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BWEA Press Release
Wednesday 2nd November 2005
Wind industry's response to new Government support for small wind and other microgeneration technologies:
Low Carbon Building Programme announced
The British Wind Energy Association, the UK's leading renewable energy association, today gave a cautious welcome to the Government's announcements on the new Low Carbon Buildings Programme.
BWEA Head of Onshore Chris Tomlinson said:
"There is an enormous public appetite for the uptake of small wind and other renewable systems and this announcement is a step in the right direction towards harnessing the power of our homes, schools and offices. The best way for the public and industry to respond to this is to demonstrate that appetite by ensuring this scheme is a sell-out and to build a powerful case for even more Government action on small scale renewables.
"The total amount of money available for these technologies is still very small in comparison to their potential. Grants are useful but on their own won't harness the full potential of microrenewables. The Government must also bring forward other measures such as permitted development rights and reversible metering to help small wind systems become part of the mainstream."
The new programme has been given a funding package of £30 million over three years, and Government plans to bring forward £1.5 million immediately to bridge the gap between the existing Clear Skies and Major PV Development programmes and the introduction of the LCBP comes in the next financial year.
Clear Skies is due to end in March 2006 with a final deadline for community applications on the 4th November 2005, which sparked fears that there may be a gap between the two programmes. The Government consulted widely on the Low Carbon Building Programme and once the new programme starts it is expected to give grant support for individuals, schools and communities to put renewable power on their buildings.
Notes:
- The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) is the UK's leading renewable energy body with over 320 company members. With over 27 year's experience, BWEA is leading the UK debate on wind energy and marine industries. BWEA's specialist team provides members with essential market information and in-depth technical support. In addition, BWEA lobbies on behalf of members, conducts profile raising campaigns and organises business development opportunities across the year, including the industry's main annual conference and exhibition.
- BWEA's response to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme can be found at www.bwea.com/pdf/Microgeneration_Strategy.pdf
- There are around 25 million domestic dwellings in the UK and around 24,000 schools. If 2.5 million homes, i.e. one in ten, installed a 1 kW turbine, this would be equal to 2.5 GW of generation capacity. Assuming a 30%* load factor, this would produce 6.6 TWh, representing 2% of total UK electricity consumption or 6% of domestic electricity consumption. It would displace around 7.3 TWh of generation, as generation at point of use avoids system losses, and so save about 6 million tonnes of CO2 each year – equivalent to 1.7 million tonnes of carbon each year.
*30% is used as a representative figure in the calculations. The load factor of individual turbines will depend on site conditions and in particular average wind speed. For example, a turbine with a load factor of 30% at a site with an average wind speed of 6 meters per second (m/s) might have a load factor of 20% at a site with an average wind speed of 5m/s and a load factor of 40% at a site with an average wind speed of 7m/s.
For more information on small scale wind systems see www.bwea.com/small
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