DG001 base section lifted into place
Another milestone event today – installation of the base tower section of our first turbine in Hampshire!
You may notice that the door has been moved further up the tower. This is to reduce the overall height of the tower to 35m in order to comply with planning conditions.
Global warming is confirmed....again.
As if any more evidence was really needed, other than to convince any ultra-disbelievers still standing, news sources (BBC, The Independent) are reporting on the conclusions of the once "climate change skeptic" Professor Richard Muller who now says there is little doubt that man-made climate change is real.
Previous "scandals" (aka Climate-gate) regarding climate research conducted by the University of East Anglia can now be written off as fantasy on the part of interested parties who do not wish to see a move away from conventional fossil fuels.
Professor Muller has been an outspoken critic of climate change research and spent the last two years undertaking his own research project in which an exhaustive study of millions of historic temperature readings from around the world were collated and then analysed.
"When we began our study, we felt that sceptics had raised legitimate issues, and we didn't know what we'd find. Our results turned out to be close to those published by prior groups. We think that means that those groups had truly been very careful in their work, despite their inability to convince some sceptics of that," Professor Muller
Councils wasting money fighting wind energy schemes
We have previously written about our own experience in Cumbria where Allerdale Borough Council admitted to spending over £80,000 of tax payers money fighting (and loosing) appeals against various wind energy planning applications, including our own. It would seem even this amount is small change compared to East Ridings in Yorkshire.
Yes2Wind are reporting that East Ridings have spent a jaw-dropping £210,000 to £240,000 fighting various planning applications loosing the last 5 consecutive appeals in a row! It's good to see some councils still have plenty of money to waste on your behalf despite the cutbacks.
David Cameron on Planning Reform
Yesterday at the Conservative Party annual conference, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his support for the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) saying:
There's one more thing. Our businesses need the space to grow - literally. That's one of the reasons we're reforming our planning system. It's hard to blame local people for opposing developments when they get none of the benefits. We're changing that.
If a new manufacturing plant is built in your area - your community keeps the business rates. If new homes get built - you keep the council tax. This is a localist plan from a localist party.
Now I know people are worried about what this means for conservation. Let me tell you: I love our countryside and there's nothing I would do to put it at risk. But let's get the balance right. The proportion of land in England that is currently built up is 9 per cent. Yes, 9 per cent.
There are businesses out there desperate to expand, to hire thousands of people - but they're stuck in the mud of our planning system. Of course we're open to constructive ideas about how to get this right.
But to those who just oppose everything we're doing, my message is this: Take your arguments down to the job centre. We've got to get Britain back to work.
Let's not forget that the NPPF could be radical step forward for all industry, not just housing. The country is in the grip of an economic crisis that will be massively compounded by the effects of both climate change and energy shortages. At the same time there is currently a presumption AGAINST all wind energy schemes from micro to wind farms. THIS HAS TO CHANGE.
National Planning Policy PPS22 went a long way towards removing the obstacles put in the way of renewable energy schemes and the NPPF could help even more. We therefore welcome the Prime Ministers comments and hope the Government has the balls to push the NPPF through.
First delivery of DG001 arrives
Another milestone event today – delivery of the tower and blades for our first turbine in Hampshire!
The two tower sections together are nearly 40m long and weigh just under 30 metric tonnes. Each of the blades is 19m long. Foundation excavations are due to start next week with the concrete pour to follow shortly after.
The Hydrogen Superhighway
Lets hope it doesn't start with a bang!
The M4 in south Wales is to become a "hydrogen highway", with alternative energy refuelling points, Welsh Secretary, Peter Hain, has announced.
The scheme, to extend into south west England, is aimed at making hydrogen and electric-powered vehicles a viable alternative to petrol-driven machines. Under the plan, Wales will lead in developing alternative fuels, including hydrogen from renewable sources.
The aim is to create an extensive renewable refuelling infrastructure.
Question is, where will the hydrogen come from? We would like to see a wind turbine at every site to generate the fuel cleanly from wind power.
What will the Feed In Tariff add to my bills?
There is a LOT of misinformation and finger pointing regarding the FIT. As wind turbine developers we often get two slightly contradicting arguments used against us:
- Wind turbines are inefficient and do not produce much electricity
- Wind turbines will cause household electricity bills to rise significantly
The FIT paid is based on the amount of electricity generated, so the more inefficient and useless wind turbines are... the less the operators get paid. Conversely, if they are very efficient and generate lots of clean electricity then the payments can be large. Thus the two complaints above seem mutually exclusive.
Yes, the FIT is a subsidy, without which the UK or any part of Europe would simply not have a renewables industry.
Why is the subsidy needed? Simple, because for decades energy has been hugely undervalued. The cost of fossil fuels was predicated on an unending, ever increasing supply and the smart money now says that world oil production probably peaked a few years ago. So, today we have an energy market that is only now just starting to price in the replacement cost of the primary resource - hint... you cant just go and plant more oil and gas and there have been no new "mega fields" discovered in the last 30 years. This is why energy price inflation is in double digits and set to continue.
Because the true cost of energy is still massively undervalued it means that the cost/kWh that you can sell electricity for is still much to low to make small/medium scale projects viable. In 10..15 years time when prices have soared it might be different. In the meantime, the transition period, subsidy is required to plug the gap. Don't be fooled into thinking nuclear is not subsidised either - if the operators had to budget for clean up costs it is unlikely that any new stations will be built.
As for how much small/medium wind projects actually add to domestic energy bills, the best estimate comes from DECC (Department for Energy and Climate Change) who predict:
Our policies would increase household electricity prices by 25% in 2015 and 30% in 2020 compared to what they would have been in the absence of policies
The contribution of individual policies to the 30% policy-driven price increase estimated for 2020 is as follows: i) A third of the total cost comes from carbon pricing policies – both HMT's carbon price floor and the carbon price derived from the EU emissions trading scheme. ii) A third comes from the Energy Company Obligation – the successor policy to CERT, to be implemented from late 2012 alongside the Green Deal, mandating energy companies to install hard-to treat energy efficiency measures and make fuel poor households more energy efficient. iii) A fifth of the total policy cost comes from Electricity Market Reform's new long-term contracts. iv) A fifth comes from price support for renewables under the Renewables Obligation. v) Around 5% of the total policy costs comes from small-scale feed-in tariffs.
So an average home using 4,000kWh annually at a current rate of 15p/kwh would expect to pay £600 per year. By 2020 this could rise to £780 of which the FIT will account for just £9.
So, using DECC's optimistic figures for the take-up on all renewable technologies (including wind, solar, biomass, geo-thermal etc) under the FITS scheme, the average household will pay just £9 extra per year by 2020.
£9 a year to help save the planet - seems like very good value for money.
Will the NPPF be good for wind?
In July this year the Government published a draft of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that aims to condense several hundred pages of separate planning polices into a single 50 odd page document. Its aims are twofold:
- Reduce the red tape that is endemic in the current planning system
- Promote positive planning for sustainable development and economic recovery
The draft publication was accompanied by a loud hoo-haa over changes to policy in areas designated as Green Belt with the CPRE (among others) decrying the end of the Green Belt is nigh. However, in relation to renewable energy schemes the NPPF says that "many" such schemes are still "likely" to be incompatible with the Green Belt. It does, however open the door where it can be demonstrated that "special circumstances" exist such that the wider environmental benefit outweigh any harm to the Green Belt. This seems eminently sensible since in most Green Belt areas there are parcels of land close to major road or rail networks or other man-made structures such as electricity pylons etc.
In such areas, for example like Talbot Farm (South Glos) it seems daft to argue about inappropriate development when the site is right next to the M4!
Outside of Green Belt areas the NPPF says planners should plan positively for sustainable development of which, it says, renewable energy schemes are a key enabling technology in the transition towards a low carbon (ie sustainable) economy. It goes further to suggest there should be a "presumption in favour" of such schemes providing that national policies are adhered to.
Here lies the rub. Does the NPPF actually replace PPS1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc? Because the NPPF is quite sparse on detail it suggests that planning authorities will still use the companion guides to existing national policies (eg PPS5 for heritage and PPS22 for renewables). In a March 2011 written statement Greg Clark (the Minister of State for Decentralisation) informed planning authorities to start using the new guidelines with immediate effect. Adding:
"The Government's top priority in reforming the planning system is to promote sustainable economic growth and jobs. Government's clear expectation is that the answer to development and growth should wherever possible be 'yes', except where this would compromise the key sustainable development principles set out in national planning policy.
The Chancellor has today set out further detail on our commitment to introduce a strong presumption in favour of sustainable development in the forthcoming National Planning Policy Framework, which will expect local planning authorities to plan positively for new development; to deal promptly and favourably with applications that comply with up-to-date plans and national planning policies; and wherever possible to approve applications where plans are absent, out of date, silent or indeterminate."
According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) ...
"the document represents an attempt to condense more than 1,000 pages of existing guidance into just 52. [The NPPF is] a significant step forward in enabling the growth the UK requires."
It would appear that the NPPF represents a major shift in emphasis and it will be interesting to watch the first batch of planning refusals as they proceed through the appeals process should planning authorities not head the call to action from Mr Clark. That said, in the Impact Assessment document published alongside the NPPF the government clearly hope that the presumption in favour of sustainable development will lead to fewer planning applications ending up at appeal. Tax payers in Cumbria might appreciate this after it was leaked that just one authority alone spent over £80,000 fighting wind turbine appeals.
Cefn Parc public meeting to be held
A public consultation meeting for the proposed wind turbines at Cefn Parc will be hosted by DistGen staff on the evening of Wednesday 27th July 2011.
When: 27th July 2011, 6pm
Where: Cefn Cribwr Community Centre
There will be a brief presentation followed by a Q&A session plus a series of large scale display boards showing visual impact, predicted noise emissions and much more. Distgen staff will be on hand to provide additional information regarding specific technical questions.
JPA Brayton appeal win
After months of waiting we are delighted to announce the decision of the planning inspectorate regarding our application for a single mid-size wind turbine at Brayton Park, Aspatria...
The appeal has been upheld and planning permission is thereby granted.
The inspector's report notes that Allerdale Borough Council (ABC) refused planning permission despite a recommendation to pass from their planning officers. Instead they said the single turbine would cause unacceptable visual impact, noise and shadow flicker resulting in damage to the local landscape and tourism industry.
In awarding costs, inspector David Pinner found no evidence was provided by ABC concluding that:
The Council’s decision to refuse to grant planning permission was made in the absence of any empirical evidence to substantiate their concerns. To disregard their officers’ comprehensive analysis of the relevant issues under these circumstances amounted to unreasonable behaviour, causing the applicant unnecessary expense in having to pursue the matter to appeal. I conclude that a full award of costs is justified. The application therefore succeeds.
In a recent article it was leaked that Allerdale Borough Council has spent over £80,000 of tax payers money in the last five years alone fighting wind turbine planning appeals.
Distgen now has 3 fully consented sites, a further 4 currently in planning and many more in development.