Delivering Community Renewables

1
Delivering Community Renewables

• The Energy4All Contribution
• Co-op Congress 21st May 2006
• Andrew King

2
The Great Energy Debate

• Fossil fuels are running out
• Coal mines shut
• North Sea reserves dwindling
• UK net energy importer..again
• Supplies increasingly from unstable regions
• Energy prices rising fast fuel poverty
• Fossil fuels produce Greenhouse Gases yet
• Energy Demand continues to increase 2 pa!

3
Climate Change

• Climate change increasingly inevitable and
  unpredictable
• UK production of greenhouse gases still
  increasing
• Mitigating measures
• Consume less energy
• Produce energy in sustainable manner
• Develop offsets through sinks

4
Sustainable Energy Strategy

• Energy Conservation
• Renewables
• Solar Thermal
• Wind
• Hydro
• Biomass (waste, forestry, crops, gas)
• Photovoltaic (PV)
• Heat pumps
• Wave and Tidal
• Nuclear On-going debate

5
Wind Works

• Pros
• Established, safe and economic technology
• Excellent resource
• No pollution
• Dispersed production
• Micro to macro
• No de-commissioning costs
• Shift from centralised to decentralised
  generation

• Cons
• Some opposition - visual, noise etc.
• High risks pre-consent (150k)
• High capital costs (1k/kW
  installed)
• Specialist skills management
• Long lead times and planning delays
• Result- Very few community sites in UK

6
Co-operation

• All solutions require shift in public attitudes
• Need to bring issues and solutions into
  communities give understanding and control
• Harness the power of the market combine ethics
  and profit
• Energy co-ops widely established in Scandinavia,
  Germany etc.
• Can co-op model facilitate community ownership in
  UK?

7
Baywind Co-op

• First and largest co-op-owned wind farm in UK.
• Established 1996 by Swedish developer
• Six wind turbines in Cumbria
• 1,350 Members
• Raised 1.9 m through two public share offers
• Co-op Bank loan of 1m to buy out Swedes
• Enterprising Solutions Award

8
Baywind Co-op Benefits

• Retain ownership in community
• Return to investors 6 to 9 pa (incl. EIS tax
  relief)
• Capital returned at end of project
• One member, one vote
• 1m to local economy
• Educational visits and grants
• Prevent 6,000 tons of CO2 pa
• Energy Conservation Trust
• Created Energy4All
• Note funding support from Co-op Action.

9
Energy4All Facilitating community ownership of
renewable energy

• Aims
• Develop carbon neutral energy generation
• Facilitate community ownership in renewable
  energy projects
• Develop co-ops as a focus for community energy
  and environmental programmes
• Provide an attractive way for people to invest
  their money ethically, particularly in rural
  communities.

10
Energy4All Projects

• 1) Fully community owned
• With grant support (Highlands Islands) or
• Personal commitment and money (Westmill)
• Hence Rare due to high risks and costs
• Energy4All has varied roles
• As advisor and consultant (HICEC etc)
• As facilitator (Findhorn)
• As project developer (Westmill)
• As manager of operational projects

11
Energy4All Projects 1)
Findhorn
Community owned sites
Baywind
E4A advisory role selected projects
Bro Dyfi
Westmill
12
Westmill Wind Farm Co-op

• Plans for 5 turbines 100 community owned
• Farmer worked for 13 years to get permission
  140k
• First wind farm in SE England
• Energy4All bought project and est. co-op
• Energy4All launched share prospectus Nov. 2005
• Support from OSG (MCC)
• Forecast 12 p.a. return over life of project
• Offer oversubscribed - 4.4m raised
• Locals receive priority
• Additional bank finance
• Operational Spring 2007

13
Findhorn Eco Village

• Spiritual community near Inverness
• Energy4All secured loan for 3 X 225kW turbines
• Community gt75 self-sufficient in power
• Eco houses and high energy efficiency standards
• Private wires scheme
• Operational April 2006

14
Energy4All Projects

• 2) Share in developer sites.
• Energy4All negotiates deal with developer to
  facilitate community stake for a local co-op.
• Developers Falck / SSE(?) / Nuon / EDF
• Energy4All again has varied roles
• As negotiator with developer
• As creator and guide to local co-ops
• As promoter of share offers
• As contracted manager of operational co-ops

15
Energy4All Projects 2)
Dunbeath
Kilbraur
Sites with E4A Community stake in Developer
project Falck / RDC SSE EDF Nuon
Boyndie
Ben Aketil
Millennium
Mellock
Blackcraig
Mynydd Waun Fawr
Fenland
Airfield
16
Boyndie Co-op

• Seven turbines on old WW2 airfield.
• Energy4All negotiated royalty share for locals
  with Falck.
• Co-op launched 15th May 2006.
• Aim to raise 0.75m locally
• Support from Scottish Co-op
• First of seven similar schemes in Scotland

17
Fens Green Power Co-op

• Five sites in E Anglia under construction by EDF
• Energy4All negotiated ownership share for locals
  -
• Two 2 MW Repower turbines
• Est. value at 4.2 m
• Co-op launch Sept 2006? - open to all
• Support from Lincs. Co-op

18
Energy4All and Co-op movement

• Climate change and energy issues need urgent
  action
• Enormous potential demand from public
• Wind and other renewables essential
• UK not geared to community ownership of power
• Barriers of timescales, professional skills,
  financial risks and capital needs can be resolved
  
• Co-op model has been proved to work
• Energy4All has ambitious programme but minimal
  resources
• Co-op movement has been slow to adapt and to help
  deliver the potential

19
Conclusions

• The energy problem is fundamental
• The potential for the co-op movement is great
• We have laid the foundations
• Please help us deliver!