Zero-energy cost business park opens

The UK’s first business park with ‘zero-energy’ costs has officially opened on an old Britvic site near Wigan (pictured). The first tenants have already moved into Armstrong Point, which has nine business units where the tenants won’t have to pay any energy costs. Partly funded by EU’s regional development pot (ERDF), the scheme uses renewable […]

Lancashire foundry cuts energy bills by £8,000

A century-old foundry in Lancashire is cutting its energy bills by £8,000 a year. Installing energy efficient lighting means the foundry, Lupton & Place, will cut its energy use by 85,000kWh and slashing its CO2 emissions by 46.3 tons annually. The family-run business can make more than 2 million castings a year with its die-casting […]

Barker blasted for “breathtaking arrogance and ignorance”

Energy Minister Greg Barker was accused of “breathtaking arrogance” yesterday when questioned about the crash in the domestic market for solar installations. This comes after the Government decided to further cut Feed-in-Tariff incentives from August. Mr Barker was responding to a report by Eco Environments, which claimed renewable energy installers were now focusing more on […]

Time running out to install panels with FiT

Homeowners have just over two months to get the current 21p return from installing solar panels until Government cuts the Feed-in Tariff. As of July 1 the new rate will be no higher than 16.5p and may be even lower. Industry insiders expect the return on investment to drop to as low as 4% if deployment in […]

Green energy firm predicts solar ‘Armageddon’ after cut

A green energy firm is predicting “Armageddon” for the solar industry after Government brought out plans to cut the solar Feed-in Tariff (FiT) subsidy yesterday. Announcing a new FiT rate of 21p/kWh yesterday morning, Energy Minister Greg Barker suggested the cost of solar panels will drop to a point which makes the new rate feasible. […]

Solar industry gold rush starts again

Following the solar industry’s landmark victory against the Government today, a short term gold rush is set to begin, according to the director of a renewable energy company. David Hunt, at Eco Environments said: “This is an almighty kick in the teeth for the Government, but a fantastic result for consumers who have either gone […]

Homeowner solar ‘strangled’ by DECC proposals

Homeowners who want to install solar power could lose out on government funding if their houses don’t achieve a minimum ‘C’ energy rating under new DECC proposals, according to a green energy firm. This means that almost 9 in 10 homes wouldn’t get financial help with pricey solar panels, suggests renewable energy company Eco Environments. […]

Thousands of jobs will ‘go to the wall’ after FiTs cut

Tens of thousands of jobs could be at risk after the Government’s proposed changes to the Feed in Tariff (FiTs), the subsidy for solar power. Today DECC announced the FiTs would be halved, with a new tariff for schemes up to 4kW in size of 21p/kWh – down from the current 43.3p/kWh. David Hunt, a […]

Energy Summit missed out on renewable solutions

A leading renewable energy company has criticised the Government for failing to include renewable technologies in its solutions to reducing consumer bills at this week’s emergency Energy Summit. Already under fire for thinking too much in the short term, the Government has so far only asked the UK’s energy suppliers to remind customers of energy […]

FiT scheme boosts microgeneration by 400%

Small-scale energy generation, using predominantly solar panels and wind turbines, has grown by 400% in less than 18 months in the UK. A study by Which? looked at the growth in renewable energy capacity in the UK’s large cities since the government’s feed in tariff launched last April. London added more renewable power than all […]