Retrofitting Leaky Homes Would Cost £5bn Over Next Four Years

Renovating the UK’s draughty homes to low-carbon standards would cost the government only £5bn within the next four years and would create 100,000 jobs, cut people’s energy bills, increase tax revenue and bring tens of billions in economic benefits, the construction industry has estimated. Sector leaders have written to ministers proposing a new “national retrofit strategy” that they say would boost a green recovery in the UK and put Britain on track to meet its climate targets. The proposal comes ahead of the government’s heat and buildings strategy, which is expected to be published soon. Read more on the Guardian website.

Retrofitting leaky homes would cost £5bn over next four years, UK ministers told | Environment | The Guardian 

Social Housing to Get Low Carbon Heating Systems

A £10 million scheme aimed at getting low carbon forms of heating like biomass boilers, solar hot water panels and heat pumps into the homes of social housing tenants across Great Britain is open to application.  Following the success of the first social landlord competition under the Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme last year, DECC has launched a bigger and better second round.  The amount of money available has increased from £3million to £10million, with more time for social landlords to apply. Registered providers for social housing such as local authorities and social housing associations will be able to bid for up to around £175,000 each.  Read more on the DECC website.

CBI Chief Attacks Government FIT 'Own Goal'

The government’s decision to cut solar feed-in tariffs has been branded an ‘own goal’ by an industry body. John Cridland, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, launched an attack on the government after it announced plans to reduce the FIT from 43.3p/kilowatt hour to 21p/kWh from 12 December. Mr Cridland said the low-carbon sector risks being derailed in the UK by unexpected changes, with the loss of thousands of jobs. Mr Cridland said: ‘A reduction was already on the cards from 1 April, but this will now come in by mid-December - before the consultation has even ended. ‘This is the latest in a string of government own goals, following the carbon reduction commitment becoming a pure revenue-raiser and the North Sea oil and gas tax.’ Mr Cridland was speaking at the CBI’s east midlands annual dinner where he was calling for the government to create an industrial policy. Read more on the CBI website.

Straw House 'Strong Enough to Withstand Hurricane'

An environmentally-friendly house made of straw is strong enough to withstand a hurricane tests have revealed. The house was built with straw bale panels as a flagship low-carbon building at the University of Bath. The house was built to assess the performance of straw as a sustainable building material. The two-storey building was officially opened last year. The research team has been monitoring the house since October last year for thermal performance and humidity level. The team has now tested the structure of the house for resisting winds of up to 120mph. It used hydraulic jacks which pushed horizontally against the walls with a total force exceeding four tonnes, equivalent to the dynamic force of a hurricane. Read the full story on the 24 dash website.

Good Homes Alliance to Research 'Best Methods' of Sustainable Housebuilding

One of the most diverse monitoring and feedback programmes of new build dwellings in the United Kingdom to date has been launched by the Good Homes Alliance and its partners. Sponsored by the Energy Savings Trust and Communities and Local Government, the research findings will help inform the country’s sustainable housing agenda going forward. They will support the commitment of any future Government, no matter which party, to determine which build systems and approaches offer the best mechanisms to reduce carbon emissions and improve the sustainability of new homes. They will measure the energy performance of five dwellings over a 12 to 18 month period, including monitoring at point of completion and during occupation. The results will be published in full in autumn 2011 and provide the house building industry with the information needed to ensure that developments meet their design standards and continue to perform as intended once occupied. Read the full story on the 24 dash website.

HCA Confirms Funding for More Low Carbon Heating Projects

The HCA has confirmed the recipients of an additional £4.8m funding from CLG for decentralised community heating schemes created through the HCA’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Fund (LCIF), which will be allocated to three schemes in Coventry, Nottingham and Leeds. Find out more about these schemes and funding eligibility criteria on the HCA website by clicking on the logo below.