Join the OEREA group on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=4281771
The OEREA Discussion page is designed for OEs to promote their work, involvement or other general issues occurring within the renewable sector. This stands as a communication platform and all posts can be viewed by anyone who accesses the site.
To contact individual members, please refer to the Members page. This is password protected and you will be required to register as a member of the OEREA in order to gain access.
The Old Etonian Environment, Energy & Sustainability Society (OEEESs) 
Clean and Energy Efficient Production Event 27th March 2012
http://www.2degreesnetwork.com/groups/energy-management/resources/clean-and-energy-efficient-production-event-27th-march-2012/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=2degrees&utm_campaign=1189765_UKTI+CEEP+event&utm_content=Register&dm_i=3QG,PI11,7PVY6,220FY,1
UKTI international delegation is now looking for clean and energy efficient production solutions. Don’t miss out on opportunity to export your technologies to overseas manufacturers at this key event in London.
UKTI is hosting a group of international delegates seeking clean and energy efficient production solutions from India, China and Russia, who are interested in buying equipment and services to help them reduce energy, water and waste.
This is a great opportunity to meet with UKTI Commercial Officers from China, India and Russia plus Argentina, Australia, Austria, Germany, Hungary and Poland who can help you promote your technology in these markets.
Green Business Entrepreneurs open letter to Ed Davey:
6 February, 2012
Rt. Hon. Ed Davey
Secretary of State
Department for Energy and Climate Change
3 Whitehall Place
London, SW1A 2AW
Dear Secretary of State
5 Point Plan: Clarity, Confidence and Continuity
Congratulations on your promotion to Secretary of State for DECC. We, the undersigned green business entrepreneurs, request greater clarity, confidence and continuity from DECC’s policies. In particular;
1. We ask that you put clean energy and combating climate change at the top of your agenda. We ask that you communicate that long-term value is provided by renewable energy which is falling fast in price while the costs of fossil fuels are rising. The long-term health and competitiveness of the UK economy depends on breaking our dependence on fossil fuels. Germany has already reached grid parity or equal prices and Denmark, Sweden and Iceland are competing to be the first European country to be fossil fuel free.
2. We ask that you support mandatory carbon reporting and create a plan for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.
3. We ask that you adopt the ‘polluter pays principle’ by incentivising clean purchasing behaviour with ‘green incentives’ while collecting ‘pollution taxes’. The oxymoronic language of ‘green taxes’ confuses the public that renewable energy will continue to add costs to consumer bills while the converse is the case – renewable energy will actually reduce consumer bills.
4. We ask that you stimulate green jobs and communicate a more compelling narrative that UK competitive advantage lies in creating a “sustainable green economy”.
5. We ask you to lobby all other government departments not to abandon the Coalition’s promise of the ‘greenest government ever’, to lead by example, and to do all in your power to enable the private sector to deliver on ‘the greenest country ever’.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to support this urgent need for change.
Yours Sincerely,
James Cameron
Co-Founder, Climate Change Capital
Ben Goldsmith
Co-Founder and Partner, Wheb Group
Dale Vince
Founder, Ecotricity
Eddie O’Connor
Founder, Mainstream Renewable Power
Jeremy Leggett
Founder, Solar Century
Charles Perry
Co-Founder, SecondNature
Very pleasing that the judges’ threw out DECC’s appeal yesterday! Hope we can all move forward now.
Solar legal decision – fresh blow to Chris Huhne
http://blogs.ft.com/westminster/2012/01/solar-legal-decision-fresh-blow-to-chris-huhne/#axzz1kTkuX3bV
FT.com
“DECC now needs to look at itself in the mirror and raise its game to enable the private sector to deliver on greenest country ever,” said Charles Perry, …
The good news was that we won the Judicial Review on Solar before Christmas – which was led superbly by 2 Old Harrovians! But DECC has appealed which continues the uncertainty! Edmund Robb, the leading barrister, tells me DECC are highly unlikely to win the appeal and that the FiT currently continues to be 43p rather than 21p.
See article just out:
Solar feed-in tariff confusion continues as DECC prepares appeal
Industry remains in dark over feed-in tariff rates after Climate Minister Greg Barker confirms appeal against High Court ruling
By Jessica Shankleman
03 Jan 2012
The government is preparing to appeal a High Court decision that branded its plans to rush through cuts to solar tariff payments as “legally flawed”, leaving the industry in the dark over the current level of incentives for new solar installations.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will tomorrow file an appeal against last month’s ruling by Mr Justice Mitting, who said it would be illegal for the government’s proposed cuts to have an “effective date” of 12 December, two weeks before the consultation officially ended on 23 December.
Mitting said DECC had until 4 January to request an appeal, but warned any appeal would have limited chances of success.
Climate Minister Greg Barker today confirmed on Twitter that his department would meet the appeal deadline, reiterating that the government remains committed to halving the level of incentives available for solar installations to ensure the scheme does not exceed its budget.
“Budget means 4 every 1 new taker @ 43p, 2 homes won’t get it at 21p,” he wrote.
However, David Hunt, sales and marketing executive at EcoEnvironments, asked Barker what he should tell consumers today given it remains unclear whether new installations completed after 12 December will enjoy the current feed-in tariff rate of 43p per kWh or will see payments cut to 21p per kWh from April as the government had originally proposed.
Barker responded: “Clearly court case prolongs uncertainty but many installers r telling us @ 21p solar pv still makes sense for right home.”
He also confirmed that a second consultation will be published this month including proposals for new tariffs for non-PV technologies.
Howard Johns of the Cut Don’t Kill campaign said DECC’s request for an appeal means that the current feed-in tariff rates are unknown.
“So we are in limbo,” he wrote in a blog posting. “In theory we are back to square one with the rates back to what they were pre 12 December. However, we will not be able to say that unless the government is not granted an appeal or loses an appeal hearing.”
He predicted that if the government wins the appeal it could reinstate the 12 December reference date. But if it loses, then the old feed-in tariff rates are likely to remain in place until at least mid-February.
DECC has consistently warned that delaying the proposed cuts to incentives could result in the feed-in tariff scheme exceeding its spending cap – a scenario that some solar industry insiders fear will result in deeper cuts to incentives from April.
The government had even warned that the scheme could exceed its spending cap by April this year if changes are not brought into effect quickly. It now remains unclear if Mitting’s ruling will result in the scheme going bust.
There was further confusion after a document published by DECC last week appeared to suggest it had delayed the cuts to 1 April.
Under the initial proposals all new solar PV installations with an eligibility date on or after 12 December 2011 would recieve the higher tariff before downgrading to the lower tariffs on 1 April 2012.
However, the First Progress Report on the Promotion and Use of Energy from Renewable Sources for the United Kingdom published on Thursday, said that “following [a consultation on 31st October 2011] new solar PV tariffs for smaller-scale installations are proposed to be implemented from 1st April 2012”.
A DECC spokeswoman told BusinessGreen that it was still hoping to ensure the cuts applied to any project completed after 12 December, with the full changes coming into effect on 1 April 2012.
Charles Perry, co-founder and partner of consultancy SecondNature, which supported the legal action, told BusinessGreen that the confusion surrounding the consultation had undermined corporate confidence in the feed-in tariff policy and had resulted in a number of potential solar installations being delayed.
“In opposition the Conservatives promised the three Cs: confidence, clarity and continuity,” he said. “DECC must learn from the outcome of the judicial review and improve on all three.”
Solar Petition – please sign on with James Beard at REA and forward to contacts.
jbeard@r-e-a.net
Dear PM & DPM
Please Act Immediately to Secure our Solar Industry
Yesterday the Tariff levels for solar power were cut 50% at 6 weeks’ notice and before the close of any consultation. Your ministers have signed off proposals which they anticipate could see the sector reduced to a tenth of its current size, at the cost of tens of thousands of jobs.
Failure to secure a sensible solution to the unfolding crisis in the solar power industry makes no sense for tax-payers, consumers or voters;
• With stable support, this game-changing technology can deliver subsidy-free green power shortly after this Parliament, empowering consumers and transforming competition in the electricity sector.
• The solar industry will contribute an estimated £276 million to HMT in VAT and employment taxes this year – more than the FIT scheme costs.
• You committed specifically in your Coalition Agreement to increasing opportunities for communities to generate renewable power.
• Allowing the solar sector to collapse will waste both public investment to date and the opportunity to strengthen the UK’s position in this vital global industry.
We urge you to intervene and secure sufficient budget (or budget flexibility) to sustain the companies and jobs you have created in the solar power sector until the end of this Parliament.
Solar power is the UK’s second largest renewable energy resource and the industry has delivered exceptional cost reductions of 30-40% since the start of the FIT scheme. Yet crucial decisions are being taken now without DECC reappraising solar’s potential in the light of this striking industry development. If the UK is to prosper, decision-making must be based on current data and a clear understanding of benefits – we urge you to ensure this happens.
It is clear to us the UK cannot afford to go backwards on solar power.
Yours sincerely
Leonie Greene
Head of External Affairs
lgreene@r-e-a.net
Renewable Energy Association
Capital Tower
91 Waterloo Road
London SE1 8RT
Tel +44 (0)20 7925 3570
Fax +44 (0)20 7925 2715
Mob +44 (0)7932 720091
Web: http://www.r-e-a.net
drinks at burlington went well.
Five attendees.
sat outside and put the renewable world to rights.
result – we asked Michael Liebreich to speak at next seminar due to take place in late april.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-liebreich/26/8b0/47a