Renewable Ener#y Vol. 3, No. 2/3, pp. 217-220, 1993 096~|481/93 $6.00+.00 Printed in Great Britain. Pergamon Press Ltd

PLANNING TO MAKE THE FUTURE RENEWABLE. THE ROLE OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN RENEWABLE

ENERGY RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS

MICHAEL HARPER Friends of the Earth, 26-28 Underwood St., London N1 7JQ, U.K.

Abstract--An appreciation at a local level of the planning implications of the development of renewable energy is of critical importance for the successful introduction of renewable energy into any country. For the U.K., despite the need for major changes to national policy, a format for development is gradually taking shape. However, the formation of policy at a local level requires further attention. With regard to this, local authorities can play a leading role in the sensitive development of renewable energy resources to the benefit of the environment, the country and the local community. By undertaking local renewable energy assessments local authorities can help to identify the potential for renewable energy, the constraints to that development and, most significantly, the planning formulae required to ensure that development is full and sensitive. This will provide a much needed spur to further development.

This paper looks at the reasons why such local renewable energy assessments are important, the results of experience in the U.K. to data and the lessons which need to be learnt for such assessments to have lasting benefit.

1. INTRODUCTION

The U.K. is well endowed with most renewable energy resources. Friends of the Earth believes that through the development of this potential and through improvements in energy efficiency, the U.K. can halve its dependence on fossil fuels within the next 30-40 years [1].

This is of crucial importance for addressing the needs of global environmental protection. This requirement has arisen, for a large part, as a result of the destructive energy policies adopted by modern industrial society and has helped bring about the re- alization that it is important to address the issue at a global level; for example, the attempt at the Earth Summit in Rio in June to develop a climate convention for all countries. The corollary of this is that by chang- ing the way we harness and use energy at a local level, we can also help to address the global environmental problems at the same time.

2. THE POLITICAL NEED FOR LOCAL STUDIES

The feeble nature of the commitments made at Rio makes clear two points : Firstly, considerable further work needs to be done beyond what has happened at Rio and secondly, it is not possible to leave everything to national governments to initiate the changes needed. A change in the way we harness and use energy is required, part of which involves planning

for energy efficiency, another part of which involves planning for renewable energy at a local level.

At present however, the vast majority of local auth- orities have little or no knowledge of the renewable energy potential that exists within their boundaries. For example, a survey conducted by Friends of the Earth and published in December 1991 showed that nine out of 10 county councils in England and Wales have not undertaken assessments of the potential in their area for developing renewable sources of energy [2]. A survey published in 1991 by the Energy and Environment Research Unit of the Open University found that only four county councils had information on their wind energy potential [3].

But recognition of the benefits of renewable energy is steadily increasing. A national policy framework is emerging as a result of the privatisation of the elec- tricity industry which has unleashed an hitherto sup- pressed interest in renewable energy and given birth to a flurry of activity by developers throughout the country. This has arisen in response to the in t ro - duction of the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) of the Electricity Act 1988, which sought to promote electricity generation from sources other than coal, oil or gas--the fossil fuels. Under the terms of the obligation, regional electricity companies are required to purchase a proportion of their electricity from non- fossil fuel generated sources. The NFFO also allows for a commercial price to be paid for electricity from these sources.

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Private electricity producers have therefore been encouraged to seek investment and sites for renewable energy development. In the first year of operation (1990) the government accepted 75 applications for renewable projects totalling 152 MW of firm capacity. For 1991, another 122 projects were accepted with a firm capacity of 472 MW covering technologies as diverse as hydropower, wind energy, digestion of sewage gas, use of methane gas from land-fill sites and waste incineration. A survey published by Friends of the Earth in July, 1992 showed that new renewable energy projects planned for inclusion in a possible obligation for 1992 totals over 630 MW of installed capacity which would push total U.K. renewable energy capacity beyond the target set by the govern- ment for the year 2000.

However, despite these impressive figures, the national framework still requires radical improve- ment. In terms of renewable energy, this includes changes to the structure of support for renewables, changes to the government's research and develop- ment priorities, and most importantly, changes to the level of commitment to renewable energy made visible through the creation of a genuinely challenging target for renewable energy in the country. The current tar- get which was set just two years ago is now recognised by developers, parliamentarians and the government itself as being unambitious and needing substantial upward revision. These problems still remain and their resolution is as fundamental to providing a secure basis for a future renewable energy industry in the U.K. as they are in any other country. However, even these measures, if implemented, would not guarantee by themselves the successful deployment of renew- ables.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that projects will have an uphill struggle and may fail if the projects are neither endorsed nor accepted by the local com- munity which pays host to the development. The rejec- tion by a community can take many forms; it may result in a body not directly linked to the community but which has a responsibility to protect, as it sees it, an aspect of the locality which is perceived to be threatened by the development, such as an amenity or a conservation group protecting a landscape for the visual impact of a development ; on the other hand, it may arise as a result of a vociferous local action group which rightly or wrongly perceives the development to threaten its interest in some way. The result of such rejection may not mean that the project is refused planning permission (a necessary requirement in the U.K.), but merely that the costs involved in over- coming the barriers and the time delay arising from such problems renders the project financially dubious

(such as has happened in windfarms in Cornwall and waste-to-energy schemes throughout the U.K.).

The implication of this is that a key factor in the level of renewable energy deployment will be the degree to which renewable energy projects gain local acceptance. This is partly a result of the growing sen- sitivity to any form of development in some parts of the country where renewable energy might be expected to flourish (for example, the south west or the north west), but also because of the "locar' nature of renew- able energy technologies which means that their deployment can have a large affect on a community not normally confronted with such developments.

It is in response to this, that greater attention is turning to assessing renewable energy at a local level. This is an area in which local authorities can play a key role in helping to make the future renewable. For the U.K. an appropriate level for conducting an assessment on renewable energy is at the county level, which in terms of both geography and planning policy, gives a sufficient size to enable meaningful statements to be made about the nature of the renew- able energy resource and the planning policy impli- cations of developing that resource.

3. RENEWABLE ENERGY A S S E S S M E N T S

The ultimate objective of a renewable energy assess- ment is to establish how best renewables should be developed in a particular area. In order to satisfy this objective, a study should aim to :

• Estimate and analyse the current energy require- ments of the area/country ;

• Identify the nature and extent of the local renew- able energy resources

• Assess the current exploitable potential from each resource within the context of the environmental, technological, economic and practical constraints to development ;

• Develop planning guidelines appropriate to the locality which can be used by those responsible for implementing planning policy--in the U.K., this is the district councils.

These objectives can be met in the first instance by means of a study, using existing national and local data as the basis for detailed calculations. Further detail can be introduced by means of investigating the potential on a site by site basis so that clear areas can be identified as being appropriate for development.

Assessments have been carried out for the North Western Electricity Board (NORWEB), for Cornwall County Council and for Dyfed County Council. Devon and Cumbria County Councils are the middle

Planning to make

of similar studies as are the electricity companies for the south west (SWEB) for the North Wales area (MANWEB). Northern Ireland is finishing a renew- able energy assessment while discussions are currently underway for a regional study in Scotland, and for county-wide studies in Gwynedd, Dorset and Durham.

Most of these studies have involved the Government's Energy Technology Support Unit, which has provided financial and technical support for the studies.

The development of renewable energy can bring considerable national benefits in terms of reduced atmospheric pollution, reduced threats of nuclear con- tamination, increased diversity and increased security of electricity and heat supply. However, by conducting resource studies, local authorities will also be able to develop coordinated plans for capturing the con- siderable local benefits. These could include :

• The attraction of new investment into the county for renewable energy projects. This will cover investment for civil engineering work during site preparation and construction and possibly invest- ment for operating and maintaining the projects. In some areas this may include investment for production facilities for manufacturing renewable energy technologies for local deployment or for export.

• The diversification of local industry and creating new jobs in the manufacture, construction and maintenance of renewable energy technologies and projects.

• The generation of income from farmland by intro- ducing wind turbines and by turning land over to the production of biofuels.

• The distribution of profits from renewable energy projects to the local community through the possi- bility of participation within the projects and the operation of energy cooperatives.

• The reduction of local pollution (for example, through the digestion of sewage and farm wastes which would otherwise increase the threat of water contamination).

As has been noted above, support for renewable energy arising from the privatisation of the electricity industry has generated widespread activity in the U.K. Publicising the findings of a resource study will indi- cate to electricity producers seeking sites for devel- opment that an authority will be able to consider applications on an informed and balanced basis. The resource study will further provide the foundation to ensure that a county's resources are sensitively and appropriately exploited.

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The findings of an area resource study should also help to provide the basis of a council's renewable energy development policies. Such policies should be integrated into the County Structure Plans thereby indicating the council's intention to encourage appro- priate renewable energy projects on land within its planning control. This is specifically proposed by guidance set out by government :

"Local planning authorities should keep in mind the Government's policy on renewable sources of energy when preparing their development plans and in considering development proposals for renew- able energy installations" [4].

The publication of national planning guidelines in the form of the government's Planning Policy Guid- ance Note on Renewable Energy can provide the national context for renewable energy policy. However, translating these guidelines to make them relevant and practical for individual projects can only be made at a local level. Renewable energy resource assessments are therefore essential for providing the information to enable this translation to take place.

4. RESULTS

Different studies, using different criteria for assess- ment, have produced varying results. Some studies, for example, notably those conducted by the regional electricity companies have concentrated solely on the potential for renewable electricity generating systems. Other studies, on the other hand, have concentrated more on the planning aspects of renewable energy development. However, it is characteristic of all studies so far undertaken that the unconstrained potential for renewable energy has been shown to be large, in some cases many times the levels of energy actually used in the area of study. For example, the study for Dyfed indicated that energy equivalent to twice the county's current electricity requirements of 1.2 TWh a year could be generated locally from renew- able energy sources, which would offset the pro- duction of about 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (see below) [5].

Dyfed A preliminary assessment of renewable energy

resources in Dyfed estimated that energy equivalent to twice the county's current electricity requirements of 1,200 million kWh a year could be generated locally from renewable energy resources. Developing this potential would offset the production of 800 thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide, provide in excess of 400 new jobs and generate £60 million in revenue [6].

220 M. HARPER

Cornwall

By the year 2000, Cornwall could meet 20% of its current electricity requirements and 10% of its heating fuel requirements locally, mainly from the develop- ment of its renewable energy resources.

Cornwall Energy Project estimated that local energy production could yield £30 million of elec- tricity and £6-10 million of heat fuels. Exploiting this potential would create 450 new jobs over the ten year period and more than 200 permanent jobs. Investment in energy conversation measures could save Cornwall £25 million worth of energy and create a further 400 local jobs [7].

Though this seems good news for the U.K. renew- able energy industry and the results are probably com- parable to results of similar studies elsewhere, it is little value if projects for harnessing these resources cannot be built.

Reviewing the projects accepted under the 1990 and 1991 Non-Fossil Fuel Obligations, those projects which have received most problems have been wind power projects and waste incineration projects. For the former, some 11 projects totalling some 45.6 MW have already been refused planning permission while some 13 other projects are still awaiting the outcome of negotiations. Reasons given for refusals have included: proximity to roads, proximity to houses, proximity to areas of natural landscape beauty and proximity to areas of scientific interest.

In some instances the projects have appeared to conform to the guidelines developed at a county level following the completion of a renewable energy assess- ment. This has led to a degree of scepticism concerning the relevance of undertaking renewable energy assess- ments when they are not properly incorporated into the planning decisions taken by the local authorities responsible for individual projects. The capricious process of determining planning applications in the U.K. is a constant lament of developers of all hues

and cannot always be prevented. However, the development of clear and helpful county-wide guide- lines, which reflect the local characteristics of an area and which take account of national guidelines, should reduce the vagaries in this area.

5. CONCLUSIONS

A responsibility for action to cut carbon dioxide exists among the industrailized countries. Resource assessments, if properly implemented, can give local authorities the opportunity to help achieve cuts in carbon dioxide through the sensitive development of renewables and thereby help to address the global issues associated with climate change.

National governments must also respond to the challenge, but the role of local authorities is crucial to the development of renewable energy and it is for this reason that Friends of the Earth has launched a campaign to encourage county councils to undertake resource assessments and to ensure that planning poli- cies on a county-wide basis are developed to reflect the need to develop renewables fully and sensitively.

REFERENCES

1. M. Flood, Energy Without End. Friends of the Earth (1991).

2. 86 per cent of County Councils Fall Short on Renewable Energy, Friends of the Earth press release (1991).

3. M. Rand, Wind Energy in the U.K. and the Role of Local Authorities, Energy and Environmental Research Unit, Open University (1991).

4. Hansard (1991). 5. The Local Potential for Renewable Energy ; The Role of

Local Authorities in Renewable Energy Resource Assess- ments. Friends of the Earth, London.

6. D. Taylor and C. Larke, Renewable Energy Potential in Dyfed: A Preliminary Assessment (1990).

7. Cornwall Energy Action Plan, Cornwall Energy Project, Report No. 7 (1989).