Recent Government initiatives have seen a push towards promoting sustainable businesses, by encouraging them to take advantage of new business opportunities within the new low carbon economic sectors. Bedford College is getting in on the act, by leading a regional push to offer free training in ‘green’ renewable energy jobs to the unemployed.

The European Social Fund has provided £650,000 to help unemployed people find work in low carbon jobs. This is being promoted through the Skills for Sustainable Development (SSD) Project, whose main aim is to help people who are economically inactive or looking for work by offering them free training in skills that will ultimately encourage a low carbon society.

Bedford College is working closely with partner agencies across the region – including other colleges, as well as employers and local councils – to ensure the effective delivery of the project.

Current courses include Awards in Environmental and Sustainable Development, Renewable Electricity (solar photovoltaic systems, micro wind), and Renewable Heat (solar thermal, air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps). Courses are free and easy to enrol on and the length of courses ranges from one day to a maximum of two weeks.

Skills for Sustainable Development Project Manager, Janette Eustace, who is also a member of the Bedford College Sustainability Team, said:

“By engaging with so many groups we can encourage more sustainable business practices and therefore look towards our low carbon future, whilst providing unemployed people with added skills for their chosen careers.”

For more information about the courses available, go to www.greenbedfordcollege.com

A local authority in Gloucestershire is set to lower its energy bills by more than £100,000 by signing up to the Carbon Trust’s Public Sector Carbon Management scheme.

Wyre Forest District Council in Gloucestershire is also hoping to reduce its carbon emissions by more than three million tonnes over the lifetime of the programme, which it aims to achieve by cutting the commercial energy used to power street lighting, public buildings and vehicle fleets used by the local authority.

The district council is one of 20 organisations participating in this phase of the Carbon Trust’s programme.

Council bosses say that the 247 organisations who have already participated in the first eight phases of the programme, have already implemented projects that over their lifetime are expected to save more than 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and more than £100 million, with more projects in the pipeline.

The Carbon Trust’s Public Sector Carbon Management scheme provides public sector organisations with practical advice on how to cut their carbon footprint and reduce energy costs. Larissa Lockwood, public sector manager at the Carbon Trust, said the carbon and energy savings made so far had been great, and the Trust was looking forward to building on these achievements with the new participants.

“Given the success of the previous phases of our Carbon Management programme, we are excited to be working with 20 more organisations, including Wyre Forest District Council, to establish good carbon management practice,” she said.

Commenting on Wyre Forest district council’s participation in the scheme, Councillor Julian Phillips – district council cabinet member for place-shaping – said:

“Our participation in this programme, together with the construction of our new, highly energy efficient headquarters will enable us to plan and deliver carbon emission reductions and energy savings across our entire estate.”

The Government’s new green ‘stealth’ tax could end up pushing thousands of households into fuel poverty, which could potentially give climate policies a bad name. That’s according to the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), one of the UK’s leading progressive think tanks.

The green ‘stealth’ tax – which is due to be implemented in 2013 – is designed to encourage investment in low carbon energy projects, such as wind, wave and nuclear power, and raise billions for the Treasury in the process. But according to research undertaken by the think tank, the Government’s carbon floor price policy, which was announced in this year’s budget, could not only add £1 billion to energy bills and push tens of thousands of households into fuel poverty, but could also have no effect on reducing carbon emissions.

In their new report, the IPPR concludes that the policy may not encourage investment in low carbon energy, as the Government hopes. Under existing rules, energy providers must generate a fixed amount of green energy every year, or else buy permits to pollute on the open market. The new policy will prevent the cost of these permits from falling, and from 2013 the ‘floor price’ to emit a tonne of carbon will be set at £16, rising to £30 by 2020.

The IPPR believes that expensive carbon prices in the UK will lead to lower prices elsewhere – and won’t reduce the amount of carbon emitted. According to the think tank, it’s more than likely that energy firms will pass on the cost of these rises to consumers. With 5.5 million households already in fuel poverty – compared to only 1.4 million in 2004 –the IPPR estimates that 30,000 to 60,000 more households will be pushed into fuel poverty.

“The carbon price support scheme risks giving energy and climate change policy a bad name because it will do nothing to reduce carbon emissions, while piling more cost on to the shoulders of already hard-pressed consumers in the UK,” said Andrew Pendleton, IPPR associate director.

The way we think about energy in the UK is changing. Although currently only about 2% of people are on green tariffs, to try and encourage interest in renewable energy, British Gas has announced the introduction of their new green energyshare tariff.

Energyshare has been designed to help you save energy and money – and perhaps even go one step further by generating your own energy – and the tariff offers renewable electricity at the same price as a British Gas standard tariff.

The energyshare tariff also provides funding to community renewable projects, which are then voted for by energyshare members. The tariff has been designed to increase demand for renewable power, as well as boosting community projects, such as solar panels and local wind farms

The energyshare renewable energy project sees British Gas joining forces with River Cottage. Together they aim to raise £15m over the next five years to help support community renewable energy projects. British Gas has already contributed £500,000 into the energyshare fund. But that’s just the start because British Gas plans to distribute a further £3m to community renewable energy projects through the energyshare fund over the next 3 years.

Benefits of signing up to the energyshare tariff include:

• British renewable electricity at the same price as British Gas’ Standard tariff.
• Your choice of a free product to help you save more energy and money in your home.
• For every year a customer remains on the tariff, British Gas will donate £10 into the energyshare fund to support renewable energy community projects.
• The chance to vote on how money in the fund is spent.
• The energyshare tariff is accredited under the Green Energy Supply Certification Scheme so you can be confident that it will make a real, measurable environmental difference.

Baxi, one of Britain’s leading suppliers of energy efficient central heating systems and part of BDR Thermea, has welcomed a publication released by the UK Government that provides details of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Policy.

The RHI is expected to provide support to installation firms providing renewable heat technology. In an economic climate that has been shaped by a lingering recession and deep public spending cuts, any funding for renewable products ought to be welcomed with open arms.

Specification channel manager for BDR Thermea, Simon Osborne, said: “We are encouraged by the main thrust of the RHI documentation. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has clearly learnt the important lessons from the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) framework and created an approach which will ensure technologies can be assessed in real life installations.

“The £15m funding could create around 25,000 installations under the Renewable Heat Premium Payments which will demonstrate the benefits renewable heat can deliver by 2015.”

Mr Osborne did raise concerns over specific details of the policy document, however, stating: “There is still clarity needed on key areas. We are disappointed that the definitive tariff levels for the domestic sector have not been revealed and we look forward to the publication of this information in May 2011. We also need detail on how dwellings will be assessed as eligible and whether the RHI tariff will be metered or deemed.”

Mr Osborne concluded: “On the plus side, we are pleased to see that a clear link between RHI and the Green Deal has been expressed. Whilst there is a delay with implementation, the Government has honoured the commitment that installations completed after 15th July 2009 will be eligible for payments from 2012.”

It is hoped that the RHI scheme will increase investment in green technology by more than £4 billion over the period leading to 2020. In terms of outright cost, the scheme, which is due to come into effect later this year, is worth around £860 million. Payments made under the RHI scheme will not be available to households until October 2012, however.

The UK’s Coalition Government – the same administration that promised to be the ‘greenest ever’ last year – has announced plans to introduce a 70 per cent cut to the Feed-In Tariff scheme (FIT) for large solar energy enterprises.

Due to come into effect on August 1, 2011, the move would reduce payments made to landowners, farmers and commercial property owners under FITs. The proposal affects any solar installation that produces 50kW of solar-generated electricity, whilst the full 70 per cent reduction would apply to installations producing 250kW to 5MW of power. Understandably, the solar industry has reacted with dismay and anger to the proposal, which remains subject to consultation.

Ben Warren, of Ernst and Young, said: “The whole investor market was totally disengaged as a result of the Feed-In Tariff being ripped up.” Meanwhile, Ray Noble, of the Renewable Energy Association, commented: “It’s an absolute disaster. No new projects will start after this comes into effect.”

Attempting to explain how the proposal would benefit the solar industry in the UK, Climate Change Minister Greg Baker said: “I want to make sure that we capture the benefits of fast-falling costs in solar technology to allow even more homes to benefit, rather than see that money go in bumper profits to a small number of big investors.”

Unfortunately, the proposal is more likely to dissuade large corporations from investing in solar technology than it will encourage new solar panel developments on a scale large enough to benefit a significant number of homes.

The Government did, however, make the point that the reduction would result in greater funds being made available for domestic solar panel projects. As funds are collected through consumer energy bills, it is perhaps only fitting that more money is reserved for domestic solar PV projects.

The Feed-In Tariff works by enabling homeowners and companies to generate electricity from solar photovoltaic panels, which are typically installed on rooftops, before exporting it to the National Grid. Under FITs, around 41p per kilowatt hour is paid for such electricity, making solar panels an important investment in the home. Whether solar technology remains a viable opportunity for larger companies after the Government’s proposal is implemented remains to be seen.

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) risks increasing air pollution in urban areas, warns the leading charity Environmental Protection UK (EPUK).

The Renewable Heat Incentive will offer all households regular payments for installing eligible renewable heating systems, including biomass burners such as wood fired boilers. Biomass heating systems can release relatively high levels of air pollutants when fuel is burned, a potential health risk in towns and cities, especially where air quality already reaches harmful levels.

A recent study by the committee on the medical effects of air pollutants suggests air pollutants of the type released by biomass heating systems, the same as those caused by traffic pollution, contribute to up to 200,000 premature deaths per year.

James Grugeon, EPUK’s chief executive, said: “EPUK welcomes any scheme that promotes the use of renewable heating and microgeneration, but not at the unwarranted expense of public health. The Renewable Heat Incentive published shows a disregard for the quality of our air and public health in already polluted urban areas.”

Environmental Protection UK is advocating a location based approach to renewable heat and power systems, including small-scale microgeneration, which would see local authorities have a greater say in where they can be deployed, ensuring health impacts are minimised and the most effective locations for the technologies are promoted.

Mr Grugeon said: “The Renewable Heat Incentive highlights the need for a rethink on the Government’s microgeneration strategy. It’s a step in the right direction, but this broad-brush approach to installing renewables shows there is a lack of understanding about the local health impacts they can have and also where they work best. With more planning and collaboration with local authorities, microgeneration systems could be installed in places with the highest carbon benefit and the lowest health impact. The Renewable Heat Incentive shouldn’t miss this opportunity.”

The UK’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will not be launched until October 2012, it has been revealed.

Further details of the scheme have today been published, confirming that technologies such as solar thermal and ground source heat pumps are qualified by the scheme.

The launch of the scheme was originally pitched for April, and then June 2011. It has now been pushed back further to coincide with the Government’s Green Deal.

According to Government figures, the £860m scheme expects to increase green capital investment by £4.5 billion up to 2020, stimulating a new market in renewable heating.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, who launched the RHI, said: “Renewable heat is a largely untapped resource and an important new green industry of the future.

“This incentive is the first of its kind in the world.  It’ll help the UK shift away from fossil fuel, reducing carbon emissions and encouraging innovation, jobs and growth in new advanced technologies.”

Currently around half of the UK’s carbon emissions come from the energy used to produce heat – more than from generating electricity. The RHI will reduce emissions by 44 million tonnes of carbon to 2020, equivalent to the annual carbon emitted by 20 typical new gas power stations.

Industry, commercial and public sectors will be eligible under the RHI to install technologies like biomass boilers, heat pumps and solar thermal. Community projects will also be eligible, provided a single installation is generating heat to more than one house.

Tariffs will be paid for 20 years to eligible technologies that have been installed since July 15, 2009 with payments being made for each kWh of renewable heat which is produced.

Tariff payments will start for homes alongside the Green Deal from 2012.

In the meantime, up to 25,000 installations from July will be supported by a new ‘RHI Premium Payment’ to help people cover the purchase price of green heating systems. Those taking up the premium will then be eligible for a RHI tariff from October 2012 when the Green Deal begins, as will anyone else who has had eligible equipment installed from July 2009.

The RHI Premium Payment will be worth around £15m and will ensure there is “a fair spread of technologies across all regions of Great Britain”.

There will be clear eligibility criteria in order to qualify for a Premium payment, including:

• A well insulated home based on its energy performance certificate
• Agreeing to give feedback on how the equipment performs

The Government is expected to publish details of the RHI Premium Payment and how this will apply in May. Consultations on the RHI tariffs that will apply from October 2012 will be carried out later in the year.

In the UK and other parts of Europe, wood-burning stoves are seen as a cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternative to gas boiler central heating systems. Wood-burning stoves are also used frequently as an additional source of heat, generating warmth for thousands of people throughout Britain. According to the University of Copenhagen’s Professor Steffen Loft, however, wood-burning stoves can damage human health.

Published in the Chemical Research in Toxicology journal, Professor Loft’s study examined and compared samples of air extracted from two villages in Denmark. In one village, wood-burning stoves were used only rarely, whereas in the other, wood-burning stoves were used regularly by most residents.

Analysing the WSPM (wood smoke particulate matter), Professor Loft established a link between the use of wood-burning stoves and various illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, cancer and heart disease. Professor Loft’s research also claims that the DNA of liver cells can be damaged by consuming food from crops contaminated by wood smoke.

Professor Loft argues: “The particles from wood smoke can certainly cause fatal heart or lung disease. In human cells that were exposed to them, substantial DNA damage and mutation took place. It was comparable to the effects of particles given off by traffic.”

In the UK, Professor Loft’s research is likely to encounter at least two contrasting bodies of popular opinion. Supporters may argue that wood-burning stoves, whilst arguably good for the environment, could damage human health and should, therefore, be more tightly regulated. Opponents are likely to stress that wood-burning stoves have been used for many years in Europe without causing health problems. Whichever argument holds true, Professor Loft’s study ought not to be dismissed out of hand or accepted without further scrutiny.

After noting that deaths caused by wood smoke were common in developing countries, Professor Loft added: “I’ve heard many complaints from individuals upset about neighbours’ wood-burning stoves because they are causing them problems such as asthma. There are improvements being made to the wood stoves to cut the level of emission, but the most important thing is how people use them.”

The professor suggested that burning small, dry wood pellets could reduce the risk of illness.

SunShare is the latest new solar investment scheme for UK households.

Like the Government’s Feed-In Tariff (FIT), this scheme will help homeowners to combat rising energy costs. However, the unique selling point of this scheme is that it works in conjunction with the Feed-In Tariff to provide further benefits.

SunShare was officially launched on January 17, 2011 by Avonline PLC. Eligible homes are those which install solar panels with SunShare.

SunShare have ownership of the system, but this can be brought outright after 10, 15 or 20 years. Under the scheme, this means vastly reduced installation costs and free maintenance for 25 years.

To qualify certain criteria such as a south facing roof must be met.

Qualifying homes will benefit from free electricity, significantly reduced energy bills, and the perks of the Feed-In Tariff scheme, which sees homeowners, businesses and communities receive payments for generating their own renewable electricity. At present you will be paid 41.3p per kWh.

Payments made out by the Feed-In Tariff are shared between SunShare and its applicants. The amount you receive is up to you and can be anything between 30 – 50 per cent of the Feed-In Tariff.

According to Mark Wynn, managing director of Avonline PLC, qualifying homes could get a fully installed solar PV system for as little as £3,999 and reduce their electricity bills by 40 per cent.