Electric boats on display at green show

An electric water taxi will be ferrying visitors to a boat show where green energy will feature prominently.

Visitors to the Broads Green Boat Show will be able to board the electric water taxi at Granary Staithe at 10am, while the show itself will open at 11am and run until 4pm.

The show claims to be the first boat show to highlight green energy technologies in boats such as electric, biofuel-powered boats and vessels equipped with solar photovoltaic panels and wind turbines.

Borne out of a desire to reduce the amount of diesel and petrol boats "which are generally noisy, smelly and polluting", the show aims to encourage people in cleaner modes of maritime transport.

The show started as a move to protect the Norfolk Broads, which saw 20 boats converted to electric power and a greater amount of points at which they could charge up.

Among the exhibitors will be the Broads Society, the Electric Boat Association and Ludham Bridge Services.

EU limits food-based biofuels

EU biofuel targets for road transport could be amended following a vote by an influential group of MEPs.

The Industrial Committee voted by 50 to two to support amendments to biofuel targets, which would put limits on how much of food feedstock could be used.

An earlier target calling for 10 per cent of all road fuel to come from renewable sources had been silent on the type of feedstock – or raw material – used to produce the fuel.

But under the revised targets, at least four per cent of fuels must come from non-food feedstock, including second generation biofuels, waste or non-food crops.

Luxembourg Green MEP Claude Turmes, who shepherded the legislation through the committee, said: "While the maintenance of a binding target for biofuels is a bitter pill to swallow, the committee has at least strengthened the safeguards against the damaging impact of agri-fuels in this directive."

The change of heart follows accusations made by environmental groups and even the World Bank that biofuels had contributed to the massively increased cost of food.

Norfolk knows where its waste goes

Norfolk councils have claimed that they know where their recyclable waste goes, following the broadcast of a programme that found UK waste in India.

The ITV Tonight programme, with Trevor McDonald, had accused UK councils of failing to have detailed information of the destination of their waste.

However, councils in Norfolk have said that the accusations do not apply to them.

A spokesman for the Norfolk Waste Partnership told the Norwich Evening News: "The councils in Norfolk take pride in their recycling systems and attach great importance to knowing where their recyclable material ends up.

"Norfolk residents do a fantastic job to recycle what they can and they can have confidence that their plastic bottles, paper, cardboard and cans are being handled and recycled responsibly."

According to Steve Jenkins, the contracts manager at recycling sorting plant NEWS, all end markets for recycling waste are in the UK or Europe.

In a bid to cut landfill waste, the Norfolk Waste Partnership has organised the Waste Free Week challenge which will run from October 27 to November 2 to encourage residents to recycle or compost more to cut down the waste they put in their bins

Essex Eco-DIY bungalow open to public

Owners of an Essex bungalow who are working towards urban self sufficiency and have installed microgeneration, rainwater harvesting and biomass central heating have put it on display today.

As part of the Heritage Open Days, the Eco-DIY house in Clacton-on-Sea will be open to visitors who are curious about reducing their environmental impact.

The home is being adapted with energy saving and generation mechanisms by the family living in it.

So far, the measures have achieved a 76 per cent reduction of the home’s carbon footprint, according to the Sustainable Energy Academy.

The home has rainwater recycling, greywater recycling through a reed bed system, solar water heating and solar photovoltaic microgeneration.

As part of the English Heritage-organised event, the Eco-DIY home will remain open until September 14th.

The project sees buildings which are not usually open to the public invite them in.

Philip Kolvin, Chairman of the Civic Trust, told 24hourmuseum: "Visitors are invited into places that are otherwise private, to meet people who live or work there, or who know the history of the place better than anyone else."

West Sussex recycling sorting plant on target

Building at a recycling material sorting plant to be built in West Sussex is on schedule for the facility to be operational early next year, visitors were told.

Members of the Ford Material Recycling Facility (MRF), which will sort all West Sussex household recycling, visited the site and were told construction was progressing at the right pace.

When completed, the facility will sort 85,000 tonnes of recycling collected at kerbsides and recycling bins.

According to the West Sussex County Times, Phil Russell, the County Council’s head of waste management, told the visitors: "It will use the latest recycling technology to sort different types of materials quickly, efficiently and to high quality standards.

"Recyclable materials will travel along conveyor belts with fast scanning sensors analysing and identifying the type of material as well as the shape, texture and colour."

Earlier this year, the council opened household recycling centre which created genuine organic compost.

County Council leader Henry Smith praised the facility claiming it showed how recycling can "close the loop".

Lotus turning 60

Lotus may be developing electric cars, cars that work on biofuels and fuel efficient sports cars, but it remains true to its original philosophy, according to managing director Mike Kimberley.

The Hethel-based firm is celebrating its 60th birthday this year, a fact Mr Kimberley is proud of.

And despite a global downturn in the economy the innovative business is planning to triple production.

From its origins producing fast lightweight cars, the company has kept the spirit of efficiency and is now adapting to growing demand for cleaner cars and has even sold electric vehicles.

As well as producing the Evora – which for a sports car has relatively low carbon emissions of 225 grams per kilometre – the company plans three further models as well. Earlier this year it sold two electrical cars in Asia.

According to Mr Kimberley, the reasons behind the company’s growth and success are its iconic brand and its people.

He told the Norwich Evening News: "We are a people company and it is a tremendous tribute to the team throughout the 60 years who have worked so hard and dedicated themselves to the company to make sure it did succeed."

Mr Kimberley added: "We see future growth in Norfolk as we are bringing in new cars and upping production of others, and need a significant increase in staff."

Eco-development offers savings

Residents at an eco-development in Norfolk have revealed that they are making massive savings on their utility bills.

At the Ecostessey Park development on the banks of the River Tud, the 22 town houses were made with sustainable design and feature energy efficiency measures such as solar water heating, ground source heat pumps and rainwater harvesting.

The result of the clean technology, according to 54-year-old teacher Sarah Armstrong, is savings of more than £200 a month on energy bills.

She moved from a converted barn in Depham, and has noticed a massive improvement, though the energy savings originally were only of minor significance.

"What we liked about the house was that it was a really nice, spacious four-bedroom house and the eco part was secondary," she told the Norwich Evening News.

"The energy cost here is negligible compared to the barn. The barn was very difficult to heat. We’ve gone from an old, converted place with wooden beams to a really ultra-modern well-insulated house."

According to the Energy Saving Trust insulation is one of the easiest ways to reduce heat loss and bills and it suggests that installing 270mm of insulation could save £155 a year on heating bills and cut carbon emissions by one tonne compared to homes without the insulation.

Renewable energy supply chains focus of new office

Renewable energy equipment supply chains will be the focus of a new government office created by a manufacturing strategy announced yesterday to help the manufacturing sector "seize the opportunities of the low carbon economy".

The new strategy, New Challenges, New Opportunities, pledges £150 million in medium term support to the manufacturing sector.

A newly created Office for Renewable Energy Deployment will focus on improving the renewable energy equipment supply chain, as will a low carbon industrial strategy to be announced next year.

Launching the new strategy business minister John Hutton said: "We need to recognise that the global landscape is changing so we can help UK manufacturers stay ahead of the game. I want the UK to be at the forefront of opportunities opened up by the move towards a low carbon economy.

"With the right support in place, we can grow our nuclear and renewable industries to become world-leaders in green technologies, supporting hundreds of thousands of "green collar jobs’."

The new strategy is also focusing on boosting skills in the sector and improving its image as an interesting area to work in.