A meeting of the Transition Town Dorchester Energy Group, based around a bring-and-share meal(yes, you need to bring some food with you).
Aims: To further develop the Energy Group and decide how we can start to take practical action to bring renewable energy and energy saving to our community. Discussion will start from, and revolve around last summer's brainstorming meeting which was held at The Colliton Club......and who knows where it will lead to ?!!?
When: 7.00 pm
Where: Judy's house - 53 Great Cranford Street, Poundbury, Dorchester DT1 3SQ (01305 266548)
Who: Anyone interested in promoting local, renewable energy and energy saving ideas.
What to bring: A contribution to our shared meal
Your ideas and enthusiasm
or phone Steve on 07743958353 or Judy on 01305 266548
**FULLY BOOKED** Sunday 16th May 2010 - Rammed Chalk House guided tour
Sunday 16 May starts 10.30am, lasting about 1 hour
Guided visit and description of the design and build process by architect Sam Goss - places limited to 15,11, 10... looks like you'd better be quick!!... oh, sorry, too late!...
17th Feb 2010 - Renewable energy information and Feed In Tariffs
Renewable energy information sheets from Dorset Energy Group (Dorset County Council)
These provide up to date information (October 2009) on the measures that Dorset residents can incorporate into their homes, businesses and community buildings, including: The pdf's listed below are for downloading:
Renewable Energy (info) 432kb
Saving energy(efficiency) 300kb
Solar Water(hot water from the sun) 384kb
Solar PV(electricity from the sun)381kb
Biomass heating (using wood) 358kb
Wind energy (electricity, small scale) 270kb
Heat Pumps (heat from the the ground, the air and from water) 422kb
Micro-Hydro (making electricity from flowing water) 301kb
Recent stuff South West local authorities are currently researching options for offering low interest finance packages to enable householders without capital to benefit from Feed-in Tariffs. Pete West (Dorset County Council Renewable Energy Development Officer) will be giving a number of presentations to explain the opportunties from the Feed-in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive over the next few months; for example at the DEG Domestic Sector Working Group meeting on 26th Feb and at the Community Sustainable Energy Conference planned for Sat 17th April.
eh??... what's this Feed In Tariff stuff all about?? In a nutshell, you get paid for exporting homemade electricity to the grid... plus you get paid for the electricity you use for yourself (although at a smaller rate)... good innit! Initial investment can seem expensive, but the long term pay backs are good. We also need to imagine our future, where oil prices are souring, and we'll remember 2010 when utility bills were really cheap, seriously cheap!!
Feed In Tariff (FIT) Key Points Following of the government’s announcements on the Feed in Tariff, Regen SW has scoured the reports and pulled out the key points (below). There are still some unanswered questions, but the points below should give you a good overview of the key elements. The cornerstones of the Feed in Tariff have not changed following consultation period, but some of the detail has been refined. Changes are highlighted.
Tariffs
From April 2010, the FIT will offer a fixed payment per kilowatt hour generated
The levels of these generation tariffs have largely been increased in the final version of the scheme, by up to 5p per kWh (see table below for the values)
The FIT will also offer a guaranteed minimum payment of 3p per kWh exported to the market – this figure has decreased from the originally proposed 5p per kWh
Tariffs will now be index-linked to the Retail Price Index so that they increase in line with inflation – this is in response to a strong lobby on this issue
The FIT will be offered for a 20 year period, with the exception of solar PV projects for which the period will be 25 years
FIT income for domestic properties generating electricity mainly for their own use will not be taxable
The aim is for the FIT to offer standard renewable projects a 5-8 per cent return on investment.
Where appropriate, support will degress in line with expected technology cost reductions. In the latest document, rather than expressing degression as a percentage (as they did in the consultation document, tariff levels for the first 11 years of the scheme have been set out. Only solar PV and wind below 100kW have degressed tariffs for this period, starting from year 3 of the scheme (see table below for details)
Support levels will be reviewed periodically and in response to sudden changes in technology costs. However, tariff levels will be ‘grandfathered’, so that projects continue to receive the generation tariff offered at their registration throughout their 20 year support period (25 years for PV. For example, if you register a 2kW retrofitted panel in year 1 of the scheme you will receive a generation tariff of 41.3p/kWh for 25 years. The same panel registered in year 3 of the scheme would receive 37.8p/kWh generated for 25 years.
Changes have been made to the banding of the anaerobic digestion (AD), hydro and wind tariffs to provide more effective support to these technologies. A band has been introduced to provide additional support to farm-scale (<500kW) AD projects. The wind and hydro banding structure has been improved to introduce a new “community scale” band providing additional support between 100 kW and 2 MW for hydro projects, and 500kW and 1.5MW for wind projects
Eligibility
Projects up to 5 MW will be eligible, including off-grid installations.
Technologies that will be eligible for the FIT from April 2010 are: wind, solar PV, hydro, anaerobic digestion, and a pilot scheme for 30,000 non-renewable micro combined heat and power (CHP) installations. Electricity from biomass will no longer be eligible for the FIT, though it can continue to receive ROCs.
Projects installed in the interim period between the announcement of the FIT (15 July 2009) and the start of the scheme (April 2010) will be eligible to receive the tariff regardless of whether they registered in this period for ROCs. They will not receive a reduced period of support as suggested in the consultation document; they will be eligible for the full 20 years of FIT payments (or 25 years for solar PV).
Regardless of technology, projects installed prior to 15 July 2009 will be eligible to receive generation payments of 9p/kWh and export payments of 3p/kWh, provided they were previously receiving support under the RO scheme. If the project was installed before 15 July 2009 and not registered for ROCs, it will not be eligible for the FIT.
Projects up to 50 kW in size will not be able to claim the RO; existing installations will be automatically transferred to the FIT. New and interim period (15 July 2009 to 1 April 2010) projects between 50 kW and 5 MW will be given a one-off choice between claiming support under the FIT or the RO. Existing projects between 50 kW and 5 MW in size will remain under the RO, with no opportunity to transfer to the FIT
Accreditation
Wind, solar PV and hydro projects below 50 kW in size, and micro CHP projects must be installed by microgeneration certification scheme (MCS) accredited installers and be MCS accredited products. View the current list of certificated installers and products here: www.microgenerationcertification.org/Home+and+Business+Owners
50 kW to 5 MW projects must register their installation through a process based on the existing renewables obligation process, known as the ROO-FIT process, in order to be eligible for FITs support. Details of this process are not clear at this stage.
Grants
Domestic projects that have received grant funding from central government will not have to pay back the grant to be eligible for the FIT. While this was not reconfirmed in the government’s 1 February response, it was set out in the UK Renewable Energy Strategy 2009.
Any non-domestic projects (commercial or community) that receive or have received grant funding from central government might have to return the grant before they can receive FIT payments. This situation was not clarified by the government’s response to the FIT consultation. Regen SW will be lobbying for clarity on this key issue.
Scheme launch
The FITs scheme will start from 1 April 2010. In the run-up to the scheme, information will be available for individuals, households, community groups and small business on how they will be able to benefit from the scheme. Guidance will be provided by Ofgem, and help will be available from the Carbon Trust, Energy Saving Trust and DECC
Central government will not provide a mechanism for up-front capitalisation of FITs revenues. This does not preclude other organisations from offering such schemes. However, building on the experience of pilot projects for ‘pay as you save’ financing and Warm Front, the government will consult later this year on measures to help low-income households take advantage of the FIT and the Renewable Heat Incentive.
Best wishes
Steve
6th January 2010 - Dorset Transition Energy Survey
In October 2009 we asked all the Transition areas in Dorset to take part in a Transition Energy Survey (as a snapshot).
Here are the results:
The write up for this meeting can be downloaded by clicking herepdf 1.3mb
TIME: Started 6:30pm until 10pm ish
VENUE:
The Colliton Club (upstairs in the Dorset Room), Colliton House Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XJ
(it's at the top of town opposite County Hall)
TRANSPORT: Considered cycling, walking, train-ing, bus-ing and lift-sharing
REFRESHMENTS: Purchased at the bar
AGENDA
Welcome & Introductions
Sharing Energy Tips
Things we might like to do as an energy group? eg LED lighting bulb library and co-operative...other ideas
Upcoming Community Energy Conference (Pete West)
Any other business
Literature and stuff was shared... energy efficient bulbs were given away fro free (courtesy of DEAC)
There was a good mix of 7912 people attending - the room can hold a lot more!
"This remarkable book from an expert in the energy field sets out, with enormous clarity and objectivity, the various alternative low-carbon pathways that are open to us. Policy makers, researchers, private sector decision makers, and NGOs, all will benefit from these words of wisdom." Sir David King FRS, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, 2000-08
19 June 2009 - Science magazine - "a cold blast of reality ... a must-read analysis ... I found MacKay's book by turns exhilarating and terrifying. His calculations are always thought-provoking even when his assumptions had me banging the table in disagreement. My objections often faded as his analysis unfolded."
21st February 2009 - Energy Group 'Open Space' Event - Fuelling Dorchester's Future
Transition Town Dorchester's first energy 'open space' event was voted a great success by participants. It featured an introduction to peak oil and climate change by Toby Booth, who looked forward to Dorchester's very own Energy Descent Plan, and brief talks by Cllr Nicki Barker, energy advisor Emily Bullock, and Renewables Development Officer Pete West. Nicki surprised us by advocating the River Frome as a prime target for a heat exchanger, Emily challenged the audience with quiz questions which we were too polite to answer (or may be we just didn't know?), and Pete tempted everyone with success stories from Denmark and Austria.
The 'open space' discussion method introduced by Marion got top marks from all participants, and generated lots of laughter, earnest technical exchanges, and some ideas for possible projects. Everyone seemed to have time to have their say, and there was also plenty of time to network over the exceptional peanut cookies and tea laid on by Tess. Prize idea of the day is that we need a recipe page on our website please!
Open Space notes:
Question Are you aware of the energy return on energy invested to our future as a community? How can we have sustainable, renewable energy, when the hardware/production relies on oil?
Responses
Technologies will use less energy
Prioritising the use of oil – eg for public transport over private car use
Energy crisis will catalyse innovation and development.
Biomass crops should not be grown on food producing land
We need to be looking at what sort of future we want and then plan how to get there, instead of stumbling forward, accepting compromises and short term solutions, like nuclear power.
Question "I'm interested in microgeneration but given that I live in the town (Dorchester), what technologies other than PV are available?"
Responses
Ground Source Heat Pump - need 100m length of piping - not realistic
Air Source Heat Pump - no-one had any strong info
Wind - possible but many considerations
12V system for shed lighting might be possible with small (40cm-1m as used on boats eg Rutlands) best bet was to invest in community scheme where wind conditions were more favourable
turbines need 10x clear distance as their height to capture 'clean wind'
turbines have to hunt (frequently change direction) to meet turbulent wind
think of community as 'communtity of wind-power enthusiasts' not confined to geographical
£1000 invested in a community scheme would pay dividends many times greater than same investment in small turbine
less than 20kw is really only for show/education
electricity prices will continue to rise - more than £1/unit within 5 years
investing in wind turbines as a way to hedge rising costs
fairly striaght forward to work out how much to invest in to cover personal use
double rocs (renewable obligation certificates) now available for microgeneration
is this as well as or instead of feed-in-tariff?
Solar HW - worthwhile but much longer pay-back times
Must have S-SW facing roof approx 50-55 degree pitch
Question How important is fossil fuel cost in Co2 term when transporting wood?
Responses
heard that >15miles was no carbon benefit back-of-envelope caculation gave 1.5% per tonne-mile ie. >66miles would have simple ERoEI<1 (energy return on energy invested)
Mainly SW winds in Dorchester
Ideal places south of Poundbury
Have small farm of 10-15 x 20kw/50kw turbines or a line of them on the embankment
Vertical axis turbines now available which are suited to turbulent sites but they only capture 1/3 of the same wind that a conventional turbine would
Question "How to set up a community Carbon-reduction project - pledges; - calculations ; - web-based"
Responses
A web-based calculator for a whole community, like the actonco2 one, to measure the carbon footprint of a whole community
Figures etc available to see if it is going up or down and ideas of how to improve
Pledges, and then periodic reminders to see if targets have been reached
What are the barriers to improvements?
An area on the website for problem solving
Question "How simple is it to convert existing wood powered water heating to solar heating during summer months, back to wood for winter?"
The answer to this consisted of diagrams!
You need two coils in the water tank, one from each heat source. They can run separately, or together, on a warm January day.
Question “Should I insulate my cavity walls?”, and “What can we do as a community to make existing housing stock in Dorchester energy efficient?”
Responses
Cavity walls
One person recommended : Yes, use polystyrene balls instead of mineral fibre (no condensation), but ensure no wires in cavity.
Other options: look at practice in Pembrokeshire (also zone 4, like Dorset, for exposure / dampness risk); look at Sempatex for insulation on inside leaf of wall.
Other home improvement issues: water conservation, hard to get information on options for e.g. rainwater flushing of loos without major works like digging up whole garden to bury a storage tank. A contact was suggested who could be commissioned to advise via the LETS group.
solar thermal in conservation areas , hard to get planning permission. Needs moral support by a group doing it?
Community action on housing stock
How can we make it really easy for people to be energy efficient?
Can people be presented with very clear ad vice related to their house, i.e. what are the priorities for this house? What are the grants? People need to know :
what to do first
the payback time
cost etc.
Advice must be independent e.g. Dorset County Council or an authorised advisor
...project with volunteers? or should it be a business opportunity ? Could look at examples e.g. Heatseeker thermal imaging; Transition Town Lewes energy project.
This is a good time because
council has set example on public buildings, people have seen village halls
recession and fuel prices is making people rethink how they use their money.
Attitudes have shifted on recycling; it has become normalised – so attitude change is possible.
Next Steps
seek advice from Transition Towns Lewes and Chepstow on their insulation projects
approach the community partnership at district level (incl for funds?)
ask Dorset Reclaim how they work (example project with mix of funded and volunteer resources)
find out how Reading used 'Heatseekers' thermal imaging van to inform people – was there greater take-up?
If you would like to be part of a new energy group please get in touch
This local energy event, and the actions arising from it aimed to help:
Anyone wanting to reduce their carbon foot-print, energy consumption and stay warm through energy efficiency measures
Families and people looking to save money by reducing their energy bills
The wider Dorchester community to investigate local micro-generation options and rebalance the take-up of grant funding for energy solutions to make sure Dorchester gets it's fair share
Provide access to energy information
By giving out free energy saving light bulbs from Dorset Energy Advice Centre
The Schedule was: 13:30 Doors open - 14:00 Welcome introduction - 14:10 Energy experts - Pete West to speak on renewable energy and Emily Bullock on energy efficiency - 14:40 Questions, general discussion - 14:55 Introduction to 'open space' - 15:00 Tea - 15:20 Open space discussion - 16:20 Gather up main points, summarise, next steps / future dates - 16:45 Finish
The Venue was - Dorset Youth Association (maximum capacity 60), Lubbecke Way, Dorchester This event was free; donations to Transition Town Dorchester were kindly received and help to provide future events.
26th November 2008 - Coppice and Biomass Boiler Visit
Firstly a Big Thank You must go to David at Kingston Maurward College (KMC) for making our visit a very informative and interesting one and of course thanks to those that made it out for the visit too!
The afternoon began with a walk to the field containing the coppice, made up of 10 varieties of Willow, and a detailed Q&A about its running with questions being answered by David. He went on to advise the crop was planted in April 08, and has since grown to heights between 6 and 12ft, so not a bad start considering the summer weather!
The willow arrives in Rods, sourced from Lincolnshire, these were planted using a hand operated machine which cuts a length of willow rod and subsequently plants it.
Above: David showing the root growth on one of young willow trees. Looking carefully the original willow rod can be seen in his left hand from which the tree sprouts.
A total of 7000 rods were planted, with the recognised average being 10,000 per hectare. David advised that the planted willow has a potential 25 year lifespan. Any early cuttings can also be used to plug gaps in the initial planting.
Surprisingly, David advised during the preliminary stages of planning KMC were required to complete an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in order to get permission to plant, this being due to the potential changes in local habitat and the possibility of the willow trees being unsightly to those living along the A35…not something one would expect when wanting to plant lots trees!
Harvest usually takes place after 2-3yrs, though David implied there have been thoughts of an initial harvest in spring 09 which helps increase the amount of re-growth for the next harvest. In a full harvest yields can be around 10t per hectare.
At present harvesting would most likely be done using a fingerbar mower, though in later years this may not be possible due to the size of trunk on the willow. Any early cuttings can also be used to plug gaps in the initial planting.
This has also thrown up an issue for KMC in that most large scale coppicing takes place in the North/North East and this means most of the machinery required for cutting/processing the coppice may need to be transported to Dorset, the implication of this being a greater carbon footprint than desired. Such machinery can harvest and process the willow all in one reducing the need for multiple handling/processing and can therefore potentially improve/reduce carbon inputs.
This has spurred David and his colleagues to consider the future of coppice in Dorset and the South West and the potential of KMC to become a base for the harvesting/processing equipment making it easier for other farms in Dorset to source the required equipment needed without increasing their carbon inputs.
The need to balance carbon inputs is of course very important as any imbalance of such as from transportation (whether it be transporting harvesting equipment or transporting the final cut product) then takes the coppice from being carbon neutral to carbon negative which then negates the whole ethos behind the idea of coppicing!
...Ok, so on to the Biomass Boiler, a Kalorina 2206 made by Tatano. This model has a min output of 53kW and a max of 70kW and is currently providing heat to three homes on campus.
Below: the boiler can be seen in action as the auger feeds in more wood pellets. Behind David is the 1.5t hopper, this is filled with a 1t bag of pellets dropped in from above using a telescopic forklift. Luckily the roof on the hut opens up for this!
The boiler is capable of burning several types of fuel, from cereals like wheat and barley (the husk and not the straw) to logs and wood chip. However the start up has to be done using the current chosen fuel, wood pellets. These pellets are of low moisture content (5-10%) and are a by-product of the timber industry so are a great form of reuse from a waste stream. The pellets are fed to the boiler from a 1.5t hopper via a pair of augers.
David advised the main issues regarding the boilers use is the timing of the augers in relation to the demand of heat required with a secondary issue of too much being fed into the boiler resulting in too much smoke and subsequent complaints from locals.
Though it worth pointing out this has been resolved and it has been burning cleanly and efficiently since. One issue regarding different fuel types apart from having to start up on wood pellets are the residues, as cereals are found to have higher tar content and can tar up the boiler meaning higher maintenance implications.
To close the visit off we had a brief discussion regarding energy and I was keen to point out some facts relating to energy production in the UK, mainly bad ones, but also some encouraging points too!
All in all a great informative afternoon was had by all who came and should anyone have any question regarding energy, whether it be relating to reducing the amount needed in the home to producing your own renewable energy then post a question on our website here and I’ll endeavour to answer it!
