Arun District Council rewarded with £15,000 for energy saving efforts

Arun’s Chairman accepted a cheque for £15,000 at a Full Council meeting after the Council finished runners up in the world’s leading green energy awards.

The Council was awarded the prize money for finishing second in the Local Authority category of the prestigious Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy back in June.

Councillor Ashvin Patel and Deputy Head of Environmental Health Roger Wood accepted the prize money, presented by Simon Brammer on behalf of the Ashden Awards, which will be used to expand the Council’s energy efficiency programme.
Cllr Patel said: “I am delighted to accept this cheque on behalf of the Council and its Environmental Health department in recognition of their achievements in energy saving.

“To be recognised as one of the leading authorities in the country when it comes to sustainable energy is an incredible achievement and one that deserves commending.

“I know that this money will be put to great use, improving our energy efficiency programme even further and ensuring that Arun continues to promote sustainable energy amongst its residents.”

Some of the prize money will be used to further promote the excellent services the Council already offers, while the rest will go towards developing a Renewable Energy Support Service.

This will offer information about the provision of sustainable energy for homes and businesses, in particular the use of solar energy and ground source heat pumps, a system that transfers heat from the ground into a building to heat the open spaces.

Councillor Paul Dendle, Cabinet Member for Central Services, said: “As a local authority we are under enormous pressure to tackle climate change while continuing to meet the needs of the community. This award shows what can be achieved with limited resources, thanks to the hard work of Council staff and our partner organisations and the willingness of our residents to make their properties more energy efficient.”

Roger Wood, Deputy Head of Environmental Health, added: “As the cost of fuel continues to soar, fuel poverty is going to be a growing issue. We already have an excellent system in place to bring affordable and sustainable energy efficiency to our residents, but the prize money will allow us to develop this service to the benefit of everyone who lives and works in the District.”

For more information about the Awards and the finalists, visit www.ashdenawards.org

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Kensa features on BSN

Kensa, one of the 2008 Ashden Award winners, have featured on British Satellite News. A nine and half minute video has been produced, going into detail about the company and their ground source heat pump technology, including a clip from the Ashden Awards ceremony.

Here's the video:

(If you can't see the video, view it by clicking here)

The transcript is available here.

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Additional photos from REDP

Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP), China, won an Ashden Award in 2008. Information on their Award-winning work with solar PV systems can be found on the Ashden Awards website, along with the official media photos. However, we also have some additional photos that may be of interest, so here they are. (You can click on each image to see a larger version)

The rural areas in Western China where REDP's solar PV systems are deployed:
Some of the people of the area:
Workers assembling PV systems:
Durability is important!
The PV systems ready for sale to customers:
PV customers, with their systems and the equipment powered by them:

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SKG Sangha wins competition

SKG Sangha, who won an Ashden Award in 2007 for their work with biogas plants that also produced good quality compost, recently won $5000 in a Case Study Competition, run by the Bordeaux Energy Colloquium - see their page on Facebook for details.

Mr Sagar, of SKG Sangha, said:

If we use this money for our projects, your contribution will not be reflected anywhere. Whereas, you are giving us this money as a token of appreciation which we want to be in a memorable shape. Hence, we shall use the money as part finance for our proposed training centre planned to train our beneficiaries, staff, students etc. We shall write your name as part funders for this training centre by that the contribution given by you will be visible for the years to come.

As part of our work we have to train each and every beneficiary on the running, maintenance of our units provided to the beneficiaries. We also can use the same facility to train the students who are coming to us for training from various Indian and foreign Universities as part of their Engineering/agricultural/s

ocial work. We also can use this facility for training our staff as well as staff from Government or other Institutions. The estimation for the training centre is about $40000. Last year we received £10,000 as prize money from Ashden Awards, London.

We have kept aside this amount also for our training centre. Now we have some Engineering Students from France who have come for practical training as part of their engineering course. Tomorrow we are getting two more students for training from France who are studying Agricultural Engineering. This training centre will help students from many countries apart from India. So, far the major beneficiaries are students from France. I believe education is the major tool for achieving socio-economic growth and to instil peace all over the world. I appreciate your support to a great cause.

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Additional photos from Kisangani Smith Group

Kisangani Smith Group (KSG) from Njombe, Tanzania, won an Ashden Award in 2008. Information on their Award-winning work with domestic stoves burning waste sawdust and agricultural residues can be found on the Ashden Awards website, along with the official media photos. However, we also have some additional photos that may be of interest, so here they are. (You can click on each image to see a larger version)

Some of the trees planted by KSG in the area:
One of the huge piles of waste sawdust, which prompted KSG to develop a stove to use the sawdust as fuel:
The KSG workshop:
Inside the workshop, steel is marked out ready for cutting:
and the smiths work hard to produce the stoves:
Training starts at an early age!
The stoves are produced quickly and efficiently:
The procedure for using the stoves is simple. With a wooden pole down the centre, the stove is filled with sawdust:
A specially made tool fits around the wooden pole and compresses the sawdust:
The stove can then be lit through the air vent at the base:
Once lit, it will burn for several hours:
Allowing the owner to cook without worrying about refuelling:

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