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Radian secure European Regional Development funding
Radian, a housing and care provider based in the south, is leading the way to deliver the Government’s 2050 target of reducing total CO2 emissions by 80% in all homes. Radian’s experience in sustainable development, and specific expertise in retrofit, has now helped to secure European Regional Development Funding from South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to undertake an eighteen month study to build capacity for low carbon retrofit in the South East region.
Winner of the Social Housing Provider of the Year – Innovative Approach to Green Homes Award at Inside Housing’s Sustainable Housing Awards 2009, Radian is already recognised as a pioneer within the sector. As such, many of Radian’s retrofit projects have been adopted as best practice case studies nationally and regionally. The centrepiece of the ‘Retrofit South East’ research based project will see the refurbishment of 14 fuel poor existing homes to exemplar energy efficiency standards.
Other project activities include the training of 175 individuals and at least 100 businesses in retrofitting properties and developing new conceptual financial models to support the uptake in retrofitting. Radian has also recently been awarded a contract to undertake a full feasibility study by the Technology Strategy Board as part of their Retrofit for the Future competition.
Radian has successfully achieved this monumental funding in partnership with Camco, a leading climate change and sustainable energy company, whose pioneering work in low carbon refurbishment includes establishing the Generation Homes project in 2004, and helping establish the Existing Homes Alliance in 2007. Camco will lead a programme of research which will monitor and evaluate the costs and benefits of the refurbishment, develop a map of low carbon ‘exemplar’ refurbishments in the region, identify the regional impacts and benefits of developing a substantial market for low carbon refurbishment in the south east, and create a regional network of practitioners and refurbishment ‘pioneers’.
Parity Projects, a national award-winning company which delivers and trains builders in low carbon refurbishment, will a be leading a programme of training and skills development for a range of businesses and other organisations based on its pioneering training course in ‘Whole house Low energy Refurbishment’ which is one of the first in the UK.
GESB, a private company specialising in the finance of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, will develop a conceptual finance model suitable for mainstreaming low carbon refurbishment within the south east region, drawing on its successful experience of developing similar schemes in other European countries.
Piloting and developing several ground-breaking projects that showcase the level of retrofit expertise at its disposal, Radian has already:
* Become the first organisation to undertake a ‘Generation Homes’ retro-fit to a grouping of six homes in the county in 2006 to demonstrate deep reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. This project, undertaken with Camco and in partnership with the Energy Saving Trust, was undertaken 3 years ahead of the Government’s Heat and Energy strategy consultation paper.
* Partnered the ‘Completing the Loop’ project in 2006, a national initiative that brought together a number of pioneering housing associations to install ground source heat pumps, also with Camco and the support of the Energy Saving Trust. The 25 systems installed saw the first large scale domestic use of Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) in the South East region.
* Invested more than £2 million in trialling a broad range of renewable energy technology including the installation of in excess of 1,000m2 of solar renewable energy on the roofs of homes including numerous retrofit projects as part of the Hampshire ‘Solar Streets’ initiative.
* Partnered the Environment Agency on a two year water efficiency project. To support this research Radian has undertaken an exemplar new build and retro-fit project.
For more information on Radian’s retrofit expertise or to find out more about Radian’s retrofit conference in Liphook, Hampshire on November 27th, please call Radian PR & Marketing on 01730 403031
Links:
www.generationhomes.org.uk
www.existinghomesalliance.org
Pictured (left – right): Paul Reader, Director, eps; Debbie Harvey, Senior Development Project Manager; Paul Ciniglio, Sustainability & Innovation Manager; Lindsay Todd, Radian’s Chief Executive; Jon Snow, channel 4’s News Presenter, at Inside Housing’s Sustainable Housing Awards 2009. |
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Posted by Kim for Radian Group Ltd. |
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