solarchill

An innovative new solar powered refrigeration unit developed by Greenpeace International and six other international organizations, won the Environmental Pioneer in Refrigeration award in the 2006 Cooling Industry Awards. The SolarChill Vaccine Cooler & Refrigerator Project will enable vaccines to be stored in areas around the world without an adequate electricity supply.

The SolarChill Project Partners include Greenpeace International, UNICEF, UNEP, World Health Organisation (WHO), GTZ Proklima, Programmes for Appropriate Technologies in Health (PATH) and the Danish Technological Institute. The project developed a versatile refrigeration technology that operates on solar energy; uses environmentally safe refrigerants; bypasses the use of lead batteries; and can also be plugged into the grid. Developed over the last six years, SolarChill has been field-tested in Senegal, Indonesia, and Cuba and once it receives WHO approval will be deployed across the world.

"The Solar Chill technology clearly demonstrates the huge, largely untapped resource of clean, renewable solar power that's out there. This innovation will improve the delivery of vaccine programmes in many regions of the world and save countless lives. We commend the 2006 Cooling awards for having recognised this clean, safe, lifesaving initiative," said Dr Doug Parr Greenpeace UK's chief scientist.

Successful public health programmes rely on a supply of high-quality vaccines that need continuous cooling to remain effective. Many regions in the world with non-existent, inadequate or intermittent electricity supply cannot provide the required constant refrigeration, known as the 'cold chain', resulting in millions of dollars of spoiled vaccines each year, or in a total absence of vaccination programs.

SolarChill is also applicable for emergency relief in natural or human made disaster zones.

The new SolarChill Unit is also addressing the current environmental concerns about existing kerosene and battery-powered solar fridges currently used as:

• SolarChill technology does not use any ozone depleting or potent substances, which cause climate change.
• SolarChill will provide a more reliable, safer and cleaner form of refrigeration than kerosene refrigerators.
• SolarChill technology will improve on existing solar-vaccine cooling technology by bypassing the use of conventional lead batteries, which have proven to be a major obstacle to the uptake of solar technology in developing countries.

For more information please contact Greenpeace Press Office on 0207 865 8255

Further details about the SolarChill Project can be found on the SolarChill website

Greenpeace volunteers install solar panels on Prescott's roof

Eight Greenpeace volunteers today expressed disappointment at being found guilty by Hull Magistrates Court of charges relating to a protest on April 26th this year during which they installed solar panels on the roof of Deputy PM John Prescott's Hull residence (1).

Laura Yates, one of the volunteers said, "We are disappointed to have been found guilty, but we remain proud of highlighting Mr Prescott's failure to act on climate change."

"This protest aimed to show Mr Prescott and his department how easy it is to drastically reduce the global warming gases pumped out by houses. Mr Prescott admits climate change is 'the most serious environmental threat that the world is facing' and says everybody must 'do their bit' - why doesn't he do his?"

According to the World Health Organisation, climate change is already killing 150,000 people every year. UK housing currently accounts for over a quarter of total UK CO2 emissions. Today even homes built to new UK building regulation standards use around 65% more energy than a new home built in Sweden.

In court the volunteers testified that they were motivated to act to prevent dangerous climate change and that they had no intention of causing alarm or distress to anyone. They were not aware that anyone was in the house until several hours after the protest began.

Laura Yates said, "The protest was calm and peaceful at all times. Greenpeace is completely committed to non-violence and over our 34 year history we have never deviated from this principle. This protest was no different. We never had any intention of alarming anyone and simply wanted to make an effective protest about the most important issue facing the world but if anybody did feel alarmed by our activities we regret that."

Testimony in court given by the armed officers tasked with protecting the Prescott house made it clear that they considered the protest peaceful and orderly and that it posed no threat. One of the officers testified that he had communicated with Mrs Prescott 10 minutes after the action had begun and told her that the protestors were from Greenpeace.

During the protest the volunteers fitted four solar panels to John Prescott's roof and hung a banner across his house, reading "Oi, 2 Jags! Hit Targets not Voters". They also left low energy light bulbs and loft insulation outside the Prescott's front door. The panels and associated equipment, worth over £4000, were left as a gift for Mr Prescott.

For more information, stills and video call Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255 or at court on 07801 212993. A media briefing on how the government has failed to take action to meet its energy efficiency targets is available from the press office.

Notes

The volunteers were found guilty of contravening section five of the public order act and failure to obey a police direction to leave the premises. All defendants have been sentenced to 80 hours of community service.

The defendants are Andy Taylor, 36, from Gloucestershire, Cat Dorey, 36, from Highbury, London, Martin Cotterill, 38, from Cumbria, Sarah North, 36, from London, Sammy Daniel, 33, from London, Steve Scott, 34, from Derbyshire, Laura Yates, 28, from London, and Vicky Thomas, 27.

Greenpeace volunteers install solar panels on Prescott's roof

Eight Greenpeace volunteers appeared in court today to strongly reject the accusation that they 'terrorised' Pauline Prescott when installing solar panels on the roof of the Deputy PM's Hull house in April this year.

The defendants deny that they 'used threatening or abusive behaviour' and testified that they were undertaking a calm, peaceful protest to highlight how Prescott's department's failure to improve the energy efficiency of UK homes is fuelling catastrophic climate change.

Defendants testified that they had no intention of causing alarm or distress to Mrs Prescott, who they were not aware was in the house until several hours into the protest. The house is one of three that the Prescott's own.

Laura Yates, one of the volunteers who helped to install the solar panels, testified this morning, "I thought it was very unlikely that anyone would be in. I thought John Prescott was on the election trail and that his wife would be with him."

The court heard yesterday that the volunteers were challenged by armed policemen who were protecting the property, at the start of the protest. However the police quickly realised that this was a peaceful and orderly Greenpeace protest and posed no threat, so they holstered their guns and allowed the protest to go ahead.

Eight volunteers then went ahead and installed four solar panels on the roof of the Prescott's house. They also left low energy lightbulbs and loft insulation outside the Prescott's front door. The panels and associated equipment, worth over £4000, were left as a gift to Mr Prescott.

Ms Yates also testified that during Greenpeace's 30 year history of taking peaceful direct action the group has never deviated from its non-violent principles. She said, "Greenpeace's core value is non-violence. We never use violence and nor would we associate with anyone who espouses violence. We often wear special costumes to identify ourselves and always communicate with police, security guards or anyone present to explain we're peaceful."

Ms Yates also confirmed that the volunteers had planned for a fellow volunteer at the beginning of the protest to inform any occupants of the house by letter or intercom that this was a peaceful Greenpeace protest.

Yesterday in a highly emotive presentation Mrs Prescott testified that she felt 'terrorised' by the protest, even once she knew it was Greenpeace volunteers on her roof. She also stated that she did not call the police at any time, and that they had not told her this was a Greenpeace protest, so she was fearful for her life, believing terrorists may be on her roof.

However in court yesterday the evidence of other witnesses contradicted Mrs Prescott. PC York, one of the two armed police officers at the house, stated that Mrs Prescott had called him on his mobile phone within 10 minutes of the volunteers arriving at the house, and he clearly told her it was a Greenpeace protest.

PC Cameron-Johnson, the other armed officer, testified that the protest was 'as peaceful as it can be.' And police inspector Jones confirmed under cross-examination that she saw no violence or disorder.

There was also contradiction about whether Mrs Prescott either saw or heard the protesters - a key point in whether the public order charges levelled against them should stand. In initial police statements Mrs Prescott said that Della Georgeson (her husband's secretary who was staying at the house) had seen protesters climbing past her window, but not that she (Mrs Prescott) had seen anyone. In court however she stated that she too had seen someone climbing up past the window of Della Georgeson's room. However when Della Georgeson gave evidence, she said she'd only peeked through the curtains, not opened them, to see protesters at the foot of the ladder and that following this Mrs Prescott popped her head around the door and hurried Miss Gerogeson out of the room, while curtains remained closed.

A Greenpeace spokesperson said: "With climate change already killing 150,000 people every year, the government must act to tackle the energy inefficiency of UK housing which currently accounts for over a quarter of UK CO2 emissions."

John Prescott admits climate change is 'the single biggest issue facing the planet' but his department has totally failed to address the problem. Today even homes built to new UK building standards use around 65% more energy than a new home built in Sweden. The protest aimed to highlight these failures and show Mr Prescott how easy it is to drastically reduce the global warming caused by our homes.

The case is expected to end tomorrow.

For more information contact Greenpeace on 0207 865 8255

Britain's homes and workplaces would become mini-power stations generating huge amounts of electricity and making the UK the leading nation in the fight against climate change, if the vision laid out in a new report becomes reality.

The current, outdated electricity system is so inefficient that two-thirds of the energy in the fuel is wasted before it gets used at homes and workplaces, according to the report released today by Greenpeace.

The huge loss of energy, enough to heat all the buildings and all the water in the UK, occurs because the large power stations far from our cities that make our electricity discard an enormous amount of heat through chimneys, while more power is lost transporting the energy long distances through power lines.

The report, Decentralising Power: An Energy Revolution For The 21st Century, argues that a reform of the electricity system is urgently needed to end this environmentally destructive wastage - the power sector is the single greatest contributor to carbon dioxide emissions. The solution is to generate electricity close to where it is needed, or 'decentralise' it.

A decentralised energy system would see everyday buildings playing host to devices such as solar panels, small wind turbines and combined heat and power boilers, which generate electricity as well as providing heat and hot water. The electricity created would be used directly by the house or workplace, and the surplus would be fed into a local network. This electricity would then be locally distributed, avoiding the significant loss that occurs when electricity is transported long distances.

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