Three quarters of Scots would consider fitting a solar panel or other renewable technology to their home but are put off by the cost, a report says. The Energy Saving Trust in Scotland said people were becoming more aware of energy use around the home. Click here for full story

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has made a step towards improving climate control by erecting a wind turbine in its garden at Harlow Carr in Harrogate. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has made a step towards improving climate control by erecting a wind turbine in its garden at Harlow Carr in Harrogate. Click here for full story

West Oxford could become one of the UK's first Low Carbon Communities after a local group won £500,000 in a competition. West Oxford Community Renewables plans to use the grant to pay for solar panels and a wind turbine.

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Eco-campaigners say they aim to make Oxford the green capital of the UK with the help of a £500,000 Government grant. Community group Low Carbon West Oxford started life in 2007, when four women sat around a kitchen table to discuss the floods that had damaged dozens of homes in the area. Click here for full story

Once best known for a certain type of fossil fuel, Newcastle is now moving in a new — if equally “earthy” — direction: energy from farm waste. Cockle Park Farm, a 262-hectare farm owned by Newcastle University, is in the process of developing a £1.85-million, state-of-the-art anaerobic digester that will convert manure from pigs and cattle into green energy. Click here for full story

The Kinloch Hotel has taken a major step forward by installing a large-scale renewable energy heating system. An innovative £250,000 wood-burning boiler arrived on Arran on Wednesday and was carefully transported to Blackwaterfoot. The 400kw heating station, looking something like a luxury henhouse, has a boiler room and fuel store with hydraulic roof and comes from Finland. Click here for full story

North Wales is to build its first commercial anaerobic digestion facility after Anglesey Council granted planning permission for a plant which will treat up to 25,000 tonnes of waste. Anglesey Ecoparc Mon - run by the same group which owns Grays Waste Management – already has planning approval to construct a recycling centre on a site at the Mona Industrial Estate. The AD plant will be built in addition, treating food and farm waste. Click here for full story

The Scottish Parliament have been asked to mark the opening of Scotland’s first ever affordable low-carbon eco house at South Lanarkshire College’s campus in East Kilbride. Central Scotland MSP Linda Fabiani has tabled a motion calling on the Parliament to welcome the official opening of Aurora House by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth of Scotland. Click here for full story

Renewable energy technologies may soon be commonplace in homes across the UK following implementation of the government's Feed-in Tariffs (Fits) scheme. This initiative is an environmental programme expected to be introduced by the government on 1 April, 2010. It is aimed at driving widespread uptake of a range of small-scale, low-carbon electricity-generation technologies. Click here for full story

The largest on-site wind generation project in Wales became operational yesterday as turbine blades started turning at Solutia Chemicals (UK). Having completed the testing phase, the two 2.5MW wind turbines are now fully operational and will supply up to a third of the chemical company’s needs at the site in Newport, Wales. Click here for full story

Today (15 December) further government funding becomes available for business and community organisations, such as schools and hospitals, to help towards the cost of buying and installing biomass-fuelled heating and combined heat & power projects in England. Click here for full story

When Innovation Centre Iceland (ICI) managers began courses in farming renewable energy in October they were unprepared for the enthusiastic response from citizens. "The fact that the turnout far exceeded our expectations and we had to add three more locations for the course suggests that interest in sustainability and renewable energy is bottom-up in Iceland, not just top-down," says Rosa Signy Gisladottir, marketing manager for ICI. So far, three courses have been held: one in the northeast, one in the south and another up in the far northwest. Six more courses are being planned for the new year. Click here for full story

This was the year the advocates of green technology put their money (well, our money) where their mouths were. At the same time, a batch of startups developing new technologies made technical strides that could yield actual energy savings. Funding for a broad range of green technology development and deployment programs spiked as billions of dollars in U.S. economic stimulus funds were handed out to states, universities and companies……. Among the biggest green technology winners in 2009 were LEDs and the components needed to construct a national smart grid. Click here for full story

Waste treatment and renewable energy specialist New Earth Solutions has received a landmark £4 million investment from the Carbon Trust. And, the Dorset-based company has achieved financial close on its latest Mechanical and Biological Treatment (MBT) facility and completed the refinancing of its Sharpness waste treatment facility in Gloucestershire. Click here for full story

The government must take the potential for solar energy seriously and back the "proven" technology if it wants to meet carbon reduction targets, the Renewable Energy Association (REA) has claimed. The trade association has joined global construction products company Kingspan and solar PV manufacturers Romag in calling for the government to recognise the "vital opportunity" for solar photovoltaics to cut into the UK's carbon emissions targets. Click here for full story

UK households are slowly going green and are now spending more than £250 a year on environmentally friendly products such as low-energy lightbulbs and energy- UK households spending more on going green efficient appliances, figures suggested today (11 December). The Co-operative bank's annual Ethical consumerism report showed that expenditure on green products and services topped £6.4bn in 2008. Click here for full story

Tim Scott, chairman and founder of clean technology group ENER-G, has won high praise from a parliamentary and industry campaign for green energy. Tim was highly commended for his ‘Outstanding contribution to sustainable energy’ at the Associate Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group (PRASEG) awards. He received his commendation from Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Hunt. Click here for full story

The European Union Energy Council this week reached an agreement on the new Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Under the agreement any new European building will have to be close to energy neutral by 2020, meaning that a very large share of energy consumption in new buildings will be provided by renewable energy. Click here for full story

The Port of Tyne has signed a £16 million deal with local energy company Drax Power Ltd to store and handle up to 1.4 million tonnes of biomass a year for future use at a power station in North Yorkshire. Click here for full story

Renewable Energy Generation, the AIM listed natural energy group, has signed a five year contract with the Port of Dover to supply electricity and heat from its biofuel-fired combined heat and power system at the port. Click here for full story

Ground pumps could help UK meet renewable energy targets by 2020, Environment Agency report says…… Renewable technology that uses energy stored in the ground to heat buildings and provide hot water could be installed in hundreds of thousands of homes and offices by the end of the next decade, a report said today (8 December). There are currently around 8,000 ground-source heat pumps systems in the UK – far fewer than in other European countries, such as Sweden, although the market is expanding rapidly and doubled last year, the Environment Agency report said. Click here for full story

Britain's biggest water company lifted the lid on Monday on how it slashed costs by burning customers' faeces to make electricity. Thames Water said "poo power" saved them £15-million last year by generating renewable energy from the foulest of sources. The company, which handles the waste of 13.6 million people in London and the River Thames valley, said it had met 14 percent of its energy needs by either burning sewage or methane derived from it in 2008-2009. Click here for full story

The UK's solar energy industry is facing another funding void after it emerged that the main funding scheme for supporting installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels by businesses has run out of money for the second time this year. According to the Renewable Energy Association (REA), funds for solar PV projects under phase two of the government's Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) have "run dry", leaving the industry facing a major funding gap between now and next March when the Clean Energy Cashback feed-in tariff scheme is to come into effect. Click here for full story

Following the publication of the Government’s response to their recent consultation on smart metering, ScottishPower has announced that it intends to increase the number of devices it installs in customers homes as it prepares for a full roll-out of the new technology - expected to commence in 2012. Over the next two years, the company plans to increase its trial and install an additional 100,000 plus smart meters, which are designed to help reduce bills and cut carbon emissions. Click here for full story

Smart meters will be rolled out through energy suppliers to every home by the end of 2020 under final plans published today by Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Hunt. A paper setting out the case for developing smart grids in the UK is also being published. Click here for full story

Ofgem is to play a key role in introducing smart meters, following the decision today by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to roll-out smart meters to all 26 million households and small businesses, in Britain, by 2020. Click here for full story

Plans for smart meters for millions of homes are expected to be unveiled even though trials suggest the £8bn scheme may help people save just £28 a year. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will make an announcement later on proposals to have the energy saving meters installed in every UK household. Click here for full story

Tariffs should be scrapped for 'green goods' like solar powered stoves, water saving showers and wind turbine parts, Gareth Thomas argued today (1 December). Speaking at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva, the Minister for Trade and Development said the move would encourage the widespread use of environmentally-friendly low-carbon products. At present, applied tariffs on these products can be as high as 27 per cent. Click here for full story

The cost of installing and owning solar panels will fall even faster than expected according to new research. Tests show that 90% of existing solar panels last for 30 years, instead of the predicted 20 years. According to the independent EU Energy Institute, this brings down the lifetime cost. Click here for full story

The inaugural Smart Energy Show opens at Wembley Stadium today (1 December). Full programme online and registration on arrival. Both the conference and exhibition are free of charge to attend.
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Local authorities are being encouraged to focus on issues like renewable energy in order to lower the carbon emissions produced in the UK. The recent Local Action on Climate Change Summit, which was backed by Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, saw the government’s communities secretary John Denham make a number of points concerning climate change. Click here for full story

Sainsbury’s has teamed up with EDF Energy to open energy centres in three stores as part of a trial to sell energy saving products. The Home Energy Centres will sell solar panels, heat pumps, and other environmentally friendly technologies. Click here for full story

On first appearances, the tiny Stirlingshire village of Fintry might seem an unlikely location to draw a front line in the battle against man-made climate change. Like many settlements, Fintry's success was defined by it's natural resources, with the Endrick Water providing employment for many working the village cotton mill in the 1790s….. Fintry's residents have become visionaries in the quest for sustainable energy at affordable prices…. When a commercial developer unveiled plans for a wind farm near the community in 2003, villager embraced the proposals as an opportunity to change things. Click here for full story

Small-scale renewable energy could provide 6% of Britain's electricity needs – equivalent to more than two Sizewell B nuclear stations or the Drax coal-fired plant – by 2020 if the government improves the terms of a new deal for producers due to be launched next April, Friends of the Earth says today (30 November). Click here for full story

The Government should introduce local carbon budgets to help ensure that councils play their part in tackling climate change, Friends of the Earth campaigners have urged. The call coincides with today's (26 November) speech by Local Government Secretary John Denham who called on local councils to "lead the way" in helping Britain meet its climate change commitments to drive down carbon emissions. Click here for full story

The importance of combined heat and power (CHP) and district heating in helping secure reductions in C02 emissions, across the public sector and wider economy, has been outlined by a cross party group of leading politicians at the Combined Heat and Power (CHPA) Annual Conference. Energy Minister, Lord Hunt, reinforced the importance of CHP to Government. Click here for full story

Heineken, a UK-based producer of beer and cider beverages, has launched new biomass plant at Royal Brewery in Manchester on November 19, 2009. The investment in this biomass plant and a second biomass plant at its John Smith’s Brewery in Tadcaster is approximately GBP35m (GBP17.5m for each plant). Click here for full story

Bioenergy infrastructure grants of £1.5 million are now available to farmers, foresters and local authorities to help develop the supply of biomass, such as wood chips or energy crops like miscanthus, in England through round three of the Bioenergy Infrastructure Scheme. Click here for full story

The UK is "still wearing blindfolds" when it comes to maximising renewable heat, it was claimed yesterday. Speaking at the Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA) conference in London yesterday (November 26), Anthony Grimshaw, technical director of ENERGOS, said financial incentives and the "bankability" of heat had to improve if the country was to take advantage of heat lost during electricity production. Click here for full story

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and Partnerships for Renewables are working together to investigate the possibility of siting wind turbines at North Sea Camp Prison, on the south-eastern coast of Lincolnshire. At this stage of the investigation, it is believed that the HMP North Sea Camp site could potentially host four wind turbines with a generation capacity of between two and three megawatts (MW) each and a tip height of up to 130 metres. These would be capable of generating enough green energy to meet the annual energy requirements of around 4,600 households. Click here for full story