Site search:
-
What’s new?
Energy for London Tags
Brent Buildings Camden Carbon Emissions CHP Cities Climate Adaptation Community Heating Community Initiatives Croydon Data DECC Decentralised Energy Distribution ECO Energy Costs Energy Efficiency Enfield FIT Fuel Poverty Funding Green Deal Hackney Haringey Housing Islington Lambeth Library Local Authorities Mayor Newham Ofgem Olympics Photovoltaics Planning RE:FIT RE:NEW Renewable Energy Retrofit Southwark Tower Hamlets Transport Waltham Forest Waste WestminsterEnergy Archives:
- February 2021 (1)
- January 2021 (15)
- December 2020 (15)
- November 2020 (9)
- October 2020 (3)
- August 2020 (5)
- July 2020 (3)
- June 2020 (4)
- April 2020 (10)
- March 2020 (5)
- February 2020 (2)
- January 2020 (3)
- October 2019 (1)
- September 2019 (4)
- August 2019 (2)
- July 2019 (1)
- August 2018 (1)
- November 2016 (8)
- October 2016 (8)
- September 2016 (2)
- August 2016 (8)
- July 2016 (14)
- April 2016 (12)
- March 2016 (16)
- February 2016 (8)
- January 2016 (4)
- December 2015 (1)
- November 2015 (1)
- October 2015 (16)
- September 2015 (3)
- June 2015 (1)
- May 2015 (1)
- April 2015 (1)
- March 2015 (1)
- February 2015 (1)
- January 2015 (1)
- December 2014 (18)
- November 2014 (4)
- August 2014 (8)
- July 2014 (7)
- June 2014 (25)
- May 2014 (8)
- April 2014 (4)
- March 2014 (12)
- February 2014 (7)
- January 2014 (13)
- December 2013 (11)
- November 2013 (15)
- October 2013 (15)
- September 2013 (18)
- August 2013 (5)
- July 2013 (20)
- June 2013 (33)
- May 2013 (8)
- April 2013 (16)
- March 2013 (25)
- February 2013 (14)
- January 2013 (20)
- December 2012 (23)
- November 2012 (23)
- October 2012 (25)
- September 2012 (14)
- July 2012 (12)
- June 2012 (43)
- May 2012 (20)
- April 2012 (8)
- March 2012 (40)
- February 2012 (39)
- January 2012 (40)
- December 2011 (22)
- November 2011 (40)
- October 2011 (33)
- September 2011 (48)
- August 2011 (40)
- July 2011 (58)
- June 2011 (41)
- May 2011 (80)
- April 2011 (38)
- March 2011 (33)
- February 2011 (25)
- January 2011 (24)
- December 2010 (3)
- November 2010 (7)
- October 2010 (6)
- September 2010 (7)
- August 2010 (1)
- July 2010 (2)
- June 2010 (4)
- May 2010 (1)
- March 2010 (3)
- February 2010 (3)
- December 2009 (5)
- November 2009 (2)
- October 2009 (3)
- July 2009 (3)
- June 2009 (1)
- April 2009 (1)
- March 2009 (1)
- February 2009 (1)
- January 2009 (1)
- December 2008 (2)
- October 2008 (1)
- September 2008 (1)
- July 2008 (1)
- March 2008 (2)
- January 2008 (2)
- October 2007 (1)
- September 2007 (3)
- July 2007 (1)
- March 2007 (1)
- February 2007 (3)
- November 2006 (3)
- August 2006 (1)
- February 2006 (1)
- May 2005 (1)
- February 2004 (1)
Tag Archives: Mayor
‘Plans for London green deal model’
July 2012: Inside Housing exclusively reports that the Mayor has “instructed the Greater London Authority to explore creating a pan-London green deal procurement framework and promotion and referrals organisation which councils could use to deliver energy saving measures across their housing stock. The GLA aims to retrofit 2.4 million homes in London by 2020 at a potential cost of £10 billion…
Richard Blakeway, London deputy mayor for housing, land and property, said: ‘The mayor has tasked City Hall officers to scope out a range of proposals for how we can make the government’s green deal work best for the capital.
‘No final approach has been decided, but we want to maximise the value of the green deal for Londoners by presenting the most powerful case for funds and to reverse the historic poor uptake of predecessor schemes in London, such as the carbon emissions reductions target.” Read the full story here. More on the Mayor’s RE:NEW programme here.
Update on RE:NEW
20 June 2012: A quick update on progress under the Mayor’s home energy efficiency retrofit programme, RE:NEW:
- The Mayor recently reported that the 67,568 homes have been treated under the RE:NEW programme to date.
- The overall ambition for RE:NEW is set out in Policy 6 of the Mayor’s Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Strategy which states that “The Mayor will work with partners to use public funds to develop commercial models that catalyse markets to offer appropriate whole-house retrofitting of energy efficiency, energy supply, and water efficiency measures to 1.2 million existing homes in London by 2015, and all homes in London by 2030.” DECC has recently pointed out in its latest Green Deal projections paper, that this number “is equivalent to 100% of the total number of homes expected to be retro fitted in the national Green Deal”
- The Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Strategy also states that “The Mayor’s ambition is for energy and water efficiency measures to be installed in 200,000 homes by the end of 2012 across London’s energy efficiency programmes.” [p128]
- In August 2011, the Mayor set an interim 55,000 homes target to be delivered under RE:NEW by March 2012, which was achieved ahead of the May 2012 election
- In February 2012, the Mayor’s then environment advisor Kulveer Ranger outlined to the London Assembly’s Environment Committee the Mayor’s longer term ambitions for RE:NEW and that achieving the 200,000 homes “was always subject to the Green Deal helping to make that happen” and that the “figure , going forward, is subject to what happens with the Green Deal. We know the Green Deal timetable is slipping somewhat and it is not where we originally thought it was going to come in so we have to look at that figure and see what we can do. I am in discussion with Government right now, with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), with Ministers there, to say, ‚What do we do to ensure that we can continue more homes being retrofitted while we wait for the Green Deal to come along”
- The Mayor’s manifesto in the run-up to the May 2012 election introduced a new pledge, stating “By the end of March, 55,000 homes had been helped… I will continue this drive by extending the programme to retrofit a further 20,000 homes through RE:NEW, with a further £3 million from the GLA budget. I will prioritise households over the age of 60 for the scheme” – which appears to suggest that 20,000 more households – over the 55,000 interim target – will be retrofitted through the GLA RE:NEW programme – but no mention is made of the 200,000 original target.
- Building magazine reported only last week that “London mayor fails to secure funding for retrofit plans” stating that the Mayor “lacks funding for 86% of the energy efficiency retrofit work on London’s housing stock that he planned to deliver this year, after failing to secure financial backing from the government. As part of his election campaign, the mayor pledged to complete 20,000 retrofits of London homes this year under his RE:NEW energy-efficiency programme. But he said this would rise to 145,000 if he secured central government funding for the scheme. But the Department of Energy and Climate Change has now confirmed that while “informal discussions” took place, no funding was agreed.” Read the full article here [subscribers to Building only].
- The Mayor has announced recently that he is undertaking a formal evaluation of RE:NEW which will include full details of the programme and that these will be published in July, and the same time that Phase II of RE:NEW begins
- The programme spend for RE:NEW to date has been £7.8m
London and the Green Deal
June 2012: The Green Deal Impact Assessment, launched earlier this week, highlighted how London is proposing to be a key player in the ‘New Green Deal Market’ under the Mayor’s plans for the RE:NEW home retrofit programme:
“The Greater London Authority’s (GLA) ‘Delivering London’s Energy Future’ strategy states its intention to retrofit 1.2m homes in the Greater London area by 2015 (this is equivalent to 100% of the total number of homes expected to be retro fitted in the national Green Deal). The GLA intends to do this by working with all the London boroughs to build on the success of RE:NEW, its refurbishment programme, that has retrofitted 11,000 homes to date. The GLA is working to integrate RE:NEW with new energy efficiency and energy supply funding streams, such as the Green Deal and the Feed-in Tariff, so retrofitting can be offered to all London homes by 2030.” [page 49]
Download DECC’s ‘Final Stage Impact Assessment for the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation’ here.
Mayor to encourage community energy projects
June 2012: The Mayor has published revised ‘early minor alterations to the London Plan’ aimed at ensuring that the London Plan is fully consistent with the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (published March 2012).
Page 30 of the ‘Early Minor Alterations’ document sets out a proposed revision to Chapter 5 of the London Plan – which addresses planning and climate change – to support community-led initiatives renewable and low carbon projects through neighbourhood planning. The exact amended text (in bold) follows below:
5.41 The Mayor’s supplementary planning guidance will set out broad guidelines to assist boroughs and, where appropriate,neighbourhoods, to define locations where stand-alone renewable energy schemes would be appropriate. The increased use of renewable heat will also significantly depend on the growth of heat networks. The Mayor and Boroughs will also encourage community-led initiatives for renewables and low carbon energy and examine how they can be supported through neighbourhood planning.” [page 30]
The supplementary planning guidance referred to is on renewable energy (which is also referred to in para 5.40 of Chapter 5 – see link above) and has, as yet, not been published by the Mayor. A major renewable energy study for London has however been completed and was issued in January 2012.
Further information to the background on new neighbourhood plans can be viewed here.
Posted in Library, News
Tagged Community Initiatives, Mayor, Planning, Renewable Energy
Leave a comment
‘Second time lucky for Boris’s green pledges?’
June 2012: Recent BusinessGreen article suggesting that the Mayor “in tacit recognition of these failures [referring to previous pledges], Johnson has pledged to step up his efforts on improving the capital’s environment. As part of his plans to turn over a new green leaf, sustainable policies will be overseen from a higher level and will include the planting of thousands more street trees and scaling up of successful building energy efficiency programmes...As well as the expected plans to meet the targets he failed to meet last year in insulating homes and delivering a major electric vehicle recharging network, they also include launching a London-based Centre for Carbon Measurement by the end of next year, taking active steps to ensure the success of the Green Investment Bank, and lobbying government to include water efficiency in retrofit programmes.” Read the full piece here.
Changes in Mayor’s Environment Programmes
May 2012: The Mayor has appointed Matthew Pencharz as the new lead in City Hall to deliver on his environmental pledges. Pencharz already sits within the Mayor’s team of advisors and, as reported in a BusinessGreen article, he will be responsible for “delivering a high quality of life in the capital through the continued protection and creation of green space, boosting recycling and turning London’s waste into a resource, planting more trees and delivering further improvements to air quality”.
However, BusinessGreen also reports that the responsibility for the scaling up of the RE:NEW and RE:FIT building retrofit programmes will shift from the Mayor’s environmental lead to Richard Blakeway, now promoted to the position of Deputy Mayor for Housing, Land and Property.
‘Mayor Boris urged to stop Treasury from ‘pouring used cooking oil down the drain’
February 2012: Business Green story: “The Mayor of London has been urged to confront the Treasury over its plans to change the way it subsidises fuel made from used cooking oil, warning the move could severely disrupt the capital’s businesses and force many taxi drivers to return to using fossil fuels. Under plans put forward by Chancellor George Osborne in the Budget 2011, biodiesel made from used cooking oil (UCO) will no longer receive a 20p duty differential, and will instead receive double certificates under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) from the start of April this year.”
Read the full story here. Previous posts on the use of recycled cooking oil as biofuel in London here.
Energy and Climate Questions to the Mayor
January 2012: This month the Mayor has been asked questions in relation to:
Renewable Electricity used by London Underground; Energy and CO2 emissions associated with lighting tube stations; the Budget spend for energy efficiency programme RE:NEW; the level of payments to assessors of energy efficiency programme RE:NEW; carbon savings achieved by the ten easy measures used in the RE:NEW programme; the carbon savings achieved to date by the RE:NEW programme; the Mayors records in raising key London issues with energy companies; the growth of renewable energy over the Mayor’s term; the borough roll-out of RE:NEW; an update on the numbers of homes treated under RE:NEW; a breakdown of the RE:NEW programme budget; the success of RE:NEW energy efficiency programme; CO2 savings achieved through planning; Guidance on low carbon cooling systems; Fuel Poverty in East London; an update on the capacity of combined heat and power (CHP); an update on the Mayor’s Hydrogen Action Plan; and Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) funding in London boroughs.
Previous questions to the Mayor can be found here.
Posted in News
Tagged CERT, CHP, Fuel Poverty, London Underground, Mayor, RE:NEW, Renewable Energy
Leave a comment
Mayor’s Low Carbon prize
January 2012: Further details have been posted on the Mayor’s Low Carbon Prize, open to all students in further and higher education institutions in Greater London, who have ideas in helping reduce London’s carbon emissions and energy use from buildings. A total of £20,000 is to be awarded to the best ideas.
Major London Renewable Energy Study Published
January 2012: As part of a series of DECC-funded regional renewable energy (RE) assessments, the GLA have just published a detailed study on the potential for renewable and low carbon energy in Greater London.
The report sets out results using DECC’s standardised renewable energy assessment methodology but has also developed second tailored methodology to take into account the highly urbanised nature of London, looking at opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions utilising low-carbon decentralised energy (DE) systems such as gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) and the use of waste heat from power stations. The tailored methodology also gives significantly greater estimates of the technical potential for certain types of RE than the DECC methodology, such as commercial scale wind turbines and photovoltaics but – importantly – the greater use of DE displaces “80% of the thermal microgeneration RE sources… based on the assumption that policies which strongly favour DE over other energy sources are required to reach high levels of heat network deployment.”
The results of this study suggest that:
- Under the DECC methodology, up to 12% and 57% of London’s consumption of electricity and heating respectively can technically be met by RE sources from within Greater London
- However the tailored methodology- for reasons detailed above – estimates RE sources can technically supply up to 34% and 49% of electricity and heating respectively (the lower RE heating figure arising out the increased use of low carbon DE heat displacing some RE heating technologies in the ‘tailored’ methodology).
- The combined technical potential for RE and DE is up to 53% and 44% of London’s consumption of electricity and heating respectively.
- The technical potential of DE using large-scale heat networks is 20% of London’s energy supply
- It is estimated that around 450MW of waste heat capacity is available from existing power stations and energy from waste (EfW) plants in the London area
The London Decentralised Energy Capacity Study can be downloaded here and comprises three reports:
- Phase 1: Technical Assessment
- Phase 2: Deployment Potential
- Phase 3: Roadmap to Deployment
Some significant datasets lie behind the study and can be downloaded from the London Datastore here.
Posted in Data Store, Library, News
Tagged DECC, Decentralised Energy, Library, Mayor, Renewable Energy
Leave a comment
Towards a District Energy Manual for London
January 2012: The Mayor has issued a discussion paper requesting comments around detailed design guidelines for district energy projects in London. The ‘District Energy Manual for London‘ will outline how such schemes are procured and designed and also how heat networks can grow and interconnect over time into an “integrated, efficient, secure and low carbon district energy network serving the whole of London.” It is hoped that the manual will become the standard reference for developers and heat network designers and that it will underpin energy masterplans and planning agreements across London where heat networks are envisaged.
The discussion document outlines the scope, intention and topics considered for the future London District Energy Manual and seeks comments in relation:
- Suggested design parameters for heat networks
- Suitable heat network operating temperatures
- The use of Heat Interface Units (HIUs)
- How to plan for future district heating networks; and also
- Best practice examples of district energy systems
The deadline for comments is 3 February 2012 with a final version of the manual planned for publication towards the end of 2012.
Posted in Library, News
Tagged Community Heating, Decentralised Energy, Mayor, Planning
Leave a comment