The popular energy, sustainability and environmental-focused BetaTalk podcast, sponsored by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), has released a two-part episode focused on renewable energy and ground source heat pumps, uniting British ground source heat pump manufacturer, Kensa Heat Pumps, with seasoned heating engineers. Host Nathan Gambling of BetaTeach, an educational resource for plumbers, electricians, heating engineers and students, says: “Travelling the country to meet the people involved in low carbon heating technology is a real pleasure. It was my first time visiting Kensa and I was really impressed!” The Kensa podcasts explore a number of hot topics affecting the renewables and heating industry, spanning opportunities and the need to upskill heating engineers to embrace the UKs transition to zero carbon, to the various solutions on the table to meet this target, including district heating and shared ground loop arrays with ground source heat pumps, nuclear energy, hybrid heat pumps, hydrogen, and load shifting. Representing Kensa Heat Pumps in the podcast are Darren Veal, Technical Sales Support & Commissioning Engineer, and Ally Cook, MCS Compliance Coordinator, accompanied by heat pump specialist William Johnson and regular BetaTalk guests and heating companies BTSE Heating and Renewable Heat. The vital role of system design and commissioning is explored in detail in the podcasts, where it is identified that in order for the UK to fully trust, embrace and benefit from renewable heating technology, system installations must be exemplary, with training critical to ensuring this. Darren says: “At Kensa we don’t just sell systems, we design them. We see training as being as big a part of company growth as anything else. “It was great to spend time with Nathan and his Beta Talk team discussing low carbon solutions and the upskilling of engineers. Here’s to a decarbonised future for all generations!” The two-part podcast is available to listen to here.

The world is turning its focus to the point of environmental awareness as people strive to incorporate eco-friendlier methodology into their day-to-day practices. Everyone is becoming clean and ‘green’ as far as the things they purchase, the food they eat, and how they function on a regular basis. Reducing every person’s carbon footprint is the way to make the planet a healthier, safer place for the generations that follow. While you can effectively save the energy within your home or business through the installation of new windows and doors, a simple solution that can be implemented quickly is the use of commercial solar lights. These lights use the energy produced by the sun for power to light various areas throughout your property. They’re not only good for the planet; they’re cost-effective. Types Of Solar Lights There is a multitude of different types of solar lights spanning the market. Depending on your aesthetic, manufacturers have created a variety of styles, shapes, colors, and sizes so the lighting can be useful in any design scheme with them serving a wide range of purposes. Solar-powered path lights: Designing various pathways, sidewalks, even the driveway around the home or your small business are great ways to give curb appeal. But you can only really enjoy the beauty of this type of landscaping during the daytime. The perfect way to enhance these features is to add illumination that will showcase them even when it’s dark. Not only will solar lights add charm at night, but they will also act to protect visitors from missteps or falls when it’s difficult to see. Solar lights for decoration: Decorative lanterns, blown glass, string lights, and a host of other styles are the perfect backdrop to outdoor evening get-togethers, whether it be a pool party or a barbecue on the deck. They produce the ideal ambiance for the intimate gathering without the need for added expenses to run lighting for the event, plus they’re beautiful in comparison. For benefits of these light sources go to https://www.buildings.com/buzz/buildings-buzz/entryid/227/benefits-of-solar-lighting. Solar-powered spotlights: A solar spotlight boasts as being among the brightest of the solar family. It notes to produce light that is comparable to that of a 40-watt incandescent bulb. You can set these to highlight a focal point for which you want to bring special attention. Some people like to do this with their front door entryway and some have specific beloved garden elements they want to stand out. You can get these with the option of motion detection, so they come on when there is any type of movement. A motion-detected spotlight would be helpful at the entrance to a house or company front entry as people approach. Or you can merely have those that stay on. The main issue facing the environment is the ever-expanding carbon footprint that stems from energy production through the use of non-renewable sources. There are genuinely simplistic things that each person can do in an effort to reduce their impact. And solar lights are not only a way to do a good thing for the planet, but they are also a way for you to add cost-effective light sources to any environment. Click here to learn the benefits. The issue that some people face in going green or clean is that the price point for items such as the solar lights themselves can prove to be somewhat stifling at first glance. But when you take into consideration the amount of money that you save with energy bills, not to mention supplies such as light bulbs, you’ll see that you will truly get your money back and some. The amount of money in light bulbs for regular lighting alone can be incredible. When you purchase solar lights, there’s no added expense after that point. They have the potential to last for years with very little maintenance, if any. Solar lights provide an unlimited source of power if you place them where they can make contact with the sun. It’s an ideal alternative to any other resource, such as electricity. Going green doesn’t have to take tons of effort or be exhaustive. You can start small, and solar lights are ideal for

A new district energy centre has been opened in Newcastle as part of a commitment to tackle climate change in the area by saving more than 30,000 tonnes of carbon over 40 years. The energy centre is being officially launched by ENGIE UK, in partnership with Newcastle City Council. The official launch event, which took place on Wednesday, January 15, saw the district energy centre – which forms part of a wider £20m low carbon scheme within the City – further boosting Newcastle’s commitment to tackling climate change by saving more than 30,000 tonnes of carbon over 40 years. The facility on the flagship Newcastle Helix site, will use a 5km network of underground pipes to supply heating and cooling to 10 buildings and up to 450 homes on site. Using heat and power created through the use of low carbon and cost-effective energy solutions, including natural gas fired CHP (Combined Heat and Power), the centre also generates chilled water and cooling facilities and electricity to neighbouring buildings. It’s hoped the new centre will be the first of many innovative energy projects resulting from the Regenerate Newcastle Partnership; a joint venture between ENGIE and Newcastle City Council, to develop and operate district energy schemes within the City over a 40-year term. Nicola Lovett, Chief Executive of ENGIE UK and Ireland, said: “We are delighted to be marking the completion of the new Helix Energy Centre, the first of what we hope will be many innovative low carbon energy projects delivered by our long-term partnership with Newcastle City Council. “With local authorities playing an increasingly key role in the drive to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions, ENGIE is committed to using its expertise to support Newcastle with its climate goals and on its journey to becoming a zero carbon city by 2030.”  The centre has been made possible with funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Government’s Local Growth Deal through the North East Local Enterprise Partnership. Leader of Newcastle City Council, Cllr Nick Forbes, said: “Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet so it’s incumbent on all of us to do what we can to reduce our carbon emissions. “Last year we declared a climate change emergency and since then have set up a Climate Change Convention and are putting in place a range of measures to make the city carbon zero by 2030. “The opening of the District Energy Centre is a significant boost to our climate change credentials and will provide affordable and sustainable heating to residents and cutting-edge businesses which are bringing high quality jobs to the city,” added Cllr Forbes, who also chairs the council’s Climate Change Committee. Helix District Energy Centre is the first innovative scheme in a venture to develop District Energy in the Newcastle city boundaries as part of the Regenerate Newcastle Partnership.

Amey has joined forces with a specialist supplier in the augmented reality field to develop a new app to address ‘unflushables’ in the sewer network. The firm will utilise ClicksandLinks technology to show householders right before their eyes how flushing the wrong items would block their drains and sewers. The app allows sewer operatives to ‘overlay’ a typical sewer network on a customer’s property or surrounding area on their Android mobile phone. The app then runs animations which mock-up how ‘unflushable blockages’ are formed in real time. It will be piloted across the Severn Trent contract, which serves 4 million properties and 8 million customers across the area. Currently, blockages are the most frequent waste issue reported to all water companies, with around 70% of sewer blockages on the network caused by unflushables, such as fats, oils, grease, wet wipes etc. Amey is hoping that the app will be an effective way to increase customer understanding about the impact unflushables have on the water network, and help to prevent future blockages. Speaking about the app, Ben Hawkins from Amey’s innovation team, said: “The UK water industry spends about £90m a year clearing sewer blockages. Many of these are caused by putting unflushables down the drain. This app is the first of its kind and demonstrates Amey’s commitment to using new technology, in increasingly tech-reliant times, to help our customers visualise and solve these issues.” The app will be launched in 2020.

The team at Online Mortgage Advisor have conducted in-depth analysis on the areas of the country most at risk of flooding in the future. As well as giving users in England an idea of how ‘at risk’ their county and local authority is of flooding as a percentage, the English Flood Predictor tool also demonstrates if their local MP decided to vote for or against new climate change legislation to come into place,  as well as the flood risk for specific MP constituencies. According to the analysis* undertaken, the 10 UK counties with the most risk of flooding in percentage are: ·         East Riding of Yorkshire – 48.2% (% of the county at risk of flooding) ·         Lincolnshire – 33.21% ·         Inner London – 22.8% ·         Somerset – 18.3% ·         Surrey – 11.27% ·         Berkshire – 10.85% ·         Cambridgeshire – 10.83% ·         Leicestershire – 10.45% ·         Norfolk – 10.34% ·         Nottinghamshire – 10.1% Furthermore, the English constituencies with the highest proportion of properties with a ‘high risk’ of flooding, alongside their relevant MP’s voting record, emerged as follows: Constituencies MP’s & Voting Records   Constituency % at ‘High Risk’ MP Name Party Voted? 1 Boston & Skegness 10.81% Matt Warman Conservative Against 2 Runnymeade & Weybridge 8.05% Phillip Hammond Independent For & Against 3 East Devon 6.09% Hugo Swire Conservative Against 4 Calder Valley 4.56% Craig Whittaker Conservative Against 5 Louth & Horncastle 4.21% Victoria Atkins Conservative Against 6 Windsor 4% Adam Afriyie Conservative Against 7 Leeds Central 3.91% Hillary Benn Labour For 8 Loughborough 3.33% Nicky Morgan Conservative Against 9 Westmorland & Lonsdale 3.26% Tim Farron Liberal Democrat For 10 Rochester & Strood 3.25% Kelly Tolhurst Conservative Against Pete Mugleston, Mortgage Expert at Online Mortgage Advisor, commented: “With reports on flood-ravaged towns and villages up and down England dominating the recent news agenda following periods of heavy rain – and many worried about how their homes and areas might fare should the weather take a turn for the worse again – we wanted to showcase to English inhabitants precisely how at risk their homes are of flooding in the future. “With a general election just around the corner, we also built the English Flood Predictor in a bid to help those living in areas at a risk of flooding to understand how much emphasis their local MP’s put on the environment and tackling the effects of global warming.”

Kier is set to continue serving 1.8 million customers across the South West after being named on the new Network Services Alliance (NSA) Water Framework. The contractor was successfully reappointed to the South West Water framework as it continues to develop its long-standing relationship with the national utility. The framework, which is part of AMP7, will begin in April 2020 for an initial three-year period with the potential for a five-year extension.   Under the framework, Kier will continue to deliver both planned and 24/7 reactive services including mains network repair and maintenance, metering, new connections and developer services to SWW customers. A new scope of works for AMP7 will now also include waste reactive network and developer services into the contract. Barry McNicholas, group managing director at Kier Utilities and Rail, said: “It’s testament to our long-standing relationship with South West Water that we have been awarded these ongoing AMP7 works. Delivering quality services for 1.8 million customers in the South West has been our focus for over 25 years and we are looking forward to continuing to ensure this vital infrastructure is maintained to the same high standard and working in collaboration with South West Water to offer an industry leading experience for its customers.” Iain Vosper, South West Water’s Operations Director – Drinking Water Services, added: “The Network Services Alliance (NSA) contract is our most significant operational contract between 2020 and 2025.
 “The NSA contract has been a key strategic contract for SWW that has been successful in delivering network distribution, metering and new connection activity since 2016/17 for both South West Water and Bournemouth Water regions. The collaborative approach the business took to the tender process has resulted in the inclusion of similar activities across the water, wastewater and engineering directorates to target greater efficiencies in activities previously undertaken under separate contracts. “This is an exciting time for South West Water and Kier, as we have both accepted stretching and challenging performance metrics, delivering industry-leading service to our customers.”  

Electrical engineering firm, Smith Brothers Contracting, has secured a position on the Yorkshire Water high-voltage (HV) electrical design, build, and specialist studies services framework – which carries a total forecast value of up to £55m. The framework will deliver high-voltage electrical works and services – including design, build, installation, refurbishment and support – alongside routine planned and reactive inspection and maintenance to Yorkshire Water’s existing high-voltage equipment. The Elland-based power contracting firm will take responsibly for all projects in the west region, for a minimum of four years – to February 2023 – with the first being the design and build of a new 11kV customer substation, and the replacement of a motor control centre (MCC). Dave Ogden, managing director at Smith Brothers said: “We’ve worked with Yorkshire Water for several years, and we’re incredibly proud to have been selected to join such a significant framework. “Our reputation for providing end-to-end services across numerous EPC and maintenance projects undoubtedly worked in our favour, and we’re looking forward to a successful partnership.” Martin Priestley, senior engineering project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We are confident these appointments will contribute to the consistent and efficient provision of safe, quality, reliable assets, that will in turn help us to ensure we provide the level of service our customers expect and value.” Smith Brothers is a high-voltage power engineering contractor and accredited ICP, specialising in delivering turnkey network connection packages across an array of sectors – including renewable energy, utilities, industrial and commercial.