The UK and China have got together to form a joint venture to open up markets for innovative UK low carbon businesses.

The new joint venture goes by the name of the China-UK Low Carbon Venture Capital Company. It’s a £10 million joint venture between the Carbon Trust and the China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation (CECIC). It will support the development and deployment of low carbon technologies in China.

UK Government supremo Lord Mandelson oversaw the creation of the new venture along with Chairman Zhang Ping of the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China. The initiative was welcomed by the Institute of Directors and Greenpeace.

It is hoped that the new venture will help British business wanting to export low carbon technologies into China. It will accelerate low carbon innovation and technology transfer in China, opening new markets for innovative, British clean technology companies and, they maintain, reduce global carbon emissions. Two strategies will be in play, the first to incubate new and emerging low carbon technologies and introduce selected low carbon businesses from the UK to China; and, to provide financial investment for UK and Chinese low carbon businesses in China.

As well as the initial £10 million investment funded by the Carbon Trust and the China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation hope to use their influence to leverage money via third party funding from the public and private sectors.

Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, said:
“As we enter a new era of innovation driven by the rapidly expanding low carbon economy, we must ensure that UK companies benefit and develop overseas markets for their commercial propositions. This new joint venture is a win win, as it helps UK companies access the important Chinese market but also helps China in its move to develop new clean technologies.”

Tom Delay, Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust, said:
“This is great news for the UK as China represents an exciting new market for clean technology businesses. The new venture will act as an important bridge for UK companies entering the Chinese low carbon marketplace. Our approach to low carbon innovation, coupled with CECIC’s expertise in clean energy in China, will open up new exciting opportunities for UK companies at the cutting edge of carbon reduction.

“We want this joint venture to become a successful example of an international collaboration to accelerate low carbon innovation and technology transfer and a framework for future international agreements.”

Mr. Wang Xiaokang, the President of CECIC, said:
“As the only national investment corporation specialised in the fields of energy conservation, emission reduction and environmental protection in China, China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation plays a unique role without any substitute.

“China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation and the Carbon Trust are both fully committed to tackling climate change, improving energy efficiency and promoting low carbon innovation in our respective countries. We share the same important mission of pushing forward energy conservation and emission reduction. We look forward to the new achievements brought about by the new joint venture.”

Miles Templeman, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said:
“It is important that UK businesses are helped to benefit from the rapidly growing demand for low carbon technologies in China and in other emerging market economies. The Carbon Trust’s new joint venture is a good start in opening up the key Chinese market to UK companies.”

John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace, said
“China will need to substantially increase its spending on curbing greenhouse gases in the next 20 years. All economic studies have found that early action on emissions is cheapest, and that deferring curbs to emissions leads to far greater costs in the medium term. But China will need help and financial assistance to overcome a lack of intellectual property rights and the research capacity to develop new technologies. The opportunities for UK business with initiatives such as that being developed by the Carbon Trust will be enormous.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The Energy Savings Trust (EST) reckons that the combined output of the UK’s small-scale domestic wind turbines could provide just over 3% of the country’s power, equivalent to powering 800,000 homes.

This goes against previous reports which stated that domestic turbines would have little impact upon the energy generating market.

The EST study involved a 12-month period of monitoring small wind turbines ranging in size from 500 watts to six kilowatts in nearly 60 locations, rural and urban, throughout the UK.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the best results came from rural parts of Scotland which generated over 18,000 kilo watts of power. This equates to nearly £2,500 of electricity and a saving of 7,500kg of carbon dioxide every year.

And the research showed how sensitive wind turbines are to local turbulence and obstructions. Typical urban installations (especially those mounted on buildings) on average generate less than 200 kilowatts (something worth around £25).

But what makes this new study so effective, is that it is based on research into wind speeds. It concludes that houses within urban areas are not ideally suited to generate useful amounts of electricity. Even so, it identifies nearly half a million sites which are ideal locations for domestic sized turbines.

The research into wind speed locations is available to the public on www.est.org.uk. Residents can enter their postcode and discover the suitability of their property for small-scale wind generation.

And the EST’s estimate that domestic wind turbines could contribute over 3% of the UK’s energy needs is good news for the Government’s target for cutting carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. And home energy consumption accounts for around 25% of the UK’s emissions.

Simon Green, head of business development at EST, said:
“If the government is going to achieve the 80% carbon targets, particularly for the domestic sector, retrofit insulation isn’t going to cut it. You’re going to have to invest in lower-carbon energy generation. Generally, pole-mounted in areas of good, clean air with unobstructed air flow gave better than expected performance.”

EST carried out their study with a number of partners, including The Department for Energy and Climate Change, the University of Southampton and a number of power companies.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The simple action of reducing water usage could save people a lot of money off their energy bills, say a consumer watchdog.

People often fail to appreciate that nearly 25% of domestic energy bills are down to heating water and this also equates to just over five per cent of the country’s national carbon footprint.

The watchdog point out that just having brief showers rather than baths could save well over £300 in heating bills. It’s a simple case of less energy needed to heat less water. Further measures should be things such as an aerated shower head and less frequent use of the dishwasher these would also reduce energy bills.

And when coupled with bigger measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation, it could all add up to a significant energy saving.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The latest trend in domestic heating circles – low-carbon gas absorption technology that heats and cools buildings with claimed significant cost and environmental benefits – has taken a further step forward with the launch of gas absorption heat pump (GAHP) solutions for UK consumers.

ENER-G, a Manchester-based sustainable power business has teamed up with Italian manufacturer Robur, to market GAHP systems. The fans of GAHP systems claim they are far better than traditional boiler technologies, because they offer a significantly improved environmental performance.

The principle behind a GAHP system is simple. It works by removing energy from a low temperature heat source – in this case the outside air – and then upgrading it within the heat pump to either heat, or cool water inside a building. The power to run the whole process comes from natural gas, or LPG.

And ironically, this is not exactly a 21st Century technology, having been pioneered in the late 1700s.

Andrew Hill, ENER-G product manager, said:
“GAHP’s harness the properties of refrigerants to change from liquid to gas and back again in order to transfer heat. The technology provides sustainable solutions for a wide range of businesses and households.”

The benefits in operational terms include security of energy supply because there’s less dependency on electricity, there’s no maintenance, and easy installation.

The Robur manufactured systems work up to 165% efficiency.
“Our heat pump solution, in partnership with Robur, provides a reliable, cost-effective, and constant energy source that is highly effective for industrial, commercial and residential use. This is due to the system’s ability both to save energy and increase the value of the building with its A+++ classification issued by the European Commission.” Added Mr Hill.

And GAHPs are suitable as a direct replacement for gas-fired traditional and condensing boilers. They can reach temperatures over 65C and also produce hot water.

The systems can be purchased outright, or rented.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

It might come as a welcome surprise to many who feel that British Gas is a little unwieldy to deal with, but the giant energy company has been ranked as one of the U.K. top 50 places to work.

The accolade actually goes to two businesses inside British Gas: British Gas Business and British Gas Services.

The rankings are put together by The Financial Times newspaper and announced recently at the eighth annual U.K. Best Workplaces Awards ceremony which took place in London recently.

In fact, British Gas Business received a Financial Times Laureate Award for companies that have maintained a position on the list for five consecutive years. To date, only ten organisations have achieved that standard. It’s the second time for British Gas Services.

Badar Khan, British Gas Business managing director, said:
“To come in the UK’s top 50 places to work again is a fantastic achievement. We’ve got a ‘legendary’ employee engagement score at British Gas Business and this award just goes to prove that this means a great deal to the team.”

The Great Place to Work Institute run the awards and they are based on a survey plus organisation questionnaire.

Another newspaper, this time The Sunday Times, also gave British Gas a thumbs up as a great place to deal, making it 17th in its list of top employers.

British Gas is one of th world’s major energy companies and as a residential supplier, is the biggest supplier of gas and electric in the British domestic market with more than 16 million customer accounts.

So, next time a customer is waiting patiently on the telephone being told that an engineer is sure to get there, just remember, at least the souls at British Gas are happy in their work.

Guest Article by Neil Camp