Welcome to the central hub for news on how the Government is working to deliver the transition to a low carbon future. This website provides up-to-date news from across Government on the action it is taking to put the UK onto a permanent low carbon footing, whilst simultaneously securing maximum economic benefit.
Although comments on the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy: A Vision are now closed, you can still read about the vision and view the comments made.
Social housing across the UK will be retrofitted with new, innovative technologies to reduce energy consumption as part of a £17m trial.
The project, called Retrofit for the Future, is being led by the Government-funded Technology Strategy Board (TSB).
Understanding and implementing best practice retrofitting is key to meeting the government’s CO2 reduction target of 80% by 2050. The results of the projects will be shared to help show how the UK’s current housing stock could be made more energy efficient.
Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson said:
“Innovative businesses have a crucial role to play in the low-carbon economy. This £17 million investment by Government will give companies the chance to grab a share of the significant potential retrofit market.”
Housing Minister John Healey, said:
“New homes are 40 per cent more energy efficient now compared to 2002, but we must and can do more. Today’s announcement means that many of the homes owned by councils and housing associations – almost a quarter of the UK’s housing stock – will be made-over using innovative ideas from the competition. This will make them warmer, greener and cheaper to run. “
David Bott, Director of Innovation Programmes, Technology Strategy Board added:
“At least 60% of the houses we’ll be living in by 2050 have already been built. So it is critical that we look at ways to dramatically improve the performance of our existing housing stock. Retrofit for the Future provides the testbeds we need to ensure the development of long term, mass solutions. This initiative has seen the retrofit market come together, with social landlords, local councils, architects and other specialist suppliers developing a range of high perfomance and cost effective prototype solutions.”
Read the TSB press notice here
High resolution images of Lord Drayson’s visit to a retrofitted house in Eltham, London, can be viewed at the BIS Flickr album here. They are available for re-use by media and bloggers under Crown Copyright.
The Government today announced the roll-out of a £30m fund for a network of electric vehicle hubs – called Plugged-In Places.
The project, lead by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), will see charging infrastructure appearing in:
The first Plugged-In Places were today named today as London, Milton Keynes and the North East; and between them they will be installing over 11,000 vehicle recharging points during the next three years.
A Plug-In Car grant was also announced. Motorists purchasing a new electric vehicle from January 2011 will be eligible for up to £5000.
The Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe (MPSE) to invest £100m in new wind turbine R&D project in the UK.
It is expected to create up to 200 highly skilled jobs and position the UK as a leader in next generation wind turbine technology.
South Wales has been named the UK’s latest Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA), with £6.3m in funding from the University of Glamorgan to commercialise hydrogen energy technology.
It follows yesterday’s announcement of a £19m boost for low carbon vehicle research and development in the Midlands.
Energy Minister Lord Hunt said:
Cleaning up our energy supply and the fuel we use for transport will give the UK the opportunity to develop the low carbon industries of the future. Fuel cells and hydrogen can play a key role in cutting CO2 emissions and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
“Through this boost for hydrogen, innovative businesses like Johnson Matthey are well placed to benefit from the move to low carbon. I congratulate them on their funding award and thank them for this contribution to tackling climate change.”
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said:
“Hydrogen presents exciting opportunities for low carbon energy and we want the UK to be at the forefront. The Government is committed to encouraging and supporting growth through our low carbon industries, skills base and supply chain.”
“That’s why we’re creating this Low Carbon Economic Area for hydrogen energy led by South Wales in close collaboration with the South West.
“These investments in research, infrastructure and commercialisation will help our universities and companies work together to seize the opportunities in hydrogen energy, to benefit the area and the whole of the UK.”
Read the Department for Energy and Climate Change press notice here.
The Midlands has been named the UK’s latest Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA), with Secretary of State for Business Lord Mandelson announcing £19m to make the region a leader in low carbon vehicle research and development.
The region has been designated a Low Carbon Economic Area for Automotive Engineering, which is being led by Advantage West Midlands (AWM) and East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA).
Lord Mandelson said:
“I want to see the Midlands help the UK to lead the global automotive industry in the transition from conventional to low carbon vehicle technologies. The LCEA will send a clear signal to the global market about the Midlands’ strengths in advanced automotive engineering.
“The move towards a low carbon economy presents huge opportunities. This new funding will help secure the Midlands’ 10,000 existing car industry jobs, by helping transform them into the green car jobs of the future.”
Mick Laverty, Chief Executive at Advantage West Midlands, said:
“This is great news and reflects the real strengths of the West and East Midlands regions in automotive manufacturing. Becoming a Low Carbon Economic Area will reinforce our growing reputation as globally competitive regions, which continue to develop cutting-edge green technologies and high technology industries upon which the future prosperity of all UK regions will depend.
Bryan Jackson, Chairman of East Midlands Development Agency (emda), which takes the lead role for manufacturing on behalf of England’s Regional Development Agencies, said:
“Automotive manufacturing is vitally important to the Midlands’ economy and this announcement is fantastic news. The East and West Midlands share a rich industrial heritage and through the Low Carbon Economic Area, we will continue to nurture the innovation of our companies to ensure that we prosper in a new global low carbon economy.
“It means that our automotive businesses will be able to access world class facilities and the expertise of our excellent universities leading to the development of new low carbon transport technologies. In the East Midlands, the Low Carbon Economic Area will link with the work that we are already doing through our unique transport innovation network (iNet) which is driving forward innovations in the transport equipment market.”
Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya KB CBE, Director and Founder of the University of Warwick’s Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) said:
“The car industry is facing huge challenges over the next decade. From emissions, the environment to safety engineering, a new generation of hi-tech but low carbon cars will be required. Today’s announcement is a crucial and most welcome government investment in low carbon automotive engineering which will help companies meet these global needs and provide them with new opportunities to grow as the world emerges from recession.
“The Midlands has a substantial, highly sophisticated, and advanced automotive industry and supply chain. This investment will bring researchers and manufacturers together to ensure that that industry and supply chain not only prospers but plays a leading role in building our low carbon future.”
Ian Austin, Regional Minister for the West Midlands said:
“Advanced automotive engineering and low carbon technologies are extremely important to the future prosperity of the Midlands’ and UK economy.
“Today’s announcement is fantastic news for the two Midlands regions and will provide a huge boost to the competitiveness and innovation of our companies, large and small.”
Phil Hope, Regional Minister for the East Midlands, said:
“Establishing the region as a Low Carbon Economic Area will further strengthen the Midlands’ role at the heart of the UK’s automotive engineering sector.
“By providing the environment for businesses in this sector to develop and implement new, low-carbon ideas, we will ensure that Midlands-based companies remain at the cutting edge of new technologies, creating skilled, green jobs and bringing additional wealth to the region.”
Read the Department for Business Innovation and Skills press notice here.
Photos are from Lord Mandelson’s visit to the University of Warwick. Photo credit: Edward Moss.
The Crown Estate, owner of the UK’s coastal seabed, has granted rights to energy companies that could see an additional 6,400 wind turbines generating 32GW from new sites off the UK coast.
The Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband met The Crown Estate today to announce the deal, which will open up rights to 9 new coastal zones.
The offshore wind industry is worth more than £75bn and could support up to 70,00 cleantech jobs by 2020.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change DECC) and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) also announced grants to support construction of new wind turbine manufacturing facilities in Fife and Teeside.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:
“Our policies in support of offshore wind energy have already put us ahead of every other country in the world. This new round of licences provides a substantial new platform for investing in UK industrial capacity.”
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said:
“Our island has one of the best wind energy resources in Europe and today’s news shows that there’s a huge appetite for capacity to be built here. We now need to make sure we’re poised to harness the potential that appetite brings for business for UK companies and new green jobs. We did it before with oil and gas in the North Sea and we’ll do it again for offshore wind.”
Lord Drayson, Minister for Science & Innovation, said:
“These grants are part of a package of support to ensure the UK – and UK manufacturing in particular – benefits from the innovative market we are creating. The turbines we need have not been designed yet. Our goal is to encourage their design and manufacture on our shores.”
Read the full DECC press notice here.
Pre Budget Report 2009 allocates £50m for wind energy
BMW has provided an all electric, zero emissions MINI E for the Government car pool.
The vehicle was officially handed over to the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers at an event at Number 10 today.
It follows a handover of 40 identical MINI E’s to members of the public, who will trial the cars for one year.
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said:
“The low carbon transport industry will not only cut harmful emissions but has the potential to be a major source of jobs and growth. We have already committed £400 million of support to the sector, encouraging its development and take-up, and I am confident that in future years we will see thousands more electric and other low carbon cars on Britain’s roads.”
Read the BMW press notice here.
For more images, see the Number 10 Flickr album here.
The 2009 Pre Budget Report contained several new announcements to strengthen the UK’s low carbon economy.
SIF Investment
An additional £200m has been allocated for the Government’s Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), which emerging technologies across the UK are using to strengthen their capacity for innovation, job creation and growth. The total SIF investment now stands at £950. Around £150m is for low carbon initiatives. These include:
The 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) is taking place over the next two weeks, 7-18 December, in Copenhagen.
Act on Copenhagen is the official UK government website for activities around Copenhagen. The site features:
Below is a taster from the Act on Cophenhagen site – a timeline showing key events en route to the summit.
You can also follow DECC’s Twitter feed for regular updates during the conference. Other resources include:
Coventry-based electric van maker Modec will form a joint venture with US firm Navistar to build electric trucks for North and South American markets.
Modec is the first company in the world to design and build an electric vehicle from the ground up rather than bolting an electric powertrain onto an existing vehicle.
Earlier this year Modec received a £4m government loan from Advantage West Midlands to support its business plan.
Business Minister Pat McFadden said:
“Companies like Modec are key to the Government’s vision for low carbon manufacturing and helping the UK automotive industry manage the transition from conventional to electric drive technologies. It’s essential that UK companies are at the forefront of these technologies today in order to secure the jobs of tomorrow. Coventry-based UK company designing and building electric commercial vehicles
Press notice
Read the BIS press notice here
Links
Modec: Coventry-based UK company designing and building electric commercial vehicles
Navistar: US-based truck manufacturer
Advantage West Midlands: Regional development agency (RDA) for the West Midlands, sponsored by BIS
