Energy Efficiency

RE:NEW reaches Norbury and Upper Norwood

3 October 2011: The RE:NEW Home Energy Efficiency scheme is now operating in Norbury and Upper Norwood, where residents can arrange a free visit to receive energy efficiency advice from a home energy expert.  Further information can be found on the following news release as well as by calling Croydon RE:NEW  on 0800 652 7206.

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Further Details on the Roll out of CESP in London

28 September 2011: Ofgem’s recent Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) Update newsletter provided only limited detail in relation to the progress energy companies are making in rolling out efficiency measures in areas of low income, a key requirement of the CESP targets. CESP, which is funded by an obligation on energy suppliers and electricity generators, is expected to deliver up to £350m of efficiency measures by December 2012, the programme’s termination date.

Ofgem have now provided Energy for London some additional information to help better understand the progress of CESP in the capital.

The Update newsletter mentioned that 9 CESP schemes have been proposed in London, out of a total of 201 proposed schemes across the UK.

  • Ofgem have now confirmed that, to date, only two London schemes have been approved, in Barking and Dagenham, and in Westminster, and a further 16 have been submitted, awaiting approval.

The Update newsletter highlighted that 1047 energy efficiency measures were installed in 751 dwellings. Ofgem have provided to Energy for London a breakdown of theses 1047 energy efficiency measures as at 30 June 2011:

  • Cavity wall insulation – 198
  • External solid wall insulation – 342
  • Glazing – 18
  • Replacement boiler – 78
  • Heating controls – 197
  • Fuel switch – 119
  • Solar PV – 95
  • Total – 1047

DECC’s ‘Areas of Low Income’ document sets out that a total of 795 areas are  identified as qualifying areas for CESP out of a total of 3248 in England: that is 25 per cent of the eligible areas for the programme in England are in London.

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Evaluation of Hackney Carbon Emissions Reduction Pilot

September 2011: Over fourteen months in 2010 and 2011 the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) Research Team, in partnership with Blooming Green and Dr Joanne Wade, carried out an rolling evaluation of a pilot project aiming to promote energy use and carbon reductions in the housing stock in the Hackney Downs ward. The project was commissioned by the Sustainable Environment Group of Hackney’s Local Strategic Partnership. The evaluation report brings together the lessons from all stages of the project evaluation and sets this learning in the context of the future landscape that Hackney partners will face when continuing with work to reduce energy use in the future. 

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Green Doctor service in Hillingdon

September 2011: As part of the London-wide RE:NEW scheme, Green Doctors™ from Groundwork Thames Valley will be visiting 1,600 homes across Hillingdon to advise residents on how they can be more efficient with energy. A survey of the property will be carried to find out what energy saving devices can be installed which can help save households up to £160. Further information from Hillingdon here.
Further information on the Green Doctor programme is available in a recent progress report for the Ebico Trust.

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Latest funding details on RE:NEW and RE:CONNECT

8 September 2011: Details have just been released by the GLA of the funding to two key Mayoral low carbon activities, RE:NEW (improving the energy efficiency of homes) and RE:CONNECT (supporting the roll out of 10 Low Carbon Zones in London). Also recently released are details of the ODA funding to the GLA to roll-out  retrofit projects RE:NEW and RE:FIT across the Olympic boroughs. This is to compensate for shortfall in CO2 emissions as a result of the key renewable feature of the Olympics – a wind turbine – failing to go ahead. The ODA are hence allowing funding of £1.7m to retrofit homes and schools within the host boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest. The primary objective of the project is to deliver 1,300 tonnes of CO2 savings per annum through energy efficiency measures persisting for a lifetime of 10 years.

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CESP Update for London

7 September 2011Ofgem’s half yearly update (to the end of June 2011) on energy companies progress against their targets under the Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP) has just been published. However, the results provided in the update only refer to the 201 UK-wide ‘proposed‘ schemes, as opposed to the schemes actually ‘approved’ by Ofgem. With reference to London, the CESP update reports that 15 schemes have been proposed. In terms of actual measures delivered, London schemes in operation (an unknown number), have installed 1047 measures in 751 dwellings. The CESP Annual Report published earlier this year noted the slow progress of the programme to date: the update goes on to highlight the difficulties in getting schemes of the ground as even if all of those proposals put forward by energy companies to Ofgem for approval came to fruition,they would only represent around 50% of the CESP target, with only just a year left of the programme to go.

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New Low Cost Loans to fund retrofitting of London’s buildings

2 September 2011: The Mayor announced today that “Hundreds of public buildings in London including schools, libraries and hospitals are set to get a green makeover, with low cost loans from a new £100 million fund”. The Mayor has agreed a £50 million contribution from the London Green Fund to set up the new London Energy Efficiency Fund (LEEF). LEEF will be led by Amber Infrastructure Limited and the press release states that “Amber has already expanded the fund’s value with upfront commitments for £50 million from RBS and the company is expected to leverage in further amounts over the life of the project.”

Further information provided at www.leef.co.uk sets out that eligible projects will aim to deliver:

  • Energy Savings Ratio of at least 20% compared to conditions prior to investment
  • Each £1500 LEEF Investment should achieve a reduction of at least one tonne CO2; and that
  • The pricing of LEEF’s loans will be “dependent on the credit rating of the borrowing entity and the amount and level of security provided; the aim is to be able to structure the transaction so that a highly competitive rate can be offered.”

A list of eligible technologies that qualify for funding are also set out there. A brochure posted at the LEEF website also makes some interesting comparisons to how the fund will operate in comparison to the existing funding made available to public sector organisations through the Carbon Trust’s Salix programme. Further information on RE:FIT can be found here.

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Visit a London Superhome!

August 2011: The Sustainable Energy Academy’s Superhome initiative seeks to establish “a network of exemplar, old dwellings which have undergone an energy-efficiency retrofit and are local and publicly accessible, within 15 minutes, to nearly everyone in the country”. A number of these highly energy efficient  Superhomes can be visited during London’s Open House Weekend on 17 and 18 September 2011 including:

Many of the homes have managed to achieve CO2 reductions of 60%+ using a variety of measures ranging from draught proofing, triple glazing and high levels of insulation (external and internal wall insulation, flooring insulation and flat roof insulation) to LED lighting, sun pipes,  PV, solar thermal, micro wind turbines and also wood burning stoves. Find out more by visiting these Superhomes.  The links above provide details of how to book a tour.

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Camden to build UK’s largest PassivHaus scheme

18 August 2011: The  53 home development based in Highgate will be the UK’s largest residential scheme so far to meet the PassivHaus standard, and will utilise  a combination of super insulation to reduce heat loss in walls, roof and floor, and high levels of air tightness. Read the full story at build.co.uk.

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Wimbledon Low Carbon Workplace

August 2011: Architects have commenced planning consultation with Merton to create 25,000 sqft of contemporary office in Wimbledon, delivered as part the Low Carbon Workplace partnership. The partnership acquires buildings and updates them to provide modern, financially competitive and energy efficient offices and also works with occupiers, providing support to minimise their carbon emissions and to achieve the Carbon Trust’s Low Carbon Workplace Standard.

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Mayor’s home energy programme slashed by three quarters

August 2011: News release from London Assembly Member Murad Qureshi responding to the Mayor’s RE:NEW programme announcement which states:
“In 2009 the mayor promised his programme would treat 200,000 homes with easy energy efficiency measures like low energy lightbulbs, and offer advice and support for more complex things like roof insulation, but the new target is just 55,000 homes – or a mere 1.7% of London’s 3.3 million homes.” Full news release here.

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Mayor Announces next phase of RE:NEW

4 August 2011: The Mayor has today announced the next phase of the RE:NEW home energy efficiency programme.  The scheme is to be provided to 55,000 homes in specific areas across the capital between now and May 2012 with homes in parts of Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Lewisham and Waltham Forest being the first to receive this benefit.

To find out if your home might be within an area, check the files attached below to search for your street name. If your street is on the list you can make a booking online or by calling 0800 978 8332.

Further information on the roll-out of RE:NEW across London is here.
Key points from the press release are as follows:

  • RE:NEW is funded by the Mayor and all 32 London boroughs have signed as partners in the scheme, which is being delivered in partnership with London Councils and the Energy Saving Trust. Barking & Dagenham, Hackney and Waltham Forest, with appointed contractor, London Warm Zone, and Lewisham with appointed contractor, Osborne Energy, are the first to roll out RE:NEW. The focus in these areas will be on providing energy monitors and stand by switches.
  • The RE:NEW offer involves a full home energy survey carried out by a qualified home energy advisor, which takes roughly 90 minutes to do. Residents will then get a tailor-made energy saving report once the visit is complete and have a range of free energy saving measures installed.
  • At the same time as improving energy efficiency, RE:NEW aims to reduce fuel poverty in London and each household will be offered a benefits check to ensure residents are claiming all of the benefits and grants they are entitled to.
  • RE:NEW is not an ‘on-demand’ service and is being delivered on an area by area basis because trials showed this approach resulted in more cost-effective and higher take up, helping to ensure that the city’s ambitious targets can be met. It has been designed to be as easy as possible for residents.
  • The aim is to attain the funding to expand the programme to 200,000 homes by the end of 2012 and 1.2 million homes by 2015. This will be subject to additional funding being secured principally through the Government’s ‘Green Deal’.
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