News
New guide to help get retrofit right
National Trust wins energy award for ‘ modern art ’ solar array
A new practical guide for asset managers tackling retrofit insulation projects has been launched at one of the largest professional gatherings in the social housing calendar .
‘ IWI for the Asset Manager ’ has been produced to help address misconceptions around projects to insulate walls , particularly through the use of Internal Wall Insulation ( IWI ). The guide is the first publication from IWI specialists Matilda ’ s Planet , forming part of their commitment to help drive quality throughout the supply chain . Their underlying belief is that a better informed retrofit team ( including asset managers ) will result in more successful projects .
The guide sits alongside Matilda ’ s Planet ’ s role as a founding member of The Retrofit Academy , a community interest company offering training to upskill housing professionals with a remit for energy efficiency retrofit .
Featuring a foreword from Professor David Strong , former Managing Director at BRE Environment , the guide offers valuable advice on factors impacting vital energy efficiency programmes across the housing sector .
The National Trust has won a national energy award for a unique solar PV project , which has been compared to an art installation , on a hillside at one of its most popular gardens in North Wales .
The solar array , at Bodnant Garden in the Conwy Valley , was named National Small-Scale Project of the Year at the Energy Efficiency and Retrofit Awards in Birmingham . The 50kW system generates around 43,000kWh of electricity at the site , which sees over 200,000 visitors each year . It powers the onsite Pavilion Café along with two electric vehicle charging points in the neighbouring car park and also recharges the batteries of power tools used in the gardens .
Renewable gas market makes major breakthrough
The global standard against which large organisations measure , manage , and report GHG emissions , the Greenhouse Gas ( GHG ) Protocol , has recognised that Green Gas Certificates , issued by the Green Gas Certification Scheme ( GGCS ), can support a business ’ s reporting of onsite GHG emissions .
Through the use of Green Gas Certificates , which track the use of grid-injected biomethane , companies can report near-zero GHG emissions for gas combusted onsite due to the biogenic nature of the biomethane being sourced .
These changes are backed by the CDP ( formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project ), which monitors companies ’ GHG reductions . The CDP ’ s latest UK annual report states
The role of heat networks in decarbonising UK homes
Heat networks are good value and crucial to decarbonising domestic heating in the UK , according to a new report by influential think tank Policy Exchange , entitled : ‘ Too hot to handle ? How to decarbonise the way we heat our homes ’
The report reveals that greenhouse gas emissions from domestic heating have fallen by 20 % since 1990 , compared to a reduction of 50 % in the power sector , and suggests a radical overhaul of the government ’ s heat strategy to do better on domestic heat .
that 232 companies out of the FTSE 350 now disclose their GHG output to the CDP .
The GGCS liaised closely with the GHG Protocol team , based in Washington , and the CDP , to ensure that its Green Gas Certificates fulfil the reporting criteria of the Protocol . Research undertaken by leading environmental consultancy Ecofys for the GGCS helped ensure that the scheme complied with Protocol rules .
Biomethane is a renewable gas produced through the anaerobic digestion of food and other organic wastes . Good Energy has announced that 6 % of its green gas supply is made up of biomethane injected to the grid . This biomethane is sourced from UK anaerobic digestion plants registered through the GGCS .
The 175 panels , laid on a curve in the hillside , were made by Panasonic as part of its partnership with the National Trust . The money saved from energy bills will directly fund the Trust ’ s conservation work .
Paul Southall , Environmental Advisor at the National Trust , said : “ Every Trust property has its own unique spirit , and we ’ ve got to make sure that whatever we install is appropriate in the right place .
“ The success of this scheme is down to the collaborative approach between the property staff , the designer and installer Carbonzero renewables , and the team at Panasonic , who all worked to ensure the finished system sat appropriately within its environment .”
Among the policy recommendations is a proposal to increase the roll-out of heat networks , which Policy Exchange says currently only supply around 1 % of households , but could serve 10 to 20 %+ of households by 2050 .
The report calls for Ofgem to develop a bespoke regulatory framework for heat networks and for the government to do more to increase the sllure of heat networks and derisk investment , which echoes the Association for Decentralised Energy ( ADE ).
It expects this percentage to increase in future . Good Energy is using Green Gas Certificates as evidence that the biomethane has been injected , and has not been double counted in any way .
Further domestic energy suppliers signed up to the GGCS include Green Energy UK , now supplying customers with 100 % green gas from UK AD plants backed by Green Gas Certificates ; and LoCO2 energy , supplying 10 % of gas from biomethane .
Sacha Alberici , Senior Consultant , Ecofys , said : “ Companies will now have greater confidence in using Green Gas Certificates for their corporate accounting of the purchase of biomethane , which will help to further stimulate development of the green gas market in the UK .”
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