NEWS All the latest news from around the building industry
SON OF PFI WILL SHORTEN PROCUREMENT The replacement for the discredited private finance initiative (PFI) will shorten the competitive tendering phase to no more than 18 months. Private Finance 2 (PF2) should,
therefore, reduce bidding costs and introduce flexibility into the bidding process. The first PF2 projects include a
£325m hospital in Birmingham and improvements at Ministry of Defence bases. The Chancellor also announced a £1.75bn privately backed fund for school projects under the Priority School Building Programme in his Autumn Statement.
ZERO ENERGY BUILDINGS ‘VITAL’ Zero energy buildings and cities remain a priority, despite the emergence of greater reserves of gas, a CIBSE ASHRAE Group webinar heard last month. Preston-based consulting
engineer Frank Mills said ASHRAE remained focused on the development of tools that would allow engineers to deliver net zero energy buildings (NZEB) by 2030 – despite the US government pushing for energy independence by exploiting more of its fossil fuel reserves. Mills said the industry had a
duty to sell the concept of zero energy developments to clients. View the full presentation at
www.cibseashrae.org
Osborne accused of reckless gas policy
l Decision to allow fracking is criticised by green groups
Environmentalists have attacked the Chancellor’s decision to relax carbon emission targets and exploit new sources of gas. In his recent Autumn
Statement, George Osborne announced tax breaks for shale gas extraction using the controversial hydraulic fracturing (fracking) process and plans to build 30 new gas-fired power stations by 2030. He said the UK could plug its energy gap with gas, if the carbon ceiling for the five years to the end of 2027 ‘is revised upwards and emissions reductions are more
gradual’. He also announced the formation of a new regulator – the Office for Unconventional Gas. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said the policy was reckless and risked ‘locking the UK into an expensive, polluting fossil-fuel future’ while WWF-UK energy policy chief, Nick Molho, said our reliance on gas was ‘highly risky’. ‘Gas price rises have driven people’s bills up in recent years, so committing the UK to more gas
seems to show a reckless disregard for both bill payers and the environmental impact of burning yet more fossil fuels,’ he added. However, the move was seen as inevitable by many observers. Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan told the recent CIBSE Annual Lecture that gas would have to account for at least 70% of power generation by 2020 because of a shortage of alternatives. David Frise, head of
sustainability at the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES), said: ‘Thanks to years of prevarication over renewables and the sluggish development of nuclear capacity, we have little choice if we want to keep our lights on.’
Green Deal cashback starts early
The start of the Green Deal Cashback scheme has been brought forward to the second week of January. Originally due to begin on 28 January, the scheme, operated by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), offers cash rewards to early adopters of its flagship energy efficiency initiative. The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) welcomed the move, saying it was done to encourage householders to replace their boilers earlier. ‘An additional three weeks of subsidised boiler sales should stimulate demand for insulation and get the Green Deal off to the flying start that was intended,’ said Neil Schofield, head of external and government affairs at the boiler manufacturer Worcester Bosch.
Householders can receive £310 cashback for upgrading a non-condensing oil heating boiler to a condensing version, and £270 for upgrading a non- condensing gas boiler to a condensing model. Cashback is also available for installing loft insulation (£100), cavity wall insulation (£250) and heating controls (£70). A £2.9m marketing campaign designed to ‘build understanding and trust’ of the Green Deal among UK homeowners is also under way. The campaign, which runs until April, is an exemption to the current spending freeze on government marketing initiatives. This followed research that revealed the vast majority of the UK public had never heard of the Green Deal.
6
CIBSE Journal January 2013
www.cibsejournal.com
PINCASSO / SHUTTERSTOCK
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