Renewable Energy in the Countryside

Peter Prag

• Publisher: Estates Gazette
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780415523974
• eBook ISBN: 9781136243936
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Botany
• Index: Biological Sciences

Climate change has become a major international issue and the British Government is committed to meeting ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions within the present decade and beyond. Much of this will rely on an increasing use of renewable energy. Within current technology this will depend almost exclusively upon the use of rural land, whether for wind turbines, for growing biomass and biofuels or for the production of biogas. Renewable energy is therefore of immediate interest to farmers and landowners and to their advisers, such as surveyors, lawyers, accountants and bankers, as well as to planners and conservationists. This is one of very few books which addresses the issue of renewable energy from the point of view of landowners, farmers and rural land managers – those people who must make important decisions about how, where and when to install renewable energy sources on their land and the business implications of the decisions they make.

The third edition of Renewable Energy in the Countryside contains a new chapter on biogas, up-to-date discussions on the implications of the Renewable Heat Initiative and new opportunities for solar energy and ground source heat in the context of farms and country houses as well as the implications of changes in UK planning policies.

1
Introduction

The expression ‘renewable energy’ sounds like magic, as if the energy that you consume is then somehow renewed and available to be used again. In reality, of course, it is rather more prosaic and implies merely that the material from which the energy has been generated is renewable. This may be either because it is derived from a naturally recurring phenomenon such as wind or sun, or from something that can be replaced as in the case when timber or arable crops are replanted after harvesting. This is not a new concept, but it has recently taken on a new perspective and impetus. Wind and water have been used for centuries as a source of power for milling flour and then for industrial processing, as well as for irrigation. For centuries too, coppice was harvested as a fuel, for both domestic purposes and processing. In time, coal and then oil and gas replaced these traditional resources, in the industrialised nations, coupled also in due course with the harnessing of nuclear power. Recently, however, this ‘balance of power’ has changed due to concerns about energy supplies and security and about the way in which the use of fossil fuels is impacting upon the climate. As is well known, it is now widely accepted that the emissions from these fuels are contributing to an acceleration of change in the earth’s climate and a series of international agreements have been embraced across much of the world setting targets for reducing these emissions. Not everyone is convinced that the science behind this has been properly proven and there is a growing debate between these ‘sceptics’ and the political establishment. That involves some serious and largely unprecedented concepts upon which most people hold strong views, but for now the need to reduce emissions has become official policy across much of the world, including the EU and notably the UK.

International agreements

The present international accord stems from a summit held in Japan in 1997 which led to the Kyoto Protocol, under which it was agreed to set targets for reducing carbon emissions and for using energy from renewable sources in place of fossil fuels. The European Union (EU) implemented this through a Renewable Energy Directive, latterly updated in 2009, which determined that the EU should be deriving at least 20 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. This overall figure was to be achieved on the basis that all member states would commit to effecting their own particular targets, which in the case of the UK would be 15 per cent. Additionally, the EU introduced its Climate Change Programme in 2000 as a means of fulfilling the Kyoto requirement that by 2012 greenhouse gas emissions should have been reduced by 12.5 per cent from their level in 1990. This seemingly arbitrary and historic base year was chosen for a number of complex reasons but essentially to make it more feasible for the targets to be met, notably by countries within the former Soviet bloc that were at that time still operating within an under-capitalised and ‘dirty’ industrial system.

As a member country, the UK introduced legislation in 2008 that set its own gas emission targets on a programme running though 2020 to 2050,¹ by which time reductions should be achieved of 34 per cent and 80 per cent respectively. The purpose and efficacy of such a policy is discussed in Chapter 10 but its very introduction indicates the seriousness with which the issue of climate change is considered by Government. Initially it has sought to adhere to these targets partly through energy saving and essentially by producing an increasing amount of electricity and other forms of power from renewable sources.

UK policies

The main mechanism by which this might be achieved within the UK is The Renewables Obligation (RO), which was introduced in April 2002 (and also the associated Renewables (Scotland) Obligation) to replace an earlier instrument known as The Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO). It has now been followed by three further measures: the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), Feed in Tariffs (FIT) and the Renewable Heat Initiative (RHI). The workings of these arrangements are explained in some detail in Chapter 2, but the basis upon which the RO and RTFO operate is that energy suppliers are now required to show that a certain proportion of their production derives from a renewable resource, as evidenced by Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs). The FIT and RHI were introduced later, in 2010 and 2011, and provide direct financial incentives for smaller scale producers. The initial focus has been on electricity generation, for reasons also given later in Chapters 2 and 3.

The principal source of ‘renewable’ electricity has been from wind, primarily from turbines built on land but now also from installations out to sea. Many proposals for wind farms on land were delayed or abandoned, due often to problems with gaining planning permission in the face of policy restraints and public opposition, and to difficulties with costs and grid connections. The Government sought to resolve this by encouraging more turbines to be built out to sea through giving a higher rate of ROCs and taking steps to facilitate bringing the electricity on shore and linking it into the Grid. This occurred when the system of ROCs was reviewed in 2009, with ‘banding’ allowing different rates applied to different energy sources, as explained in more detail later. It was expected that the rate for on-shore turbines would be reduced and preference given to the more expensive off-shore installations. In the event, the land-based rate remained unchanged while off-shore turbines qualified for 50 per cent higher payments. The intention was originally that a total of a further 7,000 turbines would be built in and around the UK by 2020, of which about 3,000 were to be off-shore. It has meanwhile been recognised that it is unlikely that this latter target can be achieved and there is growing pressure to double the present number of land-based turbines. This situation is considered further in Chapter 2. Large-scale hydroelectric power was originally excluded from the Renewables Obligation on account of its cost and locational and other constraints, but it would now be eligible, as is the use of biomass in power stations, although it has as yet to attain viability. Solar photovoltaics, whereby sunlight is converted into electricity from panels mounted either on the roofs of buildings or on land, was newly included within both the RO and FIT. These various production methods are all referred to further in later sections, but for the present it is worth noting that each of the present available systems depends heavily on the use of land.

ROCs were designed to encourage the generation of electricity on a large commercial scale, and they have now been supplemented by the FIT, which was introduced in 2010 to support smaller systems. Installations such as single turbines or domestic solar panels with a capacity of less than 5 Megawatts (MW) are able to benefit from selling the electricity that they produce to the local commercial supplier at a premium rate. This premium is, as with ROCs, funded ultimately by the consumer, although the Government has in this case set a maximum total sum that can be used nationally for this purpose.

The Climate Change Programme is however not exclusively about electricity, although this has been the preferred option in Britain for reasons explained in the next chapter. Even with systems that produce heat, such as anaerobic digestion, the focus has been largely upon using it to drive turbines to generate electricity. This situation is, however, being addressed with the introduction of the RHI, which aims to facilitate the production and use of heat in a direct form. The RTFO was also implemented in 2007 for the production of vehicle fuels from materials such as arable crops that are cleaner and more readily replaceable than mineral oils. There have, however, been difficulties with this, as mentioned in more detail in Chapter 5.

Land use

There are other potential methods of producing energy than those mentioned here, which may not be so reliant on the use of land. Wave and tidal power are prime examples, but they are still only in prototype form and will not be in a position to contribute to the targets that have to be met in just seven years. Offshore wind turbines are being built but they are not only costly but also take time to commission, not least because they require specialist construction equipment that is in limited supply. If the targets are to be achieved, even only in part, much will depend upon installations based on land.

Landowners and farmers are therefore crucial players within this venture and without their involvement the Programme would surely founder, or be sent entirely offshore. Offshore in terms not only of the location of wind turbines but in the supply of feedstocks for biomass and biofuels which can be imported from overseas. Land used for the erection of wind turbines is acquired through private negotiation and not by some form of compulsory arrangement. Locally grown biomass is sourced from timber residues or from coppice grown under contract on agricultural land, and energy crops for the production of biofuels are also harvested from arable cultivation. Biogas can be produced from municipal and other wastes but it produces a residue that needs to be disposed of on farmland as fertiliser, while elsewhere in Europe it depends also largely on the use of farm crops and manures. Larger scale solar power can be produced from arrays of panels set on land or big roof areas in unshaded positions such as on agricultural buildings. Opportunities exist not only for sales to energy suppliers but also for individual on-farm units that exploit those same natural resources as a ‘home grown’ alternative to buying heat and light from a national network.

All this arises at a time when agriculture within the EU is undergoing a major restructuring and change of direction with an increasing emphasis on environmental criteria and diversification. These factors are now likely to be combined and it would seem that farmland is no longer required predominately for food production and, similarly, that home-grown timber is now rarely viable in its traditional form. Meanwhile, political agencies throughout Europe, and in particular the British Government, are struggling to implement an environmental programme that depends largely upon a new utilisation of land.

Farmers and landowners are likely to empathise with such a programme as they have always been naturally engaged in maintaining the rural environment, long before it became politically fashionable to do so. Not only is the concept of renewable energy considered to be so crucial to the future well-being of the environment but it offers financial rewards too. A number of incentives have been introduced in order to bring land into use for renewable energy schemes because most of them would not otherwise be considered viable when competing with fossil fuels and having to use the existing energy infrastructure. There are however, as will be explained later, many potential problems in becoming involved in renewable energy. They may well involve major construction within the countryside, such as in the case of wind turbines and their associated grid lines. Others, such as anaerobic digestion, might bring more commercial traffic along country roads and villages that are unable to absorb this increase. There are concerns, too, about using food-producing land to grow fuel crops. These issues can give rise to disputes and resentment within local communities and cause difficulties for the proponents of the schemes.

On balance, however, whether individual landowners and farmers believe in climate change or not they will certainly need to be aware of the remarkable opportunities that these policies now offer. Might it be a new utopia for farmers and landowners or a potential minefield of difficulties and disappointments? This book aims to identify the reality of what may be involved.

2
Incentives, returns and rewards

Almost all forms of renewable energy depend heavily on subsidy, as the costs of installation and infrastructure are such that they cannot derive a competitive return from prevailing market rates for power, even recently while prices of fossil fuels have been at record levels. It is important therefore at the outset to assess these subsidy arrangements and to consider particularly how they are formulated and whether there are sound reasons to expect that they will be sustained during the foreseeable future.

The UK Government is currently committed to meeting internationally agreed targets for implementing a climate-change programme. With regard to energy, the principal target is currently that 15 per cent of national electricity should be generated from renewable resources by the year 2020. There are policies also for encouraging the development of biofuels and renewable heat systems, and research is in hand on other energy sources such as from hydrogen cells and tides and waves. The priority has, however, been for electricity generation, primarily from wind turbines, but with the possibility now also of utilising anaerobic digestion (AD) and photovoltaic (PV) panels, and of fuelling power stations with biomass. There are commitments too for new nuclear and clean coal power stations. However, the support mechanisms for the renewable forms of power are the RO for larger-scale generation and FITs for smaller installations. It may be useful to consider briefly the workings of these systems in order to assess the way in which they are likely to be maintained in the future and the influence that might have on commercial developers or individual producers.

Renewable electricity

In 2001 the New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA) were introduced with the aim of trying to even out supply and demand by means of financial incentives and penalties in the contracts for generating and supplying power. Raising or lowering output from a conventional power station is reasonably feasible, especially to meet the normal seasonal variations, but controlling the supply generated by wind turbines is far more difficult, particularly as there is still no means of storing electricity on this scale. At present, generators of renewable electricity are entitled to operate outside NETA and to deal direct with suppliers. This may reduce the financial penalties that might otherwise be imposed on a fluctuating supply, but the physical limitations still remain. There are drawbacks too with using biomass, in that the process is more efficient at producing heat than electricity, but creating heating plants requires greater investment than seeking initially to adapt existing power stations.

The RO was introduced in 2002 to replace an earlier mechanism, the Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO), with the purpose of providing the necessary financial incentive for producing electricity from means other than oil, gas or coal. In essence this is the antithesis of a subsidy in that it is a government instrument whereby suppliers of electricity are compelled to deliver a specified percentage of power from renewable resources. Any electricity that has been produced from an approved source is authenticated by the issue of a Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC). While the amount of power being generated by these means is limited, and is indeed less than the percentage demanded under the Obligation, suppliers have to acquire the necessary certificates, which thereby command a premium price. This in turn enables the generators who produce electricity from renewable sources to offer attractive terms to those third parties upon whom that process depends, such as the owners of sites on which wind turbines are erected. The equation then depends upon the proportion of power that has to be matched by ROCs and the time period over which this policy is being implemented. The premium price paid by the suppliers has meanwhile been charged to the end consumer, rather than funded by government.

When first implemented, the RO was set initially at a rate of 3 per cent of total supply and programmed to rise annually until 2010 when it would be 10.4 per cent. Production at that time was at only about 1.2 per cent of UK consumption, so certificates were bound to be in demand and to attract premium prices. A difficulty arose however with the term over which the Obligation had been implemented as there was no guarantee that the system of certificates would remain in place after 2010. It was possible, therefore, even if unlikely, that the premium prices would not be sustained beyond that date. Seven years would be insufficient time within which to plan and develop a wind farm and to recoup one’s investment, particularly if it had to be sited in a relatively inefficient location due to planning and other constraints as mentioned below.

By 2004 the percentage of supply requiring certificates had risen to 4.3 per cent and the Obligation was extended to 2015, by which time the rate would be increased to 15.4 per cent. For 2010/11 it was set at 11.1 per cent for England and Wales, while different rates applied in other parts of the UK according to their perceived potential, with a figure of only 4 per cent in Northern Ireland and an aspiration in Scotland of producing 80 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020. The rising targets for renewable-energy production were coupled with new initiatives to facilitate the development of offshore wind turbines, as outlined below. In 2010 the RO itself was extended until 2037 for mainland Britain and 2033 for Northern Ireland. (The total output of ‘renewable’ electricity in 2010 amounted to just 6.6 per cent of total consumption, and of this 20 per cent came from landfill gas and 14 per cent from long established hydro schemes. Wind turbines accounted fo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Incentives, returns and rewards
• 3 Wind turbines
• 4 Solar power
• 5 Biomass
• 6 Biogas
• 7 Biofuels
• 8 Earth and water
• 9 Emissions saving
• 10 Future imperfect
• Glossary
• Notes
• Index