Cumbrian Energy Revolution

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Farm & Forest

Biomethane to Grid

10 July 2014

The UK’s fledgling biogas industry has expressed relief, after the government issued reassurances that it remained committed to expanding the biomethane-to-grid sector. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) recently ran a consultation on proposed changes to the level of support offered to anaerobic digestion plants that inject biogas to the grid, amidst concerns that the sector was being over-rewarded in a way that could lead to a costly boom in new developments.

Business Green  »

Farm & Forest
Renewable Heat
Taking Action

Highland Biomass Network

3 July 2014

Heat and hot water at a new housing development in the Highlands will be provided by an innovative community biomass scheme, after the local council approved the project. The 24 two and three bedroom family houses being built at Milton Burn, in the heart of the town of Aviemore, will be heated by a single biomass heating network powered by two 70 kilowatt biomass systems.

Business Green »

Farm & Forest
Renewables
Taking Action

Suffolk’s Independent Energy Boom

3 July 2014

A huge growth in Suffolk’s independent renewables projects has been recorded as farmers, businesses and public sector organisations seek ways of tackling soaring energy prices. New research has revealed a 48% year-on-year increase in funding for schemes such as wind turbines and solar installations in the county – on top of projects from the “Big Six” power companies.

 

East Anglian Daily Times  »

Farm & Forest
Renewables
Taking Action

Earthmill Crowdfunding

29 June 2014

Wetherby-based wind turbine specialist Earthmill has opened the UK’s first crowd-funded investment aimed at farm-scale turbines, which enables individuals to invest in turbine installations already operating on farms across Yorkshire. The innovative fund, which guarantees investors returns of 7.25 per cent per annum over three years, with an additional 0.25 per cent for early investors, has been launched by renewable energy crowd-funding platform Trillion Fund. The minimum investment is £50 and Earthmill’s initial target is to raise £1.25m. Loans will be secured against five already operational farm scale turbines across Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Post »

Farm & Forest
Renewables

Farming Hydro

30 May 2014

A new 100kw hydro scheme has been switched on at the foot of Inverlochlarig burn, a course of water which feeds into Loch Doine, then Loch Voil and eventually the Firth of Forth. Inverlochlarig, near Lochearnhead and within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, is a 10,000 acre hill farm which has been tended to by the same family since 1877. It is home to more than 3,500 Scottish Blackface and Cheviot Ewes and a herd of 100 cattle.

Renewable Focus  »

Farm & Forest

Wood Heat Association

23 May 2014

The Renewable Energy Association (REA) has officially launched a new trade body to represent the fast-expanding wood heat technology industry. Announcing the formal launch of the new body at the All Energy Conference in Aberdeen, Julian Morgan-Jones, managing director of South East Wood Fuels and interim chairman of the WHA, said the recent launch of the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme made it “an exciting time for the wood heat industry”.

Business Green  »

Farm & Forest

Loans for on-farm anaerobic digesters

10 October 2013

English farmers investing in on-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) can apply for loan funding as part of a £3m DEFRA initiative. Loans to cover 50% of project costs up to a maximum of £400,000 were announced as part of the On Farm AD Fund by environment secretary Owen Paterson. The scheme is available for small-scale AD plants up to 250kW in size, primarily run on farm waste, with loans expected to be issued to farmers at the beginning of 2014.

Farmers Weekly  »

Farm & Forest

From Food Waste to Electricity

6 March 2013

The City of Edinburgh (which has a population about the same size as Cumbria) is working with Midlothian Council to build an anaerobic digester for food waste. The project will create around 50 jobs during construction and nine full-time jobs when complete. The plant will generate electricity which will be used by Scottish Water to help power water and drainage services across Scotland.

Caledonian Mercury  »

Farm & Forest

Wind Farming Tax Incentives

1 March 2013

Farms and rural businesses with renewables in mind have been given a quarter million pound window of opportunity over the next two years. Businesses will see an increase in the annual investment allowance (AIA) giving 100% tax relief on investments from £25,000 to £250,000 for the next two years.

Johnnie Andringa, CEO of Glasgow based Gaia-Wind said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for those looking to invest in small wind. The allowance comfortably covers an investment in one or even several small wind turbines and means that a farm or rural business could offset the entire cost against their income tax in year one.” Investing in one turbine at around £45,000 would mean the net cost of the turbine for a 40% tax payer would be £27,000: Payback time on a Gaia-Wind turbine based on the current Feed in Tariff drops from 5.3 years to 3.4 years; and the level of investment required for say, two turbines, drops to around the previous cost for one – with double the return.

Farming UK  »

Farm & Forest

Farm-scale Anaerobic Digester

8 February 2013

A 250 kW anaerobic digestion plant is being planned at Ponsonby Old Hall Farm near Seascale by a joint venture formed by  Yorkshire based on-farm biogas developer JFS & Associates and a family run Farm in Cumbria. JFS will act as a development partner and construct the biogas plant, while the farm will supply the feedstock from existing farm wastes such as manure and slurry, supplemented with energy crops.

Waste Management World »

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Latest News

  • Nottingham’s Net Zero Ambition

    Nottingham City Council has been named the overall winner in the Guardian’s Public Service Awards. He Council announced in January that it intended to become the UK’s first carbon-neutral city by 2028. It has already met its 2020 target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 26% four years early; more than 40% of all journeys in Nottingham are made on public transport and solar panels have been installed on more than 4,000 council houses. Energy consumption of council buildings has been cut by 39% and it is on track to generate 20% of its energy from low-carbon sources by next year. And last year the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs concluded that the city’s air pollution had fallen so much that a Clean Air Zone was not needed. Making the carbon neutral commitment was only possible, says Sally Longford, the Labour council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for energy and environment, because of the work that had gone before. “We got a lot of stick over the years. People thought we were anti-car, because we introduced various schemes to try and reduce car usage and congestion.” But it has paid off. “When I was talking to the officers about how far we could push this they were confident we could go further than other councils because of all the work we’d already done.” One policy in particular, its workplace parking levy (WPL), was a “gamechanger” according to Longford. Introduced in 2012, the WPL is aimed at employers providing 11 or more commuter parking spaces, with an annual rate of £415 per space. It is still the only such scheme in the UK and has not only tackled congestion and pollution but netted the council £61m for improving and “greening” public transport. That money has helped with the redevelopment of Nottingham station, an expansion of the tram network that runs on green electricity from the council’s own energy company, and the council’s fleet of 58 electric buses that has reduced carbon emissions by more than 1,050 tonnes. “We have a positive attitude to these things because they pay for themselves,” says Longford. “We’re putting solar panels on anything that doesn’t move, really, because it saves us money in the long run and helps support other work we’re doing.” The energy and transport teams have won funding from central government, Europe and other sources, and the savings the energy team generates means it actually makes a profit for the council that can be used to cross-subsidise crucial departments such as children’s services.

  • Net Zero Bristol by 2030

    Bristol City Council – controlled by Labour – was the first council in the country to declare a climate emergency in November 2018. That motion was unanimously passed and now acts as the foundations for the City’s transformative commitment to become carbon-neutral by 2030. In 2015, Bristol became the UK’s first European Green Capital. And, having already recorded a 71% reduction in carbon emissions from its direct activities against a 2005 baseline – surpassing a target to reduce emissions by 65% by 2020 – it now has the lowest carbon footprint of any UK city. The City’s Energy, Transport and Green New Deal Lead Kye Dudd stresses the importance of the unitary authority continuing to lead the climate movement in a way that he hopes will create something of a domino effect of climate action among businesses, citizens and policymakers alike. “We need to extend our influence into the business sphere and to bring other people with us.” The Council recently partnered with Manchester-based blockchain technology company EnergiMine to reward council employees who partake in sustainable actions by using the EnergiToken (ETK) platform. ETK uses blockchain to incentivise actions that promote energy reduction, clean transport use and social cause initiatives. Employees can now earn tokens to spend on rewards – or donate the equivalent value to a registered charity – by acting in an environmentally sustainable way. Great progress has also been made outside of the Council’s own operations – particularly in the area of renewable energy. More than £50m has been invested in low-carbon and renewable energy projects in the region since 2012, and to great effect: Bristol sourced 21GWh of energy generation from solar, wind and biomass in 2018 – enough to power 24,000 homes for a month. Through the Council’s City Leap Strategy it hopes to attract a further £1bn of global investment in the city. Local partners already supporting the project include the University of Bristol, University of the West of England, Western Power Distribution, Bristol is Open, Invest Bristol and Bath, Bristol Green Capital Partnership and Bristol Energy. The signs are already looking positive: since its launch last year, the City Leap initiative has already garnered interested from almost 200 local organisations, international firms, investors and energy and infrastructure businesses. Dudd notes that district heat networks and community renewable energy projects are two areas where smaller local businesses can get involved. A 5MW community-owned solar project, has installed roof-mounted solar panels on public buildings. And a new network of underground pipes that will deliver affordable, low-carbon heat and energy across the city – is already benefitting more than 1,000 social housing properties and is continuing to expand. The Council voted in October to make Bristol the first UK city to ban public use of diesel cars from its streets to combat air pollution. While still requiring government approval, that scheme is set to start from 2021. Bristol’s Eastville Park is the first of four planned charging hub for the region, each hosting four to eight rapid-charge connections that can charge an EV up to 80% from 30 minutes’ charging. In total, four local authorities will install 120 new or replacement charge point connections across over the next year. The majority of the charge points will be supplied with 100% renewable energy provided by Bristol Energy.

  • Sunderland goes for Ground Source Heat Pumps

    Residents in 364 homes across seven tower blocks in Sunderland are seeing their gas boilers replaced with heat from ground source heat pumps. There will be a ground source heat pump for each flat which will also be connected to a district heating system consisting of ambient shared ground loop arrays. An underground aquifer will provide the heat source for the tower blocks, accessed via open loop boreholes drilled to depths of 60m. The ambient system prevents heat losses, overcoming overheating in the tower block communal areas, and boosts the system efficiency. The independent heat pumps mean that tenants can shop around for their electricity deal, whilst reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 420 tonnes or nearly 70% per year and improving local air quality. Gentoo Group is delivering the ‘Core 364’ project with the support of Engie and ground source heat pump specialists, Kensa Contracting. Work started in October, with all systems expected to be replaced by late Summer 2020. Gentoo’s chief executive officer, Nigel Wilson, said: “This heating system will provide heat and hot water at a much reduced cost, using natural heat from the ground. For more info see the presentati0on made by Kensa to the APSE Energy Summit in October https://www.apse.org.uk/apse/assets/File/Day%202%20-%20Session%205_2%20-%20Matthew%20Black.pdf

  • Solar Plus Storage for Cheshire Social Housing

    Cheshire West & Chester Council has announced plans to install solar panels with battery storage technology across two large estates. It has appointed Aberla Renewables, part of the Aberla Group, for the installations which include heating solutions that cover 180 council-owned homes. The team has started surveying properties and the project, which consists of solar panels with a total capacity of 250kW, is expected to be completed next year. The £500,000 project is part of the Low Carbon Housing Support Programme and has been jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

  • Local Energy Network for Cornwall

    Hundreds of homes and businesses in Cornwall have started selling electricity to their local energy network and the national energy system in a pioneering move. The trial is the first time that traditional energy users – such as homes, hotels and businesses – have acted as suppliers in a microcosm of a full energy system. The trial harnessed together 100 Cornish homes, fitted with batteries and solar panels, to act as a mini virtual power plant for the local energy network, Western Power Distribution, and the UK’s energy system operator, National Grid. During sunny spells when homes generate more than enough electricity from solar panels they can store the power to use later, or supply the energy system with clean extra power. The homes took part in the trial alongside 150 local businesses, which were prepared to adjust how much energy they used depending on the balance of energy supply and demand on the grid. If wind and solar power output dropped the companies could choose to use less electricity in exchange for a payment from National Grid, or if the local grid had more electricity than it needed the companies could ramp up their energy demand. National Grid already offers to pay firms that own utility-scale batteries to provide a similar service, but the trial is the first time that companies can take part in the same “local energy market” as the network operator. The market was designed by energy giant Centrica and modelled on the same system used to balance energy markets across Europe. The energy companies believe the trial could help create a nationwide chain of flexible smart grids built around clean energy.

Cumbrian Energy Plans

Cumbria Renewable Energy and Capacity Deployment Study  A report by sustainable economic and social development consultants, SQW for Cumbria County Council published in August 2011 giving a detailed assessment of the renewable resources available.

The Scope for Renewable Energy in Cumbria  is a report published by the precursor body to Britain’s Energy Coast - Cumbria Vision in 2009. This envisioned the creation of almost 8,000 by 2050 from developing renewable energy.

The West Cumbria Economic Blueprint is the plan put forward in June 2012 by Britain’s Energy Coast, a public/private partnership made up of local authorities and nuclear groups in the area.

A Sustainable Energy Agency for Cumbria: Business Plan and  Annexes and Supporting Information - commissioned by Cumbria Vision and the North West Development Agency in 2009. A detailed plan for an Energy Agency to promote low-carbon distributed energy and energy efficiency. Cumbria has a huge renewable potential, and a number of leading renewable energy companies including Sundog, Gilkes and Energy4All. Despite this, it is not as effective as other areas in accessing funding and support for sustainable energy. Unfortunately the idea of the Agency was never taken forward.

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