Two Johns and Dale make the Guardian list

Last week the Guardian published a list of top green pioneers and two of them were Ashden Award winners: John Doggart, chairman of the Sustainable Energy Academy, and John Booth, director of Eigg Electric.

This week, it was the readers' turn to write in and suggest names. The short list of 10 included another Ashden Award winner: Dale Vince from Ecotricity. The reader said Dale was a hero:

for actually getting off his rear and changing the way our power is generated without being forced to through regulation. Oh, and also for not selling out and refusing to have shareholders

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Mike retrofits his new home: first up, cavity wall insulation

Over the last few weeks, Mike Pepler, our UK Awards Manager, has begun retrofitting his new home to impressive eco-standards. He’s just installed cavity wall insulation and has a great detailed account of it in his blog ... next, he's installing solar thermal panels and a wood gas stove with a back boiler. What's most inspiring about the work that Mike's doing is that, because he logs and sources all his own wood, he’ll be almost self-sufficient in heating his home and and will have paid back his outlays, including the plumbing work, in less than 10 years.

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Top of the agenda

The Guardian: What problem do you hope scientists will have solved by the end of the century?

David Attenborough: The production of energy without any deleterious effects.

More.

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Ashden winners at the garden party with a difference

Today Prince Charles visits A Garden Party To Make A Difference in his own gardens at Clarence House, together with his neighbours’ gardens at Lancaster House and Marlborough House.

The Garden Party is part of Start, an initiative launched by the Prince's Charities Foundation, to promote and celebrate sustainable living and to show what a more energy efficient, cleaner and healthier future could look like.

Prince Charles is also, of course, patron of the Ashden Awards, and the Ashden Awards has a strong presence in the Commonwealth Pavilion, where UK winners and winners from Commonwealth countries are demonstrating the very practical steps that can be taken towards a sustainable future.

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Call for tighter regulation on domestic heat pumps

A report from the Energy Saving Trust says domestic heat pumps need to be subject to tighter regulations in order for them to deliver widespread energy saving.

The report was welcomed by David MacKay, chief scientific adviser at the Department of Energy and Climate Change:

"Heat pumps will be a crucial component of our low-carbon future, provided they perform well. It is therefore essential to conduct trials to establish best practice and perfect this technology for use in buildings throughout the UK."

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Architype up for another prize

The architectural firm, Architype, was an Ashden award winner in 2009. This year the firm has been shortlisted for the RIBA Sorrell Foundation Schools Award for St. Luke's CE Primary School in Wolverhampton (above).

St. Luke's is the first primary school in Britain to achieve BREEAM Excellent status.

The winner of the RIBA Sorrell Foundation Schools Award will be announced on 2 October 2010.

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CNN reports on two of our winners

CNN's recent report on solar energy bringing power to Africa focussed on two of this year's Ashden award-winners, Rural Energy Foundation and D.light Design. CNN reporter Catriona Davies writes: "In rural communities of Africa - where more than 95 percent of homes have no access to electricity -- solar energy has the power to transform lives." Her report also quotes Willem Nolens, director of Rural Energy Foundation, "Lack of access to energy is a cause of poverty, not just a result of poverty."

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Term starts for St Columb's with International Visitors

Ashden award-winner St Columb Minor School is starting off the academic year with a great opportunity to share its experiences and expertise. Tomorrow 12 international visitors from Poland, Germany, Spain, Austria, Greece, Sweden, Bulgaria and Turkey will be visiting the school.
The focus for the visit is to find out how to use the environment to inspire learning. The visit has been organised by Carnyorth Environmental Education Centre. They have chosen St Columb following the school's recognition as an Eco-School, for achieving the Green Flag, and as an Ashden award-winner.

The school's Business Manager Gill Harper says the visit by head teachers, teachers and education consultants to Cornwall is to learn how to use the Eco–schools programme and the international primary curriculum to teach sustainability throughout the school.

"We will explain how gaining International Schools Award and the Ashden Award has impacted on the wider community. The visit will provide a unique opportunity to share experience, skills, expertise and explore best practice across Europe."

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Award-winner SolarCentury joins signatories warning Chris Huhne to protect microgeneration incentives

Solar PV roof, Boatemah Walk social housing development, Lambeth, London

A coalition of green, countryside and housing groups, including Ashden Award winner SolarCentury, has written to Chris Huhne, secretary of state for energy. The signatories urge the secretary of state to rethink the idea of slashing budgets for decentralised renewable energy incentives, such as the feed-in-tariff and renewable heat incentive.

They warn that reducing funding for the decentralised generation of sustainable energy will put both jobs and energy security at risk. There has been a recent upsurge in the numbers of microgeneration technologies installed, and, as Germany has shown, market forces reduce the costs of these technologies in the long run. Axing such a stimulus now, the letter warns, will be regressive.

As an alternative, this wide-ranging group of signatories (from the National Farmers' Union to the TUC) recommends energy efficiency measures be pursued to offset the costs of installations.

More about the work of SolarCentury can be found on our website.

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A trip to the Isle of Eigg

A weir on the island is used to generate hydro-elecricity

In February this year, our UK Awards Manager, Mike Pepler visited the Isle of Eigg, off the North West of Scotland, to assess the island as an applicant for the Ashden Awards. Five months later the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust won the overall UK Gold Award prize for its outstanding achievement "in cutting energy consumption and devising a unique electricity capping system, dramatically reducing household carbon emissions by nearly 50 percent".

Mike has now posted some wonderful photos from his trip in February on his own blog. There are dozens of photos, so he's divided them into three posts. The first deals with the trip to the Isle of Eigg. The second captures some of the magnificent scenery on and around the island. The third shows how the islanders are generating renewable energy, cutting energy consumption and reducing carbon emissions. Well worth a look.

More on previous Ashden award winners can be found on our website and a film on the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust can be downloaded here.

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Dulas brings Endurance wind turbines to the UK

On the back of the first successful installation, Ashden award-winner leading renewables firm Dulas is pleased to announce its appointment as a national distributor for Endurance wind turbines.

(Photo credit: Dulas Ltd)

The company was among a small number selected for their dedication to the renewable energy industry and their specific capabilities and experience in the wind turbine market.

Endurance Wind Power is a manufacturer of advanced wind turbines designed specifically for distributed wind power applications. Ian Draisey, Director at Dulas said of the announcement, “Dulas is thrilled to have been selected as a distributor for Endurance turbines and knows that there is a buoyant market for this product as a result of the feed in tariff for microgeneration. Until recently the best financial returns were limited to the largest wind farm developments. Now the new feed-in tariff (FIT) guarantees high rates of return on generation from medium scale wind turbines like the Endurance 50kW product making it an ideal application for those prepared to invest in microgeneration”.

Dulas has a highly experienced wind team with over 20 years’ knowledge of turbine siting, wind measurement and planning to medium scale wind. The company has a proven track record of over 350MW of consented applications for a wide range of clients.

For more information on renewable energy consultancy, planning and installations please visit www.dulas.org.uk, for more about Ashden Award winners please visit www.ashdenawards.org.

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After recent floods award-winner GERES is working on reconstruction in Ladakh, India

After the recent devastating flash floods in Ladakh, India, past award winners GERES are working hard to begin reconstruction in the region.


See a recent news release from the association:

“The GERES teams, based in Leh in Ladakh, in the Indian Himalayas, have escaped unscathed from the violent floods that hit the region on the night of August 5. However, we regret the disappearance of three relatives of our local accountant, whose house was swept away by the flood. The association wishes to express its deep sorrow and convey its unwavering support to their families.

For over twenty years, GERES has been working in Ladakh and in the valleys of Zanskar, Kargil, Lahaul and Spiti. In partnership with local NGOs and the Indian government we work together in the field of social and economic development and environmental protection. A pioneer in the implementation of passive solar architecture in the Himalayas, GERES has to its credit a number of technical, social and environmental achievements. A major programme underway (Passive Solar House) includes the introduction of energy efficiency technologies in the construction or rehabilitation of 1,000 domestic and community buildings. These new structures play a key role in local populations. They promote the improvement of living conditions, economic activity and crafts.

It appears that the buildings of our project have withstood the floods well, but this is not the case of neighbouring recent facilities that were built too quickly, despite the rules of town planning. Half of the homes located in Choglamsar, a downstream suburb of Leh, have been destroyed. Although a direct link cannot be currently made, it is feared that the floods will worsen in future years due to climate change. In one area, normally totally spared by the monsoon, this has been the second episode of serious flooding since 2006.

GERES is already getting ready for reconstruction within the area. Last week GERES participated in a meeting with local government, international and local NGOs to develop a strategy to define the areas in which buildings, both temporary and permanent, should be constructed, according to the context, the level of damage, and the availability and cost of land. GERES has been appointed as a local expert coordinator for reconstruction and will participate in planning workshops to share its technical expertise. The "Passive Solar House" programme, will also be resumed as soon as the lines of communication are restored.

If you wish to support GERES in this reconstruction phase, send a gift to: GERES, 2 cours Foch, 13400 Aubagne with mention "GERES India" on the back of the cheque.”

For more information on the work of GERES visit our website.

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Co-founder of Trees, Water & People wins humanitarian award

Stuart Conway, the Co-founder of Ashden award-winning Trees, Water & People (TWP), has been honoured with the 2010 Sargent Shriver Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service. This prestigious award is presented annually by the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA). The award recognises Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who continue to make sustained and distinguished contributions to humanitarian causes or are innovative social entrepreneurs bringing about significant long-term change. Conway is a proud RPCV who served in Guatemala for three years as an Extension Agent and Trainer for the Conservation of Natural Resources Programme.

Trees, Water, & People won an Ashden Award in 2005 for their work, led by Conway, to develop and install the fuel-efficient Justa cookstove. These nifty stoves improve human health while reducing wood usage for fuel and decreasing carbon emissions. Conway has since expanded his beneficial stove program throughout Central America and Haiti, coordinating the building of more than 40,000 fuel-efficient stoves and directly improving the lives of more than 200,000 people. He has also managed the planting of nearly 4 million trees throughout Central America and Haiti since 1998.

For more information on the work of Trees, Water & People, visit our website.

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Off-grid renewables workshop and Ashden India Collective launches in Delhi

Our recent event in Delhi combined a workshop 'Scaling up off-grid renewables' and the launch of the Ashden Awards India Collective. Jointly hosted by the Ashden Awards and DFID, the workshop 'Scaling up off-grid renewables' drew together policy makers, financial institutions, NGOs and donor organisations to explore new initiatives to stimulate renewable energy in India. It was also attended by the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), who plan to work with the Ashden Indian Collective on policy work in the coming year.

In the morning, the session kicked off with a welcome by Mariana Mazon, our International Programme Manager and Philip Douglas, First Secretary of the British High Commission and DFID. The first session was a presentation by NERA Economic Consulting on a fund, supported by DFID and MNRE, for providing financial incentive to scale up pro-poor renewable development. This was followed by a session that looked at the experiences challenges and success of collective members with Hemant Lamba of Aurore Energy speaking about electricity generation and Svati Bhogle, TIDE, presenting on heat generation. This session ended with a presentation by MNRE on their programmes for incentivising the use of off grid renewable energy by Gauri Singh, Joint Secretary at MNRE. The following discussion picked up on the lessons learned to date from business and policy experience and areas where the Ashden India Collective could add most value. It was a welcomed and fresh opportunity to have a cross section of sectors debate and share experience on pro-poor renewables in India.

In the afternoon, past Ashden award-winners came together to formally launch the Ashden India Collective. They met to look at strategy for the next year. Led by a core group and managed by a coordinator, the collective will focus their work in the coming year on building a solid policy programme for widespread decentralised renewable energy in India. The idea of an Ashden India Collective developed after the conference last February 'Building a Sustainable Energy Future for India' hosted by the Ashden Awards, the Confederation of Indian Industries and the Department for International Development

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AID Foundation selected as finalist for BBC World Challenge

Ashden award-winner the AID Foundation Inc. (AIDFI) has been selected from over 800 nominations by BBC World Challenge as one of twelve pioneering grassroots projects from across the world. It has been chosen for its innovative work providing water using hydraulic ram pumps to rural villages in the Philippines. The judging panel, consisting of the Heads of international development, news and banking organisations, has recognised the hydraulic ram pump is an idea whose time has finally come.

Voting for the overall winner will be on www.theworldchallenge.co.uk from 27 September until 12 November 2010.

For people living in villages in the mountainous regions of the Philippines, the back-breaking work of travelling down steep slopes to collect water is a daily necessity. With a limited water supply, cooking and drinking are prioritised over using water for agriculture and hygiene which leads to greater illness and more limited economic activity. The ram pump uses a very simple mechanism, without the input of electricity or fossil fuels. It works by using the power of a river’s flow to literally push water uphill. And it has revolutionised life for people living in rural Philippines. Ram pumps are saving villagers both time and money when they replace expensive diesel-powered or electric pumps as well as being better for the environment. So far AIDFI have installed ram pumps in over 170 villages in the Philippines and has started installations in Cambodia and Afghanistan.

For information on AIDFI and to view a film of their work, visit our website.

Ram pump installed in Cambodia

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Jeremy Leggett on transitioning to a low-carbon world - in 60 seconds!

We have asked past Ashden award-winners to answer tough questions on what is needed to transition to a low-carbon world – and we’ve given them just 60 seconds to do it in! Jeremy Leggett, founder and Chairman of Solarcentury, gave us some quickfire answers on three key topics.

The new government says it will be the ‘greenest government in history’ - quite a bar to set. What would David Cameron have to put first on his agenda to give you faith in the future of a sustainable energy in the UK?
The UK needs a programme of rapid proactive clean-energy mobilisation consistent with the recommendations of the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak oil and Energy Security. The taskforce is forecasting a global oil crunch by 2015 at the latest - around the same time that Ofgem and others are forecasting for a gas and electricity crunch in the UK. Because of the risk that oil producers will start husbanding their resources for use at home, the threat of peak oil means we have to mobilise clean energy far faster than we would have to in order to get to 80% cuts by 2050, for carbon reasons.

Do you think feed-in tariffs will revolutionise the domestic energy landscape?
They certainly hold the potential so to do. But they need to be reduced steadily year-on-year, without caps on deployment, in a way that allows a domestic industry to keep growing. Spain has shown how not to do this, and killed the industry it had begun to build. Enemies of renewables - and there are many such - will be trying very hard to repeat this insanity in the UK.

Most people in the UK have heard of climate change and the need to act, but are doing little. What do you think is the biggest thing hindering behaviour change?
The human brain. The older I get the more I lose my faith in the power in rational argument. I fear that most of us prefer comforting narratives over uncomfortable ones, whatever the evidence says. Neuroscience, with all its recent advances, is becoming a must for amateur study by those of us who seek to change the world for the better.

Solarcentury won and Ashden Award in 2007, click here to find out more.

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This week: Ashden India Collective launch

This Wednesday, sixteen past Ashden award-winners come together to launch the Ashden India Collective. The idea developed after the conference last February Building a Sustainable Energy Future for India hosted with the Confederation of Indian Industries and the Department for International Development. The group will draw on their experience to develop policy recommendations for the government to widen the use of decentralised renewable energy.

A workshop, Scaling up off-grid renewables , is also taking place on the same day. Jointly hosted by the Ashden Awards and the DfID, this session draws together policy makers, financial institutions, NGOs and donor organisations to explore new initiatives to stimulate renewable energy in India. Outcomes from this event will inform the focus and plan for the Ashden India Collective over the coming year.

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Ashden Awards winners covered across global media

The 2010 Ashden award winners are receiving well-deserved global attention for their achievements. At the start of this month, twelve outstanding projects were in London to receive an Ashden Award for sustainable energy. And none of this escaped the attention of the press- media outlets across the globe have picked up on the news!

In the UK, the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust was covered in The Guardian, The Telegraph and and The Scotsman. BBC News Online featured Willis Renewables’ solar device in Northern Ireland whilst D.light Design and the Rural Energy Foundation were covered for their international success. TECNOSOL appeared on BBC Mundo, MARD/SNV was recognised on BBC Vietnam and CRELUZ was covered on BBC Brasil as a news and and blog item.

National newspapers were have also been keen to share the news. D.light’s success appeared in India in the Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Asian Age and Rediff.com. MARD/SNV were covered in Vietnam News , Voice of Vietnam, Nhan Dan and Vietnam Plus. TECNOSOL had their news shared in the Nicaraguan papers La Prensa, El Nuevo Diario and Bolsa de Noticias. CRELUZ were in dozens of Brazilian papers including Folha do Noroeste, O Globo , O Nacional and O Alto Uruguai whilst Sky Link Innovators and the Rural Energy Foundation were in East Africa’s Citizen, Allafrica.com, the Africa Science News Service and Business Daily.

TV and radio broadcasters were no less interested in the work of the 2010 Ashden award-winners. BBC World TV, BBC radio World Update both interviewed Ned Tozun from D.light Design whilst interviews with the Rural Energy Foundation and MARD/SNV were made for BBC World Today. BBC's Science in Action explored MARD/SNV’s biogas project in Vietnam as a feature story for their radio show. Regionally, Sky Link Innovators and D.light Design were interviewed on two occasions for BBC Africa Network, whilst BBC Swahili service promoted Sky Link’s work along with that of the Rural Energy Foundation and D.light Design. The BBC Hindi service also covered D.light Design in their science magazine. CNN India covered a story on D.light, RBS TV covered a story on CRELUZ and Kenya Broadcasting Corporation covered Sky Link Innovators. Radio France International and Voice of America interviewed Rural Energy Foundation whilst Brazil's Universal FM and Nicaraguan Radio ABC featured stories on CRELUZ and TECNOSOL.

Some of the world’s leading green energy and technology publications and websites were also quick to pick up the news with stories about Ashden award-winners appearing in The New Agriculturist, REEEP, YouGen, Scidev.net, Oneworld.net , Planet Green and Treehugger.com.

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Snapshots from a week with the international award-winners

2010 Ashden award-winners and Ashden staff on the London Eye (Photo: Dorcas Cheng-Tozun)

Earlier this month was a frenzy of activity in London, six UK and six international winners were in town, showcasing their work before being presented with their globally recognised award by Sir David Attenborough at the Royal Geographical Society.

For the international project representatives who had made the journey to the UK, the week was filled with judging interviews, business development meetings, media training, presentation practices, a full-day conference and the prestigious Ashden Awards ceremony - they even managed to fit in some sight-seeing! We're honoured to have had our international winners here for a week and what a week it was...


Chris Mulindwa, Rural Energy Foundation, at the Ashden Awards Conference (Photo: Dorcas Cheng-Tozun)


Ned Tozun, D.light Design, with Nova solar light at the Ashden Awards Conference (Photo: Dorcas Cheng-Tozun)


Willem Nolens, Rural Energy Foundation, and Ned Tozun, D.light Design, at the Ashden Awards Conference (Photo: Dorcas Cheng-Tozun)


Alfonso Barquero, TECNOSOL, giving presentation at the Ashden Awards Conference (Photo: Dorcas Cheng-Tozun)


Sat on a panel at the conference: (left to right) Willem Nolens, Alfonso Barquero, Vladimir Delagneau Barquero, Chris Nolans and Ned Tozun.
(Photo: Dorcas Cheng-Tozun)


Samwel Kinoti, Sky Link Innovators, and Chris Mulindwa, Rural Energy Foundation, sightseeing on the Southbank (Photo: Dorcas Cheng-Tozun)

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Will the coalition live up to David Cameron's promise to be the “greenest-ever government”? - Geoffrey Lean

Will the coalition live up to David Cameron's promise to be the “greenest-ever government”? Right now, the signals are mixed, says Geoffrey Lean, Environmental Correspondent at The Daily Telegraph.

In theory it should be. As the Prime Minister pointed out the day after the election, creating low-carbon prosperity is one of the things on which both partners most agree. He and key senior colleagues are really committed to this, perhaps even more so than Nick Clegg. And – especially after the budget – the Lib Dems really need to deliver on the low-carbon agenda if they are to retain the support of their constituency.

One good sign is that there is to be an immediate Energy Bill. This will implement a manifesto promise to provide householders with loans to introduce energy saving measures to be paid back out of the savings made. The ministerial team at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, led by Chris Huhne, is impressive - and Cameron went out of his way to show them his wholehearted support when visiting the Department as one of his first engagements. Even George Osborne has promised to make the Treasury “a green ally, not a foe.”

Yet the cuts may mean that, in practice, the Government falls far short of its intentions. It has already scrapped grants helping householders install renewable energy at home, without putting anything in its place. And it has failed to endorse a Labour commitment to introduce a 'Renewable Heat Incentive'(a kind of feed-in tarrif for heat) because of lack of support from that 'green ally', the Treasury. There is also concern that cuts may decimate grants for farmers to safeguard nature by farming in environmentally sensitive ways - tragic for wildlife and the countryside. What happens to these and, above all, the Renewable Heat Incentive, will give us some idea of how green this government is really going to be.

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