NEWS | DIGEST IN BRIEF Partnership to deliver sustainable homes Modern methods of construction specialist Edaroth has partnered with housing association the Hyde Group to deliver new, sustainable homes. Edaroth, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atkins, will provide development management, design and engineering expertise, as well as its latest accredited offsite manufacturing techniques. Hyde is one of the largest housing associations in south-east England. EU heat pump sales up by 35% in 2021 According to analysis in the journal Nature Energy, heat pump sales in the EU grew by 35% during 2021, to 1.99m. In the US, they expanded by 15%, to 3.9m. Global sales of heat pumps grew by 3% in 2020, but this was down on previous growth rates of around 10% in previous years. Decarbonising energy will save 11tn by 2050, says study Oxford research says costs of renewables will be much lower than expected Completely decarbonising the energy system by 2050 is expected to save at least 11.23tn ($12tn) globally, compared with continuing with current levels of fossil fuel use, according to a new study by researchers at the Oxford Martin School Institute for New Economic Thinking. Published in the journal Joule, the study shows that a fast transition to a fossil-free energy system by mid-century would provide 55% more energy globally than today. This would be generated through ramped up deployment of solar, wind, batteries, electric vehicles, and clean fuels, such as green hydrogen. Concerns about costs have been a barrier to implementing such technologies, the study says, but past modelling has badly overestimated the future costs of key clean energy technologies over the past 20 years. The real cost of solar energy has dropped twice as fast as the most ambitious projections in past models, it adds. The study was conducted using data that predates the war in Ukraine, say the authors. However, the subsequent skyrocketing price of gas and oil underscores the studys finding and demonstrates the risks of continuing to rely on expensive, insecure fossil fuels. A rapid green-energy transition will likely result in overall net savings of many trillions of dollars even without accounting for climate damages or co-benefits of climate policy, the study says. Professor Doyne Farmer, who led the team, said: Renewable costs have been trending down for decades. They are already cheaper than fossil fuels in many situations, and our research shows they will become cheaper than fossil fuels across almost all applications in the years to come. WATCH OUR FREE WEBINAR NOW ON DEMAND Drinking water hygiene: utilising system design and press connections to minimise health risks REGISTER FREE TO JOIN OUR LIVE WEBINAR WATCH HERE: bit.ly/cibseviega 18th October 13:00 (BST) Getting the elephant in the room Effective design of resilient UPS facilities Brought to you by: Brought to you by: SCAN ME SCAN ME 10 October 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Oct 22 pp10 News.indd 10 26/09/2022 17:32