On this page: Western Somerset Energy Fair, Surviving Winter Project, National Energy Update, Energy Efficiency Advice, Get Warm and Save Money, Renewable Heat Incentive Programme, Energy Efficiency Campaign, Energy Efficiency Pack, EDF's Hinkley "C" Proposals, Minehead Anaerobic Digester, Links to relevant articles of interest.

New Energy Advice Centre for the Quantocks and surrounding area

Quantock Eco (QE) has set up an Energy Advice Centre in Bishops Lydeard and to perform several important tasks ahead of the Green Deal. It is open to visitors on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm and on Thursday evenings from 7pm to 9pm until the end of March. Visitors will be offered free advice and information on saving money and energy in the home. Local people will be able to request a free Home Energy Audit and the loan of energy monitors to help them understand how they use energy.  For more information please contact Jill Gray via email at jillgray2@tiscali.co.uk

For the latest information on FIT tariffs click here: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Financial-incentives/Feed-In-Tariffs-scheme-FITs

Come on Labels Project

Please download a leaflet here regarding an IEE funded project called "Come on Labels" to raise awareness of the new domestic appliance energy labels.

 

Surviving Winter Project Update December 2011

Avid readers of our website will remember that we asked for help in finding applicants for the Somerset Community Foundations Surviving Winter project.  We're pleased that we have so far had applications from over 50 pensioners who are struggling to keep warm in winter. Our team of volunteers is visiting all these people to assess their eligibility for the grant. We are finding some very needy people.

 

But we will only be able to pay the grant if other pensioners generously donate their winter fuel payment from the government. This is what the Surviving Winter project invites them to do.

 

The Community Foundation has issued a new flier. It says that any money donated using this flier will be used to make the grants in West Somerset. We would like this information to be publicised, since we are worried that we may not be able to pay all those in West Somerset who have applied for the grant.

 

If you need more information about this, please contact Lorna on 01984 634 242 or mail@forum21.org.uk

Forum 21 would be grateful if this information could be publicised to those who work with pensioners. A flier explaining how to apply can be viewed and downloaded here: Surving Winter flier. A flier explaining how to donate can be downloaded here: Surviving Winter Donation Flier.

 

The Solid Wall Insulation Guarantee
The Government's new flagship policies for tackling climate change and fuel poverty, Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation involve a major step change in the level of Solid Wall Insulation (SWI) undertaken. It is envisaged that a c. 10 fold increase in installations will be required between 2013 and 2022 on the current volumes being undertaken of around 25,000 per year. In addition, Government expects Local Councils to take a leadership role in the early years through facilitating large scale installations of SWI in social housing.

A key element of the Green Deal and critical to the successful mass roll out of SWI is consumer confidence and protection, ensuring that quality installations are undertaken and backed up by a comprehensive guarantee.

To this end the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency, National Insulation Association and a number of the leading solid wall insulation manufacturers and system suppliers have developed the new Solid Wall Insulation Guarantee Agency (SWIGA).

The SWIGA provides a new comprehensive quality assurance and consumer protection framework covering external, internal and hybrid (combination of EWI and IWI in the same property) wall insulation supported by an independent SWIGA 25 year Guarantee.

The SWIGA Guarantee will only be available through local member contractors who participate in the Scheme, agree to be bound by robust rules and submit their work to routine independent surveillance by a third party.

The scheme will be operational at the start of Green Deal in October 2012, and currently the key elements of the framework are being validated through up to 1,000 pilot properties being completed under existing funding arrangements under CERT, CESP or other sources.

The benefits of the pilots include allowing local delivery partners to help refine the framework so that it best meets their needs. It also provides the assurance that projects will be completed in a consistent manner according to best practice so that they will deliver the maximum potential savings. Work will also be subject to independent surveillance and will be backed by the 25 Year Guarantee.

To download a SWIGA Scheme Leaflet please click here.

National Energy Update 

Fuel Poverty Statistics 2011

DECC have published the latest Annual Report on Fuel Poverty Statistics 2011 revealing fuel poverty levels in the UK and England in 2009.

The statistical press release is available from the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) website at:
www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn11_062/pn11_062.aspx

The statistics confirm that fuel poverty is accelerating, with 5.5 million fuel poor households in 2009. Recent energy price increases, inflation and slow wage growth means the number of housholds in fuel poverty today could be significantly higher.

For a detailed report visit Utility Week: www.utilityweek.co.uk/news/news_story.asp?id=195665&channel=0&title=Fuel+poverty+rises+more+sharply

The Green Deal: the Energy Bill will not be finalised before the recess. It's now expected early in the new parliamentary session, which I assume means October. The Energy Bill will contain details of the Green Deal. For more Green Deal info, look at the Energy Bill page of the DECC website.

DECC has announced that EST and the Carbon Trust will no longer receive core funding from April 2012. They will have to bid through a competitive tendering process.

Also announced by DECC: a new National Energy Efficiency Office will be set up.

 

Click on this link to view information on EDF's Hinkley C Proposals

 

Energy Efficiency Advice

We all know that greenhouse gases are changing our climate but did you know that our homes produce more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted in the UK? That's a good reason to save energy, but there is another reason too. The fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) that keep our homes heated and lit are running out. Experts vary about how much time we have left but all agree that it will happen before too long. And all energy prices will continue to rise because of this.

The good news is that saving energy also saves us money. So how to set about it?

Save Energy and Save Money: Book a free energy survey for your home: article which appeared in the May 2009 issue of News Trader

Energy Efficiency Campaign

Reducing carbon emissions is a key aim of the Forum. West Somerset's carbon emissions are one of the highest in the country, and nearly 30% more carbon per head than the regional average - 11.4tCO2 per person. Energy efficiency - reducing our use of carbon fuels and using energy more efficiently - is one of the most efficient ways of reducing these emissions. For instance, it has been said that if each household in the country used one energy saving lightbulb, one power station fewer would be needed. Another claim is that if all our homes were fully insulated, it could save 40% of our energy use.

The energy saving heirarchy

reduce energy use

insulate fully     

install renewables

 

Since 2006 West Somerset Council has made us an annual grant to work on fuel poverty in West Somerset. People are judged to be in fuel poverty if they have to spend more than 10% of their income on fuel; West Somerset has the highest proportion of people in fuel poverty in the south west. There are obvious reasons for this: 60% of our homes are 'off gas', still the cheapest fuel; 60% have solid walls so are more difficult and more expensive to insulate; and the area is recognised as a low income economy - a toxic combination. So this is another excellent reason for focusing on energy efficiency.

 

Forum 21 has spent the council's grant each year by using some paid volunteers to reach these people and inform them of the grants available to insulate and heat their homes. Insulation is recognised as the most effective and cheapest way to save energy and save money on fuel.

 

Some of the campaign's activities:

Stalls at Dunster Show, Watchet Carnival and village fetes

Offering free energy surveys

Working with some of the big privately owned estates

Giving talks to local groups

Everyone in the energy team has received training in energy efficiency, 13 of them as energy assessors.

 

Ask for a free energy survey visit phone 01643 703 161 or e-mail vireva@yahoo.co.uk

 

 

 

Get warm and save money - get help for hard to treat homes
The Somerset West Private Sector Housing Partnership in partnership with the CSE and Scottish and Southern Energy, are offering householders a grant of up to 25% of the value of the work of solid wall insulation, more complex loft insulation and floor insulation up to a maximum of 2,500 per property.  For more information go to http://www.westsomersetonline.gov.uk/Home/News/Help-for-hard-to-treat-homes

 

Renewable Heat Incentive Programme

The Government has confirmed that the Renewable Heat Incentive Programme will be introduced in June 2011. The Scheme will give homeowners an opportunity to save money on their energy bills and get an income from generating energy and doing their bit towards reducing carbon emissions in the UK.

 

Essentially the Renewable Heat Incentive is a fixed payment for the renewable heat you generate and there will be three key stages:

Stage One: the homeowner installs a renewable heat system such as solar thermal panels, a heat pump or a biomass (wood burning) boiler

Stage Two: an individual assessment is made about how much heat the property needs and how much heat the renewable energy system will produce

Stage Three: the householder gets paid a fixed amount based on that assessment

 

Click on the following link to read more:

 

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/renewable/policy/renewable_heat/incentive/incentive.aspx

Renewable Heat Premium Payment

To find out how you can apply for Renewable Heat Premium Payment please click here

Energy Efficiency Pack for Householders

Forum 21 and Transition Minehead and Alcombe (TMA) have worked together to put
together a comprehensive energy information pack. Its aim is to collect together in one place up to date energy information for our team of energy volunteers to use when they carry out energy surveys. But this information is useful for anyone who is interested in saving energy.

Click on the Section link to download that section or to download the complete document click on the Energy Efficiency Pack link at the end of the sections.

Introduction (136KB)

Section 1: Homes in West Somerset - the West Somerset context (162KB)

Section 2: Planning and building regulations (112KB)

Section 3: Making our homes more energy efficient (192KB)

Section 4: Microrenewables (156KB)

Section 5: Materials, suppliers and costs (97KB)

Section 6: Paying for it - grants and loans (219KB)

Download the whole Energy Efficiency Pack (905KB)

We intend to keep it updated. If any readers have any suggestions, or more recent information, we would like to know about it. Email to: mail@forum21.org.uk 

We are always looking for more people to join the energy team. Training is available. To find out more, contact Lorna Scott on 01984 634 242 or e-mail mail@forum21.org.uk.

 

Minehead Anaerobic Digester

Forum 21 is leading a feasibility study for an Anaerobic Digester (AD) for Minehead. An AD breaks down waste organic matter using microorganisms.  The methane gas (biogas) produced by the organisms can be used to produce power.

Anaerobic Digestion: West Somerset's Potential to Make Money from Waste: article which appeared in the February 2011 News Trader

Useful Links (see also our Links page on this website)

Get on with Photo Voltaic: article which appeared in the March 2011 News Trader regarding PV panels at Cutcombe

It's Time for Renewables: article which appeared in the January 2011 News Trader

THERE'S MONEY IN YOUR ROOF: Do you have perfect pitch and a sunny disposition? Article which appeared in the October 2010 issue
of News Trader

 

Biocharcoal - can it save the planet? Article which appeared in the News Trader May 2010

 

Produce your own electricity - and be paid for it! Article which appeared in the March 2010 issue of News Trader

 

The end of the oil-rich era? Article which appeared in the April 2009 issue of News Trader

 

Renewable Energy Is All Around Us Article which appeared in the April 2008 issue of News Trader

 

A Buyer's Guide to Heat Pumps

 

Ground Source Heat Pumps