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ENERGY


HOT TOPIC


The world of renewable energy is changing fast, with new technology and legislation affecting the leisure industry. Laura-Clare Davies looks at what’s new and provides solutions for reducing energy consumption and costs


you’re not spending over the odds. The introduction of Feed-in Tariffs in 2010 drove increases in the installation of both wind farms and photovoltaics across the UK, and the benefits of this can be seen both in the energy savings that can be yielded from sustainable technologies and the profit that can be made from any sur- plus energy that is generated.


T


he management of com- mercial energy use is beset with challenges, but what it comes down to is ensuring


Joining the gang as an emerging pay- ment initiative for renewable energy is the relatively recent Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme. Designed to aid business investment in renewa- ble heat technologies, the initiative was launched by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in November 2011 for non-domestic users and has been hailed as the first of its kind in the world.


Simply put, the RHI is a financial incentive scheme that guarantees cashback payments for 20 years


HARNESSING THE POWER OF BIOMASS FUEL


Energy conservation specialist Carbon Control played a key role in a £500,000 project at the Tre-Ysgawen Hall Country House Hotel and Spa on Anglesey in North Wales. The hotel is thought to be the first


in Wales to harness the power of bio- mass for its heating and hot water. Carbon Control carried out a site assessment ahead of procuring and project managing the installation of a wood chip-powered biomass boiler and purpose-built energy centre. The equipment will cost the hotel £40,000 a year to run, less than half what it was previously spending on oil, and the business will also benefit


66 The Tre-Ysgawen uses a biomass boiler


from subsidies under the government's Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. Biomass is a renewable energy source which uses material from living, or recently-living organisms such as wood, waste, gas, and alcohol fuels to power the boiler environmentally.


Read Leisure Management online leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital


on renewable heat technologies. For example, if you were to install a ground source heat pump to manage your building’s heating and cooling, you would not only save money by reducing your need for gas or oil, but you would also be paid a fixed rate for the heat you generate. Of course the government never


tires of reminding us of the UK’s car- bon reduction targets – to reduce emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 – and the RHI is the latest in a line of initiatives that will certainly contribute to encouraging sustainability. The big- ger picture, however, is how the RHI can work for businesses as part of an effective energy-saving strategy.


THE POTENTIAL Born from a desire to move the UK towards diversifying its energy sources, the RHI is a step-change to reducing our reliance on traditional fos- sil fuels supplies, the cost for which has been on the increase. The generation of heat accounts for a staggering 47 per cent of the UK’s total energy consumption, and through the RHI the government has committed that 12 per cent of heating will come from renewable sources by 2020. (Source: Department of Energy and Climate Change, March 2011). So the intentions are clear but the question on everyone’s lips is how the


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