"Merton Rule" becomes law with Royal Assent for Fallon Bill

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The Queen has added her signature to the Planning and Energy Bill - giving councils legal powers to require renewable energy systems for new buildings.

More than 100 local authorities around the country have already adopted the so-called "Merton Rule" - where construction firms advised that they want planning permission, they ought to include facilities for new buildings to generate their own energy.

The new legislation, which became a full Act of Parliament yesterday as its Royal Assent was confirmed, requires councils to set local targets for decentralised energy.

In order to meet those local energy targets, the Bill allows those councils to require developers to include within their plans technologies ranging from wind turbines and solar panels to heat pumps or biomass systems.

Local authorities will be free to require whatever level of renewable energy generation, though it is expected that a 10-15% level could be common.

There is no threshold within the Bill to allow smaller building projects to be exempt - although councils could decide to set such a threshold. Similarly, projects that propose renewable energy components of more than a local energy target level would not be prevented from doing so under the legislation.

Fallon

Sevenoaks MP Michael Fallon put the Bill forward as a Private Members Bill, and told New Energy Focus today that he was pleased it had finally achieved Royal Assent yesterday.

He said: "It's taken a year, including two debates in the House and five meetings with the Department. It's been a lot of hard work, but we managed to get a consensus behind the Bill along with the Liberal Democrats. Ministers changed throughout its progression, but the Bill survived."

It's not necessarily just on-site energy systems, it could also be near-site.

Michael Fallon MP

Mr Fallon said the Bill had only needed "minor" changes to get the government's ultimate approval, considering the consensus backing the project.

He said it was now up to individual councils to decide on what levels of decentralised energy to require new building projects to include. He said: "If you are going for 10% or 15%, it is up to them. It's not necessarily just on-site energy systems, it could also be near-site."

Government

The government's Department for Communities and Local Government said the Planning and Energy Act is tied very closely to its own planning guidance published last year.

A spokesman for the Department told New Energy Focus today: "The Michael Fallon Bill enshrines the Merton principle in law, and the government supported this Bill so we're very pleased it got through.

"We have a Planning Policy Statement on Climate Change that we published last December which contained detailed guidance to local authorities on setting local energy targets. This Bill was complementary to that, making it a legal requirement for councils to set local targets."

Merton

The measures within the Planning and Energy Act have become known as the "Merton Rule" because of the first local authority to adopt planning guidance suggesting developers ought to inclure renewable energy systems in their plans.

The London Borough of Merton set its "Rule" based on the government's 2004 planning guidance, Planning Policy Statement 22, requiring a 10% level of on-site energy generation for local development projects. 

The first project to comply with Merton's target was an industrial development at Willow Lane, Mitcham, which used small wind turbines and solar photopholtaic panels. Neighbouring Croydon became the next council to adopt the 10% target level, with others like North Devon setting slightly higher level of 15%.

Some councils like Richmond are already asking developers to push for even higher levels of renewable energy, of 20% or more, with Kirklees looking to set a 30% target for 2011.

Ultimately, the "Merton Rule" is seen as providing a middle step towards tough new requirements under the building regulations, which will require "zero carbon" domestic buildings from 2016, and commercial buildings from 2019.

http://newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=1939&section=

NYC proposes bike parking rules in new buildings

By KAREN MATTHEWS – Nov 11, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) — Officials are proposing new rules that would greatly expand bicycle parking in apartment and office buildings around the city, the latest step in a plan to make New York one of the most bike-friendly places in the nation.

They believe making bicycle parking more available in buildings will motivate more New Yorkers to cycle to work or perform errands on bike.

Surveys show that the lack of secure bicycle parking prevents New Yorkers from riding bikes. Some people are leery of leaving even locked bikes on the street for fear they will get stolen, and many places restrict people from parking bikes on the sidewalk in front of buildings.

The rules would require one secure bike parking space for every two units in new apartment buildings and one space for every 7,500 square feet in new office buildings.

"It will really transform the culture of the city from a car-oriented city to a bike-oriented city," Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden said.

The rules proposed Monday follow up on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2007 blueprint for a more sustainable city, which includes a push for greater bicycle use.

Transportation officials are doubling the city's bike lanes and expect to have 420 miles in place by June 2009. They also are installing thousands of on-street bike racks.

"We have found that one of the greatest impediments to more biking is the lack of space to store your bike long term at home and at work," Burden said.

Burden said the proposed regulations are comparable to those enacted in bike-friendly cities such as Portland, Ore., and San Francisco. "We have tried to be as aggressive as anyone and more," she said.

The rules would require weather-protected, lockable bike parking spaces at apartment buildings with at least 10 units, commercial office buildings, stores, hospitals, universities and automobile parking garages. They would apply to new buildings, enlargements of 50 percent or more and residential conversions.

Bike advocates hailed the proposal but said they hoped the rules could be broadened.

Elizabeth Kiker, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based League of American Bicyclists, said the league "applauds New York City for answering one of the biggest challenges for cyclists in the city with this progressive set of bike parking requirements. We hope that these will be extended to cover existing buildings in the future."

Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a New York group that promotes cycling and public transportation, said: "Mayor Bloomberg's push for indoor bike parking in the zoning code is an investment in the future. We need to match it with bicycle access to the office buildings of today."

Burden said the rules would not burden developers unduly.

"You can fit 150 bikes in 1,800 square feet," she said. "It's not expensive to build at all."

But Mike Slattery, senior vice president of the Real Estate Board of New York, said some in the real estate industry fear there may not be enough demand for all the bike parking the regulations would require.

"It's driven by the right set of goals," he said. "We just don't want to see space set aside for uses that there's no demand for."

The Planning Commission will vote on the new rules after a public comment period lasting several months. If approved, the regulations will become part of city zoning law.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5imJlY8QsUZi2RKlHorqZi8YSwCYwD94CKMO81

Telegraph.co.uk

MoT energy check for homes proposed

Homes and factories in the future may have to pass an energy efficiency test in the same way that a car has to pass an annual MoT inspection, a government think tank states.

 

By Paul Eccleston 
Last Updated: 4:16PM GMT 25 Nov 2008

Householders and factory owners should face penalties if they fail to cut energy use in their properties, according to the Foresight Programme report.

It might mean an owner being denied property insurance or being unable to sell the building if it fails a compulsory energy inspection which would take place every 1-2 years.

To encourage a stronger take-up of green measures - such as better insulation and more efficient boilers - a package of grants and subsidies should be offered by the Government with the possibility of property tax rebates for those who carry out the work.

"To push households and firms into taking action on this issue it may be necessary to signal a strong intent to impose and enforce mandatory regulation at a given time in the future, say three to five years, if sufficient progress has not been made," the report says.

Foresight, part of the Government Office for Science, was commissioned to look at energy systems in the built environment and to examine the challenges over the next 50 years.

Energy use in homes, factories and offices is responsible for more than 50 per cent of CO2 emissions and the report concludes that this will have to change dramatically if the UK is to meet its legally-binding target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

It says climate change and the need to cut emissions, energy security and tackling fuel poverty - where a household needs to spend more than 10 per cent of income to stay warm - will be the main drivers of energy systems in the future.

The report says that the UK is historically 'locked-in' to old centralised power systems and there needs to be a move towards a greater mix of alternative, sustainable energy - such as wind and solar - produced and managed locally.

Almost 70 per cent of the housing stock that will be used in 2050 has already been built and will need to be retrofitted at a cost-effective price with more energy efficient technologies. People needed to live in 'intelligent' homes filled with the latest energy saving technologies such as smart metering and paint-on insulation.

The report says buildings should be designed to stay cool in hot weather, harnessing water as a natural cooling system and through better use of solar energy while green and blue spaces - parks and stretches of water - could be used to reduce urban heat.

But one of the biggest challenges in shaping future energy systems will be bringing about a change in human behaviour and weaning people off high-energy consumption. People have not yet acted quickly enough in cutting energy use and the benefits and rewards available to them needed to be better explained.

Professor Yvonne Rydin of University College London, who helped compile the report, said: "The current economic situation presents a real opportunity for doing things differently, through different forms of building construction and development and new models for how they are built.

"Companies have to think of new ways to get through this situation. Reducing energy saves money and you have to invest now to get a payback later."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/businessandecology/energyefficiency/3519931/MoT-energy-check-for-homes-proposed.html

'Green' building codes sprout up across USA

By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY

As energy costs rise, more states and cities are adopting policies that encourage or require new construction to be energy-efficient.  This week, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed into law what he called the nation's strictest "green" building codes.

"There's been a huge groundswell in green-building leadership at state and local levels. It's remarkable," says Jason Hartke of the U.S. Green Building Council, a private group that tracks legislation and sets guidelines that become construction industry standards.

Nearly three times as many cities and counties approved green-building policies last year as did four years ago. A record number of states, 14, took such action last year, as compared with one in 2004, according to the council. So far this year, at least eight states and 22 localities have endorsed green policies.  Hartke attributes the trend to higher energy costs and climate-change concerns. Buildings account for 40% of greenhouse-gas emissions, he says.

Many of the measures require new government buildings to meet the council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Others give commercial builders incentives, such as tax breaks and expedited permits. A few policies, such as one in Maryland's Baltimore County, give tax credits to builders for green construction of homes.

San Francisco's ordinance requires that all new construction, including homes, and the renovations of large commercial spaces meet standards for conserving energy and water.  "It requires a mandate in order to get people to do what's in their best interests sometimes," Newsom says.

The National Association of Home Builders opposes mandates, says Carlos Martin, assistant staff vice president. He says they increase costs without the assurance that the money will be recouped in lower energy bills.  Florida, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Oklahoma and South Dakota enacted laws this year requiring that new, large state buildings meet LEED standards.  More than a dozen cities and counties did the same, including Chandler, Ariz.; El Paso; Tampa; Monterey, Calif.; Fairfax County, Va.; and Starkville, Miss.

"We're leading by example," says Lynn Spruill, Starkville's chief administrative officer. "We've got to do something to reduce our negative impact on the environment."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-08-06-Buildgreen_N.htm

Scientific American

August 4, 2008

Sunrise on China's First Carbon-Neutral City

This seaside city aims to reduce--and eventually eliminate--greenhouse gas emissions through a circular economy

By David Biello  

 

SOLAR HEAT: Sunshine provides all the hot water residents of Rizhao's apartment complexes need for bathing.
David Biello/ © Scientific American

RIZHAO—This seaside resort city facing Japan and Korea across the Yellow Sea takes its name from an ancient poem, "ri qu shien zhao," or "first to get sunshine." More than 2.8 million residents enjoy that early sunshine (even if Gisborne in New Zealand is actually the first to see the sun in the morning) as well as a gentle sea breeze and a host of water sports. But Rizhao is also among the first—ahead of the rest of China and most cities in the world—to pledge to become carbon neutral, that is, to balance the amount of greenhouse gases it emits through industry and other human activities with the amount of greenhouse gases it eliminates.

"The city will try to go carbon neutral," says Fan Changwei, a tall, thin middle-aged lawyer with the city's Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB). "I don't know when we will succeed but we will move in that way."

Rizhao is one of four cities globally—the others are Arendal, Norway; Vancouver, Canada; and Växjö, Sweden—to even attempt the feat, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). "Climate neutrality is an idea whose time has come" UNEP executive director Achim Steiner said in February at the launch of the Climate Neutral Network, an effort to connect cities, countries and companies working to achieve this ambitious goal. It is "driven by the urgent need to address climate change," Steiner notes, "but also the abundant economic opportunities emerging for those willing to embrace a transition to a green economy."

There is no question that it's the latter that's motivating Rizhao, which is churning out high-rises amid the former long, low buildings that still make up the majority of its homes and businesses. But these new skyscrapers have an important difference: they were built to utilize the sun's power.

Nearly 100 percent of them take advantage of Rizhao's 260 days of sunshine to heat water for bathing—and 30 percent of those going up in surrounding suburbs and villages also make use of the technology. The effort got underway in 2004 with a solar system made by Tsinghua University in Beijing and employed by the Beijing Shang Shui Hotel. Now, newer solar hot-water heating systems in China cost about $190, around the same price as electric versions only they also save about 348 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. "To save money is very important," Fan notes.

By comparison, hot water accounts for 17 percent of the energy used by U.S. homes and buildings, making it one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

"The first important measure was to popularize solar hot water," says Wang Shugang, chief of Rizhao's EPB. Nearly every building in Rizhao now supports dark arrays of tubing to heat the water, or grill-like units beneath the ubiquitous enclosed terraces of most apartments. 

The second important step, according to Wang, was to "shut down many small-size enterprises [that] are really high consumers of coal as well as use central heating. New enterprises don't need their own boilers."

Industries that shut down or moved as a result of the go-green effort include cement, papermaking and steel. The local coal-fired power plant now employs Siemens technology designed to keep a lid on dust and acid rain–forming sulfur dioxide emissions. Food, furniture and other factories have been shifted to industrial parks on the rim of the city, and industrial boilers, in some cases, are being pressed into use to provide hot water for residential heating.

But it is the local Luxin Jinhe Biochemical Company citric acid plant—a key component of beverages like Coca-Cola and Pepsi as well as various medicines—that truly illustrates the concept of a "circular economy." Mold chews up the sugar in cassava, corn and sweet potato in huge vats, turning it into the weak acid. The waste is separated, liquids flowing to so-called biodigesters where microbes break it down into methane and solids are turned to bricks of meal for domestic animals and fertilizer. The methane, or "marsh gas," is then burned to both dry the meal and produce electricity in four generators on site—50,000 kilowatt-hours a day from 882,867 cubic feet (25,000 cubic meters) of gas—while the bags of feed and fertilizer are sold to local farmers.

This citric acid plant is just one of 10 similar enterprises using marsh gas. "To develop a circular economy is a good way for carbon neutral and also for energy conserving and investing in energy efficiency," Fan says. The city also hopes to compress such methane into a liquid fuel and even pipe it to city homes for cooking. Small-scalebiodigesters are being used in villages throughout the region.

As a result of these efforts, Rizhao, unlike the rest of China, has seen output rise, energy use fall by nearly a third, and carbon dioxide emissions—the leading greenhouse gas behind global warming—cut in half, according to government statistics.

Rizhao's former mayor, Li Zhaoqian, was promoted to vice governor of Shandong Province, in part in the hope that he'll be able to replicate this success on a larger scale. After all, Rizhao has both enhanced its economy (doubling gross domestic product between 2000 and 2005) and improved the environment, a recipe the rest of China—and the world—has struggled to match.

The seaside city with its enclosed marina is essentially a tourist community (last year 27 million Chinese, primarily from inland provinces, visited), so it may also spread its example to other parts of the world's most populous country. At the same time, no one is accounting for all of the greenhouse gases those same tourists emit when they travel to the resort. Even the thousands of recently planted poplars lining the roads cannot make up for that quantity of fossil fuel burning.

And then there's the shipping; Rizhao is the ninth biggest port in all of China, according to Fan, exporting seafood and other goods to Japan and South Korea. It's difficult to make such shipping carbon-neutral, he notes. "We can't do anything for those ships because they do not belong to us."

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=sunrise-on-chinas-first-carbo-neutral-city

Newsom signs strict green building codes into law

Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

(08-05) 04:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco took a major step Monday to cement its reputation as the most environmentally progressive city in the United States, as Mayor Gavin Newsom signed into law stringent green building codes for new construction and renovations of existing structures in the city.

The new codes focus on water and energy conservation, recycling and reduction of carbon emissions. They apply to most buildings in the city, including residential projects of all sizes, new commercial buildings over a certain size, and renovations of large commercial spaces.

By 2012, city officials estimate the new requirements will reduce carbon dioxide emissions annually by 60,000 tons and save 220,000 megawatt hours of electricity and 100 million gallons of drinking water.

Newsom predicted that the new rules in San Francisco will not be financially burdensome on builders and that they will eventually save money.

"It requires a mandate in order to get people to do what's in their best interests sometimes. It's called change," said Newsom, who also predicted the new standards will have "national reach."

The new codes are to be phased in by 2012. Projects will be evaluated on a point system with credit given for materials used in the building, the location of the building site and water and energy efficiencies.

Large residential and commercial buildings will be evaluated under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Medium and small residential construction will use the GreenPoint rating system, which is less stringent.

The Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco, a major city lobbying organization, gave its support to the new regulations after city leaders agreed to implement them over time.

"We are wading into the pool, not diving into the pool, of green building legislation," said Ken Cleaveland, director of government and public affairs for the association.

He stressed that building and business owners should plan in advance to meet the requirements before seeking city approval for projects.

"We were most concerned about existing businesses in San Francisco and their being hit with a large increase in cost," Cleaveland said, adding that preplanning would result in "virtually no cost increase."

Dan Geiger, executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council's Northern California chapter, praised the passage of the codes and predicted positive results on both the health of San Francisco residents and the strength of the city's economy.

"I would say this ordinance puts San Francisco in a leadership position in the country on green building," Geiger said. The Board of Supervisors had previously passed the regulations unanimously.

Despite those predictions, the city's Office of Economic Analysis estimated that the new codes would cost the city between $30 million and $700 million a year in economic output, as it could lead to higher rents and businesses choosing to locate elsewhere.

Newsom called that report inaccurate and predicted the new regulations would actually attract businesses to the city. That opinion was echoed by Phil Williams, an executive at San Mateo-based Webcor Builders, who sat on the city task force on green building that developed the new regulations.

Williams joined Newsom at the signing ceremony, which took place in a South of Market building that has been renovated to the LEED gold standard.

The building was constructed by Matarozzi-Pelsinger Builders Inc. and will be the new headquarters of the firm. Daniel Pelsinger, a co-owner of the firm, said the building will serve as a showpiece of green construction for clients.

"This is a way for us to put our money where our mouth is," Pelsinger said.

E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/05/BADQ1250K9.DTL

Green groups warn minister against energy U-turn
Threat of legal action if Merton Rule is diluted
Property firms lobby against council powers
Ashley Seager
September 7, 2007
The Guardian

The government's proposed U-turn on the rule requiring new property developments to source at least 10% of their energy from renewable sources may be in breach of the law, according to green energy groups.

The Sustainable Energy Partnership wrote to housing minister Yvette Cooper yesterday reminding her of the government's duty under the Energy Act of 2004 to establish a microgeneration industry - by which users of energy generate power on a small scale - through use of the Merton Rule, established by the London borough of Merton in 2003 and copied across the country.

Ms Cooper said last year all councils would soon have to adopt the Merton Rule, but has since been lobbied by property industry groups which argue that the government should work out a national strategy over the next decade rather than allow local councils to set rules.
Critics led by the Sustainable Energy Partnership, a group consisting of almost all of the country's renewable energy trade bodies and the Association for the Conservation of Energy, say house builders simply do not want the extra cost involved, even though it typically adds only 3-4% to costs.

The latest draft planning policy statement from Ms Cooper's department waters down the requirement for all councils to adopt the rule. "You will no doubt be aware of the great concern expressed by many organisations regarding the abandonment of the Merton Rule, in the draft PPS now being considered," wrote SEP organiser Ron Bailey. "Our purpose here is not to simply repeat the concerns as we are sure that you are aware of them: rather we wish to call into question the legality at what is proposed in the draft PPS."

The letter says that the microgeneration strategy developed out of the 2004 Energy Act "very clearly calls for a tightening of the Merton Rule - which policy the government thus has a duty to implement". Pressure on Ms Cooper from the renewables industry and green groups is mounting. Last week groups including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, as well as shadow environment minister Peter Ainsworth and his Lib Dem counterpart, Chris Huhne, urged her not to weaken the Merton Rule. But yesterday was the first time the prospect of a legal challenge was raised.

Alex Murley of the British Wind Energy Association said: "The Merton Rule is delivering energy efficiency gains and on-site renewable energy now. Scrapping the rule would be a devastating blow to both, and undermine efforts to deliver the government's own 2016 Zero Carbon Vision."
Yesterday a group of environmentalists, academics and MPs, including many of those who support the Merton Rule, released a statement urging the government to introduce a "feed-in tariff" - a payment for microgeneration - to support renewable energy, as has been successfully used in a number of other countries and is being rolled out across Europe. In a joint submission to government consultation on its existing renewable obligation scheme, which critics say has had little success, the report, compiled by Professor Dave Toke of Birmingham University, says the UK's current levels of renewable deployment have been achieved at a cost to the consumer 40% higher than what could have been achieved with a feed-in tariff similar to that operating in Germany.

"We believe that, as the German experience shows, an FIT is a superior policy mechanism for supporting the development of renewable energy ... and that the UK government must immediately start to produce plans for a FIT to support on-site, smaller scale, domestic and community renewable energy." The government denied it was about to make a U-turn. A spokesperson for Ms Cooper's department said: "This is a lot of nonsense - there is no U-turn on Merton. Our ambitious on zero-carbon target for new homes will require much greater use of renewable energy, not less, and the new planning rules will make this happen. Councils will continue to be able to use their Merton rules but we want them to go even further where sites allow for greater levels of renewable energy."

http://business.guardian.co.uk/greenbusiness/story/0,,2164238,00.html

Warm water the eco-friendly way

A groundbreaking solar water-heating project in Cosmo City's social housing section has brought warm water to 170 homes – with many residents getting hot water for the first time.

August 27, 2007
By Emily Visser
Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)

SOLAR geysers have been fitted to 170 homes in extension two, Cosmo City over the last three months. For some of the residents, this is the first time they have hot water in their homes. The project is the first of its kind in Johannesburg and cost the city about R2-million; each unit, consisting of a geyser and a solar panel, cost R13 000.

Extension two residents come from informal settlements; they began moving into the newly built Reconstruction and Development Programme houses in November 2005, and to date more than 2 000 of these homes have been occupied. Although equipped with water, sanitation and electricity, they have no geysers.

Manda Mandavha, the Cosmo City manager in the City's department of environmental management, says that over time, the project result in savings to the environment and consumers. Electric geysers use about a third of a household's total electricity consumption; direct solar heating generally reduces electricity consumption by between 10 and 30 percent. Little maintenanceOnce installed, the units require little maintenance. "The system has to be flushed out every two years or so by opening a small tap or valve [to replace the water]," explains Shaun Rieche, a partner at Solar Heat Exchanger, which installed the units. The company has designed a simple owner manual, copies of which will be handed over to recipients at a community meeting.

Installation underway

The solar heating units are not backed up by electricity because of a lack of funding and the limited power supply in those areas. If the sun does not shine there is no hot water, but on sunny days users can expect water temperatures of 55° Celsius and higher. Rieche says the project brought many happy smiles but also some criticism, as not everyone could be accommodated. The initial tender was for 500 units but this number had to be cut because of cost constraints.

The City used two criteria for allocating the units. "A first-come-first-served system was used, and only north-facing houses [were considered]," Mandavhe explains. Installing units at homes facing west-east would have added another R600 to the cost because it would have been necessary to install a special roof bracket.

Extending the projectThe department is working closely with electricity supplier Eskom and Sustainable Energy Africa, a non-governmental organisation, to extend the project to other areas. Sustainable Energy Africa is drawing up a business plan on behalf of the City that will be submitted to Eskom for funding of future projects, confirmed Mandavha. Eskom offers financial assistance to approved Demand Side Management (DSM) projects.

By-laws regarding solar water heaters were recently approved by the Cape Town city council, and that city will enforce the use of solar heaters in all newly built houses and in new building additions. There will be some exemptions, however. Tshwane is looking at similar regulations, which it hopes to have in place by 2008.

The City of Johannesburg will be looking at by-law enforcement in the near future. "Right now we are working on an energy efficiency strategy for the entire city but [solar water heating] by-laws are the route we are heading to," Mandavha confirms.

On a national level, the Department of Minerals and Energy has started a roll out programme of solar heaters for middle- to high-income households in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The initiative is spearheaded by the Central Energy Fund.

http://www.joburg.org.za/2007/aug/aug27_geyser.stm

New town to boast 16,000 energy-efficient homes

Independent.ie
August 24 2007

A NEW 'green' town to include 16,000 homes is planned for the Irish capital. The new suburb will be in Clonburris and Liffey Valley, and will offer new residents a direct rail link to the city centre. The houses will also be among the 'greenest' ever built here, with builders using the most environmentally friendly products available.

South Dublin County Council has developed a masterplan for the area between Lucan and Clondalkin, which sets out how the town will be developed. Clonburris has joined nearby Adamstown in being designated a Strategic Development Zone, meaning the community facilities and public transport links will be built in tandem with the new homes. Landowners will be asked to help pay for rail links and essential infrastructure for the new town.

The council are already developing a new town in nearby Adamstown, also a Strategic Development Zone, and developers involved in this scheme have helped pay for infrastructure. And the public are being asked to give their views on the massive development planned for the south west of the city. The site lies west of the M50 motorway, and the Dublin-Kildare railway line bisects it with the Grand Canal bordering its southern end.

The Clonburris area covers 265 hectares, and the new district of eight new neighbourhoods will be based around a new Main Street adjacent to the rail and metro station at Fonthill Road. It will include "significant" shopping and employment floorspace, between 11,800 and 16,000 new homes, and a range of community and other facilities such as schools and parks to support the new community.

New bridges will be built across the canal and railway to provide good public transport links, while a "sustainability toolkit" sets out standards that new development will need to meet. This includes "A" rated energy-efficient new homes and and the use of renewable energy sources. The proposed Local Area Plan for the Liffey Valley Centre covers 64 hectares and provides a high quality mixed use urban centre, based on upgraded public transport and urban design. The new town centre will incorporate retail, commercial, residential, recreational, community and cultural activities.

It promises "innovative" buildings and a network of urban squares and streets. A new bus/taxi interchange, with possible future Luas, will be provided at the heart of the new town centre. The public consultation period on both plans runs until October 1 next, and the public are asked to make written submissions. The plans can be inspected at council offices.

City to control energy consumption in retail sector
13/8/2007
Katia Deng
Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai is planning to carry out a series of energy saving projects in the retail sector, according to the Shanghai Economic Committee. The city aims to complete the renovation of energy saving equipment and cut energy consumption per 10,000-yuan of gross domestic product by 15 percent in 2010.

Malls covering more than 5,000 square meters and restaurants covering more than 3,000 square meters will use energy-saving lights, air conditioners, refrigeration equipment and automatic lifts in the next few years. The movement requires shopping malls to stop selling high energy-consuming air conditioners and refrigerators, and to promote energy-saving products.

The economic committee also asked retailers to control power consumption on neon lights and advertising lamps. It also wants retailers to follow the policy of setting indoor temperatures at 26 degrees Celsius in the summer and 20 to 21 degrees during the winter.

Don't scrap green housing rule, urge campaigners

Ashley Seager
Guardian Unlimited
Friday August 24 2007

A coalition of renewable energy and green groups yesterday urged the government not to scrap a key plank of local authority policy that has been credited with boosting the use of renewable energy. The call came after the leak earlier this week of a draft planning policy statement which local authorities said would undermine their ability to insist that developers use green technologies.

The Home Builders Federation and British Property Federation oppose the so-called "Merton rule", which requires builders to obtain at least 10% of a building's energy from sustainable sources such as solar or wind power. Sustainable Energy Partnership organiser Ron Bailey said: "The current campaign by the British Property Federation and Home Builders Federation to overturn this modest yet proven and highly successful policy in the climate change policy planning statement is nothing short of scandalous bearing in mind the urgent need to reduce CO2 emissions."

Until recently the Department for Communities and Local Government approved of the Merton rule, launched by the London Borough of Merton and since used by 150 councils. The Greater London Authority stipulates that 20% of energy in new buildings must come from renewables. Housing minister Yvette Cooper had wanted the rule rolled out nationwide. But the new policy draft appears to make it much more difficult for councils to force the pace on renewables, with the Merton rule applying only to specific sites with use of renewables having to be notified years in advance.

In response to the Guardian's story on Monday that the communities department was considering watering down the Merton rule, the British Property Federation said: "The BPF has backed government plans to scrap the Merton rule because investing in inefficient on-site renewable energy sources is simply not the best way to reduce carbon emissions."

A government spokesperson said: "While we do not comment on leaked documents, we simply do not recognise these claims." But Merton council deputy leader Samantha George has written to Ms Cooper urging her to continue to let councils continue to push renewables at local level. Andrew Warren, chairman of the Sustainable Energy Partnership, said: "We'd expect ministers to be embracing the Merton rule ... not falling for the current developer campaign of misrepresentation and skulduggery."

Housebuilders win battle against green technologies.
Government to drop rules promoting renewables
Planners will be unable to set environmental targets

Ashley Seager
Guardian Unlimited
Monday August 20 2007

The government is preparing to torpedo a local authority policy which has been one of the few genuine drivers of renewable energy technologies in Britain, the Guardian has learned. The Department for Communities and Local Government is to in effect abolish the so-called "Merton rule", under pressure from housebuilders who do not want to bear the cost of adding things like solar panels to the buildings they construct or the effort of marketing them as "green".

The decision to axe the Merton rule comes a week after the Guardian revealed that officials at the business and enterprise department had admitted the country had no hope of meeting EU targets on renewables over the next 13 years and had advised ministers to find ways to wriggle out of the targets.

The Merton rule is named after the London borough that established it in 2003. It requires any new building to reduce its carbon emissions by 10% through the use of renewables. More than 150 local authorities have either introduced it or are about to. In the absence of a proper interest in renewables from central government, the Merton rule has become central to tentative steps towards a low carbon future.

But housing minister Yvette Cooper, who last year wanted all local authorities to adopt a Merton rule, will soon publish a new draft planning policy statement which outlines the abolition of the rule.

Adrian Hewitt, principal environment officer at Merton council, said: "The new draft ... on climate change confirms our absolute worst fears. The Merton rule and any mention of local authorities being able to secure a percentage of renewable energy on new buildings seems as if it's going to be airbrushed out of history like a dissident from an old Soviet photograph."

The communities and local government department is holding a "sounding board" meeting on Tuesday to discuss the new draft policy statement and will run into protest from concerned groups. The Royal Institute of British Architects yesterday attacked the government's apparent U-turn on the Merton Rule. RIBA president Jack Pringle said: "The RIBA strongly believes that local authorities should be free to demand higher building standards than those set nationally. "Individual local authorities can play a huge role in driving innovation and can themselves become beacons of sustainability. If the reports are true and this ability will be lost, that will be detrimental to the government's goal of reducing carbon emissions from buildings."

On the other side of the argument is the House Builders Federation. Ms Cooper has been heavily lobbied by the group, which argues for a national, rather than local, strategy for the government's plan for new homes to be zero carbon from 2016. The federation's chairman, Stewart Baseley, wants a national strategy phased in over 10 years and says action at local level will lead to confusion and higher costs. "Local authority political posturing for the green ground with ever-more unaffordable and potentially unachievable targets, and taking no responsibility for how these targets are to be achieved, will serve no one's interests," he said recently.

Renewable industry representatives say the Merton Rule is many times more important to them than the government's low carbon buildings programme, which provides grants but has repeatedly run out of money and had its rules changed. The sources say that the U-turn on the Merton rule makes a mockery of the consultation: half of all respondents supported the Merton rule and only three of 324 objected to it on grounds of cost.

Tony Book, head of a company called Riomay which is involved in several solar energy projects in London, said the rule only added 3-4% to building costs. "It has driven some really big projects here in London. The solar thermal project we are installing on the old Arsenal stadium at Highbury is the biggest of its kind in the world. It would not have been done without the Merton rule," he said.

Builders attack green homes rule

Ashley Seager
The Guardian
August 14 2007

Housebuilders are trying to persuade the government to ditch a key policy designed to cut carbon emissions through constructing green homes. Britain's renewables industry and many local authorities are concerned that intense lobbying may have persuaded the government to rethink.

At stake is the so-called Merton rule, named after the London borough that established it in 2003. It requires any new building to reduce its carbon emissions by 10% through the use of renewables. More than 150 local authorities have either introduced it or are about to adopt it. Last year, the housing minister, Yvette Cooper, said all local authorities should adopt a Merton rule. She will shortly issue a statement updating guidance on building practices, but there is growing concern that the House Builders Federation (HBF) could kill off the Merton rule.

The HBF wants a national, rather than local, strategy for delivering the government's plan for new homes to be zero carbon from 2016 onwards. The HBF's chairman, Stewart Baseley, has repeatedly called for a national strategy phased in over the next decade, arguing that action at local level will lead to confusion and higher costs.

Survey: half of Shanghai's public buildings fail temperature test
www.chinaview.cn
2007-08-20

BEIJING, Aug. 20 -- More than half of the city's public buildings have failed to obey power-saving rules setting air-conditioning at 26 degrees Celsius, according to local energy authorities.

The poorest performance was found in Hongqiao Development Zone, where none of the six public buildings, mostly office buildings and shopping malls, followed the standard, said Shanghai Energy Conservation Supervision Center yesterday.

Altogether 74 public buildings were inspected from mid-July to early August. Only 31 venues, or 42 percent, followed the central government's temperature requirement. Buildings on Huaihai Road M. were the second-worst in compliance, with only 32 percent of the 19 buildings inspected making the grade. Buildings in Lujiazui were the best, with five of the seven buildings inspected meeting the standard.

No names of the buildings were given, but the center said it has sent the list to the city's higher authorities. Still, the situation this year is much better than in the past two years, said an unnamed official. Power shortages prompted Shanghai to set indoor summer temperatures at 26 degrees before the State Council, China's Cabinet, published a similar rule in June this year.

All government agencies, associations, groups, companies and private owners in public buildings should "strictly comply with this rule," said the State Council. But it didn't clarify if there would be any punishment for disobedience.

The 26-degree standard was set based on findings that the temperature is comfortable while still being energy efficient. Air-conditioning accounts for up to one-third of energy demand in summer.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)

Borough Council Climate Resolution

RESOLUTION
DECLARATION OF THE BOROUGH OF STATE COLLEGE AS A CLIMATE PROTECTION COMMUNITY

WHEREAS, the first United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the first Earth Summit, was held in 1992 and attended by 108 Heads of State from around the world for the purpose of discussing the effects of global warming; and

WHEREAS, in December 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was formalized as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, setting mandatory targets for reduction of greenhouses gases for signatory nations; and,

WHEREAS, on February 16, 2005, the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to address climate disruption, went into effect in the 141 countries that have ratified it to date; 38 of those countries are now legally required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on average 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012; and

WHEREAS, to date the United States has not yet become a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol; and

WHEREAS, in June 2005, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously adopted strong policy resolutions calling for cities, communities and the federal government to take local actions to reduce global warming pollution; and

WHEREAS, in December 2005, the Municipal Leaders Summit on Climate Change, with 37 countries participating, also asserted the need for global action and the development of local initiatives; and

WHEREAS, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the international community’s most respected assemblage of scientists, has found that climate disruption is a reality and that human activities are largely responsible for increasing concentrations of global warming pollution; and

WHEREAS, recent, well-documented impacts of climate disruption include average global sea level increases of four to eight inches during the 20th century; a 40 percent decline in Arctic seaice thickness; and nine of the ten hottest years on record occurring in the past decade; and

WHEREAS, climate disruption of the magnitude now predicted by the scientific community will cause extremely costly disruption of human and natural systems throughout the world including: increased risk of floods or droughts; sea level rises that interact with coastal storms to erode beaches, inundate land, and damage structures; more frequent and extreme heat waves; more frequent and greater concentrations of smog; and

WHEREAS, the United States, with less than five percent of the world’s population, is currently generating approximately 25 percent of the world’s global warming pollutants; and

WHEREAS, the Kyoto Protocol emissions reduction target for the US would have been 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012; and

WHEREAS, many leading U.S. companies that have adopted greenhouse gas reduction programs to demonstrate corporate social responsibility have also publicly expressed preference for the U.S. to adopt precise and mandatory emissions targets and timetables as a means by which to remain competitive in the international marketplace, to mitigate financial risk and to promote sound investment decisions; and

WHEREAS, state and local governments throughout the United States are adopting emission reduction targets and programs and that this leadership is bipartisan, coming from Republican and Democratic governors and mayors alike; and

WHEREAS, many municipalities throughout the nation, both large and small, are reducing global warming pollutants through programs that provide economic and quality of life benefits such as reduced energy bills, green space preservation, air quality improvements, reduced traffic congestion, improved transportation choices, and economic development and job creation through energy conservation and new energy technologies; and

WHEREAS, a Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Mitigation Action Plan has been prepared at the request of members of the State College Borough Council in order to enable the Council to determine what actions collectively could be taken in the Centre Region to address the impact of global warming; and

WHEREAS much can be accomplished by the Borough of State College to reduce greenhouse emissions, to wit
a) Urging our federal and state governments to enact policies and programs to reduce global warming pollution levels, including efforts to reduce the United States’ dependence on fossil fuels and accelerate the development of clean, economical energy resources and fuel-efficient technologies such as conservation, end-use efficiency, demand-side management, wind and solar energy, wave and tidal energy, fuel cells, efficient motor vehicles, and bio-fuels; and
b) Urging the U.S. Congress to pass bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation that includes clear timetables and emissions limits.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Borough of State College is hereby declared to be a Climate Protection Community, endorses the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement as amended by the 73 rd annual U.S. Conference of Mayors and urges municipalities from around the world to join this effort, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the State College Borough Council commits to a Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Initiative goal, to lead the community by example and to implement policies to reduce net emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by the end of 2012 by 10% from 1990 levels, and;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that as a public-private partnership, the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Initiative shall feature the Borough Government as a key stakeholder in a comprehensive community greenhouse gas reduction effort, which shall include institutions, businesses, civic organization, and individual families and residents, and;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Borough of State College shall create an Office of Sustainability to coordinate and implement the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Initiative, insofar as funds, voluntary efforts, or other resources become available, in particular, working to partner with efforts of governments, agencies, institutions and other appropriate public and private organizations in our region, and to track the progress and implementation of the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement.

Additionally, the office shall assist the Borough by:
• Obtaining and periodically updating a baseline inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in the Borough, including recommended targets and timetables
• Developing and implementing the Local Climate Protection Action Plan, including measuring, verifying and reporting performance, and
• Establishing recommendations for local Green Building initiatives
• Educating the public, schools, other jurisdictions, professional associations, business and industry about reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Making energy efficiency a priority throughout the Borough government by educating employees, evaluating building mechanical systems, and urging employees to conserve energy and save money.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Borough Council hereby establishes the following municipal goals:
1. By 2012, through the recycling of plastics, metals, glass, organic waste, electronics, etc, reduce residual waste (land filled material) to 35% of the total waste stream.
2. By 2016, 20% of the Borough’s passenger car fleet should be composed of the most energy-efficient models available.
3. By 2012, use B–30 diesel (70% diesel petroleum, 30% corn oil) for all Borough heavy equipment and trucks.
4. By 2010, establish a network of off-street and on-street designated bike lanes throughout the community.
5. By 2010, incorporate sustainable construction and demolition practices into Borough ordinances, including the requirement of LEED certifications. By 2010, all municipally owned construction shall be LEED Gold or Silver certified.
6. By 2012, eliminate the use of non-biological spray insecticides by the Borough. Additionally, reduce the use of all fertilizers and herbicides by 50% from 2007 levels.
7. By 2009, establish purchasing policies which give preference to products with 50% or more recycled content.
8. By 2015, establish a free transit service within the Borough.
9. By 2012, eliminate the use of incandescent bulbs in all Borough facilities.
10. By 2012, reduce the existing impervious area within the Borough by 2% through zoning incentives, innovative surface treatments, street narrowing, and other best management practices.
11. By 2012, establish incentives for the installation of green roofs, rainwater cisterns, and other best management practices to reduce urban runoff.
12. By 2009, adopt an anti-engine idling ordinance.
13. By 2012, complete a review and implement changes to land use policies as necessary to reduce urban sprawl, preserve open space, and create a compact, walkable community.
14. Effective immediately, purchase only Energy Star appliances for Borough facilities.
15. By 2012, purchase 20% of energy used by the Borough from “green” power sources.
16. By January 2008 establish a procedure for regular reporting of progress under this resolution to Borough Council and the community.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Borough Council hereby establishes the following community goals to be achieved through education and promotion:
17. By 2012, as a community, reduce electricity usage by 10% from 2000 levels.
18. By 2012, as a community, increase the percentage of residents walking, biking, or using transit to commute to work by 10% over 2007 levels.
18. By 2012, as a community, 15% of all personal vehicles shall be equipped with the most energy-efficient technology.
20. By 2012, as a community, less than 25% of residents commute via single occupancy vehicle.
21. By 2015, as a community, purchase 20% of all electricity from “green” power sources.

RESOLVED, This 20th day of August, 2007, by the Council of the Borough of State College.