4. UK’s first combined PV and wind system

Planning permission has been granted to the London Climate Change Agency for the first combined photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbine system in the UK. Southwark Council has granted permission to the Agency to install wind turbines to add to the photovoltaic cells on the roof of the new Palestra building, designed by architect Will Alsop, on Blackfriars Road in south London. Three floors of the building will become the new headquarters of the London Development Agency and the London Climate Change Agency starting in Sept. 2006. The renewable energy generated by the system will provide renewable electricity to these floors. The £436,000 project comprises an 84kW renewable energy system- 63kWp of PV panels on the roof and 21kW of 14 building-integrated wind turbines. The combined system will generate 3,397,000kWh of renewable electricity and reduce CO2 emissions by 3,300 tonnes during its lifetime. The project is being funded and implemented by the London Climate Change Agency which was set-up by the Mayor of London last year to tackle climate change through promoting renewable and sustainable energy.

Allan Jones, CEO of the Agency, said: ‘This is the first project of its kind in the UK and shows how London is at the forefront of creative solutions to tackle climate change. The electricity generated by the photovoltaic panels and building-integrated wind turbines have been designed to supply renewable electricity to the floors that will be occupied by the London Climate Change Agency and London Development Agency. This demonstrates that even in a multi-occupied building it is possible for a tenant to take control of their own energy supply and reduce carbon emissions. Any building or organisation in London can follow this example. A feasibility study for a fuel cell trigeneration system is also under way, which, together with the renewable energy, would supply all of these floors electricity, heating and cooling needs.’

Barry Marsh, Director of Solar Technologies, the contractor installing the project at Palestra, said: ‘This is a renewable energy first and complements our other renewable energy projects, including the recent announcement of the nationwide venture between Currys and Sharp to sell solar photovoltaic solutions to householders in high street stores, where we will be Sharp’s first nominated installer’. See below.

The wind-PV project is one of a series of flagship projects that the London Climate Change Agency is undertaking, the first being the PV system at the London Transport Museum. A planning application had also been submitted to Southwark Council to install a PV roof and solar shading at City Hall. The installation of the wind /PV system on Palestra is being supported by an Energy Saving Trust grant of £155,276 under the DTI Major Photovoltaic Demonstration Programme.

The London Climate Change Agency was launched by the Mayor in June 2005 to be a key driving force in accelerating reductions in emissions in London. The establishment of the London Climate Change Agency (LCCA) was a manifesto commitment by the Mayor of London in the 2004 election and will implement projects in the sectors that impact on climate change, especially energy, transport, waste and water. The agency has now been established as a municipal company owned by the London Development Agency and led by the Mayor to work in partnership with private sector firms- which will design, finance, build and operate low and zero-carbon capacity. This will be a combination of combined cooling, heat and power, energy efficiency, renewables and other innovative technology in new developments and retrofit projects. The Agency, under Allan Jones MBE, who has pioneered this approach in Woking Borough Council, will seek to catalyse markets for renewable energy in London.

Ken & Bill join forces

London’s mayor Ken Livingstone has teamed up with former US President Bill Clinton in a bid to help major cities around the world cut greenhouse gas emissions. London, with 21 other cities, has signed up to the former US president’s new Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI). The partnership of the CCI with the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, which is chaired by Livingstone was announced in Los Angeles in July, when temperatures there, and back in the UK, were at all-time highs. The aim is to create a purchasing consortium to pool the purchasing power of the cities to lower the prices of energy saving products and speed up the introduction of green policies, aided by a web-based communication system to share best practices and to measure the effectiveness of each city’s efforts.
So do Tony and Arnie
In parallel Tony Blair, who was also at the LA event, signed an agreement with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on collaboration on climate change and green energy policies and technologies, between the state and the UK.
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