Mount Solar Ltd, a British provider of solar mounting systems, launched its new range of solar roof anchors this week - which it says will help accelerate both installation and precision. Based in the Midlands, Mount Solar Ltd has in total developed four stainless steel roof anchors which have been designed for narrow rafters some houses and other buildings in the UK possess. According to the company itself, the mountings are able to accommodate rafters that are incredibly narrow at 35mm, as well as a wide variety of roofs. The anchors have been approved by the governing National Federation of Roofing Contractors ... Full Story

Ewgeco, the Scottish energy management firm, will embark on an expansion drive aimed at bringing its energy display monitoring systems to companies across Britain. Close to £1 million of investment has been secured by Ewgeco and will help fuel its expansion drive. The company, based in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, designed its award-winning and patented display energy system in order to cut both energy costs and the amount of energy consumption in homes. Now though, Ewgeco is looking to start deploying its creation on a larger scale across businesses. George McGhee, Ewgeco's chief executive, commented that in a time where the economic ... Full Story

Boris Johnson has said that he will create green jobs as one of his key priorities during his second term in office as the Mayor of London, while also increasing the amount of green building retrofit programmes around the capital. Johnson, who saw off competition from Ken Livingstone to reseal his spot as the Mayor of London earlier this month, has said that he plans to shift the green programmes he started at the end of his first term into the spotlight over course of the next four years. One of the key priorities for Johnson will be guaranteeing that buildings ... Full Story

The Green Deal and similar initiatives aimed at getting the public to reduce its use of energy will fail without any sort of national communications strategies backed by Britain's central government, the Green Alliance has warned. With fewer than six months left until the Green Deal's launch, research conducted by the Green Alliance has called into question the government’s present "dispersed communications" stance on its flagship energy efficiency plan and various other green energy policies, including smart meters. Drawing on feedback received from the private sector, which is inclusive of Britain's energy companies, local councils, and civil society groups, while using ... Full Story

The Green Deal for Britain's non-domestic buildings won't launch on the same day that it will be introduced to households. Ministers first planned to bring the Green Deal to the UK's households and businesses at the same time in October. Now though, DECC, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, is looking at phased introductions of the Coalition government’s flagship energy efficiency scheme. A spokesperson representing DECC told GreenWise that the Green Deal for business is being delayed because of the non-domestic market's complexity and said that it’s highly likely the Green Deal for businesses will not be launched on the same ... Full Story

Plans for reopening an old Oxfordshire quarry have been blasted with criticism this week. A committee set up by Conservatively-run Oxfordshire County Council recently approved the opening of McKenna Plant Hire, meant for the dumping of construction waste, at Woodeaton Quarry. After announcement of the plans, objectors immediately raised fears over the safety of the young and elderly living, studying, or travelling along the route. McKenna said that the worries over extra traffic being created were "unfounded" as disruption will be "minimal". The route is to run from Headington roundabout and then through Barton housing estate while also passing along the B4027's ... Full Story

A report by experts that was commissioned by the Coalition government has revealed that controversial shale gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing could continue in Britain. The greenlight was given in spite of evidence that shows how shale gas drilling, known as 'fracking’, has been the cause of earthquakes in the UK. Should it be adopted properly, the expansion of cleaner, more renewable energy could become endangered. Cuadrilla Resources, the UK company currently exploring for shale gas across Britain, believes that there are at least 50 years' worth of reserves in rocks beneath the UK. Fracking is a process of injecting several million ... Full Story

Most of England is now suffering from an unforgiving drought with the current dry spell being experienced possibly lasting beyond Christmas, according to the Environment Agency. Government officials have started planning for long-term water shortages that could spell disaster for Britain's wildlife, its landscape, and its farming industry. Large swaths of England's Midlands and parts of the south west have now entered official drought status, which means that water companies in those particular parts of the country may apply for restrictions on household and business water use to be put in place. This could also mean an extension of southern England's hosepipe ... Full Story

Nick Clegg yesterday announced new ways of getting both households and businesses more energy efficient so that they can slash their utility bills. In his major speech on energy, which was delivered at London's Canary Wharf, the leader of the Liberal Democrat Party and Deputy Prime Minister Clegg said that the Government is working closely with Green Deal providers as they look to introduce "innovative solutions" that will take all of the "hassle" away from the Government’s energy efficiency programme - to be launched in the autumn. Clegg also announced details of a new deal that was struck with the so-called Big Six ... Full Story

Clean energy investment in Britain bounced back in 2011 after its 2010 slump, according to US-based charitable trust Pew in its comparison of investment in G20 countries. A grand total of $9.4 billion was invested in the wind, wave, and solar sector compared to the $3.3 billion invested in 2010 – an amazing leap of at least 185 per cent. Britain came in seventh place in the world rankings for total investment detailed in the recently released Clean Energy Race 2011 report, which means it was below fellow western countries such as the US, Italy, and Germany in addition to China. In ... Full Story

Lake District visitors will be targeted as part of a major new scheme aimed at encouraging greener methods of travel around one of the UK's leading national parks. The upcoming GoLakes Travel programme is to invest £6.9 million from 2012 to 2015 in environment-friendly types of road transport, which includes low emission car hire schemes. The programme aims to protect the environment of the Lake District National Park while enhancing the tourist experience through saving 11,000 tonnes' worth of CO2 emissions before 2015. The scheme will also create 100 jobs. Every year, eight million tourists from the UK and overseas visit the ... Full Story

An Edinburgh green packaging firm has launched a new service that it is hoped will make it much easier for small companies to recycle the food waste they have created. Vegware, a food packaging outfit that has won awards for its eco-friendly actions, has launched the Food Waste Network, which will increase organics recycling rates while diverting waste from landfill across Britain. The free service, to be launched online in the summer, pledges to provide comprehensive, up to date information with regards to collection services or onsite recycling systems. The service is for any British business, but is mostly aimed at either ... Full Story