benefit from free electricity when there is sufficient daylight to power the panels, while continuing to pay for electricity from their existing supplier at other times.

Large, unshaded south-facing roofs are typically needed to fit the panels.

Is this good?

The Energy Saving Trust says that solar panels can save the typical home about £200 a year in electricity costs.

Consumer Focus, the watchdog, says the panel offers could be attractive to households who don’t have funds to pay for installation.

What’s the catch?

In return for free panels, the installers pocket the new “feed in tariff” – also called the “clean energy cashback” – of about £800 a year that can be earned under the government scheme to encourage renewable energy generation.

Homeowners are also tied in to contracts with installers for 25 years – so, if you sell your home, the buyer will generally have to take on the contract.

Also, installers could go bust, making it hard for homeowners to enforce maintenance agreements.

What’s the alternative?

Households could pay to have their own solar panels fitted, and then receive the feed-in tariff payments – which are tax-free and inflation-linked – as well as saving on electricity bills.

For a £12,000 outlay, households could earn £23,000 over 25 years, says Moneysavingexpert, the consumer advice website.
full article

All new homes to run on green power by 2016

2010-08-08T20:30:00.002+01:00

Every new home is to be powered by a green energy plant to offset its environmental impact under government plans for zero-carbon living from 2016.

If a development is too small, remote or shielded from wind or sun for an effective renewables scheme, developers will pay a levy to the local council to create bigger plants nearby that would cancel out the carbon footprint of the homes, while providing green power. According to government figures, more than a quarter of all CO2 emissions come from residential properties.

All new homes are rated under the Code for Sustainable Homes. Where planned properties do not reach the highest level 6 standard – where their own green energy production offsets their emissions – developers would be charged a tariff of around £15,000 by the local council to fund infrastructure and local services. Part of this would also include contributing to a "buy-out fund" to pay for the construction of wind farms, solar panels or geothermal technologies in the local area, which would supply the new development with green power.

It is hoped the plan would result in economies of scale, where a larger renewable energy plant could offset the carbon emissions of several small plots of houses.

The housing minister, Grant Shapps, said: "We are committed to being the greenest government ever, and an essential part of that is to ensure that all homes in the future will be built without emitting any carbon. This announcement is an important and very significant step in that direction because for the first time we have described in detail how developers might be expected to achieve zero carbon, by connecting developments to local energy schemes."

Labour set the 2016 zero-carbon target in 2006 but did little to explain how it would be met, or even what the definition meant. The coalition has given £600,000 to the public-private body Zero Carbon Hub to begin testing new benchmarks for carbon emission reductions. However, even supporters of the scheme complain that the coalition has reneged on a promise to set out a definition for a zero-carbon home "within weeks" of taking office.

Simon McWhirter, from the conservation charity WWF, said the levy on developers was "really important" to ensure that new properties, such as flats, which cannot practically generate enough green power on site, can still be zero carbon. "The ability for small builders to pay into a pot which will then be used independently to deliver the emissions reductions elsewhere is a sensible approach to take."

Ministers are also being urged to ensure that building guidelines do not include measures to prevent loss of heat and power that make the homes uninhabitable, through overheating or poor ventilation.

Dr David Strong, chief executive of consultancy Inbuilt and a member of the Zero Carbon Hub's task group, said: "My big worry is as we start to build our homes to increasing standards, unless there is considerable care in the way they are designed and built, there is a real danger of a whole lot of perverse outcomes."

Nottingham City Council already runs a district heating system, in which domestic and commercial waste is used to provide electricity and hot water to more than 4,600 homes, the National Ice Centre, and two shopping centres.

full article

Tesco starts selling £10,000 flat-pack homes

2010-08-07T10:21:00.001+01:00

Self-assembly ’Helsinki’ log cabins have five rooms, double glazing and a decking area

Tesco has moved into the property sector by selling flat pack homes for under £10,000.

The supermarket giant is offering shoppers a massive 19998 Clubcard points if they buy one of the new £9,999 self-assembly log cabins the store is now selling.

The Finnlife structures come with five rooms and a decking area as well as double glazing. It can be upgraded to include a guttering kit, laminate flooring and underfloor heating

The Helsinki model is only available from Tesco’s website and anyone interested in buying it online will have to pay a £5 delivery charge.

The product comes with step-by-step building instructions and the structures are being marketed as being straight forward to self assemble with no need to hire anyone to help. However, Tesco is warning prospective buyers that they may need planning permission

full article

Electric car subsidy worth up to £5,000

2010-07-28T10:30:00.000+01:00

Motorists who buy an electric plug-in car from January next year will get a grant worth up to £5,000 from the government.

The project was announced by Labour but placed on hold by the coalition until the autumn spending review.

Now the Treasury has taken the highly unusual step of agreeing to ring fence the money from any cuts.

Carmakers had been putting pressure on the new government to announce what was happening to the electric car subsidy.

They had warned that without it, the UK would be significantly less attractive for new investment.
'Absolutely committed'

The sheer scale of budget cuts needed across government departments - with the distinct possibility that transport might fare worse than most - had placed the scheme in doubt.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

How often do you drive more than 90 miles in one stretch?”

End Quote David Beesley Electric car user

* What is it like to live with an electric car?

Now the government says the £43m earmarked for the scheme will be protected.

It means that anyone who buys an electric plug-in car from next year will get a 25% discount up to a maximum of £5,000.

"The coalition government is absolutely committed to low carbon growth, tackling climate change and making our energy supply more secure," said Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond.

"We are sending a clear signal that Britain is open for business and that we are committed to greening our economy.

"This will ensure that the UK is a world leader in low emission vehicles.

"We will review the level of the incentive regularly to ensure that the UK remains competitive and taxpayers get value for money."
Barriers

The extra help is not expected to make up for the extra cost of the vehicle - which could be about £10,000 more expensive than its petrol equivalent.

However owners could save hundreds of pounds a year in running costs.

The subsidy will come into force at the same time as a rise in VAT.

The increase from 17.5% to 20% adds almost £640 to the cost of a £30,000 car.

One possible barrier to people adopting electric cars is the lack of dedicated plug-in points - with there currently only being about 300 across the UK.

But Nissan - whose Leaf car will be on sale in the UK from March - argues this is misleading.

It says the evidence from Japan is that people do not buy electric cars until the charging points are in place - but then do not actually use them, preferring to charge at home instead.
Grant offer

Rapid-charge plug-in points, which can charge a car to 80% capacity in less than half an hour, are not likely to be the way most people "refuel".

Electricity overnight can be significantly cheaper and motorists can plug their car in and leave it, rather than having to wait.

That works as long as the motorist's daily use is not more than the range of the car - 100 miles in the case of the Leaf.

However that also depends on users not draining the battery in other ways such as using the heating or air-conditioning.

The grant is open to both private and business fleet buyers across the UK.

It will stay in place - assuming the money does not run out - until 31 March 2012.

The level for subsequent years will be set according to how the market develops and what happens to the cost of the cars.

full article

Giant offshore turbine that mimics sycamore seeds

2010-07-26T21:22:00.002+01:00

A giant wind turbine design that mimics the spiralling motion of a sycamore seed could revolutionise the wind power industry.

British engineers are working on a design for the Aerogenerator which would rotate on its axis and would measure nearly 900 feet from tip to tip, generating up to 10MW.

News of the design comes after Lib Dem Energy Secretary Chris Huhne signalled a dramatic increase in the number of wind farms to be built in Britain – as he said there was no money in the pot to pay for nuclear power stations.

Engineering firm Wind Power is developing the Aerogenerator with architects Grimshaw, academics at Cranfield University and is also working with Rolls Royce, Arup, BP and Shell on its revolutionary design.

Those behind the design say that it could expanded to produce turbines that generated 20MW or more of power.

Scaling up the diameter of a conventional wind turbine would produce far more power from each device but would make them extremely heavy so engineers are now looking at ways of adapting the design to make them more efficient.

The Aerogenerator has two arms jutting out from its base to form a V-shape, with rigid 'sails' mounted along their length. As the wind passes over these they act like aerofoils, generating lift which turns the structure as a whole at roughly three revolutions per minute.

The first Aerogenerator could be up and running by 2013.

full article

Solar panels ‘could raise £34m’ for places of worship

2010-07-25T16:52:00.000+01:00

Installing solar panels on British churches and other religious buildings could raise £34 million per year through Feed-in Tariff (FiT) payments and electricity bill savings, according to figures released by British Gas.

According to data based on the company's Green Streets programme, published this week (July 12), the renewable technology could generate more than £29 million-a-year for places of worship through FiTs and save nearly £5 million a year by not having to buy electricity.

The Feed-in Tariff scheme was launched in April this year and provides fixed, technology-dependent payments to individuals, organisations and businesses who install renewable electricity generators for every unit of electricity they produce (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story). Under the scheme, solar photovoltaic (PV) tariffs peak at 41.3p/kWh - the highest available tariff.

The British Gas Green Streets programme - which provides £2 million to fund microgeneration and energy efficiency measures to help 14 communities around the UK save and generate energy - has both a church and a mosque involved in the project and the figures revealed here are based on real life examples of the potential savings of these buildings. These were then extrapolated to take account of the number of churches and mosques in the UK and their average congregation.

British Gas notes that the savings and money-making potential identified will be "a welcome revelation" to religious buildings which have been hit by the recession, claiming a recent report found that a quarter of all Church of England dioceses are currently facing budget deficits.

The figures also show that the CO2 savings of installing solar panels could also be significant, with savings of up to 42,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
full article

Air Source Heat Pump Slashes Heating Bills

2010-07-18T18:08:00.004+01:00

The Pearce family, of Enstone, near Chipping Norton, took a £950 holiday paid for with savings made on their energy bills after having a new energy-saving air pump system installed.

The environmentally-friendly device uses naturally occuring heat from the air to warm the home and provide hot water.

The equipment, called an air source heat pump, has dramatically lowered the cost of heating the family’s three-bedroom home and meant Mark and Hayley Pearce could repay their outstanding electricity bills.
Two years ago, the Cottsway Housing Association tenants had accumulated a £1,000 bill with Southern Electric.

The couple then had the new heating system installed by Cottsway to replace the old electric storage heaters and solid fuel open fire in the lounge.

Before the new heating system, they spent £1,137 a year on electricity bills and solid fuel.

The house is not on the gas network and the storage heaters and coal fire gave it a carbon footprint of nine tonnes of CO2 a year.

Costs are now down to £384 for the heating and the carbon footprint has dropped to 3.2 tonnes.

The housing association has installed air source heat pumps to replace storage and convector heaters and solid fuel fires in some of its houses.

Cottsway spokesman Gary Salter said: “We knew we would see a cut in fuel bills for our tenants but this has even surprised us.”

The ‘Ecodan’ air source heat pump operates on a small amount of electricity. It works effectively in temperatures below -15C.

Thousands of homes in Scandinavia have similar technology and it is being promoted and bought by UK energy suppliers.

Mr Salter added: “It’s very simple to install and operate, and will work with conventional radiators like those in most homes heated by gas central heating.

“We are delighted with the results from all of the Ecodan systems we have installed to date.”

full article

Worcester Energy Homes

2010-07-15T19:59:00.000+01:00

With everyone looking closely at fuel bills and doing their bit for the environment, this Worcester energy homes website from Worcester is here to help you see how real life Worcester installations are saving money and energy. See what the homeowners have to say about their installations and find out what other energy saving solutions are available to you.

The Worcester Energy Homes are real life examples of how condensing boilers, solar panels and heat pumps can reduce fuel bills and help the environment.

The website shows interviews with families who’ve improved their homes’ energy efficiency with Worcester products and easy to read summaries showing those savings.

The Energy Homes website also includes:

* Customer video testimonials
* Energy summaries for each home
* Videos of product installations
* A virtual tour of our flagship Energy Home
* Tips on saving energy in your home
full article

Grants for Solar Panels

2010-07-14T20:46:00.000+01:00

Grants for Solar Panels

The UK government has committed itself to reducing household C02 emissions and improving the energy efficiency of homes throughout the UK. Currently there are two schemes specifically targeted at getting more domestic use of solar panels, one for solar photovoltaic panels and the other for solar hot water systems.
Other Government Grants Available

As part of a government backed initiative to make houses more energy efficient you can get up to £3500 towards the cost of solar panels. The level of grant available to you depends on your circumstances as well as any previous grants awarded on the property. To be eligible for these grants an accredited installer must be used and they will help guide you through what you are entitled to.

Solar Photovoltaic Panels

Direct grants for the installation of Solar Photovoltaic Panels are no longer available but there are still grants available for improving a homes energy efficiency that can be used towards the cost of solar panels (See Below).

The direct grants have been replaced since April 2010 by the new government backed feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme with which you have the ability to earn back money by feeding unused electricity generated back into the national grid as well as earn money for the power that you actually use. Ofgem are administering this scheme and the electricity suppliers themselves are responsible for paying the reward back to the customers.

It is possible for a well sited solar PV installation to earn a tax free income of £700 as well as saving around £140 a year on the household electricity bill meaning that the system could pay for itself in less than half of its expected lifetime leaving you to reap the financial rewards as this scheme has been guaranteed by the UK Government for 25 years. Currently if your solar photovoltaic panels were installed by an accredited installer you can earn up to 44.3p p/kWh for the power you export to the national grid and up to 41.3p p/kWh for the electricity that you use.

Solar Hot Water Systems

A second scheme is currently in place for those looking to purchase a Solar Hot Water System where the government will give a grant of a maximum of £400 or 30% of the total vat-exclusive installed cost, whichever is the smaller cost. In reality the cost of a solar hot water system means that most will receive the £400 grant.

Is is planned that the current grant scheme to stop towards the end of 2010 (Once the allocated money has run out) and to be replaced with the new renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme which works on a similar basis to the FITs scheme. While the final figures are not currently available it is thought that a payment of around 18p p/kWh for the heat generated will be paid meaning that on top of the average saving in heating bills of £75 you will earn back around £350 per year. This gives a similar 'payback period' as you get with Solar photovoltaic systems.

full article

Making UK homes energy efficient would cost less than £3,000 per house

2010-07-14T20:34:00.000+01:00

The majority of the UK's least energy-efficient homes could be brought up to near-average green standards for less than £3,000, a new analysis claims today.

The Energy Saving Trust says the cost of upgrading such properties may be less than many consumers think, while also revealing that the numbers of energy-inefficient homes in both the private and rented sectors has decreased.

The Trust found that in 2008, the most recent year for which data is available, 17% of English homes were in the F and G bands – the lowest gradings on an energy performance certificate (EPC). Two years previously in 2006, 22% were in those bands.

But 84% of these homes could be brought into E band for £3,000 - typically by installing new loft and cavity wall insulation or a modern boiler. The average home in the UK is currently rated at D.

Older homes needing major modernisation, including an entire new central heating system, would need at least £5,000 to bring them into line. The Trust found that this group – deemed to be very energy-inefficient homes – are twice as common in the private rented sector as in the rest of stock.

The study found that the worst, G-rated homes can emit over 22 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year – and for each home it would be possible to save 14 tonnes of CO2 annually by upgrading them to an E rating. By comparison an average British home emits five tonnes of CO2.

David Weatherall, housing strategy manager for the Energy Saving Trust, said: "On the whole, our study is good news. Most F- and G-rated homes can be improved very cost-effectively, for less than £3,000. That's less than 2% of the sale price of the average UK home."

He continued: "With the abolition of Home Information Packs, and the new government committed to the green agenda, EPCs are going to enjoy a higher profile. For anyone about to sell their home with an old boiler or lacking full loft and cavity insulation, we'd strongly advise you not to take the risk of getting a very poor energy rating and potentially a lower sale price."

Friends of the Earth's climate campaigner Dave Timms said: "It's shocking that the very worst homes are twice as common in the private rented sector. The government must act urgently to ensure they are brought up to scratch. That means financial help and incentives to enable landlords to make improvements, and legislation so that rented homes are required to meet a minimum energy-efficiency standard by 2016."

A previous Energy Saving Trust survey suggested 70% of people would consider renegotiating the price of a property if they discovered it was inefficient.

The findings come just a day after a government advisory group warned that people in fuel poverty are being hardest hit by climate change policies - without seeing much benefit from efforts to reduce energy use. According to the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, energy bills have increased by 125% in the past six years, with the number of households in fuel poverty in England quadrupling as a result. Some 4.6m households in England now spend more than 10% of their income on heating their homes - the measure defines fuel poverty.

full article

Why You Should Convert Your Home To Solar Energy Homes

2010-07-11T15:52:00.000+01:00

Solar energy homes create clean, green and free energy. The sun's energy is a renewable source and sustainable. Solar panels absorb light from the sun, which is changed into electricity to power your house. The sun produces a free supply of limitless energy. The energy can also be saved for later use by means of a rechargeable battery.

Solar energy homes are economically-responsible

Solar energy houses not only offer a clean, renewable energy source they also offer economical savings. Imagine being able to put an end to power bills. In less than seven years, all the money you initially spent on building a solar panel framework, will be recouped. All the money you'd have had to give to the power company now belongs to you! So enjoy spending it on something more exciting than electricity. Create renewable energy houses and your electricity is effectively free.

Solar energy homes are easy to take care of

Not only do solar panels endure year after year, they require practically no maintenance. Solar panels noiselessly take in and transform energy. There are no moving parts that will need to be replaced. As your family grows you can add new solar panels to your home to increase the amount of sunshine they're able to take up.

Solar energy homes are lucrative

Not only do some governments encourage consumers to create energy efficient homes by offering tax rebates or grants, some electricity providers actually purchase surplus electricity generated by private houses.

What's the cost for solar energy homes?

The cost of having a commercial renewables company set up a solar panel system on your roof is beyond what most of us can find the money for. This is why power companies are undaunted by their superior competitor: renewable energies. Luckily, there are a number of Do-it-yourself kits that offer convenient instructions on how to build your own solar network.Check out more details about a DIY kit that can make your life a lot easier here:

full article

Calif. examines smart meters as component of energy future

2010-07-11T15:44:00.000+01:00

California has grand plans for saving energy, improving the electricity grid and cutting the number of power plants built in the state.

And many of those plans depend, at least in part, on the smart meter.

The advanced meter is a basic building block for the energy future that state officials are trying to create. The meter will change when and how people use electricity, proponents say.

It will pave the way for the widespread use of solar panels and electric cars as well as help reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

“It’s kind of baked into the state policy that smart meters need to be in place,” said Andrew Tang, senior director of demand-side management at Pacific Gas and Electric Co. The utility, California’s largest, is installing the meters on every home and business it serves.

But the accuracy of smart meters — in particular, the ones used by PG and E — has been called into question.

Angry homeowners have complained that their utility bills soared after the new meters were installed.
Unlike old gas and electric meters, smart meters transmit data to the utility via wireless communication, eliminating the need for meter readers. The utility can also send instructions to the meter — for example, telling the meter to turn a home’s power on or off. The meters can also measure energy use by the hour or at even shorter intervals, giving customers detailed information about their energy use patterns.

Therein lies their appeal. State officials charged with meeting California’s future energy needs try to avoid building power plants whenever possible, to save money, cut pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One way to do that is to cut the amount of electricity the state uses during peak hours, typically in the mid- to late afternoon when air conditioners are cranking.

full article

Feed-in tariffs offer a valuable income

2010-07-09T20:54:00.000+01:00

TENS of thousands of pounds additional annual income is there for the taking by rural estates and farms.

That is, if they take advantage of the new renewable energy feed-in tariff scheme says Knight Frank.

The company’s renewable energy team has undertaken an analysis contained in its latest publication, The Rural Report.

The firm created a hypothetical “renewable energy” estate that utilises all the main forms of renewable energy - solar, wind, hydro and anaerobic digestion. It then calculated how much income could be derived from each using feed-in tariffs.

Assuming all the electricity produced was exported to the National Grid, two wind turbines created an annual income of £300,000, an anaerobic digester created an extra £460,000 per year while a modest hydroelectric scheme added £190,000.

“Feed-in tariffs were introduced in the dying days of the Labour government and were designed to encourage people to create their own renewable electricity.

An index-linked payment guaranteed for up to 25 years is made for each unit of electricity produced even if it used by the generator for their own consumption. The tariff varies depending on how the energy is being generated and the scale of the scheme,” says the report.

The smaller the scheme and the longer its potential payback, the larger the payment.

Head of Knight Frank’s renewables and energy department, Christopher Smith, said: “We have already seen a huge surge in enquiries from landowners looking to take advantage of feed-in tariffs.

“One of the attractive things about them is payments are guaranteed for up to 25 years, which means it is now easier to get bank funding to set up renewable energy projects.
The contribution from photovoltaic solar panels was a more modest £26,300 but the total income came to £916,000 per annum with a lifetime potential of £18.5m.

full article

Europe’s renewable electricity generation nearly hits 20%

2010-07-08T16:34:00.002+01:00

Last year, just shy of 20% of Europe’s total electricity consumption came from renewable sources, according to the latest figures from the European Commission
The findings, which indicate that renewables accounted for 62% of newly installed generation capacity in 2009, give grounds for “cautious optimism” says the JRC.

Overall, hydropower still makes up the single largest share at 11.6% of Europe’s total electricity consumption, followed by wind (4.2%), biomass (3.5%) and solar (0.4%).

But in newly installed capacity, wind (37.1%) and solar photovoltaics (21%) clearly lead the way, with biomass (2.1%), hydro (1.4%) and concentrated solar power (0.4%) trailing behind
If current growth rates continue, all renewables could meet up to 35-40% of total consumption in Europe by 2020, generating around 1400 TWh.

The UK plan highlights offshore wind and marine energy as key areas of development, along with support measures such as feed-in tariffs, renewable heat incentives and the Green Investment Bank to ensure the country meets its target of 15% renewables by 2020.

full article

Solar Electricity Feed In Tariff

2010-07-06T17:34:00.003+01:00

It’s midsummer, the number of daylight hours is at its zenith and Britain’s fledgling solar-electricity industry is at its peak production. There is now a generous tariff paid for solar electricity exported to the grid, so putting panels up on your roof represents an excellent return on investment — between 5 and 8 per cent, depending on how far north or south you live. No wonder money pages and finance websites are recommending home owners install these income-generating mini power stations. No wonder installers such as PV Solar are putting up 25 systems every week and have over a million pounds’ worth of orders.

With the promise of clean, green, free electricity and a guaranteed income from it for 25 years, what’s not to like? Quite a lot, actually, say some, who are critical of the Feed In Tariff (FiT) system. There is an increasingly polarised debate between those who say solar PV must play a vital part in our future renewable energy mix, and those who say it is a horrendously costly scheme that ultimately subsidises the middle classes to put income-generating panels on their roofs. The system pays home owners 41.3 pence per unit of PV electricity they produce, while most people pay, at the moment, between 9 and 13 pence per unit for what they buy from the grid. Where will this enormous shortfall be plugged? In higher electricity bills for those not fortunate enough to afford the £20,000 outlay it costs to put panels up, say critics, including George Monbiot, the green campaigner, and the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

full article