Toyota are the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer, specialising in class leading Hybrid technology, reflecting their passion and commitment to greater fuel economy, proven reliability, lower running costs and Zero exhaust emission driving.

And on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th September visitors will have the chance to get up close with their range of hybrid vehicles and find out more about Toyota's environmental policy.

Toyota and the Environment
Personal mobility is important at Toyota. It keeps people connected - with their work, their family and friends, and their communities. Making and driving cars, however, has an impact on the environment. Which is why Toyota go to great lengths to minimise this impact throughout the entire lifecycle of their vehicles. They call this their 360-degree approach and it focuses predominantly on sustainability in design, production, logistics, sales, service and - at the end of the vehicle’s useful life - recycling.

Toyotr ultimate goal is to completely eliminate emissions and waste across every part of our business, and create a true zero emissions vehicle.

Amgen Renewables, a specialist in renewable energy technologies and installations, is expanding its facilities five-fold and launching a series of training courses for system installers and the general public.

The courses, which typically run from 1-2 days will provide education training in solar photovoltaic (PV), solar thermal, biofuels, and air source heat pumps, waste water heat recovery, rain water harvesting, biofuels and other renewable energy sources.

Each course will cater for a maximum of 10 delegates, ensuring attention to the needs and interests of each delegate. They be held at Amgen's new facility on Cross Hands Business Park, starting on October 10th. The new showroom and centre is five times larger than the company's previous in Ammanford.

Commenting on the courses, Amgen's managing director, Dr. Peter Hughes, "There are hundreds of companies now offering renewable energy and services to installers and consumers. However, few have expertise to provide unbiased, professional advice to ensure that the right solution is applied in every situation, that the return on
investment is optimised for consumers, and that maximum energy is achieved from each installation. By sharing our knowledge of a wide of alternatives, we aim to help both trade practitioners and make more informed choices and to advance the cause of low technologies through this initiative."

Amgen is demonstrating its products and services at Low Carbon Expo.  For more information on Amgen Renewables visit their website: www.amgenrenewables.com

Wales’ West Coast Group provides a one-stop shop for all the information you need to know about renewable energy for your home, business or community.                    

Free initial location assessment on the stand

A team of experts from Wales’ own West Coast Group will be at the Low Carbon Expo to explain the benefits of different renewable energy solutions and help business and home owners alike to make the right decisions for the future as they play their part in the UK’s push towards meeting its 2020 carbon reduction targets – and they will be able to tell you on the spot if your home, premises of land are suitable.

The West Coast Group of Companies includes independent wind energy developer (West Coast Energy); solar power and renewable heat experts (The Low Carbon Energy Company); one of the UK’s leading environmental consultancies whose work includes advising on the suitability  locations for renewable projects (Atmos Consulting); Headquartered in North Wales, the group is active throughout the UK and in Poland.

Experts from across the group will be on the stand to explain how communities and landowners can work jointly with private sector developers to provide the finance and expertise to deliver mutually beneficial projects, and to take full advantage of the grants and subsidies that are available to them.

Meanwhile individuals and businesses can find out more about generating electricity through small and larger-scale solar PV installations.

Billed as a unique opportunity to meet developers and suppliers face to face, the Low Carbon Expo is an ideal venue to get the answers to all the questions you have in one place. In fact, you might not need to go any further than the West Coast stand.

The West Coast Group of Companies has a proven record of working with individuals, businesses, developers and communities to deliver projects that create a fair share of the benefits for all parties and is keen to share its expertise.

The first step is to find out if your roof, land or location are suitable for a renewable energy project, be it solar panels or wind turbines, and we are happy to conduct an initial online survey on the spot if you visit our stand,” said West Coast Energy’s Development Manager Richard Fearnall. 

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The Energy Saving Trust’s specialist advisors will provide visitors to Low Carbon Expo 2011 with useful tips on ways to reduce fuel consumption and advice on sustainable methods of transport. There will also be a smarter driving simulator at the organisation’s stand to help people understand how they can get the most of each mile they travel.

Low Carbon Expo 2011, the first low carbon exhibition ever to be held in Wales, takes place at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on 16–17 September. Bringing together businesses and consumers under one roof, over 2,000 visitors are expected to benefit from free guidance as well as exclusive discounts, coupons and prizes.

The general public will have the opportunity to compare different renewable energy technologies, learn more about how to save money on heating or travel, evaluate the benefits of eco-vehicles and make significant savings on new energy options.

Good Energy will be offering visitors £50 off their first energy bill if they sign up to supply of the company’s electricity. All the electricity produced to UK customers by Good Energy is derived from renewable energy sources.  

Wales’ West Coast Group, which includes solar power and renewable heat experts The Low Carbon Energy Company, will also be attending the event. They will let visitors know on the spot if their home, premises or land is suitable for a renewable energy project by conducting an initial online survey.

Handmade cosmetics company Lush will be highlighting its environmental and ethical credentials at the event. Creating products including soaps, body lotions and hair treatments, Lush will offer visitors to their stand the chance to enter a competition to win merchandise.

Low Carbon Expo 2011, the first low carbon exhibition ever to be held in Wales, will be showcasing Bluebird Electric on its transport pavilion. This will be a unique opportunity for the general public to get close-up to Europe’s fastest electric vehicle which is on course to smash the Land Speed Record in 2013.

The show will also be a chance to meet Don Wales, who is helping to steer the Bluebird’s record-breaking attempts. He established the UK Land Speed Records for an electric car in 1998 and 2000 at an average speed of 137mph. His uncle Donald Campbell and grandfather Malcolm Campbell held world speed records on both land and water.

“Low Carbon Expo event will allow us to continue to raise the profile of Bluebird Electric as it moves closer to breaking the 500mph barrier. I look forward to talking to visitors about the progress we have made with our electric vehicle technology and the road ahead to setting our record,” said Don Wales.

Peter Middleton, the founder of Low Carbon Wales, commented: “The idea for a transport pavilion dedicated to low emission vehicles has evolved as exhibitors have signed up to our event. Undoubtedly, the presence of Electric Bluebird is a major boost for the pavilion and will cement public interest in our show as a whole.”

“Being staged in Cardiff, Low Carbon Expo has much in common with the Campbell family which has an affinity for Wales. Bluebird Electric is housed at Pembroke Docks and the family’s many speed pursuits have centred around Pendine Sands,” added the event organiser.

As seen on BBC television and SKY News in recent weeks, the Bluebird Electric has been testing different powertrain systems and battery technologies in Pendine Sands ahead of an official record attempt.

The transport pavilion will also feature the latest high-performance hybrid electric vehicles from Toyota and Nissan while the Energy Saving Trust will offer visitors the chance to get behind the wheel of their driving simulator to discover ways of saving fuel.

Taking action to reduce CO2 emissions doesn’t mean compromising on lifestyle.  Did you know that just by changing driving style, motorists can save anything from £250 - £350 per year?

Efficient driving is easy, means more miles for your money and reduces carbon emissions. The Energy Saving Trust’s specialist transport advisors can provide everyone with advice on sustainable transport.

At Low Carbon Expo thrill seekers can come and get behind the wheel of the Energy Saving Trust’s smarter driving simulator, to find out how to get the most of each mile.  The Trust will also be on hand to offer advice on a range of fuel and money-saving ideas including:

> Smarter driving to reduce fuel consumption and save money
> Alternative methods of transport such as walking, cycling and public transport
> Journey planning
> Car sharing
> Advice on buying a more fuel efficient vehicle

You can call the Energy Saving Trust's Freephone advice line on 0800 512 012 or visit energysavingtrust.org.uk

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If you’re up to date with the latest in Energy Efficiency products then you may have heard of the Smart Meter. You may also have heard of Government plans to have one installed in every UK home by 2020. But what are Smart Meters, how do they work, and can they save you money?

There is a lot of confusion out there about what is a Smart Meter and a lot of people have confused them with Energy Monitors, which help to monitor your actual energy usage. Energy Monitors can often be offered and installed with Smart Meters as a complimentary product but they are not Smart Meters in themselves.

A Smart Meter is a new kind of gas and electric meter that replaces the standard type currently installed. The idea is that this new generation of meters will automatically send electronic meter readings to your utilities supplier. The theory is that this will mean no longer will anyone have to read your meter and that your bills will be totally accurate, with no more estimated bills that lead to over or under payment. Smart Meters work in a variety of ways but the most common is with a SIM card similar to that in your phone and will use them to update your readings.

A Smart Meter by itself will not save you money. It is a reporting mechanism for your utilities usage. However, by the virtue of the fact that your actual bills will be accurate it might save you money. Equally, the Smart Meter can be combined with other measures such as the Energy Monitor to help you keep track of your usage and learn your patterns. If you combine this with changes in your habits and utilising energy efficient tips then you could stand to make a saving over time.

However, the potential cost saving is really at the Utility Providers end. They will be able to run more efficiently as they will know what amounts of energy they need and when they need it. They should also be about to cut down on the mobile meter reading work force. It could also lead to Utility Providers working closer with the individual home owner in offering plans and programmes tailored to the individual need.

Potentially it could lead to actual lower costs for gas and electric, but the Utility Providers shouldn’t be relied upon to pass this onto the customer, especially not if the basic costs of the utilities continues to rise.

Although there is a commitment to have the new generation of Smart Meter in place by 2020 there is no defined start date for the scheme and in the current climate it might well slip between the financial cracks. However, since it is in the Utility Providers best interests then it is likely that they will implement the scheme regardless. There shouldn’t be any cost to any home owner for the change of the meter, but the Utility Companies might choose to charge for the Energy Monitor add-ons.

It’s worth keeping an eye out for and could help stop bill queries and payment disputes in the future.

Article courtesy of Housing Energy Advsor http://tinyurl.com/3kxenfo

The statistics are astounding, the gigantic scale of some of the world's largest wind turbines hard to comprehend - even when you're close enough to touch.

Each blade of the latest turbines to be installed in British waters stretches for a staggering 60 metres - that's slightly longer than the entire wingspan of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

The massive rotor is about the same size as the London Eye and, if laid on the ground, would cover most of two football pitches.

The towers that hold the blades aloft are about 100 metres high, which makes them taller than Big Ben.

Thirty of them, constructed for the Swedish power company Vattenfall, are being installed in the Irish Sea off the coast of Cumbria.

This is the newest of a dozen offshore wind farms around the UK, a key part of the government's plans to use green energy to try to meet tough targets for cutting carbon emissions.

Blade power Built by the German firm REpower, the massive components were prepared for assembly on the quayside at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

Starting at the razor-sharp tip of one of the blades, where it is thinnest, the impression is of a slender wing - seemingly too delicate to endure the brutal storms of the ocean.

But the closer you get to the hub, the sturdier the blade becomes, even resembling the hull of some sizeable vessel.

Each designed to generate 5 MW of electricity, these leviathans have nearly twice the output of earlier models - part of a trend in this fledgling industry of gradually increasing size.

The new wind farm, known as Ormonde, stands off the coast near Barrow-in-Furness. The logic of planting turbines out at sea is that the winds are usually stronger than on land - and there are fewer people likely to object.

But the challenge of fixing foundations to the seabed and then constructing and maintaining these structures means the bill is huge - this one wind farm is costing £500m. And its total power output - when the wind blows - is due to be 150 MW. By comparison, a conventionally-powered gas or coal station might produce 1,000MW.

At the moment, price is the great weakness of offshore wind. Right now, it's the most expensive means of generating electricity, costlier even than nuclear.

Love them or hate them - turbines are sprouting up in a seascape somewhere near you. The question, as energy bills rise, is whether they are the right solution for Britain's consumers.

Article courtesy of BBC News. Read the full story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14533124

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Low Carbon Expo will feature an eco-transport pavilion with popular automotive brands Toyota and Nissan showcasing their latest high-performance hybrid electric vehicles. The move follows a recent announcement confirming that so far over 50 companies and organisations plan to take part at the show.

Toyota has recently introduced the new Auris hybrid model following the success of the Prius while Nissan has developed a new electric vehicle called the Leaf. Besides these eco vehicles on show, a driving simulator provided by the Energy Saving Trust will offer visitors the chance to discover new ways of saving fuel when driving.

Bringing together businesses and consumers under one roof, Low Carbon Expo will be held at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on 16–17 September. With over 3,000 visitors expected to attend during both days, the exhibition will be one of the largest events of its kind in the UK. 

The organisers of Low Carbon Expo have also revealed the some new transport related media partners including Green Car Design, an online magazine looking at environmental car design; Green Fleet, a trade magazine promoting the use of cleaner vehicle fleet management; and Next Green Car, an online car guide covering electric, hybrid and other low emission vehicles. 

Peter Middleton, the founder Low Carbon Expo commented: “The transport pavilion at Low Carbon Expo will clearly be an important aspect to the show. Toyota and Honda will join other hi-tech eco transport exhibitors and help raise the profile of green motoring in the UK.”

Visitors to the event will also have the opportunity to seek advice on home insulation and learn more about a wide range of renewable energy technologies, including solar PV (photovoltaic) panels, ground source heat pumps and wind turbines.

A free seminar programme is planned at the event, tackling key issues affecting the UK’s low carbon economy. The discussion groups will provide a useful opportunity for delegates to network with industry peers. John Griffiths, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development in the Welsh Government, is a guest speaker.

“With a full and wide-ranging speaker programme and more than 50 companies already participating at the event, we’re expecting plenty of interest in the remaining exhibition spaces available at the event,” added Jay Doyle, Marketing Manager for Low Carbon Expo.

"We believe taking care of the environment is everyone's responsibility including all of our staff and our customers."  Lush Cosmetics

To find out more about the evironmental policies of Lush Cosmetics, click on the video link below.