Scottish Scrappage Scheme closes to New Applicants

After only three days, new applications to Scotland's Boiler Scrappage Scheme have now closed, with all vouchers allocated. The Scheme opened for applications on Monday 24 May and closed on Thursday, by which time all 5,000 vouchers had been eagerly snapped up by Scottish homeowners and householders.

The Scottish Scheme which followed on from similar initiatives elsewhere in the UK, allowed eligible oil heating consumers to apply for a £400 voucher towards the cost of upgrading to a modern, high efficiency, 'A Rated' condensing oil boiler. According to the Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC), those oil heating consumers making the switch could typically expect to reduce their heating costs by about a quarter, saving up to £190 a year on fuel bills.

The Scheme was administered in Scotland by the Energy Saving Trust and vouchers already issued, will be processed. Despite the closure of the Scheme to new applicants, other Energy Saving Schemes remain available or Scottish consumers - such as the Energy Assistance Package.

Following the closure of the Scottish Scheme to new applicants, Northern Ireland is now the only part of the UK not to introduce a Boiler Scrappage Scheme. The failure of the Northern Ireland Executive to introduce a Scheme, follws the refusal of the province's Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie, to introduce a similar Scheme earlier this year.

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challenges for electric cars

A timely report by the Royal Academy of Engineering lays out the reality of turning some of Britain's 30 million cars electric in coming decades. The conclusion? The challenges are do-able but also pretty daunting.
So, getting started in first: can the batteries ever be made cheaply enough to tempt consumers? If they're big enough to get you a reasonable distance, they may add thousands to the price and potential consumers may think twice.

And how long will the batteries last? It depends on the type but typically they should be good for at least 1,000 charges which should give you at least three years' use.
Second gear, charging-up: some 4,000 charging points are due to be installed in pilot schemes in the North-east, Milton Keynes and London this year.
Third gear, charging at your destination: what happens if thousands of electric car drivers descend on one spot - a football match, for example - and all want charging in the car park at the same time? Who pays for that infrastructure and who'll organise it?
Fourth gear, the bills: at the moment, electric car ownership is encouraged with tax breaks. Right now, this doesn't cost the government much in lost revenue. But what if half the country's cars are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty? How would the Treasury react then? The authors say a long-term policy on incentives is essential.

At current prices, a full charge for a typical electric car might cost about £2 - drawing enough power to drive about 161km (100 miles). Not bad compared to conventional fuel.

Finally, fifth gear, the carbon value: plug-in cars will only be as green as the electricity they're using. According to the report, electric cars powered by the current mix of sources are only "marginally greener" than the most economical petrol or diesel cars.

In an earlier report, the Royal Academy of Engineering had mapped out the scale of the task involved in moving to a low-carbon electricity supply - with a mix of energy efficiency, renewables, nuclear and clean coal. This new report adds urgency to the calls for decisions as soon as possible.

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The house of straw

A team of builders have created a straw house that can withstand any amount of huffing and puffing - and a hurricane.

The environmentally-friendly house was built with straw bale panels and could pave the way for the first housing estate of straw buildings.

Professor Pete Walker said: 'Straw is a very environmentally-friendly building material because it is renewable and uses a co-product of farming.

'The crop used to make the straw locks in carbon dioxide as it grows and can be sourced from local farms, saving on transport and minimising the carbon footprint of the building.

'The recent test result is excellent as it has both confirmed the robustness of BaleHaus and validated the computer model, so avoiding the need for further tests and providing basis for safe and efficient structural design.

'We hope the data we're collecting on the BaleHaus will help strengthen the case for the mainstream building industry switching to using more sustainable building materials such as straw.'

Craig White, director of ModCell, said: 'This is a fantastic result. All too often, we are asked whether building with straw is durable.

'Our research at BaleHaus@Bath shows conclusively that building with straw using the ModCell System is not only safe, secure and durable, it is also fit for the 21st century challenge of reducing our CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

'These tests will offer proof that renewable building materials are a realistic option for building on a large scale.

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Radio 'scrappage' scheme 'to help listeners move to digital sets'

The part-exchange deal, involving major electronic retailers, is intended to boost the take-up of digital radios ahead of 2015, which is the target date for turning off the analogue signal.

Under the scheme, which will be detailed on Wednesday, customers would be offered up to a 20 per cent discount on their digital set in return for handing in their analogue model.

The scrappage scheme, due to start at the weekend and operated over the coming month, is inspired by the success of Gordon Brown's plan for reviving the British car manufacturing sector.

People trading in their old vehicles for greener models were offered a £2,000 discount, leading to thousands of extra sales.

Digital Radio UK, the body established to push through the switchover, is to announce details of the latest scheme.

“Retailers benefit by getting more sales. There is also a charity element,” a source said.


At present just 20 per cent of radio listening takes place over digital with an estimated 100 million analogue radio sets still in Britain.
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