The Community Green Deal: A model for area-wide delivery of housing retrofit to benefit whole communities

Posted on: 16 March 2012
By: mackene
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This paper presents the findings of work to develop a model for community-scale delivery of whole house retrofit – the „Community Green Deal‟1 The Community Green Deal is proposed as a locally-based, area-wide response to the delivery of the Green Deal and ultimately the UK‟s medium to long-term carbon reduction targets. The model would deliver whole home retrofits to achieve 80% CO2 emissions reductions for communities of between 750 and 3,000 homes.

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Permitted development rights for installations of microgeneration equipment on non-domestic premises: Impact assessment

Posted on: 15 March 2012
By: mackene
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This is the final impact assessment for permitted development rights for installations of microgeneration equipment on non-domestic premises. The Department for Communities and Local Government has also published a summary of responses to the consultation Permitted development rights for small scale renewable and low carbon energy technologies, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. and the Government’s response to the consultation.

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Zero Carbon Hub Annual Conference 2012. London, 2 February 2012

Posted on: 13 March 2012
By: mackene
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Building on the success of the 2011 event, the 2012 Conference attracted a strong line up of speakers from across the housing sector, energy and finance, with encouraging levels of support from sponsors, exhibitors and delegates. The theme of the 2012 Conference was ‘Progress towards 2016’ and the agenda was structured to shed light not only on the valuable progress that has been made, but also, crucially, what we need to do now to maintain momentum in the remaining years up to 2016. Key sessions of the day included a consideration of higher level policy on zero carbon homes by Stewart Baseley, HBF, and Mark Clare, Barratt Developments.  Further sessions covered the link between policy and delivery, consumer focus and practical delivery, each drawing on insights from professionals involved in housing policy and the planning, design and construction of homes. A video review of the day is available here on the above , while presentations can be found online.

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Energy assessments of national housing stocks. Wels, Austria, 29 February 2012

Posted on: 13 March 2012
By: mackene
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The TABULA (Typology Approach for Building Stock Energy Assessment) project team hosted this international expert workshop, with focus on “European Building Typologies”. The main theme of the workshop was the energy performance of the European building stock. Methods for data collection and assessment, design of building typologies, building stock models and scenario calculations were presented and discussed. Presentations are available online. Further information on the TABULA project is available here.

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Intelligent Energy-Europe: European Info Day. Brussels, 24 January 2012

Posted on: 13 March 2012
By: mackene
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This event provided  an update on the European policy for renewable energies and energy efficiency; presented the Intelligent Energy-Europe (IEE) programme and the priorities of its 2012 call for project proposals; presented ongoing IEE projects and the ingredients of their success; outlined how to apply for IEE funding; and offered dedicated workshops for each funding area. Presentations are available online.

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How to choose appropriate incentives to deploy renewable energy and increase energy efficiency. Washington, DC, 30 January – 2 February 2012

Posted on: 13 March 2012
By: mackene
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This workshop, organised by the World Bank, discussed feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for renewable energy, trends and lessons learned in energy efficiency, renewable energy auctions and competitive procurement of energy efficiency. Presentations are available online.

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Financial support for energy efficiency in buildings

Posted on: 9 March 2012
By: mackene
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The European Commission has recently launched a public consultation on financial support needed for the uptake of energy-efficiency improvements in buildings. The recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) requires member states, amongst others, to provide for appropriate financing and other instruments to incentivise large-scale energy-efficiency refurbishments and the transition to nearly zero-energy buildings.

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Research to support the development of a Green Deal Competency Framework

Posted on: 7 March 2012
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New research, commissioned by the Green Deal Skills Alliance (GDSA), a collaboration between Asset Skills, SummitSkills and CITB-ConstructionSkills, argues the challenge to train the built environment workforce and its learning providers for Green Deal launch this autumn is immense. The study surveyed more than 400 employers and training providers from the energy assessment, advice and construction sectors in England, Wales and Scotland, gathering views on the skills and knowledge needed to deliver the Green Deal, the government’s flagship policy for energy efficiency. Despite citing challenges in preparing industry, the report claims SMEs will be able to profit from the scheme. While most employers thought larger firms were more likely to dominate the market, they also believed real opportunities would be created for SMEs to win work through subcontracting for larger firms. Respondents also indicated the initiative had the potential to boost firms’ turnover by up to 20% and that nearly a third of the workforce did have the basic skills needed to deliver the scheme. However, there were concerns that the workforce lacked knowledge in areas such as building fabrics and the impact energy efficiency measures have on different types of buildings. Improving the skills of the workforce was still an urgent priority to ensure the Green Deal’s success.

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Nuclear construction lessons learned: Guidance for best practice

Posted on: 2 March 2012
By: mackene
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In October 2010, Engineering the Future brought together a study working group at the request of the Office of Nuclear Development to examine the lessons that could be learnt from recent civil nuclear power plant construction projects and how they should be incorporated into the proposed UK new build programme. The Nuclear Lessons Learned study examined experiences from six recent nuclear construction projects and a series of general lessons. A series of guidance for best practice guides on specific areas of nuclear construction has been produced with the aim of helping generate behaviours within the UK industry and supply chain that are conducive to successful project delivery and specifically not about setting codes of practice or contract conditions. Guides are available on: Nucelar safety culture; Welding: and Concrete.  [loaded 2 March 2012]

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The Rough Guide to Community Energy

Posted on: 1 March 2012
By: mackene
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This guide aims to demonstrate how local people can work together to save or generate energy and tackle climate change. It contains practical information and case studies covering; how to establish local energy groups; types of projects, including solar, wind, hydro, biomass, CHP and energy efficiency; getting a project off the ground, from fundraising and planning to construction; and advice from successful groups all over the UK.

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