Planning practice guidance for onshore oil and gas

Posted on: 22 July 2013
By: mackene
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This is guidance for industry, minerals planning authorities and local communities on how shale gas (and other onshore oil and gas) developments should proceed through England’s planning system.

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Community energy and localism resources

Posted on: 19 July 2013
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The Centre for Sustainable Energy has added a new section to its PlanLoCaL website covering localism and neighbourhood planning in the context of community energy. New materials are available to download, and a short introductory video.

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Energy performance certificates in buildings and their impact on transaction prices and rents in selected EU countries: Final report

Posted on: 18 July 2013
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This study considers whether or not the energy performance certificates (EPC) rating of a building has an effect on the sale or rental price. The study carried out detailed econometric analysis on combined datasets of EPC information and data on sales prices and rents. As each EPC scheme and country or region is different, it can be expected that the strength of any such effect will vary. The underlying policy regimes are thus assessed in a harmonised way and overall conclusions for policy makers drawn.

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Energy planning: Monitoring the implementation of London Plan energy policies 2012

Posted on: 18 July 2013
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 This report reviews the commitments secured through implementation of the London Plan energy policies in 2012. It will be of interest to developers and energy consultants, as well as others involved in the planning process e.g. case officers, policy officers, etc.

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Improving building performance: Sparing no expense to get something on the cheap? London, 12 June 2013

Posted on: 16 July 2013
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Bill Bordass, who in 1984 up William Bordass Associates, which studies the technical and environmental performance of new, existing and historic buildings, presented the Inaugural George Henderson Memorial Lecture at the UCL Energy Institute. He considered why the quest for more sustainable, lower-energy buildings seems to be turning into a complicated, expensive and bureaucratic obstacle race; and what we might do to change this. As one of the UK’s leading buildings performance evaluation experts, he shared his extensive experience to identify what works and what needs attention. A video and slides from the event are available online.

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Renewable energy and local plan policies case study

Posted on: 11 July 2013
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The NPPF advises that to help increase the use and supply of renewable and low carbon energy local planning authorities should consider identifying suitable areas for renewable and low carbon energy sources, and supporting infrastructure, where this would help secure the development of such sources. The Planning Advisory Service has published a document which outlines the experiences of  Hastings, Darlington, Bristol, Richmondshire, Stockport, Manchester and South Staffordshire councils in using this approach.

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Pump up the volume: Bringing down costs and increasing jobs in the offshore wind sector

Posted on: 9 July 2013
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A report from the Institute for Public Policy Research claims that the future of offshore wind power generation in the UK is in serious doubt, as the government’s plans to encourage new wind farms are over-expensive and flawed. The report adds that the government has done too little to attract wind turbine manufacturers to set up in the UK, with the result that only a small proportion of expected investment in offshore wind will benefit British manufacturers.

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EU bioenergy potential from a resource efficiency perspective

Posted on: 3 July 2013
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The main objective of this report is to review the implications of resource efficiency principles for developing EU bioenergy production.

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What colour is your building?: Measuring and reducing the energy and carbon footprint of buildings

Posted on: 27 June 2013
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This book presents the result of many years’ analysis and design of low energy buildings. The first part of the book focuses on how to measure and benchmark CO2 emissions due to the operating, embodied and transport energy consumption associated with commercial buildings and the people using them. A simple whole carbon footprint methodology is proposed which can be used to put into context real (not theoretical) energy consumption, embodied carbon (new build and refurbish v demolish), and the significant impact the location of a building has on the CO2 emissions of people travelling to work. The second part of the book provides clear, practical guidance to developers, planners, architects, engineers, building owners, facility managers, and tenants on how to reduce the whole carbon footprint. This includes 10 steps to low energy buildings, the contribution that renewable energy can realistically make, the use of lower carbon materials in construction, refurbishment and fit-out, and how to encourage greener methods of travel. An overview of the ingredients to include in a business case to justify investment in low energy/carbon buildings is also provided. Price £35

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Green Deal assessment survey. Summary report: headline findings

Posted on: 27 June 2013
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Nearly half of the householders who had a green deal assessment on their home had or were in the process of making their homes more energy-efficient as a result, according to a report from the Department of Energy & Climate Change.

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