newsletter

Issue 1 Summer 2008

New grant scheme for renewables in this issue

RE:think Energy is a newly launched £1.5 million renewable energy Keep Shropshire Warm
capital grant scheme available in Shropshire, Herefordshire and parts success pg. 2
Project:Keep Shropshire

of Worcestershire. The scheme is being run by Marches Energy Solar garden pg. 2
Agency and aims to support Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Re-energising community
(SMEs) situated in, or who are benefitting the Rural Regeneration buildings pg 2
Zone (RRZ) areas of the three counties. RE:think Energy will enable Launching the Light
SMEs to capitalise on opportunities to install renewable energy Fantastic pg. 3
technologies. It will also provide openings for business within the Birmingham Climate
RRZ through the manufacture, supply and installation of renewable Change Festival pg.4
technologies and services. Eco Technology Fairs, pg. 3
Eco Top Trumps pg. 5
Funded via Advantage West The scheme will be a fantastic New Bioenergy Guide pg. 6
Midlands and managed by boost to businesses in these
Marches Energy Agency, RE: areas, helping them become
think Energy can offer grants more sustainable in their use of
of up to 50% of the capital energy, reducing bills and cutting
cost investment of installing carbon dioxide emissions.
renewable energy technologies.

Shropshire showcases a bioenergy future

Shropshire was chosen as the
location for an international
bioenergy study tour to look
at how more energy could be
generated from renewable
sources. Experts and
delegates from across Europe
visited the region to explore
some of its exciting bioenergy
schemes. They also looked at
what a particularly rural area
can do in the face of rising
energy costs and climate
change.
The event was co-ordinated by
MEA. Over the course of two
jam-packed days, delegates
were shown a diverse range
of technologies. They visited
Ludlow to see how energy
is being generated from the
digestion of green waste from
householders and learned how
an innovative Staffordshire-
made biomass CHP system
is providing heat and power
for Harper Adams Agricultural
College.
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The climate change impact of the
visit is expected to be minimal.
The delegates travelled around
the region on a coach fuelled
by biodiesel made from waste
cooking oil. They stayed at the
Long Mynd Hotel in Church
Stretton, again showcasing
bioenergy technologies in
action in Shropshire. The hotel
has just made the switch from
heating with gas and oil to
heating with an automated
wood chip boiler.
 Project:Keep Shropshire Warm

MEA TECHNOLOGY

Keep Shropshire Warm Success

More than 500 families have been removed from ‘fuel poverty’,
while another 1,500 households have benefited from the Keep
Shropshire Warm service. Offering free and discounted household
insulation, the scheme has been primarily an economic and social
service. Nevertheless, it has brought about significant environmental
benefits too due to the big reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
The energy now being saved by those 2,000 families alone this
year is the equivalent in CO2 savings to cutting out more than 350
flights around the world.

Re-energising community buildings

MEA are now able to offer assistance to community-based
organisations that wish to explore options in using renewable
energy measures in their premises. In the latest initiative to
come from the BIG Lottery’s ‘Changing Spaces’ funding, the
“Community Sustainable Energy Programme”, community
groups and not-for profit organisations can access funds to
appoint MEA’s Project Carbon team to carry out feasibility
studies. MEA are one of only 45 organisations on the Register
of Consultants for the programme which is expected to
operate across England until December 2010.

MEA are looking to work with any community-based

organisations interested in pursuing this route throughout
Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and
beyond. Please take a look at www.communitysustainable.
org.uk for further information.

Carbon College group create Solar Garden

The Newcastle Carbon College group ‘Carbon Crush’ are starting to
put their plans into action. The group are building a solar powered
irrigation system which will pump rainwater from collection tanks to feed
an organic community vegetable garden.  The project will also act as a
working model, showing others an innovative application of renewable
technologies – something that could be of use to small and large sized
gardens alike, from homes to schools and farms to plant nurseries. 
This project is the final phase in MEA’s Carbon College programme in
Newcastle. The programme has been running since January this year
and is headed up by MEA’s Carbon Forum team. The solar garden
project follows on from a series of workshops earlier in 2008, which
aimed to raise awareness of energy issues, such as climate change
and peak oil. They focused on ways in which community groups can
work together to find new ways of using or generating energy and
fuel.  With support from Carbon Forum the group are now putting what
they’ve learnt into practice.
The programme is being funded by Staffordshire County Council.
2.
 Memorial Hall gets the wind in its sails
A community hall just outside Shrewsbury is leading the way in
using renewable energy in the fight against climate change. In their
efforts to do their bit for the environment, Bayston Hill Memorial
Hall staff, assisted by MEA’s Project Carbon team, have installed
a building-mounted wind turbine to create green electricity to use
at the Hall.
“Whilst building-mounted wind turbines are not generally capable of
supplying all the power requirements of the average user, they can
certainly make a useful contribution,” said Joe Bentley of Project
Carbon. “We expect that the turbine will supply around 25% of the
Hall’s electricity needs”
Funding was provided by Defra’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability
Fund - managed locally by Shropshire County Council.

MEA EVENTS

Launching the Light Fantastic

This summer MEA’s Carbon Forum team launched our exciting
new exhibition trailer ‘Light Fantastic’. The Light Fantastic
stall will provide an inspirational and engaging experience for
visitors and creates a persuasive case for switching wasteful
and expensive incandescent lighting to low energy lighting.
The trailer will provide energy efficiency advice, as well as
distributing low energy light bulbs and ‘PowerDown’ devices
which can help to save money by automatically powering down Business Clinic
computer equipment safely when computers are switched off.
The energy saving goodies are provided free of charge by E.ON for Oswestry
- one of the UK’s leading power and gas companies.
Floodplain
Visitors are also able to test their personal energy levels on the
MEA’s Project Carbon team
‘energy bike’ which helps to show how much physical energy
held a Business Clinic in June
needs to be generated in order to light up low energy light bulbs
at Kinnerley Village Hall. The
versus old-style incandescent bulbs.
clinic was the first of its kind
As well as the chance to see the full range of contemporary low in Shropshire and offered free
energy bulbs available, there will be short films, information and energy efficiency advice and
interactive games. support for all businesses
in the Oswestry floodplain.
An energy auditing service
was made available to these
businesses, along with 50%
grant funding for carbon
saving investments.  Business
advice, work force skills and
training was also offered.
The event was organised in
collaboration with Oswestry
Borough Council.

3.
Birmingham Climate Change Festival
Our Carbon Forum team helped Birmingham City Council with their
massive and ambitious Climate Change Festival. We spent two
days there running our Light Fantastic stall. On the Family Sunday
we had approximately 800 visitors to the stall and distributed 1200
low energy light bulbs and 360 PowerDown units.
Tuesday was schools day. Each Teacher was given five Eco
Vehicles Top Trumps Packs, an Eco Action Pack and a ‘Funny
Weather’ Comic which is a light hearted but scientifically rigorous
guide to climate change. We also gave each teacher ten low energy
light bulbs and one PowerDown unit to take back to the school for
demonstration and installation.
In total our stall had over 2000 visitors and will result in lifetime
savings of nearly 500 tonnes of CO2 and just over £237,000
retained economic benefit.

Shrewsbury
future events
cartoon
exhibition Light Fantastic
2nd Aug- Oswestry Show
International and national 9th Aug - Minsterley Show
cartoonists contributed to a 15th - 16th Aug -
special exhibition of work on Shrewsbury Flower Show
climate change. This touring 17th Aug Chorley Show
exhibition was exhibited at 20th Aug- Bridgnorth
the Gateway Gallery 3 from Housing Fayre
April 19th to May 26th and 24th Aug - Bridgnorth
formed part of Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival. After Green Festival
an excellent opening event it was visited by over 1500 people, 8th - 9th Sept - Ellesmere
including many school trips. Festival
The exhibition was supported by Shropshire County Council and 22nd Sept - Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council and hosted by the Car Free Day
Shrewsbury and District Arts Association at the Gateway Gallery 3.
Other events
6th Aug, 8pm -
Shropshire Green Drinks,
Cromwells, Shrewsbury
18th September -
MEA’s 10th birthday party,
The Pump House,
Shrewsbury

If you’d like to book the Light

Fantastic trailer to come to a
show near you, get in touch.
See contact details at the end of
the newsletter.

4.
Eco Technology Fairs for Shropshire Communities
As part of our Low Carbon displays of technologies such
Communities project in as solar panels and energy
Shropshire, MEA set up two efficient light bulbs, with a
technology fairs in Ellesmere chance to meet suppliers
and in Cleobury Mortimer. and installers, as well as get
The fairs promoted renewable independent advice.
technologies and energy These fairs were free and
efficient measures. There were open to all businesses and
private individuals wanting to
learn more about how they
can reduce their utility bills,
generate their own heat and
power and reduce their carbon
footprint.

World Environment Day

As you might expect, we
were very busy on World
Environment Day. Our Carbon
Forum team ran our Light
Fantastic Stall in Shrewsbury
town centre and carbon
footprinting stalls in two areas
in Wolverhampton.
Shrewsbury was very busy
with over 1400 low energy
light bulbs given away. In
Wolverhampton we carbon
footprinted over 100 people
(lowest footprint: 6.3 tonnes
CO2, highest 13.6 tonnes
CO2). It was a great and
very busy day and in total
we saved over 318 tonnes
of CO2 through light bulb and
PowerDown give-aways. Not
bad for a day’s work!

MEA PRODUCTS

Eco Top Trumps flood out to UK schools

Thanks to assistance from Shropshire County Council, we have
had a flood of interest in our Eco Vehicles Top Trumps game from
School Travel Planners from Kent to Lancashire and Norfolk to
Cardiff. We have since sent out 3000 copies of the packs to every
secondary school in England. We had the first response back
immediately: “I am a Geography PGCE trainee teacher, currently
working at The Chase school in Malvern. I have been looking at the
top trumps cards that were sent here and think they are excellent.
I am hoping to use them in a lesson tomorrow as I know my year
8s will love them too”.
Anyone wishing to get their own copy of the card game can order
a pack at www.carbonforum.org.
5.
Top Trumps at Rockingham Raceway
We recently distributed 500
packs of our Eco Vehicles
Top Trumps game to captains
of the transport industry
and fleet managers at this
years Arrive N Drive Green
Vehicle event at Rockingham
Raceway. This was a superb
opportunity for fleet managers
to understand both the
business and environmental tips on how to drive with fuel
cases for adopting cleaner economy and safety in mind.
fuel and vehicle technology. It
We were there last year to
is the only event in the country
research the Top Trumps
where attendees can test
pack and were honoured to
drive the vehicles on display.
be invited back to distribute
Not only this, test drivers are
the game.
also accompanied by ARDS
(Association of Racing Drivers
Schools) instructors, who offer
Our new Bioenergy Guide
Our Carbon Forum team has produced a guide for the Bioenergy
West Midlands steering group.
The guide is an excellent introduction to bioenergy, focusing
on biomass and biogas (anaerobic digestion) energy
production. It provides an accessible but detailed introduction
to the technologies, outlines some of the key considerations
for developing a bioenergy facility, and provides contact details
and internet addresses for further information. Bioenergy has
tremendous potential as a part of a renewable energy strategy for
the UK, and we hope that this guide will play a part in achieving
that potential by raising awareness of these technologies and
what they have to offer.
The guide can be downloaded from the carbon forum website:
www.carbonforum.org
Marches Energy Agency is a
registered charity, #1070942
Main website:
www.mea.org.uk
MEA team websites:
www.carbonforum.org
www.projectcarbon.org
www.lowcarboncommunity.org
www.keepshropshirewarm.org
switchboard: 01743 246 007
email: info@mea.org.uk
The Pump House, Coton Hill,
Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 2DP
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