News

Waltham Forest’s Solar Plan comes and goes…

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Admin

November 2011: Waltham Forest had reported earlier this month that  ‘Solar panels will be fitted on council buildings and more than 1,000 council homes’ but it’s now been announced that the ‘solar plan has been scrapped’ as a result of the Government’s proposed changes to the Feed in Tariff (FIT) rates.

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London smart meter trial launched

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Admin

18 November 2011: As part of the ‘Low Carbon London’ project, 5,000 smart meters are to be installed in homes and businesses across London.  EDF Energy customers in the pilot zones, Lewisham, Perry Vale, Canning Town, Archway, Barking, Muswell Hill and Peckham, are being offered the first 500 smart meters, extending to EDF Energy customers in the ten low carbon zones and the Green Enterprise District later next year. Read full details on the following press release from London’s electricity distribution network operator, UK Power Networks.

Further information on the ‘Low Carbon London’ project – which is funded through Ofgem’s Low Carbon Network Fund – can be seen here and here.

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DECC list of Energy Data Resources

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Admin

November 2011: DECC have just posted a “List of datasets that contain information on energy generation, transport, area wide emissions and buildings at UK and regional/local level”. This is an EXCELLENT and comprehensive list of links to energy data ranging from heat maps, decentralised energy plant, energy consumption data and lots of transport related statistics. A really valuable spreadsheet resource worth downloading. In case link doesn’t work in the future – the document can also be downloaded here.

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London Loses out on Renewable Heat Grants (Part 2)

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Admin

17 November 2011: DECC announced today “The 24 successful applicants [who] will receive up to £175,000 to install green heating systems such as biomass boilers, solar hot water panels and heat pumps in the homes of tenants. Successful bidders included projects across the whole of Great Britain…” except in London. This is because – as highlighted in a previous post – the Renewable Heat Premium Payments are directed to households not on the gas grid.

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‘Greentomatos plus chip-fat equals low carbon fleet’

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Admin

17 November 2011: BusinessGreen reports that “London taxicab firm greentomatocars has added 20 biofuel-powered cars to its 200 strong Prius fleet as the competition to become the capital’s greenest fleet heats up. The six Citroen C6 and 14 Citroen Combi Dispatch MPVs are fuelled by a 30 per cent blend of biodiesel refined from locally sourced waste vegetable oil and standard fuel.”. Read the full story here.

More on London’s use of used cooking oil for fuel here.

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Proposed Croydon Energy from Waste plant

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Admin

November 2011: The Croydon Guardian reports that “Viridor is being presented by the South London Waste Partnership (SLWP), as its preferred bidder for a controversial new waste management plant for Croydon, Merton, Kingston and Sutton…The facility could produce enough energy to power thousands of homes, processing more than 200,000 tonnes of waste a year from the four boroughs.”
Further information on Council’s discussions around the plant can be found here.
Details of the SLWP’s activities can be found here.

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‘How can local government become more climate conscious?’

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Admin

November 2011: Online discussion hosted by The Guardian considering opportunities for councils to develop their environmental projects.
A summary of some of the key themes is provided here.

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‘Camden’s environmental heroes recognised’

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Admin

16 November 2011: The Environmental Excellence in Camden Organisations Awards (EECO) highlight some interesting green projects being taken forward in the borough. Details of the winners and their projects provided here.

The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the  University of London was awarded the ‘Innovation in energy efficiency and carbon reduction’ award for a series of projects taken forward, further detail on which are provided here.

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Wesminster: Solar panel scheme suffers set back

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Admin

15 November 2011: Another potential London renewable casualty of the FIT cut: “Westminster Council’s housing provider CityWest Homes was days away from signing a deal worth £12 million to put solar panels up on 600 buildings by March 2012.” Read full story here in the Westminster Chronicle.

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Decentralised Energy project in West Drayton

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Admin

13 November 2011: A new development in West Drayton of 89 two, three, four and five bedroom houses will have heat supplied from a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit based in an onsite energy centre, currently under construction.  Each home will contain a Heat Interface Unit (HIU) to control heating and hot water, providing substantial benefits to residents in helping to reduce their energy bills and carbon footprint. Read further detail here.
When finalised the heat network, developed by E.ON,  will eventually stretch across 773 homes, an 80-bed care home, a medical centre and four retail units.

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Achieving borough-wide community involvement to reduce carbon emissions in Haringey

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Admin

November 2011: Haringey are organising two workshops providing an opportunity for residents to input into an Action Plan for the borough to reduce carbon emissions in Haringey by 40% by 2020. These are to be held at the Civic Centre (Council Chamber) on the 15 November between 4pm – 7pm.

Further information is posted here. Views by emailing haringey4020@haringey.gov.uk before 25 November 2011.

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Greenwich Peninsula Decentralised Energy Project Update

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Admin

November 2011: Greenwich Council has issued a tender for services in relation to the construction of a district heating network across this major London redevelopment site. The tender states that “The Greenwich Penninsula Project is a major regeneration scheme involving 67 development plots. As part of this development and in support of low carbon initiatives a district heating system will be installed to provide heating and hot water to the development utilising low carbon energy technology. The scope of this enquiry is for the architecturl design of the buildings to house all the equipment including Biomass Boilers and CHP units.”

Further information on the Greenwich Peninsula DE project is available on:

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