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We attended the Build East Sussex event on Tuesday. A much better event, lots of new participants and a much more upbeat feeling. This seems to echo the increases in work that we are seeing. Hopefully 2012 will be a much better year!
I would be interested to know whether anyone else is seeing an upturn in work?
Geo-Environmental are proud to be a part of Albion in the Communities want to work scheme. We are one of the founding companies participating in this event, attending the formal launch of the scheme on the 10th November 2011 and also the formal event on January 25th 2012 in the Houses of Parliament, hosted by Caroline Lucas MP.
Want to work is a new scheme run by Albion in the Community that has the aim of getting unemployed people a chance in experiencing a working environment, but also having an opportunity to impress an employer and perhaps gain a longer term contract or ideally a full-time role.
As part of our commitment we are looking to take on a new member of staff who will support the continued modernisation of our office. This will be a great opportunity for someone seeking work to get a start, but it is also a great opportunity for Geo-Environmental to get new and enthusiastic people involved with our business.
Want to work is just a part of our commitment towards supporting the community and developing talent. We sponsor all of a staff in getting and MSc in Contaminated Land and are currently providing placement work to students studying at Brighton University. With our support of Varndean College as well, Geo-Environmental is happy to support and nurture talent from school leavers upwards across the Sussex and Hampshire regions.
Two interesting stories related to renewables, firstly 43% of people fear not being able to pay the next fuel bill http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=dnl&id=21679. Renewables could be the answer, however the following story stating that Green Energy can Increase your Bills http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx. Buyers take care to ensure that your green deal doesn’t become a green disappointment and ensure that your project is feasible before you go ahead.
As part of our service we advise where building improvements need to be made before you install a renewable energy solution, ensuring that you undertake the building improvements that will be most effective in reducing your energy costs and CO2 emissions
Have a look at this article, I disagree with it on a number of points, but I will let you decide for yourselves –
The consultation exercises for the new Flood and Water Management Act 2010 are currently underway for the automatic adoption arrangements for new foul sewers and lateral drains and National Build Standards for gravity foul sewers and lateral drains in England, as well as proposals to implement the requirements for sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in new and redeveloped sites in England, which are provided for in Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act (2010).
There are a couple of interesting points in proposals to the act that may need to be taken into consideration both now and in the future on new build and rennovation projects:
If anyone has any other information and views we would be very happy to hear them.
The news that the first two applicants of the RHI have been revealed should hopefully start to get people thinking that they too can reap the benefits of low carbon heat and power.
For too long the focus has been on generating electricity, however, as a majority of your energy expenditure comes from heat and hot water, and in some cases cooling, this strategy seems to have ignored the opportunities that could have been taken to gain long-term energy security and vastly reduced carbon emissions from the range of solutions; Ground source and air source heat pumps, biomass, etc, that could meet this need.
Whilst this won’t be an instant game changer for the industry, it is a very positive step forward. Hopefully it will be the start in encouraging a much more sustainable approach to heating our homes and businesses.
If you want to know more, check out the story on http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=dnl&id=21636
Schools could save enough money to fund a newly qualified teacher if they install energy efficiency measures, according to the Carbon Trust. UK schools account for over half of local authorities’ carbon emissions, with a total £543 million annual energy bill, of which as much as £135m could be saved through simple cost-effective measures typically paying back in less than 3 years.
For the full story click on http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=dnl&id=21093
http://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/PDF/GEHO0311BTPA-E-E.pdf
According to the main environmental risks associated with GSHC schemes are listed below.
Open loop systems present the following additional environmental risks:
In extreme cases the Environment Agency could ask you to decommission the system and that would be very expensive.
The good news is that these problems can be prevented if you get a feasibility report prior to installation. We can advise you of any potential contamination risks from your proposed heat pump installation and ensure that the only hot water you get into is your bath, rather than the environment agency!
The best advice we can give is to always check out the conditions of both the ground and your building before you commit to spending any money. It could save you an awful lot of money and trouble in the long term.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14965099
The BBC question whether we can afford to be green. The article seems to infer that we have a choice between large scale renewables projects, such as wind farms and nuclear power. As the article appears on the BBC’s politics pages, you would have thought that they would be familiar with the fact that there can sometimes be a “third way”.
In this case, the third way not mentioned is micro-generation, which could have a major role to play in contributing towards protecting our energy security, with the added benefits of reducing carbon emissions and saving money in the long-term.
In the report a homeowner was interviewed who was living in fuel poverty, with bills of approximately £2,500/year. She had already insulated her house to a high level, but the cost of the recent gas and electric rises where becoming unaffordable. As energy prices are likely to continue to rise this problem is only likely to get worse.
I believe that the homeowner has other options. A well fitted and designed micro-generation system will put you in charge of your own energy and heating production, dramatically reducing your energy bills. It is possible to get loans and leasing options for installing renewable energy systems, you pay a reduced rate of VAT and in some cases grants are available from the Government.
Therefore it could be possible to get a loan to support the installation and you would still have lower outgoings than you previously had on your energy bills, with the knowledge that when the loan was paid off your annual energy bill would be hundreds of pounds rather than thousands of pounds.
So whilst I wouldn’t be too happy either about my gas and electric bills rising to support the building of wind farms or a nuclear power station, I know that there is something that you can do about that to put energy security back into your own hands.
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Geo-Environmental Sciences
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