Archive for green construction
UK announces subsidies for conversion to renewable heating sources
Posted by: | CommentsJust recently it seems that I’ve found a number of interesting stories that illustrate the role that government can play in aiding environmental measures or conversely where funding is being cut which impacts the ability to regulate or stimulate renewable energy/reduction of emissions appropriately. The tides of change vary from nation to nation but this story is a positive one from the UK.
The British government have announced that significant subsidies will be granted to homes, businesses and schools that are using or converting to renewable heating systems throughout the country. One of the most common methods is a conversion to woodchip burners for heating rather than a continued reliance on fossil fuel heating systems which of course also provide additional pollutants. The new scheme is to begin shortly with more than £850 million ($1.4 billion US/CA) earmarked over the next four years. It’s expected that most of the subsidized funds will be directed to hospitals, schools and community housing simply due to the size of the equipment involved. Nevertheless it’s a positive and encouraging step by a coalition government who have had their green credentials challenged and selection last year. It’s another step toward the EU target for renewable energy reaching 20 percent in the years to come, although the UK has set a lesser target of 15 percent at present.
Solar panels on a brick home in the UK
Additional incentives are in place for homeowners who add solar power to their homes or heat pumps in the ground for the purpose of heating water. There is an interesting migration in concepts around reducing emissions taking place in the UK also as analysts are documenting that more emissions are caused by heating homes and businesses than from generating electricity in the first place. This in turn may result in a new strategy that focuses on transforming the infrastructure of existing buildings. I must say that in reality as important as new green building is, the investment and commitment to try and upgrade existing structures especially for heating surely provides more benefits overall.
This new scheme in the UK is being lauded as a first of its kind, but much work has to be done to move the ratio of low-carbon heating supply in the country from its current lackluster 1% and closer to the European average of 10%. Such statistics speak volumes about the lack of previous investment and incentives. At present the island nation is reliant on gas for 70% of heat, a figure that the government will be wanting to reduce as soon as possible. In economic terms the subsidies are expected to prompt larger investment into green energy businesses which stand to prosper from the changing conditions.
Tags: air pollution, Eco Friendly, eco-friendly ideas, emissions, environment, EU energy targets, government and environment, grants for renewable energy, green construction, Green Living, green policies, pollutants, reducing emissions, renewable energy, solar power, solar water heating, stainless steel water bottles, sustainable ideasTwo UK police stations to receive a green retrofit
Posted by: | CommentsEver since I was just a young child I remember that the police always had a number of nicknames associated with them, in many cases you’d be more likely to to hear the nickname rather than the word police itself. Growing up in England I can recall others referring to them as The Fuzz, The Old Bill, Bobbies, The Force, Coppers and Bluebottles. As I aged I learned of many more slang words for the police many of them not fit for this blog, however one word I’d never seen associate with the police until now was ‘Green’.
As part of the British governments goal to retrofit public establishments in more environmentally friendly ways, a large cross-section of public buildings will be receiving green makeovers in the years to come and two police stations in the County of Cheshire have been selected as the first in the region to become green. Police headquarters in both Nantwich and Middlewich were each chosen to receive an eco-friendly makeover including the latest in green technologies. In time it is expected that each county’s Constabulary will be tasked with lowering the carbon footprint of the police force in Britain with specific goals assigned to reducing energy costs and thus the resultant reduction in carbon emissions. The initial project has been co-funded by the North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership. The NWIEP is working closely with local councils, police authorities, fire and rescue services and the health authorities to achieve the aims set out in their strategy which is designed to improve the infrastructure and results of local governing bodies and administration. Regionally the northwest part of the the UK has one of the worst levels of air pollution in the country, something the organisation looks set to tackle, per their website:
Currently the North West is the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide outside of the South East, and the range of targets in per capita carbon dioxide emissions that have been committed to by 16 North West Local Area Agreements present the region with a significant challenge. The North West also continues to be the worst performing region on local environmental quality and performs below the national average for the amount of waste it sends to landfill, or reuses, recycles and composts.
Both police stations will be retrofitted to include solar technology for the provision of electricity and hot water. In addition upgrades to the existing electrical systems and building insulation will in turn lead to more energy-efficient buildings. The Constabulary is also expected to benefit financially through new renewable heat incentives that the Government have rolled out. While other police stations in the country have made some changes such as solar, these two locations marked the first example of an entire station benefiting from numerous upgrades implemented simultaneously. The project researched and evaluated 40 different police facilities in the area before selecting Nantwich and Middlewich. The conversions are expected to take about two months to complete with both locations remaining fully functional during the work that needs to be carried out.
Tags: Bluebottles, Bobbies, british police, cheshire, Coppers, eco friendly gifts, eco-friendly buildings, energy consumption, green construction, green retrofit, he Fuzz, middlewich police, nantwich police, North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership, planet forward, retrofit building, retrofit public establishments, solar power, solar technology, The Force, The Old Bill, uk police stations get green refitSummer 2012 Olympic report promises the ‘first truly sustainable’ games
Posted by: | CommentsThe 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London are now just a little over a year away and the organising committee for the event have just published the first environment report for the Games. Pre-construction targets were set to reduce the carbon footprint by over 100,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and the report says that this goal will be met due to strategies invested in during material selection and the building process. It’s a very bold claim but the committee claim that July, 2012 Games will be the Olympic’s first ‘truly sustainable’.
This initial report was the first of three that are scheduled to be published which will assess the environmental impact of what has been a gargantuan project. Former British Olympic medalist Sebastian Coe is the chair of the organising committee and explained:
“Before these Games, no-one had cleaned two million tonnes of contaminated soil on-site. No-one had tried to calculate the complete carbon footprint of a Summer Games, and no-one had built an 80,000-seat stadium as light in structure and environmental impact as ours.”
Encouragingly, sustainability has been far more than a caveat to the whole project. According to David Stubbs who is operating as head of sustainability for the project the entire approach and decisions made were with the environmental impacts at the forefront:
“It is not just the stadium, it is the velodrome and other infrastructure that we are putting in. All venues have a strong sustainability story to tell. If you have got the commitment at the beginning and you make it an important part of how you procure your contractors and designers, and you put it in the brief then people will come up with solutions. Put simply, it is a lightweight stadium and has a much smaller carbon footprint as a result.”
The report analyses five distinct aspects of the Olympic project including : waste; climate change; biodiversity; inclusion and healthy living. The results were all very much part of the advanced planning as the committee were formed to truly understand the impacts and then help develop a strategy to alleviate much of that pressure. Where possible existing structures are being used instead of building temporary locations which has often been a practice at previous games.
Another positive after the games will be the development of a huge 250-hectare site for parkland, recreation and sports. This will be the largest new park created in a major European city since the 1800′s. Much of the area will be reclaimed land which was previously polluted and derelict urban zoning. Rivers have been cleaned up and better flood protection has also been part of the infrastructure improvements. Overall the report makes for encouraging reading and perhaps will serve as a blueprint for future events of this scale. I remain in favour of selecting just 3 or 4 sites around the planet to continually rotate the Olympics, World Cup and Commonwealth Games which would be a far more sustainable long term approach. The time will come when that logic is applied rather than massive construction projects that too often result in under utilised infrastructure improvements after the events have concluded.
