The feed-in tariff (FIT) for small-scale generation of low-carbon electricity could earn householders installing solar PV £900 a year and reduce annual energy bills by £140. Small scale is up to 5 MW. Announcing the details of the scheme, which comes into effect on 1 April, Energy & Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband also published a blueprint for a similar scheme to be introduced in April 2011 to incentivise low-carbon heating technologies. Known as the renewable heat incentive, this scheme will be a world first.

NG Bailey and VINCI Construction have started work on delivering the M&E and information communication technology services for Network Rail’s redevelopment of King’s Cross Station. The contract will see NG Bailey deliver the services in four parts, following the precommencement phase of temporary station facilities to allow the redevelopment work to commence.

AECOM has been appointed lead engineer for this innovative zero-carbon community development in Berkshire. The development in Chalvey, Slough, is the brainchild of energy provider Scottish & Southern Energy. The 10 homes, community room and energy centre around a communal garden area will be used to test in real life and research new products and technical innovations. All the homes will be zero carbon, and their performance will be monitored for two years.

‘Apprenticeships must be seen not just as a device for locking individuals into a unitary skill but as a device for unlocking the talent for personal career leadership inside young people,’ according to Dr Mark Brenner, chief executive of Building Engineering Services Training (BEST). Speaking at the National Apprenticeship Conference in February, Dr Brenner focused on the benefits of dual vocational and academic routes to provide a third route to higher education and professionalism, whereby apprentices can progress up a professional career path.

Wolseley’s UK head office and Sustainable Building Centre (SBC) in Leamington has achieved zero waste to direct landfill — and saved £30 000 a year as well. Overall recycling levels are around 90%, and the small amount of waste that remains is dealt with in two ways. Recyclable materials are removed to a sorting facility, and the rest is sent to an incinerator to produce electricity.

Inviron has been awarded the contract to provide the M&E systems required to accommodate larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 at Gatwick Airport. The work is associated with the provision of six more aircraft stands, new roads and water settlement ponds in the north-west zone of the airport.

Major refurbishments can be completed three times more quickly than new build and achieve emissions similar to new build. Phil King discusses how refurbishment can play a key role in meeting Government targets for reducing carbon emissions.

Huge reductions in gas consumption have been achieved by English Partnerships, now part of the Homes & Communities Agency, following the replacement of the heating system with a high-efficiency multi-boiler cascade system from Buderus. The new installation is a cascade system of four Buderus GB162 100 kW boilers.

With schools under Government pressure to reduce their carbon footprints, but not at the expense of good indoor air quality, Nygel Humphrey explains how on-demand ventilation, coupled with high efficiency, energy recovery, successfully manages air quality — as well as reducing carbon footprints and energy costs.

Heat-pump contractor Econic has completed the management of the installation of the well equipment and heat exchangers for the £1.9 million cooling and heating installation for Segro’s Winnersh Triangle Phase 1 office development near Reading. The £100 million scheme includes four office buildings totally 35 800 m2, a 168-bedroom hotel with leisure and conference facilities and 1840 m2 of retail and restaurant space.

Carbon emissions from a new school in Scotland will be reduced by 25%, around 77 t a year, using SAV’s LoadTracker concept for supplying heat and power compared with a traditional system. The LoadTracker for Townhill Primary School in Hamilton was specified by Consultant Davie & McCulloch. Two CHP units/air-to-water heat pumps that can generate up to 30 kW of electricity and 60 kW of heat.

Energy-efficient cooling for a prefabricated data centre for London City Airport designed and built by Red Vista is provided by equipment from Eaton-Williams. The centre weighs over 8 t and is on a site close to the Docklands Light Railway. With the co-operation of the DLR, it was craned into position over the tracks and into position as a complete package.

Contributing to the achievement of a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating for the Paragon office building in Bristol is air conditioning based on Matrix fan-coil units from Ability Projects. These units incorporate energy-efficient EC/DC motors to provide infinitely variable speed control of the entire unit, as well as each fan. Each air duct can thus be balanced for air volume through duct speed alone, eliminating the need for noisy volume-control dampers and their time-consuming installation.

A WindowMaster automated window-control system will provide natural ventilation for the new £57 million South Cheshire College, due for completion in September 2010. The 26 500 m2 building is based on a village street, with departments functioning almost as shop fronts, which are covered with a glass and copper ‘skin’ to create light and space.

Airedale is working with UK Grid to reduce the PUE (power usage effectiveness) of its Synergy House data centre in Manchester. Rob Garbutt, managing director of UK Grid, explains that initially the data centre had cooling units with fixed-air-volume fans giving a PUE* of 1.7. The first stage of reducing the PUE was the introduction of cold aisles and fan inverter drives to achieve 1.4. The next stage is to introduce Airedale free-cooling equipment to reduce the PUE to 1.2.