Energy group E.ON in talks over network sale

German energy group E.ON is in talks to sell its electricity distribution
network in the UK for up to £3.5bn. E.ON is believed to be in advanced negotiations with a group of foreign
investors over the deal, which could see a change of hands for Britain's
second biggest power grid - providing electricity to more than five million
homes. It is thought the bidding consortium comprises sovereign wealth fund
the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canadian Pension Plan and Australian
Bank Macquarie. Read more:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/business-news/energy-group-in-tal
ks-over-network-sale-14999211.html?r=RSS#ixzz14mY6E1TX

Utility companies in hot water over email problems

Thames Water has had to pay customers £60,000 in compensation after it
discovered an unmanned inbox containing thousands of emailed complaints and
comments.

It was one of a number of water companies identified by Ofwat as not meeting
industry performance standards due to email-related issues.

According to Ofwat's latest report, 'Service and delivery - performance of
water companies in England and Wales 2009-10', Thames Water reported to the
regulator that it had discovered an email inbox containing nearly 4,000
unread customer emails. The emails dated as far back as 31 March 2003.

http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/it-business/3247469/utility-companies-in
-hot-water-over-email-problems/

Green shake-up on the way for some of Britain's most famous royal palaces

Some of the UK's most famous royal palaces are to get a "green makeover",
with thousands of square metres of loft insulation installed to cut carbon
and save on energy bills.
Hampton Court Palace, the spectacular home of Henry VIII, will be the main
focus of the scheme to improve the energy efficiency of three sites managed
by the Historic Royal Palaces charity.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Green-shakeup-on-the-way.6616460.jp

Energy Market Report Nov10

via catalyst-commercial.co.uk

SSE takes stake in Intelligent Energy - 05 Nov 2010

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has purchased an undisclosed stake in fuel cell developer Intelligent Energy (IE) as the utility looks to extend its reach into the low-carbon distributed heat and generation sectors.

Neither company has revealed the number of shares purchased or at what price, but the two companies have been in partnership since 2008 via joint venture IECHP, to which both IE and SSE also committed further investment yesterday.

IECHP has been developing fuel cell combined heat and power (CHP) systems for the residential, commercial and light industrial markets in the UK and Ireland, funded by an initial £1.3m investment.

Both parties agreed to make a further series of investments once certain undisclosed milestones were reached. IE said that IECHP had now surpassed these requirements, triggering a further £2.7m of funding, which included a tranche from Scottish Enterprise.

Dr Mark Lawson-Statham, board member of IECHP, said the cash injection would allow the company to accelerate its expansion.

"The further investment from SSE and IEH serves to underscore the strong commitment of both companies to bring clean CHP technologies to the market," he said. "We are also delighted to be able to welcome Scottish Enterprise as a shareholder and look forward to playing a central role in the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland."

Ian Marchant, chief executive of SSE said both investments were in line with the company's policy of developing sustainable energy in conjunction with specialist partners, such as the technology-sharing agreement it signed with Mitsubishi earlier this year.

"This investment is further evidence of our support for new technology development through investment and strategic partnerships with leading players in the clean technology sector," he said.

via businessgreen.com

UK Hunterston B-7 nuclear unit in unplanned shutdown

British Energy's Hunterston B-7 nuclear power reactor stopped supplying
power to the grid due to unplanned work, a company spokeswoman said on
Thursday.

"We took the decision to take unit 7 at Hunterston B offline on Thursday,"
she said.

Hunterston B-7's maximum export limit dropped to zero earlier on Thursday,
National Grid data showed, indicating that the reactor had shut.

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-hunterston-b-7-nuclear-unit-in-unplanned
-shutdown-targetukfocus-22dbec68d927.html

Reduce Energy Costs By 80% With Commercial Led Lighting

A new EU directive has banned the use and production of traditional style
filament light bulbs, businesses across the continent and in the UK are
looking for alternative lighting solutions. With the advancement in
commercial LED lighti
ng, the technology has been gaining in popularity thanks to an array of
benefits over incandescent and halogen light bulbs.

Nowadays LED lights are available in all forms of traditional lighting and
can be used for indoor or outdoor business lighting. LED lighting not only
reduces energy consumption considerably but they also have a much longer
life span than traditional light bulbs, which could bring a reduction in
annual maintenance cost of between 70% to 90%.

Energy consultants and energy management experts state that energy
efficiency is the biggest step businesses can take towards reducing their
CO2 consumption and carbon footprint. Investing in LED lighting should be
considered as a long term investment that will bring significant long term
savings for your business. There is even a scheme from the Carbon Trust that
allows you to obtain an interest free loan to invest in commercial LED
lighting, contact your energy consultancy firm and they will assist you in
obtaining this interest free loan.

http://technology.sustainablelivinginhawaii.com/1702/reduce-energy-costs-by-
80-with-commercial-led-lighting/