Archive for June, 2010

Schools get free solar panels to generate own business energy

29 June 2010

Business energy giant British Gas is to invest £15million in solar panels for UK schools. A total of 750 schools will benefit from the scheme, which will see solar panels installed for free, enabling each school to cut up to 20 per cent of its yearly electricity bill by generating its own green business electricity.

The panels are expected to generated about £1.3m per year through the feed in tariff scheme over the next 25 years, and British Gas will invest this back into installing solar panels on more schools through the not-for-profit Energy For Tomorrow Trust.

The schools will also receive a smart meter from British Gas, enabling teachers to use them to show pupils real-time business electricity consumption, educating future generations on how solar power can make a difference.

There will also be ‘Generation Green’ lesson plans to help teachers in this task.

Solar panels are increasingly popular for business electricity generation for many businesses, with many SMEs considering them as realistic prospect.

Would your business consider using solar power to generate business electricity? Tell us what you think by leaving a comment.

Read the full story at Utility Week

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Business electricity customers slow to register for CRC scheme

28 June 2010

Only 10 per cent of the private businesses and public sector organisations covered by the government’s Carbon Reduction Scheme (CRC) have registered with it, according to a report by Energy Efficiency News.

Aimed at large businesses and public sector organisations, the scheme requires organisations on half-hourly metered business electricity to give yearly reports of energy use and carbon emissions. They will then have to buy carbon allowances to cover their emissions.

The government will rank the organisations and those that show the least improvement in business energy efficiency will face penalties.

The scheme was introduced in April this year, and organisations have until September to register with the Environment Agency, although the largest business electricity consumers should have started monitoring their consumption and emissions already.

While SMEs are not required to register under the CRC scheme, few will dispute that more efficient consumption of commercial electricity is a priority. Keeping overheads down remains a key priority going forward, and keeping business energy costs as low as possible is an essential part of this.

For advice on business electricity consumption, tips on saving energy and business electricity price comparison, contact Energy Advice Line.

Read the full story in Energy Efficiency News.

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Quest for renewable energy will change Britain’s landscape

25 June 2010

Wind turbines of 500ft tall and 475ft in diameter will be built in Britain in the next few years, according to a report in the daily Telegraph.

A 10 megawatt machine, christened ‘Britannia’, is scheduled to be built off the coast of Northumberland by 2012. However, this could be just the first of many such machines – with a weeping circle that is more than 500ft wide. Such offshore turbines are seen as a solution to meeting growing domestic and business electricity needs.

Meanwhile, on the same day the newspaper reported that many of Britain’s inshore landscapes will be forever altered by new pylons being built to transport this electricity to homes and businesses.

The National Grid is planning an expansion of high-voltage pylons and cables so that the green energy can be connected to the grid. However, overground pylons could run through areas of outstanding beauty and many critics favour underground cables – which could cost almost 20 times as much to lay, a cost that many fear will be passed on to domestic and business electricity customers.

You can read about the new offshore turbines here

And the National Grid’s pylon plan here.

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Julian Morgan, MD Energy Advice Line
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Boris Johnson backs Low Carbon London bid

24 June 2010

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has given his backing to energy giant EDF Energy’s bid for funding to reduce carbon emissions from the UK’s capital.

EDF Energy Networks, part of the business energy supplier, has submitted an initial proposal to OfGem’s Low Carbon Networks Fund to built a smart electricity distribution network that would help battle climate change by cutting carbon emissions in the city by 60 per cent by 2025.

London has one of the highest domestic and business electricity demands in the country. Low Carbon London – A Learning Journey is a project that would involve the energy company working with businesses and communities to create a blueprint for the electricity distribution networks of the future.

This project would involve smart grid technologies and carbon-cutting commercial energy arrangements, with customers playing a pivotal role in helping match demand for electricity with low carbon electricity production. The much trumpeted growth in micro-generation for domestic and business electricity customers alike would also be incorporated into this plan.

Boris Johnson commented: “The key to becoming a cleaner, less polluted and more energy efficient city is to utilise clever new technologies. I want London to be a pioneer in the introduction of ingenious solutions to crack the environmental challenges we face.”

Low Carbon London would match models of electricity distribution with real customer behaviour, finding the best way to help customers reduce their electricity consumption and carbon emissions.

For advice on how to save business electricity today, contact Energy Advice Line.

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Business energy shortage and powercuts are biggest concerns for business executives

21 June 2010

A shortage of business energy is one of the biggest fears for UK businesses, a new survey by T-Systems has found.

Sharp rises in the cost of business electricity and gas have also been cited as areas of major concern. The research was carried out in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit and shows that more than 80% of directors and senior executives with large organisations fear sharp price increases and almost 50% expect demand for electricity to outstrip supply within the next five years.

Commenting on the report, Sam Kingston, managing director of T-Systems in the UK, said: “In the near future, access to energy and its careful management will be as critical to business success as, for instance, access to capital and management of capital is today…

“…Smart energy strategies at individual businesses as well as at the national level will need to be supported by advanced technologies that will ensure transparency of usage across the supply chain.”

Other key points uncovered in the report included nuclear energy will be the primary solution to the UK’s energy needs in the foreseeable future, and that 90% of businesses polled had already taken steps to increase their energy efficiency and cut their costs.

We’d like to know what small and medium sized business owners think the most important areas of the business environment are for the new government to focus on. Secure energy supply polled very highly in this report – do you agree, or do you have different priorities?

To find out how you can save money on your business energy, contact Energy Advice Line.

You can read the full report at Response Source.

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Energy firms paid to turn off turbines

21 June 2010

Wind farms across the UK are being paid to turn off their turbines when the wind is blowing because the National Grid is unable to use the power they generate.

In a story that will come as a shock to many business electricity customers who are frequently told that wind power is the way forward in ensuring demand for electricity is met, the Daily Telegraph has revealed that thousands of pounds are being paid to wind farm owners not to operate during windy summer evenings.

The reason behind this is because the electricity cannot be stored and there is not much demand for domestic or business electricity in the middle of the night.

This system is called ‘balancing mechanism’ and already operates for gas and coal power stations, but the concern is that shutting down wind turbines will end up costing the energy companies – and thus domestic and commercial electricity customers – a lot more.

While the traditional power stations often pay the National Grid for each megawatt hour they do not supply, the owners of the wind farms will be paid by the National Grid.

This will fuel the arguments presented by critics of wind farms that they are unreliable and not a practical source of domestic and business electricity generation for the future.

Read the full story in the Daily Telegraph.

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New power station ‘may breach green law’

18 June 2010

A new power station being constructed to deliver energy to more than 3 million domestic and business electricity in Pembrokshire may be in breach of European environmental law, claim Friends of the Earth Cyrmu.

Planning permission was granted in February 2009 and construction began in May of the same year. The gas-fired plant is due to create about 100 jobs and is scheduled to devliver electricty for business and domestic customers by 2012.

But Friends of the Earth Cymru say that planning permission was granted before environmental assessments were carried out and claims the power plant could damage the Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation. Particular concerns have been expressed that a proposed water cooling system would be detrimental to fish living in the area.

However, a spokesperson for RWE npower, who are building the plant, told the BBC that a thorough consultation process had been carried out prior to planning permission being granted and commented that it would help meet Wales’s future energy needs.

For advice on business electricity tariffs, contact Energy Advice Line.

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Government departments show business energy consumption in real time

15 June 2010

Two of the UK’s government departments, the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Home Office, have put their business energy consumption on display in real time, reports Energy Efficiency News.

The online display is part of the government’s commitment to cut its energy emissions by 10% during its first year in office.

While the Home Office display will show the amount and cost of business energy used each day, the DECC homepage will show peaks and troughs of energy demand throughout each 24 hour period.

If the trial proves successful, the business energy monitoring scheme will then be rolled out to other government departments.

Read the full story at Energy Efficiency News.

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M&S Reduces Business Electricity Costs

14 June 2010

High street retailer Marks & Spencer has announced success in its attempts to increase business energy efficiency.

As well as increasing the energy efficiency of its stores by 19% and slashing carbon emissions by 8%, the company has also saved money on business electricity prices by switching to green tariffs.

The energy savings are part of Marks & Spencer’s five year ecologically friendly and ethical Plan A, set out in 2007. Back then, 100 commitments were set out to be achieved in five years. Of those original 100, M&S report they have met 62, 30 remain on target and just 7 are behind. Furthermore, the company has extended its Plan A targets to 180 commitments to be met by 2015.

There are several ways that businesses large and small can increase their business energy efficiency and save money on business electricity and gas.

For free, impartial advice on improving business energy efficiency and on finding the right tariff for your business’s aims needs and ethos, contact Energy Advice Line today.

Read the full story in Energy Efficiency News.

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It’s Wind Week – but will business electricity customers be celebrating?

14 June 2010
Wind turbines are an important source of business electricity.

Wind turbines are an important source of business electricity.

It’s Wind Week 2010 – the annual celebration of wind energy in the UK, organised by RenewablesUK in partnership with the Scottish Renewables Festival.

Wind power is seen as an increasingly important source of domestic and business electricity, but it is also one of the most controversial.

On a day when Energy Secretary Chris Huhne will visit a fully functioning wind turbine in London’s Leicester Square, The Daily Telegraph reports that environmental campaigner and broadcaster Professor David Bellamy has joined an anti-wind farm protest in the Scottish Borders.

While wind farms are seen as a large part of the solution to the growing demand for renewable domestic and business electricity by many, others see them as blots on the landscape and cite their poor efficiency (running at around 30% of capacity) as a case against them.

However, Wind Week 2010 aims to promote wind turbines in a more positive light. The turbine in Leicester Square is fully functional and will be there for one day only.

Speaking to New Energy Focus, Adam Bell from EmbraceMyPlanet (Renewable UK’s renewable energy campaign) said: “Around 200,000 people pass through Leicester Square every day, offering a perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the benefits of wind energy.”

Tomorrow (June 15) is Global Wind Day, which is designed to raise the profile of wind energy around the world.

Do you believe wind power is the answer to keeping business electricity prices affordable for small and medium sized businesses? Leave us a comment ant let us know where you stand on the wind debate.

For free, impartial advice on business electricity prices, contact Energy Advice Line.

Read the full story in New Energy Focus.

And read about the wind farm protest in The Daily Telegraph.

Image credit – CCA: Wind turbine blades by vaxomatic

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