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Renewable Heat Incentive Scandal
The Renewable Heat Incentive scandal (RHI scandal), also referred to as RHIgate and the Cash for Ash scandal, is a political scandal in Northern Ireland that centres on a failed renewable energy (wood pellet burning) incentive scheme that has been reported to potentially cost the public purse almost £500 million. The plan, initiated in 2012, was overseen by Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the then-Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment. Foster failed to introduce proper cost controls, allowing the plan to spiral out of control. The scheme worked by paying applicants to use renewable energy. However, the rate paid was more than the cost of the fuel, and thus many applicants were making profits simply by heating their properties. The political scandal first came to light in November 2016, by which point Foster had become Northern Ireland's First Minister. Foster refused to resign or stand aside during any inquiry, saying that to do so would be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Decade, New Approach
New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) is a 9 January 2020 agreement which restored the government of the Northern Ireland Executive after a three-year hiatus triggered by the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. It was negotiated by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith and Irish Tánaiste Simon Coveney. On 11 January 2020, the Executive was re-formed with Arlene Foster as First Minister and Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill as deputy first minister following the New Decade, New Approach agreement. All five parties joined the government; other ministers include Edwin Poots (DUP); Robin Swann (UUP), Nichola Mallon (SDLP), Gordon Lyons (DUP), and Declan Kearney (SF). Alliance Party leader Naomi Long was appointed justice minister. At the first session of the assembly, Foster stated that it was "time for Stormont to move forward". As part of the agreement, many of the proposals sought by nationalists under an Irish Language Act would be implemented by amending existing laws rathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Bell (politician)
Jonathan Fergus Bell (born 5 March 1970) is a former Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). He previously served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Strangford in the Northern Ireland Assembly, following the resignation of Iris Robinson,BBC News: DUP's Jonathan Bell to replace Iris Robinson as MLA bbc.co.uk; accessed 5 March 2017. which he represented from 2010 to 2017. He served as a Junior Minister in the from May 2011 until May 2015, before he served a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heat Pump
A heat pump is a device that can heat a building (or part of a building) by transferring thermal energy from the outside using a refrigeration cycle. Many heat pumps can also operate in the opposite direction, cooling the building by removing heat from the enclosed space and rejecting it outside. Units that only provide cooling are called air conditioners. When in heating mode, a refrigerant at outside temperature is being compressed. As a result, the refrigerant becomes hot. This thermal energy can be transferred to an indoor unit. After being moved outdoors again, the refrigerant is decompressed — evaporated. It has lost some of its thermal energy and returns colder than the environment. It can now take up the surrounding energy from the air or from the ground before the process repeats. Compressors, fans, and pumps run with electric energy. Common types are air-source heat pumps, ground-source heat pumps, water-source heat pumps and exhaust air heat pumps. They are al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solar Pump
Solar-powered pumps run on electricity generated by photovoltaic (PV) panels or the radiated thermal energy available from collected sunlight as opposed to grid electricity- or diesel-run water pumps. Generally, solar-powered pumps consist of a solar panel array, solar charge controller, DC water pump, fuse box/breakers, electrical wiring, and a water storage tank. The operation of solar-powered pumps is more economical mainly due to the lower operation and maintenance costs and has less environmental impact than pumps powered by an internal combustion engine. Solar pumps are useful where grid electricity is unavailable or impractical, and alternative sources (in particular wind) do not provide sufficient energy. Components A PV solar-powered pump system has three main parts - one or more solar panels, a controller, and a pump. The solar panels make up most (up to 80%) of the system's costThe size of the PV system is directly dependent on the size of the pump, the amount of wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biomass Boiler
Biomass heating systems generate heat from biomass. The systems fall under the categories of: *direct combustion, * gasification, * combined heat and power (CHP), *anaerobic digestion, * aerobic digestion. Benefits of biomass heating The use of biomass in heating systems is beneficial because it uses agricultural, forest, urban and industrial residues and waste to produce heat and/or electricity with less effect on the environment than fossil fuels. This type of energy production has a limited long-term effect on the environment because the carbon in biomass is part of the natural carbon cycle; while the carbon in fossil fuels is not, and permanently adds carbon to the environment when burned for fuel ( carbon footprint). Historically, before the use of fossil fuels in significant quantities, biomass in the form of wood fuel provided most of humanity's heating. A potential source of biomass heating that is the subject of research is cellulose hydrolysis and monomerization as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wood Pellet
Pellet fuels (or pellets) are biofuels made from compressed organic matter or biomass. Pellets can be made from any one of five general categories of biomass: industrial waste and co-products, food waste, agricultural residues, energy crops, and untreated lumber. Wood pellets are the most common type of pellet fuel and are generally made from compacted sawdust and related industrial wastes from the milling of lumber, manufacture of wood products and furniture, and construction. Other industrial waste sources include empty fruit bunches, palm kernel shells, coconut shells, and tree tops and branches discarded during logging operations. So-called "black pellets" are made of biomass, refined to resemble hard coal and were developed to be used in existing coal-fired power plants. Pellets are categorized by their heating value, moisture and ash content, and dimensions. They can be used as fuels for power generation, commercial or residential heating, and cooking. Pellets are extremely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wood Pellets-small Huddle PNr°0108
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, or it is defined more broadly to include the same type of tissue elsewhere such as in the roots of trees or shrubs. In a living tree it performs a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by themselves. It also conveys water and nutrients between the leaves, other growing tissues, and the roots. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, or woodchips or fiber. Wood has been used for thousands of years for fuel, as a construction material, for making tools and weapons, furniture and paper. More recently it emerged as a feedstock for the production ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cross-community Vote
A cross-community vote or cross-community support is a form of voting used in the Northern Ireland Assembly according to the provisions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It requires the support of both main communities in Northern Ireland, in other words majority of unionists ''and'' the majority of nationalist members of the Assembly. Among other reasons, it arises when the petition of concern procedure is invoked. Background Upon taking their seats members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are required to designate themselves as either "unionist", "nationalist" or "other". Members may change their designation of identity only if they become a member of a (different) political party or they cease to be a member of any political party. The election of the Speaker, appointment of the Minister of Justice, any changes to the standing orders and the adoption of certain money bills must all occur with cross-community support. This was originally set out in the Northern Ireland Ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petition Of Concern
A cross-community vote or cross-community support is a form of voting used in the Northern Ireland Assembly according to the provisions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It requires the support of both main communities in Northern Ireland, in other words majority of unionists ''and'' the majority of nationalist members of the Assembly. Among other reasons, it arises when the petition of concern procedure is invoked. Background Upon taking their seats members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are required to designate themselves as either "unionist", "nationalist" or "other". Members may change their designation of identity only if they become a member of a (different) political party or they cease to be a member of any political party. The election of the Speaker, appointment of the Minister of Justice, any changes to the standing orders and the adoption of certain money bills must all occur with cross-community support. This was originally set out in the Northern Ireland Ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Ireland Act 1998
__NOTOC__ The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule. It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, established by the Northern Ireland (Elections) Act 1998, to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It repealed parts of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, and established new rules in line with the European Union and the Northern Ireland peace process, subsequent to the Belfast Agreement of 1998. The Act allows for a devolved Northern Ireland Assembly of 108 members. Membership of the assembly is subject to a pledge of office, which subjects the member to certain requirements with regard to standards and responsibilities. Northern Ireland remains a part of the United Kingdom until or unless a majority vote in a referendum determines otherwise. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland holds the power to call for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Nationalism
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cultural nationalism based on the principles of national self-determination and popular sovereignty.Sa'adah 2003, 17–20.Smith 1999, 30. Irish nationalists during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries such as the United Irishmen in the 1790s, Young Irelanders in the 1840s, the Fenian Brotherhood during the 1880s, Fianna Fáil in the 1920s, and Sinn Féin styled themselves in various ways after French left-wing radicalism and republicanism. Irish nationalism celebrates the culture of Ireland, especially the Irish language, literature, music, and sports. It grew more potent during the period in which all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, which led to most of the island gaining independence from the UK in 1922. Irish nationalists believ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
