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News
Recycling Cooking Oil in London
July 2011: The Committee on Climate Change are currently undertaking a review of bioenergy and took a trip to have a look at the work of Uptown Oil who collect used cooking oil from about a thousand sources in London – including Young’s pubs, Selfridges and Hackney Borough Council – to produce biodiesel.
A Business Green article published last week highlighted that Carluccio’s Restaurant chain – which has around 20 cafes in London – announced that it has signed a deal with biofuel firm Convert2Green to be converted into biofuel. Other biofuel suppliers in London include:
Uptown Oil based in Borough
Pure Fuels based in Edmonton
Proper Oils who work with a Croydon Council collection scheme
Uptown have also been selected to supply biofuel to PWC’s new HQ whose energy will be partially supplied by a trigeneration scheme (combined heat and power with cooling) – one of London’s only biofuelled CHP schemes.
Figures for the amount of cooking oil collected in London and be turned into biofuel do not appear to be available, however, a study reported on by the London Assembly in 2009 indicated that 37,000 tonnes of used cooking oil is available in London and the DfT’s latest biofuel statistics state that the “largest single feedstock for UK biofuel was used cooking oil (314m litres, 26% of total biofuel supplied)“. London’s Draft Waste Municipal Waste Strategy commits that the “Mayor will, through his Food to Fuel Alliance, aim to catalyse at least five exemplar food waste projects in London…the Alliance will support food waste projects that generate renewable heat and power (including transport fuel), and compost material for local use.”
Posted in News, Renewable Energy
Tagged Biofuels, Croydon, Enfield, Renewable Energy, Southwark, Waste
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Nuclear Trains Stopped for Olympics
28 July 2011: An interesting issue which hasn’t been raised for some time: “Trains carrying highly radioactive nuclear waste which normally pass through the Olympic Park are to be suspended for the duration of the Olympics. The operator of the trains, Direct Rail Services – a company wholly owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority – has claimed the the suspension is not security-related but to free up track space. The spent nuclear fuel rods, sent from the Sizewell B plant in Suffolk to Sellafield are routed across the North London Line of the London Overground, passing through Stratford, Hackney, Islington and Camden on their way to the West Coast Main Line at Willesden Junction.” Read the full article here.
First Accredited Passivhaus In London
July 2011: A timber framed, two bedroom house in Camden has become the first certified Passivhaus in London, setting a benchmark for energy efficient design for the city. Read the full Green Building Press article here.
Posted in Energy Efficiency, News
Tagged Camden, Energy Efficiency, Housing, Passivhaus
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‘Smart’ London street lights to save power
27 July 2011: Street lights that can be dimmed to conserve power are to be used across central London to cut energy bills and lower carbon emissions. More than 14,000 lights will be converted as part of Westminster City Council’s Smart Lights project.
Posted in Energy Efficiency, News
Tagged Energy Efficiency, Street Lighting, Westminster
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Royal Marsden CHP
27 July 2011: The Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton has announced that it will be installing a Combined Heat and Power plant (CHP) on site. The capacity of the gas-fired CHP unit isn’t given, but further information on the project is provided on the following press release from MITIE, the engineering company leading the development.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged CHP, Decentralised Energy, Hospitals, Sutton
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London Plan Energy & Climate Policies
26 July 2011: After close to two years of consultation, London’s new spatial strategy has been published by the Mayor. The London Plan forms part of the development plan for Greater London and London boroughs’ local plans need to be in general conformity with the London Plan. Its policies guide decisions on planning applications for new developments and strategies by councils and the Mayor. Chapter 5 of the strategy focuses on London’s response to climate change and building on previous versions of the London Plan (2004 and 2008), which achieved a significant impact on the carbon efficiency of new development, the new London Plan sets out a number of requirements. These include:
- CO2 savings of 25 per cent more than national building requirements at a minimum on all new developments
- As previously, all major development should provide detailed energy assessments on how these emission savings are to be made
- In contrast to the Government’s recent climb-down in its definition of ‘zero carbon’, London Plan Policy 5.2Da requires energy assessments to include separate details of unregulated emissions and proposals for how these emissions are to be reduced
- When preparing LDFs boroughs should identify opportunities for reducing CO2 emissions from the existing building stock, and also identify and establish decentralised energy network opportunities.
- With the aid of the London Heat Map, boroughs should develop energy master plans for specific decentralised energy opportunities.
Further policy requirements for decentralised energy systems, renewable and innovative energy technologies and the overheating and cooling of buildings are also set out in the Plan.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, Library, News
Tagged Decentralised Energy, London Plan, Mayor, Planning
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The 10 Pillars of Local Energy Security
July 2011: A new paper from the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) which, in the light of the Government’s recent announcements on electricity market reform, proposes that the main responsibility for leaders in councils now is local energy security. Communities, businesses and the council itself need energy to function and the supply should be reliable and sustainable. The right energy in the right place, now and in the future.
Posted in Library, News
Tagged Energy Saving Trust, Energy Security, Local Authorities
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New National Planning Policy Framework
26 July 2011: As written about previously, Government yesterday released a draft of its new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This, the Government says, presents a “new, simpler framework for the planning system that safeguards the environment while meeting the need for sustainable growth… replacing the current suite of national Planning Policy Statements, Planning Policy Guidance notes and some circulars …to just 52 pages of policy…and is a key part of reforms to make the planning system less complex and more accessible, and to promote sustainable growth.”
The Government’s previous detailed guidance document has now been replaced by two paras (152 and 153). The NPPF states that: “… local planning authorities should …recognise the responsibility on all communities to contribute to energy generation from renewable or low-carbon sources… consider identifying suitable areas for renewable and low-carbon energy sources, and supporting infrastructure, where this would help secure the development of such sources… identify opportunities where development can draw its energy supply from decentralised, renewable or low carbon energy supply systems and for co-locating potential heat customers and suppliers. “
This is a draft NPPF, and a series of questions on the proposals set out in it are in the accompanying consultation document, including six specific questions on energy (14c-f, and QB 4,5). The deadline for responses is 17 October 2011. A consultation workshop in London is to be held on 7 September 2011. Further details are in:
CLG’s press release, a NPPF summary, the Draft NPPF, and the
NPPF Consultation document, and finally the
NPPF Impact assessment.
The Big Switch
25 July 2011: London Assembly member Mike Tuffrey outlines his new initiative launched today to convert London’s buses, taxis and light goods vehicles to electric power by 2020.
London Misses out on Renewable Heating Grants
21 July 2011: After mentioning yesterday that DECC had not as yet launched their renewable heat grants programme, this morning I see a press release announcing the start of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment’ scheme. However, DECC have now stated that the scheme will be mainly focused on households not heated by mains gas – so the opportunities for Londoners to benefit will be greatly reduced. In short the scheme will provide:
- £15 million in total to support up to 25,000 installations; and
- Householders will need to ensure they have basic energy efficiency measures in place before applying
From 1st August, grants for the following technologies will be available:
- Ground Source Heat Pump – £1250 grant (for homes without mains gas heating)
- Biomass boiler – £950 grant (for homes without mains gas heating)
- Air source heat pump – £850 grant (for homes without mains gas heating)
- Solar thermal hot water panels – £300 grant (available to all households regardless of the type of heating system used)
So Londoners who wish to take advantage of this scheme and install solar thermal panels (that is – if they’re not thinking of using their roofspace for PVs…) should go to the Energy Saving Trust’s website who will administer the scheme. Further information is also available on the RHPP DECC factsheet here.
Energy and Climate Questions to the Mayor
July 2011: This month the Mayor answered London Assembly questions in relation to energy efficiency funding of Mayoral programmes RE:NEW and RE:FIT; an update on the forthcoming Renewable Energy Capacity study; the number of solar panels installed on London Underground properties; the amount of carbon emitted by the lights at Piccadilly Circus; and whether the New Bus for London meets the ‘Low Carbon Bus’ standard.
Previous questions to the Mayor can be found here.
Posted in News
Tagged Lighting, Mayor, Photovoltaics, RE:FIT, RE:NEW, Renewable Energy
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Government renews focus on cities
19 July 2011: The Government today announced new support for cities in order to harness their potential to drive growth and prosperity. CLG Minister Greg Clark has been tasked to take on the role of Minister for Cities and the Deputy Prime Minister will chair a new Ministerial Group on Cities.
The Core Cities – the eight largest cities outside of London – will be an initial focus of the group as they seek to develop new ideas. Greg Clark has, during his time as Shadow Climate Change Secretary, been a strong proponent for decentralised energy which will be hopefully be an issue he turns to in his new role, helping remove some of the barriers for cities – including London- to support the development of localised heat and power schemes.