News

12 November 2012: Details of a second project (see details of the first project here) being initiated by the GLA in relation to the forthcoming start of the Green Deal and ECO. The approval form sets out that “this project will share best practice and gain commitment at a senior level in London boroughs to implement solutions to overcome barriers to effective delivery of Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) in London. Barriers include planning permission for solid wall insulation and accessing borough data to target energy efficiency works.

The borough barriers that this project will seek to address include:

• Reducing or streamlining administrative requirements around accessing parking permits for energy efficiency installers
• Accessing housing and benefits data held by London boroughs and use this to target households eligible for energy efficiency measures (including addressing data protection issues)
• Ensuring that the planning system can respond to the delivery of external solid wall insulation and identifies criteria for assessing where external solid wall insulation is and is not appropriate
• Ensuring the delivery of appropriately designed energy efficiency works in communal areas of buildings.“

13 November 2012: The GLA have approved a project to procure consultants to “develop a pipeline of social housing for energy efficiency retrofitting works that can be funded by the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and London Green Fund.” The consultants will also make recommendations as to the role the GLA should play (and its partners) in developing projects that attract ECO and London Green Fund funding, and develop the business case for attracting energy efficiency funding into London ‘s social housing to 2015. The approval document sets out that “there are a number of funding streams in London that could be used to match and attract the ECO:

• London Green Fund – London Green Fund has £11m available for suitable social housing retrofit projects. The GLA is exploring how this funding could be expanded to £100m for retrofitting and new build. This funding could be used to retrofit social housing under the control of registered providers and attract ECO funding.
• Decent Homes – London has also received over £694 million of Decent Homes funding (over 50% of total Decent homes funding) from 2012-2015 for improving social housing. The programme of work under Decent Homes could be aligned with energy efficiency works under ECO to ‘match’ and attract ECO funding into London.
• Housing Revenue Accounts – HRA changes mean that some London boroughs have funding to improve their own stock. This could also be matched with ECO funding.”

A steering group for the project will be established. Its representation will ensure that the project can secure the buy-in from boroughs, ALMOs and Registered Providers, and will report into the RE:NEW sponsors board. The estimated cost of this contract is up to £50,000.

November 2012: This month’s Dept. of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) oral questions in the House of Commons included the following response from Secretary of State Ed Davey to a question from Southwark MP Simon Hughes:

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T4. [126066] Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD): Just over the bridge at the Elephant and Castle, a major regeneration scheme is under way. When the Liberal Democrats ran the council, we proposed that the scheme should have an energy centre whereby the community could generate its own energy as well as keep prices as low as possible. Will the Government commit to supporting such community initiatives, to make sure that we get the best deal in our communities, led by our communities?

Mr Davey: I could not agree more with my right hon. Friend, who has championed community energy for many years. As Secretary of State, I am determined that we promote even more ambitious polices. We will introduce a community energy strategy in the spring. We have already made a number of announcements to encourage community groups and democratic local authorities to support these types of schemes.

Proposals for the energy strategy for the Elephant and Castle regeneration plan have had a difficult time  over the past few years (some details of which can be found here) with the original plans for a multi-utility service company (MUSCo) now abandoned.  Outline planning permission has recently been submitted by developer Lend Lease to Southwark council for this major scheme – which comprises  between 2,300 and 2,462 residential units, along with new retail, business, leisure and community uses -and includes a revised energy strategy.

A new energy centre with a CHP plant on the site of the existing Heygate boiler house is now proposed with a site-wide heat network connecting all apartments and commercial units. The GLA’s planning report to the Mayor on the project states (para 112 onwards) that Lend Lease had investigated the potential to link the site-wide heat network to the proposed SELCHP district heating network, in Bermondsey. However this was found to be “unlikely to be viable in the near term.” The regeneration scheme will take time to develop and the GLA report sets out that Lend Lease  “is proposing the phased installation of combined heat and power (CHP) plant in line with the phasing of the development. This would begin with a 263 kWe gas fired CHP unit being switched on during 2019. This would then be followed by a 985 kWe gas fired CHP unit being switched on in 2021 as the lead heat source for the site heat network.”

An innovative approach being taken by Lend Lease in terms of using renewable energy,  is to work with biogas suppliers and offset emissions onsite through the use of biomethane injected into the national gas grid. Lend Lease says it will use the industry-led Green Gas Certification Scheme (GGCS) which tracks biomethane (also called ‘green gas’) through the supply chain to provide certainty for those that buy it.

Biomethane-injection is supported by DECC through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) who believe it to be a key technology in helping  increasing the amount of renewable heat generation in the UK. Further information on biomethane can be found on the following Ofgem factsheet here. Lend Lease’s outline planning application to Southwark (submitted in August) can be accessed here and the Energy Strategy for the development here. A decision on the application is set to be made by the end of this year.

October 2012: The Mayor has approved funding for the analysis of the “economic, energy system resilience and environmental potential of waste heat sources in London to identify local energy supply investment opportunities, inform Mayoral and national policy and support funding applications to the EU FP7 programme (£2 million) and the Technology Strategy Board (£25 million).”

The project – Analysis of the capacity and investment potential of waste heat sources in London to provide affordable energy to homes and businesses – will be undertaken from September 2012 to March 2013 and is expected to cost up to £110,000. The approval form sets out that the  “potential solutions to be analysed here – the quantum, location, ownership, engineering requirements, economic potential – are expected to identify specific project opportunities to demonstrate the practical potential to utilise this rejected heat and low carbon heat from grid electricity and will form the basis of funding applications for demonstration projects…Approval is sought to commission work to understand the energy saving and economic potential associated with these heat sources across London, to identify projects and to quantify economic,system resilience and environmental benefits.”

It’s also stated that the analysis will inform Government’s forthcoming Heat Strategy scheduled for release in March 2013.