£46 Million Announced by DECC Supporting 132 Local Energy Projects

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) just made a lot of business people happy, as they announced that over 130 energy schemes will benefit from a share of the 46 million pounds, as they are trying to help reduce fuel poverty, increase energy efficiency and to help boost collective switching.

Both the local communities and third party organizations had been invited to bid for funding under three separate energy schemes. The first project will try to address the fuel poverty issue, by helping the local communities  to build and install more effective central heating systems and also help them insulate the households of the most vulnerable local residents.

The second scheme will try to improve the  energy efficiency for all the residents, not just the most vulnerable ones, with the help of the local authorities, with money drawn to finance the Green Deal project, which will help to identify where the energy savings are to be made. The Department for Energy and Climate Change received some criticism regarding the initial cost of the Green Deal will discourage many of its potential clients.

 In the end, the competition aimed to help encourage local authorities and local businesses, among with the third sector organizations to initiate collective groups to buy energy in their local areas, the whole concept of collective switching is to help clients to negotiate better deals and tariffs from the energy producers and suppliers.

 The total sum allocated to these projects is in amount of  £46 million and it will be split as it follows:  £31million will help reduce the fuel poverty for the must vulnerable households, £10 million will be used to help boost the Green Deal and £5 million will be used to set up collective switching schemes.

 An ample comment regarding the issue was made by Mr. Ed Davey, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary:


“We need to find new ways to help people with their energy bills, working with communities and councils across the country.
“The projects we are funding will help people save energy and save money: helping the most vulnerable to heat their homes, getting the Green Deal market up and running and encouraging people to switch energy suppliers to get their bills down.
“This £46million will help local councils across England upgrade inefficient heating kit as well as creating demand for and installing insulation under the Green Deal in homes across their local areas. 
“Funding will also be used to drive forward collective purchasing and switching initiatives at a local level, helping consumers get a better deal on their energy bills.  I am delighted so many organisations want to run new co-operative schemes to help people, especially the fuel poor, to get the best deals in the market."

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60 MW of Solar Parks announced by Hive Energy

Things are getting shiny in the UK Solar Market, with the new announcement from the Hampshire Based company, Hive Energy, a well known solar developer. The good news is that Hive Energy just completed pre-construction of nine solar parks with a total power output of 60MW, the parks being located across the United Kingdom.

 The solar parks are located in Hampshire, Northamptonshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Devon, the capital expanditure on the projects will be around  £72m, with 73% of funding generated overseas and each park will have an installed capacity of 3MW -15 MW. The project  will be completed hopefully before April 2013, when the parks will be connected to the national power grid. The dead-line is important, because after that date, the available support for large-scale solar under the Renewable Obligation will be slashed and we don't like missed opportunities, do we?

Hive Energy chief executive Mr. Giles Redpath stated:

 “The Government has set a challenging opportunity for the delivery of 22GW of solar PV generation by 2020 and I am pleased to announce Hive Energy’s contribution to this target.”

He continued:  

“As we are at around only 1.3GW of solar PV now, I urge the Government to be cautious about reducing the Renewable Obligation Certificates incentive too quickly or deeply so that we can continue to drive towards their 22GW target in a sustainable, planned and deliverable way.”

 This project will add about 5% to the current solar power capacity installed across the United Kingdom.And that's not all folks, the green-hearts from Hive Energy have further projects in site, they are planning six more solar parks, with a capacity varying between 10 to 25 MW, located in Suffolk, Essex, Wiltshire and Devon, with a total power output of 108 MW, these new developments are set to take place by February 2013.

Hive Energy’s full list of announced projects:

• Tavells Lane Solar Park, Marchwood, Hampshire, 30 acres, 5MW

• Raglington Solar Park, Shedfield, Hampshire, 30 acres, 5MW

• Shacks Barn Solar Park, Silverstone, Northamptonshire, 37 acres, 5MW

• Higher Hatherleigh Solar Park, Wincanton, Somerset, 40 acres, 3.5MW

• Steventon Solar Park, Steventon, Oxfordshire, 57 acres, 10MW

• Knockworthy Solar Park, Torrington, Devon, 20 acres, 5MW

• Whitchurch Solar Park, Radstock, Somerset, 34 acres, 5MW

• Rodbourne Rail Solar Park, Corston, Wiltshire, 41 acres, 6.5MW

• Pentylands Solar Park, Highworth, Oxfordshire, 91 acres, 15MW

For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime: 

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/

 

DECC Will Finance Social Housing Green Projects

Good news for over 1000 social housing tenants, they are approved and set to have installed in their homes some state of the art heating systems, part of a government programme  of renewable energy targeted to this sector.

 DECC (the department of energy and climate change) just announced the 44 social housing projects set to    be financed with a share of the £3.2 million, the budget available under the third phase of its renewable heat premium payment social housing competition. 

This competition was started in August, the current year and it involves local authorities and housing associations which are interested in renewable heating systems for their social housing projects, the winners will receive up to £156,000 each of funding for promoting their ideas and projects, also to use their share of funding in any way i.e. to install, let's say, biomass boilers, solar hot water panels or heat pumps, everything is on the table as long as it's renewable and feasible.

Mr. Greg Barker, the Energy and Climate Change Minister stated that :

“We need to move away from costly fossil fuel heating to more sustainable low carbon alternatives, not only to cut carbon but to help householders save money on bills too.”

For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime: 

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/