News archive - Week ending 21st December 2007

Carron Valley Wind Farm Plans Approved

Controversial plans to create an eight turbine wind farm in the Carron Valley in rural Stirling have been approved by the council. Developers Scotia Wind promised that if the plans to construct eight turbines 125m in height, a new access road, bridge, electricity sub-station and meteorological monitoring mast went ahead they would pay an index-linked cash windfall of £48,000 a year to the local community.

The money, administered by a development trust called Valley Renewables, could be used to fund community projects involving micro-renewables or a broadband facility for the area. However, despite this offer, the plan caused divisions among Carron Valley's residents and planning officials had originally recommended the application be refused. One of the main objectors was Scottish Natural Heritage which objected to the visual impact of the wind farm.

Waste Processing Plant Trebles Waste Diverted from Landfill

A new processing plant in Dumfries and Galloway has trebled the amount of waste being diverted away from landfill. The Eco-Deco development near Dumfries is unique in Scotland and has been credited with dramatically improving the region's recycling record.
It takes household waste and shreds and dries it before separating out anything which can be reused. The dried and shredded waste is put through a complex system of sieves, fans and magnets to separate out recyclable elements. It isolates both ferrous and non-ferrous metals, glass and stone for use as aggregate, material for composting, and a solid fuel replacement with two-thirds the calorific value of coal.

The plant is now up and running and is soon to be officially opened by Princess Alexandra.
The site will handle 65,000 tonnes of waste a year and a main advantage of the system is that it does away with the need for householders to be issued with different bins for different types of rubbish.

Church Appoints Climate Change Officer

The Church of Scotland has appointed a climate change project officer to help expand and develop the Kirk?s contribution to the climate change movement in Scotland. The decision follows the debate on climate change at the General Assembly in May 2007, during which members accepted the Church paper ?Energy for a Changing Climate? and its call to make the lifestyle changes necessary to reduce energy use and consumption of the Earth?s resources.

Adrian Shaw, a member of the Scottish Council of WWF, will work with the Councils of the Church to identify the impacts of climate change and help Councils to address these impacts. He will also support eco-congregations and work with them in their efforts to respond effectively to climate change

The Church of Scotland recently joined the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coalition of NGOs and charities lobbying the Government to step up its response to climate change. The appointment will help the Church of Scotland to contribute to the wider debate on climate change in Scotland through its membership in the coalition.

Zero-carbon Possible in Non-domestic Buildings

According to a new report commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG), the majority of new non-domestic buildings can be zero-carbon if onsite, near-site and offsite renewable energy sources are used. ?Carbon Reductions in New Non-Domestic Buildings?, which was prepared by the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC), also concluded that a challenging target should be set to achieve zero-carbon new non-domestic buildings.

It suggested adoption of a 2020 deadline, four years behind the Government's target of 2016 for new domestic buildings. There is a cost associated with zero-carbon building; preliminary modeling suggests that the premium could range from over 30% down to as low as 5 or 10% of current baseline costs

The UK-GBC concluded that further work is needed but one of its key recommendations is the construction of a national database on energy use in non-domestic buildings to improve on the existing data, which is said to be incomplete and inconsistent.