PROPOSED BOROUGH OF POOLE RESPONSE TO CONSULTATION DRAFT BOURNEMOUTH, DORSET AND POOLE RENEWABLE ENERGY STRATEGY
1. Introduction
1.1 The Borough of Poole welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Consultation Draft Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole Renewable Energy Strategy. In partnership with colleagues at Dorset County Council and Bournemouth Borough Council, Borough of Poole officers have been closely involved with the updating of the strategy, supporting technical work, arranging stakeholder participation and the production of the consultation draft itself.
1.2 A recent stakeholder consultation event in Poole, attended by 52 partners has helped to inform this formal response. A separate report from RegenSW is available detailing the discussion at and results from this event. It is however, clear that stakeholders have a detailed understanding of and enthusiasm for the topic. A large majority of local stakeholders recognise the multiple potential benefits that can result from increased installation of renewable energy schemes and are in favour both of supporting appropriate renewable energy developments and setting a challenging target within the updated strategy for deployment of local onshore renewable energy resources. This reflects the level of support expressed in previous public engagement exercises, including the Dorset online citizens panel and the earlier Dorset stakeholder consultation event.
1.3 Since publication of the consultation draft the Government has released a new national ‘Renewable Energy Roadmap’ (DECC - July 2011) which helps to clarify the type and scale of major national, as opposed to local renewable energy resources. This was considered at the stakeholder consultation event and is taken into account by this response.
1.4 This response is structured around the questions posed by the consultation document, and so is fairly strategic in nature. More detailed partnership work is planned within the Borough of Poole to jointly agree a future programme of actions to deliver the renewable energy strategy on the ground and achieve maximum benefits for the local residents and businesses of Poole.
2. Consultation Question 1: Do you agree with the setting of an aspirational target for Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole to generate more than 15% of its total energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2020? If not, what target would you like to see instead?
2.1 As a result of the public opinion survey and recent stakeholder consultation event the Borough of Poole supports the setting of an aspirational target for Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole to jointly generate in excess of 15% of its total energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2020. This is based on an understanding from the UK ‘Renewable Energy Roadmap’ that by 2020 sufficient planned national renewable energy generating capacity will be operational to deliver at least 8% of our total energy needs within Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole.
2.2 The Borough of Poole understands that a renewable energy target solely for Poole is more difficult to set and achieve, due to the urban nature of the authority, meaning that the choice of possible appropriate technologies is limited, for example to increased installation of solar PV and solar thermal on buildings.
2.3 We would therefore support a twin track approach to setting targets in the final strategy as follows:
· An aspirational target across the sub-region by 2020 of at least 15%, which the majority of stakeholders believe we should aim to exceed[1], taking into account the anticipated generating capacity of offshore wind and other developments which are regarded as ‘national’ schemes.
· A local generation target across the three authorities of 7% by 2020 to be generated from a mixture of appropriate on-shore resources within the area covered by the strategy, but excluding the generating capacity from schemes which are regarded as ‘national’ schemes.
2.4 Reaching this target will require a considerable step change in the level of renewable energy installations – the current amount of energy generated from renewable energy within the local area is around 1%. However, the assessment of potential resources by RegenSW following a national methodology shows that these targets are technically and realistically achievable by 2020 through the deployment of a mix of possible local resource types and scales. Furthermore, the local economic, social and environmental benefits that would result from achieving this target are substantial, particularly in terms of income generation, investment potential and local job creation. Such a target also has the joint benefit of publicly communicating our high level of ambition to local stakeholders and to Government, thus maintaining and increasing Poole’s reputation as ‘a place to do low carbon business.’
3. Consultation Question 2: Do you agree with the priority areas for action identified in this update? If not, what priority areas for action would you like to see instead?
The following comments relate to the 5 priority areas for action identified in the updated renewable energy strategy consultation draft :-
3.1 Priority area 1: Supporting the development of community renewable energy
3.1.1 The Borough of Poole supports the view expressed in the strategy that community level renewable energy installations can create multiple benefits for local communities including improved energy security, income generation (via Feed-in Tariffs) and increased awareness and acceptance of renewable energy technologies through better understanding.
3.1.2 There are undoubtedly opportunities for local authorities and communities to work together at the local neighbourhood level to maximise opportunities for appropriate types, scales and locations of renewable energy and the Council will seek to identify and promote these opportunities.
3.1.3 The Borough of Poole agrees that community groups need adequate support to share knowledge, financial resources, business/technical expertise and guidance on developing renewable energy. The priority areas of action suggested are therefore supported.
3.2 Priority area 2: Maximising the local economic benefits of renewable energy generation
3.2.1 The Borough of Poole notes the potentially significant economic opportunities arising from renewable energy deployment identified in the consultation draft and understands the importance of integrating renewable energy into our economic development work and priorities. We understand that stakeholders were interested in ways that the Council could attract and incentivise local green businesses. We, therefore, support the priority areas for action identified and in particular the need for the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole Low Carbon Partnership[i] to work closely with the Local Enterprise Partnership to progress shared ambitions for the local ‘green knowledge economy’. More formal links between the two partnerships should be considered and encouraged to help maximise understanding and the achievement of economic benefits.
3.3 Priority area 3: Creating a more supportive planning system for renewable energy
3.3.1 The Borough of Poole recognises that the planning system has a critical role in securing renewable energy technologies through development but acknowledges that, in particular large scale schemes, are often technically complex and controversial. Changes to the planning regime proposed by the draft National Planning Policy Framework could result in schemes being progressed which do not enjoy public support or which conflict with other environmental interests such as landscape or wildlife. Therefore, it will be necessary to ensure that the final renewable energy strategy and any subsequent development plan documents, neighbourhood plans and other relevant council policies/plans/strategies help to understand and address these tensions. The Council and our stakeholders, therefore, support the proposed actions to improve information for planners and members, and promote a consistent approach to planning for renewables, which is integrated with other Council policy areas / service delivery.
3.4 Priority area 4: Developing locally appropriate technologies
3.4.1 The Borough of Poole notes the various scenarios in the consultation draft which highlight the potential contribution that each renewable technology could make to meet targets for renewable energy generation by 2020. We also note that solar water heating and solar photovoltaics (solar thermal & solar PV) offer the greatest theoretical opportunities in an urban area such as Poole. Whilst recognising that wave and tidal technologies are not expected to be sufficiently economically viable within the lifetime of the strategy to make a significant contribution to these targets, we support further development of these resources to accelerate the process by which they might become more commercially viable.
3.4.2 The Borough of Poole agrees with the consultation draft that any renewables technology deployed on the ground should be appropriate to the local area in which it is situated. We welcome the fact that the technical resource assessment undertaken by RegenSW followed a prescribed national methodology which has taken into account landscape designations eg by assuming there will be no large scale wind turbines developed in AONBs. This offers some reassurance to those concerned about the impacts of wind turbines on designated landscapes, and should be highlighted in the final strategy. The Council also welcomes the fact that large scale renewable energy installations will continue to be subject to the usual planning process and will therefore need to be considered on their individual merits on a site by site basis and within the local context.
3.4.3 The Borough of Poole recognises that addressing energy efficiency goes hand in hand with the installation of renewables, as lowering the local demand for energy from consumers will require the installation of a corresponding lower generating capacity from renewable resources. We also understand and support the role that energy efficiency and alleviating fuel poverty plays in improving health, as highlighted by our stakeholders. The Council, therefore, supports the proposed priority area for action on energy efficiency to minimise the demand for energy.
3.4.4 The Council notes that stakeholders were keen to see the Council lead by example in terms of delivering exemplar schemes, relating to both energy efficiency and renewable energy. We will seek to identify opportunities in these areas and will communicate our positive achievements with the wider community in Poole.
3.5 Priority area 5: Delivering leadership and partnership that supports renewable energy
3.5.1 The Borough of Poole notes the importance of strong leadership in promoting renewable energy and successfully delivering the strategy, and welcomes the valuable role which the Dorset Energy Groupi has played in taking forward the existing strategy since 2005. If the revised strategy is to succeed, the support of elected members across all three partner local authorities will be necessary. As such, the Council supports the proposed review of the Dorset Energy Group to create a Low Carbon Partnershipi, with a view to strengthening the role of elected members in its governance, championing the need for renewable energy and ensuring a consistent approach across the whole area.
3.6 Priority area 6: Improving renewable energy communications & learning
3.6.1 The Borough of Poole agrees that greater awareness and understanding of renewable energy technologies across all ages could increase uptake of renewable energy within the community and notes that this was supported both by the public opinion survey and the stakeholder consultation event. We also note the suggestion by stakeholders that additional training on renewables and energy efficiency would be beneficial to our councillors to raise awareness and understanding of the issues.
3.6.2 We therefore support the priority areas for action identified, particularly the provision of accessible information, clear coordinated communications on renewable energy, the suggestion of demonstration events hosted by local companies and the involvement of educational establishments to deliver the skills to support renewable energy and the green knowledge economy. We will seek to identify and progress opportunities to take these issues forward.
[1] 77% of those attending the Poole stakeholder consultation event wished to see a target of at least 15%
[i] The Low Carbon Partnership consists of the all the Local Authorities across the Dorset sub-region and a range of other organisations and groups working together to tackling climate change. It has evolved from the Dorset Energy Group, which has been working since 2005 to champion Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy across Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole.