Monthly Archives: January 2012

Five London Community Energy projects awarded Government funding

16 January 2012: DECC today announced the first 82 local energy projects to win funding from the new £10m Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF).  Five projects in London were selected:

Congratulations all!

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‘45% of People in London Worry they can’t afford their next fuel bill’

16 January 2012: “45% of people in London are worried they can’t afford their next fuel bill and one in two say energy bills will put a strain on their finances this year, according to new figures released today from Citizens Advice at the start of its Big Energy Week which will help people save money on their fuel bills.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London said: ‘We know that many people are deeply concerned about keeping warm this winter and Big Energy Week is a great way to find out how they can cut their fuel bills. In London we have been working with Citizen’s Advice Bureau and other organisations on my fourth ‘Know Your Rights Campaign’ to help thousands of vulnerable Londoners to keep their homes insulated and warm. In addition, 24,000 homes across the capital have had an energy makeover, through my RENEW partnership homes programme, increasing efficiency and helping to drive down fuel bills.

Big Energy Week (16-21 January 2012) will see advisers across the region help people spend less on heating and powering their home – including events in Westfield Shepherds Bush, Richmond and Harrow.  The Week is supported by Consumer Focus, Which?, Energy UK, energy companies, charities, accredited switching sites, Ofgem and the Government.”

Read the full news release here. Further details of all London events at www.bigenergyweek.org.uk

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Neighbourhood Plans and Renewable Energy

January 2012: An answer to a parliamentary question considering the Localism Act 2011 (which came into  being in November 2011) and its potential to support the development of renewable energy schemes. Not much is revealed…however the Act and Explanatory notes to the Act can be viewed here. Additionally a Plain English guide to the Localism Act’ produced by the Department for Communities (CLG) can be downloaded here. Friends of the Earth have also published a briefing note on ‘Planning and the Localism Act’.

Renewable Energy: 10 Jan 2012 : Column 60W

Roberta Blackman-Woods (MP for the City of Durham) : To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact upon neighbourhood plans of the Government’s commitment to ensure that renewable sources will generate 15 per cent. of the UK’s energy by 2020.

Greg Clark (Minister for Decentralisation and Cities, CLG): The Localism Act gives communities new powers to plan for the future of their areas through neighbourhood planning. These are powerful new opportunities for communities to shape the development of their local areas.

It is for communities to decide whether they wish to use neighbourhood development plans or orders to deliver energy from renewable sources, provided the plans or orders meet the basic conditions set out in the Localism Act.

Our proposals strike the right balance by ensuring that neighbourhood planning proposals are in general conformity with strategic planning policies, while giving communities the flexibility to determine those issues that are rightly dealt with at community level.

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‘Social housing PV unviable unless FIT rates double’

13 January 2012: Inside Housing article reporting that “Incentive payments for electricity generated from solar panels need to be set at nearly double the proposed rate for installations to remain viable for social landlords, according to research.
Figures produced by consultancy Camco for the National Housing Federation show feed-in tariff payments would need to be set at 32.4 pence per kilowatt hour to remain attractive to the sector.”
Read the article here.

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The Economics of Low Carbon Cities

10 January 2012: This report outlines a new method for a city-scale mini-Stern review evaluating the cost and carbon effectiveness of a wide range of existing low carbon options that could be applied in households, industry, commerce and transport. The research explores the scope for the deployment of these options at the city-scale, along with an analysis of the associated investment needs, financial returns, carbon savings and implications for the economy and employment. Download the report from www.lowcarbonfutures.org. Further information here.

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E.ON launches offer of free insulation plus £100 for those most in need

9 January 2012:  E.ON has today announced a new offer of free cavity wall and standard loft insulation, plus a cheque for £100, to anyone in receipt of Child Tax Credit where their annual household income is less than £16,190 or to anyone claiming Pension Credit. The offer is open to anyone who fits these criteria – whether they are an E.ON customer or not. Full details here.

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Rough Guide to Community Energy

January 2012: The Rough Guide to Community Energy is free to download and – as the blurb goes – is “Packed full of practical advice and inspiring case studies, it covers:

  • Local energy groups – how to set one up and keep its momentum going
  • Types of project including solar, wind, hydro, biomass, CHP and energy efficiency
  • Getting a project off the ground, from fundraising and planning to construction
  • Real-world advice from successful groups all over the UK”

It does appear to be very much a ‘rough’ guide, leaving out lots of the complexities that are unfortunately all too prevalent in the UK – especially in relation to community based schemes – but a helpful addition none the less.

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‘Communities taking renewable energy into their own hands’

9 January 2012: Article posted on The Guardian website by Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, on how people are investing in solar, wind and hydro power for their local communities. Read the full piece here.

The article also references a research report published in December 2011 –  Co-operative renewable energy in the UK: a guide to this growing sector -which summarises insights gained from visits to five co-operatively owned energy projects.

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Huhne visit to Olympic Park CHP

9 January 2o12: “Secretary of State, Chris Huhne visited the Energy Centre at the Olympic Park this morning. The park, which is the largest energy centre scheme to be built so far in the UK, will contribute towards the Olympic Delivery Authority’s overall target to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent” read full DECC news release here.

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Latest FIT statistics for London

9 January 2012: Ofgem have just produced their latest quarterly detailed spreadsheet providing data on FIT installations across the UK. The spreadsheet now documents information on an impressive 147,114 entries of schemes installed across the UK since the beginning of the scheme!

Filtering the Ofgem spreadsheet to provide London-only data highlights that:

  • 4,053 FIT schemes are installed in London as at 31 December 2011 (2.75% of the total UK schemes installed)
  • These represent a total of 11.2 MW of electricity capacity installed

Additionally – the latest update on the number of photovoltaics (PVs) installed nationally (a regional breakdown not provided) is available via DECC’s weeks PV statistics (dated 5 January 2012). The 16 December deadline date set by Government – after which installations would face a major reduction in the subsidy support from the FIT mechanism – clearly had a dramatic effect as the graph from the statistics illustrates:


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Low Numbers for CESP in London

January 2012: An answer to a recent Parliamentary Question from Shadow Secretary of State for Energy, Caroline Flint MP, highlighted the low level of delivery of the Goverment’s Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) in London.  Of the  9,937 properties treated in England up to June 2011, only 715 homes in London were provided with energy saving measures. Only the South-East (41 properties!) and South-West (179 properties) had lower levels of installation. The next estimate of CESP progress, including the period up to the end of 2011, will be published in May 2012.

The full PQ answer can be viewed here (column 800). Further posts on the delivery of CESP in London are available here.

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Combined Heat and Power at Clissold Leisure Centre

6 January 2012: “Clissold Leisure Centre has become the first leisure centre in Hackney to install an innovative energy saving system expected to reduce carbon emissions by over 100 tonnes each year.” Read the full Hackney news release here.

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