Memorandum by John Field
My submission relates to the potential for technological
improvements to the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings,
and how these should be implemented.
Summary: there are many new technological
improvements that could be used to reduce energy usage. At present,
various incentives such as the DTI Clear Skies scheme encourage
the use of renewable energy. However, their overall impact has
been limited; this is probably due to the high costs and low returns
or savings associated with renewables compared to existing fossil
fuels. A way must be found to break out of this impasse to promote
the use of renewables thereby increasing volumes for manufacturers
and so reducing costs. A useful example of how this can be achieved
can be seen in Spain's use of building regulations that stipulate
the use of renewables. An initial scheme piloted in Barcelona
has caused something of a chain reaction and their example has
been followed by 35 other Spanish towns. A similar scheme is both
feasible and practical for the UK and if implemented would push
renewables firmly into the mainstream of the construction industry.
1. BACKGROUND
As an example, it is useful to review the status
of solar thermal heating; this is an existing technology that
is well developed and available from a number of suppliers and
so subject to the pressures of a commercial market.
Stephen Timms, the Energy Minister, was asked
a series of parliamentary questions in January 2004 on solar heating.
In his reply he used figures from the Building Research Establishment
stating there are about 60,000 solar thermal installations in
the UK. He went on to explain the Clear Skies initiative and noted
1,368 grants had been made totalling £684,000. A further
90 applications have been received for the installation of solar
water heating systems from the community and not-for-profit organisations.
67 have been granted totalling £955,766.02.[10]
This sounds quite promising until a comparison
is made with the rest of Europe. Since the beginnings of the 1990s
the European solar market has undergone considerable development.
Figures given by the IEA[11]
confirm sales of flat plate collectors recorded a yearly average
growth of 17 per cent between 1994 and 2000.
The main European markets are Germany, Greece
and Austria and they account for nearly 80 per cent of the total
market in spite of being situated in regions, with the exception
of Greece, with only moderate levels of sunshine. A breakdown
of the market growth in Europe by country is given in the table
below.
|
| Country | Newly installed 1995 (m2)
| Newly installed 2000 (m2)
| Average annual growth
1995-2000
%
|
|
| Spain | 9,800
| 40,487 | 33
|
| Germany | 193,000
| 620,000 | 26
|
| France | 7,700
| 23,500 | 25
|
| Italy | 17,850
| 45,249 | 20
|
| Netherlands | 12,706
| 27,661 | 17
|
| United Kingdom | 7,596
| 11,850 | 9
|
| Greece | 169,000
| 181,000 | 1
|
| Austria | 160,660
| 152,944 | -1
|
|
| Figure 1. Market growth in the major European countries.[12]
|
It is interesting to compare the UK and the Netherlands;
broadly similar climates and are both densely populated, yet the
Netherlands has more than twice the UK's installed capacity although
the population is smaller. A similar difference was observed a
few years ago when the uptake of condensing boilers was compared.
The implication is that cost effectiveness, the balance between
initial outlay and running costs, is of the utmost importance
to UK consumers, and perhaps suppliers.
Spain faced a similar dilemma; subsidies, incentives and
public awareness schemes all failed to encourage the use of solar
thermal systems. This is despite the obvious potential for solar
energy in a country with a sunny climate.
2. ENERGY USAGE
The energy used by a typical residential building is shown
below. Solar heating is attractive because of the high percentage
of energy used for water and space heating. And the widespread
adoption of solar collectors for hot water and heating is recognised
as one the main methods for reducing the consumption of fossil
fuels. A paper from the European Commission calls for a yearly
increase in the installed solar collector area of 20 per cent.
Figure 2. Breakdown of energy consumption in residential buildings
in the EU, 1998. Published by the European Commission 2000.
In the UK, and as was the case in Spain, solar thermal systems
are not viewed by the public as a mainstream solution to heating
and hot water supply because the high capital costs combined with
the current performance mean long pay-back periods. Existing commercial
systems cost between £2,400 and £3,000 for a single
panel system.[13] There
are grants available; up to £500 from the DTI's Clear Skies
programme. But, this is still more expensive than conventional
systems and the annual savings, based on present energy prices,
are too long to justify the investment on anything other than
green issues.
3. THE SPANISH
EXAMPLE
The problem of encouraging the use of solar thermal systems
was tackled head on in Barcelona through the use of municipal
ordinance that obliges construction companies to fit solar panels
sufficient to supply 60 per cent of hot water consumption in new
and fully refurbished residential blocks containing 14 or more
housing units. The rule also applies to swimming pools, hospitals,
clinics, schools, shopping centres and hotels. The effect over
the four years since its introduction in July 2000 have been dramatic;
Agencia d'Energia de Barcelona report that 232 new building projects
have been processed since the obligation came into force resulting
in 19,539m2 of new solar collector surface area.
4. A SCHEME FOR
THE UK
Could the Spanish scheme be adopted in the UK? Clearly, the
solar resource is less in the UK compared to Spain, but with different
levels of contribution from renewables to take into account our
climate a similar system could be introduced.
The Spanish scheme does concentrate on solar thermal and
whilst this is clearly useful and appropriate for the Spanish
climate it does disadvantage other forms of renewables. Given
that the market and many aspects of the technology are still emerging
it would seem better to require that a percentage of energy is
supplied from a renewable source, or from a system that is recognised
as energy efficient, for example Combined Heat and Power (CHP),
rather than specify the type of system.
A scheme could be imagined where (say) 40 per cent of hot
water consumption must be supplied from a recognised renewable
or energy efficient source for all new builds or large scale refurbishments.
The developer would then have the choice on whether to fit solar
thermal, photo voltaic arrays that provide the equivalent level
of electrical power, biomass heating, ground source heat pumps,
or CHP units.
An obvious extension would be to allow developers to make
a contribution to the build costs of (say) wind turbines to a
value that is equivalent to the cost of the renewable installation
in each building. This would help to build the generation capacity,
which is beneficial, but it does not help with the supply side
and so its impact will be reduced.
By requiring developers to ensure a certain percentage of
energy used is delivered from renewables or other high efficiency
systems that are part of the building will raise the public's
awareness and engage people at an immediate level. A scheme that
is effectively a tax to help pay for Wind Farms may feel like
the right thing to do from an environmental point of view but
it will still feel like a tax. Conversely, a scheme that delivers
renewable energy systems into new and refurbished buildings will
give a sense of ownership and the lasting effect of reduced energy
bills.
22 September 2004
10
NATTA, Open University publication, Newsletter 149, May/June
2004, page 9. Back
11
International Energy Association Solar Heating and Cooling Programme
(Weiss and Faninger, 2002) and the figures have been confirmed
by the German Solar Energy Association (Stryi-Hipp, 2001). Back
12
Renewable Energy World, July-August 2003, page 202. Back
13
Solar for London advertise a single panel system for £2,400
without installation. Imagination, a local Bristol company, quote
a similar system for £2,966 installed. Back
|
