We’ve complete a new carbon heating system to serve off-the-grid properties in Ceredigion, mid Wales.

The project, which was carried out in partnership with Tai Ceredigion, will save residents nearly £4,000 annually and create a carbon saving of 67.44 tonnes - the equivalent of taking 35 cars off the road for a year.

The new heating system involved the installation of ground source heat pumps (GSHP) at 41 properties, with the first installations to be completed before the end of March 2011.

Alongside the GSHPs we will also be installing wet radiator internal heating systems to and solar PV panels to the properties. This integrated approach ensures a renewable heat source and sets a high standard in energy efficiency. Installation work at the properties, in Ponterwyd and Pontrhydfendigaid was completed during 2011..

The project is part of a wider scheme managed by Tai Ceredigion to provide low carbon heating to its homes in the region.

We’ve already completed the installation of Air Source Heat Pumps and Solar Thermal systems to 15 houses in Pontrhydygroes and we’re developing further proposals with Tai Ceredigion to extend the project.

“This new system will bring more affordable and sustainable heating to Ceredigion residents, bringing carbon emissions down by 57 per cent and, importantly for residents, saving approximately 30 per cent on annual energy bills.

Research into renewable technologies supports our aim of generating much more of the energy it supplies from renewable sources.

Among these activities are three collaborative projects with the UK Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) which will increase the amount of energy produced from wind power and bring forward techniques for capturing the power of the seas.

As the first results come through, they’re being used to help shape our future strategic investments in renewable power and to contribute to our ongoing development of sustainable energy technologies.

We have a leading role in the ETI Helm Wind Project which is pioneering a new concept for offshore wind farms to exploit the potential for higher wind energy which is available in deep water far offshore.

This project is innovating technologies for a new generation of wind turbines and wind farm equipment which will have improved power outputs and better economics. Crucially, these wind turbines will also meet the challenges which the tough marine environment presents to construction, reliability, operation and maintenance.

Greater understanding of the opportunities to utilise the oceans’ energy is coming from the ReDAPT marine energy project.

Its aim is to accelerate the development of underwater turbines which generate electricity as they are driven by tidal water flows. Trials with a 1MW turbine and a comprehensive data collection system are providing detailed performance and environmental information at a scale never before achieved in normal sea conditions.

The results will support design work for future projects to harness the tidal energy resources around the UK coastline and increase our ability to predict the energy output of turbines accurately.

The research, at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland, is also feeding into the PerAWaT project which will provide advanced techniques for demonstrating the viability of marine energy investments.

It is developing a series of models to predict the performance of groups of generating devices using wave and tidal stream power in different sea conditions at a range of locations.

Our offices at the Sherwood Business Park are located to the south of Annesley, Nottinghamshire, accessed off the A608, from junction 27 of the M1. The site is within five miles of the towns of Kirkby in Ashfield and Hucknall, which provide access to mainline rail services, Hucknall station also providing connections to the Nottingham tram network.

We have a range of measures and initiatives in place to encourage our colleagues to consider ‘green’ ways of travelling to work. These include:

- 131 reserved car sharing parking bays, promotional events and campaigns including three sustainable travel roadshows; free prize giveaways to colleagues who cycle to work, and car share promotion focusing on possible cost savings using petrol forecourt style displays

- Eco driving courses for car share drivers to help them drive in a more fuel efficient way

- Introduction of a hybrid minibus to collect employees from Hucknall tram/train station and provide access to the local transport hub for business journeys to other local offices

- Links to the business park estate and improved company bus routes

We’re helping to shape the future of energy in the heart of London at the low carbon Greenwich Peninsula development. This is one of the largest regeneration projects in the UK with prominence not just because of the stakeholders, but also its location in London, a global city with ambitious carbon emission reduction targets and commitments to providing its residents with sustainable living. On completion, the Greenwich development will boast 10,000 low carbon homes and 3.5 million square feet of low carbon offices, shops and restaurants.

The Greenwich Peninsula scheme is being developed over the next 20 years, and will eventually serve 25,000 residents of the London Borough of Greenwich. The development strategy will provide:

• Public sector investment from the Homes & Communities Agency
• Viable returns for private sector developers and investors
• Low Carbon performance and ongoing management to meet ambitious targets
• Affordable and green energy services for residents
• Flexibility for future infrastructure developments
• Minimisation of fuel poverty

Our role is to help deliver:

• Affordable, low carbon homes and businesses
• Ambitious carbon emissions targets
• Assessment of the latest technologies and innovations
• Long-term commercial viability for the scheme
• Audits of the technical design solutions for the developers, investors and London Borough of Greenwich

Initially we undertook a high-level technical model of the Greenwich Peninsula development to assess and validate both heat demand and heat network design. We are advising the Greenwich Peninsula Regeneration venture on the heat network design and specification provided by other consultancies, ensuring it’s sufficiently robust to be adopted by an Energy Services Company (ESCO).

ESCOs invest over many years so they need confidence that a long-term contract for providing heat to the homes and businesses of Greenwich is a sound investment. The technical design audit is vital to making the project commercially viable.

District heating provides heat from a low carbon energy centre to any number of homes and buildings from a network of underground pipes fed by a central source. It can supply heat to housing developments, whole towns or even entire cities. At the heart of the energy centre is the primary generating plant, such as a combined heat and power unit, which produces heat and hot water and also generates electricity at the same time

Benefits include:

• Lower carbon emissions
• Reduced heating bills
• No boiler maintenance or replacement costs
• Hot water on demand
• Emergency call-out service and helpline for customers
• Remote reading of heat meters to allow accurate billing

Sheets of solar cells could become renewable energy providers on vehicle bodywork, roofs and even laptop computers.

These rolls of thin ‘sunlight harvesters’ may revolutionise solar power generation by using a new type of photovoltaic (PV) cell to be manufactured on a reel-to-reel basis similar to printing.

The flexibility of the finished product would allow it to be used as large format solar panels for rigid applications or easily attached to curved surfaces.

This is one of the innovative projects in our International Research Initiative which brings together universities, industry and energy experts to develop efficient, low carbon energy technologies which may be used in everyday life in the future

In this project, the University of Surrey is pursuing a breakthrough in PV technology to provide lower cost power than is available from current PV current cells.The concept uses nanotechnology to enhance the cells’ electrical performance in collecting sunlight and converting it into electrical energy.

The university has created devices which show ‘promising performance’ and is now optimising their efficiency and life.

Ultimately this research could provide a way of delivering renewable energy, for both mobile and stationary applications, which is virtually unlimited and has no CO₂ emissions.

We’ve signed the first sustainable city agreement in the UK with Stoke-on-Trent City Council. The scheme will deliver millions of pounds of investment to the city to improve energy efficiency of homes and use green power to drive down residents’ fuel bills.

In the first phase, we provided solar panels to 54 council properties in the city.

Samantha Bryson and family are the first Stoke-on-Trent City Council tenants to benefit from the solar panel scheme.

Samantha said: “We are really excited by the scheme, and friends and relatives have asked us to tell them how it all works. The solar panels will help us save money on our fuel bills and we are really looking forward to seeing them in action.”

The scheme aims to insulate homes properly and also enable households to generate their own power when it’s needed.

We’ve recently made some donations through our Sustainable Energy Fund to projects that will make a difference to local communities.

Elsdon Village Hall Trust is the only community space for a small, remote village in the Northumberland National Park, where a lack of public transport makes people feel isolated. With the help of the wider community, the Trust is now renovating it, to provide a vital space for a wide variety of groups and activities. Although the hall is still unfinished, it is already attracting groups, and the renovation process has reinvigorated the committee and brought the community together. Once complete, the hall will bring in a range of services, including adult education. The £6,594 grant will be used to install wall insulation and Thermafleece sustainable roof insulation which uses “waste” sheep fleeces with good thermal properties.

Watnall Women’s Institute Hall near Nottingham offers women a variety of activities. Watnall WI owns the Hall, providing a valuable meeting place for both the WI and the local community. A Playgroup also meets there 5 days a week.
The grant of £4,823 will be used to install double glazed windows throughout the building and an insulated suspended ceiling to reduce the space that needs to be heated. The lighting of the hall will also be upgraded to energy efficient units.

Chace Community School is a comprehensive school in the London Borough of Enfield. It’s a Specialist Technology College and has 1,284 students. Our Sustainable Energy Fund gave the school a grant to replace 16 PCs in the science laboratory with 16 energy efficient PCs connected to a low energy server.

Mencap in Kirklees, Huddersfield, is part of the national charity Mencap - the voice of learning disability. Everything they do is about valuing and supporting people with a learning disability and their families and carers. Waverley Hall Day Centre provides meaningful activities for 40 people, whilst giving their carers a little free time. We awarded a grant of £1,328 to replace their old boiler with an efficient gas condensing boiler.

The Elizabeth Svendsen Trust for Children & Donkeys provides riding therapy for children with special educational needs and disabilities. It has five centres throughout the UK and was awarded a grant of £5,264 for 3 solar powered electric fence energisers at each of their 5 sites.