Solar Strategy: DCLG Consultation could tackle a barrier to deployment

newdclgSolar Trade Association (STA) has welcomed moves promised in the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) recent Solar Strategy to extend permitted development to all non-domestic roof-top solar PV schemes up to 1MW in size.

The proposal is contained in a newly published consultation by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on technical planning issues. Currently, planning permission is not required for solar schemes of up to 50kW in size, in most circumstances. If the move is successful, this would mean that schemes 20 times this would not need planning permission in most circumstances.

250kW – 1MW roof top schemes are highly cost effective, requiring less support than many centralised technologies. They are also exceptionally efficient providing daytime power when it is needed, at the point of use. There is frustration in the solar sector that, despite political rhetoric in support of the large roof-top sector, this is not matched by the policy framework. As a result, just 65MW of roof top solar PV schemes in the 50kW – 5MW band were built from June 2013 – June 2014. This amounts to just a handful of large roof-top solar PV schemes each year. For example, the Bentley car factory roof is 5MW in size.

STA chief executive, Paul Barwell, said:

“We are pleased to see government is taking an important step to help deliver the strong solar PV roof-top market set out as a key objective in the Solar Strategy. We very much welcome this move. Solar power enjoys the highest levels of public support and it is an attractive addition to many warehouses, supermarkets and commercial buildings.

However, the very poor levels of large roof-top deployment show that much more needs to be done to put the promised ‘rocket boosters’ under this market. Larger roof-top schemes still face more deployment risks than they should and they risk being deprived of resources even when they are highly cost-effective. We will continue to press DECC to comprehensively tackle the barriers to its roof-top revolution set out in its Solar Strategy.”

There is a wide range of reasons for the failure of the mid/large solar PV roof-top market in the UK, including the commercial EPC D requirement and the rapid degression time for Feed-In Tariffs scheme – this makes it hard to confidently stack up finance for larger projects, which take longer to plan and install. Having to wait for planning permission adds to these risks and is one factor in deterring investment. The STA has been highly proactive in defining 15 barriers to roof top deployment, many of which are reflected in DECC’s Solar Strategy.

The DCLG consultation is focussed on solar power. However, the STA is also keen to see permitted development for larger solar thermal schemes too.

 

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Housing Construction has its sharpest rise since November 2003

ukconstructionThe seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) registered 62.4 in July, down slightly from 62.6 in June but above the neutral 50.0 mark for the 15th successive month.

Moreover, the latest expansion of overall construction activity was one of the fastest seen since the summer of 2007.

Anecdotal evidence widely cited resurgent demand for construction projects, especially in the housing sector.

July data signalled the steepest rise in residential building activity since November 2003, which survey respondents attributed to favourable funding conditions and strong demand for new housing starts. Civil engineering activity also expanded at a sharper pace in July, but commercial construction increased at a slower rate than one month previously.

Higher levels of construction output were supported by a further steep improvement in new business intakes during July. New orders have increased in each month since May 2013, and survey respondents linked the latest expansion to favourable domestic economic conditions and greater confidence among clients. The rate of job creation across the construction sector was the fastest since the survey began in April 1997.

Anecdotal evidence attributed rising payroll numbers to increased workloads and ongoing efforts to boost capacity. In some cases, survey respondents noted that staffing levels had been increased in response to concerns about sub-contractor availability. The latest survey indicated a reduction in sub-contractor availability for the 13th month running, while rates charged by sub-contractors increased at a near survey record pace.

Construction companies indicated another steep increase in purchasing activity during July, thereby extending the current period of expansion to 14 months. Strong demand for construction materials in turn placed additional pressure on suppliers during July, as highlighted by a steep lengthening of vendors’ delivery times. Survey respondents widely commented on low stocks and capacity shortages at suppliers. Meanwhile, average cost burdens increased sharply in July, with the pace of input price inflation easing only slightly from June’s six-month high.

Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit and author of the Markit/CIPS Construction PMI, said:

“July’s figures suggest the UK construction sector is enjoying its strongest cyclical upswing since the global financial crisis, while a new record rise in employment highlights that construction firms are increasingly confident about the sustainability of the upturn.

“All three core categories of construction activity saw historically steep improvements in output levels through July, unsurprisingly led by a resurgent house building sector.

“Overall the survey adds to the view that construction companies have performed impressively so far this summer, which raises the likelihood that the sands of time could wash away the construction weakness seen in the preliminary second quarter GDP release.”

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Ideal Boilers call for a life-saving new law

shaunedwardsidealboilersIdeal Boilers are supporting a campaign to help change the current law on carbon monoxide (CO) alarms, in an attempt to stop needless deaths from the poisonous gas.

Honeywell and Plumb Center, the companies which are leading the campaign, are calling for CO alarms to be mandatory when any carbon burning appliance is present in England and Wales. The law has already in motion in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

An approximate 40 people per year die from accidental CO poisoning in England and Wales, there have been around 4,000 taken to hospital due to symptoms of the poisoning, which may lead to things like brain damage and strokes, according to the Health and Safety Executive. The true amount of deaths may be much higher than recorded because CO levels are not normally checked during post mortems in the country.

The campaign has launched an e-petition (online petition) with government and the aim is to secure 100,000 names in order to force a debate within The House of Commons.

Shaun Edwards, managing director of Ideal, said:

 “Ideal Boilers is very happy to give its support to this critical campaign, one death from CO poisoning, is one too many.

“We work tirelessly to ensure the quality of every boiler we produce because customer safety is paramount. It is also vital that every carbon-burning appliance is regularly serviced and maintained to ensure its safety.

“However, a CO alarm is a critical second line of defence and we would urge all installers to go to: www.no-to-co.co.uk and pledge their support and ask their customers to do the same. We need to make this happen.

“We would also call on installers to recommend a CO alarm, whether it’s the law or not. It’s a small price to pay to secure a family’s safety.”

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Keltbray reports best-ever turnover

keltbrayKeltbray has announced the best-ever performance in the company’s 38-year history.

It reported a 15% increase in turnover for the financial year ending 31 October 2013, up from £126m to £145m. Gross profit improved by 29%, and operating profit remained stable at £2.6m. The group’s cash position improved to £4m in hand by year end.

Chief executive officer, Brendan Kerr said:

“We expect to continue to stay ahead of the construction market recovery by growing the business in excess of 20% in 2014 based on our good pipeline of work,”

“Our challenge for 2014 and 2015 will be to meet the widely reported skills shortages in our industry by widening the talent pool and continuing to build on our track record of attracting young people to Keltbray by offering good prospects, job security and a range of training and development opportunities.”

Keltbray’s Demolition & Civil Engineering division, which covers about 66% of the business  and includes piling, asbestos management, engineering design consultancy as well as haulage and plant increased turnover by 12%. Contract wins include regeneration projects at the Heygate Estate in London for Lend Lease, and major residential development for Qatari Diar at Chelsea Barracks.

The Rail division, which covers about 30% of the business and includes overhead line electrification design and build as well as rail engineering and civils projects, grew by 24% and was responsible for the company’s biggest turnover increase. Keltbray became the delivery partner for ABC Electrification and Costain to work on a seven-year rail electrification framework contract, which is expected to provide workloads until 2021.

Kerr said:

“I am pleased about the continued strengthening of our performance and our consistent improvements in turnover growth and maintenance of operating margins. To meet increasing market demands, we invested a record £9 million in new plant and assets in 2013. We also bolstered our human resources and training functions to manage our future skills and labour requirements effectively.”

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Caple lends support to a leading UK science centre

capleCaple has joined forces with At-Bristol, one of the UK’s biggest and interactive science centres, to sponsor the kitchen for its new exhibition Food!, which is aimed at inspiring visitors to engage with food.

Caple sales director Danny Lay said:

“When At-Bristol approached us to discuss the opportunity to sponsor their Food! exhibition kitchen, we jumped at the chance. We are delighted to provide our support to such a worthwhile organisation, which is not only aimed at educating young visitors on the food they eat but challenges their perceptions and encourages interaction in a fun way.”

Caple has donated a selection of appliances to kit out the entire working kitchen. These include CE1105 ceiling cooker hoods, fridge-freezers including the CAFF205SS with ice dispenser (seen here), the energy efficient Di628 dishwasher, the C2214 oven and the WMD2954 warming drawer.

The appliances will be used by the At-Bristol team for drop-in cooking demo sessions for families with children aged five and over and school groups for a selection of innovative classes from making ice-cream using liquid nitrogen to pressing sunflower seeds to make oil.

Zoë Fox, the pr manager for At-Bristol, said:

“As a charity, receiving donations from companies like Caple is integral to the work we do. We needed suitable appliances for the job to withstand the amount of people using the kitchen over the coming years and the Caple range does just that as well as enhancing the kitchen space to create a welcoming and professional backdrop to this new, exciting interactive space.”

The kitchen opened to the public last week – for more information visit the website on www.at-bristol.org.uk

www.caple.co.uk

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