LCCN Newsletter..
The last week has seen various rumours circulating about Feed In Tariffs . The Solar Trade Assoc. has contacted DECC and the attached letter, available here, suggests that the situation is unchanged and that the outcome of the comprehensive review of the Feed-In Tariff policy will be implemented on 1st April 2012, unless the review reveals the need for greater urgency. But there is certainly a likelihood that this is just what the review will suggest. The Communities and Climate Action Alliance is discussing potential impacts on community projects – we’ll report more next week.
Dirty energy could cost us £300 more a year
The report says the only way to end energy bill pain in the long run is to cut energy waste and invest in clean power – like wind, waves and sun.
The findings mark the launch of Friends of the Earth’s new campaign Final Demand.
For details click here.
Background on the Green Deal
Still confused by what might be on offer? (you’re not alone!).
A useful entry on YouGen at - http://www.yougen.co.uk/blog-entry/1766/The+Green+Deal+explained/
E-CAR aims to be a competitively priced, wholly electric, pay-per-use car club. It will provide the convenience of a private car without the high up-front costs of owning one. We aim to configure the wholly electric operation to improve on existing car club cost structures with a lower total cost of ownership, and limited exposure to rising and volatile fuel prices. The car club model also means that individuals in your community can start using electric cars now without having to worry about things like the higher up-front cost of the vehicle, range of the vehicle, battery life, access to charging infrastructure, or maintenance, E-CAR will do it all for you!
If you think your community is likely to be able to sign up at least 30-50 members to the car club we’d like to work with you in October and November as one of 6-8 communities in a Technology Strategy Board funded project run by Sustainable Ventures (www.sustainableventures.co.uk) and the National Energy Foundation (www.nef.org.uk) to design a car club that would work for your community.
We are already in discussions with potential financiers to then allow us to pilot an E-CAR proposition in around 3 communities in spring 2012.
We’d love to hear from you so please do e.mail us.
Bath & West Community Energy share offer now open
BWCE’s philosophy as a community enterprise is to work for the benefit of the local communities in which it operates. It aims to provide its investors with a fair return on their investment of around 7%. In addition tax payers can also claim back 30% of their investment under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). As a Community Benefit Society all members have equal voting rights regardless of the size of their shareholding. Surplus profit will be recycled into a Community Fund to be used in further local, low carbon projects. Full details of BWCE’s share offer and further information about the community enterprise can be found on their website www.bwce.coop. If you have any further questions please contact Peter Capener on pete.capener@bwce.coop.
The world’s largest solar bridge at Blackfriars
http://www.solarcentury.co.uk/commercial/blackfriars/
Community Action on climate in the UK
Where are we going? Add your thoughts to the latest Climate, Community and Society blog at:
http://wp.me/p13knb-25
Forbes Magazine puts “The case for climate-change alarmism”
Forbes is a magazine aimed directly at the global business community. This article is based on a recent report, “A Deeper Look at Climate Change and National Security,” by researchers at Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico. It points out that “probability distribution representing the uncertainty in expected climate change implies that the risk of catastrophic outcome is more than forty thousand times more probable than that from an asteroid collision with the earth”.
See - http://ow.ly/6TINF
Congrats to Greenpeace and all those who funded their new boat:
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/peace/new-rainbow-warrior-sets-sail
LCCN website upgrade
- Who we are
- What we’re doing
- How we involve our community
- The results we’ve achieved
250 words max, and please include a photo and logo.
Please also ensure that you are listed on the UK Climate Action Map, which can be accessed through our site here.
Please email your details to – hello@lowcarboncommunities.net
Building LCCN – your help needed
This newsletter now goes out weekly to more than 600 people and groups, but we’d like to get it to many more. You can help!
If you find the newsletter useful, why not forward it to other people you know, either in your group or within your network. Let them know it comes out weekly, it’s free and all they have to do to get it is to join the network…by sending an email requesting a membership form to - membership@lowcarboncommunities.net
Or you can download the membership form by clicking here.
LCCN Facebook page