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When it comes to energy, we don’t know what’s good for us

Credit kmichiels

Most of us in the public don’t have the knowledge to rationally respond to consultations on power stations. For that reason, big energy decisions aren’t made through local planning authorities. So why do we spend lots of time and money asking people whether they want certain kinds of energy plants?

We need nuclear power to meet our energy needs. A mix of renewable energy technologies in the right places could also make a difference. Unfortunately, we don’t want nuclear. Until a better technology comes to market we need to get real about our energy problem. Continue reading “When it comes to energy, we don’t know what’s good for us”

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Sustainable energy – don’t let them stop you

Compare renewables homepage

I’m convinced and really optimistic for a change. Despite the staggering cuts that local authorities face, our biggest conference room was jam-packed with councillors and officers talking about sustainable energy for six hours today. It was the launch event of Compare renewables, a resource that helps local authorities understand their sustainable energy options. Based on the enthusiasm in the room and discussions during workshops, I’m fully convinced that councils still see energy as a priority. Continue reading “Sustainable energy – don’t let them stop you”

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District heating can work in rural areas too

I had been under the impression that district heating is only suitable for urban areas. Today I learned that district heating can also be economically feasible in rural areas, particularly those areas off the main gas network.  This new knowledge is thanks to a Centre for Sustainable Energy event that I attended today. I went to understand more about how councillors and local planning authorities can support community-led energy projects.  Among other things, I ended up learning how to assess whether a particular village has enough local woodland to support a biomass district heating scheme. Continue reading “District heating can work in rural areas too”

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Get out of the grid – the trouble with CHP and the public sector

For the public sector, putting the wheels in motion to use combined heat and power and develop district energy networks is very difficult.  Whose job is it to take on this massive opportunity?  In some councils you’ll find a dedicated district energy officer, while in others there may be a spatial planner struggling to look at this alongside other a long list of other responsibilities.  With energy prices steadily rising, now is the time to develop decentralised energy.  Unfortunately, there seems to be a huge gap between public and private sector skills and knowledge, leaving the public sector way behind the times. Continue reading “Get out of the grid – the trouble with CHP and the public sector”

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Monitoring on-site renewable requirements

The Merton rule is old hat and even ‘Merton plus’ is becoming yesterday’s solution.  Planning requirements that are intended to reduce the carbon emissions of a development need to begin with the energy hierarchy, prioritising decentralised energy before insisting on 10-25% reductions from on-site renewable energy installations.  If the policy does not allow for flexibility with the on-site renewable contribution it could reduce the overall CO2 savings.  Nevertheless, authorities still have Merton-type policies – and considering the time it takes to change planning policies, they may be with us for some time.

LB Westminster planners hosted an event on monitoring renewable energy planning policies in late July.  Two ex-Merton officers, Adrian Hewitt and Ed Cotterill, presented an automated energy monitoring system that they have developed.  Here’s how it works:  There’s a data logging box installed on-site that measures the productivity of renewable energy installations.  This information is automatically sent off to a network.  A planning officer or developer can log-in to the network and see how the renewable energy installation is doing.  Planners or monitoring officers could keep track of compliance with the carbon reduction policies for all developments that had on-site technologies.  As you might expect, this recently developed technology has exposed some underperforming energy installations.

It’s obvious if you think about it.  Calculations are done using estimates and a technology is approved by the planning service (this is not a clean-cut process).  A building is then fitted with PV panels or a wind turbine and the job is done.  But what if the PV panel wasn’t properly connected or the wind hardly blows in that area? Continue reading “Monitoring on-site renewable requirements”

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delivering climate change policies – it’s not about energy calculations

After a very long bout of writer’s block, I’ve finally had some inspiration.  I’ve written about the importance of central government action and local government decision makers to reduce the UK’s contribution to global warming.  But what about the role of planning in the delivery of these aspirational central government policies on the ground?

For local planning authorities, the task of reducing carbon emissions through spatial planning isn’t at all straightforward.  Each authority works with different targets (some set in the Regional Spatial Strategy and the London Plan) that are worded slightly differently across the country.  The targets are set in development plan document (DPD) policies that are based on evidence supporting the viability of those targets.  Leaving the challenge of policy writing aside, the crunch point is that development management officers have to interpret these strategic policies and facilitate development that meets the policy aims.  This is the case with all planning policy and delivery, but for climate change policies it’s a little more complicated. Continue reading “delivering climate change policies – it’s not about energy calculations”