Quick, £20,000 up for grabs for community projects
As part of the government’s new Low Carbon Transition Plan the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) are handing out funding for green community projects. Projects aimed at reducing community carbon emissions and clean energy sources can apply for up to £20,000 in grants, along with expert support and advice from NESTA for these projects.
The funding is an add on to the Big Green Challenge competition that will see £1 million worth of support for 10 finalists and their emission reducing plans. The DECC have been so impressed with the quality of the applicants they have now extended the offer to a further 17 projects.
“Local solutions to the global problem of climate change are vital if we are to make the shift to a low-carbon future. Yesterday we set out how the Government will achieve this in our UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, but we also need the support of householders and communities across the nation. The winners of Big Green Challenge Plus provide an example of the grassroots action we need to encourage in order to meet our goals… We want to support people in their efforts so they can reap the benefits of cleaner energy, a better quality of life, and stronger, cohesive communities.” Said Ed Miliband, Energy and Climate Change Secretary.
As well as funding NESTA will provide 10 days of business advice, one on one project management support, free workshops and assistance from University of East Anglia’s Low Carbon Innovation Centre on how to monitor emissions reductions.
Go for it. http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=404902&SubjectId=15&DepartmentMode=true
Greener Homes Campaign
Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud is on a mission that we like. The TV presenter has launched the Great British Refurb Campaign that calls upon the government to concentrate on reducing emissions of existing homes rather than building new ones. Backed by WWF-UK, the Energy Saving Trust, and the UK Green Building Council the campaign estimates that by retrofitting existing houses 9 million tonnes of CO2 can be saved every year. And the changes can be simple – insulation, energy efficiency, double glazing etc.
Kevin McCloud demonstrated outside the houses of parliament last week by building a sustainable mock house as seen in this video:
The Good Energy Shop is all in favour of regulations on making new buildings more sustainable and energy efficient, but this measure alone is not enough. New buildings only make up a small fraction of the total in the UK, so the real win will be to fix the current heat-leaking, energy-sapping homes already built.
Support the scheme here. http://www.greatbritishrefurb.co.uk/
Great new sites worth checking out
Here’s a great article by the outspoken Jeff Yeager, author of The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches, about imaginative ways to re-use plastic bottles. There are certainly some unexpected ones in there - http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_cheapskate/27/fun-ways-to-reuse-plastic-soda-bottles-and-save-money-too.html
In a similar theme a new site called There, I fixed it, promotes some crazy examples of fixing things instead of throwing them away and buying new. Again there are some hilarious ideas, and some pretty unsafe looking ones at that – Good Energy accepts no responsibility if you try these at home!
As part of the government’s new Low Carbon Transition Plan the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) are handing out funding for green community projects. Projects aimed at reducing community carbon emissions and clean energy sources can apply for up to £20,000 in grants, along with expert support and advice from NESTA for these projects.
The funding is an add on to the Big Green Challenge competition that will see £1 million worth of support for 10 finalists and their emission reducing plans. The DECC have been so impressed with the quality of the applicants they have now extended the offer to a further 17 projects.
“Local solutions to the global problem of climate change are vital if we are to make the shift to a low-carbon future. Yesterday we set out how the Government will achieve this in our UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, but we also need the support of householders and communities across the nation. The winners of Big Green Challenge Plus provide an example of the grassroots action we need to encourage in order to meet our goals… We want to support people in their efforts so they can reap the benefits of cleaner energy, a better quality of life, and stronger, cohesive communities.” Said Ed Miliband, Energy and Climate Change Secretary.
As well as funding NESTA will provide 10 days of business advice, one on one project management support, free workshops and assistance from University of East Anglia’s Low Carbon Innovation Centre on how to monitor emissions reductions.
Go for it. http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=404902&SubjectId=15&DepartmentMode=true
Greener Homes Campaign
Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud is on a mission that we like. The TV presenter has launched the Great British Refurb Campaign that calls upon the government to concentrate on reducing emissions of existing homes rather than building new ones. Backed by WWF-UK, the Energy Saving Trust, and the UK Green Building Council the campaign estimates that by retrofitting existing houses 9 million tonnes of CO2 can be saved every year. And the changes can be simple – insulation, energy efficiency, double glazing etc.
Kevin McCloud demonstrated outside the houses of parliament last week by building a sustainable mock house as seen in this video:
The Good Energy Shop is all in favour of regulations on making new buildings more sustainable and energy efficient, but this measure alone is not enough. New buildings only make up a small fraction of the total in the UK, so the real win will be to fix the current heat-leaking, energy-sapping homes already built.
Support the scheme here. http://www.greatbritishrefurb.co.uk/
Great new sites worth checking out
Here’s a great article by the outspoken Jeff Yeager, author of The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches, about imaginative ways to re-use plastic bottles. There are certainly some unexpected ones in there - http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_cheapskate/27/fun-ways-to-reuse-plastic-soda-bottles-and-save-money-too.html
In a similar theme a new site called There, I fixed it, promotes some crazy examples of fixing things instead of throwing them away and buying new. Again there are some hilarious ideas, and some pretty unsafe looking ones at that – Good Energy accepts no responsibility if you try these at home!
