Survive and thrive at Destination Growth ’09 – the East of England’s flagship business event

Destination Growth ‘09 - the definitive event for  ambitious business leaders - returns for the third time on 3 November 2009 to AirSpace Duxford, Cambridgeshire. 

The award-winning event will give you the practical tools and confidence to not only see-out the downturn, but to be prepared to beat-off the competition in the up-turn. 

Hosted by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), Destination Growth ‘09 will focus on four key business issues, with a specific emphasis on helping you survive and thrive in the recession: innovation, sales and marketing, leadership and accessing finance.  With a combination of keynote speeches, seminars, interactive workshops and 1-2-1 sessions with speakers - Destination Growth ‘09 has something for every business leader.

Speaking on the subject of leading in adversity, Greg Dyke, former director general BBC, is just one of the 30 high-profile business experts confirmed for Destination Growth ‘09. 

To find out who else is speaking and to secure your personalised programme of choice visit: www.eeda.org.uk/destinationgrowth

When: 3 November 2009
Where: AirSpace Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Cost: £75 (excl VAT)

Government backs EERA’s £25 million housing renewal and regeneration programme

The East of England Regional Assembly’s Housing and Sustainable Communities Panel put forward sixteen local-authority led projects to the Government.

This includes over £6.6 million for domestic carbon reduction and refurbishment schemes in Essex and Hertfordshire; over £5.3 million for refurbishing properties and restoring long-term empty properties in Great Yarmouth; over £2.2 million towards energy efficiency measures and refurbishment work in Cambridgeshire homes; £1 million to produce a reduction in fuel poverty areas around Luton and Bedford; and £0.5 million to restoring properties in rural Suffolk.

The recommended projects were accepted in full by Housing Minister, Margaret Beckett, in an announcement to EERA last week.

“These improvements will not only benefit individual households, but the region as a whole” said Cllr Susan Barker, Chairman of EERA’s Housing and Sustainable Communities Panel. “Making houses warmer and cheaper to heat will help reduce fuel bills and contribute to improved health and wellbeing. Also, more energy efficient homes mean fewer damaging carbon emissions, which is good for the environment.”

“Reducing the amount of homes that are in disrepair will lead to communities where people are proud to live, making them more likely to there and contribute to the local economy. EERA will monitor the success of these projects, including their outputs and outcomes.”

Cambridgeshire Renewable Energy Online Survey Launched

Renewables East and Cambridgeshire Horizons has launched an online consultation inviting people who live and work in Cambridgeshire to comment on the use of renewable energy in the new communities planned for the area.

73,300 new homes are due to be built in Cambridgeshire between 2001 and 2021, and renewable energy technologies - small and large scale - are due to play an important part in making the county more sustainable and low carbon.

The online consultation, developed by Consense, enables visitors to read about the sustainability targets for the region, learn about a variety of renewable and low carbon technologies and complete a consultation questionnaire giving their opinion on the future role of renewables.

It also features an Interactive Energy Plan, demonstrating how various renewable technologies - including wind power, biomass CCHP and solar PV - could be deployed in a hypothetical community. An Interactive House shows how various low carbon design features, such as passive solar and air tightness; plus a range of renewable technologies can be used for individual households.

www.cambridgeshireenergysurvey.co.uk

£144m for East of England local authorities with plans for housing growth

Housing Minister Margaret Beckett has today announced that fifteen areas in the East of England will share more than £144m to help deliver their long-term plans to increase house building to meet the needs of their communities.

Despite the current condition of the housing market, the long-term need to build more homes remains - the population is continuing to grow, people are living longer, and there are more single households.

And this money announced today will enable the local authorities with ambitious plans for growth to invest in the essential services that need to accompany the building of new homes, from transport links and schools to the regeneration of town centres and the provision of parks and other green spaces.

Under the Growth Points and Growth Areas schemes over the next two years Cambridgeshire will receive more than £28.7m, Bedford more than £16.2m and Harlow and Stansted more than £14.2m. Other areas to benefit include Peterborough with £13.6m, Norwich with £11.2m and Luton more than £11.1m.

Housing Minister Margaret Beckett said:

“In these difficult economic times we must not lose sight of the long-term need to build more homes. Yet if the support for these new homes is not in place, their construction will be delayed when we need them most, hampering the economy’s recovery. This means we need to be investing today in tomorrow’s infrastructure, while allowing local authorities to decide their own local priorities for spending this money. Today’s announcement delivers on both fronts.

“This money is targeted at those local authorities with the most ambitious growth plans. As well as helping to build the new homes we need, it will ensure we have the support and infrastructure in place so that these homes become part of the existing community, not a burden on their resources.”

Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency said:

“This funding will play a significant part in helping growth areas deliver not only more homes, but the vital infrastructure that is needed to underpin new communities. Through our Single Conversation model we will be working closely with these local authorities to support them, not only in the delivery of growth, but to create a single investment plan that will successfully bring forward local goals in a more integrated way.

“As part of that Single Conversation we will be looking at how the economic downturn might impact on the timing and delivery of growth proposals and how the HCA can assist in maintaining and, where possible, increasing the momentum of growth and renewal programmes locally.”

The £605m Growth Fund will be one of the funding streams managed on behalf of Government by the new Homes and Communities Agency. It is in addition to the £227m already being paid out for the current year, and completes an overall investment package of £832m for these local authorities.

£12m of this will be made available specifically to help some of the growth authorities develop exemplar schemes in response to climate change, specifically supporting the delivery of government targets on carbon reduction, waste reduction and flood mitigation. Such solutions may take the form of site or area-wide proposals that deliver new communities with innovative approaches to providing low carbon energy supply and other environmental technologies that may serve a single site or number of potential development sites. The HCA will support local authorities in bringing forward costed proposals that draw on best practice, and to encourage sharing of expertise and will also advise CLG on the viability and deliverability of successful proposals coming forward. Details for this scheme will be announced next year.

In addition to the investment announced today, we will also soon be announcing which of these local authorities will get a share of £200m to pay for transport improvements through the Community Infrastructure Fund, also managed by the Homes and Communities Agency.

Nationally the Homes and Communities Agency will be working with local authorities to maximise the alignment of funding to area-wide objectives that serve existing and emerging local and regional strategies; and to ensure that projects create the capacity for strategic growth as well as also meeting local needs.

 

 

Fuel for the future gets EEDA backing

Woodlands in the East of England are set to provide fuel for the future after a new project received one of the largest funding awards of its kind in England.

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) has awarded £4.3 million to increase the use of wood-based energy production.

The £10.7 million Woodfuel East project will help cut carbon emissions by providing locally produced and sustainably sourced fuel. It will also help create jobs and businesses in the rural economy and improve biodiversity.

The award has come from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), which is a combination of European funding and money from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, delivered regionally by EEDA.

Woodfuel East initiative is a partnership governed by representatives of 25 organisations from across the region, co-ordinated by the Forestry Commission.

Landowners will be encouraged to manage neglected woodlands, which has the added benefit of creating new habitats for wildlife.  There are about 140,000 hectares of woodland in the East of England, around seven per cent of the total land area, but 50,000 ha are undermanaged or not managed at all.

Felled trees and cut branches, which might otherwise go to waste, can be chipped for use in specialised boilers. These can provide heat and hot water for medium-sized buildings such as schools, village halls and offices, particularly in rural areas with no gas supply.

David Sillett, EEDA Rural development manager said:

“Woodfuel East, which covers Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, will encourage a co-ordinated supply chain, from land owners through to the marketplace for wood chips.

“With new markets, come new opportunities which will be of particular benefit to the rural economy.”

Mr Sillett added:

“By 2013, we could be saving at least 75,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year and supplying the equivalent of 12,500 homes with energy.”

Edwin Van Ek, of WoodFuel East, said:

“This is a real kick-start to the wood fuel industry in the East of England. Woodfuel East can provide advice and investment support to the supply chain.

“It is also good news for biodiversity, as woodland management such as coppicing, where trees are cut back and allowed to regrow, creates new and varied wildlife habitats.”

“Land owners can also benefit by installing modern, efficient wood fuel boilers to produce heat and hot water for their buildings, using wood produced from their own woodlands,” he said.

“The latest wood fuel boilers are easy to operate and very efficient, producing very small amounts of smoke and little ash. With recent increases in fuel prices, switching to wood fuel also makes financial sense.”

PETERBOROUGH ENERGYPARK ADVANCES

 

PREL - Peterborough Renewable Energy – has unveiled its eagerly awaited plans for the development of a £250m EnergyPark and centre of excellence for renewable technologies. (see Artist’s Impression)

The plans, now being considered by the government, propose the development of just 32% of a 34 acre site in Peterborough’s Fengate partially designated for recycling and energy recovery facilities. This will provide for the introduction of extensive green spaces on the remainder of the site designed to support bird and animal life (such as Black Redstarts) into this industrial area. Sustainability is a central theme in the company’s vision.

Capable of processing up to 650,000 tonnes of mixed waste and biomass annually with the biomass fraction used to produce renewable energy.  The remainder being recycled into high value products for reuse.

The EnergyPark will have an installed process capacity of 66 megawatts (MW). Operating for 8760 hours each year it will generate over 50 Megawatt (MW) of renewable electricity produced from the biomass fraction of the waste received.  When the EnergyPark becomes operational in early 2011 it will deliver 10 per cent of the East of England’s 2010/11 renewable energy target with the production of over 430 GWh of electricity per annum.

Around 12-13 million tonnes of CO2 will be saved over 20 years making it the sustainable option to coal and gas.

The dual ability of the EnergyPark that allows 100 per cent of the material being processed to be used in a beneficial manner and with a zero residue to landfill makes the EnergyPark unique.  Nothing leaves the site that does not have a use. All material including ‘internal wastes’ are recycled or recovered.

The design philosophy also ensures most vehicles entering with waste or materials required for operation will leave with recycled and remanufactured product via the same route, which will be enhanced as part of the project.

The £250 million capital project will include a Centre of Excellence R&D facility which will enhance Peterborough’s Green City credentials with an extensive on-going operation, maintenance and research budget of £12 million per year and highly skilled jobs for over 100 employees.

Construction is anticipated to take place over 2 years and employ up to 300 people at any one time.

This zero-waste, clean biomass electricity plant has been shaped by extensive local pre-planning consultations.

The facility will stabilise long-term waste processing fees and provide carbon levy exempt power for local industry that is attached to the onsite 22kV grid, and is capable of supplying affordable power to new developments in the expanding Green City.

The site will process a proportion of the commercial and industrial waste stream produced locally in and around Peterborough.  A catchment restriction of 32km radius (circa 20 miles) from the facility and/or the county will apply and 80 per cent of any waste input will be from within this area. No mixed wastes will be burnt at the EnergyPark. 

The EnergyPark incorporates leading industry standards in both design and operation. The EnergyPark buildings are designed to high specifications, removing odour and noise potential and improving thermal efficiencies.  They are also designed to be more easily recycled at the end of their life.

The types of materials that can be recycled, recovered and manufactured at the park include, household mixed wastes, commercial and industrial wastes and elements of the construction and demolition waste sector. 

As a matter of record, the County of Cambridgeshire including imports generated 5.2 million tonnes of waste in 2006.

In their Report on 25^th September the Audit Commission warned councils that they cannot rely solely on creating less waste and recycling more if the UK can meet European Union Landfill Directive targets to reduce the amount of waste that gets dumped in landfill by 2013.

It says investment in waste disposal technologies that convert waste into energy or fuel will have the most significant impact on landfill reduction and that delays to the projects currently underway pose the greatest threat to achieving the target.

Process Description

There are four main stages to the process: separation and sorting; recycling; energy generation and reprocessing.

Separation and Sorting Recycling

The EnergyPark includes an Advanced Materials Recycling Facility (AMRF), which will take unsorted waste materials and separate out the non-biomass fraction from the biomass fraction. The biomass fraction will be processed via gasification in one of 9 biomass units to produce renewable power.  The non-biomass content is segregated into their type – metals, glass, plastics and textiles.  These materials are assessed for their ability to be recycled on site by way of plasma vitrification.  Materials such as plastics will go to secondary recyclers.

Food waste that is received from commercial sources or that which arrives already segregated will be processed by a food-waste bioreactor to produce heat and a fertiliser. 

Energy Generation

Steam boilers and turbines will be used to produce electricity, with heat derived from the combustion process being used within the facility and potentially made available in the future through dedicated systems to neighbouring users.  Cooling will use a dry and sealed process to reduce the amount of water needed / lost via evaporation.  This also removes plume issues. 

 

Each biomass power unit is served by individual material feeds. This independence allows for each stream to be taken out for routine servicing and maintenance without disruption to the operation of the facility. The by-products from this process will comprise a bed ash fertiliser, and materials from the gas cleaning systems. Bed ash derived from biomass is a useful soil enhancer/ fertiliser. Ash and residue from the gas cleaning systems (APC residues) will be reprocessed by plasma vitrification and fully recycled into finished products.

Plasma Vitrification

This is the EnergyPark’s internal waste recycling plant that takes ash and the APC residues, the glass and some metal fraction (batteries, lightbulbs etc) from the AMRF together with any other non-recyclable inorganic fraction.

The plasma chamber (not torch) turns the feedstocks in to saleable products comprising metal, glass and a range of commercial chemicals. 

Join us for the Breakfast Seminar at the Eco Innovation Centre, Peterborough on the 16 October for more information and discussion with Chris Williams, Call 01733 311644 to book your place

Ends

 Notes for Editors

1.       Further information on this Media Release and PREL are available from: Sam McCallum, McCallum Consulting on Tel: 015638 508417 email sam@mccallumconsulting.co.uk

2.       PREL’s Head Office Address is located at The Eco Innovation Centre, Peterscourt, City Road, Peterborough, PE1 1SA. Contact Telephone numbers and em

ails will be unchanged (it will continue to use 01733 348468) 

3.      The planning process for energypark Peterborough is dealt with by BERR. Consultees include Peterborough City Council among others.

 

 

Children to learn about waste through puppets

A puppet show that will teach children how to reduce the amount of things they throw away is being launched in Cambridgeshire.

Nine schools are taking part in the project, called Happy Bin by its creators.

Shows will run for six weeks, and pupils will weigh the amount of waste their schools throw away and put the information on a database on the internet.

Kirsty Martin from Peterborough City Council’s community engagement team said: "This is the start of a three year programme of activities aimed at reducing the waste we all produce.

"We will be working with community groups and charities to promote the reuse of materials, to reduce food waste and to encourage people to use fabric shopping bags.

"These measures alone have the potential to reduce waste by up to 7.5 per cent."

The show is promoted by Recycling in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough with the support of waste management company Donarbon.

Norfolk firm expands into Camden

Norfolk renewable firm Living Fuels has extended its reach yet again and has signed a contract to collect cooking oil from a domestic recycling centre in Camden Council in north London.

Living Fuels is to install a cooking oil collection tank at the council’s recycling centre on Regis Road, which it will then take to its facility in Hockwold.

Camden Council recycling manager Ann Baker told MRW: "We are trying to get as many materials through the site as possible and it will be something to add to what we already do."

Last month the company announced partnerships with 14 London boroughs including Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Haringey and Havering.

According to operations manager Gordon Gardner, 200 litres of used cooking oil is enough to produce electricity to run six houses for four weeks.

Living Fuels also collects oil in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

Yorkshire Water recently revealed that it spent about £3 million clearing 5,000 sewer blockages caused by cooking fat, oil and grease.

The company asked people to find other ways of disposing of cooking oil.

Next Page »