Clegg backs green energy and Green Deal

utility week - 21st September 2011

Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg voiced strong support for green energy and electricity market reform in his conference speech today.

He told delegates at the partys annual conference in Birmingham: "we have stood by our commitments to act on the environment."

Clegg added that while the "politically convenient thing would have been to put off to another day" the party was taking immediate action and reeled off a list of examples.

These included "ambitious carbon targets. Energy market reform. Councils generating renewable energy. A Green Deal to make bills lower and homes warmer. Carbon capture and storage. Green buses, trains and trams. The worlds first ever green investment bank".

Clegg claimed these were "green achievements from a green part of the government".

West Mids takes leading role in Green Deal projects

h&vnews.co.uk - 19th Sept 2011

The West Midlands looks set to lead a Green Deal revolution after Birmingham Energy Savers issued a tender notice for works, which they say could eventually be worth up to £1.5billion.

Birmingham City Council is to provide up to £75m for an initial pilot, the Pathfinder Programme, with a further £25m expected via investment through the energy company obligation under which energy suppliers are asked to support hard to treat and vulnerable households.

Chief among the delivery partners obligations will be to engage customers, assess properties and secure finance and manage loans. The partner will be expected to keep a database of installation data.

The Pathfinder Programme is set to last around three years with the last property refurbished in autumn 2015 and BCC's investment repaid under the Green Deal, feed in tariffs, the Renewable Heat Incentive and other incentives over a 25 year period.

Government 'should provide energy performance clarification'

Taylor Vinters - 16th Sept 2011

The government has been urged to provide clarity regarding expected energy performance for rented property across the UK.

Richard Jones, policy director at the Residential Landlords Association, said more information is required to ensure landlords are upgrading their properties that are currently the least compliant with energy targets, with the rating system for Energy Performance Certificate needing clarification for many.

He commented "The government wants to see voluntary compliance, but the one thing that puts landlords off voluntary compliance and getting on with it is the uncertainty about the standards that they will need to meet."

According to research by the national landlords association, 24 per cent of the UK landlords say they will definitely make use of incentives set out in the governments green deal to boost the efficiency of their properties.

Further more, 38 per cent claimed they would consider in, with just 17 per cent saying the scheme has no appeal.

Building sector keen to go green

businessgreen.co.uk - Sept 2011

A major new survey has revealed the vast majority of construction firms understand the need for sustainability but have failed to take basic steps to improve their environmental performance, prompting fresh calls for the government to cut taxes for energy efficient buildings.

Ninety one per cent of construction businesses believe that sustainability will be core to their businesses over the next five to ten years, according to a new survey of more than 100 leading building products firms published today by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the Contruction Products Association.

CPA and PwC said they hoped the survey would open a debate on the challenges facing the sector as it attempts to improve its environmental performance and how effective policies can help encourage efficient construction.

Never been a better time to insulate your home

Energy Saving Trust - 24th June 2011

With rising energy bills, there has never been a better time to improve home insulation, claims Bev Coombe, membership and communications manager for the National Insulation Association.

Highlighting the benefits of installing insulation, she said: "Householders can save around £265 every year on their energy bills by having loft and cavity wall insulation installed.

"There is also the added benefit of living in a warmer, more comfortable home- which also has a reduced environmental impact."

Meanwhile, people moving home could find that insulation will improve a property's Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating, which all sellers must complete and show potential buyers the energy efficiency standard of a building.

Companies still failing to comply with Air Conditioning Inspection Legislation

eatoutmagazine.co.uk - 10th June 2011

All UK buildings with air conditioning systems that have a capacity of over 12kW should have been inspected for energy efficiency by 4 January 2011.

The Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association (HVCA) has received information from the Department for Communities and Local Government which indicates that many have not yet been inspected and building owners are breaking the law.

Apart from the potential penalties companies face they are almost certainly paying higher energy bills by failing to have their systems inspected by experts who can advise on efficiency improvements.
Under the regulations all air conditioning systems with a cooling capacity over 12kW must be inspected.

Rod Pettigrew, deputy chief executive of the HVCA, commented: "non-compliance has a real cost; it costs the environment, it will cost the UK and chance of meeting its emissions targets and it costs companies the opportunity to lower their costs - and in the difficult trading conditions being experienced by most bus in esse that must be sufficient incentive alone.

Its worth emphasizing that the inspection is not just a tick box excercise; it gives building owners and managers useful information about how their systems are running and how they could be improved both to reduce harmful carbon emissions and save them money on their energy bills."

UK proposes Fourth Carbon Budget

Department of Energy and Climate Change - 17th May 2011

A limit on the total amount of greenhouse gasses to be emitted by the UK between 2023 to 2027 has been proposed to cut Britain's emissions by 50% from 1990 levels and highlighting the Governments commitment to being the greenest ever government.

Today's proposal, set out by Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, is in line with the advice from the independent committee on Climate Change. It sets a fourth carbon budget of 1950 MtCO2e for the period that will span from 2023 to 2027, putting the UK on course to cut emissions by at least 80" by 2050. The carbon budget will place the British economy at the leading edge of a new global industrial transformation and ensure low carbon energy security and decarbonisation is achieved at least cost to the consumer.