News on Thanet Wind Farm.....

THE world’s largest wind farm, to be built off the coast of Thanet, will bring hundreds of new jobs to the isle, the Isle of local paper the Thanet Gazette reveals.

The team behind the London Array project has chosen Ramsgate port as the location for their new 1,800sq m operations and maintenance headquarters for the 100 turbines. The array is seven miles off the coast at Broadstairs and will produce 300mw of clean power for 240,000 homes.
Thanet Gazette article: http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/eastkent/London-Array-comes-isle/article-1928340-detail/article.html

Contractor website: http://www.vattenfall.co.uk/en/thanet-offshore-wind-farm.htm     and http://www.warwickenergy.com/thanet.htm

'Go forth and generate'

'Go forth and generate' was Rosemary Rechter's, DWI Co-ordinator, closing remarks after a very interesting Saturday afternoon at Deal's Green Energy Forum. Over 50 people in a packed hall in the Landmark centre listened to Steve Plater, OU energy researcher explain the history & options available for green energy solutions. Steve is happy to take follow on questions at steve.keiko@tiscali.co.uk

Jack Domane described his own experience in using and building a variety of heating solutions and how a small investment & some DIY could produce cost-effective and safe Green solutions - a number of the audience joined with Jack in setting up a local DIY Energy group to take things forward in Deal. If you are interested contact him direct on  01304 364 138 or email j.daledomane@btinternet.com.

We also had solar installation engineer Hannah Jones from Eternal Energy Systems who took us thru the practical issues on installation and could demonstrate the solar power & heating systems in her wonderful 'green godess' van. www.eternalenergysystems.co.uk Tel: 01227 262699
. Mike Bundy from the Energy Savings Trust was also on hand to explain the new feed-in tariff. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Sell-your-own-energy/Feed-in-Tariff-Clean-Energy-Cashback-scheme

A big thank you to all our speakers & the staff at the Landmark.

New 'Embrace my planet' website ....

Have you come across the website dedicated to wind & renewable power? 'Embrace My Planet' is  the arms-length campaign of RenewableUK (formerly BWEA), the trade association for renewable energy suppliers in Britain. While it is sponsored by companies, the campaign claims that it itself is activist-led. Some very useful information and a cool map widget showing active and planned renewable sites http://www.embracemyplanet.com/

Marine energy sites named...

The seven pilot sites for the UK's first major venture into marine energy have been announced today in Orkneys/NW Coast Scotland. The plan is produce 1.2Gw of power - enough power for 750k homes by 2020.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/marine-energy-projects-approved-for-scotland-1922370.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/16/wave-and-tidal-power-scotland 

http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/newscontent/92-pentland-firth-developers.htm

Micro Generation from our rivers....

Environment Agency maps hydropower hotspots Report identifies thousands of potential small-scale hydropower sites in English and Welsh rivers that could power 850,000 homes

report at  : http://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/pdf/GEHO0310BRYF-E-E.pdf

interactive map: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2010/mar/09/map-hydropower-hotspots-uk

Visit a Old Home, SuperHome in Faversham....

Home Super Home scheme. We will be offering tours to show what
can be done to improve the energy efficiency of an old house on Sunday 28th
March between 11 and 3. Tours will take about 20 minutes. To book a place,
use the link below...

There are 4.3 million houses built before 1919, which equals 17% of the
building stock across the country. Old Home SuperHome is a campaign to
transform the energy efficiency of this existing housing stock. The project
aims to provide a network of exemplar dwellings which are locally
accessible. By showing how to replicate the techniques the project seeks to
inspire others to undertake similar renovations.
http://www.sustainable-energyacademy.org.uk/superhomes/st-annes-road-faversham-kent

Warm Homes, Greener Homes....

The Government announced its Household Energy Strategy - 'Warm Homes, Greener Homes' on Tuesday at EcoBuild


Its three key points are:

• 'Pay as you Save' - Loan scheme from 2012. This tied to the property rather the current owner.
• More powers to Local Authority's working with energy companies to deliver local energy plans
• More regulation on energy standards, especially on private landlords

The overall aim is to reduce emissions from homes by 29 per cent by 2020.

For more info check the Dept of Energy & Climate Change website or comment at Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/02/ed-miliband-loans-green-home

DWI: Deal Home energy audits ends this week....

The joint campaign between Deal With IT and the Energy Savings Trust for Home Energy Audits in Deal has had a great response. The campaign has been focussed in Mill Hill area and on homes built post-ww2. It has used state of the art GIS mapping (Geographic Information Systems) and thermal imaging techniques to help identify homes that it would be beneficial to.

Those taking part will be getting a full survey report in the next few weeks with recommendations on how to slash their heating & power bills

 If you missed out on survey contact the Energy Savings Trust on 0800 512 012 or get an online assessment at www.energysavingstrust.org.uk

Deal DIY Green home energy group....

DWI member Jack Domane who will be speaking at our Green Energy Forum on the 20th March is also very keen to get a group going to put some of these green ideas into practice in Deal.

Jack a retired engineer has already installed a cheap £80 solution for transferring the heat from his conservatory into his house which has slashed his heating bills. He thinks he can do the same for his hot water bill; he is working on prototype for cheap and easily maintained wall-mounted Solar water heating system which would only cost about £500 but could half his hot water bills... interested, well meet jack on the 20th or email him at j.daledomane@btinternet.com

Deal With IT - Green Energy Forum 20th March - Landmark Centre 2pm

Deal With IT have organised a Green Energy Forum at 2pm on Saturday 20th March at the Landmark Centre, High Street, Deal Kent CT14 6BB


Come along and find out how you can have cheaper and greener energy in your home!
This meeting will aim to provide a fund of information to anyone interested in domestic renewable energy, especially those currently considering what they themselves would like to install.
You will find out what the options are, how much they are likely to cost, what you will save, and also how you can do it all yourself and save even more money!
Steve Plater, a PhD student at the Energy & Environment Research Unit of the Open University, specialises in the production of solar electricity and will explain all the options available for domestic use.
Jack Domane, a retired design engineer, will explain to those with the necessary skills how they can make their own solar panels at much less cost.   

Hannah Jones, a representative from ‘Eternal Energy’, will be on hand with a mobile display unit which will illustrate some solar technology for the home.

The Stupid Show

With just 25 days left till the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which many say is our last chance to get the treaty which could bring global emissions down fast enough to avoid triggering runaway climate change, the makers of the environmental film 'The Age of Stupid' now believe it is urgent to channel their energy into maximising our collective chance of success at Copenhagen.

Hence, the Stupid Show - a 20 min daily web TV show, produced by AoS team, live from the Copenhagen climate summit. Hosted by Mark Lynas, climate change author and Franny Armstrong, AoS director - their mission is to make the talks comprehensible to ordinary mortals.

But the team need your donations to help finance the show. For more information go to: http://www.ageofstupid.net/money

Power to the People

On Friday 30th October Deal With It and the Greenerway Cluster were very pleased to welcome the Rt.Hon. Michael Meacher, the distinguished Labour MP, to a crowded meeting in St.George’s Church. Mr Meacher who has served 29 years on the front benches and who has been called the “greenest ever Minister for the Environment” spoke on renewable energy.

Never mincing his words and refreshingly truthful for a politician, he explained where we are now, which is just about bottom of the European league, only producing 1% of our energy from renewable sources compared with 18% in Germany and 47% in Finland. He went on to describe where we could be, and what the obstacles were to achieving a more acceptable target. He felt this was a depressing and shameful position brought about by vested interests and lack of Government will to change. However Mr Meacher raised our spirits by pointing out that the technology to meet our needs with clean energy already exists and that we are favoured by both our natural island geography and our natural inventiveness.

So what is standing in our way? A failure at all levels to address the problems we face and to wake up to the fact that we are heading for catastrophe and must change course. He continued by outlining the huge economic advantages of making that change, both at the personal and national level. He stressed that change in both the way we think, and the way we live was essential. He also praised Deal With It, with it's “brilliant name”, for what they were doing at the local level and for the warm atmosphere of community.

Alistair Gould of the Pines Calyx, long-term local activist on issues of Sustainability spoke next on “Power from the People - How generating clean energy from within our own communities can be practical and affordable”. He explained how this can be achieved and told us of the progress they are making at St.Margaret’s Bay, stating that they are within 2 or 3 years of achieving their goal of making the community energy independent. The meeting ended with questions from the audience and a sense of being inspired to redouble our efforts.

'Cashback' Pledge for Green Power

Households which contribute electricity to the National Grid are to receive payments under a new government scheme. Communities will be encouraged to generate wind, water and solar power, and be paid for how much they produce. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said the project would "help create the clean energy of the future".He denied reports the government's energy strategy would cost each UK family £230 a year but admitted there would be "upward pressures" on prices.

He said the "high-carbon route" would mean a greater dependence on imports and exposure to price fluctuations, while the alternative "low carbon future" - which he said was "the right way to go" - would mean "mean some costs to transition".He added: "Individuals and communities can both play their part in the kind of clean energy revolution that we need."

At present, anyone in the UK who feeds electricity into the National Grid can get a reduction on their fuel bills through smart meters.Similar "clean energy cash back" schemes already operate in 19 European countries including Germany.

Critics warn that small-scale production is expensive and projects may require government subsidy.In Germany, whole towns have grouped together to buy wind turbines, build biomass plants and erect solar panels.They are then paid a guaranteed fixed price for every kilowatt hour of energy they produce - a higher sum than for electricity made from fossil fuels in traditional power stations.Three wind turbines can make £15,000 a year for a single village.Since so-called "feed-in tariffs" were introduced in Germany, some 400,000 homes,particularly in the sunnier south of the country, have installed solar panels.But the government has had to subsidise such projects in order to keep them viable.At present, only about 2% of Britain's energy comes from renewable sources, but the government has pledged to increase that to 15% within the next 12 years.

see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8146318.stm for original article.

Join the Mili-Band

News from Canterbury Greenpeace

On 4 July, thousands of people from the UK will come together to form a human band, surrounding Kingsnorth power station in Kent, in opposition to building a new coal-fired power plant. This event is called the ‘Mili-Band'.

We’ve made huge progress on the coal campaign in the last few weeks with Climate and Energy Minister Ed Miliband finally ruling out any new coal fired power stations that don’t capture a proportion of their carbon. However, with this new proposal he’s not gone nearly far enough. The next few months will be crucial in persuading Ed to go all the way.

People gathering on 4 July are from a diverse range of communities and organisations, including Oxfam (who are co-ordinating the event), Christian Aid, People and Planet, The Women’s Institute, the World Development Movement, National Union of Students, Woodcraft Folk, RSPB and Greenpeace. This will be a low-arrest risk event!

We can pick up a free shuttle bus to the site from outside Rochester train station in Kent between 9.30 and 11am but we must arrive at Kingsnorth by 11.30am so we would want to arrive at Rochester at about 10.30, as it is a bit of a walk to the power station from Kingsnorth village.

These events are a lot of fun, bring a picnic.

http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/
http://www.greenpeaceactive.org.uk/