APPENDIX 6: VISIT TO BRISTOL—23
MAY 2008
The Members of the Committee that visited Bristol
were Lord Freeman (Chairman), Lord Mitchell and Lord Whitty.
The visit consisted of three parts; a visit to the
wind turbines at Avonmouth docks with Ecotricity and the Bristol
Port Company, a meeting with Parsons Brinckerhoff and BERR, and
a visit to renewable projects managed by Good Energy.
Avonmouth Docks
The Committee were met by Vince Dale, Managing Director
and Madeline Carroll, PR Officer of Ecotricity and Patrick Kearon,
Director of Public Affairs, Bristol Port Company.
Avonmouth docks are equipped with three 2MW wind
turbines operating at a 32% load factor. These provide around
75% of the site's power needs. The site is connected to the grid
network. The installation is owned and managed by Ecotricity who
sell on the Renewables Obligation Certificates earned.
The issue of planning permission was discussed. For
the Avonmouth docks installation planning permission was not a
great problem as the turbines are on a brown field site. Mr Dale
estimated that of Ecotricity's projects around one in ten on brown
field sites will be sent to appeal. On green field sites appeal
is more likely, around two out of three projects. Around 90% of
Ecotricity's projects are successful in the planning system. On
average Ecotricity take around three years to develop a project.
This includes filtering out areas unsuitable due to various barriers
(low wind speeds, housing, protected land etc …) Once a suitable
site has been located Ecotricity must then negotiate with the
owners of that land. Ecotricity have been working to develop projects
close to existing grid infrastructure in order to reduce any grid
connection problems.
Despite Ecotricity's success rate, Mr Vince
was concerned that many planning applications get turned down
at a local level regardless of evidence submitted. Ecotricity
suggest moving planning of these kinds of projects up to County
Council level in order to retain some democratic oversight whilst
making a strategic and considered decision more likely. Both Mr Vince
and Mr Kearon stated that the Planning Bill would not streamline
the system for their projects as they do not meet the 50MW threshold.
A further planning problem identified was objections from the
Ministry of Defence (MoD). According to Mr Vince on a number
of occasions the MoD have objected to projects but not continued
that objection at planning appeal. He views this as an unnecessary
delay to projects.
The building and maintenance of onshore turbines
in comparison with offshore projects was discussed. In the case
of the Avonmouth docks turbines, only two days of the year are
lost to maintenance and the turbines are operational for over
95% (95.53% over 11 months of operation) of the time. Ecotricity
are also aware of potential supply chain problems. Currently they
have developed relationships with manufacturers in Germany for
three years but beyond that they are unsure what arrangements
they will have to come to.
The Committee discussed the proposed Severn Barrage
with Mr Kearon. It has been suggested that a system of locks
within the barrage would allow shipping to pass through it and
to the docks. The Bristol Port Company believe that this would
have an adverse effect on their business. Not only would a system
of locks increase waiting times to get into the docks but the
barrage would permanently reduce the depth of the Severn. Currently
the River Severn runs deeper further into land than any other
UK dock; this benefit would be lost if the barrage were built.
Parson Brinckerhoff (PB Power)
The Committee met Peter Kydd, Project Director of
Severn Barrage Feasibility Study and Gary Shanahan, Deputy Director
of Severn Tidal Power Unit, BERR.
PB Power have been appointed to carry out a feasibility
study into the Severn Barrage project. The handout from this session
can be found in the written evidence section of this report.
Good Energy
The Committee met Hugo House of Good Energy. He arranged
for the Committee to visit two micro-generation projects Good
Energy are involved with. The first was the house of Mr and
Mrs Bannerman. The second was the house of Jackson Moulding
and Anna Hope. Both of these homes have been fitted with solar
photo voltaic panels for electricity generation and hot water.
Many of the same themes were brought up at both projects.
In both cases the solar panels had been installed
not on the expectation of making significant savings in energy
bills but on a point of principle. Good Energy suggested that
on average a payback period of 20 years is expected for the installation
of solar panels.
Both parties stated that being able to easily see
how much electricity was being generated and how much was being
bought from their supplier (Good Energy) mean that their power
use habits had changed. Although this may be evident only in small
ways such as leaving lights off, recharging mobile phones during
the day rather than overnight or only using the dishwasher on
sunny days, the increased awareness of energy use is important.
Both witnesses stated that finding qualified companies
to install or repair the panels is also a challenge. Although
Jackson Moulding and Anna Hope carried out the installation work
themselves any repairs to equipment required them to send parts
away to companies in Germany or Denmark. Mr and Mrs Bannerman
also noted that choosing a reliable installation company was relatively
difficult as there is no universal accreditation system for installers
equivalent to the CORGI registration for gas installers for example.
Good Energy added that this has been addressed to some extent
and there is now an online register of accredited installers.
The principal message from both projects was that
without extra help from Government or energy companies micro-generation
will not become more common. Not only are the parts expensive
but the grants that are available were difficult to apply for
and partnerships with energy companies were not easy to arrange.
Good Energy pointed out that although the grant system has been
simplified, the grants available have been reduced.
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