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
Friday, 9 July 2010
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Europe’s renewable electricity generation nearly hits 20%
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
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
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Solar Electricity Feed In Tariff
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
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
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Free LED lamp replacement for life Free LED lamp replacement for life - news feed from the Electrical News Portal
As a broad national average, lighting makes up around 10 to 15 per cent of electricity bills. Two entrepreneurs have joined forces to launch a new super-energy-saving LED light bulb that is claimed to save money, save time and save the environment. The new lamps are 90 per cent more energy efficient than their halogen counterparts and outlive traditional halogens by 48,000 hours each. The LED light not only boasts energy saving value but also comes with a ‘for life’ certificate so consumers will only make the purchase once, with free replacement for life.
Founder of Gloucester company Epsilon Test Services, Mark Blanchfield, has joined local celebrity, Tim Bawtree, who shot to fame with his underground eco house in Channel Four’s Grand Designs. Together the directors have formed www.bulbs4life.com to supply the best in LED bulbs (or ‘lamps’ as they’re known in the trade), which they say perform as well as halogens but use just 3-5 watts of electricity to produce the same light output as a halogen lamp.
The ‘for life’ aspect of Bulbs4Life products is a scheme for replacement and refurbishment, run by the company. When consumers buy a lamp they will automatically receive a certificate that guarantees replacement for life, made possible by the quality of the lamps, say Bulbs4Life. Once their LED stops working they simply return it and receive an immediate free replacement; their lamp is refurbished and then reused. Businesses are offered a similar scheme where their lamps are refurbished at a minimal cost, with over 70 per cent of the components being recyclable.
An average household replacing ten halogen lights for Bulbs4Life LED equivalents could save £1700 and 5700kg of carbon savings over a ten year period. For businesses and organisations the savings are even greater, given their higher usage: An example organisation replacing 1000 halogen lamps for these LEDs would save 92 per cent on their energy bills*, cutting from £12,000 spent annually on electricity to power them to just £1,000; an impressive potential saving of £11,000. In this example, the money saving is enhanced by carbon output savings of 41 metric tons per year.
“Our LED lamps emit light of the same quality as halogen bulbs, they do not flicker and switch on instantly, so there is no compromise in performance when switching to LEDs,” explained Bulbs4Life director, Mark Blanchfield. “As our LED’s last so much longer they also reduce ongoing maintenance costs associated with replacement and more than 70 per cent of our lamps’ components can be recycled. Landfill impact can be greatly reduced by refurbishment and harmful chemicals such as mercury are completely avoided with our LED lamps.”
Bulbs4Life are on the Carbon Trust suppliers list, which offers interest-free loans to qualifying organisations that switch to its LED lamps. The cost of purchase is covered for any business with up to 250 employees and replacing 200 or more halogen lamps. According to Bulbs4Life payback is swift, given that loan repayments on the purchase price can be easily covered by financial savings on energy in just nine months, fitting well within the typical loan term of three to four years.
Commenting on the scale of the environmental potential, Tim Bawtree said, “Our hope is that consumers, companies and organisations will swap their electricity-thirsty halogens for energy saving LEDs and nationally this could go a long way to fulfilling the Government’s targets for CO2 savings (Carbon Emission Reduction Target or CERT). For example, if every home replaced just one bulb it would save 36 million tons of CO2 in a year; that’s 80 per cent of the Government target in 2010 met in just one step.”
Local Liberal Democrat MP and Shadow Environment Minister, Martin Horwood, is positive about the new lighting: “This is, literally, a brilliant product from a great local company. And it’s good for the environment too. I’ve done my best to support Bulbs4Life and I want to see one of Cheltenham’s green stars succeed. For customers it offers a clean, green conscience and big savings on the bottom line,” he said.
full article
Founder of Gloucester company Epsilon Test Services, Mark Blanchfield, has joined local celebrity, Tim Bawtree, who shot to fame with his underground eco house in Channel Four’s Grand Designs. Together the directors have formed www.bulbs4life.com to supply the best in LED bulbs (or ‘lamps’ as they’re known in the trade), which they say perform as well as halogens but use just 3-5 watts of electricity to produce the same light output as a halogen lamp.
The ‘for life’ aspect of Bulbs4Life products is a scheme for replacement and refurbishment, run by the company. When consumers buy a lamp they will automatically receive a certificate that guarantees replacement for life, made possible by the quality of the lamps, say Bulbs4Life. Once their LED stops working they simply return it and receive an immediate free replacement; their lamp is refurbished and then reused. Businesses are offered a similar scheme where their lamps are refurbished at a minimal cost, with over 70 per cent of the components being recyclable.
An average household replacing ten halogen lights for Bulbs4Life LED equivalents could save £1700 and 5700kg of carbon savings over a ten year period. For businesses and organisations the savings are even greater, given their higher usage: An example organisation replacing 1000 halogen lamps for these LEDs would save 92 per cent on their energy bills*, cutting from £12,000 spent annually on electricity to power them to just £1,000; an impressive potential saving of £11,000. In this example, the money saving is enhanced by carbon output savings of 41 metric tons per year.
“Our LED lamps emit light of the same quality as halogen bulbs, they do not flicker and switch on instantly, so there is no compromise in performance when switching to LEDs,” explained Bulbs4Life director, Mark Blanchfield. “As our LED’s last so much longer they also reduce ongoing maintenance costs associated with replacement and more than 70 per cent of our lamps’ components can be recycled. Landfill impact can be greatly reduced by refurbishment and harmful chemicals such as mercury are completely avoided with our LED lamps.”
Bulbs4Life are on the Carbon Trust suppliers list, which offers interest-free loans to qualifying organisations that switch to its LED lamps. The cost of purchase is covered for any business with up to 250 employees and replacing 200 or more halogen lamps. According to Bulbs4Life payback is swift, given that loan repayments on the purchase price can be easily covered by financial savings on energy in just nine months, fitting well within the typical loan term of three to four years.
Commenting on the scale of the environmental potential, Tim Bawtree said, “Our hope is that consumers, companies and organisations will swap their electricity-thirsty halogens for energy saving LEDs and nationally this could go a long way to fulfilling the Government’s targets for CO2 savings (Carbon Emission Reduction Target or CERT). For example, if every home replaced just one bulb it would save 36 million tons of CO2 in a year; that’s 80 per cent of the Government target in 2010 met in just one step.”
Local Liberal Democrat MP and Shadow Environment Minister, Martin Horwood, is positive about the new lighting: “This is, literally, a brilliant product from a great local company. And it’s good for the environment too. I’ve done my best to support Bulbs4Life and I want to see one of Cheltenham’s green stars succeed. For customers it offers a clean, green conscience and big savings on the bottom line,” he said.
full article
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