Conservatives
Emissions: The Conservatives say that they want to achieve a reduction in CO2 of at least 60% by 2050, but unlike the government they say they would have annual targets for the cuts, set and monitored by an independent climate change commission.
Liberal Democrats
Emissions: The party's current long-term target is a 60% reduction from 1990 levels by 2050 - the same as Labour's - and the Lib Dems also share the government's target of a 20% cut in CO2 emissions by 2010.
But a proposed policy to make Britain carbon-neutral by 2050 will be discussed at the Lib Dem conference next week.
The Lib Dems back a policy of "contraction and convergence" which would set up a global framework to cap CO2 emissions at a per-person level which is the same for all countries.
Labour
Emissions: The draft climate change bill, published in March, set down a target to reduce CO2 emissions by 60% on 1990 levels by 2050, and an interim target of a 26%-32% reduction by 2020. There is no annual emissions target. Instead, the government has committed to setting five-year "carbon budgets" and reporting to parliament on its progress every year. Initially budgets will be set for 2008-12, 2013-17 and 2018-22, but in future they will be set 15 years in advance.
full article
Thursday 13 September 2007
Wednesday 12 September 2007
Developing the UK’s zero-carbon homes
The reaction from property developers to the low carbon homes promise has varied. Barratt Homes has come up with small experimental “eco-villages”. Other developers, such as Bovis, have taken things a step further by implementing low-carbon technology in all their new housing developments.
The zero option
Zero-carbon houses are hard to come by, but there are a few developers taking the initiative. Independent sustainability consultants BioRegional Development aim to make zero-carbon housing and sustainable living an easy and viable option for future homebuyers.
BioRegional, together with London charitable housing trust Peabody and eco-architect company Bill Dunster Architects (also known as ZEDfactory), initiated the UK’s largest eco-village in 2002.
The Beddington Zero Energy Development – or BedZED – is a mixed-use development in south London, comprising 82 residential properties and 100 workspaces and community facilities. All are intended to be carbon neutral.
BedZED homes feature high levels of insulation, passive heating and ventilation systems, photovoltaic panels (which generate electricity from the sun) and design utilising as much natural lighting as possible.
An on-site combined heat and power plant – which uses wood waste from street tree pruning as its energy source – was built to supply the remaining heat and power needed in the homes. BedZED houses are, however, connected to the national grid in order to manage fluctuations in energy generation.
Extra cost
BioRegional claims that the cost of building an eco-home, such as those in BedZED, is around 2% more than properties developed in accordance with 2002 building regulations. But the company’s research shows, it says, that the higher price does not deter homebuyers, primarily because their new eco-home will save them up to £500 a year in fuel bills.
As a prototype for zero carbon homes in the UK, BedZED is not without its problems. A major downfall has been the on-site combined heat and power plant, which stopped functioning over a year ago, meaning that the houses in BedZED no longer qualify as zero-carbon.
BioRegional claims, however, that even without the power plant in operation there is still a 57% reduction in BedZED’s carbon emissions.
A report by BioRegional admits that generating all energy on-site is not always a feasible option. This may be due to the limited space of a development (such as high-rise flats), or because the local renewable energy supply is not accessible from all parts of the site. Using off-site energy generation in these cases, the company claims, would make resources more easily accessible and thus more effective.
Retrofitting
If – or perhaps, when – new houses become zero carbon, that still leaves a vast number of existing properties that will continue to leave a large carbon footprint.
Current housing stock is predicted to make up to two-thirds of the homes that will be occupied in 2050, according to researchers at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute. If the UK is to significantly reduce carbon emissions from housing in the next few decades then it seems the focus will have to be on retrofitting existing homes with better insulation and renewable power sources.
Tough target
With very few fully functioning zero-carbon houses in the UK at the moment, the government’s objective for zero carbon homes to be mainstream by 2016 seems a long way off.
BioRegional agrees that 2016 is a “stretching target” but says it is nonetheless possible. “When more renewable energy systems are installed … the costs should come down,” the company says, making eco-newbuilds a more viable option.
But as newly built homes comprise just 1% of UK housing stock each year, the government will need to tackle the carbon impact of existing homes.
Retrofitting presents huge opportunities. British Gas, for example, have already teamed up with local government to offer council tax incentives to homeowners in exchange for buying insulation.
To make any home zero-carbon – and not just low-carbon – however, accessibility to significant renewable energy sources will also be required. Not only will the government have to improve the economic incentives for householders to install domestic renewables. Utility companies, it seems, will also need to become more engaged if any zero-carbon scheme is to ultimately be viable.
Facts: Zero carbon housing in the UK: what’s being done
BioRegional Development Group: A registered charity and sustainability consultancy, BioRegional works on various projects that are aimed to make sustainable living in the UK a reality. BioRegional has formed a strategic partnership with WWF under the name One Planet Living. BioRegional co-founded BedZED, the UK’s largest zero-carbon development to date.
BioRegional Quintain: A company currently working on the development of large-scale mixed-use zero-carbon communities in Middlesbrough, Brighton and London’s Thames Gateway.
Barratt Homes: A major UK builder, the company has developed the EcoSmart Show Village, an experimental low-carbon housing development comprising seven residential properties. Horthram Village, a low-carbon housing development located just outside Bristol, will be the live result of EcoSmar
full article
The zero option
Zero-carbon houses are hard to come by, but there are a few developers taking the initiative. Independent sustainability consultants BioRegional Development aim to make zero-carbon housing and sustainable living an easy and viable option for future homebuyers.
BioRegional, together with London charitable housing trust Peabody and eco-architect company Bill Dunster Architects (also known as ZEDfactory), initiated the UK’s largest eco-village in 2002.
The Beddington Zero Energy Development – or BedZED – is a mixed-use development in south London, comprising 82 residential properties and 100 workspaces and community facilities. All are intended to be carbon neutral.
BedZED homes feature high levels of insulation, passive heating and ventilation systems, photovoltaic panels (which generate electricity from the sun) and design utilising as much natural lighting as possible.
An on-site combined heat and power plant – which uses wood waste from street tree pruning as its energy source – was built to supply the remaining heat and power needed in the homes. BedZED houses are, however, connected to the national grid in order to manage fluctuations in energy generation.
Extra cost
BioRegional claims that the cost of building an eco-home, such as those in BedZED, is around 2% more than properties developed in accordance with 2002 building regulations. But the company’s research shows, it says, that the higher price does not deter homebuyers, primarily because their new eco-home will save them up to £500 a year in fuel bills.
As a prototype for zero carbon homes in the UK, BedZED is not without its problems. A major downfall has been the on-site combined heat and power plant, which stopped functioning over a year ago, meaning that the houses in BedZED no longer qualify as zero-carbon.
BioRegional claims, however, that even without the power plant in operation there is still a 57% reduction in BedZED’s carbon emissions.
A report by BioRegional admits that generating all energy on-site is not always a feasible option. This may be due to the limited space of a development (such as high-rise flats), or because the local renewable energy supply is not accessible from all parts of the site. Using off-site energy generation in these cases, the company claims, would make resources more easily accessible and thus more effective.
Retrofitting
If – or perhaps, when – new houses become zero carbon, that still leaves a vast number of existing properties that will continue to leave a large carbon footprint.
Current housing stock is predicted to make up to two-thirds of the homes that will be occupied in 2050, according to researchers at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute. If the UK is to significantly reduce carbon emissions from housing in the next few decades then it seems the focus will have to be on retrofitting existing homes with better insulation and renewable power sources.
Tough target
With very few fully functioning zero-carbon houses in the UK at the moment, the government’s objective for zero carbon homes to be mainstream by 2016 seems a long way off.
BioRegional agrees that 2016 is a “stretching target” but says it is nonetheless possible. “When more renewable energy systems are installed … the costs should come down,” the company says, making eco-newbuilds a more viable option.
But as newly built homes comprise just 1% of UK housing stock each year, the government will need to tackle the carbon impact of existing homes.
Retrofitting presents huge opportunities. British Gas, for example, have already teamed up with local government to offer council tax incentives to homeowners in exchange for buying insulation.
To make any home zero-carbon – and not just low-carbon – however, accessibility to significant renewable energy sources will also be required. Not only will the government have to improve the economic incentives for householders to install domestic renewables. Utility companies, it seems, will also need to become more engaged if any zero-carbon scheme is to ultimately be viable.
Facts: Zero carbon housing in the UK: what’s being done
BioRegional Development Group: A registered charity and sustainability consultancy, BioRegional works on various projects that are aimed to make sustainable living in the UK a reality. BioRegional has formed a strategic partnership with WWF under the name One Planet Living. BioRegional co-founded BedZED, the UK’s largest zero-carbon development to date.
BioRegional Quintain: A company currently working on the development of large-scale mixed-use zero-carbon communities in Middlesbrough, Brighton and London’s Thames Gateway.
Barratt Homes: A major UK builder, the company has developed the EcoSmart Show Village, an experimental low-carbon housing development comprising seven residential properties. Horthram Village, a low-carbon housing development located just outside Bristol, will be the live result of EcoSmar
full article
Eco-motoring 'to help save planet
Is it possible to save the planet by sticking to the speed limit? The government's transport advisors think so.
The Commission for Integrated Transport argues that emissions from cars and lorries still outweigh by some way those from air travel, though aviation is growing as a source of carbon dioxide.
One remedy, the authors conclude in a report published on Wednesday, is for us drivers to have state-sponsored lessons in eco-motoring, an idea that would cost the government little but benefit the planet a lot.
The theory is that the way you drive can be as important as what you drive, and how much you drive it.
Research suggests turning on the air conditioning uses 10% more fuel, therefore producing CO2.
Unfortunately keeping cool by lowering your car windows also increases fuel consumption, as does keeping the roof rack on after that family holiday.
Most of all, driving smoothly is the key to an environmentally-friendly motoring life.
Gentle on the accelerator, thinking ahead, judging the distance to the lights, and stopping without a jolt.
full article
The Commission for Integrated Transport argues that emissions from cars and lorries still outweigh by some way those from air travel, though aviation is growing as a source of carbon dioxide.
One remedy, the authors conclude in a report published on Wednesday, is for us drivers to have state-sponsored lessons in eco-motoring, an idea that would cost the government little but benefit the planet a lot.
The theory is that the way you drive can be as important as what you drive, and how much you drive it.
Research suggests turning on the air conditioning uses 10% more fuel, therefore producing CO2.
Unfortunately keeping cool by lowering your car windows also increases fuel consumption, as does keeping the roof rack on after that family holiday.
Most of all, driving smoothly is the key to an environmentally-friendly motoring life.
Gentle on the accelerator, thinking ahead, judging the distance to the lights, and stopping without a jolt.
full article
Hydrogen-Based Power Offers Green Alternative for Homes
In a development that marks another step towards the vision of a sustainable, clean future for home power generation, UK company ITM Power has announced the upcoming release of a device which can generate hydrogen in the home to fuel central heating boilers and cookers while drastically cutting CO2 emissions. Set to go into production next year, the ITM electrolyser is designed to utilize off-peak or renewable electricity sources to create its own hydrogen fuel which can then be stored and used as a conventional gas to burn in central heating boilers as well as a fuel for cooking.
Unlike gas and oil, when hydrogen burns it releases no CO2 emissions, merely water vapour, offering the opportunity to significantly cut Britain’s domestic carbon footprint. Stored hydrogen can also be reconverted to electricity using domestic fuel cells or generators to power lighting or other electrical appliances, removing the inconvenience of power cuts for homes and serious supply interruptions for hospitals, schools and businesses.
The system is aims to use a totally ‘green’ supply of electricity (available from wind, wave, solar or hydro-electric power) or alternatively, low cost off-peak electricity
This device depends upon an electrolyser stack of 10kW electrical input operating at pressures of 75 bar.
The company sees this as a major breakthrough in sustainable, non-polluting hydrogen technology and a major advance towards the UK Government’s goal of achieving a zero carbon new housing market by 2016. Currently domestic consumers account for over 20 per cent of the UK’s CO2 emissions.
Like the “Home Energy Station III” developed by Honda R&D and technology partner Plug Power, the ITM electrolyser system can be used to power a family car in addition to its use in the home. Later this year ITM Power plans to unveil a hydrogen home refuelling station for the automotive market and a converted bi-fuel petrol/hydrogen car based on the Ford Focus. The company aims to demonstrate that the car can be refuelled using hydrogen generated by a home electrolyser and can complete an average daily commuting journey without the need to utilize petrol.
“ITM Power is developing products which will not only revolutionize energy sources for the home but make a significant contribution to cutting CO2 emissions,” explained the company’s CEO Jim Heathcote.
“With stored hydrogen’s ability to provide not only fuel for heating and cooking but power, either through a conventional generator or a fuel cell, the prospect of energy self-sufficiency without the dependence on fossil fuels has moved dramatically closer,” he added.
full article
Unlike gas and oil, when hydrogen burns it releases no CO2 emissions, merely water vapour, offering the opportunity to significantly cut Britain’s domestic carbon footprint. Stored hydrogen can also be reconverted to electricity using domestic fuel cells or generators to power lighting or other electrical appliances, removing the inconvenience of power cuts for homes and serious supply interruptions for hospitals, schools and businesses.
The system is aims to use a totally ‘green’ supply of electricity (available from wind, wave, solar or hydro-electric power) or alternatively, low cost off-peak electricity
This device depends upon an electrolyser stack of 10kW electrical input operating at pressures of 75 bar.
The company sees this as a major breakthrough in sustainable, non-polluting hydrogen technology and a major advance towards the UK Government’s goal of achieving a zero carbon new housing market by 2016. Currently domestic consumers account for over 20 per cent of the UK’s CO2 emissions.
Like the “Home Energy Station III” developed by Honda R&D and technology partner Plug Power, the ITM electrolyser system can be used to power a family car in addition to its use in the home. Later this year ITM Power plans to unveil a hydrogen home refuelling station for the automotive market and a converted bi-fuel petrol/hydrogen car based on the Ford Focus. The company aims to demonstrate that the car can be refuelled using hydrogen generated by a home electrolyser and can complete an average daily commuting journey without the need to utilize petrol.
“ITM Power is developing products which will not only revolutionize energy sources for the home but make a significant contribution to cutting CO2 emissions,” explained the company’s CEO Jim Heathcote.
“With stored hydrogen’s ability to provide not only fuel for heating and cooking but power, either through a conventional generator or a fuel cell, the prospect of energy self-sufficiency without the dependence on fossil fuels has moved dramatically closer,” he added.
full article
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