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
Sunday 8 August 2010
Saturday 7 August 2010
Tesco starts selling £10,000 flat-pack homes
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
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
Wednesday 28 July 2010
Electric car subsidy worth up to £5,000
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
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
Monday 26 July 2010
Giant offshore turbine that mimics sycamore seeds
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
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