3.0 Current Activities in Cheshire
Brief Introduction
The flow diagram demonstrates the links between existing groups and
organisations in the Northwest. This network is rapidly expanding as
new organisations or northwest representatives of national organisations
are being set up, for example the Carbon Trust recently set up a regional
post to oversee and support their programmes within the region. There
are also large organisations such as the utilities operating in the
area, actively seeking sites for planning and development, as they
have now been set new renewable targets to achieve. However, what has
not been addressed is the need for raising awareness and information
on a local level of the issues around these developments. There is
also a need for information and support for public sector, small-scale
community and domestic implementation of renewables.
The Cheshire Renewables Energy Initiative (CREI) was set up in July
2002 to provide such a local service, which complements and supports
other activities. It will also provide opportunities for access to
national support, where the government commitment to sustainable technologies
will be releasing grant monies for renewables and related projects.
By supporting the CREI, Cheshire groups and organisations can benefit
from links with the Northwest and national networks, whilst placing
Cheshire at the forefront of this changing market, bringing new opportunities
for the area.
Members of the CREI
The CREI was set up by Energy Projects Plus, with support from Cheshire
County Council and local district officers.
Energy Projects Plus (Epplus):
Is a registered charity. It is the parent body of Cheshire and Merseyside
Energy Efficiency Advice Centre’s (Cheeac and Meeac), the two
Centre’s are part of a successful national network, part funded
by the Energy Saving Trust. Epplus also provides project management
for HecAction and other ECA or RSL schemes in support of their HECA
work. Epplus experience and skills also includes training staff and
small and medium sized business advice (SME’s), recently awarded
a new SME pilot project for the North West. It has also been recently
awarded a new local authority support project (LASP) for Cheshire,
having successfully piloted LASP in the Merseyside area. Both the SME
project and LASP will provide support for the Renewable Energy Service.
Epplus staff have managed projects with elements of renewable advice
and promotions.
The following list details the membership of the CREI:
John Pearson, Cheshire County Council (Website Co-ordination)
HECA officers:
Cath Forkin, Chester City Council
Alastair Bain, Congleton Borough Council
John Tinsley, Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council
Les Laws, Ellesmere Port & Neston Borough Council
Phil Brown, Halton Borough Council
Tony Wright, Macclesfield Borough Council
Helen Catterson, Vale Royal Borough Council
Kevin Normansell, Warrington Borough Council
Laura Needham, LA21 Officer, Vale Royal Borough Council, (represents
Cheshire LA21 group)
Matthew Woolley, Energy Efficiency Officer, Weaver Vale Housing Trust
Peter Owen, General Manager, Energy Projects Plus
Jane O’Brien, Business Development Manager, Energy Projects
Plus (CREI Co-ordinator)
Eric Whitworth, Cheshire LASP Co-ordinator (Facilitator of CREI Meetings)
Dave Hayman SME advice service - ActionEnergy
Fiona Nicholls, Sustainability North West
Conal Kearney, Cheshire County Council, (attends North West Climate
Change Group)
Lee Dudley, The Mersey Forest
Ian Dale, Cheshire County Council
Malcolm Bebbington, Scottish Power
Linda Dixon, Centrica
Barry Johnson, SolarTwin
3.2 CREI Current projects and successes
CREI Website
The website was set up by Cheshire County to provide a Cheshire site
for information on local schemes or projects, useful local and national
contacts. Also to provide a link to other useful sites and promote
renewables within Cheshire. It is still a new development, it began
in October 2002, but it is a very useful tool and has provided the
CREI with a focal point for information.
Renewables training in Congleton
A pilot programme is taking place supported by Congleton Borough Council
to raise the awareness of renewables and the strategic policies that
influence local issues. Initially there will be 3 sessions, feedback
will be provided to members and on the CREI website.
Cheshire LASP event 4th April 2003
The Cheshire LASP is currently organising an event for 3rd April 2003
to be held in Winsford. The aims of the event are to strengthen and
facilitate partnership working regarding energy efficiency and the
use of renewable energy, between and within Local Authorities, health
sector workers, community workers, social housing providers, environmental
and voluntary organisations and both regional and national government.
It is envisaged that local planners will be invited to this event
as well as any Parish Councils involved in the Countryside Agency’s “Vital
Villages” project to develop Parish Plans. The Community Renewables
Initiative supported by the Countryside Agency is aimed at rural
communities and LASP can assist with advice and assistance in obtaining
information and funding for projects developed as part of the Parish
Plan scoping exercise.
Vale Royal Renewable Event
Vale Royal Borough Council are ensuring the Energy Efficiency Advisors
from CHEEAC receive renewables training from The Centre for Continueing
Education, University of Wales in May, ready for a summer event at
the Civic Hall in Northwich. The event will be open to the public
with information stands and other activities to raise awareness of
renewable options for the local area.
Warrington Museum Environmental Summer Exhibition 2003
Warrington is holding a major exhibition on the environment which will
be developed and implemented by Macclynleth Centre for Alternative
Technology. Energy Projects Plus will assist with the exhibition
and promote energy efficiency and renewables in partnership with
Warrington’s Energy House 21.
Schools renewables pack
To assist teachers a schools renewables pack is being developed and
will be available from Cheshire County Council, it will provide relevant
information and gadgets such as a solar car making kit.
Biomass
A proposal for a biomass plant at the lionsaltworks Museum, Northwich
has secured funding to
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take on consultant to ascertain the correct boiler plant for biomass scheme.
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To link with local suppliers of wood, developing a wood supply chain for the area
News Release
29 January 2003
Partnership provides solar energy in rural Cheshire
Weaver Vale Housing Trust has teamed up
with Scottish Power (who donated this solar water heating system
to the CREI), and the Powys Energy
Agency to install one of the first solar panels – for domestic
use - in Cheshire.
In collaboration with Scottish Power, the Powys Energy Agency has been
identifying and installing solar water heating into selected homes.
This is a pilot project measuring and analysing the contribution that
solar thermal energy can make to domestic energy use in rural areas.
To date 5 systems have been installed with more in the pipeline. Two
teams of plumbers and heating engineering contractors have been trained,
on the job, in solar water heating installations.
The solar panel is an evacuated tube system, using metal plate collectors
running through vacuum tubes. The solar collectors convert direct and
diffused solar radiation into heat, therefore working all year round.
On bright winter days, the systems will heat the water as in the summer,
on duller days it will pre-heat the water to reduce the use of conventional
fuels.
The latest solar panel has been fitted at a Trust property in Tarporley,
with tenant Beverley Rowlands welcoming the new fixture.
Matthew Woolley, (far right) energy efficiency officer at Weaver Vale Housing Trust, said: “We wanted to prove that solar energy really works and it will provide as much as 70% of the household's annual hot water requirement.
Malcolm Bebbington, (centre) energy efficiency manager for Scottish Power, said: “It’s important to promote the use of solar energy and that is why we have funded this project.
“At the moment, it’s quite expensive to install a solar panel but in years to come it will become cheaper.
“It took one day to install the system and it’s the first
system of its kind that we have installed in Cheshire,” he added.
3.3 Solar in Cheshire
The are three main types of solar power available to homes and businesses:
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Passive solar – Integrating solar gain in building design, an opportunity to reduce the amount of heat required for a building. The most simplistic way to achieve this is to place large window areas in southerly exterior walls and minimise the window area in northerly aspects.
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Solar water heating – Solar panels usually evacuated tube arrays (Weaver Vale Housing Trust installation), will provide 50% or more of hot water requirements for the average household
An example of a commercial sized successful solar hot water heating system is in Halton, developed and implemented by the district council it provides hot water for a large public building. The area of the array was reduced by a factor of 4 as the design incorporated a tracking system which moves the array to obtain the optimum solar gain available during each day. The scheme has been very successful with hot water temperatures much higher than projected targets. It has also received an award as recognition for the innovative tracking system approach.
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Photovoltaic systems – Provide heating and electricity for homes or businesses. They are much more costly than solar panels but have additional benefits. There are government grants available which cut the cost of PV’s by at least 50%, to encourage the market demand and create employment opportunities in this sector. There are many other uses for PV’s including: street lighting, sign lighting, bus stops, garden lighting etc..
Installers in Cheshire
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SolarTwin, Chester
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The Solar Design Company, Wirral
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Grizedale
There are two solar pv installers that are accredited by Energy Saving Trust and operate in Cheshire.
Company: Ultama Network,
Contact: Alan Laffoley
based in Burnley, tel:01279 821200Company: Sunseeker Solar Energy ltd
Contact: David Wright
based in Ashton under Lyme Tel: 0161 343 7077
3.4 Other renewable options for Cheshire
Small Wind Turbines/Technologies
There are many examples of the use of small wind turbines. In Cheshire
you can see small wind power on the canal boats. These small units
produce enough electricity for lighting and other low usage units.
There are developments in this technology which would be a huge potential
for wind in Cheshire. One new concept is being developed by a company
called windsave. Their units are being trailed at the moment, once
available on the market they will be affordable (costs around £300/unit),
and are very adaptable, they can be installed on the top of a roofline
for most premises. They can provide 0.5kWh per unit, assuming the wind
speed is high enough 25% of the time.
Large Scale Wind Turbines
Wind technology is a tried and proven source of energy, countries such
as Denmark have embraced and developed its potential, and it could
provide a large proportion of the UK’s targets for renewable
energy. At present the main developments are to be off shore, there
are examples of successful wind turbine projects around the UK but
currently there is no interest in its development within Cheshire,
apart from the possibility of a site at Ellesmere Port. The closest
planned site to the area is Burbo Bank off the Wirral Peninsula.
Wind Speeds in the UK
Hydro power in Cheshire
Hydro power is produced from the movement of a mass of water: in rivers, streams, rising and falling tides through lunar cycles, wave and energy from sea currents. The rivers and canal systems in Cheshire could provide opportunities to develop small scale hydro power. Small scale is defined as a hydro energy plant producing less than 10 MW of electricity. This type of scheme has minimum environmental impact unlike large tidal or dam schemes, and yet with developments in technologies it has become a more attractive and cost effective proposal.
Assessments for the DTI show the potential for small scale hydro on the Dane and 5 sites along the river Weaver: The mill in Congleton (60kW), the Mill at Church Minshull (90kW), Vale Royal Locks (130kW), Hunt’s Locks (150kW), Saltersford Locks (270kW), and Dutton Locks (310kW), the calculated cost of the electricity is competitive for these sites at 5p/kWh.
Biodiesel
This can be derived from crops (see agriculatural section) or from
recycled cooking oils. It has less of an impact on the environment
than diesel oil as its carbon content is recycled carbon dioxide.
It can be used by any diesel engine without modifications. A supplier
is a company ‘Ebony solutions UK’ based in Cuddington,
Cheshire, www.ebony-solutions.co.uk
3.6 Grants for Renewables
Photovoltaics
The major photovoltaic programme is a government scheme run by the
Energy Saving Trust to provide grants to households and businesses
for PV’s. It is set to run from March 2002 to March 2005 and
provides assistance of at least 50% towards the cost of implementing
PV’s.
Clear Skies is a new government initiative programme
Launched in January 2003, it offers grants of up to £5000 for homeowners and up to £100,000 for communities. The grants cover: solar water heating, wind, hydro, ground source heat pumps, automated wood pellet stoves, wood fuel boilers.
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Solar water heating, typical cost is £2,000 to £4,500 grant is £500
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Wind power, typical costs £2500 - £5,000 of kWe installed, grant is £1,000 per kWe installed (max £5,000
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Micro hydro, costs vary, grant is £1,000 per kWe installed, maximum £5,000
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Ground source heat pumps, typical costs £4,000 - £6,000, grant is £1,200
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Automated wood pellet stoves, typical cost £2,400 - £2,600, grant is £600
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Wood fuelled boilers – typical cost for a 15kWth system is £4,500 grant is £50 per kWth, maximum 30kWth