For years, a network of fake citizens' groups and bogus scientific bodies has been claiming that science of global warming is inconclusive. They set back action on climate change by a decade. But who funded them? Exxon's involvement is well known, but not the strange role of Big Tobacco. In the first of three extracts from his new book, George Monbiot tells a bizarre and shocking new story.
ExxonMobil is the world's most profitable corporation. Its sales now amount to more than $1bn a day. It makes most of this money from oil, and has more to lose than any other company from efforts to tackle climate change. To safeguard its profits, ExxonMobil needs to sow doubt about whether serious action needs to be taken on climate change. But there are difficulties: it must confront a scientific consensus as strong as that which maintains that smoking causes lung cancer or that HIV causes Aids. So what's its strategy?
The website Exxonsecrets.org, using data found in the company's official documents, lists 124 organisations that have taken money from the company or work closely with those that have. These organisations take a consistent line on climate change: that the science is contradictory, the scientists are split, environmentalists are charlatans, liars or lunatics, and if governments took action to prevent global warming, they would be endangering the global economy for no good reason. The findings these organisations dislike are labelled "junk science". The findings they welcome are labelled "sound science".
Among the organisations that have been funded by Exxon are such well-known websites and lobby groups as TechCentralStation, the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation. Some of those on the list have names that make them look like grassroots citizens' organisations or academic bodies: the Centre for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, for example. One or two of them, such as the Congress of Racial Equality, are citizens' organisations or academic bodies, but the line they take on climate change is very much like that of the other sponsored groups. While all these groups are based in America, their publications are read and cited, and their staff are interviewed and quoted, all over the world.
By funding a large number of organisations, Exxon helps to create the impression that doubt about climate change is widespread. For those who do not understand that scientific findings cannot be trusted if they have not appeared in peer-reviewed journals, the names of these institutes help to suggest that serious researchers are challenging the consensus.
This is not to claim that all the science these groups champion is bogus. On the whole, they use selection, not invention. They will find one contradictory study - such as the discovery of tropospheric cooling, which, in a garbled form, has been used by Peter Hitchens in the Mail on Sunday - and promote it relentlessly. They will continue to do so long after it has been disproved by further work. So, for example, John Christy, the author of the troposphere paper, admitted in August 2005 that his figures were incorrect, yet his initial findings are still being circulated and championed by many of these groups, as a quick internet search will show you.
But they do not stop there. The chairman of a group called the Science and Environmental Policy Project is Frederick Seitz. Seitz is a physicist who in the 1960s was president of the US National Academy of Sciences. In 1998, he wrote a document, known as the Oregon Petition, which has been cited by almost every journalist who claims that climate change is a myth.
The document reads as follows: "We urge the United States government to reject the global warming agreement that was written in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997, and any other similar proposals. The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind. There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth."
Anyone with a degree was entitled to sign it. It was attached to a letter written by Seitz, entitled Research Review of Global Warming Evidence. The lead author of the "review" that followed Seitz's letter is a Christian fundamentalist called Arthur B Robinson. He is not a professional climate scientist. It was co-published by Robinson's organisation - the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine - and an outfit called the George C Marshall Institute, which has received $630,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998. The other authors were Robinson's 22-year-old son and two employees of the George C Marshall Institute. The chairman of the George C Marshall Institute was Frederick Seitz.
The paper maintained that: "We are living in an increasingly lush environment of plants and animals as a result of the carbon dioxide increase. Our children will enjoy an Earth with far more plant and animal life than that with which we now are blessed. This is a wonderful and unexpected gift from the Industrial Revolution."
It was printed in the font and format of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: the journal of the organisation of which Seitz - as he had just reminded his correspondents - was once president.
Soon after the petition was published, the National Academy of Sciences released this statement: "The NAS Council would like to make it clear that this petition has nothing to do with the National Academy of Sciences and that the manuscript was not published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or in any other peer-reviewed journal. The petition does not reflect the conclusions of expert reports of the Academy."
But it was too late. Seitz, the Oregon Institute and the George C Marshall Institute had already circulated tens of thousands of copies, and the petition had established a major presence on the internet. Some 17,000 graduates signed it, the majority of whom had no background in climate science. It has been repeatedly cited - by global-warming sceptics such as David Bellamy, Melanie Phillips and others - as a petition by climate scientists. It is promoted by the Exxon-sponsored sites as evidence that there is no scientific consensus on climate change.
All this is now well known to climate scientists and environmentalists. But what has been discovered while researching this issue is that the corporate funding of lobby groups denying that manmade climate change is taking place was initiated not by Exxon, or by any other firm directly involved in the fossil fuel industry. It was started by the tobacco company Philip Morris.
In December 1992, the US Environmental Protection Agency published a 500-page report called Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking. It found that "the widespread exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in the United States presents a serious and substantial public health impact. In adults: ETS is a human lung carcinogen, responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually in US non-smokers. In children: ETS exposure is causally associated with an increased risk of lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. This report estimates that 150,000 to 300,000 cases annually in infants and young children up to 18 months of age are attributable to ETS."
Had it not been for the settlement of a major class action against the tobacco companies in the US, we would never have been able to see what happened next. But in 1998 they were forced to publish their internal documents and post them on the internet.
Within two months of its publication, Philip Morris, the world's biggest tobacco firm, had devised a strategy for dealing with the passive-smoking report. In February 1993 Ellen Merlo, its senior vice-president of corporate affairs, sent a letter to William I Campbell, Philip Morris's chief executive officer and president, explaining her intentions: "Our overriding objective is to discredit the EPA report ... Concurrently, it is our objective to prevent states and cities, as well as businesses, from passive-smoking bans."
To this end, she had hired a public relations company called APCO. She had attached the advice it had given her. APCO warned that: "No matter how strong the arguments, industry spokespeople are, in and of themselves, not always credible or appropriate messengers."
So the fight against a ban on passive smoking had to be associated with other people and other issues. Philip Morris, APCO said, needed to create the impression of a "grassroots" movement - one that had been formed spontaneously by concerned citizens to fight "overregulation". It should portray the danger of tobacco smoke as just one "unfounded fear" among others, such as concerns about pesticides and cellphones. APCO proposed to set up "a national coalition intended to educate the media, public officials and the public about the dangers of 'junk science'. Coalition will address credibility of government's scientific studies, risk-assessment techniques and misuse of tax dollars ... Upon formation of Coalition, key leaders will begin media outreach, eg editorial board tours, opinion articles, and brief elected officials in selected states."
APCO would found the coalition, write its mission statements, and "prepare and place opinion articles in key markets". For this it required $150,000 for its own fees and $75,000 for the coalition's costs.
By May 1993, as another memo from APCO to Philip Morris shows, the fake citizens' group had a name: the Advancement of Sound Science Coalition. It was important, further letters stated, "to ensure that TASSC has a diverse group of contributors"; to "link the tobacco issue with other more 'politically correct' products"; and to associate scientific studies that cast smoking in a bad light with "broader questions about government research and regulations" - such as "global warming", "nuclear waste disposal" and "biotechnology". APCO would engage in the "intensive recruitment of high-profile representatives from business and industry, scientists, public officials, and other individuals interested in promoting the use of sound science".
By September 1993, APCO had produced a "Plan for the Public Launching of TASSC". The media launch would not take place in "Washington, DC or the top media markets of the country. Rather, we suggest creating a series of aggressive, decentralised launches in several targeted local and regional markets across the country. This approach ... avoids cynical reporters from major media: less reviewing/challenging of TASSC messages."
The media coverage, the public relations company hoped, would enable TASSC to "establish an image of a national grassroots coalition". In case the media asked hostile questions, APCO circulated a sheet of answers, drafted by Philip Morris. The first question was:
"Isn't it true that Philip Morris created TASSC to act as a front group for it?
"A: No, not at all. As a large corporation, PM belongs to many national, regional, and state business, public policy, and legislative organisations. PM has contributed to TASSC, as we have with various groups and corporations across the country."
There are clear similarities between the language used and the approaches adopted by Philip Morris and by the organisations funded by Exxon. The two lobbies use the same terms, which appear to have been invented by Philip Morris's consultants. "Junk science" meant peer-reviewed studies showing that smoking was linked to cancer and other diseases. "Sound science" meant studies sponsored by the tobacco industry suggesting that the link was inconclusive. Both lobbies recognised that their best chance of avoiding regulation was to challenge the scientific consensus. As a memo from the tobacco company Brown and Williamson noted, "Doubt is our product since it is the best means of competing with the 'body of fact' that exists in the mind of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy." Both industries also sought to distance themselves from their own campaigns, creating the impression that they were spontaneous movements of professionals or ordinary citizens: the "grassroots".
But the connection goes further than that. TASSC, the "coalition" created by Philip Morris, was the first and most important of the corporate-funded organisations denying that climate change is taking place. It has done more damage to the campaign to halt it than any other body.
TASSC did as its founders at APCO suggested, and sought funding from other sources. Between 2000 and 2002 it received $30,000 from Exxon. The website it has financed - JunkScience.com - has been the main entrepot for almost every kind of climate-change denial that has found its way into the mainstream press. It equates environmentalists with Nazis, communists and terrorists. It flings at us the accusations that could justifably be levelled against itself: the website claims, for example, that it is campaigning against "faulty scientific data and analysis used to advance special and, often, hidden agendas". I have lost count of the number of correspondents who, while questioning manmade global warming, have pointed me there.
The man who runs it is called Steve Milloy. In 1992, he started working for APCO - Philip Morris's consultants. While there, he set up the JunkScience site. In March 1997, the documents show, he was appointed TASSC's executive director. By 1998, as he explained in a memo to TASSC board members, his JunkScience website was was being funded by TASSC. Both he and the "coalition" continued to receive money from Philip Morris. An internal document dated February 1998 reveals that TASSC took $200,000 from the tobacco company in 1997. Philip Morris's 2001 budget document records a payment to Steven Milloy of $90,000. Altria, Philip Morris's parent company, admits that Milloy was under contract to the tobacco firm until at least the end of 2005.
He has done well. You can find his name attached to letters and articles seeking to discredit passive-smoking studies all over the internet and in the academic databases. He has even managed to reach the British Medical Journal: I found a letter from him there which claimed that the studies it had reported "do not bear out the hypothesis that maternal smoking/ passive smoking increases cancer risk among infants". TASSC paid him $126,000 in 2004 for 15 hours' work a week. Two other organisations are registered at his address: the Free Enterprise Education Institute and the Free Enterprise Action Institute. They have received $10,000 and $50,000 respectively from Exxon. The secretary of the Free Enterprise Action Institute is Thomas Borelli. Borelli was the Philip Morris executive who oversaw the payments to TASSC.
Milloy also writes a weekly Junk Science column for the Fox News website. Without declaring his interests, he has used this column to pour scorn on studies documenting the medical effects of second-hand tobacco smoke and showing that climate change is taking place. Even after Fox News was told about the money he had been receiving from Philip Morris and Exxon, it continued to employ him, without informing its readers about his interests.
TASSC's headed notepaper names an advisory board of eight people. Three of them are listed by Exxonsecrets.org as working for organisations taking money from Exxon. One of them is Frederick Seitz, the man who wrote the Oregon Petition, and who chairs the Science and Environmental Policy Project. In 1979, Seitz became a permanent consultant to the tobacco company RJ Reynolds. He worked for the firm until at least 1987, for an annual fee of $65,000. He was in charge of deciding which medical research projects the company should fund, and handed out millions of dollars a year to American universities. The purpose of this funding, a memo from the chairman of RJ Reynolds shows, was to "refute the criticisms against cigarettes". An undated note in the Philip Morris archive shows that it was planning a "Seitz symposium" with the help of TASSC, in which Frederick Seitz would speak to "40-60 regulators".
The president of Seitz's Science and Environmental Policy Project is a maverick environmental scientist called S Fred Singer. He has spent the past few years refuting evidence for manmade climate change. It was he, for example, who published the misleading claim that most of the world's glaciers are advancing, which landed David Bellamy in so much trouble when he repeated it last year. He also had connections with the tobacco industry. In March 1993, APCO sent a memo to Ellen Merlo, the vice-president of Philip Morris, who had just commissioned it to fight the Environmental Protection Agency: "As you know, we have been working with Dr Fred Singer and Dr Dwight Lee, who have authored articles on junk science and indoor air quality (IAQ) respectively ..."
Singer's article, entitled Junk Science at the EPA, claimed that "the latest 'crisis' - environmental tobacco smoke - has been widely criticised as the most shocking distortion of scientific evidence yet". He alleged that the Environmental Protection Agency had had to "rig the numbers" in its report on passive smoking. This was the report that Philip Morris and APCO had set out to discredit a month before Singer wrote his article.
I have no evidence that Fred Singer or his organisation have taken money from Philip Morris. But many of the other bodies that have been sponsored by Exxon and have sought to repudiate climate change were also funded by the tobacco company. Among them are some of the world's best-known "thinktanks": the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Hudson Institute, the Frontiers of Freedom Institute, the Reason Foundation and the Independent Institute, as well as George Mason University's Law and Economics Centre. I can't help wondering whether there is any aspect of conservative thought in the United States that has not been formed and funded by the corporations.
While they have been most effective in the United States, the impacts of the climate-change deniers sponsored by Exxon and Philip Morris have been felt all over the world. Their arguments are seen endlessly repeated in Australia, Canada, India, Russia and the UK. By dominating the media debate on climate change during seven or eight critical years in which urgent international talks should have been taking place, by constantly seeding doubt about the science just as it should have been most persuasive, they have justified the money their sponsors have spent on them many times over. It is fair to say that the professional denial industry has delayed effective global action on climate change by years, just as it helped to delay action against the tobacco companies.
Reference: George Monbiot
URBAN ENERGY
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Saturday 27 February 2010
Global Warming? Rubbish! Just another way of taxing the public, isn't it?
1. People say the world isn’t really getting warmer, some years are just hotter than others, and it varies/goes around in cycles.
a. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997. That’s a fact, based on recorded temperatures since 1850 (when reliable records began). Over the last 100 years the Earth has warmed by about 0.75 degrees Celsius and the speed it is warming at is getting faster. These days the UK Spring arrives about 10 days earlier than it did in the 1970s. In 159 years of records, the 10 hottest years have been in the last 12 years.
b. Arctic sea ice is melting, the extent it reaches has shrunk by about 10% every 10 years since the late 70s. The smallest amounts of Arctic summer ice on record were in the last 3 years: 2007-2009. In a few decades, large parts of the Arctic Ocean are expected to have no late summer sea-ice at all.
2. People say we’ve nothing to do with it.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have gone up 38% since 1750 - the year the industrial revolution started. Rising levels of greenhouse gases are directly linked to human activity like burning fossil fuels and clearing forests. There is a clear link between more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and global warming.
3. But not all scientists agree though, right?
The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that human induced climate change poses a huge threat to the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is not run by any government – ‘intergovernmental’ means it answers to all 192 governments signed up to it. Its reports are written by independent scientists. It is one of the most rigorous scientific bodies that exists. It brings together many thousands of scientists from countries all over the world to put together the best assessments of climate science available. What about the leaked emails from the University of East Anglia? Don’t they undermine the science? There is an independent review looking at this incident. But there is an overwhelming consensus, based on decades of climate science and the work of thousands of scientists around the world which says that climate change is real and a major threat.
4. It’s too late, we just need to accept it.
This international scientific panel says we need to stop the world getting more than 2 degrees warmer if we want to avoid dangerous climate change. After that it becomes harder to produce food and competition for water, sea level rises and loss of species get much worse. We've got the technologies we need for a low-carbon world we just need to go for it now. It'll cost much less to go low carbon than it will to let climate change happen.
5. A bit of melting ice and slightly hotter summers, what’s the problem?
Global sea levels have already risen by 10 centimetres in the last 50 years, thanks to melting ice and warming oceans. This is already threatening low-lying countries, such as islands and Bangladesh. Millions more people are expected to be flooded every year by 2080. Latest predictions suggest the sea could rise by 1 metre this century. In Europe alone this could affect over 20 million people. And it looks like the sea is rising more quickly now than in the 20th century.
6. Some countries have always had droughts, it’s nothing new.
Severe droughts are now twice as common as they were in 1970. More drought is affecting which crops we can grow effectively. Global demand for food is expected to nearly double by 2050. But by 2025, lack of water could mean we produce a third less of the volume of cereals we currently eat – that’s the same as losing the entire grain crops of India and the US combined.
7. Global warming is just to do with natural changes in the Sun.
Scientists are clear that there is strong evidence that changes in solar radiation could not have caused the rapid warming we have seen over the past fifty years. The Met Office has stated that since the Industrial Revolution, additional greenhouse gases have had about ten times the effect on the climate as changes in the Sun’s output.
8. We’ve all got a lot on our plate – let’s worry about it later.
Even if all greenhouse gas emissions stopped tomorrow, we are already locked into a global temperature rise of at least 1.4 degrees Celsius (since 1750) because of the delayed impact between emissions and temperature. It is already happening, and we need to act now to stop it getting much worse.
9. It won’t happen to us though.
Developed countries suffer impacts too. The 2003 heat wave in western Europe, which caused 35,000 deaths (2,000 in the UK), is already twice as likely to happen again next year. By the 2040s Europe will consider such a summer normal. By 2060s they will consider it cool.
10. Surely it’s only the odd polar bear, who cares?
Species are already being forced to migrate or adapt. Scientists think that around 20% of species will become extinct with 2 degrees of warming – and it will be a real challenge, even if we act right now, to keep to that limit.
Reference: Act On CO2penhagen
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
The Feed in Tariff (FiT) announced earlier this month, for introduction in April 2010, means that some households installing solar electric photovoltaic (PV) panels could earn > £1000/year for 25 years.
These new tariffs will allow people to turn their homes into mini-power stations. For householders who have a south-facing roof, PV panels are really worth looking at. Not only are they a sound financial investment, they will also allow you to do your part in tackling climate change.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
a. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997. That’s a fact, based on recorded temperatures since 1850 (when reliable records began). Over the last 100 years the Earth has warmed by about 0.75 degrees Celsius and the speed it is warming at is getting faster. These days the UK Spring arrives about 10 days earlier than it did in the 1970s. In 159 years of records, the 10 hottest years have been in the last 12 years.
b. Arctic sea ice is melting, the extent it reaches has shrunk by about 10% every 10 years since the late 70s. The smallest amounts of Arctic summer ice on record were in the last 3 years: 2007-2009. In a few decades, large parts of the Arctic Ocean are expected to have no late summer sea-ice at all.
2. People say we’ve nothing to do with it.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have gone up 38% since 1750 - the year the industrial revolution started. Rising levels of greenhouse gases are directly linked to human activity like burning fossil fuels and clearing forests. There is a clear link between more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and global warming.
3. But not all scientists agree though, right?
The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that human induced climate change poses a huge threat to the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is not run by any government – ‘intergovernmental’ means it answers to all 192 governments signed up to it. Its reports are written by independent scientists. It is one of the most rigorous scientific bodies that exists. It brings together many thousands of scientists from countries all over the world to put together the best assessments of climate science available. What about the leaked emails from the University of East Anglia? Don’t they undermine the science? There is an independent review looking at this incident. But there is an overwhelming consensus, based on decades of climate science and the work of thousands of scientists around the world which says that climate change is real and a major threat.
4. It’s too late, we just need to accept it.
This international scientific panel says we need to stop the world getting more than 2 degrees warmer if we want to avoid dangerous climate change. After that it becomes harder to produce food and competition for water, sea level rises and loss of species get much worse. We've got the technologies we need for a low-carbon world we just need to go for it now. It'll cost much less to go low carbon than it will to let climate change happen.
5. A bit of melting ice and slightly hotter summers, what’s the problem?
Global sea levels have already risen by 10 centimetres in the last 50 years, thanks to melting ice and warming oceans. This is already threatening low-lying countries, such as islands and Bangladesh. Millions more people are expected to be flooded every year by 2080. Latest predictions suggest the sea could rise by 1 metre this century. In Europe alone this could affect over 20 million people. And it looks like the sea is rising more quickly now than in the 20th century.
6. Some countries have always had droughts, it’s nothing new.
Severe droughts are now twice as common as they were in 1970. More drought is affecting which crops we can grow effectively. Global demand for food is expected to nearly double by 2050. But by 2025, lack of water could mean we produce a third less of the volume of cereals we currently eat – that’s the same as losing the entire grain crops of India and the US combined.
7. Global warming is just to do with natural changes in the Sun.
Scientists are clear that there is strong evidence that changes in solar radiation could not have caused the rapid warming we have seen over the past fifty years. The Met Office has stated that since the Industrial Revolution, additional greenhouse gases have had about ten times the effect on the climate as changes in the Sun’s output.
8. We’ve all got a lot on our plate – let’s worry about it later.
Even if all greenhouse gas emissions stopped tomorrow, we are already locked into a global temperature rise of at least 1.4 degrees Celsius (since 1750) because of the delayed impact between emissions and temperature. It is already happening, and we need to act now to stop it getting much worse.
9. It won’t happen to us though.
Developed countries suffer impacts too. The 2003 heat wave in western Europe, which caused 35,000 deaths (2,000 in the UK), is already twice as likely to happen again next year. By the 2040s Europe will consider such a summer normal. By 2060s they will consider it cool.
10. Surely it’s only the odd polar bear, who cares?
Species are already being forced to migrate or adapt. Scientists think that around 20% of species will become extinct with 2 degrees of warming – and it will be a real challenge, even if we act right now, to keep to that limit.
Reference: Act On CO2penhagen
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
The Feed in Tariff (FiT) announced earlier this month, for introduction in April 2010, means that some households installing solar electric photovoltaic (PV) panels could earn > £1000/year for 25 years.
These new tariffs will allow people to turn their homes into mini-power stations. For householders who have a south-facing roof, PV panels are really worth looking at. Not only are they a sound financial investment, they will also allow you to do your part in tackling climate change.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Why solar panels are better than micro-wind turbines.
When thinking about renewable electricity for your home, two options spring to mind; photovoltaic panels and small wind turbines. But which one should you choose? The government has introduced a feed-in-tariff that pays a subsidized amount for the electricity they produce and the amount paid for small wind turbines is similar to that paid for small PV systems (34p/kWh compared to 41p/kWh).
The key criteria to deciding which technology will be the most profitable is the cost of producing a unit of energy from each one. For this you need to factor in the up front costs such as equipment and installation, and then look at how much energy they will produce once out there over an average year. Without going too heavily into numbers my argument is that in some instances, micro-wind turbines will have a lower cost of energy than solar panels, but for the majority of cases solar panels will be better and this can be explained by some basic science.
Without a doubt, on a large scale, wind energy is cheaper than solar. The cost of energy from large-scale wind farms is somewhere around 10p/kWh whereas the cost of energy from large-scale solar is three to four times greater at present. Big wind turbines are now very well designed products and many years of industry development means that the costs have fallen dramatically and continue to do so. Big solar farms are also rapidly reducing in cost and make a lot of sense in some locations, particularly in the many regions where wind farms are not suitable, but for now they do not compete.
On the small scale however, the economics are drastically different. As the size of a solar installation decreases, the performance falls linearly with the amount of area used, and therefore the cost of energy does not change so dramatically. In contrast, as wind turbines get smaller their performance gets disproportionately worse.
This is for two mains reasons:
The first reason is that as the turbine blade length gets shorter, the ‘swept-area’ decreases quadratically. This means that if you decrease the length of a blade from 80 meters to 40 meters, the area covered by the blade decreases from 20 thousand square meters to just 5 thousand. The ‘swept-area’ determines how much wind energy the turbine can use. So when you decrease the blade length you still need all the expensive moving parts like the generator, but you get disproportionally less energy – for one big wind turbine you would need thousands of smaller ones to cover the same area.
The second reason is that where you use micro-wind turbines the wind speed is generally slower. This is because most of us live in built up areas where there are other buildings nearby. These buildings disrupt the wind, making it irregular and slow. Wind speed is crucial to the effectiveness of a wind turbine, again because the energy contained in the wind is disproportional to its speed. If the wind speed drops by a factor of 2, the energy produced by a wind turbine decreases by a factor of 4. Comparing most built up areas, the average wind speed is much lower than half the wind speed found high-up in open spaces where you find most wind farms.
These two factors combine to mean that for most homeowners solar panels are the most sensible and safest option. Of course, if you live near an open space and get a lot of wind then a micro-wind turbine could be a great investment.
Reference: Solar Feed in Tariff
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Our expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
Urban Energy employ the very best engineers in this field, all of which are fully qualified, certified and Government approved to carry out this task, complying with strict guidelines and are members of the Solar Trade Association.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
The key criteria to deciding which technology will be the most profitable is the cost of producing a unit of energy from each one. For this you need to factor in the up front costs such as equipment and installation, and then look at how much energy they will produce once out there over an average year. Without going too heavily into numbers my argument is that in some instances, micro-wind turbines will have a lower cost of energy than solar panels, but for the majority of cases solar panels will be better and this can be explained by some basic science.
Without a doubt, on a large scale, wind energy is cheaper than solar. The cost of energy from large-scale wind farms is somewhere around 10p/kWh whereas the cost of energy from large-scale solar is three to four times greater at present. Big wind turbines are now very well designed products and many years of industry development means that the costs have fallen dramatically and continue to do so. Big solar farms are also rapidly reducing in cost and make a lot of sense in some locations, particularly in the many regions where wind farms are not suitable, but for now they do not compete.
On the small scale however, the economics are drastically different. As the size of a solar installation decreases, the performance falls linearly with the amount of area used, and therefore the cost of energy does not change so dramatically. In contrast, as wind turbines get smaller their performance gets disproportionately worse.
This is for two mains reasons:
The first reason is that as the turbine blade length gets shorter, the ‘swept-area’ decreases quadratically. This means that if you decrease the length of a blade from 80 meters to 40 meters, the area covered by the blade decreases from 20 thousand square meters to just 5 thousand. The ‘swept-area’ determines how much wind energy the turbine can use. So when you decrease the blade length you still need all the expensive moving parts like the generator, but you get disproportionally less energy – for one big wind turbine you would need thousands of smaller ones to cover the same area.
The second reason is that where you use micro-wind turbines the wind speed is generally slower. This is because most of us live in built up areas where there are other buildings nearby. These buildings disrupt the wind, making it irregular and slow. Wind speed is crucial to the effectiveness of a wind turbine, again because the energy contained in the wind is disproportional to its speed. If the wind speed drops by a factor of 2, the energy produced by a wind turbine decreases by a factor of 4. Comparing most built up areas, the average wind speed is much lower than half the wind speed found high-up in open spaces where you find most wind farms.
These two factors combine to mean that for most homeowners solar panels are the most sensible and safest option. Of course, if you live near an open space and get a lot of wind then a micro-wind turbine could be a great investment.
Reference: Solar Feed in Tariff
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Our expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
Urban Energy employ the very best engineers in this field, all of which are fully qualified, certified and Government approved to carry out this task, complying with strict guidelines and are members of the Solar Trade Association.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Sunday 21 February 2010
OFGEM WARNS HOUSEHOLDS COULD FACE 25% INCREASE TO BILLS IN 10 YEARS TIME!
In a report out 03.02.2010, Ofgem has given its biggest indication yet that bills will rise dramatically over the next decade. It has announced that bills could rise by up to 25% in the next ten years due to factors such as the global financial crisis, tough environmental targets and increasing gas import dependency. Based on today’s average bill size of £1,239, this will mean bills could hit £1,549 in ten year’s time[1].
However, uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, is warning that Ofgem could be underestimating the increases. It says that ongoing pricing trends coupled with required investment could see household energy bills hit as high as £4,733 a year by 2020[2], nearly four times higher than they are today. The additional cost of investment alone is expected to add £548 a year onto household bills[2].
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch, says: “Today’s report is one of many recent announcements from Ofgem, which have gradually lifted the lid on what household energy bills are expected to look like in the future. When you add the pieces together it’s a big wake-up call and raises serious concerns about the ongoing affordability of our energy. While investment in the sector is crucial, there can be no doubt that it will have a big impact on household energy bills and this has to be explained to consumers now so that they can start taking action to protect themselves in the future.
"The £5,000 a year energy bill may seem like an outside possibility, but we have to remember that energy bills doubled in the last five years alone and that the huge investment needed to keep the lights on in Britain will alone add £548 a year onto our bills. The fact is we are entering a new era of high cost energy and households will have to adapt their behaviour accordingly by paying the lowest possible price for their energy and reducing the amount they use.”
£233.5 billion investment – what are the key costs?[2]
Renewable energy generation - £112.5 billion
Power plants (including gas-fired, coal-fired and nuclear) - £52.1 billion
Upgrading pipes, networks and gas storage - £39.8 billion
Roll-out of smart metering - £13.4 billion
Carbon emissions reduction target - £15.7 billion
Total = £233.5 billion
Reference: uSwitch.com
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
The Feed in Tariff (FiT) announced earlier this month, for introduction in April 2010, means that every household installing solar electric photovoltaic (PV) panels could earn over £1000/year for 25 years.
These new tariffs will allow people to turn their homes into mini-power stations. For householders who have a south-facing roof, PV panels are really worth looking at. Not only are they a sound financial investment (approx.10% return on your initial investment), they will also allow you to do your part in tackling climate change.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
1. Based on a medium user consuming 3,300 kWh electricity and 20,500 kWh gas, on a standard plan, paying on receipt of bill with bill sizes averaged across all regions. In 2004, the average annual dual fuel bill was £580. At present it is £1,239.
2. Based on a medium user consuming 3,300 kWh electricity and 20,500 kWh gas, on a standard plan, paying on receipt of bill with bill sizes averaged across all regions. The £4,733 figure takes into account pricing trends over the last 5 years and investment costs required by the energy industry. According to Ernst & Young, reported in The Times on Monday 25th May, 2009 in an article written by Robin Pagnamenta, these investment costs total £233.5 billion and imply a total bill of £8,977 or £598 a year for the next 15 years for every household. However, Ernst & Young factored in £112.5 billion for renewable generation and £15.7 billion of Carbon Emission Reduction Targets (CERT) investment. Consumers are already contributing for these items on their bills: according to Ofgem, in 2006/07, the Renewable Obligation cost each domestic consumer about £10 a year plus, under the CERT scheme we are all paying an extra £19 a year on gas and £18 on electricity to provide funding to support energy efficiency measures. Therefore, to reflect these costs across all domestic energy accounts we have added £548 a year onto household energy bills instead of the £598 a year predicted by Ernst & Young.
However, uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, is warning that Ofgem could be underestimating the increases. It says that ongoing pricing trends coupled with required investment could see household energy bills hit as high as £4,733 a year by 2020[2], nearly four times higher than they are today. The additional cost of investment alone is expected to add £548 a year onto household bills[2].
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch, says: “Today’s report is one of many recent announcements from Ofgem, which have gradually lifted the lid on what household energy bills are expected to look like in the future. When you add the pieces together it’s a big wake-up call and raises serious concerns about the ongoing affordability of our energy. While investment in the sector is crucial, there can be no doubt that it will have a big impact on household energy bills and this has to be explained to consumers now so that they can start taking action to protect themselves in the future.
"The £5,000 a year energy bill may seem like an outside possibility, but we have to remember that energy bills doubled in the last five years alone and that the huge investment needed to keep the lights on in Britain will alone add £548 a year onto our bills. The fact is we are entering a new era of high cost energy and households will have to adapt their behaviour accordingly by paying the lowest possible price for their energy and reducing the amount they use.”
£233.5 billion investment – what are the key costs?[2]
Renewable energy generation - £112.5 billion
Power plants (including gas-fired, coal-fired and nuclear) - £52.1 billion
Upgrading pipes, networks and gas storage - £39.8 billion
Roll-out of smart metering - £13.4 billion
Carbon emissions reduction target - £15.7 billion
Total = £233.5 billion
Reference: uSwitch.com
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
The Feed in Tariff (FiT) announced earlier this month, for introduction in April 2010, means that every household installing solar electric photovoltaic (PV) panels could earn over £1000/year for 25 years.
These new tariffs will allow people to turn their homes into mini-power stations. For householders who have a south-facing roof, PV panels are really worth looking at. Not only are they a sound financial investment (approx.10% return on your initial investment), they will also allow you to do your part in tackling climate change.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
1. Based on a medium user consuming 3,300 kWh electricity and 20,500 kWh gas, on a standard plan, paying on receipt of bill with bill sizes averaged across all regions. In 2004, the average annual dual fuel bill was £580. At present it is £1,239.
2. Based on a medium user consuming 3,300 kWh electricity and 20,500 kWh gas, on a standard plan, paying on receipt of bill with bill sizes averaged across all regions. The £4,733 figure takes into account pricing trends over the last 5 years and investment costs required by the energy industry. According to Ernst & Young, reported in The Times on Monday 25th May, 2009 in an article written by Robin Pagnamenta, these investment costs total £233.5 billion and imply a total bill of £8,977 or £598 a year for the next 15 years for every household. However, Ernst & Young factored in £112.5 billion for renewable generation and £15.7 billion of Carbon Emission Reduction Targets (CERT) investment. Consumers are already contributing for these items on their bills: according to Ofgem, in 2006/07, the Renewable Obligation cost each domestic consumer about £10 a year plus, under the CERT scheme we are all paying an extra £19 a year on gas and £18 on electricity to provide funding to support energy efficiency measures. Therefore, to reflect these costs across all domestic energy accounts we have added £548 a year onto household energy bills instead of the £598 a year predicted by Ernst & Young.
Best Green Blogs
Urban Energy blog added to 'Best Green Blogs' website!
Best Green Blogs is the web’s largest directory of green and sustainable themed weblogs. Writers from all over the world are publishing articles and stories dealing with a wide variety of topics dealing with environmental issues and green living; and Best Green Blogs is an attempt to capture some of that independent publishing spirit.
Their selection of categories is diverse, but what they all have in common is the desire to educate people about making smarter, more sustainable choices for themselves and the planet we call home.
URBAN ENERGY:
"To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Their expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
Please visit our website for more information: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
To view our page on Best Green Blogs go to: http://www.bestgreenblogs.com/urban-energy/
Best Green Blogs is the web’s largest directory of green and sustainable themed weblogs. Writers from all over the world are publishing articles and stories dealing with a wide variety of topics dealing with environmental issues and green living; and Best Green Blogs is an attempt to capture some of that independent publishing spirit.
Their selection of categories is diverse, but what they all have in common is the desire to educate people about making smarter, more sustainable choices for themselves and the planet we call home.
URBAN ENERGY:
"To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Their expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
Please visit our website for more information: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
To view our page on Best Green Blogs go to: http://www.bestgreenblogs.com/urban-energy/
Friday 19 February 2010
Ofgem badge launched to help consumers identify green electricity tariffs.
Because coal-fired power stations are so obviously bad for the environment and electricity so profligately used, governments have been quick to hand out environmentally friendly regulations to its generators and suppliers.
An integrated power company in the UK must now, by law,
a) increasingly source its power from renewable energy
b) undertake a certain level of activity to improve energy efficiency in households,
c) pay a fixed reward to consumers producing their own renewable electricity (so-called 'feed-in' tariffs) and d) ensure their total emissions stay within a fixed cap (or buy in emissions reductions from elsewhere to compensate).
Soon they will also be required to collect a levy to be spent on capturing and storing carbon underground. It may not be long before they are also obliged to go nuclear.
All this regulation is absolutely essential for driving investment in climate solutions but it makes the act of choosing an electricity tariff considered 'greener' than average almost impossible. The good news is that by the time electricity reaches us it's already got all the legal green obligations priced into it. So we are all doing our bit via our bills already. But if you don't think the government's obligations are going fast or far enough and want to exercise your consumer power to go further, it quickly gets complicated trying to work out if that thing you want done is really additional or just meeting a legal requirement.
Ofgem's new trademarked label for green electricity tariffs is a welcome step forward. Help is at hand for the consumer seeking to navigate this carbon policy jungle.
A new panel of auditors has taken Ofgem's guidelines, issued last year, and scrutinised proposed green tariffs wishing to bear the new trademark – those that have passed will be announced today. The crucial test: is this product doing something that wasn't required of the electricity company already? Broadly, three things qualify – investing in (but not owning) community renewables projects too small to be part of the renewables obligation (point a. above), paying for energy efficiency projects that do not qualify for the existing requirement, and buying and cancelling emissions permits that would be otherwise used to allow pollution to carry on.
Of these, by far the easiest to audit and most clear in terms of doing something new, is the last: permit cancellation. The Environmental Audit Committee report, issued yesterday, clearly recommended that caps on emissions, in the UK and Europe, be significantly tightened. This must ultimately be achieved by changes to the policy at EU level but it can also be helped along by action by member states and by consumers.
Fewer permits in circulation mean less pollution. So tariffs that cancel them are good. More investment in renewable power and electrical energy efficiency unfortunately cannot be guaranteed to do the same unless some of the fixed supply of pollution permits are also cancelled. If they are not, they will be sold to someone else who will use them to pollute.
This fact has long been ignored in Europe though it has been the subject of intense debate in Australia, where the government is trying to introduce caps on emissions, and has already been addressed in the existing US regional cap and trade scheme. This has to change.
The Ofgem guidelines go a long way towards untangling the many overlapping climate policies that now exist. They are not perfect and there is still a long way to go to increase awareness and make the distinction clear between cancelling pollution permits and the much-criticised use of 'carbon offsetting', which is not the same thing.
If this can be achieved and more policies and products be aligned so that we get the number of permits in circulation down, then this new scheme will be an efficient way to harness green consumer power.
Reference: Bryony Worthington; director of Sandbag.org.uk campaigner for tighter caps on pollution.
URBAN ENERGY:
Switching to energy suppliers that have the Ofgem badge is a great start, but why not produce your own electricity & hot water by installing solar photovoltaic (pv) and solar thermal panels? Become a microgenerator, and get paid by the government to do it!
URBAN ENERGY THERMAL:
Solar panels are typically located on the roof of your house or commercial property. These panels are able to convert everyday sunlight into heat energy stored within a cylinder, where it can be used to provide hot water for your home or business.
URBAN ENERGY SOLAR ELECTRICAL POWER:
Photovoltaic (PV) panels can be installed ‘on’ or ‘within’ the roof of your commercial property or home and are designed to convert day light into usable solar electricity. The solar electricity generated will be able to power any electrical device within the building without compromising quality of delivery. Their Photovoltaic panels have been designed to work within a grid system to permit the sale of redundant electricity to power suppliers, eradicating the need for unnecessary and costly battery systems found on other types of installations. Please visit our website for more information: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
An integrated power company in the UK must now, by law,
a) increasingly source its power from renewable energy
b) undertake a certain level of activity to improve energy efficiency in households,
c) pay a fixed reward to consumers producing their own renewable electricity (so-called 'feed-in' tariffs) and d) ensure their total emissions stay within a fixed cap (or buy in emissions reductions from elsewhere to compensate).
Soon they will also be required to collect a levy to be spent on capturing and storing carbon underground. It may not be long before they are also obliged to go nuclear.
All this regulation is absolutely essential for driving investment in climate solutions but it makes the act of choosing an electricity tariff considered 'greener' than average almost impossible. The good news is that by the time electricity reaches us it's already got all the legal green obligations priced into it. So we are all doing our bit via our bills already. But if you don't think the government's obligations are going fast or far enough and want to exercise your consumer power to go further, it quickly gets complicated trying to work out if that thing you want done is really additional or just meeting a legal requirement.
Ofgem's new trademarked label for green electricity tariffs is a welcome step forward. Help is at hand for the consumer seeking to navigate this carbon policy jungle.
A new panel of auditors has taken Ofgem's guidelines, issued last year, and scrutinised proposed green tariffs wishing to bear the new trademark – those that have passed will be announced today. The crucial test: is this product doing something that wasn't required of the electricity company already? Broadly, three things qualify – investing in (but not owning) community renewables projects too small to be part of the renewables obligation (point a. above), paying for energy efficiency projects that do not qualify for the existing requirement, and buying and cancelling emissions permits that would be otherwise used to allow pollution to carry on.
Of these, by far the easiest to audit and most clear in terms of doing something new, is the last: permit cancellation. The Environmental Audit Committee report, issued yesterday, clearly recommended that caps on emissions, in the UK and Europe, be significantly tightened. This must ultimately be achieved by changes to the policy at EU level but it can also be helped along by action by member states and by consumers.
Fewer permits in circulation mean less pollution. So tariffs that cancel them are good. More investment in renewable power and electrical energy efficiency unfortunately cannot be guaranteed to do the same unless some of the fixed supply of pollution permits are also cancelled. If they are not, they will be sold to someone else who will use them to pollute.
This fact has long been ignored in Europe though it has been the subject of intense debate in Australia, where the government is trying to introduce caps on emissions, and has already been addressed in the existing US regional cap and trade scheme. This has to change.
The Ofgem guidelines go a long way towards untangling the many overlapping climate policies that now exist. They are not perfect and there is still a long way to go to increase awareness and make the distinction clear between cancelling pollution permits and the much-criticised use of 'carbon offsetting', which is not the same thing.
If this can be achieved and more policies and products be aligned so that we get the number of permits in circulation down, then this new scheme will be an efficient way to harness green consumer power.
Reference: Bryony Worthington; director of Sandbag.org.uk campaigner for tighter caps on pollution.
URBAN ENERGY:
Switching to energy suppliers that have the Ofgem badge is a great start, but why not produce your own electricity & hot water by installing solar photovoltaic (pv) and solar thermal panels? Become a microgenerator, and get paid by the government to do it!
URBAN ENERGY THERMAL:
Solar panels are typically located on the roof of your house or commercial property. These panels are able to convert everyday sunlight into heat energy stored within a cylinder, where it can be used to provide hot water for your home or business.
URBAN ENERGY SOLAR ELECTRICAL POWER:
Photovoltaic (PV) panels can be installed ‘on’ or ‘within’ the roof of your commercial property or home and are designed to convert day light into usable solar electricity. The solar electricity generated will be able to power any electrical device within the building without compromising quality of delivery. Their Photovoltaic panels have been designed to work within a grid system to permit the sale of redundant electricity to power suppliers, eradicating the need for unnecessary and costly battery systems found on other types of installations. Please visit our website for more information: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Saturday 13 February 2010
The Sun’s Abundant Energy
It is often underestimated the amount energy which can be harnessed from the sun’s radiation. In the UK, we receive a vast amount of solar energy. In an average year we receive as much as 60% of the solar energy which is received on the equator. In other words, this can be compared to the yearly output of 1,000 power stations. It is often argued that solar technologies can only be used within the summer months, this is untrue. In fact, the UK has a large number of clear spring, autumn and winter days, where the Sun’s radiation can be harnessed, meaning that solar technologies can contribute to energy consumption for the whole year.
The total average solar irradiation falling on a one square metre surface on the horizontal (the sun's rays falling on the ground), measured in kilowatt hours (kW-h) ranges from more than 1200 kW-h m2 in the far south west of the UK, to less than 900 kW-h m2 in central and northern Scotland.
By tilting a surface to an angle the amount of solar radiation falling on it will be greater than that falling on a flat surface. Fortunately, in this country, the average tilt of a UK house roof is about the optimum for receiving solar energy.
By using the Sun’s abundant energy, we can reduce our consumption of conventional fuels thus reducing our emission of harmful greenhouse gases, as well as gaining enhanced fuel security and cost effective savings.
Reference: The Solar Trade Association
WATTS? & KILOWATTS?:
A human climbing a flight of stairs is doing work at a rate of about 200 watts.
A typical passenger car engine yields a power output of 25,000 watts while cruising.
A typical household bulb has an average power rating of 60 watts.
The kilowatt (1 kW) is equal to one thousand watts (1000 w). It is typically used to state the output power of engines and the power consumption of tools and machines. In old money, a kilowatt is approximately equivalent to 1.34 horsepower.
The average annual electrical energy consumption of a household is about 8,900 kilowatt-hours (kW-h = see below explanation), equivalent to a sustained average power use of about 1 kW.
The kilowatt hour (kW-h) is commonly used by power companies for purposes of billing, since the monthly energy consumption of a typical residential customer ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand kilowatt hours.
One kilowatt hour = 1 kW-h = 1000 watts per hour, is the amount of energy used if work is done at a constant rate of one thousand watts for one hour.
Megawatt hours (MW-h), Gigawatt hours (GW-h), and Terawatt hours (TW-h) are often used for metering much larger amounts of electrical energy to industrial customers and in power generation.
kilo = thousand: 1000 watts = 1 kilowatt = 1kW
mega = million: 1000,000 watts = 1 megawatt = 1MW
giga = billion: 1000,000,000 watts = 1 gigawatt = 1GW
tera = trillion: 1000,000,000,000 watts = 1 terawatt = TW
URBAN ENERGY:
"To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Their expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
URBAN ENERGY SOLAR HEATING:
Solar panels are typically located on the roof of your house or commercial property. These panels are able to convert everyday sunlight into heat energy stored within a cylinder, where it can be used to provide hot water for your home or business.
URBAN ENERGY SOLAR ELECTRICAL POWER:
Photovoltaic (PV) panels can be installed ‘on’ or ‘within’ the roof of your commercial property or home and are designed to convert day light into usable solar electricity. The solar electricity generated will be able to power any electrical device within the building without compromising quality of delivery. Their Photovoltaic panels have been designed to work within a grid system to permit the sale of redundant electricity to power suppliers, eradicating the need for unnecessary and costly battery systems found on other types of installations. Please visit our website for more information: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
The total average solar irradiation falling on a one square metre surface on the horizontal (the sun's rays falling on the ground), measured in kilowatt hours (kW-h) ranges from more than 1200 kW-h m2 in the far south west of the UK, to less than 900 kW-h m2 in central and northern Scotland.
By tilting a surface to an angle the amount of solar radiation falling on it will be greater than that falling on a flat surface. Fortunately, in this country, the average tilt of a UK house roof is about the optimum for receiving solar energy.
By using the Sun’s abundant energy, we can reduce our consumption of conventional fuels thus reducing our emission of harmful greenhouse gases, as well as gaining enhanced fuel security and cost effective savings.
Reference: The Solar Trade Association
WATTS? & KILOWATTS?:
A human climbing a flight of stairs is doing work at a rate of about 200 watts.
A typical passenger car engine yields a power output of 25,000 watts while cruising.
A typical household bulb has an average power rating of 60 watts.
The kilowatt (1 kW) is equal to one thousand watts (1000 w). It is typically used to state the output power of engines and the power consumption of tools and machines. In old money, a kilowatt is approximately equivalent to 1.34 horsepower.
The average annual electrical energy consumption of a household is about 8,900 kilowatt-hours (kW-h = see below explanation), equivalent to a sustained average power use of about 1 kW.
The kilowatt hour (kW-h) is commonly used by power companies for purposes of billing, since the monthly energy consumption of a typical residential customer ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand kilowatt hours.
One kilowatt hour = 1 kW-h = 1000 watts per hour, is the amount of energy used if work is done at a constant rate of one thousand watts for one hour.
Megawatt hours (MW-h), Gigawatt hours (GW-h), and Terawatt hours (TW-h) are often used for metering much larger amounts of electrical energy to industrial customers and in power generation.
kilo = thousand: 1000 watts = 1 kilowatt = 1kW
mega = million: 1000,000 watts = 1 megawatt = 1MW
giga = billion: 1000,000,000 watts = 1 gigawatt = 1GW
tera = trillion: 1000,000,000,000 watts = 1 terawatt = TW
URBAN ENERGY:
"To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Their expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
URBAN ENERGY SOLAR HEATING:
Solar panels are typically located on the roof of your house or commercial property. These panels are able to convert everyday sunlight into heat energy stored within a cylinder, where it can be used to provide hot water for your home or business.
URBAN ENERGY SOLAR ELECTRICAL POWER:
Photovoltaic (PV) panels can be installed ‘on’ or ‘within’ the roof of your commercial property or home and are designed to convert day light into usable solar electricity. The solar electricity generated will be able to power any electrical device within the building without compromising quality of delivery. Their Photovoltaic panels have been designed to work within a grid system to permit the sale of redundant electricity to power suppliers, eradicating the need for unnecessary and costly battery systems found on other types of installations. Please visit our website for more information: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Solar Thermal (Hot Water) Systems
Solar thermal (hot water) systems can be extremely efficient, reducing costs and energy consumption. For a solar system to work, all they need is daylight as they can collect both direct radiation, direct sunlight on clear days, and diffused radiation, light which is present on cloudy days.
Both flat plate collectors and evacuated tube collectors have selective and non selective surfaces. In terms of which collector has best efficiency, it is dependant on your domestic use. At low temperatures the efficiency for all the collectors is very similar, but as temperatures increase all the collectors show a slight reduction in efficiency. For lowest temperatures an unglazed non-selective surface flat plate collector can be seen as most effective, hence they are commonly used to heat swimming pools, however for highest temperatures there is a very marginal difference between selective surface evacuated tubes and selective surfaces flat plate collectors, with the former being the most efficient.
In terms of costs you would expect to save between 50 -70% on your annual heating costs, as the more hot water used the greater the saving. For a family of four, a well designed solar water heating system should contribute around 1,500 kW-h and 2,000 kW-h, which will be equivalent to 50 to 65% of the household’s water heating energy needs.
Reference: The Solar Trade Association
Urban Energy
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings.
We can provide systems eligible for grants of between 50% up to 100% through arrangements in place with our partners.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Both flat plate collectors and evacuated tube collectors have selective and non selective surfaces. In terms of which collector has best efficiency, it is dependant on your domestic use. At low temperatures the efficiency for all the collectors is very similar, but as temperatures increase all the collectors show a slight reduction in efficiency. For lowest temperatures an unglazed non-selective surface flat plate collector can be seen as most effective, hence they are commonly used to heat swimming pools, however for highest temperatures there is a very marginal difference between selective surface evacuated tubes and selective surfaces flat plate collectors, with the former being the most efficient.
In terms of costs you would expect to save between 50 -70% on your annual heating costs, as the more hot water used the greater the saving. For a family of four, a well designed solar water heating system should contribute around 1,500 kW-h and 2,000 kW-h, which will be equivalent to 50 to 65% of the household’s water heating energy needs.
Reference: The Solar Trade Association
Urban Energy
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings.
We can provide systems eligible for grants of between 50% up to 100% through arrangements in place with our partners.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Greening Britain's Energy Supply
A fortnight ago Ed Miliband, the Climate Secretary, confirmed generous payments for home solar panel and wind turbine systems.
This scheme could transform Britain's poor record on renewable power. At present only 5 per cent of UK power comes from renewable sources, while 2 per cent of energy customers are on "green" tariffs. So will this initiative lead to low-carbon power for the people – and what's in it for you?
First, don't bother generating your own electricity or buying a "green" tariff until you have stopped energy leaking from your home; it's like pumping fuel into a car without fixing a hole in the petrol tank. Put plastic strips round draughty windows and reflective paper behind radiators, lag lofts to 27centimetres and fit eco-lightbulbs in every socket.
From April, a "Feed in Tariff" will guarantee payments to homes with solar panels and other micro-generation. A "well-sited" 2.5kWh PV solar scheme, the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) says, should earn £900 a year and £140 in energy savings. And the financial case for going solar may improve if, as expected, banks offer renewable power loans later this year.
Reference: The Independent
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Our expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
This scheme could transform Britain's poor record on renewable power. At present only 5 per cent of UK power comes from renewable sources, while 2 per cent of energy customers are on "green" tariffs. So will this initiative lead to low-carbon power for the people – and what's in it for you?
First, don't bother generating your own electricity or buying a "green" tariff until you have stopped energy leaking from your home; it's like pumping fuel into a car without fixing a hole in the petrol tank. Put plastic strips round draughty windows and reflective paper behind radiators, lag lofts to 27centimetres and fit eco-lightbulbs in every socket.
From April, a "Feed in Tariff" will guarantee payments to homes with solar panels and other micro-generation. A "well-sited" 2.5kWh PV solar scheme, the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) says, should earn £900 a year and £140 in energy savings. And the financial case for going solar may improve if, as expected, banks offer renewable power loans later this year.
Reference: The Independent
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Our expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Employment in Renewable Energy Sector Could Rise to 500,000!
Energy minister David Kidney has claimed that the Renewable Energy Strategy, combined with a growing market for renewable energy globally, could increase UK employment in the renewables sector by up to a further 500,000 people by 2020.
The statement was made in the House of Commons earlier this month when Mr Kidney was asked to provide details of how many people have been employed in the renewable sector since 2003 and what recent assessment he has made of the potential for the creation of new jobs.
Mr Kidney replied that although there will be some displacement as the UK restructures its economy, the Renewable Energy Strategy would create significant job opportunities. He estimated that in 2007/08 up to 390,000 people were employed in the sector and that this could increase by up to a further 500,000 people by 2020.
URBAN ENERGY
Urban Energy employ the very best engineers, all of which are fully qualified, certified and Government approved to carry out installation of solar energy system, complying with strict guidelines and are members of the Solar Trade Association. Urban Energy are always looking to employ the best quality MCS accredited installation engineers, for further information please contact Urban Energy:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
The statement was made in the House of Commons earlier this month when Mr Kidney was asked to provide details of how many people have been employed in the renewable sector since 2003 and what recent assessment he has made of the potential for the creation of new jobs.
Mr Kidney replied that although there will be some displacement as the UK restructures its economy, the Renewable Energy Strategy would create significant job opportunities. He estimated that in 2007/08 up to 390,000 people were employed in the sector and that this could increase by up to a further 500,000 people by 2020.
URBAN ENERGY
Urban Energy employ the very best engineers, all of which are fully qualified, certified and Government approved to carry out installation of solar energy system, complying with strict guidelines and are members of the Solar Trade Association. Urban Energy are always looking to employ the best quality MCS accredited installation engineers, for further information please contact Urban Energy:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Is solar power a bright investment?
If you install a typical £12,500 photovoltaic (PV) system on your roof, the new feed in tariff should give you a return of at least £25,000. So what's the catch? There isn't one!
If the government offered to pay you £1,000 a year for the next 25 years, in return for an up-front investment of £12,500, you'd snap it up in a second. Well, that's pretty much the deal on offer this week after the government finally revealed what it will pay those who install electricity generating solar panels – in and around their homes – through the new "Feed-in Tariffs" (FITs).
After years of campaigning by environmental groups – helped in small part by this newspaper – the government has finally agreed to reward households and businesses installing electricity-generating measures with enough of a return to make it a serious financial, as well as an environmental, investment. If you've got the money and, crucially, a sunny, south-facing roof, you can earn a 7%-10% tax-free return, an income that will rise in line with inflation. At the same time, you get to do more than your fair share in reducing the UK's carbon emissions.
In the week that the energy regulator, Ofgem, warned the nation to expect 20% electricity price hikes by 2020, and warned future supplies were in jeopardy, investors in solar panels will have the added benefit of being a net provider of electricity, and largely insulated from future price hikes that could see household bills top £2,000 a year by 2020.
Announcing the new tariffs' introduction this week, the energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband said the guaranteed income would be a big incentive for householders "to make the move to low carbon living".
"The feed-in tariff will change the way householders and communities think about their future energy needs, making the payback for investment far shorter than in the past."
Although Milliband announced a number of tariffs – including what the government will pay those installing wind turbines – the one that will appeal most to the average UK householder will be for installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels – at a typical cost of £12,500.
From 1 April, households with approved schemes will be paid for the electricity they generate, even if they use all of it themselves.
The level of payment depends on the technology and whether it is being fitted to an existing home, or installed as part of newbuild. Importantly, future payments are guaranteed for the next 25 years and have been, unexpectedly, linked to inflation.
Anyone fitting a typical £12,500, 2.5kW PV system to their existing home will initially be paid 41.3p per kilowatt hour (kWh) generated. Enough, according to Miliband, to reward them with up to £900 in the first year on top of a £140-a-year saving on their bills.
The measure, which is inevitably quite complicated, is designed to reward those who reduce their own electricity consumption by installing low-energy lighting and A-rated white goods, and to ultimately export excess electricity generated back to the grid.
Households get an extra 3p for each kWh they export on top of the 41.3p they get paid for all units generated. Those building PV roof panels into a new-build home get a slightly lower tariff (36.1p per kWh). The fact that the payments are not taxed make it a particularly rewarding investment for higher-rate taxpayers – those earning more than just over £43,000.
The feed-in rates change depending on which year you install the technology. They will also apply to installations commissioned since July 2009 when the policy was announced. Early adopters, who have installed grant-assisted PV and registered for the ROC scheme, will also receive payments, but at just 9p/kWh. The payments will physically come from your existing electricity supplier, but will be overseen by the regulator Ofgem.
Reference: The Guardian
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Homeowners with flat roofs may well find they can install a system, as will those with conventional roofs that face a few degrees either side of south, east or west. Panels perform best in unshaded sites angled towards the sun at a pitch of 30-40 degrees.
Prior to this week's announcement, grants of up to £2,500 had been available to those installing PV panels under the terms of the government's Low Carbon Buildings Programme. There are still grants available for other green technologies. FITs now provide the entire financial incentive for PV installers.
These new tariffs will allow people to turn their homes into mini-power stations. For householders who have a south-facing roof, PV panels are really worth looking at. Not only are they a sound financial investment, they will also allow you to do your part in tackling climate change.
Our homes are responsible for over a fifth of UK emissions, but by fitting renewable electricity systems and wind turbines, we can be part of a greener, safer future.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
If the government offered to pay you £1,000 a year for the next 25 years, in return for an up-front investment of £12,500, you'd snap it up in a second. Well, that's pretty much the deal on offer this week after the government finally revealed what it will pay those who install electricity generating solar panels – in and around their homes – through the new "Feed-in Tariffs" (FITs).
After years of campaigning by environmental groups – helped in small part by this newspaper – the government has finally agreed to reward households and businesses installing electricity-generating measures with enough of a return to make it a serious financial, as well as an environmental, investment. If you've got the money and, crucially, a sunny, south-facing roof, you can earn a 7%-10% tax-free return, an income that will rise in line with inflation. At the same time, you get to do more than your fair share in reducing the UK's carbon emissions.
In the week that the energy regulator, Ofgem, warned the nation to expect 20% electricity price hikes by 2020, and warned future supplies were in jeopardy, investors in solar panels will have the added benefit of being a net provider of electricity, and largely insulated from future price hikes that could see household bills top £2,000 a year by 2020.
Announcing the new tariffs' introduction this week, the energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband said the guaranteed income would be a big incentive for householders "to make the move to low carbon living".
"The feed-in tariff will change the way householders and communities think about their future energy needs, making the payback for investment far shorter than in the past."
Although Milliband announced a number of tariffs – including what the government will pay those installing wind turbines – the one that will appeal most to the average UK householder will be for installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels – at a typical cost of £12,500.
From 1 April, households with approved schemes will be paid for the electricity they generate, even if they use all of it themselves.
The level of payment depends on the technology and whether it is being fitted to an existing home, or installed as part of newbuild. Importantly, future payments are guaranteed for the next 25 years and have been, unexpectedly, linked to inflation.
Anyone fitting a typical £12,500, 2.5kW PV system to their existing home will initially be paid 41.3p per kilowatt hour (kWh) generated. Enough, according to Miliband, to reward them with up to £900 in the first year on top of a £140-a-year saving on their bills.
The measure, which is inevitably quite complicated, is designed to reward those who reduce their own electricity consumption by installing low-energy lighting and A-rated white goods, and to ultimately export excess electricity generated back to the grid.
Households get an extra 3p for each kWh they export on top of the 41.3p they get paid for all units generated. Those building PV roof panels into a new-build home get a slightly lower tariff (36.1p per kWh). The fact that the payments are not taxed make it a particularly rewarding investment for higher-rate taxpayers – those earning more than just over £43,000.
The feed-in rates change depending on which year you install the technology. They will also apply to installations commissioned since July 2009 when the policy was announced. Early adopters, who have installed grant-assisted PV and registered for the ROC scheme, will also receive payments, but at just 9p/kWh. The payments will physically come from your existing electricity supplier, but will be overseen by the regulator Ofgem.
Reference: The Guardian
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Homeowners with flat roofs may well find they can install a system, as will those with conventional roofs that face a few degrees either side of south, east or west. Panels perform best in unshaded sites angled towards the sun at a pitch of 30-40 degrees.
Prior to this week's announcement, grants of up to £2,500 had been available to those installing PV panels under the terms of the government's Low Carbon Buildings Programme. There are still grants available for other green technologies. FITs now provide the entire financial incentive for PV installers.
These new tariffs will allow people to turn their homes into mini-power stations. For householders who have a south-facing roof, PV panels are really worth looking at. Not only are they a sound financial investment, they will also allow you to do your part in tackling climate change.
Our homes are responsible for over a fifth of UK emissions, but by fitting renewable electricity systems and wind turbines, we can be part of a greener, safer future.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Sunday 7 February 2010
New plan gives solar power to the people!
Government launches scheme to light a fire under microgenerators, and help them save – and make – money.
Short-term, the prospects for home-energy prices are looking brighter – British Gas has just reduced tariffs by 7 per cent and the other big suppliers are likely to follow. However, Ofgem, the regulator, is warning that down the line we could see our bills rise by 25 per cent over the next 10 years, and even that energy supplies could become scarce. But just as news came in that energy prices are set to rise dramatically, homeowners were offered hope with the launch of a new government incentive.
Hoping to encourage a movement towards renewable energy, the Government has finalised details of its feed-in tariffs, which reward people who produce their own energy by investing in technology such as solar panels and small wind turbines.
"This new scheme is a fantastic opportunity for householders to make money, cut fuel bills and play their part in slashing carbon-dioxide emissions," says Dave Timms, green homes campaigner for eco-action group Friends of the Earth. "Developing the UK's massive small-scale renewable energy potential will help to tackle climate change, create new green jobs and industries, and increase our energy security."
From 1 April, any household generating its own energy will be rewarded with tax-free payments. The cashback levels will depend on the technology used, with solar panels attracting the most generous payments. Further payments will be awarded to householders directing any energy they don't need back to the National Grid.
The type of technology used will depend on the property type. So a solar photovoltaic (PV) system needs a south-facing, preferably sloping, roof. In England and Scotland, planning permission is not usually required, although there are some restrictions in terms of size, and exceptions apply for any listed buildings, and properties near a conservation area, national park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In Wales and Northern Ireland, householders must consult their local authorities about planning permission.
With the new tariffs, the potential returns that this type of technology can reap are impressive. A typical domestic solar system of 12 panels, for example, will generate £1,048 in savings and income a year.
Overall, householders can expect a pay-back of between 5 and 8 per cent a year, so the move will go some way to alleviate the high initial costs. The Government has also confirmed that tariffs will be paid for up to 25 years, and, as the tariffs are linked to inflation, the real rate of return could end up as high as 10 per cent.
Anyone who has had an installation commissioned since July 2009, when the policy was first announced, will be able to apply for the scheme. The incentives are also open to businesses, communities, farmers, schools and hospitals, although the payments vary.
Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has said that over the next decade he predicts that one in 10 homes will have installed renewable power. These tariffs are going to generate rates of return that will beat high-street savings accounts by a mile, at the same time as they save carbon and generate jobs in a new fast growing, British industry.
Reference: The Independent
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Our expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
Urban Energy employ the very best engineers in this field, all of which are fully qualified, certified and Government approved to carry out this task, complying with strict guidelines and are members of the Solar Trade Association.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Short-term, the prospects for home-energy prices are looking brighter – British Gas has just reduced tariffs by 7 per cent and the other big suppliers are likely to follow. However, Ofgem, the regulator, is warning that down the line we could see our bills rise by 25 per cent over the next 10 years, and even that energy supplies could become scarce. But just as news came in that energy prices are set to rise dramatically, homeowners were offered hope with the launch of a new government incentive.
Hoping to encourage a movement towards renewable energy, the Government has finalised details of its feed-in tariffs, which reward people who produce their own energy by investing in technology such as solar panels and small wind turbines.
"This new scheme is a fantastic opportunity for householders to make money, cut fuel bills and play their part in slashing carbon-dioxide emissions," says Dave Timms, green homes campaigner for eco-action group Friends of the Earth. "Developing the UK's massive small-scale renewable energy potential will help to tackle climate change, create new green jobs and industries, and increase our energy security."
From 1 April, any household generating its own energy will be rewarded with tax-free payments. The cashback levels will depend on the technology used, with solar panels attracting the most generous payments. Further payments will be awarded to householders directing any energy they don't need back to the National Grid.
The type of technology used will depend on the property type. So a solar photovoltaic (PV) system needs a south-facing, preferably sloping, roof. In England and Scotland, planning permission is not usually required, although there are some restrictions in terms of size, and exceptions apply for any listed buildings, and properties near a conservation area, national park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In Wales and Northern Ireland, householders must consult their local authorities about planning permission.
With the new tariffs, the potential returns that this type of technology can reap are impressive. A typical domestic solar system of 12 panels, for example, will generate £1,048 in savings and income a year.
Overall, householders can expect a pay-back of between 5 and 8 per cent a year, so the move will go some way to alleviate the high initial costs. The Government has also confirmed that tariffs will be paid for up to 25 years, and, as the tariffs are linked to inflation, the real rate of return could end up as high as 10 per cent.
Anyone who has had an installation commissioned since July 2009, when the policy was first announced, will be able to apply for the scheme. The incentives are also open to businesses, communities, farmers, schools and hospitals, although the payments vary.
Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has said that over the next decade he predicts that one in 10 homes will have installed renewable power. These tariffs are going to generate rates of return that will beat high-street savings accounts by a mile, at the same time as they save carbon and generate jobs in a new fast growing, British industry.
Reference: The Independent
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Our expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
Urban Energy employ the very best engineers in this field, all of which are fully qualified, certified and Government approved to carry out this task, complying with strict guidelines and are members of the Solar Trade Association.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Thursday 4 February 2010
The Prospect of a Power Cut!
When the energy regulator sounds the alarm over the risk of national power failure we should all listen. Yesterday Ofgem released a report warning of "reasonable doubt" over the security and sustainability of Britain's power supplies. It points to a combination of dwindling domestic gas reserves, a reliance on unstable foreign suppliers and a shortage of infrastructure investment. The regulator also reiterated a previous warning that without drastic action to expand supply many homes will soon find energy prices unaffordable.
The regulator rightly argues that the energy sector needs an overhaul if we are to meet this challenge. But what, precisely, is to be done? The solutions to the shortage of infrastructure investment already exist. The problem is that they are not being implemented speedily enough. Greater government support for wind, solar and wave generation would address the challenge of energy security and carbon emissions at the same time.
Reference: The Independent
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Our expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
Urban Energy employ the very best engineers in this field, all of which are fully qualified, certified and Government approved to carry out this task, complying with strict guidelines and are members of the Solar Trade Association.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
The regulator rightly argues that the energy sector needs an overhaul if we are to meet this challenge. But what, precisely, is to be done? The solutions to the shortage of infrastructure investment already exist. The problem is that they are not being implemented speedily enough. Greater government support for wind, solar and wave generation would address the challenge of energy security and carbon emissions at the same time.
Reference: The Independent
URBAN ENERGY
Our mission: “To provide and install, sustainable, world class, clean energy products with the highest level of service and care”.
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Our expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.
Urban Energy employ the very best engineers in this field, all of which are fully qualified, certified and Government approved to carry out this task, complying with strict guidelines and are members of the Solar Trade Association.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Wednesday 3 February 2010
Energy bills set to reach £2,000 a year!
Energy bills will skyrocket to unaffordable levels by 2015 unless the Government acts now, says a new report.
The Government may soon be completely in charge of the energy market in the UK, with far reaching changes needed to prevent energy bills skyrocketing to £2,000 a year, energy watchdog Ofgem has warned.
The regulator has concluded its Project Discovery report, with some shocking findings. Chief among them is the suggestion that unless the infrastructure behind the energy market is completely revamped, we will face energy costs spiralling out of control.
For many of us, gas and electricity will be simply unaffordable - and that could mean the lights going out across the country.
Nab a Feed-in Tariff:
This week, the Government finally unveiled its plans for feed-in tariffs (FiTs), and they should definitely be on your radar if you want to keep your energy expenditure as low as possible, over the long-term.
Basically, homeowners will be paid for generating their own power, through measures like rooftop windmills and solar panels.
And doing so could prove pretty lucrative - according to the Department for Energy and Climate Change, fitting a typical 2.5kW well sited solar photovoltaic (PV) installation could see the homeowner handed up to £900, as well as savings on their electricity bill.
In fact, any surplus energy created can then be sold on to the National Grid, earning you even more cash!
Reference: lovemoney.com
Urban Energy:
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings.
We provide systems eligible for grants of between 50% up to 100% through arrangements in place with our partners.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
The Government may soon be completely in charge of the energy market in the UK, with far reaching changes needed to prevent energy bills skyrocketing to £2,000 a year, energy watchdog Ofgem has warned.
The regulator has concluded its Project Discovery report, with some shocking findings. Chief among them is the suggestion that unless the infrastructure behind the energy market is completely revamped, we will face energy costs spiralling out of control.
For many of us, gas and electricity will be simply unaffordable - and that could mean the lights going out across the country.
Nab a Feed-in Tariff:
This week, the Government finally unveiled its plans for feed-in tariffs (FiTs), and they should definitely be on your radar if you want to keep your energy expenditure as low as possible, over the long-term.
Basically, homeowners will be paid for generating their own power, through measures like rooftop windmills and solar panels.
And doing so could prove pretty lucrative - according to the Department for Energy and Climate Change, fitting a typical 2.5kW well sited solar photovoltaic (PV) installation could see the homeowner handed up to £900, as well as savings on their electricity bill.
In fact, any surplus energy created can then be sold on to the National Grid, earning you even more cash!
Reference: lovemoney.com
Urban Energy:
Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings.
We provide systems eligible for grants of between 50% up to 100% through arrangements in place with our partners.
0% interest instalment payment program available for domestic solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
For further information about Urban Energy products and services:
Call: 0800 232 1624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk
Website: http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Monday 1 February 2010
FiT SCHEME ANNOUNCED TODAY!
FiTs have at last been announced for the UK. Coming in April 2010, this at last brings us in line with Germany, Spain and other European Countries. Systems will pay for themselves approx 4 times faster than at present.
- 36.5p/kWh for small solar photovoltaic systems up to 4kW and 28p/kWh for systems up to 10kW.
Customers who have an installation between now and April 2010 will benefit from the current Low Carbon Grant of £2,500 and next April will get the Feed in Tariff.
Urban Energy:
Urban Energy can provide both public and private sector organisations with both solar thermal and photovoltaic systems eligible for grants of between 50% up to 100% through arrangements in place with our partners.
For further information on Urban Energy products and services please call us on 0800 232 1624, email us on info@urbanenergy.org.uk, or visit our website at http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
- 36.5p/kWh for small solar photovoltaic systems up to 4kW and 28p/kWh for systems up to 10kW.
Customers who have an installation between now and April 2010 will benefit from the current Low Carbon Grant of £2,500 and next April will get the Feed in Tariff.
Urban Energy:
Urban Energy can provide both public and private sector organisations with both solar thermal and photovoltaic systems eligible for grants of between 50% up to 100% through arrangements in place with our partners.
For further information on Urban Energy products and services please call us on 0800 232 1624, email us on info@urbanenergy.org.uk, or visit our website at http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
