Winsford thermal hot water scheme gets EU funding go-ahead

With the recent media attention on domestic fuel oil thefts, especially from isolated dwellings, comes this very welcome story from the Winsford Guardian.

After a successful EU funding bid, over a hundred homes in the Winsford and Northwich area will benefit from thermal hot water and solar panel installations.

All the properties are not connected to mains gas.

It's expected the solar panels will heat up to 60% of each dwellings hot water needs.

£3.6 million of funding was secured by the local and neighbouring councils with the amount being matched by the Eu funding.

The money must be spent on installing renewable energy and work is expected to be completed by 2013.

Read the full story in the Winsford Guardian here.

It's really great news for the residents that will benefit from these installations who should see a real drop in their present domestic energy bills.

photo credit: uggboy

£7.3 Million EU grant means work starts on UK tidal energy generator

Sheffield based company Pulse Tidal is celebrating after an £7.3 million pound grant from the EU means it can start work on developing the first commercial tidal energy generator in the UK.

As reported on New Energy Focus, the company which specialises in sourcing energy from shallow waters has already signed contracts with supply chain partners, to develop the horizontal blade system, which moves up and down with the tidal streams.

"The grant has come from the EU's technology research and development fund (Framework Programme 7) - its main instrument for funding research and development in science and technology - and will fund 50% of the development, with the remaining 50% to be provided by private investment.

Recent improvements to the EU funding process mean that the EU provides 40% of the grant at the start of the project, with the remainder dispersed each year according to the progress of the project.

This will allow the project to begin immediately and gives Pulse more time to secure matching funds."

A test 'rig' in place in the Humber Estuary is already developing 100kW which is fed to a chemicals factory on the nearby banks. The new scheme will develop 1MW which the company claims will provide for up to 1,000 homes.

You can see an artists impression of the system in operation and read more at New Energy Focus.

photo credit: redvers