Residents in Bristol are set to benefit from solar PV technology after a local co-operative announced plans to install free panels on homes across the city.

Bristol Power is planning to introduce the scheme on a trial basis in Lockleaze. Should it prove successful, the co-op intends to make free solar panels available throughout the city. This would provide residents with access to free renewable energy, whilst money generated by exporting surplus electricity to the National Grid would be retained by Bristol Power.

The ambitious project comes after the British Government reduced Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) from 43p per kWh to 21p per kWh. Solar subsidies are expected to fall to 16p later this year and further reductions ought to be anticipated as the manufacturing cost of solar panels decreases.

Bristol Power is not a private company, however, which means that it does not exist to generate profit. Whilst private firms have criticised the decision to cut solar subsidies because it lessens their profit margins, Bristol Power, as a co-op, can possibly afford to operate in the sector on less favourable commercial terms. Any profit generated by the organisation must be reinvested in the initiative.

Bristol Power’s David Saunders explained: “We want to offer people the opportunity to join an energy co-operative which would give them the chance of solar panels on their roof and much cheaper annual electricity bills”.

Mr Saunders added: “In Bristol, there is enough roof space for 700 megawatts of solar power. That’s the equivalent of a decent sized power station”.

Residents in Lockleaze are set to become the first people to benefit from the scheme. Participants need not pay anything towards the cost of solar panels, as these will be supplied and installed using co-op funds.

During the spring and summer months, households will be able to enjoy free solar electricity generated by the panels. There will be times when participants must purchase energy from suppliers, but savings generated when the sun does shine (even through light cloud) should still equate to more than £200 a year. This could be enough to lift some families out of fuel poverty, whilst alleviating the burden of many others.

Housing officials in Newcastle have been criticised after plans to build a new wood-burning biomass plant in the east of the city were announced. The proposal attracted public concern following a scandal involving biomass processing in the area between 1979 and 1999.

The Byker Wall biomass incinerator burned waste products for two decades before it was shut down. In 2000, Newcastle Council was prosecuted after tests revealed as much as 2,000 tonnes of harmful ash was released into the atmosphere.

The ash tested positive for significant quantities of dioxins that were known to cause cancer. Councillor Veronica Dunn has attempted to allay the public’s fears by insisting that the new biomass boiler would be entirely different from the old incinerator.

Councillor Dunn commented: “The Forestry Commission supports the use of biomass boilers.

“The ash is very high in potash content and is very much sought after by farmers and gardeners. I think there’s a history of concern in Byker regarding the similar plans for an incinerator. This is a different type of application completely”.

Director of St. Peter’s Marina, Brian Hunt, countered: “People just don’t want it [biomass]. I’ve been here for 20 years and I suffered from the incinerator when there were fumes all over this place”.

Mr Hunt added that biomass technology has been shown to produce ash residue, which is why people in Byker are so concerned about a new wood-burning plant.

Newcastle Council’s Chief Executive, Barry Rowland, insisted that the biomass plant is necessary to help tackle fuel poverty in the local community.

Biomass central heating provides housing firms with a relatively cheap and environmentally friendly way to generate energy. Although carbon emissions are produced by burning wood pellets and other biomass fuel sources, the technology is said to be carbon neutral because the amount released is equal to the amount of CO2 absorbed by the natural materials before they were converted into fuel.

In local communities, the energy generated by large biomass boilers is proving to be a cost-effective alternative to mains gas. Biomass plants can produce sufficient energy to provide heating and hot water to local homes. Whether ash residue is a cause for concern in Byker remains to be seen.

Renewables Guide is delighted to see the RHPP scheme extended to a 2^nd phase, providing a bridge to the full renewable heat incentive scheme expected in 2013.

According to the latest Renewables Guide press release, there is good news for UK homeowners as the Government announces a second phase for the renewable heat premium payment scheme, which will run from the 01 May 2012 to 31 March 2013.

The renewable heat premium payment is a scheme that provides one off grants to domestic UK households who wish to install and use one of the renewable heat technologies that is part of the scheme. The RHPP scheme will eventually be replaced by the renewable heat incentive scheme, which is expected sometime in 2013.

£25 million in total will be spent by the government for the scheme’s second phase, £8 million has been set aside for a competition for community groups who install the relevant renewable technology, £10 million is for social housing and £7 million is for private householders whose homes are not heated by mains gas.

The RHPP scheme is designed to help UK homeowners with the cost of installing renewable technology, with the vouchers varying in their monetary value depending on which technology the customers apply for.

The voucher values for each technology are -

1. Ground source heat pumps – £1,250/unit
2. Biomass boilers – £950/unit
3. Air source heat pumps – £850/unit
4. Solar thermal – £300/unit (this grant is valid for houses heated by all types of fuels including gas)

David Holmes, Managing Director of Renewables Guide commented, “The extension to the renewable heat premium payment scheme is warmly welcomed, especially in light of the Governments recent announcement to delay launching the renewable heat incentive scheme. There is a real opportunity to reduce the UK’s CO₂ emissions if more people chose to use renewable heat technologies, so financial reward schemes such as these are vitally important”.

Renewables Guide is the UK’s leading resource to find MCS accredited renewable energy installers and suppliers. Users can receive up to 3 no obligation quotes for free from approved renewable engineers in their chosen location.

For more information visit renewablesguide.co.uk

A report by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has revealed that solar PV installations dropped by nearly 90 per cent since the British Government halved Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) in April.

The seemingly rapid decline had been expected by the solar industry, which criticised government officials for failing to realise the potential of one of the few areas of growth in the British economy. Prime Minister David Cameron, meanwhile, argued that FITs were no longer affordable and that reduced manufacturing costs of solar panels ought to balance out the subsidy cuts.

The government had hoped to introduce the cuts in December last year, but a legal battle in the High Court ruled that no such change would be lawful until April 2012. After introducing the first round of cuts last month, further reductions are expected to be made by the government in the years ahead. If the number of solar panel installations has already fallen by almost 90 per cent, would the industry even survive the next few years?

Explaining the cuts, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change Greg Barker said: “The whole point of my reforms is to bring in a much greater degree of certainty and predictability”.

Mr Barker added that he expects Britain to achieve its target of 22GW of installed solar PV capacity by 2020 despite the fact that only 18MW of capacity was installed in 2011 during the ‘solar boom’. Since solar subsidies were cut from 43p/kWh to 21p/kWh in April, weekly installations have fallen 87 per cent on average compared with the previous year.

Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary Caroline Flint made clear Labour’s position on the matter by stating: “For months Labour has been warning that the government’s cuts to solar power would destroy thousands of jobs, cut off a green hi-tech British industry and stop families controlling soaring energy bills”.

Ms Flint added that, at the current rate of installation, Britain would not achieve solar capacity of 22GW for another 169 years.

Solar panels can help households control energy bills by providing them with a renewable source of energy. Although subsidies no longer offer the same incentives, solar panels can provide a reasonable return on investment over a 20 year period.

St. George’s Day marks the launch of a campaign which is calling on the Prime Minister to make the most of his first green speech to get behind a switch to clean energy. 

With increasing numbers of the British public recognising the need to switch from fossil fuels to clean green renewable energy, Friends of the Earth’s Clean British Energy Campaign – which has the support of Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden – is aiming to kick start an energy revolution.

In conjunction with the launch of the campaign, the charity has revealed the results of their latest poll which indicates 85% of the British public is in favour of renewable energy and believes the Government should be more supportive when it comes to the use of wind turbines and solar PV panels to help reduce our reliance on costly imported gas.

Commissioned by Friends of the Earth, the survey – which was conducted by YouGov – shows that almost 9 out of 10 people favour the use of wave, tidal, wind and solar power. Some 2,884 people were questioned and of those that participated just 2% backed the use of gas.

Commenting on the poll, Deborah Meaden said David Cameron really needed to listen to the public when it came to clean British energy and the use of green technologies.

“Gas, coal and nuclear are the technologies of the past. Our country has the skills and the talent to be world-beaters in the renewable energy technologies of right now. Friends of the Earth’s Clean British Energy campaign would switch the UK to home-grown clean power – we can’t afford not to.”

Craig Bennett, Friends of the Earth’s Director of Policy and Campaigns added that the public has spoken, expressing clear confidence in using the sun, sea and win for energy and that for the Government to pursue a costly dash for gas, which was forcing escalating hikes in fuel bills made no sense.

“David Cameron must back Britain by using his speech to kick-start a switch to clean British energy – it’s time to wave goodbye to costly fossil fuels and develop affordable power for the future,” said Bennett.

The Prime Minister is due to speak at the Clean Energy Ministerial on Thursday.

Chairman of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee (CECCC), Tim Yeo, has doubted the efficacy of the Green Deal, which aims to improve the energy efficiency of Britain’s draughty housing stock. 

According to Mr Yeo, the Green Deal is an excellent initiative, but its strong-arm tactics of forcing homeowners to install loft insulation, cavity wall insulation and other energy-saving products is plainly wrong.

Referring to plans to make energy efficiency a criterion for obtaining planning permission for conservatories and outbuildings, Mr Yeo said: “I’m not sure it’s the best first step at this stage.

“I think the laudable aim of the Green Deal to make all of Britain’s homes more efficient over the next decade is excellent and anything which encourages homeowners and tenants to make their homes more energy efficient is a good thing”.

Discussing the matter on BBC Radio 4, Mr Yeo added: “It’s good for them, saves them money and also is good for the environment – so we’re all in favour of that. The problem as I see it at the moment is the public are not really much engaged by this, they are not enthused by this prospect. It means having builders into your home, doing things, making a mess – all rather aggravating for a saving which is some way off in the future.

“You’ve got to find ways of making the public more enthusiastic and I think compelling people who have applied for planning consent to make some alteration to their home isn’t necessarily going to help”.

Mr Yeo could have a point. Although improving the energy efficiency of all homes is essential if Britain hopes to achieve its carbon emission objectives, there can be little doubt that forcing onerous conditions on property owners at a time of economic instability will win little favour with the public. People do want more energy efficient homes, but not so much so that they will sacrifice their current standard of living. People want energy efficiency on a budget and at little or no inconvenience.

Mr Yeo concluded: “I’m afraid there is a real risk the practical effects of this proposal may put them off”. He might just be right.

Baxi UK has welcomed a government decision to extend the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP), which was announced shortly before the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said that it would delay the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) until summer 2013.

One of Britain’s largest suppliers of energy efficient central heating boiler systems and controls, Baxi UK believes that extending the RHPP will go some way towards filling the chasm left by the deferment of the RHI. The second phase of the RHPP came into effect a week last Monday, adding more than £10 million to provide households with money off renewable, energy efficient technologies such as solar PV, biomass boilers and ground source heat pumps.

Discussing the extension of the RHPP, Simon Osborne of Baxi UK said: “RHPP has always been seen as a precursor to domestic RHI, so as the government pushes back the latter, we are glad that a new RHPP will bridge the gap”.

Mr Osborne added: “Ideally, both schemes need to work together in order to encourage individual installers, as well as homeowners, to start thinking about renewables. RHPP will definitely support early adopters, but might have a limited scope if accompanying tariff payments are not announced soon.

“If installers are going to invest in training on renewables, then they need to know what the potential market is going to be – and this will be determined, to a large extent, by domestic RHI”.

In total, the second phase of the RHPP will be worth £25 million. Providing private homeowners and social landlords with an incentive to improve the energy efficiency of homes throughout the UK, the RHPP has been widely lauded since its introduction in August 2011.

Announcing the second phase, Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: “We’re increasing the budget from £15 million to £25 million, for the first time we’re including community schemes and there’ll be more social housing schemes that can benefit. Those people who are reliant on expensive oil or electric heating should consider applying to the Premium Payment scheme to cut their fuel bills in the long-term”.

Baxi UK’s Simon Osborne concluded that the RHPP was a “massive opportunity to impact fuel switching and alleviate fuel poverty”.

The British Government has put on hold plans to implement the second stage of the Renewable Heat Incentive, its flagship scheme for encouraging households to generate renewable heat.

According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will be delayed at least until summer 2013 because further consultations on controlling costs are necessary. The delay represents another blow to Prime Minister David Cameron’s promise to run the ‘greenest ever’ government.

The scheme was designed to provide households with a pecuniary reward for generating heat and hot water from renewable sources. Qualifying households expected to receive approximately 8.5p/kWhr for generating and using such energy, while a further tariff would have been available for those who managed to export surplus heat. Following the government’s decision to halve solar subsidies, news of the delay will upset many people who have invested in renewable heating technologies.

Micro-generation central heating systems, biomass boilers, solar water heaters and ground source heat pumps would have enabled thousands of homes to profit from becoming more environmentally friendly under the RHI. The situation for next year is now unclear. What is clear is that the British Government hopes to avoid the same problems that arose when it decided to cut solar subsidies with little warning – a decision that was successfully challenged at the High Court.

Explaining the decision to delay the Renewable Heat Incentive, Climate Minister Greg Barker commented: “Putting in place cost control measures for the RHI is the prudent thing to do, given this is millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money at stake and taking on board the lessons learned from the feed-in tariff scheme.

“We will ask industry for its views in the summer and in the meantime will arrange for interim measures to be in place to manage the scheme’s budget. DECC will launch a formal consultation in the summer to explore the different policy options to ensure the RHI stays within its budget. This could include a system to lower tariffs as the scheme grows”.

Paul Thompson, of the Renewable Energy Association, remarked: “To launch an official consultation on bringing the shutters down, having only just fired the starting gun on the RHI, is premature to say the least”.

EBTech Solutions Limited is celebrating this week after a large-scale installation of straw-fired biomass boilers was approved under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

The RHI is a government scheme designed to “revolutionise the way heat is generated and used in buildings and homes”. EBTech Solutions announced on Wednesday the biomass boilers would be installed at Glen Avon Growers in Cottingham.

Matthew Blood, director of the firm, claimed the project is the first of its kind in the UK to feature horticultural heating under the RHI. Mr Blood commented: “The Cottingham project has gone quite well. There have been a few challenges, such as having to build the boiler within the building.

“We are pleased to be leading the way in biomass heating, not only in Yorkshire with the Glen Avon project but with a diverse number of projects throughout the country”.

Highlighting the recent success of EBTech Solutions, which was incorporated four years ago, Mr Blood said: “We have done ten installations all over the country since 2008. This year we potentially have a further ten jobs. It is looking like a bright year for the company and we are continuing to double turnover year on year”.

The concept of horticultural heating is one many people in the UK might find difficult to understand, but is essentially about utilising various materials and substances for use as fuel, usually in central heating systems.

EBTech Solutions’ project uses the abundance of waste straw in Yorkshire to fuel specially designed biomass boilers, which are said to be environmentally neutral because their carbon footprint is more or less equal to the amount of carbon dioxide that would be naturally released into the atmosphere when the material – in this case straw – breaks down.

Domestic biomass boilers can use straw, but traditional systems are fired by wood pellets and logs. Large-scale heating systems can burn other sources of fuel, including wheat, oat husks and olive kernels.

Explaining why straw-fired boilers were chosen for the Glen Avon Growers project, David Schellingerhout said: “East Yorkshire is surrounded by straw, so this option seemed the logical choice. It will bring stability to our energy price. It is also great to think we are not using the world’s commodities, we are using something that is renewable”.

Sentec, one of the world’s leading suppliers of smart metering technology, has cast doubts over the UK’s ability to meet smart meter installation targets by 2015.

The British firm, which supplies smart meters throughout Europe and the rest of the world, has provided a ‘heat map’ to show how countries in the EU are progressing with the roll-out of smart meters.

The Electricity Directive requires all European Community countries to deploy smart meters in 80 per cent of homes by 2020. According to Sentec, Britain must do more if she hopes to meet this objective.

Explaining some of the difficulties facing energy and smart meter firms in the UK, Mark England, CEO of Sentec, said: “The deregulated structure of [the] UK market is uniquely challenging for rapid and coordinated action in a large-scale initiative like this and we believe that smart meter deployment in 65 per cent of UK homes by 2015 is not possible”.

Mr England admitted that there remains a “great deal of work still to do to finalise the technical and regulatory framework for smart metering”.

The figure of 65 per cent is based on predictions made by IMS Research, which also believes that smart meter penetration will reach 49 per cent of homes in France and 73 per cent of homes in Spain and Portugal.

Sentec’s heat map suggests some countries are not doing enough to roll out smart meter technology, which is designed to reduce energy users’ reliance on domestic electricity, thereby cutting usage and making bills more affordable. In Britain, smart meters can be used in conjunction with solar photovoltaic panels, which generate electricity for home use. Surplus energy can also be sold to the National Grid.

The heat map indicates that several countries in the north or west of Europe will exceed 70 per cent penetration by 2015, but Poland and Germany will struggle with around 30 per cent. The fate of smart metering in the UK is less clear.

Mark Baillie, of OpenText, anticipates a surge in smart meter implementation over the next few years. Mr Baillie estimates that smart meter readings on the continent will reach 130 billion a year when smart meters are deployed in 80 per cent of homes.