Electric car grants - just a load of greenwash Gordon.
No electric car that is available now, or for at least the next two years, will qualify for the government grants of up to £5,000 announced yesterday.
Even the handful of concept cars currently being tested may be ineligible because ministers insist that they will only subsidise cars with “mass market appeal”, in terms of range and speed.
The RAC Foundation questioned the effectiveness of the grants and said there could be greater environmental benefits from encouraging more efficient petrol and diesel engines. A spokesman said: “Green initiatives should not be introduced for the sake of grabbing headlines.”
The electric car strategy is the latest in a number of green pledges that critics say are more spin than substance. Ministers promised to improve the energy efficiency of a million homes this year but many will only be getting low-energy light bulbs. The Government has also set a target of 35 per cent of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2020, but the current level is only 4 per cent and investment in wind farms has fallen sharply.
The Department for Transport said it was still debating the minimum standards for electric cars, including range, speed and safety, which vehicles would have to meet to qualify for grants. Retailers of existing electric cars, such as the G-Wiz, fear the announcement could cause a collapse in sales, as drivers planning to switch to an electric car delay buying in the hope of getting a grant in the future.
Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, said that the Government wanted to put electric cars “into the reach of ordinary motorists by providing help worth £2,000 to £5,000”.
However, it emerged later that the Government did not know when the first eligible car would go on sale. The DfT said it was assuming that the first ones would be available from “2011 onwards” but it would be up to manufacturers to decide precisely when.
Lord Mandelson and Geoff Hoon, the Transport Secretary, marked the announcement of the strategy by test-driving an electric Mini at a racing circuit in Fife. However, BMW, which makes the Mini E’s electrical system in Munich, said that it had no plans to sell the car in Britain.
The company intends to start a trial this year involving no more than 40 Mini Es in London and the Thames Valley. Participants will have to pay about £550 a month to lease a Mini E, three times the lease rate of a petrol-powered Mini Cooper. They will be unable to carry more than one passenger because a huge battery occupies the back seat and it has a range of only 150 miles before it needs recharging.
The Vauxhall Ampera, based on the Astra, may be the first electric car eligible for a grant but it is not due to go on sale in Britain until 2012 and is likely to cost more than £20,000. Even with a £5,000 grant, drivers would still be paying a substantial premium on the £12,000 cost of a conventional Astra.
The Government declined to set a target for the number of electric cars it wants to see on the roads, unlike Germany which wants a million by 2020.
The strategy says it expects numbers “to rise to the thousands in the early part of the next decade”. To put this in context, more than two million cars are sold in Britain each year and there are 27 million on the road. Sales of electric cars halved last year to 179, down from 397 in 2007.
Nigel Wonnacott, a green-car analyst, said: “This strategy could be the final nail in the coffin for the current crop of electric city cars as buyers hold out for models from mainstream car makers. But there’s no guarantee that any will be on sale come 2011.”
The DfT said £230 million would be available over several years for electric car grants and another £20 million for roadside charging points. A Nissan spokesman said the investment in charging points could be inadequate. “The Government have been very woolly in what they have said. People are not going to buy electric cars if they can’t plug in and recharge at their destination,” he said.
A DfT spokeswoman said the G-Wiz and Mega City were not eligible because they were classified technically as quadricycles, not cars. “We will be discussing the details of the scheme and eligibility rules with the car industry over the coming months.”
Times Online 17.04.09 Ben Webster
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British are "bored" with Climate Change
A new energy report suggests that British people are less environmentally conscious than they were five years ago.
4 out of 10 britons take no action at all to reduce their household carbon emissions, and twice as many people are now "bored" by talk of climate change as in 2005. Experts warn that green fatigue is one of the major reasons as to why there are more cars on the roads, more planes in the sky and no reductions in the mountain of packaging waste. The report reveals that too few people are making an effort to reduce their household CO2 emissions and environmentalists believe the recession is further undermining public commitment.
The report, by market researchers Mintel, shows that many of Britain's 26 million homes fail to make simple adjustments such as switching off lights, turning down thermostats, and switching off appliances rather than leaving them on standby. The findings also reveal that people are less willing to spend money on energy-efficient appliances than they were five years ago. Analysts believe the recession together with a backlash against "extreme" environmentalist pressure has reduced people's enthusiasm to combat climate change.
The report also found that resistance to saving the planet was greater among men; one in four said they think there is too much concern over the environment, compared with one in six women.
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More information on the 2016 definition of "Zero Carbon".
Housing Minister, Grant Shapps announced additional information about the new definition of "Zero Carbon".
The Government plans to investigate setting up a community energy fund which will be used to pay for district heating and renewable energy schemes.
Developers who pay into the fund will not have to install onsite renewables or microgeneration equipment. Many developers have welcomed the flexibility of paying into a fund rather than grappling with renewables on each site.
However, the full definition of 'zero-carbon' has once again been delayed. This is despite a pre-election promise to get the definition of zero carbon finalised “within weeks” of getting into office.
The new Government Housing Minister has recently announced that the coalition will review the level of on-site renewables required - before publishing the final definition of the standard, which all new homes will have to reach after 2016.
In the announcement, the Minister also re-affirmed his commitment to all new homes being zero-carbon from 2016 and confirmed the introduction of the ‘Fabric Energy Efficiency Standard' which requires a minimum standard in relation to insulation levels and air tightness and thermal bridging in buildings.
Zero carbon is required of all Code for Sustainable Homes level six homes. Clarification of what zero carbon will mean is still to be decided.
If you require assistance with your Code for Sustainable Homes level requirements, contact Ecowise - we are a fully accredited Code for Sustainable Homes assessment organisation.
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Pilot Tidal Energy Scheme for North Wales Coast
Conwy County Borough Council has backed plans for a pilot tidal energy scheme off the North Wales Coast.
The £150 million scheme at Llanddulas in North Wales would provide a testing facility for turbine designers and manufacturers, and assess the environmental impact of turbines.
The project was given approval by the council as part of a strategic regeneration strategy for the Conwy coast, prepared by consultant Capita Symonds.
Paul Terry, Capita Symonds, said: "Tidal power will play a key role in providing a sustainable energy source for future generations. The North Wales coast is an ideal place for such a scheme as it’s blessed with a good tidal range and suitable ocean depth." He added that the project could also help protect the coast from rising sea levels, storm surges and coastal erosion.
The regeneration strategy also calls for seven new visitor centres costing £30m should be built at key locations stretching from Conwy to Rhuddlan. But North Wales Tourism chairman Chris Jackson raised doubts over whether the proposals could realistically be funded in the current economic climate. The council’s approval now means that Capita Symonds will seek funding for feasibility studies and investigations to develop a business case for the scheme.
