Tag Archives: RE:CONNECT

Energy and Climate Questions to the Mayor

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Admin

March 2013: This month the Mayor has been asked questions in relation to:

the number of applications to the London Energy Efficiency Fund; the Mayor’s correspondence with DECC on the ECO;  fuel poverty and health; Details of decentralised energy schemes being supported by the Mayor; visits to Brixton Energy Solar projects; energy efficiency targets in the Mayor’s London Rental Standard; fuel poor families in London – and RE:NEW delivery in the private rented sector; the Mayor’s work to plug the energy gap; progress under the RE:FIT programme in London boroughs; the level of Green Deal activity in London; Is the GLA a Green Deal provider; plans in place to spend the £5,627,342 DECC Green Deal and Fuel Poverty funding to the GLA; 2013/14 funding to the RE:FIT programme; evaluation of the RE:FIT programme;
RE:CONNECT programme budget for 2013/14; Better Building Partneship programme budget for 2013/14/; events attended by the Mayor’s Environment Advisor; Bunhill CHP scheme; attendance at the High Level Electricity Working Group; and participation on environmental issues on the Talk London website.

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Energy initiatives in the Mayor’s new budget

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Admin

February 2013: Following a short consultation period, the Mayor’s final 2013/14 Budget for the GLA Group has just been agreed at City Hall.  A press release sets out that this budget comprises funding for the the “Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, Transport for London (TfL), the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA), the London Legacy Development Corporation, and the Greater London Authority including the London Assembly. The total budget for GLA Group services is £16.5 billion.“

The final documents are posted here. In terms of funding directed to energy programmes, the background statement to the budget sets out that:

“The Mayor is continuing to work towards improving London’s environment. Energy supply and master-planning is key to delivering sustainable development for London’s economy. Investment will continue through a Decentralised Energy programme (with £1.3 million over the next two years) which provides technical, commercial and financial advisory support to partners to help them bring their decentralised energy projects to the market. This work builds on the mapping of opportunities identified through the London Heat Map. Work will also progress with partners towards a district heating demonstration project, supported by European funds.” [para 5.8]

Also mentioned is that finance will be directed to homes in London through “a fund of up to £300 million with the European Investment Bank to deliver carbon-efficient affordable homes” [para 5.4]. This relates to a loan organised by The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC) and the EIB which should be available to be utilised shortly by London housing associations – see here, here and here for further information. The funding will be managed by THFC.

Though a few other environment-related projects are mentioned in the background statement document, and reference is made to energy efficiency work to be undertaken by LFEPA and also TfL, no mention is made of the Mayor’s RE:NEW home energy efficiency retrofit scheme, or RE:FIT or RE:CONNECT – however, with the budget only just finalised, it may be the case that further information is yet to be released.

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Energy and Climate Questions to the Mayor

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Admin

February 2013:  This month the Mayor has been asked questions in relation to:

the Mayor’s position on nuclear and its role in securing London’s future energy supplies; the number of ‘low carbon generators’ currently helping power Transport for London’; the Mayor’s application to DECC’s  Fuel Poverty and Green Deal Pioneer Places funds; European Investment Bank (EIB) funding for energy efficiency retrofits in housing; the amount of energy consumed by The Shard; the potential for the Green Deal in London; further funding for the Mayor’s RE:NEW home energy efficiency programme; promoting the Green Deal to Londoners over-65; publication of the latest TfL Environment report; GLA environment publications; hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles; the number of fuel poverty households treated under RE:NEW; revised publication date of the RE:NEW evaluation report; the total number of homes treated under RE:NEW; funding and evaluation of the RE:CONNECT Low Carbon Zones programme; zero carbon developments on the Greenwich Penisula; the Mayor’s Low Carbon Prize; the RE:FIT Schools initiative; the number of jobs created under RE:FIT; progress on the LED traffic lights initiative.


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Merton’s Low Carbon Zone report

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Admin

June 2012: Merton have just published their final report detailing the work undertaken in the Wandle Valley Low Carbon Zone. The zone is an area in a small part of South Mitcham and was one of ten zones across London that were set up as part of the Mayor’s RE:CONNECT programme “to radically reduce CO2 emissions at community level using novel routes to engagement. The aim was to make a 20% cut in Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by March 2012 for the whole area.” Download the report here.

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Evaluating RE:CONNECT

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Admin

February 2012: Paper presented at the most recent GLA Investment and Performance Board evaluating the progress of the Mayor’s RE:CONNECT programme which established 10 ‘Low Carbon Zones’ across London.

The ten zones are in: Barking Town Centre (LBBD), Muswell Hill (Haringey),Archway (Islington), Brixton (Lambeth), Lewisham Town Centre (Lewisham), WandleValley (Merton), Ham & Petersham (Richmond), Peckham (Southwark), Hackbridge(Sutton), Queens Park (Westminster). The largest zone is in Archway with around 3,000 buildings; the smallest is in Hackbridge with around 300 buildings.

The programme is essentially a series of local scale demonstration projects that seek to deliver a 20% CO2 saving across the buildingsin a neighbourhood over a three year period (September 2009 – September 2012) and to provide an understanding of the factors that are required to deliver high coverage of energy efficiency measures and more efficient energy usage at a local scale.

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‘Low Carbon London’ Update

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Admin

January 2012: London distribution network operator UK Power Connections was awarded funding under Ofgem’s Low Carbon Network Fund to undertake a smart metering project with a range of stakeholders entitled ‘Low Carbon London’ (more of which here). The Executive Summary of their latest Six Monthly Report has just been posted on Ofgem’s website here. The update mentions that:

  • A comprehensive campaign to identify 500 trial smart meter customers in London Low Carbon Zones has been undertaken and 263 meters have been so far installed (more of which here).
  • Partner organisation Imperial College has opened the ‘Low Carbon London Learning Lab’ (more of which here and here).
  • A series of ‘innovative DNO-level Demand Response Contracts have been signed’ – see earlier post for details on this.

The Low Carbon London project will run from January 2011 until June 2014.  UK Power Networks will work with Transport for London and electric vehicle owner groups to explore how best to meet demand from the country’s anticipated growth in the use of electric vehicles, and the impact of locally generated green power on the electricity network will be tested to ensure fast and cost-effective grid connections can be provided in the future. Imperial’s Low Carbon London Learning Laboratory will analyse the data from all the trial installations

The update helpfully states that – “The highly inter-dependent nature of the detailed design work requires a high level of intricate configuration management to ensure all internal and external inter-dependencies are accurately maintained as the overall and individual component designs progress and mature” – which I’m sure enlightens us all…

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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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Latest funding details on RE:NEW and RE:CONNECT

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Admin

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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Updated list of LDA Climate and Energy projects

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Admin

September 2011: Papers from a recent LDA Board Meeting include a Mayoral approval note (Public Item 03.5.7 – Appendix 7 Climate Change Mayoral Direction) providing detail on the transfer of LDA climate and energy projects over to the Greater London Authority (the LDA is expected to be abolished on 1 April 2012). Included in the note is a useful funding breakdown of the total £3.795m budget of seven current programmes (Low Carbon Zones, RE:FIT, RE:NEW, Decentralised Energy Masterplanning, Better Building Partnership, London Low Carbon Capital and the Centre for Low Carbon Technology).

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Lewisham

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Admin

Low Carbon Lewisham Central is one of just ten low carbon zones across London, trialling a range of methods to find the best, easiest and most cost-effective ways to reduce CO2
Lewisham Carbon Compact – Set up to support delivery of the borough’s target of a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020.
Lewisham suppliers carbon footprint initiative March 2009
Carbon Reduction and Climate Change Strategy July 2008
Climate Change Strategic Framework: adaptive solutions June 2008

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Richmond schools to run on sun-power

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Admin

28 January 2011: Three schools in Richmond’s Low Carbon Zone have celebrated the installation of solar panels on their buildings as a result of grants from the council and British Gas. Further news from Richmond here. More information on the ‘My Solar School’ programme by British Gas.

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