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NEF response to feed-in tariff consultation
The National Energy Foundation submitted a response to the Government's consultation on the small-scale renewable energy generation incentive scheme, which included substantial cuts to the tariffs. As PV has proved to be the most practical and attractive small-scale renewable energy generation solution, the Foundation's response focussed on this method of generation.
Greenbuild Expo/Buildings & Energy Efficiency Event. Manchester. 10 – 11 Nov
The National Energy Foundation is actively involved over the two days of this show, which is dedicated to helping businesses meet their energy efficiency objectives:
- On the Tuesday, our Chief Executive, Kerry Mashford, will be at the awards dinner in her capacity as one of the judges.
- Also on the Tuesday, Luke Smith will be speaking on: ‘Integrating low-energy refurbishment in the social housing sector with day-to-day repairs and maintenance’.
- On the Wednesday, Kerry will give a presentation entitled: ‘Float your boat with operational energy use data’.
- Kerry will also be participating in the Performance Gap and Fuel Poverty debates later that day.
Hope to see you there!
EMEX. ExCel, London. Wed 11 – Thu 12 Nov
EMEX connects energy users with leading experts, policy makers, suppliers and technical solutions. The EMEX marketplace includes a free-to-attend conference programme that helps attendees control energy costs, gain industry insights, source innovations, share knowledge and stay up-to-date with the latest and upcoming legislative changes and how these are affecting businesses in the UK. On the Wednesday, our Deputy Chief Executive, Ian Byrne, will present in the Energy Management Solutions Theatre between 2:30 and 3pm on: Making it add up: how energy managers can demonstrate savings from their actions.
National Measurement and Verification Conference (MAVCON). B'ham. Thu 19 Nov
Our Deputy Chief Executive, Ian Byrne will be talking about new international standards for measuring and verifying energy savings.
CoRE Retrofit Coordinator Course
The Centre of Refurbishment Excellence has developed a training programme to up-skill existing professionals to become Retrofit Coordinators. Courses are run regularly across the UK, and can even be delivered exclusively in-house for groups of 10 or more. Learners can complete the programme at their own pace – either taking a fast-track route or spreading units over several months to suit their schedule. This leads to successful participants being awarded a CoRE Diploma with a specialism in Retrofit Coordination. The course has been recognised and endorsed by RIBA as Advanced CPD.
Check for dates and venues.
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Government response to CCC
The Government responds to the Climate Change Committee’s 2015 annual progress report. Recommendation 2 specifically relates to progress in relation to buildings.
Minister open minded
Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom tells a committee of MPs that she’s “open-minded” about the proposed feed-in tariff cuts, and claims that nuclear power is "affordable".
Actual household saving from FiT cuts
Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom confirms that the Government’s proposed cuts to feed-in tariffs will reduce the average household energy bill by between £5 and £6.
London Mayor opposes feed-in tariff cuts
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, wades into the solar row by calling on the Energy Minister to stop the cuts to the feed-in tariff.
Shadow Energy Secretary concerned
Lisa Nandy writes to Amber Rudd expressing her concerns about the Government’s proposed cuts to solar feed-in tariffs, and urges her to reconsider their severity.
£1 solar rescue plan
In the face of the Government’s proposed cuts to the feed-in tariff rates, the Solar Trade Association tables a compromise rescue plan that will cost consumers £1 on their energy bills.
Latest Green Deal and ECO statistics
DECC publishes its latest statistics on the Green Deal up to the end of September and ECO up to the end of August. The number of Green Deal assessments is very similar to the previous month but now at an inevitable low level.
MEES regulations win award
The UK’s Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regulations, which will prevent landlords from renting out the most energy inefficient homes and properties, are honoured in European awards recognising leadership on sustainable building.
ESOS deadline extended
Businesses that fail to meet the early December ESOS deadline are to get an extension to 29 January 2016, provided that they have demonstrated a plan to comply with the policy and are making progress.
Wales needs more energy efficiency
The WWF warns that the Welsh Government risks missing its climate change targets unless it ramps up its energy efficiency measures over the next five years.
Better help for park homes
Age Concern mounts a petition with a view to getting 5,000 signatories to improve Government energy efficiency schemes for park home residents.
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More Scots have difficulty paying energy bills
An increase in enquiries to Citizens Advice Scotland shows that there has been a "clear growth" in the number of Scots struggling to pay their energy bills, and suffering from fuel poverty.
2015 domestic customer engagement survey
Ofgem publishes its latest annual tracking survey of domestic customer engagement with the energy market (undertaken by Ipsos MORI) which covers supplier switching in electricity and gas, tariff switching, reasons for switching supplier or not, attitudes to switches made, communications from suppliers and trust in the openness and transparency of energy suppliers.
Energy price increases ahead?
A cold winter and an ‘energy capacity crunch’ could result in increases of 5-10% in longer-term power prices, and could force commercial organisations to effectively ration demand.
Elderly people especially at risk of overpaying after switching
Anyone who has switched energy supplier is urged to check whether they are still paying via direct debit towards a debt that has been cleared.
What future for standard variable tariffs?
The Competition and Markets Authority announces that it’s looking at various proposals on what to do about standard variable tariffs.
Potential £2.2bn saving from switching
New data reveals that £2.2 billion of savings are available to households in the UK if they switch their energy supplier.
Data to support switching claim
DECC provides supporting evidence for the claim that households can save up to £200 a year by switching their energy supplier.
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Solar success in Warrington
A look at solar in Warrington – a shining example of where it’s working well with council initiatives saving money on fuel bills and tackling fuel poverty.
Outstanding for Grade II listed building
With lots of energy efficiency features, a refurbished London office becomes the first Grade II listed building to be awarded BEEAM Outstanding.
NI parliament goes solar
Northern Ireland’s Stormont parliament is the latest historic building to be fitted with a PV array. The system will produce 40,000 KW/h of energy a year and will save around £9,000 annually.
Largest solar school
One of largest solar panel installations on any school in the country goes live in Nottingham.
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Homeselfe energy app
A US company develops Homeselfe, a domestic energy audit ‘selfie’ app which diagnoses deficiencies and provides DIY solutions.
Free stationary energy bikes
An Indian billionaire is to give out 10,000 free stationary bikes that are capable of providing electricity to homes that have little or zero power. It’s estimated that one hour of pedalling should generate enough electricity to run lights and basic appliances for a whole day.
Office portfolio part-powered using batteries
Tesla batteries are to be used to part-power 24 office buildings in California, with a view to reducing peak grid energy consumption by 25%.
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2015 IEA report
The 2015 International Energy Agency Energy Efficiency Market Report includes an in-depth look into the buildings energy efficiency market worldwide. See page 67 onwards.
New ‘negawatts’ strategy
Research shows how the UK’s electricity market is distorted in favour of supply side measures at the expense of cheaper demand side measures. Businesses and consumers spend too much on electricity supply because they are not investing in efficiency, and could save around £2.5 billion by 2025 if power stations were made to compete against electricity saving.
Role buildings can play in a transforming energy market
This Building Performance Institute Europe discussion paper describes the role of the sector and presents strategies and enabling measures to speed up the interaction between the energy and building sectors. It also argues for a comprehensive vision for the integration of demand response, renewable energy production and storage in buildings, and calls for a stronger policy focus on the topic.
Building energy codes portal
A website for the international exchange of knowledge and resources on building energy code implementation around the world.
PassREg NZEB report
The final report of the Passive House Regions with Renewable Energies project. The PassREg project aimed to stimulate the successful implementation of nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) throughout the EU by promoting buildings built according to the Passive Houses concept and supplied by renewable energies. The report includes the project’s deliverables, best practices and resources, as well as the experiences from the participating regions.
Policy for Heat report
A new report “Policy for Heat: Transforming the System” urges the Government to undertake an ambitious, long-term decarbonisation strategy for the heat sector.
EU heat strategy
The EU Commission is currently working on a strategy to reduce energy wasted in heating homes and offices, with a view to update EU energy legislation and possibly draft new directives.
Why cities should care about energy
The UK’s capacity to produce enough energy to power its cities will soon become critical. Diversity is the key and there’s an urgent need for the UK’s cities to become more resilient and less reliant on energy imports from abroad.
Scottish Government urged to improve
Over 50 organisations come together in an alliance and call on the Scottish Government to take action to improve energy efficiency in the nation’s housing.
PV installers disagree with Minister
Solar panel installation companies in her constituency disagree with the Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom after she claims that the Government’s proposed feed-in tariff cuts could be beneficial.
Solar hit 3
Another PV installer is to go to the wall with its boss blaming the Government for failing to support the solar industry properly.
Solar hit 4
The fourth UK solar business is to close within a fortnight - once again, the Government’s cuts to feed-in tariffs are blamed.
Running my PV business became impossible
The trials and tribulations of running a solar PV business - from the man who recently had to close his.
FiT cuts could force companies to the wall
Hundreds of renewable energy companies could go out of business if the Government’s proposed cuts to feed-in tariffs go ahead, and the proposals attract criticism from the United Nations.
More solar jobs could go
25 small PV businesses reckon that hundreds more jobs will be lost if the Government's proposed feed-in tariff reductions go ahead.
Report favours decentralised energy
A report concludes that decentralised energy is key to securing Britain’s energy future. It says that it’s more efficient and costs less in the long term to use energy where it’s generated and to generate it where it will be used.
Billing in district heating
‘Identifying the Fair Share: Billing for District Heating’ - a report on behalf of the Eaga Charitable Trust following research into social landlords’ experiences of billing in district heating systems.
Cuts threaten local projects
The Government’s proposed cuts to solar subsidies threaten community projects worth over £100 million.
Community solar under threat
Community solar energy - a British success story, the future of which is in the balance because of the proposed cuts to feed-in tariffs.
Pro community heating
The case for district and community heating – its role in reducing both carbon emissions and energy bills.
Community energy benefits
A new German study reviews existing data and undertakes interviews to look at the benefits of community energy.
M&S Energy Community Energy Fund results
After a nationwide search attracting 246 entries and 51,000 votes, Marks & Spencer Energy announces the 19 winners in its Community Energy Fund competition.
TV-powered Passivhaus
How adopting Passivhaus building standards could allow people to heat their homes using the small amount of power emitted by their TVs, for example.
US ‘addicted’ to air cooling
Awareness increases in the US as its ‘addiction’ to air-conditioning means it uses more energy for cooling air than rest of the world put together.
Saving energy in the commercial kitchen
Everything you need to know about saving energy, cutting costs and improving quality in food preparation and catering.
Official domestic appliance energy use figures disputed
A Sunday Times investigation finds that some domestic appliances consume far more energy than is claimed by their manufacturers.
How EPCs affect Europe’s property market
Estate agents across Europe share their opinions on EPCs and their influence on the real estate market and property values.
Largest community rooftop PV
The UK’s largest community-owned rooftop solar PV installation is to be built in Oxfordshire.
Smart benches unveiled
Solar-powered smart benches are launched in London, and are scheduled for roll-out into other parts of the city.
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Jobs across the UK
Various energy-related jobs across the country are available on the following websites. Take a look at:
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Building Better Buildings. Belfast. Tue 3 Nov
This free Zero Carbon Hub event, in collaboration with Innovate UK, Xtratherm and a number of leading industry partners, promises to demystify the Performance Gap; and highlight latest learning from a number of local domestic and non-domestic BPE projects.
Speakers include Mark H Durkan, Minister for the Environment.
REHAU District Heating Workshop. London. Wed 4 Nov
The expert speaker line-up includes DECC, CIBSE and Buro Happold. The workshop covers topics such as the recent CIBSE Codes of Practice, optimising heat network design, funding options and an innovative new procurement solution for local authorities. The event is free and is aimed at consultants, contractors, local authorities, developers and housing associations.
Resource Efficiency Masterclass 2015. London. Wed 4 Nov
A 2degrees seminar for the food & drink, manufacturing, FMCG and pharmaceuticals sectors and aimed at experienced professionals who need to improve their operational resource efficiency across energy, waste and water. This event is focused on:
- Providing best practice case studies and innovations.
- How to build a compelling business case.
- How to get strategic buy-in for your plans.
Energy Efficiency at Home - What’s the hold up? London. Wed 11 Nov
This FREE UCL IEDELearn lecture examines some of the key barriers to uptake of domestic energy efficiency (and renewable energy) measures in the UK, including psychological, political and technical obstacles, and explores some of the potential ways that we could overcome them.
Low Energy Know How. Liverpool. Fri 13 Nov
This free Zero Carbon Hub event (in collaboration with Encraft and Liverpool College) provides delegates with the latest policy updates and practical support to deliver energy efficient new homes. The event also looks at commercially viable, practical examples that help deliver to current and future regulations. In addition, attendees will receive a copy of Zero Carbon Hub’s good practice Builders’ Book, which is an easy-to-read guide to improving site processes, reducing risk and constructing high-quality, healthy homes.
CoRE Retrofit Summit. Stoke-on-Trent. Thu 19 Nov
CoRE is hosting an exclusive event with BRE Chief Executive Peter Bonfield to support the review he is undertaking of the energy efficiency sector.
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