Visited Chester’s nationwide solar panel supplier, Solar Twin Ltd, Immediately after being elected. An engineer, Stephen Mosley took a keen interest in our Scottish invented, innovative solar water heating technology and business plan.

Stephen Mosley also heard our concerns about the competitive imbalance in the solar market where panels which heat water are currently not subsidised (apart from in a few places such as West Cheshire and Chester, where a generous £1000 solar heating grant still remains!). while solar panels (photovoltaics) which generate electricity are being subsidised generously with the Feed in Tariff of 41p per unit of energy for 25 years.

While at our Chester offices, Stephen Mosley signed an Early Day motion to support the “Renewable Heat Incentive” (follow this link to find out how many MP’s have now signed!) and, last week, in further support of this campaign for renewable heat to have “market parity” with renewable electricity, he asked this question in parliament:

Extract from the Parliamentary Record – Hansard: 13 July 2010 : Column 654W

“Topic: Renewable Energy: Heating

“Stephen Mosley [MP for Chester] asked:

“To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to encourage the take-up of renewable heating systems. [7119]

“Gregory Barker [Energy Minister] replied:

The Government are committed to an ambitious agenda on renewable heat. Analysis by DECC has suggested that under one scenario in which the UK meets its target for 15% of total energy to come from renewable sources by 2020, around 12% of UK heat demand could be met by renewable heat. As of 2007 only around 1.1 % of UK heat demand was met from renewable sources.

“The Government are therefore committed to tackling the financial and non-financial barriers faced by the renewable heat sector. In particular we are currently looking closely at the renewable heat incentive (RHI) proposals. We will look to make an announcement on the future of the proposed RHI scheme as soon as possible.”

Barry Johnston, Managing Director of Solar Twin Ltd commented today:

“It is heartening that Solartwin’s local MP has supported us so actively in our quest for a lavel playing field in the renewable energy market. I hope that Government are able to make an announcement – before Parliament’s summer recess. The Renewable Heat Incentive must not be dumped into yet another consultation, one which may extend any delay into 2011.

What can be done to address the imbalances in the energy market right now? For example:

• Domestic energy wastage is in effect incentivised by only 5% VAT being levied.
• PV solar panels with wires coming out of them (5 years embodied energy payback) having their costs-benefits increased fivefold by FIT’s. They are now a financial no brainer. Some installers are even giving them away free – in exchange for owning the FIT income for 25 years!
• Themal solar panels which deliver heat instead (with a much better 2 year embodied energy payback) have no subsidy, except in a few places like Chester – where they are being snapped up by people who are fearful that even these grants will evaporate. Our cheaper and inherently more cost efficient solar thermal system, for example, is being outcompeted by DECC”s absurd market manipulation.

The government are not helping the microgeneration industry by mis-phasing the start of subsidy for one technology (in effect solar electricity) one year ahead of renewable heat. Imposing a year of of delay on renewable heat almost looks like industrial vandalism. How can UK ever build a decent renewables industry when the accelerator and the brake are each being randomly being stamped upon? Might a European competition regulator be able to intervene?

A fun way to appreciate the impact of UK’s current solar energy market-rigging problem is probably in the form of an analogy.
Can you countenance any credible government implementing a eat “healthy fresh food” policy by cutting the shop price of green apples (but not red apples) to a mere 20% of today’s prices? Will this wheeze raise taxes or Government spending? Not at all! Genius government bean counters are able to deliver this 80% subsidy “totally outside the tax system”. How? By implementing a law which forces food retailers to increase the price of all other non-apple forms of food to cover the subsidy costs, plus administration? (This general increase in food price will be called a levy – just to reassure everyone that it is not a tax.)

This is the green apple subsidy scenario. It begs interesting questions, such as:

• Is such a huge 80% price cut a wise thing to do?
• Even if a green apple price cut is appropriate – why drop the price so suddenly?
• Was a real “potential market distortion” analysis carried out beforehand?
• Will cost-conscious farmers start feeding their livestock on these cheap green apples?
• What, exactly is wrong with red apples? Why are green apples so sexy?
• Can the red apple suppliers get the competition regulators to intervene? No. Why will the competition regulators not intervene? Because of regulations, of course. (Get real!) What regulations? Well, the complex regulatory scheme which exists to prove that certain green apples are really green is an industry led, voluntary scheme. So there is no compulsion to have the 80% price reduction. Ha!
• Did the green apple suppliers pay their lobbyists well?
• Did the green apple subsidy consultation process ask the right questions? Could the green apple subsidy consultation have been scoped a bit wider?
• Why are batty but supposedly virtuous health promotion ideas exempt from logical challenge?
• How many more apples will be sold in total?
• By how much will this put up the cost of non-apple food?
• How soon will all the red apples trees be cut down, burnt and replanted?
• Are green apples so cheap that they are worth buying and turning into orchard compost – so that all the newly planted green apple trees grow faster?
• Will the red apple trees reach 5 years – the age of fruit production – before the excess nature of this scheme is realised and it is stopped?
• Is this a good way to use taxpayer’s money in pursuit of public health?
• Will the civil servants who led this project be allowed to set up any other new health schemes? Promoted? Honoured?
• Surely this levy on non green apple eaters is just a tax by another name? How dull do the backers of this healthy scheme think the public are?
• How, exactly, is the Green Apple Subsidy scheme a UK based improvement on a successful European idea, as they claim?

The above story almost could be a plot for surrealist novel. Just add in a bit of romance and the human consequences: starvation, sudden riches, lost jobs, lost homes, farms closing, fury at the leaden character of government, etc. Now for the real thing – just change a few words – but not the concepts or consequences.

The Feed in Tariff. (This is real!)

Can you countenance any sane government implementing a “support green energy” policy by boosting the costs benefits of renewable energy technology solar panels, but only those which are electrical and which have wires coming out of them by adding 425% to their costs-benefit over 25 years, while at the same time not boosting the costs-benefits of renewable heat producing renewable energy technology, such as solar panels with pipes coming out of them? How about the government bean counters, with an weather eye on cleverly delivering this 80% subsidy “outside the tax system” by implementing a law which forces energy retailers to increase the price of all other non-renewable forms of food to energy the subsidy costs, plus administration? This general increase in energy price will be called a levy – just to reassure everyone that it is not a tax.

This is a real, not a theoretical, scenario. It obviously begs interesting questions such as:

• Is huge 425% improvement in costs-benefits a wise thing to do? Why boost the costs-benefits so much and so suddenly?
• Was a real “potential market distortion” analysis carried out beforehand?
• Will cost-conscious pensioners and investors start feeding their bank accounts with this 25 year solar panel income because it is far, far, better than any bank interest rate?
• What, exactly is wrong with renewable heat? (77% of all energy used outside the transport sector is used as heat!) Why is renewable electricity so sexy?
• Can the renewable heat suppliers get the competition regulators to intervene? No. Why will the competition regulators not intervene? Because of regulations, of course. (Get real!) What regulations? Well, the complex regulatory scheme which allows for the 425%  subsidy for green electricity’s costs benefits is an industry led, voluntary scheme. So there is no compulsion at all. Ha!
• Did the renewable electricity people pay their lobbyists well?
• Did the Feed In Tariff consultation process ask the right questions? Could the FIT consultation have been scoped a bit wider – perhaps to look at renewables and energy efficiency in general?
• Are such narrow, and supposedly virtuous, “green energy promotion” wheezes exempt from logical challenge?
• How many more solar electric panels will be sold in total? By how much will this put up the cost of conventional electricity? Answer: obviously by 4.25% per 1% of solar electric panel energy market penetration.
• What happens if there is 10% energy market penetration by solar electric panels? (Electricity prices rise by 42.5%, of course.)
• How soon will all the renewable heat business last? Many will be gone by Christmas. The rest will be weakened. Companies need customers in order to pay for salaries, R&D and other bills
• Is solar electricity now so heavily subsidised companies will give away free solar panels in exchange for the subsidy? This is already happening. Our business analysis of the current business involved shows 7 years to reach capital payback and the remaining 18 years of subsidy is free money from the energy user. We all have to have to climb on this stupid bandwagon and we are looking for investors who will allow up to give free solar panels away too.
• Will we get the funds in place and the panels installed before the excess of this subsidy scheme is realised and it is stopped or reduced?
• Is this subsidy really a good way to use taxpayer’s money in pursuit of sustainability and carbon emissions?
• Did you know that solar electric panels take five years to reach “energy breakeven”? Over 5 years is the time it takes for them to pay back the energy which is consumed in their manufacture.
• Did you know that the unsubsidised solar heat panels take less than two years to reach “energy breakeven”? What is the sense in pushing them off the market?
• Will the civil servants who led this project be allowed to set up any other new health schemes? Promoted? Honoured?
• What is the point of having a civil service at all if they end up trashing emerging new technologies?
• Surely this levy on non-renewable energy is just a tax by another name? Just how sleepy do civil servants think the public are?
• How, exactly, is the Feed In Tariff scheme a UK based improvement on a German idea, as is claimed?

Move to West Cheshire and Chester – for a £1000 (typically 25%) solar water heating panel subsidy!

Multi million pound “market rigging” tender was written to benefit old “low carbon” solar heating design only and excluded “zero carbon” Solartwin in all but name, is kicked into touch, following a successful appeal by Solar Twin Ltd.

This morning we heard that following an investigation the tender has been completely abandoned and the a whole new European tender process will now have to start afresh!

In a landmark appeal win, one which is hoped will send shivers down the spines of the secretive world of the construction industry, when tendering for solar water heating technology, Solar Twin Ltd has managed to stop dead in its tracks a European tendering process for solar water heating which comprehensively excluded their technology from being eligible at all.

Amazing or what!

The relevant wording from the appeal decision document is reproduced below. Please note that comments or editing by Solar Twin Ltd is contained in square brackets.:

“Having reviewed the correspondence between yourselves and [name withheld out of courtesy by Solar Twin Ltd], the methodology used to select applicants to go through to tender from the pre-qualification assessment, and having sought legal advice about the procurement process, I have formed the opinion that the procurement thus far may not have fully complied with Regulation 25 [information as to technical or professional ability] of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006. I have therefore decided to cancel the current procurement. [We] will now revisit the pre-qualification assessment methodology, reconsider the specification for its requirement in this matter and will invite a new round of expressions of interest in due course. Your company will, of course, be free to make a further expression of interest at that point.”

Solartwin “delighted”.

Although he refuses to name the organistion against whom they appealed, since they want to preserve a good relationship for the future, Barry Johnston, Managing Director of Solar Twin Ltd, in Chester commented today:

“Today Solar Twin Ltd are celebrating winning a time consuming appeal against an apparently rigged EU tender worth £1.5M plus for supplying Housing Associations in England with solar water heating systems. We are delighted  that we have won – particularly in the context of numerous past exclusionary incidents where we have been ignored.

“The problematic tender had been written to specify “old solar” components, so Solar Twin Ltd (having designed out the very need for some of those components in the first place!) were unable to even apply.

“My colleagues and I are over the moon that this market limiting European tender has been scrapped and that it will start again from scratch. It seemed to us that a regional buying consortium for over ten British social housing providers had unilaterally decided to pick winners before any contract was awarded. The contract was to be worth over £1.5M, perhaps even £7m. This is big stuff for a solar heating business with a turnover of £1.4M pa.

“It’s no fun to go around delaying the process of contracts being awarded to the solar industry but if we had allowed this to go ahead unchallenged we would have just allowed a the big fat solar industry dinosaurs to blackball new technologies such as ours.

“The tsunami of poor governance in the solar industry may, at last, be turning. I don’t know precisely where the tender fell down,  perhaps I will never know, but we had raised several questions including:

The essence of the general questions posed in the appeal by Solar Twin Ltd are:

1/ Why was the writer of the tender at liberty, as he told us on the phone, to write “whatever technical criteria he wishes” (ie to exclude greener systems without proper justification)?

2/ Why has he/she has used “no independent consultants” to write the criteria and have relied on “internal expertise” to write the technical criteria for a public tender worth over £1.5M?

3/ Who, exactly, gave you technical guidance (if any) on writing this spec? Any particular allegiances?

4/ It looks as if the winning candidates, whose collectors must even be available in one square metre size intervals!, have already been given a pre-tender blessing. Why is this?

5/ Can the terms of this contract be reviewed and changed from being component led to being expressed in terms of energy saving and carbon saving per £k spent?

6/ Are the terms of the tender unfair and exclusionary regarding our technology? We think so.

7/ Do those tenants, who depend on your organisation’s objectivity, really get the best product or value for money from this tender?

8/ Why is the tender specifying ONLY for a particular old style technology? Why do you think you can get away with this market-limiting stunt?

For the techyheads and engineers among us, here are some (of the ten) technical questions we put to the appeal:

Why use a market limiting component specification for temperature control? Specifically why must the system be able to set a maximum hot water tank temperature? This requirement is not necessary and excludes Solartwin. The MCS rules MIS 3001 requests a thermostatic mixer valve to limit dhw temperature to taps. Solartwin is open vented so can never exceed 100C. Why impose unfair conponent based solutions to problems when other simple slutions exist? With one collector installed into a typical 120 litre tank, the tank will never boil. The same is true of two collectors installed into 220 litres. Keeping it below boiling complies with building regs, water regs and MIS 3001 which is the MCS installation specification. We limit the water leaving it to 60C using a thermostatic blender valve as required by MCS. The tender, by limiting the temperature of water in the tank rather than the temperature of the water leaving it is a deliberate means of excluding us. We offer the same or better performance in terms of money spent. Do you care that it is performance, not components, that really matter?

Why do the tender’s numerical collector perfomance criteria in effect specify single glazed solar panels, when ours, being double glazed, cannot ever meet? Ours deliver slightly less heat per sqm of panel are but have other compensating advantages such as being able to freeze in winter and not to use antifreeze. We have already raised similar concerns about similar market limiting criteria being specified by Carbon Trust to the Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme. These criteria would only be of relevance if the properties had tiny roofs of under about 3-5 sqm. This is about the size of a small shed roof! We do not think that any candidate property would ever be short of roof space. Most roofs are over 10 sqm. Our panel covers less than a third of this, at 3.25 sqm. The specification of what are in effect irrelevant efficiencies per square meter is a deliberate means of excluding our technology from the tender. As a zero carbon technology, we offer the same or even better energy and carbon saving performance. It should be carbon and energy performance, not specific components that should really matter to funders.

I Hope this is of interest – with thanks for reading from Barry Johnston.

Scottish solar heating – grants are evaporating – apply now – urgent newsflash – 15 July 2010

Please excuse the rather hasty format of this solar news, but I really want to get this good, bad and urgent solar news out to you (and linked, please, to any contacts you feel may be interested in domestic solar thermal panels) right now….

- The bad solar news is that the pot of funds for 30% grants for solar water heating in Scotland is now all “allocated”.
- The good solar news is that, in reality, not everyone will take up their option to have a solar heating installation.
- So some more good solar news is that, fortunately, there is a waiting list operating for these possibly “released” unused funds to be reallocated to new “queued” applicants – which could yet be YOU!

- The most urgent solar news of all is that:

1/ You are only allowed to join the solar grants queue before 5.30 pm on Friday 23 July. And it seems that you must apply on paper – so please allow for postal delays. After that the door to the solar grants queue shuts. Bang!

2/ The solar grants queue operates on a “first come first served” basis. So get in now. Zoom!

3/ Latecomers are less likely to be funded, since the funds may well all be spent by the time the turns of any latecomers comes up. Weep!
4/ So the sooner you join the queue, the sooner your turn may come up – if at all. Free money!
5/ So please consider applying now by first class post. Scribble-lick-post!

Scottish 30% solar water heating grants are NOT means tested – to apply for your 30% solar grants – well – to join the queue you need:

- a solar heating quote (we can do these for you, rapidly, by phone) and
- a correctly completed solar grant application form.

At Solartwin, we can secure you an advantageous place in the solar grants queue super-quick. If you don’t already have a Scottish solar grant application form, we can email you a pdf copy of the blank one. But best of all, we can correctly pre-fill most of it in for you, with all our techy details, automatically. Just ask us – this will save you time. You then just add your address and signature and tick some check-boxes. And post it off immediately. If you live near Edinburgh, perhaps you can gain a few places by hand delivering your solar grant application as hard (ie paper) copy (not by fax or email) to:

Services Delivery Team
Energy Saving Trust
2nd Floor, Ocean Point 1
94 Ocean Drive
Edinburgh, EH6 6JH

If reception are prepared to date-stamp and time-stamp your application when you hand it in, then please ask them to do so – as it may affect your place in the queue. On reflection, if you think that you may, in the next six months or so, want a solar water heating system, then please apply now – today – before tomorrow.  Why such insistence? Well, we would really love you to be our customer, of course!

And I doubt if Scotland will ever again have such a generous capital subsidy scheme for solar water heating systems. Most Scottish grants for Solartwin systems are around £1142 (for installations which cost just under £4000 including VAT but before the grant is applied). This means you may yet be able to get a solar water heating installation which lightens your pocket by less than £3000.

Don’t miss this evanescent solar grant – and please do tell your friends that the door will finally shut for good as soon as next Friday!

I do hope this rather mixed news is useful to you – and to any friends to whom you can copy it now. And if they end up ordering a solar heating system with a £1142 grant as a result of your sending this, perhaps they will thank you by … (you can imagine this bit!).

If ever time was money, then it is today! We are here to help and we are looking forward to hearing from you on 0845 1300 137 or 01244 403 407.

With sunny best wishes from Barry Johnston, Managing Director of Solar Twin Ltd.

PASTED COPY OF EMAIL FROM EST SCOTLAND – INFORMING US OF NEWS OF SOLAR GRANTS CUTS

Date: 15 July 2010

From: Anthony Kyriakides – Energy Saving Trust Scotland.
Subject: FW: Installer update – Upcoming closure of the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grants scheme

Following the recent announcement regarding the upcoming Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme closure, we have seen a steep rise in the number of applications submitted. Subsequently, remaining grant funding has now been fully allocated and a grant applicant waiting list is now in operation.

As per the grant scheme closure correspondence below sent to you on 2nd July 2010, please be aware that this waiting list offers no guarantee of grant funding and funds will only become available to those on the waiting list if other allocated grants are not successfully claimed.

At this stage we are not able to indicate if or when any funding for reallocation will become available. Please note that grant terms and conditions do not allow work to start before an offer of grant is made.  This means that if your customers wish to wait to find out if Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant funding will be made available to them, then they need to ensure that no work has been carried out in relation to their renewable installation prior to receiving a formal written offer of grant.

Further applications received until the scheme closure date of 5.30pm on 23rd July 2010 will be added to the waiting list. We will be writing to those applicants who are on the waiting list to make them aware of the status of their application. If you have customers who have not yet applied for a grant and have questions about the grant scheme please direct them to their local Energy Saving Scotland advice centre on 0800 512 012. Thank you for your continued support in communicating the grant scheme closure to Scottish householders.

Yours sincerely, Anthony Kyriakides, Manager, Scottish Renewables, Energy Saving Trust.”

Over-successful 30% Scottish solar grants now resort to a waiting list!

First come is first served – so apply immediately.

Why choose Solartwin’s zero carbon solar water heating system?

Invented in Scotland, Solartwin is designed to be green: it does not have to be connected into mains electrics for it to work, unlike most solar heating, making Solartwin a more sustainable and inherently cleaner technology. You will reduce your fuel bills and your greenhouse gas emissions. Plus, as a nationwide business, established for 11 years, we keep our emissions as low as possible by usually quoting over the phone, instead of by car. Independently published research shows that a typical conventional solar water heating system, when operated for ten years will negate its carbon savings by around two years in its use of mains electricity. By contrast, a typical Solartwin installation has zero years operational carbon clawback – because its neat wee pump and controls are 100% solar powered.

Please don’t hesitate – call now on 0845 1300 137 or 01244 403 407 for your free instant quote, contacts of a local Solartwin user and immediate help with getting the grant funds pre-allocated against your name – before they evaporate. Blink in the summer sunlight – and you may miss out.

We are open until 8 pm. We are all looking forward to speaking with you soon.

FAQ on the latest Scottish solar water heating panels grants cuts.

Q. My installer cannot visit me to quote before 23rd July 2010. May I please submit my application without a quote?

A. Don’t worry. Solar Twin Ltd can do instant solar panel quotes by phone. Call 01244 403 407. Thanks to your help and aerial photography, we will survey and quote you in a few minutes. The grant amount that you could receive is calculated based on the quote you submit from a certified installer such as us and a quote is therefore essential to process your application.

Q. What is happening to the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grants scheme?
A. Funds ran out today. You can still apply by 5.30pm on Friday 23rd July 2010 but only for any funds that may not be taken up by people who do not actually order their installations.

Q. How will I know if I have actually been successful in obtaining an Energy Saving Scotland home renewables solar heating grant?

A. Grant applications are processed “as quickly as possible”. This week our customers’ experience was that this delay was now 5 weeks. This likely to get longer given the recent solar grants application stampede. So please apply today! Get the forms filled in right first time. We can always help you here.

Q. How will I know if I am on the waiting list for an Energy Saving Scotland home renewables solar heating grant?
A. Once grant funds are assigned, waiting list applicants who have submitted their application before 23rd July 2010 will receive a letter from the Energy Saving Trust services delivery team notifying them that they are on the grant waiting list. Applicants will then be advised if and when grant funding becomes available.

Q. I have already received a grant offer letter for the installation of my renewable technology. Will I still be able receive the grant offered?
A. Yes, your solar panel grant offer will still be valid in line with the terms and conditions as specified in your grant offer letter. Please note that solar heating grant offers in Scotland are valid for 6 months.

Q. What support is now available to assist domestic renewable installations in Scotland?
A. Not much support for renewable heat. The free Energy Saving Scotland home renewables advice service will continue to be funded by the Scottish Government to provide home visits from specialist renewables advisors to householders in Scotland looking for impartial advice and information on renewable technologies to suit their properties

The Scottish Government has worked with the UK Government on the development of the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for electricity (NOT heat) technologies and from 1st April 2010, FITs have been offering financial support to householders, giving a guaranteed income for renewable electricity generated for up to 25 years.

Please call Solartwin for a free instant quote for a solar electric installation which is eligible for the FIT, currently around 42.5 pence per kilowatt-hour generated.

The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government on a proposed Renewable Heat Incentive. The details of this incentive appears have been kicked into the long grass of yet another cost saving “consultation”, one which will not conclude until 2011 but it currently proposes payments to householders with heat generating renewable technologies.

Q. Will the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme be replaced with a new grant scheme?
A. It seems unlikely.

Q. Is there any other national grant funding available towards the cost of renewable installations?
A. No. Currently there are no national or UK wide schemes available for installing domestic renewables.

Q. Why has the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme closed?
A. The money is technically all “allocated” but is not all spent. The difference is that not everone who applies for a grant actually uses it! Hence the waiting list for second hand solar grant funds. Given its popularity, at a 30% grant, far higher than in England, the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme has been extremely successful in stimulating the market for microgeneration technologies, in particular solar heating, and helping thousands of householders in Scotland to generate their own renewable energy.

Q. Why has the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme stopped before the renewable heat incentive is in place?

A. Perhaps, er, because governments are market-meddling bunglers. No industry can survice stop-start funding for long. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) referred to above was supposed to provide financial support that encourages individuals, communities and businesses to switch from using fossil fuel for heating, to sources such as solar water heating and wood fuel. But it is not yet in place and has been delayed again will the RHI run at all? We don’t know.

Q. Where can I make a complaint regarding the grant scheme closure?
A. Please send your complaint in writing by email or by post to:

Services Delivery
Energy Saving Trust
2nd Floor, Ocean Point One
94 Ocean Drive
Edinburgh, EH6 6JH
servicesdeliveryscotland@est.org.uk

Turn your hot taps green with a Solartwin solar water heating installation at a 30% subsidised price!

Don’t miss it!. Tell you friends. We hope this is useful.

Solar News 7th July 2010.

Note: some of this news is now superseded by today’s announcement that there is now a queue for Scottish grants. So call us now since they are first come first served. Details on our more recent Scottish news page dated 15 July 2010.

Scottish solar water heating 30% grants bonanza about to end.

If you live in Scotland – whether or not you have thought before of applying for a solar water heating grant – please may I suggest that you apply right now? There is generous 30% funding – over £1000 per home still available! But it will vanish very soon indeed.

Why the hurry? Because on 2nd July, Energy Minister John Mather said: “The uptake of small scale renewables among householders is now unprecedented and the home renewables grants funding is facing pressure. The grants scheme will stay open to new applications until the remaining cash is allocated, which at the current rate I expect will be in around three weeks time.”

No problem. You can have your 30% grant pre-approved against your name right away. You can always decide NOT to take it up – later. So if you want to apply for a grant funded Solartwin solar water heating installation, a grant typically worth £1142 – which not be offered again, please call Solartwin now for a quote.

Why choose Solartwin’s zero carbon solar water heating system?

Invented in Scotland, Solartwin is designed to be green: it does not have to be connected into mains electrics for it to work, unlike most solar heating, making Solartwin a more sustainable and inherently cleaner technology. You will reduce your fuel bills and your greenhouse gas emissions. Plus, as a nationwide business, established for 11 years, we keep our emissions as low as possible by usually quoting over the phone, instead of by car. Independently published research shows that a typical conventional solar water heating system, when operated for ten years will negate its carbon savings by around two years in its use of mains electricity. By contrast, a typical Solartwin installation has zero years operational carbon clawback – because its neat wee pump and controls are 100% solar powered.

Please don’t hesitate – call now on 0845 1300 137 or 01244 403 407 for your free instant quote, contacts of a local Solartwin user and immediate help with getting the grant funds pre-allocated against your name – before they evaporate. Blink in the summer sunlight – and you may miss out.

We are open until 8 pm. We are all looking forward to speaking with you soon.

Sunny regards from Barry Johnston at Solar Twin Ltd.

Details of the grants and the fact that they wil vanish soon are in this link.

FAQ on the Scottish solar water heating panels grants cuts.

Q. My installer cannot visit me to quote before 23rd July 2010. May I please submit my application without a quote?

A. Don’t worry. Solar Twin Ltd can do instant solar panel quotes by phone. Call 01244 403 407. Thanks to your help and aerial photography, we will survey and quote you in a few minutes. The grant amount that you could receive is calculated based on the quote you submit from a certified installer such as us and a quote is therefore essential to process your application.

Q. What is happening to the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grants scheme?
A. Following the popularity of the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme, particularly for solar water heating installations, the high demand and successful allocation of grant funding means that the scheme will close to all new applications at 5.30pm on Friday 23rd July 2010 or sooner if the funds are all allocated earlier.

Applications received before this deadline will be processed on a first come first served basis until grant funding is fully allocated – so apply today.

Completed applications must be submitted in hard copy to:

Services Delivery Team
Energy Saving Trust
2nd Floor, Ocean Point 1
94 Ocean Drive
Edinburgh, EH6 6JH

Faxed or emailed application forms will not be accepted.

Solar Twin Ltd have copies of the forms and we can quickly help you with filling in – we have done many of them.

Once grant funding is fully allocated a waiting list will operate for the remaining applications that arrived before the 23rd July 2010 scheme closure deadline.

This waiting list offers NO guarantee of grant funding. Finances will only become available if/when formerly allocated grant funding is not successfully claimed.

If you wish to join the waiting list it is important to note that no work should be carried out prior to receiving a formal written offer of grant in order to satisfy the grant scheme terms and conditions.

Q. How will I know if I have actually been successful in obtaining an Energy Saving Scotland home renewables solar heating grant?
A. Grant applications are processed “as quickly as possible”. In our customer’s experience this time interval is varies from 1 day to 1 month depending on Energy Saving Trust’s workload. (So please apply today!) You will receive a solar water heating installation grant offer (or rejection) in writing from the Energy Saving Trust services delivery team when your application is fully processed. If there are any queries about to your application they will contact you or your installer for more information. But it is best to get the forms right first time. We can always help you here.

Q. How will I know if I am on the waiting list for an Energy Saving Scotland home renewables solar heating grant?
A. Once grant funds are assigned, remaining applicants who have submitted their application before 23rd July 2010 will receive a letter from the Energy Saving Trust services delivery team notifying them that they are on the grant waiting list. Applicants will then be advised if and when grant funding becomes available.

Q. I have already received a grant offer letter for the installation of my renewable technology. Will I still be able receive the grant offered?
A. Yes, your solar panel grant offer will still be valid in line with the terms and conditions as specified in your grant offer letter. Please note that solar heating grant offers in Scotland are valid for 6 months.

Q. What support is now available to assist domestic renewable installations in Scotland?
A. Not much support for renewable heat. The free Energy Saving Scotland home renewables advice service will continue to be funded by the Scottish Government to provide home visits from specialist renewables advisors to householders in Scotland looking for impartial advice and information on renewable technologies to suit their properties

The Scottish Government has worked with the UK Government on the development of the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for electricity (NOT heat) technologies and from 1st April 2010, FITs have been offering financial support to householders, giving a guaranteed income for renewable electricity generated for up to 25 years.

Call Solartwin for a free instant quote for a solar electric installation which is eligible for the FIT, currently around 42.5 pence per kilowatt-hour generated.

The Scottish Government is also working with the UK Government on the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive. The details of the incentive are not yet confirmed but propose payments to householders with heat generating renewable technologies.

Q. Will the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme be replaced with a new grant scheme?
A. This is not likely.

Q. Is there any other national grant funding available towards the cost of renewable installations?
A. No. Currently there are no national or UK wide schemes available for installing domestic renewables.

Q. Why has the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme closed?
A. The money is nearly all spent. Given its popularity, at a 30% grant, far higher than in England, the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme has been extremely successful in stimulating the market for microgeneration technologies and helping thousands of householders in Scotland to generate their own energy.

By assisting in developing the market in this way, uptake of renewable technologies amongst householders in Scotland is ever increasing and home renewables grant scheme funding is now unsustainable at this increased level of demand given the increasingly tight constraints on the Scottish Government budget.

Q. Why has the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme stopped before the renewable heat incentive is in place?

A. Perhaps because governments are market-meddling bunglers. No industry can survice stop-start funding for long. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is supposed to provide financial support that encourages individuals, communities and businesses to switch from using fossil fuel for heating, to sources such as solar water heating and wood fuel. But it is not yet in place. The UK Government is currently consulting on the design of the incentive and although the scheme is proposed to be introduced in April 2011, this date and the details of the scheme are yet to be finalised and confirmed.

Q. Where can I make a complaint regarding the grant scheme closure?
A. Please send your complaint in writing by email or by post to:

Services Delivery
Energy Saving Trust
2nd Floor, Ocean Point One
94 Ocean Drive
Edinburgh, EH6 6JH
servicesdeliveryscotland@est.org.uk

Extract from the Scottish Government’s press release on solar heating grants cuts.

Last call for home renewables grants Scheme for heating technologies experiencing unprecedented demand.

Householders are being urged to snap up grants for home renewables.
Government grants are available for 30 per cent of the cost, up to a maximum of £4,000, for heating technologies like wood fuel boilers, heat pumps or solar thermal water heating.

Due to unprecedented demand, people are being encouraged to apply for an Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant before the scheme ends.

Energy Minister Jim Mather said:

“The Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme has been extremely successful in helping householders to generate their own green energy, cut carbon and stimulate the market for small scale renewables technologies.
“Since this Government trebled the budget for microgeneration in 2007, 2,900 householders have been helped to cut their fuel bills with Government grants worth around £7.4 million. Those grants have brought a total investment of over £21 million, a welcome boost for an embryonic, low carbon industry.
“The uptake of small scale renewables among householders is now unprecedented and the home renewables grants funding is facing pressure. The grants scheme will stay open to new applications until the remaining cash is allocated, which at the current rate I expect will be in around three weeks time. In an extremely tight financial climate we will now look to see what further support we can give to small scale renewables.”

From the Scottish Parliament Press release dated 2 July 2010.

Turn your hot taps green with a Solartwin solar water heating installation at a 30% subsidised price!

Don’t miss it!. Tell you friends. We hope this is useful.

Review of “Solar Domestic Water Heating”

by “Dr Dark Matter” Chris Laughton, F.I.D.H.E.E.

£34.99 – Hardback. Earthscan Expert Series. May 2010 •  192 pages •  246 x 189mm •  ISBN 9781844773660.

Review summary:

- originality: 2/10

- technical: 5/10

- propaganda: 9/10

- construction industry ethics: 10/10

- odour: 10/10

- flavour: (not tested)

- safety: fail

- sustainability: fail

I must first declare an interest as supplier of a competing type of solar water heating technology, radically different from to that which is lauded in this book. Our newer technology, (which we think is superior – which we have designed to be simpler, greener, and safer) is one to which Chris Laughton has dedicated a decade of his excellent creative writing talents to misrepresenting – in a commercially motivated attempt to remove it from the market.

A rehash of a shorter book published over a decade ago by the same author, “Dr” Laughton’s chaotically illustrated and technically questionable book (which, interestingly, smells delectably of battered fish) nevertheless offers two edifying case studies which can quickly be converted into delightful parlour games for tedious self-confessed solar anoraks.

Whether or not gaining Fellowship of Anorakdom of Real and Traditional Solar [add acronym - ed] is your aspiration, I hope this review sheds a few some photons on the mouthpiece for a nasty technological cartel which systematically blackballs innovative, more sustainable, safer, greener solar heating technologies.

Parlour game 1: Spot-the-Chris-Laughton cut-and-paste” in “Solar Domestic Water Heating” by “Dr” Chris Laughton, F.I.D.H.E.E.,  N.R.C.H.S.T.,  W.N.K.R.,  S.B.T.R.,  R.S.H.L. etc.

As an interesting case study of “mutton dressed as lamb”, one which delights the whole family, young and old, it can be fun to sit indoors on a nice sunny afternoon (like I’m doing right now) and to play “spot the-Chris-Laughton-cut-and-paste”. It’s as easy as falling off a roof. Just read the turgid text and don’t gag. Remember that “Solar Domestic Water Heating”, is a serious text which is arguably much more authoritative than most religious or political texts. Here’s the task. As you read, you must find and allocate as many solar myths, illustrations, expressions and paragraphs – to as many as possible of Dr Laughton’s previously published solar documents. The winner is whoever finds the most unoriginal material. A short list of publications to compare against is given below in the “other works by the same author” section of this review.

(The logical converse of this game is “spot-Dr-Chris-Laughton’s-original-material”, also known as “Find the needle…”)

Parlour game 2 – Spot the “missing-or-biased-material” – in Solar Domestic Water Heating” by “Dr” Chris Laughton, F.I.D.H.E.E.,  N.R.C.H.S.T.,  W.N.K.R.,  S.B.T.R.,  R.S.H.L. etc.

Bored with simple games based on what is actually included in this book? Well, here’s a fun game based on what, instead, is missing or misleading. As a case study of how old solar hegemony operates in UK to myth-build, mislead and smash up innovation – and as a way of spotting how “Dr” L plays this game, sometimes subtly, sometimes crudely, here are a few example to get you heated up.

A – Would you expect “Dr” Chris Laughton, in his section entitled “how long does it take to install a solar water heating system“ to give us a simple answer – measured in days? Well, er, perhaps you expect too much? And why would that be? Perhaps the answer resides in his missing answers. For a typical conventional solar heating system where a hot water cylinder is replaced, the answer is that the installations will take around 3-5 person days, typically 2 people working for 2 days. Compare this figure with that for a simple solar thermal retrofit, such as Solartwin’s. And the answer is 1-2 person days, typically two people on site for less than a day. Whoops – about half the time – or less – and this reduced time requires fewer skills – since a mains electrician is not needed. It is inconceivable that kind-hearted “Dr” Chris Laughton does not really want to inform his readers that some kinds of solar heating systems take half as long to install as other systems. So why is the question of how long it tales to install not answered? Why did Earthscan’s editors not spot this glaring, and telling, omission?

B – A bit like all the “don’t mention the war” jokes, just to play safe, trustworthy “Dr” Chris Laughton completely omits the word “Legionella” from the index of this 192 page book – and from its rather short section on “bacteria”. Despite being well aware of extensive noncompliance, Dr L, as the Chairman of the British Standards Institution’s Solar Thermal Technical Committee, fails to tell readers his book that most of the plumbing designs which illustrates in “Solar Domestic Water Heating” actually fail to comply with UK and European safety guidance on Legionella. He does not mention that such plumbing may be “highly likely” to be creating a risk of Legionella, according to an author of the UK and European safety guidance. Legionella are dangerous bacteria which can thrive in tepid water, such as that which is created in solar heaters, and which, if inhaled in, say a shower spray, can cause a lethal form of pmeumonia. Is (a) Dr L’s conspicuous omission of the word “Legionella” and (b) his inclusion of numerous noncompliant plumbing diagrams, (which a major UK insurance broker has described as “defective” and therefore as uninsurable) an integral part of the European solar industry’s irresponsible shut-down of the Legionella safety debate, of which we have evidence of Dr L’s participation.

C – Earthscam’s marketing blurb for this book claims that solar water heating technology is the most environmentally-friendly way to heat water. This “most” claim begs the two questions of: (1) How environmentally friendly? and (1) Are some varieties of solar water heating more friendly than others? In reality, some solar water heating technologies are much more environmentally friendly than others. Yet forgotten from the index of Dr Chris Laughton’s seminal tome are rather important expressions such as sustainability and carbon footprint. Such omissions are not surprising, given that unless solar water heating systems are solar electric (PV) pumped, (as all of Solartwin’s are) they typically negate 20% of their carbon savings at an electrical power station because mains electrical power is used to run their old fashioned and clunky antifreeze circulator pumps. Who wants the public to be kept permanently in the dark on this wasteful unsustainability? Earthscan Expert Dr Laughton certainly does. Does Dr Laughton remember the day when he came to my home, sat in the front room where, I am sitting now, and “advised” me not to publish this 20% carbon clawback because it was an embarrassment to the Board of the Solar Trade Association whose companies we named? Perhaps he forgets the unlawful £1000 fine levied on us in our absence by the Solar Trade Association for “bringing the industry into disrepute” by our taking external advice in the process of our resisting this bullying censorship? (Dr L was Chairman of the Solar Trade Association at the time.)

D – Oddly missing from the section on the economics of solar water heating is a statement that some of the more complex conventional solar water heating systems can cost as much to maintain as they save in fuel costs. This omission by a trusted source leaves readers, er, over-enthusiastic/deluded (delete as appropriate) about costs-benefits of solar thermal. Tell the truth man! Perhaps Dr Laughton appreciates the propaganda maxim of “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” What half decent author really cares anyway about inconvenient facts like the costs of maintaining old style solar thermal systems, (regular antifreeze replacements etc) when his main role is to function as a trusted “independent consultant” (stooge) for the conventional solar heating industry and to get his mendacious material published by the over-trusting nice folk at Earthscan. With his anarchistic penchant for “wrecking as recreation”, Dr L has been an effective remote control blocker of innovation – in various influential bodies such as The Energy Saving Trust (Technical Author), The Solar Trade Association (Technical author and ex Chairman), The Building Research Establishment (Technical Author and a valued consultant), The British Standards Institution, (Solar Committee Chairman), The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (as the Institute of Domestic Heating and Environmental Engineers’ (IDHEE) representative)? An interesting economic question to ask is – how much does Dr Chris Laughton stand to lose (besides his already frayed reputation) by continuing to support a corrupt, ailing and probably unsustainable old solar water heating cartel?

But who lets mere facts get in the way of good old propaganda?

As the Earthscan blurb says, as fossil fuel prices continue to rise, and awareness of climate change grows, interest in domestic solar water heating is expanding. So it is especially important that what is published by the likes of Earthscan is accurate and balanced. Sadly, “Solar Domestic Water Heating” is an unbalanced and less than comprehensive introduction solar domestic water heating systems – which is riddled with technical errors and omissions, vague generalities and safety cover-ups.

To the author’s credit, “Solar Domestic Water Heating” shows how some types domestic solar water heating systems work, and shows some of the different types of systems, types of collectors, both flat plate and evacuated tube, types of storage tanks and other accessories. But it misses out some essential financial, safety and sustainability questions, preferring to immerse and divert the reader in technicalities on how to cope with the numerous flaws in concentional solar – flaws which can actually be designed away completely by the use of better solar water heating technology in the first place.

Opinion-forming by bending the truth is the essence of Dr Laughton’s excellent consultancy skills. He is far more talented in subversion, obfuscation and propaganda than as a solar engineer. Earthscan’s lazy choice of author means that “Solar Domestic Water Heating” by Dr Chris Laughton discredits Earthscan’s “Experts’ Series” as a once-trusted source of information. Earthscan have been mugged.

At £35 a copy, “Solar Domestic Water Heating” is just the kind of dodgy ripoff one would expect from a traditional old solar cowboy. Buy this book – if you enjoy living in the shade – in the solar past. While “Solar Domestic Water Heating” may be a mediocre read, it is, in contrast, an excellent case study into the close-to-the-wind tactics of one of UK’s least qualified solar experts. Thanks to this edifying book you can learn, for just £35, plus postage, how one of the most strident supporters of outdated solar water heating technologies delivers the “dark matter” against innovative and disruptive solar thermal technologies such as Solartwin.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“Dr.” Chris Laughton FIDHEE., is Managing Director of The Solar Design Company. Claiming to be “an experienced heating engineer, author and lecturer, and a regular columnist in magazines, journals and on-line media”, his approach to truth, justice and accuracy exhibit, er, “commercial flexibility”. This should be bourne in mind if you read his plodding, turgid “Earthscan Experts” book.

“Dr. Dark Matter” Chris Laughton FIDHEE.’s “on-line media” services, referred to above, even extend to what some might call, er, “incomplete truths”. On one green building blog he wrote: “the kind hearted Energy Saving Trust have just released an excellent free technical guide to solar water heating”, while helpfully giving a link to their mendacious CE 131 solar heating document (referred to below). Dr L innocently forgot to say in the blog that the document contained misleading claims, for example blatant lies that solar water heating was “zero carbon” – when the old style technology which he is paid to promote – and even defines as best practice – has in fact a worrying 20% operational carbon clawback, one which makes it far from zero carbon – an embarassment which as been the subject of crude cover ups and ruthless censorship attempts, as exemplified above.

“Dr.” Chris Laughton FIDHEE. RSHL., has no integrity problems, just a few minor memory problems. For example, he forgot to mention that the EST CE 131 document referred to by himself as “excellent” was actually his own work and that he had only just completed it. “If you want to turn fake factoids into reality, then write large fake factoids. Write them all over the place. Then cross reference to the factoids, pretend that some of them are not your own doing and – bingo! – they magically coalesce into a weight of Eevidence” which is as true and unchallengable as any respected Holy Book” is Dr L’s clever and oft-used modus operandi. The fact that following an independent technical review, EST CE 13 is now being rewritten because of the propaganda and blatant errors which it contains (such as “solar is zero carbon”) does not, of course diminish his prestige and regular income from writing market limiting technical material.

“Dr.” Chris Laughton FIDHEE. RSHL. STBR. is so ethical, trustworthy, innocent and naive -  that he was born, and remains to this day, blissfully unaware of any notion of conflict of interest. On one of his CV’s he says: ODPM – Attends Office Deputy Prime Minister’s Working Panel to review Building Regulations. Elsewhere he says: Lobbying – Frequently engaged with lobbying government, media and NGOs on solar water heating. Spiritually aloof, driven only by the airy intangibles of ruthlessness, vanity and cash, he would be able to handle all ethical dilemmas, no matter how blatant, with ease (if he were ever to recognise them) thanks to his enviable, innate and impeccable personal integrity. He

“Dr.” Chris Laughton FIDHEE. RSHL. SBTR. NRCHST., was quoted on the Centre for Alternative Technology website as saying “Think less about your CV – and more about who to see.” This probably makes sense (to him), given what is reported next. He once declared in an interview published on the DTI website that after he “studied Physics at University” he “worked for Greenpeace in USA”. Interestingly, no degree is named among in his extensive list of low grade acronymic qualifications. This omission by Dr Laughton is perhaps evidence of his renowned humility and conspicuous modesty. As for his working for Greenpeace, this has been hard to verify precisely. Academic publications suggest that Dr Laughton fact he was not with Greenpeace at all, but that he was a prominent anarchist and Dark Matter” man who was busy editing Green Anarchist Magazine – and actively promoting covert sabotage – against business.

“Dr.” Chris Laughton FIDHEE. RSHL. SBTR. NRCHST. WNKR., Just a word about the impressive letters after his name. Sorry, but most of them don’t mean anything. I added the letters totally randomly, for fun, along with his honorary dictorate. Only the acronyms with at least one vowel in them are genuine (probably).

OTHER WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:

“Dr” Chris Laughton, F.I.D.H.E.E.,  N.R.C.H.S.T.,  W.N.K.R.,  S.B.T.R.,  R.S.H.L. etc.

The Energy Saving Trust’s Solar Water Heating Document, CE 131. This is a Laughton-authored document which is being rewritten following a review because of concerns over the accuracy and balance of its content.

The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers’ Solar Water Heating Guide. This is a Laughton-authored document which is now under formal review because of concerns over the accuracy and balance of its content.

The British Plumbing Education Council / Solar Trade Association solar installlers training manual. BPEC / STA a Laughton-authored document which requires review because concerns over the accuracy and balance of its content.

Green Anarchist Magazine. Before he fell out with them (in favour an even smaller ad more extreme sub-sub-splinter group) “Dr Dark Matter” Chris Laughton was one of three co-editors of Green Anarchist’s “GA Second Collective” in the 1980′s, along with Paul Rogers and Richard Hunt. By the way, if you express any concerns at all about the balance of Green Anarchist – you probably deserve to have everything you own and love destroyed in the name of liberation. Just for fun. Why “Dr Dark Matter”? Because “ecotage may go entirely unreported but has influence” and because ecotage is sabotage which is covert and which is “intended to cause material damage to opponents” and because “dark matter has very tangible results” Take a look at this academic report into saboage – it refers to Chris Laughton on pages 6 and 7.

CONTENTS OF “SOLAR DOMESTIC WATER HEATING” by

“Dr” Chris Laughton, F.I.D.H.E.E.,  N.R.C.H.S.T.,  W.N.K.R.,  S.B.T.R.,  R.S.H.L. etc etc.

What is Solar Heating? / Solar Radiation and Resources / How Solar DWH Works / Solar Collectors / Solar Heating Systems / Additional Components / System Layouts / Designing a System / Sizing System Components / Installation / The Economics of Solar Heating / Other Types of Solar Heating / Case Studies / Glossary / Further Information / Conversion Table / Index / Fee rates for lobbying, influencing regulatory processes delivering subtle but effective market rigging.

Earthscan, when given an opportunity to respond to this review and a request to discuss it, replied only by email saying: “I’m sorry to hear that you are not keen on the book. We publish on a range of often controversial subjects and do encounter differences of opinion among our readers. This book underwent our standard review process and we are pleased with the resulting publication.”

Coming next from Earthscam. The “Bellamy Barksome” Experts Green Guide to Cars – focussing on the real thing -  fossil fuel powered SUV’s!

URGENT Lobbying help requested in UK.

Will YOUR MP sign up TODAY to Early Day Motion 143 on the Renewable Heat Incentive?

How to quickly ask your own MP to support green energy is explained here.

The Renewable Heat incentive (RHI) is a proposed 20 year guaranteed subsidy for users of renewable heating systems such as solar water heating. It would operate in a similar way to the Feed in Tariff (FIT) for users of Solartwin’s Solar Electric (Photovoltaic) Systems, where typical annual tax free FIT payments of £250 – £1500 (depending on installation size) will endure for a quarter of a century.

The key difference is that the RHI, if approved, would subsidise renewable heat, while FIT already subsidises renewable electricity.

Recent consultation on the RHI suggests that a subsidy of £100 – £200 per solar panel per year may soon be payable to users of Solartwin solar water heating installations – for a period of 20 years. This potential solar heat energy subsidy, which is NOT in place yet, would catapult solar water heating “out of the green ghetto and into the mainstream” overnight – by making solar thermal a genuinely cost-effective proposition.

As for lobbying for the RHI, Micropower Council (MPC), of which we are members, have been asking Government to make an early announcement confirming introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) as consulted on earlier this year.

As part of the MPC campaign, Solartwin are delighted to report that Solartwin’s local MP, Stephen Mosley, who has a particular interest in national energy security issues, was the 73rd MP to sign this motion when he toured the Solartwin offices in Chester on 18 June 2010! When asked if he would, Stephen Mosley signed up on the spot and without hesitation.

Thank you, Stephen Mosley, MP.

Progress in the fortnight since Stephen Mosley MP signed up has been excellent – with over two new MP’s signing up to it every day. Launched only 4 weeks ago, 101 MPs having now signed up. But – the UK parliament contains 650 MP’s, so there is more work to do! Here’s where you can help…

Is your MP a signatory yet?

To find out instantly who is your MP just type your postcode in here.

Find out if they have signed EDM 143 by following this link.

If yes  – please take the time to thank them today!

If no – please ask them to sign up right now.

Then ask in the email box which pops up automatically if they will “please would you be prepared to sign EDM on Renewable Energy at http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=41062&SESSION=905 RIGHT NOW!”.
.

It is also good news that UK’s Climate Change Minister, Greg Barker, gave assurances during yesterday’s Energy Efficiency debate (30 June 2010) in the House of Commons on the Government’s intention to support renewable heat.

Questioned about a potential abandonment of the RHI, Greg Barker responded: ‘we are committed to an ambitious renewable heat agenda’. Greg also mentioned the challenging renewable energy target that must be achieved and, when discussing the strategy for reaching it, stated ‘renewable heat will be a key part of it.’

While this wording is certainly encouraging,  it is NOT a clear confirmation of support for the RHI. So…

LOBBYLOBBYLOBBY!

With many thanks for your continued support – do please tell us and the Micropower Council (info(at)micropower.co.uk – please add the @)  if you have success – AND about any non-replies, dithering or refusals.

Regards, Barry Johnston of Solartwin.

PS – Energy consumed for heating accounts for 77% of energy use outside the transport sector. So although the government is not supporting it, renewable heat is a really important potential major player. And it usually makes sense to generate renewable heat (rather the more expensive but versatile renewable electricity) where you can actually use energy as heat.

But look at today’s anti-environmental / market-wrecking subsidy scenario.

Q – Should you heat you water with solar heat or solar electricity in UK?

A – Use solar heat if you are interested in the environment.

A – Use solar electricity if you are more interested in money.

Here’s why. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)’s crazy subsidy anomaly means that heating about 40% of a home’s hot water requirement – by home generating 1000 kWh per year of energy collected as…

- solar electricity to feed into an immersion heater to heat water costs about £8k to install and gains an annual FIT subsidy of £420.

Solar electric technology (PV) has a 5 embedded year energy payback. (Lower would be better.)

- solar heat used to directly heat water costs about half the cost – £4k to install, but it gains an annual RHI subsidy of NIL.

Solartwin’s zero carbon solar water heating technology has a 2 embedded year energy payback. 40% of that of solar electricity.

So the same amount of hot water can be generated with just 40% of the environmental impact. Nanny State is interfering – so that un-subsidised solar water heating is being outcompeted by over-subsidised solar electricity.

DECC are not just wrecking the solar energy market. They are also wrecking the planet. If a tweaked free market really is going to sort out the planet then DECC needs to think much more strategically. Today’s market-wrecking situation where the market for greener and cheaper technology is being squashed by DECC implementing utterly stupid state subsidy distortions needs to be addressed immediately.

PPS – Here is the exact wording of EDM 143 RENEWABLE HEAT INCENTIVE 03.06.2010 – by Alan Whitehead MP.

Solar perspectives on UK emergency Budget 22 June 2010.

Barry Johnston, MD of Solar heating business Solar Twin Ltd heard George Osborne pledge to “balance the books” in today’s emergency budget – and asks:

“Was it balanced regarding renewable heat energy? Was the nation’s carbon budget balanced? What about the Renewable Heat Incentive? Why the silence?

The Prime MInister has already pledged to make this the greenest government ever and to reduce the Government’s own emissions by 10% for 2010/2011 – but the only mention of energy and climate change related issues in the speech itself was confirmation by the Chancellor of intentions to form a Green Investment Bank designed to help finance low carbon and renewables projects and sets out the UK’s need for £200 billion of investment to 2020 to provide secure low-carbon energy.

The budget delivered little in the way of surprises for energy policy. Despite expectations from the energy sector of formal news on starting the Renewable Heat Incentive (the proposed RHI would subsidise, for decades, users of solar heat in the same way that generators of solar electricity are currently hugely subsidised) unfortunately no announcement on RHI was made.

We hope that the lack of an announcement on RHI in the Budget not a cause for concern. Perhaps on a day in which substantial pain has been delivered to the economy, it would have been a risky move for any chancellor to have proposed policy measures which promise to further increase energy bills, especially as the RHI is not yet fully costed.

This article comments on some of the government’s claims – from the perspectives of solar energy consumers and solar energy businesses. To quote George Osborne’s 22 June budget speech.

Is the 2010 emergency budget “enterprise led”?

No – seemingly not – from the perspective of the way it (a) hammers DIY solar heating and (b) still subsidises domestic energy wastage as described below.

However the proposed “Green Investment Bank” and “Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme” may be of value. Let’s see what happens when these are announced later in the year.

Is the 2010 emergency budget “fair”? and Does the budget make “hard choices”?

No and no. Not from the perspective of the DIY green energy market. The problem is that domestic fuel is being taxed at only 5% VAT rate. The government dodged the pressing imperative to tax high carbon polluting fuels more than green alternatives. Instead they postponed a difficult decision which is that domestic fuels are still undertaxed and so in effect, waste is being subsidised.

The government’s failure to tax domestic fuel acording to its global warming emissions is deplorable. The proposed January 2011 increase in VAT to 20% further widens to 15% the gulf between the 20% VAT paid by DIY solar installers and the polluting fuel which they buy which is taxed a VAT rate of a mere 5%.

It is appalling that users of DIY solar should pay FOUR  TIMES more VAT than on the energy which they save. This is an incredible DIS incentive for the most cost-effective way to do  solar heating – as a DIY project. With domestic fuel being taxed at 5% VAT this means that DIY ers face pay 15% more tax to save fuel than to consume it.

Madness: it pays to pollute under this budget!

Relevant text of the 22 June 2010 budget report with Solartwin Comments.

The official 94 page 2010 budget report does not mention the words “solar” “microgeneration” or “renewable energy”. However it does mention a “low carbon economy” early on. Here are its exact words…

1.8 The Government’s macroeconomic strategy will help provide a stable economic foundation for private sector growth. Measures to promote enterprise will reduce regulation and tax rates and refocus support towards infrastructure, the low-carbon economy…

(Solartwin comment – good – reducing regulation might end the market veto that the incumbent old solar technologies exert over radical impriovements like Solartwin’s.)

(The detailed wording of the budget’s section on low-carbon economy follows below)

1.75 Climate change is one of the most serious threats that the world faces. The Prime Minister has pledged to make this the greenest government ever, including reducing the Government’s own emissions by 10 per cent between mid-May 2010 and mid-May 2011.

(Solartwin comment – good – strong commitment to (a) accepting climate change and (b) CO2 emissions cuts.)

1.76 The Government is committed to playing its part in moving to a low- carbon economy. The transition will change the shape of industry, growth and jobs. As part of this, the UK needs £200 billion of investment to 2020 to provide secure low-carbon energy. This will require reform of the energy market and action to attract additional private sector funding.

(Solartwin comment – good – (a) it is almost impossible to attract serious investment if you are subject to stop-start subsidy schemes (b) £200 bilion will go a long way.)

1.77 Carbon Price. Alongside wider market reforms, the Government will assess how the energy tax framework can provide the right incentives for investment. In the autumn, the Government will publish proposals to reform the climate change levy in order to provide more certainty and support to the carbon price. Subject to consultation, the Government intends to bring forward relevant legislation in Finance Bill 2011.

(Solartwin comment – please tax all fuel and don’t exempt domestic fuel – even if a lot of the extra revenue must be recycled into anti-fuel poverty measures.)

1.78 Green Investment Bank. The Government is also determined to address other barriers to investment in the low-carbon economy. Following the Spending Review, the Government will put forward detailed proposals on the creation of a Green Investment Bank to help the UK meet the low-carbon investment challenge. The Government is considering a wide range of options for the scope and structure of the Green Investment Bank. The options will be evaluated for effectiveness, fiscal affordability and transparency.

(Solartwin comment – could be good but risks ghettoising green industry and risks a “picking favoured winners” by a potentially centralised government state capitalism approach.)

1.79 Green Deal for households. The Government will establish a Green Deal for households through legislation in the Energy Security and Green Economy Bill, to help individuals invest in home energy efficiency improvements that can pay for themselves from the savings in energy bills. These improvements provide substantial and cost-effective carbon reductions but the initial cost can be significant, especially for low-income households. The Government will also continue to work on green financial products to provide individuals with opportunities to invest in the infrastructure necessary to support the green economy.

(Solartwin comment – Hope that green energy can be included here.)

1.80 These measures are expected to have positive environmental impacts by enabling investment in low-carbon infrastructure and technologies. The environmental impact of Budget measures will be assessed in more detail as proposals are developed.

(Solartwin comment – the devil is in the detail!)

Which? magazine appear to have backtracked on their commercial support of a solar heating business which is intimately with blatantly false environmental claims…

…but so far only marginally – because it is written in one letter to one member of the public!

Will Which? Editor Martyn Hocking ever get around to admitting to UK and Irish national newspapers (which also named his winning company), to Consumer Association members, and the general public that Which? themselves were in fact mugged – and mugged by no less a person than the king of UK’s solar cowboys?

In what seems like an unprecedented U-turn, Which? Magazine, the voice of the Consumers Association in UK, are now refusing to recommend or endorse Southern Solar – even though they had previously named it as the only company out of fourteen solar companies which it surveyed as being “helpful and sensible” and thus worthy of having its website and phone number published in Which? Magazine of May 2010.

Did this deliberate distancing happen because of Solar Twin Ltd and members of the public have been writing to Which?’s Editor, Martyn Hocking asking:

1/ Did Martyn Hocking know, before choosing to name them as “helpful and sensible”, actually know that the Managing Director of Southern Solar, Howard Johns, has a long history of making numerous false environmental claims about solar water heating? (A quick search of the web will reveal at least 10 repetitions of his “zero carbon” false claim.)

2/ As editor of a consumer magazine, did Martyn Hocking care that Howard Johns’ false “solar thermal is truly zero carbon” claims, claims which are false for most (but but for all – Solartwin is an exception) solar water heating systems artificially inflated the carbon savings of solar water heating by 20% (imagine if a cowboy car salesman had inflated your car’s MPG from 40 MPG to 50 MPG!)?

3/ In the very edition of Which? magazine dedicated to exposing greenwash, did Martyn Hocking care that, the one solar company which his publication actually named was itself operating as a trailblazing “greenwasher” for what seems to be a rogue trade association?

4/ Was Martyn Hocking bothered at all by the fact that the MD of his “helpful and sensible” solar company also happens to be the chair of the Solar Trade Association (a technological cartel which exclude GENUINE zero carbon solar heating innovators such as Solar Twin Ltd) on behalf of which he made many of his repeated false environmental claims?

5/ Was Martyn Hocking also interested to know that the solar plumbing diagram which was illustrated was actually noncompliant with the HSE guidance on Legionella safety! – or that his claim that phone surveys were “doomed to failure” was far from the experience of most Solartwin Customers over the past decade – who together have saved over 4000 tonnes of CO2 and over ten million kilowatt-hours of energy?
..

Here is a quote from a letter sent by Which? to a member of the public who commented on their apparently unbalanced solar cowboys article:

“We also refute your allegation that we endorse any companies in the report. While our greatest concern relates to the sales practices employed by the companies we named in our report (Everest and Ideal Solar Energy), we found sufficient examples of substandard practice by other companies to determine that only one company, Southern Solar, merited mention for ‘its helpful and sensible manner’. This, however, should not be understood as a ‘recommendation’ or ‘endorsement’ of Southern Solar. Indeed, we point out very clearly two paragraphs beforehand that ‘not one company identified all the important technical challenges before issuing a quotation’, and we would expect readers to understand that this also applies to Southern Solar.”

Which? makes claims about its own consumer product as having “no advertising, no bias, no hidden agenda. Just expert advice from an independent source.” In the context of Which’s “no bias” claims, do you think that Which? need to publish a general correction for all to read (rather than just send one letter to one person) saying the following:

1/ That the root cause of 100% of the solar mis-selling that Which? magazine witnessed was: unsupervised salespeople. That selling by phone from a small supervsied call centre (such as Solartwin’s) is a successful, ethical and green way to specify and quote for simple domestic installations.

2/ That from a Legionella safety perspective, simpler and safer plumbing diagrams exist than the STA-promoted diagram which Which? published. To ask Which? to remedy the problem by illustrating the two main solutions: heat-daily-to-the-base cylinders and thermal stores.

3/ That Which? were mugged by some clever cowboys. That Which? do not endorse or recommend any company whose MD has a history of making false claims about the performance of solar water heating on behalf of the Solar Trade Association. Specifically that Which? do not endorse Southern Solar or the Solar Trade Association.

More Solar which? background here:

• in the three page Which? May 2010 solar water heating cowboys article, which I have annotated, for your convenience.
• on youtube (ten minute solar cowboys video)

If you care about the future direction of solar heating in UK, I would respectfully ask you to contact Which? today and ask them to make these changes. Here are Which’s main contacts:

Email: which@which.co.uk

Write to:
Which?,
Castlemead,
Gascoyne Way,
Hertford,
SG14 1LH

Fax: 020 7770 7485

Phone: 0207 7770 7000 (Ask for Martyn Hocking in Editorial.)

With many thanks from Barry Johnston at Solar Twin Ltd to everyone who will and who have already asked questions about the accuracy and direction of this supposedly helpful “consumer” article.

Please tell your friends!

30% Scottish solar heating grants continue – but I think probably for only a few days – at best.

PLEASE PRE-APPLY NOW! IT’S EASY!

Urgent message to everyone in Scotland who is interested in solar water heating systems from Barry Johnston, MD of Solar Twin Ltd.

Dear Lucky Scots,

If you are thinking of applying for a solar water heating grant please may I suggest that you do so within the next 24 hours?

Why the rush? because all of UK, apart from Scotland, had their solar heating “low carbon” grants cut to zero at 6 am on Monday 24th May – this week. It is a matter of time, perhaps only days or even hours before this happens in Scotland as well.

Don’t miss the boat!

You can have a 30% grant pre-approved against your name right away. You can always decide NOT to take it up at at later date.

So if you want to apply for a Solartwin solar water heating installation, and take advantage of a grant worth £1142, a grant which may not be here tomorrow, then the application form is here.

Time is money. I respectfully urge you to download, print and complete it right now.

To make the process of filling in the form very easy, here are the main techy bits you will probably need to add, the usual entries for section C installation details, are the following:

• Technology: solar water heating.
• Certified Product Code: ST 4010 / ST 4020 (Our two panels are mirror images of each other. We will tell you which to enter.)
• Certified Installer: Solar Twin Ltd.
• Installer Certification Number: NIC 1019
• Aperture: 2.82 sq m (this is the size of one panel – which accounts for over 90% of installations)
• Planned Completion Date: (26 November 2010 suggested date – maximum 6 months ahead)

Net Installation Costs (excl VAT); £3808.57 suggested. Our most common price. We will, of course, always quote exactly.
VAT (non-recoverable only) £190.43 is our usual figure.
Total Cost: £3999.00 usual figure.

I hope this is useful and that you can find the time to get your solar heating grant right now. You only need to send in two things:

1. Your completed application form.
2. Your quote – please call Solartwin now on 0845 1300 137 or 01244 403 407 if you don’t yet have a quote. We are open until 8 pm. Just leave a message out of hours – I promise we’ll call you right back. If you have an older quote which needs revalidating, please just let us know.

Please may I suggest that you post this in immediately – today if possible. If you are happen to be going near Edinburgh, you may want to drop it in by hand to: Energy Saving Trust, Ocean Point 1 94 Ocean Drive, Edinburgh EH6 6JH

At Solartwin, we think that these amazingly generous 30% solar heating grants are on the very point of ending. Indeed the Energy Saving Trust have today sent us a chaser email on the subject.

Even if you are not 100% certain of installing solar – please apply today. The paperwork is easy. There’s nothing to lose. When the funds are are gone – they are gone!

May I ask you to send this page without delay to everyone who you think may benefit from this news about solar grants being likely to evaporate very soon.

Regards, Barry.

NEWSFLASH – 24th May 2010

- UPDATE OF 6 JULY 2010 – SCOTTISH GRANTS WILL NOW ALSO END ON 23 JULY 2010 –

In a sudden blow to the UK renewables industry the UK government has just announced that as part of its immediate cuts programme, its popular Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) grants for England Wales and N Ireland (BUT NOT SCOTLAND!) have ended today at 0600h.

To confirm this, Solar Twin Ltd have spoken to the grant office and LCBP has been closed to all new domestic and commercial applications as of 06:00 today.

Read this link for the full government press statement – which is also reproduced in full below.

All existing applications will be processed however it now looks like there will be a funding gap until the Renewable Heat Incentive, RHI next year, if in fact they happen at all.

Note: VAT on energy and on solar installations may rise above its current 5% level, in UK’s planned midsummer cuts budget of 22 June. So for customers wishing to save money now it may be extra wise to buy now.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But Solar Twin Ltd have committed to offering a £400 discount in lieu of grant until 4 June 2010. More updates soon.

END OF NEWSFLASH 24 May 2010 – TEXT OF DECC PRESS RELEASE FOLLOWS

Closure of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme to new Applications

Effective from (06.00 am) Monday 24th May 2010 Government has announced that it is committed to delivering £6bn of departmental spending cuts in 2010/11. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is contributing  £85m to this total. The sum reflects the fact that DECC operates with relatively small admin costs but still delivers against a big and challenging agenda. Cuts of this level are never going to be easy. They come from two sources:

1/ About half come from efficiencies and other savings across our central spending and that of our arm’s length bodies. We have focused on making efficiencies in our back office functions first but some efficiencies in our programmes of work are also possible. This will amount to approximately £42 million

2/ The other half comes from cutting or slowing down planned expenditure. This will amount to approximately £43 million.

It is therefore with regret that we announce that as of 06.00 am Monday 24th May 2010, the Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) will close to all new applications.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme. How much has been ‘cut’ from the programme?

*       £3 million of savings will be taken from the programme resulting in its immediate closure to new applications.

Why is the LCBP building programme being cut when we are hoping to encourage a low carbon economy?

*       The LCBP programme has been successful in increasing the uptake of low carbon buildings technology in the UK and developing the assembly, supplier and installer base in the UK, especially for electrical Microgeneration

*       The LCBP grant programme has provided approximately 20,000 grants for the capital and installation costs of Microgeneration equipment of which, to date 11,000 have been for thermal technology (33% by value, 58% by number of installations). These have produced lifetime carbon savings of 300,000 tonnes of CO2.

*       Support mechanisms, in the form of a Feed-In-Tariff for renewable electricity, introduced on 1 April 2010, means that LCBP is no longer required for electrical microgeneration.

*       It was anticipated that support for the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive for heat under LCBP would continue up until its proposed introduction in April 2011 however demand for grants has been unprecedented and we had very little unallocated funding remaining. It has been decided that by closing the programme now, these unallocated funds will contribute towards DECC’s overall savings.

*       Applications worth £63 million for payment in 2010-11 are not affected by the cuts and where grant offer letters have been issued they will be processed  to provide continuity and continuing market development (investment, innovation and jobs).

*       Applications that were received before the programme was closed and which are currently considered by our programme contractor BRE will also not be effected by the closure. If they pass the standard due diligence test applied  to all applications they will be honoured.

Why has there been no notice that the LCBP programme will close?

*       Since the election, Government have moved very quickly to identify  necessary areas of savings in line with public announcements. LCBP has not been ‘singled out’ for cost savings, it is one of a number of areas where savings have been identified during a thorough review of expenditure.

*       To make sure that savings could be maximised, it was decided that closure of LCBP (and other areas) should be made immediately to prevent a run on remaining funds.

*       We appreciate that this is not ideal but our experience of offering a short period of notice prior to closure of LCBP to electrical Microgeneration in February 2010 indicated the extent to which resources could be quickly taken up.

I have a valid Grant Offer Letter – will that still be honoured?

*       Yes, as long as the terms and conditions are adhered  to, if you have a valid grant offer letter (GOL) LCBP will pay the agreed amount. The closure is for new applications only.

I have submitted an application for LCBP2 but not received a grant offer letter – will my application still be considered?

*       Yes. Applications that were received before the programme was closed and  which are currently considered by our programme contractor BRE will also not be affected by the closure. If they pass the standard due diligence test applied  to all applications they will be honoured.

Are you now offering zero support for renewable heat until the Renewable Heat Incentive kicks in?

*       Applications worth £63 million for payment in 2010-11 for installation of heating renewable heating technologies are not affected by the cuts and where grant offer letters have been issued they will be processed  to provide continuity and continuing market development (investment, innovation and jobs).

*       The Government is committed  to meeting the UK’s share of the EU renewable target and to reducing carbon emissions to meet our 2050 targets. Both targets will require developing renewable heat  and decarbonising the heating sector.  The Government will be considering further the role that financial incentives can play in helping us to meet our renewable and carbon targets.

*       The Government is also clear that decentralised energy including Microgeneration technologies have a role to play in meeting these targets.

Mike Gardiner, Department of Energy & Climate Change, 3 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2AW.

Announcement date: 10.00am Monday 24th May 2010