Minister unveils Green Deal advice plan for tenants and homeowners

24dasg.com - 31st January 2011

Junior housing minister Andrew Stunnell has outlined plans for a new scheme that will enable homeowners and tenants to receive tailored advice about how to make their homes greener and save money, delivered direct to their door.

Compnaies offering services to upgrade homes through the Government's Green Deal will be able to access information about the energy efficiency of properties that have an Energy Performance Certificate, and deliver tailored advice to individual homes. Proposals published last week set out how the system for accessing this information will work.

The Green Deal is the Government's new and radical way of making energy efficiency available to all, whether people own or rent their property. Green Dea providers will carry out work to upgrade properties so they become warmer and cheaper to run. Homeowners and tenats will have the opportunity to save money with all the costs to upgrade the property paid back from the savings on energy bills.

Green Bank 'could be in Edinburgh'

HeraldScotland - 13th January 2011

The UK's new Green Investment bank could be based in Edinburgh, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has told MSPs.

He said the city had a "very special advantage" because its financial institutions had a strong track record in lending to renewable energy companies.

But Mr Huhne warned Holyrood's Economy, Energy and Tourism committee that Edinburgh faced stiff competition from other financial centres.

The bank, anonounced by the UK Government last year, is being set up with £1 billion of public money to channel private sector funding, which it will raise in similar way to regular banks, into low carbon businesses.

Mr Huhne said: "One of the reasons that Edinburgh has a particular claim as the potential site for the GIB is precisely because of the substantial expertise that exists in Edinburgh on the energy financig side."

UK & Scotland sign up to low-carbon collaboration with China

energyefficiencynews.co.uk - 11th January 2011

UK Energy and Climate Secretary Chris Huhne yesterday pledged to work fomrally with china to promote low-carbon technologies.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Huhne and Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiangm who is on a four-day trade mission to the UK, to establish a UK-China Low Carbon Co-operation (LCC) initiative.

"[This] agreement demonstrates that the UK and China want to accelerate the shift to low carbon and are committed to greater collaboration on energy markets and low carbon technology," said Huhne yesterday.