Why is planning for renewable and low carbon energy important?

Increasing the amount of energy from renewable and low carbon technologies
will help to make sure the UK has a secure energy supply, reduce greenhouse
gas emissions to slow down climate change and stimulate investment in new
jobs and businesses. Planning has an important role in the delivery of new
renewable and low carbon energy infrastructure in locations where the local
environmental impact is acceptable.
http://planningguidance.communities.gov.uk/blog/guidance/renewable
-and-low-carbon-energy/planning-for-renewable-low-carbon-energy-in
troduction/
How can local planning authorities develop a positive strategy to
promote the delivery of renewable and low carbon energy?
The National Planning Policy Framework explains that all communities have a
responsibility to help increase the use and supply of green energy, but this
does not mean that the need for renewable energy automatically overrides
environmental protections and the planning concerns of local communities. As
with other types of development, it is important that the planning concerns of
local communities are properly heard in matters that directly affect them.
Local and neighbourhood plans are the key to delivering development that
has the backing of local communities. When drawing up a Local Plan local
planning authorities should first consider what the local potential is for
renewable and low carbon energy generation. In considering that potential,
the matters local planning authorities should think about include:
the range of technologies that could be accommodated and the policies

How can local planning authorities identify suitable areas for renewable
and low carbon energy?
There are no hard and fast rules about how suitable areas for renewable energy
should be identified, but in considering locations, local planning authorities will
need to ensure they take into account therequirements of the technologyand,
critically, the potential impacts on the local environment, including from
cumulative impacts. The views of local communities likely to be affected should
be listened to.
When identifying suitable areas it is also important to set out the factors that will
be taken into account when considering individual proposals in these areas. These
factors may be dependent on the investigatory work underpinning the identified
area.
There is a methodology available from the Department of Energy and Climate
Changes website on assessing the capacity for renewable energy development
which can be used and there may be existing local assessments. However, the
impact of some types of technologies may have changed since assessments were
drawn up (e.g. the size of wind turbines has been increasing). In considering
impacts, assessments can use tools to identify where impacts are likely to be
acceptable. For example, landscape character areas could form the basis for
considering which technologies at which scale may be appropriate in different
types of location. Landscape Character Assessment is a process used to explain
the type and characteristics of landscape in an area. Natural England has used
Landscape Character Assessment to identify 159 National Character Areas in
England which provide a national level database. Landscape Character

What are the planning considerations that relate to specific renewable

energy technologies?
Renewable energy developments should be acceptable for their proposed location.
In addition to the factors that should be considered regarding the acceptability of a
location for any form ofrenewable energy developmentthere are particular
considerations for the following technologies:hydropower,
active solar technology (photovoltaics and solar water heating),solar farmsand
wind turbines. Also, local planning authorities may wish to consider how planning
conditions or planning obligations can mitigate the impacts described.

Changing the way we design new communities

using a renewable energy systems approachwith
sustainable planning, net zero-energy homes,
advanced vehicles, and innovative utility
interconnectionscould significantly decrease this
energy use, as well as its associated emissions and
climate change impacts,
The Renewable Energy Community, as
conceptually defined by NREL, is a state-of-the- art
community in which integrated, renewable energy
technologies play the primary role in meeting the
energy supply and demand needs of its residents,
with the possibility of providing excess energy
back to the grid or other communities. At a
minimum, this community will have near-zero or
zero-energy homes (ZEHs), integrated
transportation modes with advanced vehicles, local
renewable energy generation, and incorporate
sustainable living practices. The community will
provide economic benefits and a positive impact on
quality of life. A Renewable Energy Community
places added emphasis on the energy element of a
sustainable community by being powered largely
from renewable energy and by integrating power

Integrating the Renewable Energy Community as a

whole system can accrue significant benefits. Cost
advantages from the systems approachlinking
homes with vehicles and addressing energy issues
on a community level rather than on individual
households can be gained compared to the costs
of each individual part. Some financial benefits are
reduced monthly expenditures with more
renewable/energy efficient equipment; tax
advantages and financial incentives (ex.
green bonds7); and green mortgages
that incorporate advanced vehicles along
with renewable technology.
Green Bonds are an innovative initiative
to generate sustainable income for a
variety of environmental conscious
projects

Key Elements for a Renewable Energy

Community NREL has outlined five elements needed to become a
Renewable Energy Community: 1. Sustainable Design Approach 2. Solar/Zero
Energy Buildings and/or Micro-Grids 3. Advanced and Energy Efficient
Transportation 4. Utility Role ExpansionPower Generation and Load
Management 5. Putting it All Together for a Renewable Energy Community
These are all elements that can contribute significantly to decreasing the
conventional energy requirements of a home or building. In general, these
communities aim to include attributes such as: Energy efficient construction
(i.e. building envelope, HVAC systems, and appliances)
Passive solar design and lot positioning Community layout to reduce
vehicle use, increase walkability, and provide access to
mass transit
Recycling and water conservation
Ecological integrity Social equity Cultural and historical vitality.

For buildings, efficient home design and orientation

can reduce the need for building energy use before
ever buying any energy equipment by maximizing
the use of passive solar design (to minimize solar
gain in warm climates, and maximize in cool
climates), daylighting, and natural ventilation and
shading. There are many degrees of sustainable
design that can be applied to individual buildings
and\or communities. For instance the Packard
Foundation identifies six categories of buildings
ranging from the market building, defined as a
conventional building, to a living building,
defined as one that has a net zero annual impact on
the environment from an operational standpoint. 10, 11
The U.S. Green Buildings Council
Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design- Neighborhood Development
(LEED-ND)13 certification program
recognizes these green neighborhoods.

Solar/Zero Energy Buildings and/or MicroGrids Building on the sustainably planned

communities in step one includes incorporating
renewable energy technologies, such as
solar/photovoltaics (PV) on rooftops, to become
solar/zero-energy homes, or a communitybased,
renewable power generation system (micro- grids).
Whats a ZEB cost and whos willing
to pay? NREL has developed data on the
added cost of net zero homes in various
locations throughout the U.S. and has
compiled survey results on consumer
attitudes and the premium consumers
are willing to pay for various renewable
and energy efficiency features in new
housing. Check out two papers: (1)
Analysis of Residential Systems
Targeting Least Cost Solutions Leading to
Net Zero-energy Homes, and (2) A New
Market Paradigm for Zero-Energy Homes:
The Comparative San Diego, at:
www.nrel.gov/publications.

Zero-energy buildings (ZEBs), as conceptu

defined by the U.S. Department of Energy
are residential or commercial buildings w
greatly reduced needs for energy through e
gains, with the balance of energy needs su
renewable technologies15. Most ZEBs feat
on the roof and energy efficient constructi
reach net-zero-energy use. Through the Bu
America private/public partnership the U.S
has supported construction of more than 3
zero or near-zero net energy homes, seekin
50% utility bill savings and collected data
cost-effectiveness. Many of the larger hom
developments are in California, because o
combination of state and local rebate and o
incentive programs for renewable energy,

Micro-Grids (or community based renewable power generation systems) can use centralized or
decentralized sources of power. For example, the power source could be a wind farm, solar
thermal generating station, PV field, or other central facility located near the community. Power
could also come to the micro-grid from rooftop PV, small wind turbines, or other decentralized
power generators distributed throughout the community, but connected. A micro-grid requires
energy storage devices or use of the grid as backup power. Renewable micro-grids may be a key
element to provide adequate power for the future through renewable and other clean energy
sources that will not degrade air quality. (See Table 1 below for a comparison of central versus
distributed approach to renewable energy generation.)
Pardee Homes has built hundreds of homes in Southern California and the
Las Vegas, Nevada area.16 GrupeGreens Whitney Ranch development in
Rocklin, California offers 144 homes promising utility savings up to 70%.17
Clarum Homes Vista Montana development was so well received that they
are now building only zero-energy homes with solar in the San Francisco and
Southern California and Arizona desert areas.18 Premier Homes, in
Sacramento, California, in conjunction with the utility district, built 95 homes
designed to save 60% on utility bills.19 Solar Village, Prospect New Town,
Longmont, Colorado, is a mixed use green built village of condos, lofts, flats,
a yoga studio, ice cream parlor, and a high-end restaurant. It includes solar
assisted radiant floor heating, efficient lighting and appliances, passive solar
design, and energy efficient building materials. It claims electric and gas bills
that average $20 per month because of these efficient and renewable
features. Chula Vista, California Research Initiative. The goal of this
research initiative is to develop a model process and designs for energy-

Examples of Communities Exploring MicroGrids Sonoma Mountain Village, Rohnert Park,

California. This community is sited on a 200-acre
former business campus site that is being converted
to a mixed use development. The community has
incorporated a centralized 1.14 MW photovoltaic
rooftop power plant.21, 22 BioTown, Reynolds,
Indiana. The existing town o Reynolds, Indiana,
has declared itself BioTown, seeking initially to
have the highest per capita use of ethanol,
biodiesel, and flex-fuel vehicles. Longer-range
plans though include meeting th towns energy
needs by using agricultural residues and municipal
waste to produce both electricity and natural gas.

Technologies include: photovoltai

solar thermal heat and electric; sol
preheating; solar water heating; bi
electric (combustion, gasification,
anaerobic digestion); and daylight

While Indian country comprises only five percent of

There are many energy generating resources that
the land area of the United States, it contains an
estimated ten percent of all energy resources in the renew naturally: biomass, wind, solar, hydro and
geothermal heat to name a few. Renewable
United States.
resource availability is highly localized and the
resource varies greatly with geography.
Renewable energy potential in Indian
It is important to recognize that the costcountry is even more significant. NREL
has estimated that there is the potential effectiveness of a renewable energy project
depends upon whether the cost of developing the
for about 535 billion kWh/year of wind
energy alone available on Indian lands in renewable power source is less (or not
unacceptably more) than the cost of an available
the contiguous 48 states, which is
conventional resource. In many cases, the expense
equivalent to 14 percent of current U.S.
of building transmission from the renewable
total annual energy generation. NREL
estimates that there is also 17,600 billion resource to the main power grid may tip the
balance against the viability of a renewable energy
kWh/year of solar energy potential on
project.
Indian lands in the lower 48 states; this
amount is equivalent to 4.5 times the
total
U.S. electric generation in 2004.5 In
addition, Indian Country will continue to
Tax credits provide dollar-for-dollar reductions in
play a growing role in transmission
an energy-producing taxpayers federal income tax
infrastructure throughout the nation.
liability.

Governmental bodies, including Indian tribal governments, are also eligible to issue new clean
renewable energy bonds (CREBs) to finance qualified renewable energy facilities. The advantage
of a CREB is that the federal government effectively pays a portion of the issuers interest expense
through a federal tax credit available to the bondholders in lieu of interest. A qualified renewable
energy facility includes a wind facility, closed-loop biomass facility, open-loop biomass facility,
geothermal or solar energy facility, small irrigation power facility, landfill gas facility, trash facility
and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities owned by an Indian tribal government or
any political subdivision thereof.
Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds
Governmental bodies, including Indian tribal governments, are eligible to issue
qualified energy conservation bonds if 100 percent of the available project
proceeds are used for one or more qualified conservation purposes.
Like CREBS, qualified energy conservation bonds are tax credit bonds, where
the issuer repays the principal amount of the bonds plus a portion of the
interest and the bondholder receives federal tax credits in lieu of the remaining
interest.
The 2010 HIRE Act also permits issuers of qualified energy conservation bonds
to receive a cash payment from the federal government in lieu of a tax credit.
The cash payment is equal to the lesser of (i) the amount of interest payable
under the bond, or (ii) 70% of the amount of interest which would have been
payable under the bond if the interest were determined at the applicable credit
rate published by the U.S. Treasury Department for the date the bonds were
sold. The cash payment option applies to qualified energy conservation bonds
issued after March 18, 2010.
Qualified conservation purposes includes the production of electricity from

Location: Weardale, County Durham

Eastgate Renewable Energy Village has been dubbed one o

ncentives .
the most imaginative rural regeneration projects to be
1. Investment Tax
granted planning permission in the UK in recent times.
2. Production Tax Credit
The new village, on the site of the former Weardale cement
3. Clean Renewable Energy Bonds
4. Accelerated Depreciation works, will demonstrate the use of all five forms of land5. Capacity Payment Tariff based renewable energy wind, solar, biomass, hydro and
geothermal in a living and working environment.
6. Demand Credit
With a hot springs spa at its heart utilising natural hot
7. Buy Down Capital Cost
water from underground the existence of which was
8. Carbon Credits
9. Property Tax Incentives confirmed by test drilling in 2004 the village will serve as
an education resource and a tourist attraction. Sufficient
10. Other Incentives
electricity will be generated on-site not only for the new
village but all 3,000 homes in Weardale, located high up in
the North Pennines.
David Lock Associates has been centrally involved in the
preparation and evolution of the plans since the closure of
the cement works was announced in 2002, this including
four rounds of public consultation. The company continues
to be active on the project, currently acting as lead
consultant in its implementation

Exploring renewable energy

To get people thinking about energy, both within your group and across the
broader community, here
are some questions you could ask1:
What opportunities are there for renewable electricity generation in your area?
What opportunities are there for renewable heat generation in your area?
How do households and businesses feel about energy costs? Are rising energy
bills a problem?
Would your community support energy schemes which are owned by and
benefit them?
How might you use the revenue from your renewable energy project to make
households and
businesses less vulnerable to rising fuel costs, for example through energy
efficiency schemes? Could
you use the income to improve local services and build long term community
resilience? Are there
key local facilities and/or services missing or threatened with closure in your
community that could
be re-opened or supported (e.g. libraries, pubs, the village shop, a community
bus service)?
Would you be open to commercial renewable energy developments, or joint
ventures with
commercial renewable energy companies? How can you make sure these bring
the most benefit to

Is there an opportunity to create a district heating network? Are there significant

heat users that could
form the basis for a district heating network (e.g. power stations, heavy industry,
swimming pools, a
nursing home, hospital, college etc)?
If a district heating network is planned, could you require individual
developments to be capable of
connecting to this system?
If your area is coastal or has a working port, would your community support
marine energy and the
onshore industries which could grow around it? For example, Hull is attracting
millions of pounds of
investment and up to 1,000 jobs from offshore wind farm construction:
www.bbc.in/1Chs9Uj.
Increasingly smart measures, such as matching energy supply with demand
and energy storage will
become available. Does the community want to encourage these technologies to
help tackle the cost
of energy?

 Community energy: the NPPF states that local planning authorities should
recognise the responsibility on
all communities to contribute to energy generation from renewable or low carbon
sourcesThey should
support community-led initiatives for renewable and low carbon energy. Very few
local plans have
policy to reflect this national objective (many local plans were adopted before the
NPPF was published)
your neighbourhood plan is a great opportunity to create this local policy!
Local resource: if you live in an area that has good potential for particular kinds
of renewable energy (e.g.
energy from waste in a neighbourhood that is very agricultural), and your
community is theoretically
supportive of these, could you include policy detail that stresses this? Some local
planning authorities
have adopted a Merton Rule type policy, requiring a minimum proportion of new
developments energy
demand to be met by on-site renewable energy. If your local council doesnt have
such a policy, you