NEWS Cameron fi res up shale gas
Government backs fracking as shale-gas water use proves lower than expected
The UK is ‘going all out for shale’, according to the Prime Minister, who branded opponents of shale gas ‘irrational’.
Local authorities could earn up to £1.7m a year and as much as £10m over the lifetime of a shale gas site, following the government’s decision to allow them to keep the business taxes paid by fracking companies that drill in their areas. David Cameron has also suggested that funds are paid directly to householders living close to extraction sites. ‘A key part of our long-term economic plan to secure Britain’s future is to back businesses with better infrastructure. That’s why we’re going all out for shale. It will mean more jobs and opportunities for people, and economic security for our country,’ he said. French energy giant Total has also announced a major investment in two exploratory fracking sites in Lincolnshire and new fracking sites have opened up in the Midlands, Cumbria and Wales. However, the environmental group Friends of the Earth said the decision to hand over tax revenues to local authorities was a ‘bribe’ and marked ‘a new low in the government’s attempts to curry fracking favour with local people’.
Other groups have expressed concern about the
New focus for SummitSkills
SummitSkills, the Sector Skills Council for building services engineering, is refocusing its work on National Occupational Standards, apprenticeships and qualifications. The organisation has
impact on water supplies, but a study by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) showed that, compared with other fossil fuels, the overall water use intensity of shale gas is low. It said claims that the industry represents a threat to the security of public water supplies were ‘alarmist’. The study found that, at the exploratory phase, water demand is not likely to be signifi cant compared with other users. Estimates show that to meet 10% of the UK gas demand from shale gas over 20 years would require between 1.2 and 1.6m m3
water per year.
‘Although this may sound a large amount, when compared with the volume of water that is licensed to be taken from the environment each year in England and Wales, it equates to less than one tenth of 1% of total abstraction,’ said CIWEM.
LED retrofits made easier
New LED lighting could cut energy costs by 50% if used to replace the estimated 12 bn fl uorescent lighting tubes in offi ces, shops and factories worldwide, according to the manufacturer Philips. The company’s InstantFit LED tube has been designed to be compatible with standard fl uorescent lighting fi xtures, making it easier for building owners to carry out complete retrofi ts. Philips said that a supermarket could now switch to LED lighting in less than four days, compared with the current norm of four weeks. ‘We studied the process for replacing fl uorescent tubes with LED technology step by step to
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Replacing fl uorescent lighting with new LED tube lamps could save up to €42 bn
secured funding from its five stakeholder trade associations – the Building & Engineering Services Association, Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors, Electrical Contractors’ Association, SELECT (the Electrical Contractors Association of Scotland) and the Scottish & Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation. General manager Nigel Hollett said because of ‘recent positive policy announcements on construction and low carbon incentives’, it was even more important ‘to make sure that the qualifications, apprenticeships and standards for the sector reflect what businesses on the ground need them to be’.
SMEs back sustainability
One in four small businesses plans to make sustainable business practices a priority in 2014, according to a survey by Lloyds Commercial Banking. The survey showed that a
third of small businesses expect to increase investment in sustainable business practices over the next five years. It draws on responses from more than 1,000 small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The report found that more than half (54%) believe business sustainability helps reduce costs and almost a third (30%) believe it increases profitability. Although 87% said they
were already implementing sustainable practices, most still focus on narrow activities such as energy saving and recycling. Stephen Pegge, external
tackle those issues that dissuade facility managers and installers from making the switch,’ said Rene van Schooten, chief executive of light sources and electronics at Philips Lighting. ‘We found speed
and simplicity were key.’ He said that while existing LED tube lights typically require light fi ttings to be re-wired, the new LEDs can be installed ‘in a matter of seconds’.
relations director at Lloyds Banking Group, said the next stage was to focus on broader practices, such as sourcing. ‘Sustainability also means interacting with charities, social enterprises and the community in which they operate; working responsibly within their supply chains; and engaging with the next generation,’ he said.
February 2014 CIBSE Journal 9
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TRYBEX / SHUTTERSTOCK
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