UK Government reveals details of revised solar feed-in tariffs

UK Climate Change Minister Greg Barker today unveiled the Government’s plans for limiting the financial support open to larger-scale solar projects under the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme.

The Government launched a fast-track review of FITs for solar photovoltaic schemes over 50 kW last month, citing indications that there could already be 169 MW of larger-scale solar projects in planning. These developments could soak up the FIT funds otherwise available for around 50,000 domestic solar installations or other renewable technologies, the Government warned.

The consultation document proposes slashing FITs for photovoltaic systems to 19p/kWh for installations of 50-150 kW, 15p/kWh for installations 150-250 kW and 8.5p/kWh for installations of 250 kW to 5 MW or stand-alone developments.

Existing tariffs stand at 32.9p/kWh for installations of 10-100 kW and 30.7p/kWh for developments of 100 kW to 5 MW or stand-alone installations. The reductions could mean more than a 70% cut in potential FIT revenue for some larger schemes.

A typical domestic photovoltaic system is around 2.5 kW, so the changes will seriously affect community-scale schemes and developments by businesses.

But the Government says the changes are line with those made to similar schemes in Europe, particularly in Germany, France and Spain, and reflect the falling costs of photovoltaic systems.

The plans also propose increasing tariffs for farm-scale anaerobic digestion to 14p/kWh for projects up to 250 kW and 13p/kWh for those from 250-500 kW in order to boost the ‘disappointing’ lack of uptake of the technology.

The revised tariffs will come into force on August 1 and only apply to new entrants to the FITs scheme, not retrospectively. Smaller-scale schemes under 50 kW will not be affected under the current proposals, although a comprehensive review of the scheme is underway.

UK universities join forces on Solar Soldier mission

Six UK universities are currently combining forces to develop a portable battery pack for British soldiers that will be powered by solar energy. By replacing the currently-used device the forces’ power packs can be made up to 50% lighter.

Dubbed the ‘Solar Soldier’ project the two-year research and development mission aims to produce a power pack where the energy is gathered from a combination of solar cells and thermoelectric devices. The team of approximately 15 scientists and researchers from Glasgow, Loughborough, Strathclyde, Leeds, Reading and Brunel University will also work on investigating ways of managing, storing and using heat produced by the system.

Soldiers have to carry multiple batteries to power devices such as weapons, radios, and GPS equipment, and they have to do so for hours at a time, often under extreme conditions. Previous attempts to lighten the 45-70 kg pack typically carried by soldiers include the use of fuel cells, li-ion batteries woven into their clothing, and autonomous pack horse-like vehicles.

Professor Duncan Gregory, of Glasgow University said, “Infantry need electricity for weapons, radios, global positioning systems and other vital pieces of equipment.

“A lot of the weight would be distributed differently with these new power packs. It would be lighter than the batteries used as we are aiming to reduce the size of those batteries, if not replace them completely. Batteries can account for over 10% of the 45kg to 70kg of equipment that infantry currently carry.

“By aiding efficiency and comfort, the new system could play a valuable role in ensuring the effectiveness of Army operations. It will improve mobility.

“Thermoelectric devices convert heat to electrical energy. The idea is to harvest the energy and store it using a combination of a super capacitor and a lithium battery. As far as we are aware, there is not an integrated system like this anywhere in the world.”

“We aim to produce a prototype system within two years. We also anticipate that the technology we develop could be adapted for other very varied uses. One possibility is in niche space applications for powering satellites,” concluded Gregory

The project has received £650,000 of funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Ministry of Defence.

Lights go out in Seoul amid energy crunch

The bustling entertainment districts of one of the world's largest cities, Seoul, were pitched into darkness early Tuesday as the government clamped down on energy use to cope with rising oil prices.

Neon signs and outdoor lights were ordered switched off in the business and entertainment districts of the South Korean capital, in a tangible sign of how the oil price rise is hurting the resource-starved country.

President Lee Myung-bak has called for a tighter national energy policy to counter the impact of higher prices stemming from a wave of unrest across the Arab world and North Africa.

South Korea is the world's No.5 crude oil buyer and No.2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer after Japan, and has boosted spending to acquire assets and develop oil and gas reserves, with a heavy focus so far on the Middle East and the Arctic.

Brent crude hit a high of almost $120 per barrel on February 24, the highest since 2008.

South Koreans have also been hit hard at gas stations, with pump prices jumping around 6 percent along with crude price rallies since December, while the government has been criticizing the fat margins of local refiners.

About 92,000 establishments nationwide have been targeted by the government lighting restrictions, local media reports said. Those failing to adhere to the regulations could face up to 3 million won (US$2,700) in fines.

The government in Asia's fourth-largest economy wants to curb inflation as it battles rises in crude oil and producer prices and housing rents, and has put a freeze on utility rate increases.

Analysts estimate that every additional 10 percent rise in annual average prices on international oil markets would lift South Korea's annual average inflation by around a fifth of a percentage point.

That means if global oil prices rise 10 percent above initial expectations on average for the year, South Korea's annual average consumer price inflation will reach 3.7 percent in 2011, instead of the 3.5 percent expected by the central bank. Last year's actual inflation was 2.9 percent.

Lee's government has been working on policy measures to stem inflation as campaigning starts for by-elections in April that will be a crucial gauge of support for him and his Grand National Party before parliamentary and presidential votes next year.

Economic policy is likely to figure highly on the political agenda ahead of the elections.

Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said Monday that the government may lower its 3 percent crude oil import tariff, while it was not considering lowering domestic taxes on oil.

Homes to be fitted with green energy meters

The meters will be used to underpin a green heating subsidy scheme which will see more than £4 billion invested by the Government by the end of the decade.

Householders, businesses and public buildings are to be offered cash incentives to install environmentally friendly technology under an initiative known as the Renewable Heat Incentive.

In return they will receive a grant based on the amount of heat which is produced from the alternative source.

Heat accounts for 47 per cent of Britain’s CO2 emissions and it is estimated this scheme could halve bills paid by householders and businesses.

Initially the meters will be fitted on larger buildings, while individual home owners’ grants will be calculated according to the quantity of heat which they will have been deemed to have generated from alternative sources.

“Measuring how much heat you have saved is rather harder to measure on a domestic scale,” Greg Barker, the minister responsible for the project, told the Daily Telegraph.

The meters will be installed in individual houses as the renewable technology develops and it becomes easier to measure how much green heat is used by single households.

A variety of sources have been earmarked as potential sources of “sustainable’' heat.

They include solar thermal panels, which could be fitted to a roof and used to heat water.

Homes could also install heat pumps, capable of drawing warmth from the ground or air outside the house.

These pumps can also be reversed in the summer, to dissipate heat and cool a home.

Larger buildings including blocks of flats and housing developments old use biomass boilers. About the size of a large fridge, they generate heat by burning woodchips and pellets.

Biomethane could be produced to heat homes from a number of sources, including landfill sites, sewage treatment plants and animal slurry.

With oil prices soaring on the world markets, pressure is mounting on Britain to find alternative sources of energy.

The initiative by the Department for Energy and Climate Change is similar to that by the Department for Transport which is offering subsidies of up to £5,000 for anyone buying an electric plug-in car.

“People are becoming much more focused on the need to be more energy independent,” Mr Barker added.

Ultimately the Government hopes that the bulk of homes will be generating their heat from sustainable sources, enabling British businesses to generate technology which could be sold to other countries.

The initiative was welcomed by Gaynor Hartnell. chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association. “”Britain had been falling behind its targets and swift action has been needed to address this.

“It’s a novel approach being pioneered in the UK and hopefully we will be setting an example to other countries.”


By David Millward

UK businesses to receive £550m in green loans

Three-year deal between Siemens and the Carbon Trust will provide funding for energy efficiency measures and equipment

Businesses will be given green loans totalling £550m to cut their energy use as part of a three-year deal between the financial arm of Siemens and the Carbon Trust, it was announced on Friday.

The loans represent a significant new source of funding for energy efficiency measures and equipment, such as low-energy lighting and biomass heating. The savings in the companies' power bills is expected to at least match the repayments of the loans. The measures will also cut the carbon footprint of UK business, which currently accounts for around 40% of UK emissions.

"Driving green growth in the UK is key to our economic recovery," said Tom Delay, the chief executive of the Carbon Trust. "A missing ingredient at present is access to affordable finance to enable business to make green investments. This new major finance facility will improve business competitiveness, cut carbon and boost green growth."


Miles Templeman, the director general of the Institute of Directors, said: "In today's high-energy cost environment, improving energy efficiency is a must for all businesses. The new scheme could play a significant role in stimulating innovative solutions."

The loans will be provided by Siemens Financial Services in the UK, with the Carbon Trust assessing the cost, energy and carbon savings of the plans proposed by companies. The Carbon Trust anticipates it will generate lifetime energy cost savings of £1bn and 5.5m tonnes of carbon.

The scheme opens on 4 April and any energy equipment is eligible as long as it meets the scheme's energy-saving criteria. A previous scheme through which the Carbon Trust made interest-free loans of up to £250,000 each to small to medium-sized enterprises for energy efficiency ends on 28 March.

The loans will be made at commercial rates for periods of one to seven years and sums from £1,000 to several hundred thousand pounds.

John Sauven, the executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: "The Siemens-Carbon Trust green finance deal is exactly the sort of initiative that we need to see happening more frequently in the future. A green growth strategy can only work if it is backed by green finance."

Analysts agree that increasing energy efficiency is frequently the cheapest way of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but requires upfront investment. The government's plan for a green investment bank, which could help finance energy-efficient technology, is currently being hampered by objections from the Treasury over the scale and scope of its operations. The government has already cut funding to the Carbon Trust and the Energy Savings Trust by 40% and 50% respectively.

The government also has a "green deal" programme, currently being debated in parliament, to provide loans for energy efficiency improvements to homes and small and medium-sized businesses. The Department of Energy and Climate Change estimates it will provide £7bn a year of private sector investment. It is expected to start after March 2012 and some experts are concerned that only the simplest measures, such as loft insulation, will be eligible.

Neil Bentley, the deputy director general of the CBI, said: "The government's green deal energy efficiency scheme could help cut emissions from buildings, but with 18 months to go, the businesses that will have to deliver it still do not have enough detail on how it is going to work."




Damian Carrington

EPCs failing to influence homebuyers and tenants

Energy Performance Certificates that should help people cut their bills are having no influence on four out of five homebuyers who see them.

This is according to new research by Consumer Focus which carried out a survey to find out how useful prospective buyers and tenants found the certificates which landlords and homeowners are legally required to provide when selling or letting a home. It found that four out of five people who had received an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when buying or renting had not acted on any of its recommendations to make their new home more energy efficient and save money.

The survey also found that only one in five people who received the information said it had any influence on their decision to buy or rent the property. However, when asked what features in a new home were most important to them, apart from price and size, one in seven people said energy efficiency mattered most.

Recent government figures show that carbon emissions coming from Britain's homes are still at almost the same level as 20 years ago, having fallen just 3% between 1990 and 2009. EPCs are vital to the success of the Government's Green Deal, which aims to cut emissions from homes. In future they must help consumers understand how to access the Green Deal and whether a property has a Green Deal loan attached to it. The EPC must be accurate, clear, and be provided before people buy or rent a property

Aviva sets the green business agenda

Aviva is playing an active role in setting the green business agenda for the insurance and financial services sector. Not only are they encouraging debate on how businesses can de-couple climate change from financial growth, crucially, they are getting their own house in order and putting green growth at the heart of its long term business strategy.

A green leader in its sector

Aviva has recognised the benefits of environmental transparency since the publication of its first Environment Report in 1999. Today, the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index ranks Aviva in the top 10 per cent of socially responsible companies globally, and Aviva is also recognised by the FTSE4Good Index.

By publicly reporting its carbon emissions and committing to reducing them Aviva has found its place in the debate on how businesses can decouple climate change from financial growth. For example, Aviva was the founding signatory and co-author of Climatewise, the insurance industry’s first ever set of principles on climate change, as well as being a member of the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Global Compact and a signatory and responder to the Carbon Disclosure Project survey.