Coalition Minister Chris Huhne has told The Sunday Telegraph that he’s in favour of wind power as a way of solving the country’s looming energy crisis.

He said that more should be done to harness both offshore and onshore wind power. And these comments are being made against a backdrop of the UK having to currently import around 27% of its energy.

In a situation likely to put pressure on the new coalition, the Energy Secretary made clear his feelings that there was no money for state subsidies in order to build a new generation of nuclear plants. This was the idea which was the preferred way out of the energy crisis for both the Conservative and Labour parties.

And it’s not just a question of the Liberal Democrats being ‘coerced’ into voting for the nuclear power option. As part of the coalition agreement, they are allowed to abstain whenever a vote is taken in Parliament on funding for nuclear power.

Mr Huhne also said that he was a big supporter of electric cars. His comments were part of his general strategy to see that the UK becomes far more independent in terms of producing its own energy. This, he said, would allow the country to withstand external influences, including conflict, that usually send prices rocketing. He argues that the UK cannot survive on oil and gas which is running out.

He said that given the nightmare with planning issues, the best way forward was likely to be offshore wind farms. He told the newspaper:
“Offshore wind, I think partly as a result of fewer planning issues, is likely to be an important part of our energy independence going forward.

“We have a tremendous natural resource in the Dogger Bank, which is an enormous shallow area of the North Sea, the same size as Wales.

“It’s relatively cheap to put wind turbines in that shallow area. It’s beautifully windy so it does actually produce a lot of electricity – that is a really important natural resource for us.”

Yet of the 235 wind farms currently in operation, only 12 are operating offshore. Potentially, these farms have the capacity to generate over 4,000 mega watts of electricity, yet rarely reach that level as the wind is not consistent. As for the future, some five offshore farms are currently in construction, 27 onshore are being built and a further 468 farms are being planned.

As for nuclear power, Mr Huhne said:
“We basically said exactly the same as Labour on the point about no public subsidy. I suspect the difference is that we mean it. I suspect that new nuclear will go ahead. Investors are telling me very strongly that they expect to be able to go ahead given the framework we can put in place.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The UK’s religious buildings could generate some £34 million a year if they installed solar panels says the UK’s largest supplier of gas.

By installing solar panels on churches and other religious buildings including temples and mosques, the British Gas Green Streets Programme reckons that millions could be made by utilising the Feed-In Tariffs. This is a programme which pays companies, organisations and households for providing “green” electricity.

It reckons that power worth £29 million could be generated, plus savings of £5 million for not having to buy electricity from the grid, totalling £34 million.

British Gas reckons that this will be good news for the various religions that operate in the UK, especially the number of Church of England dioceses that are currently running deficits.

What’s more, British Gas reckons that the collective use of solar panels by religions could save some 42,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year which, they point out, equates to over 600 transatlantic flights.

Managing director of British Gas Phil Bentley said:
“These potential savings are great news for the UK’s religious buildings and their congregations, and give them the opportunity to lead their communities in tackling climate change and helping Britain move towards a low carbon society. Religious buildings are particularly well suited to solar power as they tend to have large south-facing rooves which receive direct sunlight for the main part of the day.

“The Government’s Feed-In Tariff scheme is the key to unlocking the potential of solar power in Britain. As Britain’s energy company, we at British Gas are committed to helping households, business and community and faith groups make the most of this opportunity to cut their carbon footprint and earn money for the electricity they generate.”

And the Church of England appear keen on the idea. A spokesman said:
“The Church of England is committed to saving energy and becoming greener throughout the UK and the potential for solar panels on our churches is an exciting prospect. Even though not all UK churches could adopt this model due to planning and architectural conservation laws, there may be thousands of Church of England buildings out there that could help create a greener future by generating clean energy as well as some much needed income.”

And it’s already happening. St Silas Church in London has already had its south facing roof equipped with solar panels. These are in the form of PV tiles which have been manufactured specially to blend in with the Welsh slate.

And the Masjid-e-Hamza Mosque in Birmingham plans to follow suit and hopes to be better off by the tune of nearly £6,500 a year.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Whereas some companies in the heating industry are lamenting the closure of the Government’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme, Baxi Boilers actually think that it might be a good development.

Baxi Boilers thinks that there is a definite silver lining with the ending of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

And with it gone, says Baxi Boilers, thoughts can now be focussed on a: “…broader, more financially sustainable approach in encouraging the installation of low and zero carbon (LZC) heating technologies in our home.”

The Low Carbon Buildings Programme first came into being in April, 2006 and has dished out, estimates Baxi Boilers, some 20,000 grants which have helped pay for the cost of micro-generation equipment for homeowners, as well as not-for-profit organisations. The grants covered both the capital and installation costs of such equipment.

But as with many such initiatives, the Governments deficit busting axe has been at work and as part of the initial attempt to remove £6 billion from the sums, the Department of Energy and Climate Change chopped the £34 million scheme.

Baxi Boilers’ own Mr Osborne, said:
“On the surface, the termination of the LCBP appears to be bad news for the LZC heating sector" says. "However, in the Queen’s Speech the Government announced the introduction of new Green Loans for those who want to save energy. These offer a more financially sustainable option than the LCBP, and will, in our view, do more to grow investment in LZC technologies, especially for those on low incomes. Loans will be paid back through a pay as you save scheme which, unlike the LCBP, does not require the homeowner to finance the LZC technology up front".  

Baxi Boilers highlight the fact that the Department of Energy and Climate Change all new incentive schemes, and tariffs, will be structured so as to operate under the Micro-generation Certification Scheme framework. And what’s more, they will be supported by tariffs on the utility bills.

Simon Osborne, who is Specification Channel Manager at Baxi Boilers, went on to say: “This new link with the Micro-generation Certification Scheme will be an important change. It will effectively pass the ownership of being green from the eligible few under the LCBP to everyone. That has to be a positive step forward.”

One of the final points made by Baxi Boilers is that the nearly £60 million worth of Low Carbon Buildings Programme, already being processed, will be honoured by the Department of Energy and Climate Change; if they meet the original criteria of course.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The Ewe Hill Windfarm has got the go ahead from Dumfries & Galloway Council.

The council approved the building of the Ewe Hill Windfarm by ScottishPower Renewables.

Ewe Hill Windfarm is located just over ten miles from Lockerbie and will feature six turbines. They will produce enough green energy for approximately 10,000 homes.

The Ewe Hill Windfarm was initially ear-marked for 22 turbines and Scottish Renewables is still progressing part of what was an earlier application.

Possibly as a sop to views of residents near to Ewe Hill Windfarm, Scottish Renewables has said it has demonstrated its commitment to the local community by creating a special fund to support local projects. The company says that around £20,000 will be invested into the fund every year.

UK Director of ScottishPower Renewables, Simon Christian, said about Ewe Hill Windfarm:
“This announcement is tremendous news, not just for ScottishPower Renewables, but also for Scotland’s renewables targets. We have spent considerable time working on this project and to gain this consent is great reward for the efforts of all our team.”

Altogether, ScottishPower Renewables confirmed that it now has over 1200 megawatts of electricity generating capacity deriving from clean, green power. In terms of capacity in operation, sites under construction and planning permission consented, ScottishPower Renewables is the UK’s largest operator of onshore windfarms. It also operates Whitelee, which was completed in May 2009 and is Europe’s largest windfarm.

ScottishPower Renewables is a part of the largest wind energy company in the world, Iberdrola Renovables, and at the end of 2009, boasted a capacity of nearly 11,000 megawatts and a future pipeline of nearer 60,000 megawatts. The ScottishPower Renewables part of the business contributed 800 megawatts of installed capacity and a pipeline of 5,115 megawatts at the end of 2009.

Iberdrola Renovables has operations in over 20 countries worldwide.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The Labour Government has been reported to be considering a scheme by which a homeowner could fund eco-improvements through a long term loan, possibly provided through the energy companies.

And although an inevitable row has broken out between the political parties as to whose idea it is – both the Tories and Liberal Democrats claim they had the idea first – it is a genuine attempt to help people afford home improvements with the environment in mind. We have already seen the boiler scrappage scheme has been welcomed with open arms as lots of people have jumped on the chance to buy a new gas boiler at a discount. So if it goes through it will hopefully have a positive affect.

It has always been a dilemma for anyone contemplating making changes to their house and more energy efficient, is that the pay-back can be decades.

Take double-glazing which undoubtedly makes a property warmer. Although it will save hundreds of pounds off an average energy bill every year, that won’t cover for a long time the actual cost if installation which will cost thousands of pounds.

Even the simpler job of installing loft insulation is not that cheap, especially if a householder cannot do it as a DIY project.

So the Government plan is simple: provide people with access to long term funding so they can make their home more energy efficient.

The crux is of course, can the Government afford such schemes, especially as over the coming years the public purse is going to have to be considerably tightened and home grants will be hit hard? If you look at the welcomed boiler scrappage scheme, this has proved very popular, but the scheme itself has a limited shelf life, grants for new gas boilers cannot last forever. What’s more, various consumer groups are already complaining that a number of home improvement grant schemes are being withdrawn, or wound-down. Will this result in many of the government boiler grants being forgotten by the power companies as well?

So, it’s perhaps inevitable the Government will want to involve the energy companies in the scheme. Maybe not to wholly bank roll-it, but to act as a clearing house, although you could see the temptation of ministers asking the big energy companies to put their hands in their pockets for people’s house improvements; almost a corporate tax by proxy.

But the cynics might also point out this is the period before the general election, when the Government and opposition parties alike will promise many things which are then conveniently forgotten when they become leaders.

So, it’s a great idea, but don’t hold your breath!

Guest Article by Neil Camp