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• Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Industrial Strategy outlines industry worth up to £6.5 billion and sustaining up to 100,000 jobs by 2030.
• Yorkshire and Humber identified as the UK’s first low carbon economic area for CCS.
• £6.3 million awarded to SSE’s (Scottish and Southern Energy) 5MW carbon capture project in Ferrybridge, Yorkshire.
• New Government Office of CCS takes up work driving development of policy, technology, regulation and funding.
   

Industrial growth, energy security and action on climate change are the three prizes to be had in backing Carbon Capture and Storage technology, Ed Miliband said today.

The Energy and Climate Change Secretary said:

“CCS presents a massive industrial growth opportunity for the UK. We have a strong, established and skilled workforce in precisely the sectors needed to get CCS deployed at scale. And we have some of the best potential sites in all of Europe for CO2 storage under the North Sea.

“Coal is the most abundant worldwide energy resource but it is also the most polluting, so there is no solution to climate change without CCS.

“Yorkshire and Humber is well placed to see the benefits from the jobs that investment in CCS can bring, other regions will too.

“For the UK economy as a whole these benefits could be worth up to £6.5 billion a year, sustaining jobs for up to 100,000 people, by 2030.”

Rosie Winterton, Minister for Yorkshire and The Humber, said:

"Today is an extremely important day for the economy of Yorkshire and The Humber. Our region has been designated the UK's first Low Carbon Economic Area for Carbon Capture and Storage - technologies with the potential to cut CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel power generation as well as from our energy intensive industries.

"In addition, the Government's £80 million investment in Sheffield Forgemasters will enable it to supply the civil nuclear power industry and other markets and to compete globally in this lucrative sector.

"Both these announcements position Yorkshire and The Humber as a world leader in the development and production of the type of energy needed in a low carbon economy and will mean more jobs and further investment in our region."

The CCS Industrial Strategy sets out how the UK can make the most from its knowledge and skills in engineering, geology and the subsea sector and become a centre for CCS innovation and business.

As part of the strategy, Yorkshire and Humber was today named as the first low carbon economic area for Carbon Capture and Storage. The region’s Ferrybridge power station, owned by SSE, was today awarded £6.3 million towards its £21 million 5MW carbon capture trial by DECC, the Technology Strategy Board and Northern Way.

Other regions like Teesside, Merseyside and Thames Valley could also become centres for this technology.

The UK is at the forefront in the global development of CCS technology. The Government has an Energy Bill before Parliament to provide funding for four commercial-scale CCS demonstration projects and last week announced funding for the Front End Engineering and Design studies as part of a competition to build one of the world’s first commercial scale carbon capture and storage demonstration plants.

A new Office of CCS starts work today inside DECC, and will facilitate the delivery of CCS in the UK and help to promote its rapid take up globally.

Today the Government marked the first year of New Industry, New Jobs - a strategy to put Britain at the cutting edge of new industrial development, especially in the infrastructure and skills they need to meet future challenges and take advantage of new opportunities.

"Safety is our number-one goal, and we are committed to ensuring the structural integrity of the equipment before restarting the plant," said Barry Allen, Davis-Besse site vice president. "We have begun a comprehensive investigation to determine the underlying cause, and have secured nuclear contractor AREVA to make the repairs." - Edited by Stephen Heiser - The planned refueling outage underway at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, will include repair work on several control rod nozzles that penetrate the reactor head vessel. Sophisticated ultrasonic inspections conducted over the past several days on 49 of the 69 nozzles detected indications in 12 of them. Further inspections will take place throughout the week. ...(read more)

Locus Technologies (Locus),a leader in web-based environmental compliance and information management software, and Overhoff Technology Corporation, the world's leader in the design and manufacture of Tritium monitors and radiation monitoring systems, have partnered to offer a complete Tritium monitoring solution for the nuclear industry using Overhoff's Tritium instrumentation and Locus' award winning Cloud Computing software. ...(read more)

These products and services are used by a wide variety of power generation and industrial customers to monitor and control particulates and other emissions from power plants, factories and other facilities - By Linton Levy - Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc. (B&W PGG) has signed a contract with GE Energy, a division of General Electric Company, to acquire its electrostatic precipitator (ESP) and emissions monitoring business units. B&W PGG is an operating unit of The Babcock & Wilcox Company. ...(read more)

The agency is required by Congress to recover for the U.S. Treasury most of its annual appropriated budget through two types of fees. One is for specific NRC services, such as licensing and inspection activities, that apply to a specific license; the other is an annual fee for generic regulatory expenses and other costs not recovered through fees for specific services - Source NRC - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations for the licensing, inspection and annual fees it charges applicants and licensees for fiscal year (FY) 2010. ...(read more)

Hazardous Materials Company 1, one of the first FDNY teams to deploy Demron, is using RST’s Demron Two-Ply Radiation Torso Vest, Demron-W High Energy Nuclear/Ballistic IED RDD RED Shield, and Crew Protection Blanket - By Chris Smith - The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) has selected Radiation Shield Technologies’ (RST) new Demron personal-protection armor as part of its commitment to improve firefighter safety, RST President Ronald DeMeo, M.D., has announced. FDNY is on the cutting edge of fire departments worldwide choosing Demron, the world’s first and only fabric that provides multi-hazard protection from all nuclear, biological, chemical and bomb and ballistic threats as well as infrared radiation and heat. ...(read more)

Contract Put in Place Two Months Ahead of Schedule - Edited by April Murelio - The United States Enrichment Corporation and United Steelworkers (USW) Local Union 689 at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, have reached a new labor agreement almost two months ahead of the expiration of the existing contract. Union membership voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday, March 10, to ratify a labor contract that will be in effect for five years. ...(read more)

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Avantium received the first place award of the Clean Technology Business Forum & Competition at the Global Plastics Environmental Conference 2010 in USA. The jury stated that "Avantium's green building blocks 'Furanics' have the potential to enhance and change the global plastics industry".

Pool Cover Specialists National, Inc., the worlds largest independently-owned automatic swimming pool cover manufacturer and Hayward Pool Products, the international market leader in swimming pool products, release an exclusive National Rebate Program for PCS Dealers.

No fewer than 700 ministers, senior civil servants, industry experts and industry players from 65 countries attended the International Conference on Access to Civil Nuclear Energy held on March 8 and 9. Hosted by the French government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the event was held at the Paris head office of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) - Edited by April Murelio - The Paris head office of the OECD hosted the International Conference on Access to Civil Nuclear Energy on March 8 and 9. We look back at the event and forward to the future of this initiative. ...(read more)

Speakers include Dr. Aris Candris – President and CEO, Westinghouse Electric Company and Bill Timmerman – Chairman & CEO, SCANA - By Stephen Heiser - SCANA Corporation has announced that it will conduct an Analyst Day for the financial community on Thursday, April 8, 2010 (with tours on April 7), at its V.C. Summer Nuclear Station site near Jenkinsville, South Carolina. SCANA’s management team will give an update on their nuclear plans and discuss the Company’s financials and recent regulatory activity. ...(read more)

The deal lays the foundation for the two countries to work together to build a new Korean type of nuclear power plant, the APR1400. Turkey is still open to partnering with other companies from other nations - By Linton Levy - The Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO) and the Turkish state power company Elektrik Uretim AS have reached final agreement on nuclear energy cooperation, according to the Knowledge Economy Ministry. ...(read more)

Unit 8 is the last of the Bruce B Units to get a boost in output following fuel-loading modifications that allow operators to raise reactor power from 90 to 93 per cent. The last time Unit 8 operated at 93 percent was August, 1995 - By April Murelio - A long-term program to enhance safety margins and improve output at Bruce Power hit a major milestone earlier today when reactor power on Unit 8 was raised to 93 percent. ...(read more)

The NRC staff reviewed the petition and the Commission voted to deny it based on several reasons, including the lack of time before the compliance date for the staff to collect and analyze the necessary data and to complete an adequate notice and comment for rulemaking - Source NRC - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has denied a petition submitted by the Nuclear Energy Institute on Sept. 25, 2009, that sought an additional nine months for nuclear power plants to comply with new security requirements. Specifically, the petition sought an expedited rulemaking that would revise the compliance date for new requirements in the power reactor security rule (10 CFR section 73.55) from March 31 to Dec. 31. ...(read more)

Board of Directors adopts strategic plan addressing future of the Company - Edited by Linton Levy - Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) (URI), has provided an update on the Company’s financial position as of the year ended December 31, 2009 and on its strategies and outlook for 2010 and beyond. ...(read more)

Harnessing the full potential of marine energy could provide enough power for up to 15million homes and save up to 70million tonnes of C02 by 2050 according to the Government’s Marine Energy Action Plan, released today. The document also highlights the potential for the marine energy sector to provide up to 16,000 jobs, with a quarter of these in exports.

Launching the plan at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland, home of the 1.2MW SeaGen turbine – the world’s first operating, commercial-scale tidal stream turbine, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Minister of State for Energy said:

“Harnessing the power of our seas will help us reduce our carbon emissions, provide clean, green, secure and reliable energy, create jobs and provide export opportunities.

“This Action Plan sets out our vision for what marine energy can do for the UK and what we need to do to make it happen. I look forward to working with industry and other partners to get the most out of our waters and build a new, world-leading energy generation sector in the UK.”

The Plan – which has been developed by Government jointly with industry – sets out the actions needed to drive the marine energy sector forward.

Key recommendations include:

• Forming a UK-wide strategic coordination group to develop a planning and consenting roadmap for all types of marine renewables;
• Consideration of support levels for marine technologies under the review of banding of the Renewables Obligation in Autumn;
• Ensuring that the appropriate levels of targeted funding are available to bridge the technology market failures that exist in this developing sector, subject to the budgets in the next public spending round;
• Leveraging private equity, and in the longer term, project capital into the sector;
• Establishing guidelines and best practice in the development of new technologies; and
• Building a UK marine energy supply chain and utilising the current skills base already established from the offshore wind, oil and gas, and maritime industries.

Lord Hunt also announced the establishment of a Ministerial Task Force on Marine Energy, which will bring together key players to oversee future work on the Marine Energy Action Plan.

Notes to editors:

1. The full Marine Energy Action plan is available to download at http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/renewable/explained/wave_tidal/funding/marine_action_/marine_action_.aspx
2. “Marine Energy” refers to wave, tidal stream and tidal range energy generation technologies.

Good morning,

Thank you for inviting me here today and for giving me the opportunity to discuss the vital role we see the private rented sector has in our transition to a low carbon economy.

I’d like to begin by stressing the importance of the sector in providing choice and flexibility at all levels across the housing market. There will always be individuals and families for whom home ownership is not the right option. For these people, having a choice of rented accommodation is vital and we in the government recognise this.

However, the sector also has an important role to play in helping us to reduce household carbon emissions. At present, about a quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions comes from energy used in our homes. If we are to be successful at meeting our ambitious targets of reducing housing emissions by 29% by 2020 - and our longer term target of near zero emissions from housing by 2050 - we will need to be fully engaged with and supported by all sectors, including the private rented sector.

So – our targets are ambitious but they are achievable as we demonstrated in last year’s Low Carbon Transition Plan. All households and home owners will need to play a part in making homes more energy efficient – there isn’t an option to do nothing.

Today, I’d like to address how our key policy measures can be applied to engage with, and reach out to, the private rented sector.

DECC’s household energy efficiency policy: setting the context

As you are aware, rented accommodation, particularly the private rented sector, has unique challenges when delivering energy efficiency. A key reason is that the person paying the energy bill is often not the person who makes decisions about investing in the energy efficiency of the property. As a result, the sector has the highest proportion of homes which fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard and the highest proportion of homes which pose an excess cold health hazard.

Our interest in improving energy efficiency in this sector is not just about climate change - it forms a pivotal part of our drive to keep people comfortably warm and at the same time reduce energy bills. Research from the housing and homelessness charity, Shelter, shows that energy bills are the most common source of financial difficulty for 35% of lower income tenants.

So there is a number of important reasons why we need to see a step change in the energy efficiency of the PRS. We need to save money for tenants and landlords, reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels, and respond to the challenge of climate change.

So what are we doing to meet these aims?

CERT

Our largest current energy savings programme, The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), obliges energy suppliers to meet ambitious household carbon reduction targets. Suppliers usually do this by promoting a range of measures, notably insulation – the end result being subsidies and discounts to fill lofts and cavity walls.

The landlord or tenant may need to contribute towards the cost of the measure, however, suppliers have typically offered insulation measures at a 50% subsidy or for free to a priority group of vulnerable households. This can mean landlords simply need to contact their tenants to alert them to this offer, and agree to the installation where the consumer qualifies.

I strongly encourage those of you in the audience today who have links to landlords, to make them aware that these deals exist, and to encourage them to engage with their tenants and take advantage. This will not only increase the energy efficiency of their properties but is also likely to increase their value.

CESP

Our new Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) began in September last year. This innovative programme will deliver £350m worth of energy efficiency measures to around 90,000 households across the country over the next 3 years. CESP will deliver whole house solutions, including a range of measures, in specified low income areas delivering house by house and street by street in those communities.

CESP specifically includes incentives within its design to encourage maximum penetration across all households in the designated CESP communities regardless of their tenure. This should encourage energy companies to find new and innovative ways of engaging with the private rented sector.

For example, I had the pleasure of joining British Gas recently at the launch in Walsall of the first CESP scheme. This scheme originally targeted 136 public sector properties across 6 streets but this has now grown to around 180 properties, including 20 privately rented properties in the community who have requested the work. They have seen the benefits to the other properties, the degree of community engagement in the area, and the reduced costs of measures flowing from British Gas’ intensive work.

This is very encouraging and we expect CESP’s innovative approach to deliver further examples of energy companies engaging with all households in the targeted communities.

FITs and LESA

As I said, CERT supports low cost energy efficiency measures like loft and cavity wall insulation but it is clear that there is more to be done. In 2004, the Treasury introduced the Landlord Energy Saving Allowance, which allows up to £1,500 per dwelling for the cost of installing specified energy saving items as a deduction from taxable property income.

We in DECC have also been developing a framework of policies which aims to overcome the financial barriers of investing in more expensive energy saving measures.

The Feed-in Tariffs scheme, to be introduced this April, will provide a financial support mechanism for low carbon electricity generation technologies aimed at incentivising the uptake of small-scale installations. We believe that the simplicity and income-certainty of the FITs scheme will benefit all sectors of the housing stock, as well as businesses and communities.

When the scheme is launched it will support new hydro, solar and wind projects, by requiring electricity suppliers to make payments to generators based on the number of kilowatt hours they generate. Landlords who install small scale generation will benefit from the revenue stream from their electricity generation and export. Additionally, tenants would get the benefit of lower fuel bills.

It’s up to landlords and tenants to come to an arrangement about the installation of equipment - but we are committed to ensure that the subsequent benefits of FITs payments and on-site use will be worth the investment.

RHI

But we don’t intend to stop there. In April 2011, the Renewable Heat Incentive will offer further financial support for a range of technologies, including ground source heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal.

Until now, the high costs of renewable or low carbon heat installations would have deterred many. However, the RHI support levels have been calculated so that there will be a financial return on any investment made. Where a private landlord decides to install renewable heating technology, they will be able to receive a return on their investment by claiming the RHI, making renewable heating a logical financial decision as well as an environmentally positive one.

We are currently consulting on the scheme specifics and I encourage you to respond to ensure its scheme structure can fully support landlords.

HEM

Our vision beyond 2012 is equally ambitious. In looking at the long term plan, the Household Energy Management Strategy, Warm Homes, Greener Homes, which was launched last week, aims to deliver a step change in the rate of emissions reductions from the domestic sector towards meeting our carbon budgets targets.

Given our commitment to insulate all practical lofts and cavity walls by 2015, and to move forward towards our long term objectives, we will need to encourage landlords to take much more significant action such as solid wall insulation. To do this the strategy sets out a suite of policies that aim to increase delivery of home energy improvements in the rented sector. In addition, we will consult on how to formulate regulation so that the installation of loft and cavity wall insulation, where feasible, would be a condition of renting out a property from a date in the future, at the earliest 2015.

We want all tenants to enjoy good standards at home, and these proposals will help to ensure this.

We will focus on improving communication with landlords and ensure they are aware of the financial assistance available and demonstrate the impact both on fuel bills and carbon emissions of insulation measures. We will work with suitable organisations to run a targeted campaign aimed at private landlords to ensure they are aware of the financial assistance they are entitled to. The strategy will lead to future consultations which will encourage and support landlords in our journey to achieving a near zero carbon housing stock.

PAYs

We also announced as part of Warm Homes, Greener Homes, that Green Finance will become an important way for people to pay for eco-upgrades. Green Finance would allow people to pay as they save, with no upfront cost for their eco-upgrade, which is instead repaid over time with savings on energy bills or income from FIT or RHI.

We are looking to develop the precise design with industry and this will include the applicability of green loans to all property tenures. It seems possible that a Pay As You Save scheme will be attractive to private landlords, given it overcomes the split incentive with the repayments being made by tenants alongside the bill savings they receive.

So - it is clear that successfully reducing household energy efficiency in the private rented sector is going to be challenging if we are to meet our ambitious carbon targets.

However, through the measures I have outlined here today, I hope I have shown that government are committed to support the PRS to improving the energy efficiency of their housing stock.

As a next step, I would strongly encourage landlords to engage with the current consultation (closing on the 14th March) on extending CERT to the end of 2012; to take advantage of the suite of new programmes and policies such as Feed in Tariffs; and, most importantly, to fully engage with their tenants on the opportunities available.

The Government-funded Act On CO2 advice line, operated by the Energy Savings Trust, should be the first port of call for landlords. It provides advice and support for consumers, by directing them to the latest offers, grants and services for assistance towards energy efficiency available from regional suppliers, installers and retail outlets.

I am grateful for this opportunity to address you and I know my officials will be happy to answer questions today and facilitate ongoing contact.

Every sector needs to become engaged in the transition to a low carbon economy. And I look forward to your continuing involvement in this vital process.

Thank you.

 

Thank you for this opportunity to make a few remarks.

In his foreword to the report we are launching today, Stephen said that the third sector provides a voice for society’s ambitions about the kind of world we want to live in. He also said that the Sector continues to be an engine of progressive change. I endorse that wholeheartedly.

As we make the necessary transition to a low carbon future, this change is needed more than ever before; and it is needed now. The future is in many ways unknowable, but we can aim to shape it. Climate change is the most important challenge facing society. If we are to survive and prosper, the only viable future is a low carbon one. We are on a journey. And as we set out last summer in the Low Carbon Transition Plan, a low carbon future is one which will bring new economic opportunities; new and lasting jobs in sustainable, cleaner industries; and greater energy security.

Knowing where we want to go is one thing. But getting there can be so much more difficult. On our journey, the greatest resource we have is people. All of us in this room - and millions more. But as with all resources, we need to identify and unlock the potential and focus it in the right ways; in practical ways.

In recent years government has begun to engage and incentivise community action on climate change through small grants and challenge programmes such as Defra’s Climate Challenge Fund. A fund which gave £8 million to 83 projects – to find new and creative ways of raising awareness in communities and encouraging local action on climate change.

We’ve worked with faith groups, with the Women’s Institute and a raft of NGOs. But climate change needs to mainstreamed. And today’s report – our joint statement of intent and action aims to do just that. For my Department’s part, I am delighted to announce that a new Third Sector Champion for DECC will build on the success of this collaboration by bringing forward a third sector strategy. A strategy which will continue to ensure that your agenda and your interests are fully reflected across DECC’s work.

We look forward to continuing to work with you on the practical ways needed to turn the Report’s vision into reality. A flagship example of this partnership approach is the 22 communities that make up the Low Carbon Community Challenge. Steered by some of you here this evening, these pilot projects will between them receive £10 million. I was thrilled to read the details of the winning proposals with their plans for behaviour change, community engagement and new technologies from solar panel office roofs to school turbines and village micro-hydro power.

It is only by inspiring, motivating and persuading our citizens; by tapping into their ideas and energy, that we will shape and deliver the low carbon future that the planet needs and which will benefit us all.

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