Last update:

31st July 2008

Quick links:

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy in the South West

Sub-regional renewable energy

Links to more information about renewable energy in the counties

What you can do to reduce your energy use

Energy consumption in the South West

Climate change

Carbon dioxide emissions in the South West

Industry in the South West

Useful websites:

Regen SW

Energy Saving Trust

British Wind Energy Association

Terence O'Rourke/ETSU report for GOSW

Environment Agency's renewable energy pages

National Wind Power

Renewable energy

What's new on this page...

• Regen SW 2008 renewable energy survey
• Green NGO's publish report on analysis of the economics of a Severn Barrage
• The Severn Estuary barrage - Environment Agency, Countryside Council for Wales and Natural England position statement
• Meeting the energy challenge - the Energy White Paper published
• New interactive map of renewable energy projects in the South West

Energy use is a major contributor to climate change, a fact that is driving the development of renewable energy schemes. Defra estimates that energy use in the home is responsible for 25% of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions.

A national target has been set, which requires 10% of all electricity to come from renewable sources by 2010.

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy is the term used to describe energy flows that occur naturally and continuously in the environment, such as energy from the wind, waves or tides. The origin of the majority of these sources can be traced back to either the sun (energy from the sun helps to drive the earth’s weather patterns) or the gravitational effects of the sun and the moon. This means that these sources are essentially inexhaustible.

The drive to develop renewable energy schemes is heavily steered by the fact that energy use is a major contribution to climate change.

The Severn Barrage

The Severn Estuary has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world. The idea of building a barrage across the estuary to generate electricity from this huge, dependable source of energy was looked at in detail in the 1970s and '80s, and is being considered again in the light of pressures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A barrage would bring some environmental benefits by replacing other forms of generation which cause more pollution. This would help to reduce our emissions of gasses such as carbon dioxide which contribute to climate change. Supporters also believe it would bring wider benefits to the economy.

But there’s a down side. The estuary supports important habitats and a unique ecology which have strong protection under international law. The construction of a barrage would have significant impacts on the estuary, for example on wildlife, flood protection, navigation and the landscape.

The Environment Agency, Countryside Council for Wales and English Nature (now Natural England) have jointly prepared a position statement, which considers the issues in more detail.

The Agencies are all agreed that no-one should push ahead with plans for a barrage without carefully studying all its implications, including legal considerations. There should also be careful consideration of whether there are other, less damaging, ways of tapping the Severn's tidal energy.

Green NGO's publish report on analysis of the economics of a Severn Barrage

Background

The UK Government has, with the support of the Welsh Assembly Government and SW England Regional Development Agency, established a feasibility study to determine whether, in the context of its energy and climate change goals, and the alternative options for achieving these, it could support a tidal power project in the Severn Estuary and on what terms. This study is being undertaken at a time when the UK is considering how to meet its obligation to the binding target for 20% of EU’s energy (electricity, heat and transport) to come from renewable sources by 2020. The UK has intimated that, to contribute its fair share to the target, it will seek to generate 15% of its energy (and up to 40% of electricity) from renewable sources.

The Frontier Economics Report commissioned by NGO partners

Ten non-governmental organisations joined forces to ensure that the feasibility study fully explores the appropriate role of the UK Government in supporting major energy projects; and considers the alternatives to and the opportunity costs of different energy projects in the Severn. To this end, the consortium commissioned Frontier Economics (Europe's leading economic consultancy) to examine:

1. The framework within which the UK Government should analyse the costs and benefits of a barrage across the Severn, and consider the implications for its role in such a project.
2. How the cost of current proposals for a Severn barrage compare with alternative means of electricity generation.

The report concludes that:

• According to government’s own framework for deciding how best to spend taxpayer’s money, it would be difficult to justify support specifically for a Severn barrage.
• A large barrage on the Severn would be expensive compared with alternative ways of generating renewable electricity
• There appears to be sufficient capacity in other, cheaper, renewable technologies to meet a barrage’s output and deliver the UK Government’s obligation under the EU target for 20% of EU energy to come from renewable sources by 2020.

Download the full report here: Analysis of a Severn Barrage (pdf file)

Renewable energy in the South West

The Regional Renewable Energy Strategy (Regen SW, 2003) outlines plans for generating up to 15% of the region’s power from renewable sources by 2010. The South West has led the way with national ‘firsts’ in wind, bio-energy and waste technologies and the Strategy builds on the region’s track record of innovation and proposes real measures to generate up to 15% of the region’s own power from renewable sources.

50 actions are identified in the Strategy to ensure the South West remains at the forefront of the UK’s renewable energy industry, including working with farmers to develop energy crops, mapping the potential for renewable energy for every county in the region, and supporting experimental projects in wave and tidal power.

The South West has adopted a target of 15% or 597 megawatts of electricity to be produced by renewable sources by 2010.  The region has a very long way to go before this target will be met, however there has been positive growth in the renewable energy sector over the last 12 months.

A summary of current renewable energy activities in the South West is available from Regen SW

Regen SW 2008 renewable energy survey

The Regen SW 2008 renewable energy survey of the South West reveals that the South West's installed renewable energy capacity has grown by 15% (25 MW) in the past year, and almost 90 MW of new capacity has been approved and is waiting to be built.

Summary of findings:

• The south west’s installed renewable energy generation has grown by 15% in the last year. Nevertheless the total installed capacity of 190 megawatts (MW) is still very small, and we estimate that only 1% of the energy consumed in the region as heat and power currently derives from renewable sources.
• Despite this small percentage, the carbon impact of renewable energy generation is significant and results in savings of 477,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Renewable energy sales in the region also contribute a third of the turnover of the south west renewable energy business sector, which supports 4,000 full time employees in the region
• Regen SW expect renewable output to grow significantly in the next two years as approved wind schemes get built and the renewable heat market begins to mature
• The long development times for large scale renewable electricity schemes, where it takes a minimum of three years to get a proposal approved, means that this survey largely reflects planning and investment decisions taken in the first half of this decade
• It is now inevitable that the region will miss its 2010 target of securing 11-15% of generating capacity from renewable sources (estimated at 597 MW), although current schemes in the pipeline suggest that the region could get approximately half way towards the target. This increases the pressure on the region to attract and to approve new large-scale renewable electricity schemes as we respond to the UK’s new 2020 renewables target
• The region continues to make steady progress in renewable heat installations, with the majority of the increase coming from the installation of biomass boilers as a replacement for oil fired heating
• There has been a very rapid increase in micro renewable installations in the south west in the last year, both for electricity and in heat technologies, and installations have more than doubled to 1,100. The increase in micro renewable installations is particularly noticeable in Devon and Cornwall, where local agencies Renewable Energy for Devon (RE4D) and the Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership (CSEP) have run support programmes that appear to be making a real impact
• Unfortunately the small capacity of microgeneration installations means that even the large numbers of installations seen in the last year have a relatively small impact on total renewable energy generated in the region. By way of comparison, the 85 new PV installations fitted during the last year will produce approximately two per cent of the power generated by the new three-turbine wind cluster at Avonmouth.
  

The counties that experienced the greatest growth in installed renewable capacity in the last year were Cornwall, the former Avon and Devon. The counties that experienced the weakest growth were Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

County Breakdown of renewable energy capacity

Renewable electricity summary:

• Over the past 12 months, the growth in the capacity of renewable electricity in the south west of England has been slow, with the majority of progress coming from wind energy schemes
• The installed capacity for renewable electricity now stands at 151 MW, up 13.9 MW since the last survey. The majority of this increase is due to the installation of a 6 MW wind farm at Avonmouth Docks, a 1.7 MW wind farm at Roskrow Barton in Cornwall (which was initially given planning permission in 2004), and a newly-accredited 1 MW landfill gas site at Studley Grange in Swindon
• The survey identified 390 grid-connected renewable electricity projects in the region, which is almost double the amount from the 2007 survey. The majority of these are residential installations of solar photovoltaics
• An additional 175 projects have been identified since the last survey was undertaken in April 2007, and at least 60 of these have been installed in the last year. Other schemes have been identified as a result of better reporting
• Landfill gas is still the largest source of renewable power in the region. There are 32 landfill gas schemes making up 48.34% of total installed renewable electricity capacity. Other technologies and their breakdowns include:
  • 107 wind installations (62 of which are small residential installations); 35.3% of total capacity
  • 20 sewage gas installations; 7.56% of total installed capacity
  • 0 small hydro installations; 6.02% of total installed capacity
  • 74 solar PV installations; 0.74% of total installed capacity
  • advanced treatment of waste installations; 2.04% of total installed capacity
  • combined heat and power installations; 0.008% of total installed capacity
• Renewable electricity schemes in the region are now producing enough electricity to power the equivalent of 150,929 homes, avoiding the production of 451,279 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year
• The region has approximately 90 MW of projects that have been approved in the last couple of years that are not yet built. These include a 66 MW wind farm that was approved at Fullabrook Down in North Devon in October 2007. The 22-turbine scheme, which should be in operation in 2010, will more than triple the current renewable electricity capacity in Devon and increase the current capacity for the region by over 43%.
• Cornwall is still the region’s leading county in terms of renewable electricity capacity, followed by Devon. Former Avon has shown the largest increase in capacity, rising over 50% from 11.47 to 17.47 as a result of the 6 MW wind farm at Avonmouth
• a. Energy generated has been estimated using the following capacity factors for different renewable energy technologies: LFG 80%; wind 30%; sewage gas 60%; small hydro 25%; advanced thermal technology 80% and PV 30%.
• b. The number of equivalent homes powered is based on the assumption that an average house consumes 5,000 units of electricity (kWh) a year.
• c. Carbon savings are based on a DTI figure that the average carbon dioxide emission per kWh of electricity generated in the UK is 0.598 kg.

Renewable heat summary

• The survey identified 968 renewable heat projects in the south west, which is more than double the number of installations recorded in last year’s survey. The majority of these are residential installations.
• The installed capacity of these projects is 39.66 MW, which is an increase of 11.81 MW (33.8%) on the 2007 survey
• Biomass thermal accounts for the majority of the increase, charting an increase in capacity of 60% (6.04 MW) over the previous year. Heat pump capacity has increased by 56% (2.45 MW), and solar thermal capacity has increased by 257% (3.19 MW)
• Unlike the 2007 survey, none of the new renewable heat installations are above one megawatt of capacity
• Biomass thermal is the strongest performing renewable heat sub-sector, making up 41.7% (16.1 MW) of the region’s total installed renewable heat capacity
• Other technologies and their breakdowns:
  • Sewage gas CHP makes up 30.99% (12.29 MW) of the region’s total installed renewable heat capacity
  • Heat pumps make up 17.3% (6.83 MW) of the region’s total installed renewable heat capacity
  • Solar thermal makes up 11.17% (4.43 MW) of the region’s total installed renewable heat capacity
• Cornwall has overtaken former Avon as the county with the highest renewable heat capacity, increasing its capacity by over 50% to 11.63 MW. Devon has risen into second place, increasing its renewable heat capacity by over 70% to 9.43 MW

Download the 2008 survey for full details, including county breakdowns.

Further guidance on renewable energy has been developed for the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). This includes sub-regional renewable electricity targets to 2010 and regional heat and electricity targets for 2020, as well as requirements for building integrated renewables in new developments. It has been developed as part of the REvision 2010 and REvision 2020 projects and is informed by landscape sensitivity assessments. There are also challenging policy requirements for low carbon developments in the draft RSS.

The region is making very slow progress towards its 2010 renewable electricity target of securing 11-15% of generating capacity from renewable sources (approximately 597MW). We will miss this target unless the rate of construction increases.

Links to more information about renewable energy in the South West's counties

Contact us if you know of renewable energy links that have not been mentioned

National perspective

Renewable energy is an integral part of the Government’s long- term aim of reducing CO2 emissions by 60% by 2050. A national target of 10% of electricity supply to be generated from renewable energy by 2010 has been set.

In 2004, 3.58% of the UK’s electricity supply came from sources of renewable energy. The majority of this energy came from large-scale hydro power, followed by landfill gas (DTI, 2005).

European & worldwide perspective

Policies for renewable energy exist in at least 45 countries worldwide, 43 of which had a national target for renewable energy supply by mid-2005. Worldwide renewable power capacity currently stands at 160GW (excluding large hydropower), equivalent to around one-fifth of the world’s nuclear power plants. This accounts for 4% of the total global power capacity, 44% (70GW) of which is produced in developing countries (REN21, 2005).

Renewable energy production has increased rapidly in Europe, but from a low starting point. Despite increased support renewable energy currently provides just 6% of total energy consumption. In 2007 the EU is to set a formal target of for the use of renewable fuels after 2010. Currently a 20% target has been proposed to be reached by 2020 (European Environment Agency, 2005).

What you can do to reduce your energy use

A review of websites and organisations that will help you to understand and reduce your energy use is available in the what you can do section of this website.

In November 2005, the government announced a £30m funding package aimed at promoting renewable electricity sources and reducing carbon emissions, giving local community projects and individuals funding to generate their own electricity. The Energy Saving Trust provides advice on making the most of your energy, from energy efficiencyto funding & grants available including Low Carbon Buildings Trust.

An additional £50 million extra funding for microgeneration (home or business energy generation such as mini wind turbines, solar panels and other small scale technologies) was announced in the 2006 budget. In 2004 there were approximately 82,000 microgeneration installations in the UK. Yet a study commissioned by the DTI from the Energy Saving Trust suggested that by 2050, microgeneration could provide 30–40% of the UK's electricity needs and help reduce household carbon emissions by 15% per annum (DTI, 2006).