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News Over 10% of NHS estate to switch to 100% renewable electricity in April NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has announced two new energy contracts via Inspired Energy that will see British Gas provide 100% renewable electricity and Corona provide natural gas to its properties across England by April 2020. NHSPS is responsible for around 11% of the NHS estate, totalling more than 34 million sqft, with over 3,500 properties and 5,000 employees. By moving to 100% renewable electricity, NHSPS will offset over 40,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, as part of its efforts to tackle climate change while promoting sustainable practices with all its buildings.
Retrofit of existing buildings is best route to net zero, says Priva “The greenest building is the one that is already built” is the key message in a new report from the Government’s Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, which is supported by building controls manufacturer Priva. Priva believes that the January 2020 report, which is largely focused on domestic buildings, offers much in the way of sensible thinking for both commercial buildings and those owned and operated by the public sector. Currently, in many cases, it is cheaper – for tax reasons – to knock a building down and rebuild it rather than retrofit it, even though the former may be more environmentally intensive. The report highlights that as the built environment sector is currently responsible for up to 40% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, more needs to be done to encourage greener practices. Gavin Holvey, UK and Ireland sales manager for Priva commented, “We can make so much more of the buildings we already have. With the addition – or upgrade of – building control systems and other energy efficiency measures, we can help to bring older buildings in-line with the performance of modern structures. Building from scratch is carbon intensive – we must therefore think smarter about approaches to the re-use and greening of our building stock.”
ELECTRICAL APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR COMPETITION ENTERS NEXT STAGE
The second stage of the Electrical Apprentice of the Year competition is underway, after a month of deliberation from judges. Now, the top 20% of entrants will go to the second heat of the competition. Kicking off in Corby, the second stage of this year’s competition, which will run until April, will test the apprentices’ understanding and knowledge of installation practices in a two-hour written exam. The eight highest scoring students will then go through to the Grand Final, which will take place at Scolmore Group HQ.
6 Electrical Review | March 2020
