Low Carbon Heating for Social Housing
A new £10 million scheme has opened, which is aimed at helping more people in social housing to
move away from expensive old heating systems to more sustainable low carbon alternatives like biomass boilers, solar hot water panels and heat pumps. Registered providers of social housing, such as local authorities and social housing associations, can bid for up to around £175,000 each.
Vincent Wedlock-Ward MBE, Project Officer at Southern Housing Group (Isle of Wight Region), a previous social landlord competition winner, said: ?We received £175,000 from DECC under last year?s RHPP scheme for social landlords which helped us replace old overnight storage heating systems with air source pumps for 40 householders living off the gas grid.?
EnergyMyWay are able to advise both individuals and housing groups on alternatives to oil and LPG, for those living off the gas grid. Air source heat pumps and biomass wood pellet boilers are two of the most popular solutions.
Biomass Referendum in Southampton
Residents of two Southampton wards are to get a vote on whether they support plans for a proposed biomass power station in the city’s Western Docks. The referendum, for people in the Freemantle and Millbrook areas, will be held in November alongside elections for police commissioners.
This unusually democratic move to inform the decision making is to be applauded but is unlikely to generate support for the proposals which have been criticised for being located close to housing. From a green perspective it is also worrying that the heat generated by the plant is not to be used in the city?s district heating network.
Biomass will be an important part of the country?s energy mix in the years ahead. Biomass boilers offer significant opportunities to local communities or campus sites where they are linked to a community heating network. EnergyMyWay are able to offer advice on such installations, call us for a free survey or to discuss the possibilities.
