CHaP/Ignis Energy meeting

[sweetpea]

I saw them taking it out too, couldn't believe what I was seeing. I know someone who's on the cheap heating, £7 a week and they have all the windows open cause it too hot! Is that the end to it then?

[Suth11]

Yes the machinery is being taking out as it was just a prototype.
Ignis Energy are taking over from the Highland Council in April and they will have wood chip burners in by Sept. This method has been operational in Denmark for 13 years supplying heat and hot water to 600 homes.
Ignis Energy seem to be taking the project in a good direction.

[dozy]

Yes the machinery is being taking out as it was just a prototype.
Ignis Energy are taking over from the Highland Council in April and they will have wood chip burners in by Sept. This method has been operational in Denmark for 13 years supplying heat and hot water to 600 homes.
Ignis Energy seem to be taking the project in a good direction.

Sorry, but your wrong .The machinery was NOT a prototype. It has been in use in Turkey for around 10 years (4 years before Wick),there they use Commercial/Domestic waste as the fuel.As for Ignis Energy going in the right direction with the Dannish method, again I take issue. Ignis are a short lived company and have alreadly done the name change game and that should set the alarm beels ringing .Wick Councillors give us promises that CHaP would be a WORLD BEATER just to get re-elected,now we have that same councillors letting carpet-baggers in to run a Community Project that CANT make any Money. Its not sustainable, just do the maths .
280 homes at £10.00 per week times 52 weeks =£145,000 thats £28,000 shortfall for the wood fuel alone ,and thats before you add in wages, rent, rates, power and insurance plus much more ...
I was the Engineer that stood up and told the Council that the CHaP project in the manner they presented " WOULD NOT WORK" .That statement as cost me dearly.Now Ignis have taken a page from the letter i sent the council (in 2004) and started back at the basics,but time has moved on and the system they now want to fit is over 6 years out of date .I did approach the Council to let a Charity run it ,but got short shift .
To make it work there are 1 of 3 choices. View the Lidl Leaflet for hot sales and coupons.
1.You could get customers to pay £25 per week.
2.Change the fuel to WASTE ,with all the hazzards and health issues that will bring
3.Turn in over to a Community Charity and run it with local engineers that will put the people first.
Best of luck

[Suth11]

Sorry, but your wrong .The machinery was NOT a prototype

I was merely stating what was said at the meeting on Friday night.

[dozy]

Suth11. Please dont take it the wrong way i'm not having a go at you .Its the Council and the Councillors that were voted in that should have been kick out over CHaP .They cant or wont learn and by letting them stay in POWER we are the ones that suffer, but we are also the ones to blame for not demanding their heads on a pole .Instead of sorting out a problem of their own making, they when go on to make it worse .The main question is "why not hand it over to a Community Charity" (like they what to do with the swimming pool) .That leads me to believe that someone is benefiting from the deal and it ain't the TAXPAYER .

[dozy]

Thanks to all that contacted me about the CHaP project .The householders on the scheme are still getting their heat from the Distillery boiler that runs on OIL ,we all know that the price of OIL has gone through the roof in the last 12 months and that bill is being paid by the Council using Taxpayers money .If Ignis is not to come on stream until September ,thats other 8 months of bills for the taxpayer.
I asked the Council what was the conditions of the contract with IGNIS ,they said if is Not in the Public interest to know .Ignis being a private company dont have to say what it will cost and what profit is in the contact .It seems that Council tenants are to be used as cannon-fodder,whats next for tenants are the Council planning to sell of their homes.

[bekisman]

Sorry, but your wrong .The machinery was NOT a prototype. It has been in use in Turkey for around 10 years (4 years before Wick),there they use Commercial/Domestic waste as the fuel.As for Ignis Energy going in the right direction with the Dannish method, again I take issue. Ignis are a short lived company and have alreadly done the name change game and that should set the alarm beels ringing .Wick Councillors give us promises that CHaP would be a WORLD BEATER just to get re-elected,now we have that same councillors letting carpet-baggers in to run a Community Project that CANT make any Money. Its not sustainable, just do the maths .
280 homes at £10.00 per week times 52 weeks =£145,000 thats £28,000 shortfall for the wood fuel alone ,and thats before you add in wages, rent, rates, power and insurance plus much more ...
I was the Engineer that stood up and told the Council that the CHaP project in the manner they presented " WOULD NOT WORK" .That statement as cost me dearly.Now Ignis have taken a page from the letter i sent the council (in 2004) and started back at the basics,but time has moved on and the system they now want to fit is over 6 years out of date .I did approach the Council to let a Charity run it ,but got short shift .
To make it work there are 1 of 3 choices .
1.You could get customers to pay £25 per week.
2.Change the fuel to WASTE ,with all the hazzards and health issues that will bring
3.Turn in over to a Community Charity and run it with local engineers that will put the people first.
Best of luck

Well written Dozy..
Is this the Ignis Energy co, mentioned?; http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/41232252651f937a99605c0942482165/compdetails previously Regen Laing Ltd

[chordie]

Is this the Ignis Energy co, mentioned?; http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/41232252651f937a99605c0942482165/compdetails previously Regen Laing Ltd

Oh dear, this doesn't look good at all.

The trail of name changing, address changing and Director changing is concerning.

Their 'headquarters' as indicated on their website is a residential house in Richmond (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&so...13583&t=h&z=17).

Their registered address is an accountants office in Beaconsfield. (edit: just noticed that the accountants went bust at the end of last year for dodgy share trading !!)

And most alarmingly, I've also looked at their most recent annual accounts which shows them in a deficit:
- cash £2,000
- liabilities to be paid within 12 months: £419,000
- liabilities to be paid in more than 12 months: £577,000
- money due in from clients: £69,000
Which means the net value of the business is..... NEGATIVE £925,000 !!

Expect to see your woodchip plant go up in smoke.

[dozy]

Oh dear, this doesn't look good at all.

The trail of name changing, address changing and Director changing is concerning.

Their 'headquarters' as indicated on their website is a residential house in Richmond (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&so...13583&t=h&z=17).

Their registered address is an accountants office in Beaconsfield. (edit: just noticed that the accountants went bust at the end of last year for dodgy share trading !!)

And most alarmingly, I've also looked at their most recent annual accounts which shows them in a deficit:
- cash £2,000
- liabilities to be paid within 12 months: £419,000
- liabilities to be paid in more than 12 months: £577,000
- money due in from clients: £69,000
Which means the net value of the business is..... NEGATIVE £925,000 !!

Expect to see your woodchip plant go up in smoke.

chordie; Well said .If i posted this folk would say its just sour grapes on my part ,but the truths out there .This is the Councils" PREFERED"bidder and they stated that "they looked hard for the right company" .Just goes to show the same CLOWNS are running the CIRCUS.
If the folk of Wick were up for it, we the community could challenge the Councils decision over CHaP/Ignis and put in a community run charity...But we would have to be quick off the mark ..I'm sure the PRESS and TV folk would jump at it ...

[chordie]

This is the Councils" PREFERED"bidder and they stated that "they looked hard for the right company"

Well given that it was a tendering exercise, I've had a look at the original tendering documentation produced by Highland Council which is still available at PublicContractsScotland.

Apart from the fact that this is a 25 year contract, the selection criteria is interesting, and I quote:

As an absolute minimum, organisations must: 1) Demonstrate that they have the relevant experience to design, build, operate, manage, maintain and administrate a district heating scheme and 2)that they have the financial resources to invest in the initial scheme and to maintain delivery of a community heating scheme for a period of up to 25 years without subsidy from the procuring Highland Council.
Failure to provide satisfactory evidence of the above two questions will result in automatic disqualification.

Now given the timing of the tendering process, that would fall in line with the accounting period I outlined in the previous post. So it beggars belief as to how Ignis Energy ever got off the starting blocks in the tendering process since they certainly don't meet condition 2 - not only do they not have any money then, but they had nearly £1million in debt and no obvious income.

As I've not been close to this project, remind me again who are the specific Councillors and Council Officials who are responsible for this. Because they've handed over your heating system to a sham outfit, and broken their own tendering rules in the process.

[rob murray]

Oh dear, this doesn't look good at all.

The trail of name changing, address changing and Director changing is concerning.

Their 'headquarters' as indicated on their website is a residential house in Richmond (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&so...13583&t=h&z=17).

Their registered address is an accountants office in Beaconsfield. (edit: just noticed that the accountants went bust at the end of last year for dodgy share trading !!)

And most alarmingly, I've also looked at their most recent annual accounts which shows them in a deficit:
- cash £2,000
- liabilities to be paid within 12 months: £419,000
- liabilities to be paid in more than 12 months: £577,000
- money due in from clients: £69,000
Which means the net value of the business is..... NEGATIVE £925,000 !!

Expect to see your woodchip plant go up in smoke.

Absolutely unbelievable, was there any diligence done on the company as part of the tender process, somebody has f'd up really badly here, or did they, was a diligence exercise undertaken / or was someone instructed not to check the company out ? Who would gain here..can anyone answer this one ?