Further to many late evenings discussing the pro's & con's of business....

I am now actively moving Home-Brew Power forwards to offer a complete Off-Grid Power design & Installation service throughout the UK & British Isles. Home-Brew Power is going to initially focus on 100% off-grid packages, i.e. Remote power solutions where no grid is available.

Grid-Tie systems may follow in the future but for now our focus will be on Eco Friendly / Carbon Neutral power generation.

Anyone who requires a quotation for remote power, either Solar PV or Wind Turbines then please contact us on 07504 50 50 89

The long awaited Energy White Paper, ‘Meeting the Energy Challenge”, has ushered in a bright future for electricity with detailed proposals pointing to how electric heating and hot water will be integral to reducing carbon emissions and improving energy security.
Creda Profile

The Rt. Hon. Alistair Darling MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, notes in the White paper that “The UK’s reserves of oil and gas are declining” and that “we will become increasingly dependent upon imports in a world where supplies are…in less stable regions. We need to create the right conditions for…investment…in increasingly low carbon electricity”.

Richard Scott, Business Manager at Applied Energy, home of Creda, Xpelair, Redring and Stiebel Eltron in the UK, welcomed the Energy White Paper and supported the call for low carbon homes.“This can be achieved with the most cost effective mix of improved air-tightness and thermal efficiency of buildings, combined with the appropriate use of newer technologies like Mechanical Ventilation with Heat recovery, micro-wind turbines, solar thermal hot water and geothermal heat-pumps”.

“It’s within this context of thermally efficient homes that back-up modern electric heating plays a vital part in many countries around the world – even in eco-friendly villages”.
The White Paper pushes for increased investment in large scale Renewables, clean coal and Nuclear power, all of which produce low carbon electricity.

“The carbon content of gas is fixed. The carbon content of electricity continues to fall – only modern electric appliances can produce zero carbon heat and hot water from zero carbon electricity – it’s the only truly sustainable fuel source”, says Mr Scott.Specific announcements within the White Paper included:

1. Easier planning permission for solar, wind and heat-pumps from Autumn this year

2. Encouraging the development of more low carbon electricity through the EU Energy Trading Scheme

3. A legally binding commitment to reduce carbon emissions in electricity, as per the Climate Change Bill

4. Strengthening the Renewables Obligation for Energy Companies – encouraging centrally generated zero carbon electricity

5. Projects to develop 90% cleaner coal through carbon capture and storage; used to produce low carbon electricity

6. A major consultation on nuclear power to produce very low carbon electricity. Passive-safe nuclear reactors produce only 10% of the waste of previous power stations and have a 100% safety record

The White paper reported that 56% of the world’s gas reserves are in just three countries Russia, Iran and Qatar. In just 2 ½ years time 33% of the UK’s gas will need to be imported and by 2020 this will be 80%. “Unless we diversify our mix of energy sources we will be at the mercy of these countries; paying their price for dwindling supplies of a fossil fuel which cannot be made any more carbon efficient and is found in places difficult to reach and politically unstable”.

Applied Energy confirmed that moves are now underway to ensure the projected carbon savings from low carbon electricity are connected to the building regulations Part L and SAP.
“The bright future for electric heating that this White Paper heralds can be seen in the specification of electric heating by allowing SAP to reference the projected carbon reductions it illustrates. A ‘carbon milestones’ table already has the backing of many MP’s to ensure we make best use of the low carbon electricity of the future”

Construction firms queue to be first to build 'eco-village'
The Government’s “Carbon Challenge” plan to create a zero-carbon development in Glebe Road has prompted interest from building firms.

BUILDING companies are poised to start a bidding war in Peterborough for the chance to create one of the UK's first "eco-villages".

Dozens of major British and European building firms have already expressed a strong interest in building the 150-home site in Glebe Road, Fletton, which will be part of the £150 million development of the city's South Bank.The interest is because the site is one of the first two Government's "Carbon Challenge" projects.It will act a model for Gordon Brown's plans for five eco-towns, providing up to 100,000 zero-carbon homes across England and a beacon of good practice across the building industry.The eco-friendly homes will also be the first "zero emission" homes, which the Government wants to be the norm by 2016, as part of the fight against global warming.Jayne Lomas, project manager for the Carbon Challenge initiative, said: "Building firms want to show they are leading the way in terms of design and energy efficiency."We've only just starting the tendering process for this site, but we've already had loads of e-mails from different companies wanting to get involved."I expect we will have 100 developers bidding for our Bristol site and probably a similar number for Peterborough."

We've also had smaller businesses contact us to get involved, with devices such as wind power generator and solar panels, and we want to get them involved too."When we narrow the number of bidders to about six or seven, we're going to invite people down to the site for 'speed dating' session, where they'll have the chance to speak to these firms."

It's a fact that over the next nine years, building regulations will step up and all new buildings will have to reach these low carbon emission levels."Firms are very keen to prove they can do this already and it's why we've seen so much interest."The homes, which will be exempt from stamp duty, will be built on the former Elliott Group factory site and their power supply will come from solar panels and wind turbines, rather than gas or coal-fired power stations.Homes will be made out of recycled materials, taps would pump out hot and cold running recovered rainwater.And, in order not to
waste any power generated, homes would feature a special "eco hat" roof to make sure little heat seeps out.

Homes currently produce 27 per cent of Britain's 40 million tonnes of annual CO2 emissions, and the new regulations are needed to help the Government's target of a 60 per cent cut in greenhouse gases by 2050.

Some 21 local authorities have so far expressed an interest in hosting the remaining eco-villages.Housing minister Yvette Cooper, who announced the start of the tendering process this week, said: "We need more homes, but we need to build them at higher standards."This is our chance to develop the new technologies for zero-carbon homes and eco-towns."

The purpose of the challenge is to show that the new technologies work and that they can be used in an affordable way. We want to see more affordable homes. It's no good if only the rich can afford to be zero-carbon."

Ford Dagenham's newest engine production line in Brentwood, Essex, has won a green award within two months of starting up.

Judges from Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) have highlighted Ford's advanced environmental plan, which underpins the new 1.4/1.6-liter engine manufacturing facilities. Ford is ramping up production of its recently launched 1.6-liter engine and adding the 1.4 version this month at the east London manufacturing center.

BCE recognized a raft of innovative measures to use renewable materials, recycle and save energy by Ford's diesel engine manufacturing operation. For example, fluids used during the machining of new engines are blended from vegetable oil rather than mineral oil. Also, metal filings and other waste from the machining process are squeezed dry of lubricants and sold on as briquettes for recycling.

Ford Dagenham's award-winning environmental and energy strategy includes fluid recycling, designing high-efficiency coolant, extraction and chiller plant systems and installing two 3-megawatt wind turbines. Dagenham Diesel Centre, where the estate's new 1.4/1.6 engines are assembled, is Ford's only wind-powered plant worldwide.

David Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, presented the prestigious premier award to Stuart Burn, Ford technical specialist, who said: "Ford Dagenham's 1.4/1.6 launch program has been an all-round success story executed in record time. Ford Fiesta models powered by these units emit under 120 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer and production of the engines themselves minimizes the cars' overall environmental impact. The whole Dagenham team, with more than 2,000 diesel engine experts contributing to the program's success, has been recognized by Business Commitment to the Environment with this award.”

Thanks to the £130 million investment behind the new 1.4/1.6 line, total engine output at Ford Dagenham will rise to 1,000,000 units a year by 2009. Positive environmental actions taken at Dagenham have resulted in annual savings of 150,000 liters of oil and a reduction of 300,000 liters of oily sludge. In addition, almost 21 million kilowatt hours of electricity has been wind-generated, saving 6,510 tons of CO2 every year.