Ulster Bank Offers UK’s First Solar Mortgage

We’ve heard rumors of 40% cuts in the cost of solar and claims of the imminent arrival of $1-a-watt solar technology, but the fact remains that going solar remains a significant investment (in fact, the Photovoltaics Economics Calculator can help you find out exactly how much it’ll cost you). As solar becomes more popular and more desirable, it is inevitable that financial service providers will start offering solutions to make it more accessible too. The Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland has just launched the UK’s first solar mortgage, offering a 50% reduction in the bank’s standard variable rate for three years to help finance the cost of solar panels:
“The sun offers a simple and efficient way to directly contribute to the powering of your home. An average sized installation of solar panels or tiles could reduce your annual energy bill by up to 50% and entitle you to cash back from your electricity supplier – potentially hundreds of pounds a year.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with Solarcentury, Europe’s leading supplier of solar technologies, to offer you an affordable way to reduce your energy bills and invest in your home.”

The Real Clean Coal? Former Mine Becomes Clean Energy Village

With more than 50 proposed new coal plants being put on the back burner, it would seem that Big Coal is losing friends, even despite its recruitement of cute kiddies to push its message. But while any move away from coal would be a great thing for the environment, what about the communities that depend on coal for their economies? Coal mining communities may do well to start taking note of what’s been going on at the former Ollerton colliery in Nottinghamshire in the UK. Ollerton closed its doors in 1995, resulting in mass unemployment in the community. However, as we read in the ever informative Guardian, the locals were determined to create a brighter, cleaner future for their town:
“We used to say ‘where there’s muck there’s brass’ but we’d had enough muck when mining came to an end,” says Stan Crawford, the former president of the National Union of Mineworkers in Nottinghamshire, who heads the group’s remarkable creation, Sherwood Energy Village.

Looking out over wind turbines, ponds and modern offices angled to trap sunlight, he can now count 600 jobs on the site, as many as when Ollerton colliery finally closed in 1995.

“We knew two other things back then: that we wanted a diverse economy, after years of the pit for the men and the clothes factory for the women, and we didn’t want anyone else imposing our future on us,” says Crawford.

The energy village also includes rainwater harvesting, and is currently the construction site for some 196 sustainable homes. The project has been so successful that it has won the Silver Jubilee Cup, the Royal Town Planning Institute’s highest award. ::Sherwood Energy Village::via The Guardian::

Sustainable Development, Adaptive Reuse

PBS & Kontentreal have partnered to produce a series titled E2. Dealing with everything from examples of adaptive reuse in the Netherlands to Architecture of 2030 – these documentaries address the inefficiencies and problems that plague most buildings in the world today.

Examples of work done are below, to view full versions please visit their site:

http://www.design-e2.com/