Go Zero

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8th October for the Big Local Food Event

Ian and other interested parties,

Following are various information items on the topic of renewable energy in general but also specifically the SW. What are your comments or thoughts on the general applicability of the options (i.e. the UK, Europe etc.) and the particular applicability of the options to the Chew Magna ZW project?

Peter

RENEWABLES SW - May 05
The e-bulletin for members of Regen SW
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1. OCEAN PROSPECT BIDS FOR WAVE HUB BERTH
DTI and SWRDA announcements trigger new wave activity

2. SD COMMISSION BACKS WIND POWER
Wind energy 'must be made to work'

3. SW HEAT CLUSTER PROJECT IN CALL TO PLUMBERS
South West Wood Fuels joins EU project to increase sales of RE heat

4. FIRST SW ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION DATA RELEASED
DTI figures show SW household consumption higher than national average

5. 40% HOUSE STUDY POINTS TO HUGE CARBON SAVINGS
Oxford University outlines measures for 60% cut in domestic carbon emissions

6. CORNWALL 'SWITCH' CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED
Green supply project aims to empower consumers on climate change

7. RE PLANNING UPDATE
Two SW wind proposals go to appeal

8. RE FUTURES EXHIBITION SPACES FILL UP
Only fifteen spaces left for 16 Nov exhibition

1. OCEAN PROSPECT BIDS FOR WAVE HUB BIRTH
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Ocean Prospect, a subsidiary of SW developer Wind Prospect has become the first company to bid for a berth at Wave Hub. The company has announced its intention to site ten 750kW Pelamis wave machines off the North Cornwall Coast and signalled that Wave Hub is critical to its development. See http://www.regensw.co.uk/press/news-read.asp?id=32
The move coincides with news that the South West RDA has made a further £1.5 million commitment to Wave Hub. The investment; which was welcomed by the new Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks, will pay for surveys at sea to speed up consents for the scheme and to allow detailed designs to be drawn up for the site. SWRDA has announced that it will be making a call for Expressions of Interest in Wave Hub from wave developers 'in the very near future'. See http://www.regensw.co.uk/press/news-read.asp?id=31. SWRDA's announcement comes a few days after the DTI finalised the rules for its £42 million Marine Demonstration Scheme, which is designed to provide financial support for the first wave farms, including those using Wave Hub. For details of the scheme see: http://www.dti.gov.uk/renewables/business_pdfs/waveandtidalstreamdemonstrationscheme.pdf

2. SD COMMISSION BACKS WIND POWER
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The UK Sustainable Development Commission has published an authoritative guide to the practical and economic issues around wind power. 'Wind Power in the UK' is aimed at policy makers and planners and includes eight case studies from wind farms around the country, with detailed annexes on aviation, noise and wildlife issues. The report concludes that wind energy is so essential to tackling climate change and energy security that it 'must be made to work'. It endorses Regen SW's Public Engagement Protocol for Wind Energy and urges early consultation with local communities. The Commission also concludes that technological advances mean that there are no limits to the amount of wind capacity that can be added to an electricity system. Both the full 170 page report and a shorter version for the public can be downloaded at. http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/media/list/wind.html

3. SW HEAT CLUSTER PROJECT IN CALL TO PLUMBERS
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South West Wood Fuels (SWWF) is calling for expressions of interest from plumbers, electricians, architects and builders in expanding the market for green heat in the South West. The main focus of the project is to increase sales of automated wood heating, solar water panels and ground source heat pumps. The locations identified as having the greatest cluster potential are off-gas grid areas in Exmoor, Dartmoor, Torridge, Mendip, Dorset, the Blackdown Hills, East Devon, Bodmin and North Cornwall. The project is part of a wider EU programme involving green heat cluster development in Sweden, Norway & France. For more information contact SWWF's Richard Thomsett : info@swwf.info

4. FIRST SW ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION DATA RELEASED
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Electricity consumption data has been made available by the DTI on a regional and local basis for the first time. Figures for 2003 show that South West had an estimated total electricity consumption of 24,597 GWh (GB 308,277 GWh) with about 2 ½ million customers. Household consumption in the SW is now over 5000 units (kWh) a year, which is higher than the national average of 4,600, and is partly explained by the use of electricity for space and water heating in off-gas grid areas. Nevertheless domestic consumption of electricity is also high because the growth in consumption from new energy-hungry appliances such as flat screen TVs, which is outstripping improvements in other areas. The Isles of Scilly have the highest domestic electricity consumption in the country at 7.6 MWh/year together with the lowest total industrial and commercial consumption. Full details are in the March 2005 edition of the DTI's Energy Trends at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy_trends/mar_05.pdf

5. 40% HOUSE STUDY POINTS TO HUGE CARBON SAVINGS
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Oxford University Environmental Change Unit have outlined a vision for housing in 2050 and outlined the actions necessary to achieve 60% cuts in carbon emissions across the whole of the UK domestic sector. The two and a half year project concluded that one of the biggest changes will be that homes will generate a lot of their own electricity from low and zero carbon sources. They will also use far more efficient appliances, with the prediction that all lighting will be provided by diodes, a small point source of light similar to halogens but using a fifth of the electricity. The study estimates that ten million new homes will be built by 2050. At least 7 million of these will only require occasional heating as they will be so well insulated. Existing homes will have been made much more efficient, but about 3 million of the worst homes will have been demolished because they can't be modified to provide affordable warmth. To see the report go to http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/lowercf/40house.html

6. CORNWALL 'SWITCH' CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED
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A grassroots campaign to stop climate change has been launched in Cornwall by a new organisation called 'Cornwall Switch'. The campaign aims to get thousands of Cornish consumers to switch to green electricity supply and has the backing of Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Eden Project. Cornwall Switch has entered into a deal with switching service Energylinx, which will process requests to switch to one of four green supply companies including SW based Ecotricity and Good Energy. Energylinx makes a donation to Cornwall Switch of £10 for each customer who changes supplier. After covering its campaign expenses Cornwall Switch will then pass surplus income to Oxfam, Water Aid and the Cornwall Green Communities Fund. The fund will support the installation of small scale renewables in the county. See www.cornwallswitch.org

7. RE PLANNING UPDATE
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Two SW wind developers have lodged appeals in the last month. Ecotricity has lodged an appeal against the decision of Mendip District Council to refuse planning permission for a single 2MW turbine at Shooters Bottom near Chewton Mendip. Your Energy is also appealing against the decision of North Dorset District Council to refuse permission on an 18 MW, nine turbine development at Lower Winterborne. A West Coast Energy proposal for three 1.3 MW turbines at Yelland Farm near Okehampton, has been refused planning permission by West Devon District Council on visual impact grounds.