Enterprising Energy Green Blog

Up to a quarter of British motorists are looking to get a lower emissions vehicle for their next car…

In a survey of British motorists by Auto Trader it was clear to see that people are starting to look at vehicles with lower emissions of CO2 when choosing a new car.

Highest on the list were the usual suspects: price, performance safety then fuel consumption but the greener message is higher on the list then ever before.

The rising costs of fuel are likely to be playing a big part in people’s growing awareness of alternatives to the standard petrol or diesel vehicles as more people look to reduce their fuel cost both at home and in the car.

The CO2 emissions level also effects the cost of your road tax with higher emissions vehicles paying up to four times the price to get on the road.

What are the ‘greener’ car options?

Hybrid Vehicles, bio-fuels, electric vehicles (or a bicycle)…

The main challenge at the moment for vehicles that have greener credentials is the cost of purchase does not yet make financial sense in many cases, then you have the performance being second… for these perceptions to change manufacturers have to get their finger out and start to create lower price range cars that the everyday driver can afford and gets them from A to B without looking like they are driving a mini space craft.

Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW then Lexus (in that order) were picked out by the participants in the Auto Trader survey as being the green car manufacturers of today.

GMTV - have a look at the GMTV story on green cars click here…

22 July 2008 - Honda Reveals the OSM (open Study Model)

The concept that a greener car can look good to and fit with what the majority of people are more likely to find more pleasing to the eye! This is one of the issues that comes up all over the place, on green blogs, low emissions car sites and forums… why do they (green machines) have to look ugly?

Personally I like the idea of having something that looks different, but I can understand the idea that Honda want to reach the man (or woman) on the street with the Honda OSM low-emissions concept.

Link to the Honda Story

Solar British Columbia - energising solar hot water  in British Columbia, Canada.

I read about the SolarBC project in Canada on a link sent to me from the SolarBC facebook page and I think that it is a great concept, I feel that a similar model will work for the Enterprising Energy ‘Green Homes Project’.

I look forward to seeing more of Solar BC and cant wait to see them achieve their goals.

I think they have a great model and I wish them every success.

The Scottish Government provides £8.1 million to support a 45 Megawatt Biomass project.

The project is a partnership between RWE npower Cogen and Tullis Russell and will cost approximately £158 Million to complete, securing existing jobs as well as creating up to 30 new posts in the renewable energy field.

to read more about the project click here and go to the Scottish Government web site.

The Search for Property for the Green Homes Project

I have started searching for a suitable property for the ‘Green Homes Project’, the key is that the property needs to be situated in an urban area and in need of some renovation or building works as well as have poor standards for energy efficiency.

The current housing markets and other economic issues have created a buyers market, many of the prices in Scotland have not tumbled as yet in relation to homes in England for example (or many parts of the United States).

Many individuals that I have spoken to seem to think that these prices will not come down, but on speaking with people with years of property development experience I feel that the prices will come down and there will be an increase in the number or properties that are sold of buy banks to recover costs from people going into bankruptcy and Trust Deeds or simply defaulting on consolidation loans and other debts that are secured on their homes.

Debt problems

The sad facts about the current economic climate are that many people are going to unfortunately be unable to keep up with payment and no longer be able to afford thier bills, coupled by an increase in unemployment which is also about to hit the fan. People with money to put into medium to long term property investments will benefit from the slump in the markets, while people facing poverty will be more likley to be moving out of the family home into council, housing association and private let properties.

As they property markets slow down it is clear that many of the main high street estate agents and solicitors are trying to smoke screen the issues and pretend to prospective buyers that they are getting a deal of some kind… but its just a shame, people who buy just now could just hold fire for six month and buy when the markets go down again (unless I am way off and the markets improve over night).

The first Viewing

The first property that we viewed was an ex-council property with three decent sized bed rooms, the house is needing a fair bit of work done to it as it has been part worked on, had walls partly taken down (that they may not have planning for), had water leaking through the roof at some point and has only two of the rooms in the house that were habitable in any way.

The rest of the house needs gutted out, it would take an estimated £12,000-£18,000 to do the property up and that is before considering any unforeseen issues that may crop up… the property is part of an insolvency and comes with no guarantees, which feels a bit risky as this is the first purchase…

The costs offers over £72,000 for the property, but I plan to purchase the house for £68,000 or under as I feel that there is a fair price based on the current and short term market, the property agent feels that this is to low and said they will not offer thier client (a bank) £68,000 or less.

I will hold off and look out for more properties for the price that I want…. watch this space.

Auctions

I have also went along to an auction in Glasgow to look out for opportunities which was a bit of an eye opener to the problems in housing markets just now, great to go along and get a feel for the auction and get an idea of the processes involved… Its all just more learning opportunities though!

Link to the original green homes project page click here

Save money and go greener

Hydrogen powered vehicles are very likely to become a regular occurrence in the future, more and more people are simply converting their vehicles over and reducing their vehicles fuel bills by up to 70%…

The launch of the Honda FCX fuel cell car has brought hydrogen into the mainstream (well at least in California and parts of Japan)… and with many people choosing to convert their car it seems that hydrogen may be the fuel of choice for the future.

Hydrogen could also offer opportunities to help reduce domestic fuel bills as well by providing gas for heating our homes and cooking our grub.

Tokyo, Japan launches its FCX fuel cell car for leasing in November 2008

Honda Motor Company Limited is set to launch its FCX hydrogen fuel cell car in Japan by showcasing the new vehicle at the G8 Hokkaido Tokyo summit which is due to start on the 7th of July. The initial launch in Japan will see vehicles leased to government agencies and a select corporate customer base, I imagine that this is a strategy to try and identify any teething issues within the Japanese markets before a full domestic launch.

I wonder when leased FCX vehicles will be available in the United Kingdom, will it come before 2010? Maybe we should put that question to the Honda Car Company!

To read more about the story click here and visit the Honda website

Green Energy for every day people!

If you would like to lead a greener lifestyle then the first step might be to contact your electricity supplier and find out if they have a ‘Green’ or ‘Good Energy’ Tariff…

If your current supplier does not have a green energy tariff you could shop about as there are loads of them out there.

Green energy tariffs should offer you an electricity supply from renewable energy sources (with a greatly reduced carbon footprint) such as wind energy, hydro electricity and solar energy.

Two Green Energy projects approved in South Ayrshire.

Scotland took another step towards achieving its Green Energy Strategy objectives with the approval of two wind farm project applications in Ayrshire, Scotland.

The Scottish Government point out that these projects are helping them to meet the targets of having 31% of energy in Scotland produced from renewable sources by 2011.

To read more on this green energy story click here and visit the Scottish Government web site.

Enterprising Energy ‘Green Homes’ (Energy Efficiency and Micro Renewables) Project!

Why ‘Green Homes’ Project?

The dream is that one day the Green Homes Project has helped 1000’s of people achieve Enterprising Energy ‘Urban Green Homes’ status and helped jointly reduce our carbon footprint by tens of thousands of tonnes per year and more.

By taking on Phase 1 of the ‘Green Homes Project’ we will determine the key challenges that face people who want to reduce the Carbon Footprint of their home, reduce their energy consumption and create their own energy through small and micro renewables.

The key challenges we be fed into any relevant Government Consultations at a policy level, we will also provide vital information to key partnership agencies on the practical challenges to people in urban areas who want have ‘Green Homes’.

The second phase will greatly reduce the amount of carbon produced by homes in urban areas and provide a practical project management and implementation process that takes a home from standard energy consumption to ‘Green Homes’ status.

Phase 1

Purchase an ex local authority family sized house that is in disrepair within an urban area with an aim to developing the property into a zero (or Low) carbon Green Home by using simple energy efficiency measures that anyone can copy for their own home and fitting micro renewable technologies such as solar heat, solar PV, biomass heating, heat pumps and small or micro wind turbines.

Publish all of the work on the Internet, share experiences and determine pitfalls to look out for, this will help others Achieve a ‘Green Home’.

Phase 2

Establish a social enterprise model to carry out the same work to other people’s homes in urban areas with a focus on areas of higher social deprivation and fuel poverty (as well as other communities where people really want to make a difference in their community).

We will create an ‘Green Homes’ project management model that can turn individual projects on homes around in the shortest time possible and with the greatest efficiency and highest level of social and environmental impact.

Phase 2 of the project will have a large impact on the Carbon Footprint of homes and we aim to role out into 100’s of homes each year, while working in partnership with other key agencies to maximise on training for work and skills development opportunities within the renewable energy and efficiency fields, helping to create more sustainable jobs.

Phase 3

Take the ‘Green Homes Project’ internationally with a social franchise and private business franchise model across the globe to maximise impact, reduce carbon emissions globally and reduce the impact of rising oil prices and fuel poverty within communities.

How will we archive these aims?

“I am less concerned about how this will be achieved at the moment, I am more concerned about the why?.  We have to start making massive changes to our lives and the way we use energy and waste, we aim to be market leaders in the ‘Green Homes’ movement and see the whole process as a challenge to be taken on and won!”

Key Partners

Enterprising Energy will develop key partnerships to achieve the greatest possible social and environmental impact of the ‘Green Homes Project’, we also aim to promote the support of partnership agencies throughout the term of all three phases of the project.

If you are interested in Partnership working or know someone who might be then get in touch with scott@enterprisingenergy.com and we can look at opportunities for development.