The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) is to help community groups to ‘engage actively with Green Deal and stimulate low carbon housing refurbishment’. This is also reflected in CSE’s latest changes to its PlanLoCal project and website (see links below).
Green Deal, due to be launched later this year, is the government’s initiative aimed at bringing homes up to high energy efficient standards that will help them substantially reduce their carbon emissions. UK homes are said to contribute over 30% of the nation’s annual amount of CO2, which is damaging our environment.
The CSE has won funding through the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to develop a range of resources. These include printed materials, a website and videos designed to give community groups the knowledge, confidence and understanding to prepare effectively for the Green Deal and stimulate low carbon housing refurbishment in their neighbourhoods.
These resources follow the successful approach the CSE has developed for its PlanLoCal community renewables resource, drawing on the high quality learning already embedded in that work.
CSE has produced two new ‘exercises’ aimed at helping community groups and local authorities to better understand energy supply and demand both nationally and locally.
The first, ‘Discussing national energy supply and demand’, uses the 2050 Pathways Calculator to gain a better understanding of how the UK could meet its CO2 reduction target of 80% by 2050. This is said to be particularly useful for council staff, planners and councilors who already have some background knowledge.
The second uses DECC’s National Heat Map, to identify and assess suitable local areas for a potential district heating system. This is particularly suited to groups who have identified this technology as one that may be suitable for the area and want to carry out further investigation.
Photo shows: this innovative project to install exterior solid wall on a 19th century is the kind of thing DECC wants to see more of and which CSE resources will support.
More information: www.planlocal.org.uk and www.cse.org.uk/thesource