Small and medium sized companies (SMEs) were today invited to bid for a share of £10 million for innovative gadgets that can help cut consumer bills. They can apply for up to £2 million each under the Government’s Energy Entrepreneurs Fund. It aims to support energy efficient technologies such as building control systems, advanced lighting […]

ELN Reporter Priyanka Shrestha talks to Energy Secretary Ed Davey and Energy Minister Greg Barker at the launch of Britain’s first Community Energy Strategy. It aims to help local groups take control of their bills and allow them to generate their own renewable power.

Energy Minister Greg Barker said consumers will soon be able to get cash for installing energy efficiency measures within a day in a bid to boost uptake. Speaking at the UK Green Building Council’s launch of its Green Deal report, he said the biggest barrier to getting insulation is finance and that DECC is working […]

The Coalition has been “hyperactive” on the issue of energy bills, Energy Secretary Ed Davey claimed today. Since last autumn, the Government has faced a strong vein of discontent over rising domestic gas and electricity prices. Prime Minister David Cameron was prompted to announce a cut in the amount suppliers must spend on energy efficiency […]

The Micropower Council has rebranded itself the Sustainable Energy Association, a move it says reflects the link between energy efficiency, microgeneration and using low carbon energy in buildings. At a reception in the House of Commons on Monday, Baroness Maddock who sits on the SEA’s board said the new name “fits better what we’re about”. […]

More than two thirds of householders (65%) installed at least one energy efficiency measure following a Green Deal assessment, DECC claimed yesterday. The multi-million pound loan scheme has been widely lambasted after a tiny number of homes have taken it up. But Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said new figures show Green Deal […]

A British enterprise has won a fund worth £3 million to develop a new storage system that stores electricity from renewable sources. DECC gave the contract to EValu8 Transport Innovations on behalf of the Electric Vehicle Embedded Renewable Energy Storage and Transmission (EVEREST) Consortium. The company will use the fund to develop a storage system, […]

Green heating measures for businesses could get more financial backing from the Government after a policy tweak announced today. The Renewable Heat Incentive is a 20-year subsidy and its non-domestic scheme has been open to the commercial, industrial and public sectors and community generators of renewable heat since November 2011. New plans would increase the […]

The Energy Minister Greg Barker has said green schemes like the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) and the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) need to be joined up. Speaking yesterday at the Heat Conference 2013 he said:  “We need to do far more across the board to integrate our new policies that help consumers produce their own renewable energy. […]

Concerns were raised today about whether district heating schemes in the UK will effectively leave consumers at the mercy of a monopoly. District heating has been touted as a good value, low carbon source of power as it limits the waste of heat by letting buildings such as homes and hospitals share heating sources. Appearing […]