Welcome to the central hub for news on how the Government is working to deliver the transition to a low carbon future. This website provides up-to-date news from across Government on the action it is taking to put the UK onto a permanent low carbon footing, whilst simultaneously securing maximum economic benefit.
Although comments on the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy: A Vision are now closed, you can still read about the vision and view the comments made.
Policy information on this site relates to the former government prior to 11 May. Content is being reviewed and is subject to change. To see past information please visit the UK government web archive.
The Government today announced a grant of up to £5m to support the continued development of marine energy in the UK. The grant will support the development of a Marine Renewables Business Park at Hayle, in the South West.
The investment follows on from the launch of the UK Marine Industries Strategic Framework.
The Government has launched a consultation on how best to equip workers and businesses with the skills needed capitalise on low carbon opportunities.
This is a joint DECC and BIS consultation and aims to get feedback from stakeholders on what the strategic skills priorities and next steps should be.
The consultation announcement also included the co-funding of up to 2,5000 wind energy apprentices. This follows an recommendation by Cogent today to fund 1,000 nuclear sector apprentices.
Read the joint BIS DECC press notice here
Have your say on the joint BIS?DECC consultation here. The consultation closes on 23 June 2010.
The Government has announced two new investments to support Nissan and Ford in developing and manufacturing low carbon vehicles.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson announced a £20.7m grant for Nissan to help in battery plant and car production. Nissan itself will commit more than £420m to its UK operations.
It has plans to make up to 50,000 vehicles and 60,000 batteries a year. It will help safeguard and create over 550 highly skilled jobs at the Sunderland plant.
Lord Mandelson also announced the Government will provide £360m in loan guarantees to support Ford’s plans to invest £1.5 billion over five years for development of a new generation of environmentally friendly engines and vehicle technologies.
For press notices, high resolution images and more information, read the BIS article here.
London has been designated the UK’s latest Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA), with a focus on energy efficient buildings.
It is the seventh LCEA to be announced since the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy was announced in July 2009.
The preliminary focus of the London LCEA is on retrofitting – making buildings more energy efficient. This expected to help London and the UK be an early leader in this emerging sector. [click to continue…]
Emerging findings on the challenges and opportunities for the construction sector have been published by the Low Carbon Construction Innovation and Growth Team (IGT).
The IGT, headed by Chief Construction Adviser Paul Paul Morrell, is due to deliver its final report at the end of 2010. The group was established on 17 September 2010 by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.
The interim findings identify four major opportunities for the sector if the challenges and barriers are effectively addressed:
Social housing across the UK will be retrofitted with new, innovative technologies to reduce energy consumption as part of a £17m trial.
The project, called Retrofit for the Future, is being led by the Government-funded Technology Strategy Board (TSB).
Understanding and implementing best practice retrofitting is key to meeting the government’s CO2 reduction target of 80% by 2050. The results of the projects will be shared to help show how the UK’s current housing stock could be made more energy efficient. [click to continue…]
The Government today announced the roll-out of a £30m fund for a network of electric vehicle hubs – called Plugged-In Places.
The project, lead by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), will see charging infrastructure appearing in:
The first Plugged-In Places were today named today as London, Milton Keynes and the North East; and between them they will be installing over 11,000 vehicle recharging points during the next three years.
A Plug-In Car grant was also announced. Motorists purchasing a new electric vehicle from January 2011 will be eligible for up to £5000.
The Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe (MPSE) to invest £100m in new wind turbine R&D project in the UK.
It is expected to create up to 200 highly skilled jobs and position the UK as a leader in next generation wind turbine technology.
South Wales has been named the UK’s latest Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA), with £6.3m in funding from the University of Glamorgan to commercialise hydrogen energy technology.
It follows yesterday’s announcement of a £19m boost for low carbon vehicle research and development in the Midlands. [click to continue…]
