The Housing Minister, John Healey, yesterday announced that the UK Government is planning to abolish the need for planning permission in relation to wind turbines of up to 50ft in height, provided the turbine makes no more than 45 decibels of noise. This decision, which is open to consultation for three months, would allow wind turbines to be erected across farmland, and in industrial areas, around the UK and could boost renewable energy production. Safeguards will be put in place regarding location and impact on an area.

Under the proposals outlined yesterday, applications to erect solar panels on stadiums, schools, railway stations and offices would also be fast-tracked, whilst local councils would gain permission to install charging points for electric cars without the need for planning permission. A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government stated that 30% of electricity could be generated from renewable sources by 2030.

Source article: John Healey unveils proposal to do away with planning permission for wind turbines, Times, 18 November 2009

The first annual report to Parliament by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), published today, concludes that a step change is required in the pace of UK emissions reduction to meet carbon budgets, and that in some areas, new policy approaches will be required to deliver the Government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan.

The Climate Change Act requires the Committee to report each year on emissions reductions relative to the UK’s carbon budgets. The report found that from 2003-2007, emissions reductions averaged 0.5% per annum. Given that in the future, reductions of 2-3% pa will be required to meet the carbon budgets, the Committee argues that a step change in the pace of reduction is needed.

In particular, it says that three policy areas need to be revised or strengthened in order to achieve this step change:

1. Residential and commercial buildings

The heaviest criticism was directed at the government’s policy to reduce carbon emissions from homes. The carbon emissions reductions target (Cert) came into effect last year and places an obligation on energy suppliers to help homeowners reduce household emissions through specific measures such as by supplying energy-saving light bulbs. The results are too piecemeal according to the CCC, and a ‘whole house’ approach (simultaneously implementing the full range of measures) and ’street-by-street’ approach is likely to be required.

2. Electricity Generation

Dramatic improvements in the energy efficiency of buildings must be coupled with a 50% cut in the carbon emitted by the energy sector by 2020. The Committee backs the government’s plan for coal stations with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, but says three new nuclear plants should be operational between 2018 and 2022. The CCC has also recommended that 23GW of wind power be added to the current installed capacity of 4GW. This would mean the equivalent of 8,000 3MW turbines by 2020.

3. Road transport

The Committee reiterated its belief that the carbon-efficiency of new cars can and should be reduced from above 160g/km today to 95g/km by 2020. This reduction could be achieved by improvements to fuel efficiency on conventional cars, but further reductions beyond 2020 will require a significant role for electric cars. To ensure rapid progress, two new mutually reinforcing government policies are required: Support for new car purchase to drive initial volumes and help manufacturers achieve economies of scale; and support for battery charging infrastructure.

For further information please see the CCC website, or visit the Guardian.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has called for a significant increase in the number of wind farms in the UK, after a new study found far more turbines could be built onshore without harming wildlife.

The RSPB has campaigned against wind farms in the past, because of the potential threat to birds, and helped prevent the biggest onshore wind farm in Europe being built on the Isle of Lewis because of the risk to sea eagles.

However, a new study, commissioned by the organisation and written by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), has found wind farms pose no threat to birds and other animals if they are put up in the right area.

Experts at the charity said that, in addition to this, they would support the development of more wind farms because of the “truly terrifying” impact that global warming was having on birds. Ruth Davis, head of climate change policy at the charity, stressed that there was an urgent need to significantly increase sources of renewable energy to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. “Left unchecked, climate change threatens many species with extinction.” She said.

The study also revealed that the UK is trailing behind the rest Europe in building wind farms because of its bureacratic planning process, despite having abundant natural wind resources. Wind turbines generated just 2% of the UK’s energy in 2007, compared with 29% in Denmark, 20% in Spain and 15% in Germany.

Ruth Davis said: “We need a clear lead from government on where wind farms should be built and clear guidance for local councils on how to deal with applications. We must reduce the many needless delays that beset wind farm developments”.

“This report shows that if we get it right, the UK can produce huge amounts of clean energy without time-consuming conflicts and harm to our wildlife. Get it wrong and people may reject wind power. That would be disastrous.”

Read more about this story on the BBC News website and the Telegraph News Website

More information can be found on the RSPB wesite

The Government has announced a proposed shortlist of schemes to generate renewable energy form the tides of the Severn estuary. The shortlist is comprised of various barrage and lagoon projects.

The Severn has a tidal range of 14m, making it the second-largest in the world. Successfully harnessing the energy created by the tides would make an enormous contribution to achieving renewable energy targets- the Government is committed to producing 20% of the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2020- as well as assisting in the reduction of UK carbon emissions.

Below is the proposed shortlist:

Cardiff Weston Barrage: A barrage crossing the Severn estuary from Brean Down, near Weston super Mare to Lavernock Point, near Cardiff. Its estimated capacity is over 8.6 Gigawatts – the equivalent of eight typical coal-fired power stations. It could generate nearly 5% of UK electricity and would cost approximately £15bn to implement.

Shoots Barrage: Further upstream of the Cardiff Weston scheme. Capacity of 1.05GW, similar to a large fossil fuel plant.

Beachley Barrage: The smallest barrage on the proposed shortlist, just above the Wye River. It could generate 625MW.

Bridgwater Bay Lagoon: Lagoons are radical new proposals which impound a section of the estuary without damming it. This scheme is sited on the English shore between east of Hinkley Point and Weston super Mare. It could generate 1.36GW.

Fleming Lagoon: An impoundment on the Welsh shore of the estuary between Newport and the Severn road crossings. It too could generate 1.36GW.

Environmentalists have openly criticized the Governments decision to include the Cardiff Weston Barrage as an option. The barrage would cause severe environmental and ecological damage to the area, destroying rare habitats used by 69,000 birds and blocking the migration routes of numerous fish species.

Martin Harper, head of sustainable development at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said it was “Hugely disappointing to see the Government still pushing forward with the environmentally destructive option.”

The proposed shortlist, and the original list of projects from which it was created, are now open to a three month public consultation. The final decision on which project(s) will go ahead will be announced in 2010.

Many environmentalists are pessimistic about the outcome, and believe it is a foregone conclusion. FOE Cymru director Gordon James told the Guardian “We have long suspected that the UK government has already decided on the Cardiff to Weston Severn barrage, and that this consultation process is little more than a cosmetic exercise.”

A shortlist of proposed schemes to generate renewable energy form the Severn estuary will be announced by the Government later today.

Over the past six months, the Department of Energy and Climate Change have examined 10 projects for converting the Severn estuary’s tidal power into electricity. Five of these have been selected for further investigation and are due to be revealed by the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, this afternoon.

Among the proposed schemes is a 10 mile long barrage from Lavernock Point, Vale of Glamorgan to Somerset, which has attracted a lot of controversy and could cost up to £15 billion to implement.

Barrages are essentially dams which span the width of a tidal estuary. They generate electricity in a similar way to hydroelectric dams, except they harness energy from the difference in height between high and low tides, as opposed to the force of falling water.

The Severn, which has the second-largest tidal range in the world – the difference between the highest and lowest tides can be as great as 42ft (14m) – has the potential to generate 5% of Britain’s electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions significantly.

However, conservation groups, such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, are opposed to the barrage, due to the potential environmental and ecological damage it could cause. For example, the barrage could block the migratory routes for fish such as lampreys, salmon, sea trout and eels, and would destroy rare mud-flat and salt-marsh habitats which are vital to many species wetland birds. They are hoping the less intrusive, but equally efficient options, such as tidal fences, reefs and lagoons will be selected.

The preferred project(s) is to be approved by the Government in 2010 and is likely to be integral to the Government’s long-term targets for renewable energy and CO2 emissions.

The Welsh Government yesterday granted assent for the development of Wales’ largest wind farm – and the second largest in the world – off the North coast of the country. When complete, in 2014, and fully operational, the wind turbines will supply electricity for 700,000 homes.

The wind farm, at Gwent y Môr, will be built by NPower Renewables and will generate 750MW of ‘clean’ energy. The approval brings Wales a step closer to meeting its ambitious target, announced by Jane Davidson, Environment Minister, in February: to supply all of Wales’ electricity from green, ‘clean’ sources by 2025. Electricity generation accounts for 30% of Wales’ carbon emissions.

The UK is the world’s leader in generating power from offshore wind farms, with a total offshore built capacity of 590MW at present. The proposed ‘London Array’ in the outer Thames Estuary, which would generate 1GW of power.

The announcement from Wales follows Tuesday’s ‘plugging in’ of the largest wind farm in Europe into the Portuguese National Grid. The development, in the Upper Minho region of Portugal will provide 1% of the country’s total energy and will supply electricity for over 1 million residents.

See original article in the Guardian, 4 December 2008: Go-ahead for wind farm puts Wales on track to meet clean energy targets

New research published in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology suggests the impact of wind farms on farmland birds is less serious than previously thought.

Dr Mark Whittingham and co-authors focused their study on farmland birds overwintering in East Anglia, in early 2007. The birds were allocated to functional groups (that is, grouped alongside birds with similar ecological requirements and taxonomic characteristics).

The researchers found no effect of proximity to wind turbines on grain-eating birds, corvids (crows), gamebirds and the skylark. However, the researchers found pheasants, which are widespread across Britain, to be more abundant further away from the wind turbines. Importantly, among the 33 bird species recorded (of which five are red-listed), wind farms were not found to be a threat.

In order to meet growing energy demands and combat climate change, wind farms are one of a suite of potential alternative energy options that could contribute to a shift from our present fossil-fuel dependency. The European Commission has set a target of creating 20% of EU Energy from renewable sources by 2020, and farmland, as the most abundant land cover in Europe is the most likely place to put them. Future EU policy calling for more wind farms on farmland should not be incompatible with existing EU policy (Agri-Environment Schemes) to increase biodiversity on farmland.

Dr. Whittingham said: “This is the first evidence suggesting that the present and future location of large numbers of wind turbines on European farmland is unlikely to have detrimental effects on farmland birds. This should be welcome news for nature conservationists, wind energy companies and policy makers.”

This article received extensive coverage in the media including:

The Today Show, Radio 4
and
The Telegraph

Reference: Claire L Devereux, Matthew J H Denny and Mark J Whittingham. Minimal effects of wind turbines on the distribution of wintering farmland birds. Journal of Applied Ecology, 2008; DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01560.x

The Environment Agency has called for a halt to Government plans to build a new generation of coal-fired power stations, unless these incorporate carbon capture and storage technology (CCS). Chris Smith, the new Chair of the Environment Agency has commented that building coal-fired stations without this capability was “not an environmentally sustainable way of generating power given the challenges we face with climate change”. Simply proving that new coal-fired power plants can be retrofitted with this technology, when developed after several years of the station’s conventional operation, is not adequate.

The world’s first CCS demonstration project was inaugurated in Germany last year – with the capability to store 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. It is unlikely that a commercial-scale demonstration project will be built in the UK until 2013.

It’s a mind-blowing statistic: the average person throws away three to four times their weight in food waste annually, with much of it going into landfill and contributing to the 16 – 18 million tonnes of leftovers buried each year. Now food waste into landfill could shortly be a thing of the past given the success of a commercial scale trial of anaerobic digestion in Ludlow, Shropshire.

The company behind the Ludlow initiative, Greenfinch, have developed the ability to process waste on a commercial scale without using slurry from farm waste: usually used to add moisture to the recycling process. This technology has opened the doors for anaerobic digesters to be introduced into urban areas.

Joan Ruddock MP, Minister for the Environment, toured the Ludlow site last week , saying: “anaerobic digestion is extremely attractive…It seems to me that a plant on this scale would fit into any industrial estate in the country…I am sure this is the way forward”.

The Ludlow digester should generate approximately 1400 megawatt hours of electricity from the biogas ( a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide) produced by the digestion process.

At present only four other anaerobic digesters are operational in the UK at a commercial level, with less than 12 at the farm-scale. This is compared to 4,000 in operation in Germany. The UK Government has announced £10 million in funding to encourage the consrtuction of digesters, with 60 currently under construction.

Access information on Capital Grants Funding for anaerobic digestion at WRAP [applications open in autumn 2008 - contact WRAP for more information]

EU ministers have admitted being ‘grossly confused’ over renewable energy targets. There has been widespread belief amongst European ministers that the EU renewable energy target stipulates all fuels must contain 10% biofuels by 2020.

However, it has recently come to light that the original policy documents have been woefully misunderstood by ministers.

At a recent meeting, the French energy and environment minister Jean-Louis Borloo pointed out that: “The member states realised that the commission’s plan specifies that 10 percent of transport needs must come from renewable energy, not 10 percent from biofuels.”

There has been widespread condemnation of the European policy position on biofuels from heavyweight non-government organisations (NGOs) such as the RSPB and the WWF. At this stage however, there may be a new opportunity for NGOs to influence EU renewable energy policy direction. Mr Borloo now believes that the policy could be interpreted to infer that renewable energy could come from fuel cell technology and electricity from renewable sources, rather than biofuels or other unsustainable sources.

Despite the political distancing from biofuel policy after the recent hiatus, there has been no official EU policy change towards biofuels. The Green MEP Claude Turmes has proposed a bilateral agreement with Brazil to import biofuels from sugarcane stocks – the only biofuel source he considers sustainable.

The BES invites members and readers of the blog to contribute to the Biofuels debate: does the EU renewables policy need a better focus? Might it be sensible to distinguish between ecologically unsound biofuels and more sustainable biofuels? Should the EU place stronger emphasis on energy efficiency in transport, housing and business?

The BES strongly welcome your views!