Sustainability ‘Speak’

Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs)

• FiTs are generally described as those fees that the microgenerator (an owner of small generating station) – who is normally the power supplier’s customer – will be paid when they can show that they are putting power back into the grid, i.e., fixed payments made to the owners of small generating stations for the electricity that they export to the grid.
• The regional or national electricity utilities are obligated to buy renewable electricity (‘green’ generation) at above market rates set by the Government. For example, if the retail price of electricity is 15p/kWh(say) then the FiT rate for solar power might be 44p/kWh (say).
• Microgenerators need high payments to justify their expensive investment in buying and installing ‘green’ generation – at the moment, the payments are low.
• The proposal levels of FiT vary by the type of technology (depending on the capital cost and commercial maturity), the principal ones being; biomass burning for electric power, hydro, solar photovoltaics, geothermal and wind turbines.
• The Government has proposed that from April 2010, anyone who is generating renewable energy (under 5MW) should be paid for everything they generate, including the units they use themselves.
• Those who install microgeneration systems will be much better off than they currently are, because the proposed FiTs for microgeneration, from devices like small wind turbines and solar photovoltaics, will pay for all energy generated by the system, irrespective of whether it is used by the owner or sold back to the grid.
• The amounts to be paid are in addition to any saving made by purchasing less electricity from the grid.
• Payments are getting better, but elsewhere in Europe FiTs provide a long-term financial incentive for microgenerators to invest in renewable energy, and in Germany, for example, more generous incentive payments have transformed their renewable energy market, which is many times larger and far more advanced than in the UK.
• In 2007, Germany employed over 250,000 people in its renewable energy industry, compared to 7,000 in the UK, and generated 14.2% of its electricity from renewable sources, after only 3years of investment, whereas it is predicted that the UK will not reach 15% renewable electricity until 2015.
• In addition to FiTs, capital grants of up to £2,500 per domestic property (for up to 3 different technologies on one building) are allowable from the Energy Saving Trust (Low Carbon Buildings Programme) on a rolling ‘first come first served’  basis from a limited fund, towards the cost of microgeneration technologies, including:
  • Solar electricity (solar photovoltaic)
  • Wind turbines
  • Water turbines(small scale hydro
  • Solar hot water
  • Ground-source heat pumps
  • Air-source heat pumps
  • Wood-fuelled boilers (biomass)
  • Automatic pellet-fed wood burning stoves (biomass)
• To be eligible to receive a grant , a certified installer and a certified product must be used, under the MCS (Microgeneration Certificate Scheme) managed by Gemserv, and a number of energy efficient measures must be undertaken to the property, such as increased insulation, as a condition for receiving the microgeneration technology grant.
• Once certified products and installers become available, then:
• Renewable combined heat and power (CHP)
• Micro CHP
• Fuel cells

will be added to microgeneration technologies eligible for grants

• The installation must run for a minimum of 5 years and be available for monitoring (under an Energy Saving Trust Scheme), or be subject to possible grant ‘claw back’.
• Up to the end of August 2009 in the East Midlands, £1,561,266 in capital grants had been applied for (across 37 unique applications) and £220,068 had been paid out (across 12 approved applications), i.e., a 33% success rate in terms of grant-aided installations and a 14% success rate in terms of cash granted.
• Details of the capital grant scheme are available on www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk
• Returning to FiTs, the required new centralised generating capacity is rumoured to be likely to add as much as £250 per annum to the average domestic fuel bill, but those who install microgeneration systems could be much better off than they currently are.
• To repeat, the proposed FiT for microgeneration will pay for all energy generated by the installation/system, irrespective of whether it is used by the owner or sold back to the grid, and in addition to any saving made by purchasing less electricity from the grid.
• A typical home solar photovoltaic system of 2kW, generating approximately 1,800 kWh per annum, will earn approximately £660 per annum with a reduced payback time on the £10,000(say) capital investment, plus annual maintenance costs, but still not very attractive as an investment.
• A wind turbine in a good location (a windy and exposed site) provides a better proposition, and would provide a return of up to 12% per annum (for a 15 kW  turbine) against a capital cost investment of, say, £50,000.
• It is conventional wisdom in Germany and elsewhere, that a near-guaranteed return of 6% is sufficient to spark interest in renewables from ordinary families, and the proposal levels of FiTs could facilitate that level of return for the right choice of microgeneration technology in the right location.
• The UK is committed to delivering its share of the EU target of 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2050.
• Currently, only 2% of the UK energy (and under 5% of the UK electricity) comes from renewable sources, and there has to be a huge increase in UK renewable energy generation if the commitment is to be achieved.
• It has been suggested that between 30% and 40% of the UK’s total electricity could be provided by small-scale renewable sources by 2050, but, at the same time, carbon emissions from the domestic sector have to be cut by at least 80% to achieve a net benefit.

David J Walker November 2009

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Helping Smaller Firms Win Government Contracts

A free online public procurement course designed to help smaller firms bid for the £220 billion of public sector contracts awarded each year has been launched.
The course, ‘Winning the Contract’, shows participants how to identify business opportunities to supply goods and services to the public sector, explains the public procurement process, and demonstrates how to submit tenders. It has helpful hints and tips to guide and inform businesses on the bidding process, and where to find public sector contract opportunities.
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Apprenticeship Grant for Employers Recruiting 16 and 17 Year Olds

This scheme is aimed at small and mediums sized employers, and is only available until the end of March 2010 – employers will receive a quick response, either through the National Apprenticeship Service, or through their training provider, on whether the grant is available.
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Course Funding Available

Economic Challenge Investment Fund is a project which will be winding up shortly as the available funding draws to a close.  It is expected these will be the last programmes available, if you wish to take advantage of the short, high impact programmes, with significantly reduced fees we advise you to book now – first come first served.
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Heritage CSCS Card

STEP-BY-STEP guides for website booking of a CSCS Health and Safety Test, and finding right forms necessary for the MIA route of application.
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Industry Set for £27bn Green Energy Bonanza

Government renewable energy plans could create a multibillion-pound surge in demand for construction work

Under plans to reward homeowners who sell energy to power utilities, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has announced that the price to be paid would be 41p/kWh, a far higher level than expected.
The department said this level of feed-in-tariff could mean that a photovoltaic (PV) panel could generate £900 a year if all its electricity were sold.
Companies that supply or fit renewable energy generators such as Eaga and SIG are set to benefit from the tariff; shares in Eaga rose 8% after the announcement.
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Time to Train for Staff

Business Link is giving employers an early heads-up on the rights of employees to request time for training in light of legislation coming into force in April this year.

From 6 April 2010, approximately 11 million employees in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) will have a new right to request 'time to train'. This will be extended to cover employees in all businesses from 6 April 2011.
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Backing Young Britain

De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester has been selected to manage a £500K scheme to boost the job prospects of graduates across the East Midlands. ‘Backing Young Britain’ is a £13.6m initiative by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to provide 8,500 graduate internships across Britain. The funding aims to support the increased numbers of unemployed graduates in the economic downturn, and support employers in the Government’s priority areas for economic growth.
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SummitSkills Launches 2010 Skills Competitions

SummitSkills, the sector skills council for building services engineering, is proud to announce the launch of its skills competitions for 2010.
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East Midlands HeritageHUB

Welcome to the East Midlands HeritageHUB. Here you will find news and information on people, places, policy, training providers, funding and qualifications related to Heritage Craft Skills in the Region. The HeritageHUB is issued every week or so with all the latest news and previous editions are also available to view. If you have any information that you would like included in the HeritageHUB, then contact cathie.clarke@emcbe.com
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Heritage Forum

Have your say! This new forum is for anyone interested in our built heritage –from contractors, craftspeople & conservationists to volunteers, homeowners, architects, and planners. Not just a place to talk about the great churches, castles and stately homes that enrich the UK's built environment, but also the more humble traditional dwellings and industrial buildings that provide the distinctive character of our villages, towns and cities.  If you have an opinion or something you want to share with likeminded people then post your thoughts by logging onto the Heritage Forum.
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Newslink

Localised News, articles and information on events for existing businesses:

• Newslink Derbyshire
• Newslink Leicestershire
• Newslink Lincolnshire & Rutland
• Newslink Northamptonshire
• Newslink Nottinghamshire