£10m wind turbine ecobonds on offer

A green energy company is to launch a new £10 million bond scheme to give investors the chance to back UK renewables, after a similar programme was oversubscribed last year.

Ecotricity is launching “ecobond-two”, to fund investment in renewable projects to build 19 new wind turbines for which it has planning permission.

The second investment scheme follows the success of the first round of £10 million of ecobonds it issued last year, which were oversubscribed by 50%, to help fund a solar park and turbines at two factories.

The company said the scheme allowed people to bypass the banks and invest in green energy “without needing to stick anything on their roofs”.

Ecotricity believes the bonds will appeal to people who may have been considering investing in domestic solar power to take advantage of subsidies which pay people for electricity from small scale renewables, but are thinking again in the wake of the Government’s announcement the payments are to be slashed by half.

Read more: http://www.shropshirestar.com/money/uk-money/2011/11/05/10m-wind-turbine-ecobonds-on-offer/#ixzz1cp7eEqoI

Give councils no opt-out on climate policies, says Green Alliance

Two-thirds of councils are scaling back or abolishing climate change programmes, leading to calls for local authorities to be prevented from opting out of action.

Research published today by think-tank Green Alliance finds 37 per cent of councils are "deprioritising climate change" or even claiming it was never a priority. Meanwhile, 28 per cent are purely focusing on tackling emissions from their estate and ceasing to work on wider climate change issues.

http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2118443/councils-opt-climate-policies-green-alliance

KPMG: Aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 25% through environmental stewardship

In the past 18 months, the IT group at KPMG has helped update and create new processes and workflows for the company's paper-, energy- and carbon-intensive systems.

These efforts included raising the ambient temperature in the data center to improve efficiency by more than 5%, raising the temperature of the water in the cooling tower to improve efficiency by 5% and migrating to blade server technology, with the average blade server consuming about 50% less power than a comparably configured rack-mounted server.

The New York-based audit, tax and advisory services firm is also in the midst of a data center transformation, incorporating an older, inefficient data center into its main facility. With this consolidation, KPMG anticipates saving about 15% in energy costs.

"At KPMG, the role of IT is to create new sources of value and improve the productivity of our business teams, using technologies that are powerful, flexible and efficient," says CIO Dick Anderson. "As we look to optimize our investments in IT, an important priority is our use of green technologies like server virtualization, and our energy-efficient data center heating and power systems to help optimize the efficiency of our solutions."

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/359508/KPMG_Aims_to_reduce_its_carbon_footprint_by_25_?taxonomyId=154

The Queen Going Green...

Queen Elizabeth wants stop wasting energy in family's residences in the UK.

The Queen Going Green?

£1bn flagship green scheme is cancelled

Britain's efforts to fight climate change suffered an embarrassing setback yesterday when the Government abandoned plans for the UK's first coal-fired power plant fitted with technology to capture and store carbon emissions.

The flagship project at Longannet, the huge power station on the Firth of Forth, fell apart after the consortium planning to build it, headed by ScottishPower and including Shell and the National Grid, demanded considerably more investment than the £1bn which the Government had set aside for the scheme.

The project's collapse is a blow to Britain's declared aim of being the first country with a full-scale generating plant employing carbon capture and storage (CCS) – a complex new technology which takes CO2 out of power station waste gases, liquefies it, and buries it deep underground, or in this case under the North Sea. CCS is seen as a crucial technique in reducing carbon emissions, which Britain has pledged to cut by 80 per cent by 2050.

The Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, was quick to point out yesterday that CCS remained a key part of Britain's energy strategy and that the £1bn would remain available for other CCS projects.

The funding had been exempted by the Chancellor, George Osborne, from his cuts programme last year, and the collapse of the deal with ScottishPower is not seen as the Government's fault, but the delay in CCS coming on stream will add to the impression that the UK is slowing down on its efforts to tackle climate change in a time of recession.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/1631bn-flagship-green-scheme-is-cancelled-2373203.html

Keep a close watch on the energy market

Taking control of your organisation's energy consumption could help reduce your carbon footprint. David Hunter, energy analyst at M&C Energy Group, explains how to get the most from your energy budget

Utilities costs are unavoidable in running any operation. The focus should be on minimising the impact of these overheads, and ensuring the energy budget serves business objectives. The potential to reduce utilities expenditure should not be underestimated. If left unmonitored, energy users can expect to face escalating prices and missed carbon reduction targets.

Deregulation of the energy markets has led to a vastly more complex purchasing and decision-making process for organisations if they are to optimise price, choice of supplier and negotiate better terms.

Price volatility has also contributed to the challenge of managing budget and strategy. Wholesale energy markets have doubled, halved and almost doubled again in the past four years – simply riding the wave of market movements can put intolerable financial pressure on an organisation.

A further consideration has been the build-up of environmental legislation and taxation policies that have led to additional cost burdens on utility pricing. This in turn has focused users on controlling their costs and consumption.

http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id=17548

Smart meter users face hidden charges

Hidden charges for smart meters are catching small businesses unawares, says a price comparison company.

The sophisticated meters are being offered free by energy suppliers as part of a national programme to provide new products and services and make it easier for businesses and householders to monitor consumption and improve efficiency.

But Make it Cheaper, which acts for businesses, charities and trade associations in negotiating power deals, is recording a sharp increase in the number of companies eager to instal the new meters but cancelling contracts because of the 'extras.’

Businesses are finding charges ranging from 20p to 60p a day are being added to their bills in the shape of additional standing charges. In some cases rental fees are being introduced if customers switch suppliers.

Jim Fallow, vice-chairman of The Park Club, a bowls and tennis club in Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire, negotiated considerable savings on a new supply contract but found the benefits had been wiped out when told the club would have to pay an extra daily charge of 60p a meter.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/yourbusiness/8860866/Smart-meter-users-face-hidden-charges.html