REvision 2010
- South West sub-regional renewable electricity targets for 2010.

REvision 2020
- South West renewable electricity, heat and on-site generation targets for 2020.

The South West Bioheat Programme
- aims to stimulate the bioheat industry in the South West through increasing the number of systems on the ground, supporting fuel suppliers and providing recognised training programmes across the region. The programme, launched in April 2007, is funded with £650,000 from the South West RDA and £10,000 from the Forestry Commission. For details on RegenSW's website click here: Technologies - Biomass.

Woodfuel - SW Regional Woodfuel Framework 2005 (pdf on external site) - hosted on the Forestry Commission's website. The purpose of this framework is to provide a focus for all those interested in developing the potential of woodfuel in the South West.

South West Regional Housing Strategy 2005-16 (SWRHS) (external site).

The Energy Saving Trust has a national network of Energy Efficiency Advice Centres (EEACs). These can be reached on the ACT ON CO2 advice line that provides people with comprehensive advice on how to reduce their carbon footprint with tailored, free, impartial advice from the Energy Saving Trust, covering energy efficiency, microgeneration and renewable energy, water efficiency and waste reduction. It also connect with offers from energy companies who are now required to provide practical help to reduce energy use at home - including subsidies for energy saving measures. The number is 0800 512 012 (Monday - Friday, 9am – 5pm).

Community Action for Energy
The Energy Saving Trust's CAfE project (Community Action for Energy) provides a funding database service where community groups involved in sustainable energy projects can seek finance for their initiatives. This can be found at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/cafe/funding/.

National Energy Action (NEA) - NEA develops and promotes energy efficiency services in partnership with central and local government, utilities, housing providers and health services to tackle the heating and insulation problems of low-income households.

Community Renewables Initiative (CRI). This is co-ordinated by the Severn Wye Energy Agency - details at www.swea.co.uk/CRI%20Local.htm.

Code for Sustainable Homes
On 13 December 2006, the Code for Sustainable Homes - a new national standard for sustainable design and construction of new homes was launched by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) as part of the government's commitment towards zero carbon development - click here for further information: planning, building and the environment. By integrating elements of the Code into new homes and obtaining assessments against the Code, developers will be able to obtain a 1 - 6 ‘star rating’ for any new home which will demonstrate its environmental performance. On 27 February 2008 the Government confirmed mandatory rating against the Code will be implemented for new homes from 1 May 2008. The code can be found on the planning portal website, click here: Code for Sustainable Homes.

DCLG also announced in December 2006 in the document "Building A Greener Future: Towards Zero Carbon Development" (a consultation on the timetable for incorporating the energy/carbon standards set out in the Code into future Building Regulations) that there was a need to set a target now for moving to zero carbon housing within 10 years. DCLG proposed to achieve this in three steps: moving first, in 2010 to a 25% improvement in the energy/carbon performance set in building regulations; then second, in 2013, to a 44% improvement; then, finally, in 2016, to zero carbon. DCLG stated that zero carbon meant that, over a year, the net carbon emissions from energy use in the home would be zero.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Low Carbon Housing & Fuel Poverty Strategy" for the South West.

The strategy & action plan was adopted by regional partners in early 2007. It can be downloaded from here:-

  LCHFP Strategy & Action Plan (pdf 316kb)

  LCHFP - Regional Targets Report (pdf 393kb)

  LCHFP - Annexes to the Regional Targets Report (pdf 454kb)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fuel Poverty Indicator. The fuel poverty indicator developed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy can be found at: www.fuelpovertyindicator.org.uk. This is a powerful tool for predicting levels of fuel poverty in each electoral ward in England, for informing policy and targeting programmes.

The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) (on Defra's website). The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) - which came into effect on 1 April 2008 to run until 2011 - is an obligation on energy suppliers to achieve targets for promoting reductions in carbon emissions in the household sector. It is the principal driver of energy efficiency improvements in existing homes in Great Britain. It represents a strengthening of the Government's efforts to reduce household carbon emissions – with a doubling of the level of activity of its predecessor Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC). In addition to the energy efficiency measures of the current EEC, suppliers will be able to promote microgeneration measures; biomass community heating and CHP; and other measures for reducing the consumption of supplied energy. CERT will maintain a focus on vulnerable consumers and will include new approaches to innovation and flexibility.

Warm Front - Warm Front is the Government's main grant-funded programme for tackling fuel poverty.

The HEAT Project (Home Energy Action Taskforce) acts as a conduit to deliver required energy and carbon savings required on behalf of Local Authorities by installing Loft and Cavity Wall Insulation using funding awarded under the Energy Savings Trusts HECAction scheme (HECA is the Home Energy Conservation Act that came into force on 1.4.06 and set an obligation on Local Authorities to reduce energy usage and CO2 emissions in their areas by 30% over a 10 year period to help combat climate change). The HEAT Project is endorsed and supported by over 100 Local Authorities across England and Wales.

^ Return to TOP of this page ^

---

Energy Security

The South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) Scrutiny Panel carried out a 'Regional Strategic Review on Sustainable Energy' during 2006. This review also focused on energy security for the region. The report was published in October 2006.

The report states that the South West is heavily reliant on imported energy – both in terms of primary resources (for example, gas and uranium) and generating capacity. With the imminent shutdown of nuclear power stations, this reliance could become even greater. The South West faces other challenges; the region is at the end of the grid network, the region is growing which has implications for energy demand and grid capacity, and large proportions of the region are off the gas grid. However, there are also considerable opportunities. Currently there is a small amount of renewable energy production in the region, but there is the potential for significant capacity. The region only produces a third of the electricity it uses.

In addition to other recommendations concerning sustainable energy issues, the Scrutiny Panel recommended, in the context of the region's energy security, that:
• the SW Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) and the SWRA identify and promote the South West’s distinctive issues in relation to energy and the need for a tailored approach to meet its needs;
• the SWRDA uses the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) ‘South West debate’ on energy and the economy to consider and determine an appropriate level of energy self-sufficiency for the region;
• the SWRA, the SWRDA, the National Assembly for Wales, DTI and other partners consider the outcomes of the Sustainable Development Commission study into tidal energy (including energy options in the Severn Estuary) in Spring 2007 and engage in an informed debate to develop a common position on utilising the resource.

Click here for link on the SWRA website to: Regional Strategic Review on Sustainable Energy.

---

Peak Oil
- end of the first half of the Oil Age?

"We may be sleepwalking into a problem which is actually going to be very serious” - Lord Oxburgh, former non-executive chairman of Shell UK

"Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand" - Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive, Royal Dutch Shell plc (January 2008)

No one knows for sure how much oil the world has but many geologists and oil industry experts recognise that "Peak Oil" will be reached within the first 5 - 20 years of the 21st Century. Peak oil is the time when the maximum rate of the global production of oil has been reached, recognising that it is a finite natural resource affected by the rate of depletion. The rate of depletion will be influenced by economic, market and policy developments that are uncertain.

UK Continental Shelf oil production peaked, for example, in 1999 and global oil demand continues to rise (+ 2% p.a.*) partly because the rate of increase in major developing countries like China and India is accelerating.

Peak oil brings to our attention the importance of the balance between demand and supply and how that relates to the trend in world production and prices after peak oil. These market adjustments have major implications for how we travel and the production and transportation of food and other goods and services.

If global demand exceeds supply and oil prices consistently push higher, the knock-on effect on the economy could be significant. The market would react to offset some of the threat by encouraging new exploration and exploitation, generating better and alternative technologies, and changing the pattern and structure of consumer demand.

However, timing and the effectiveness of the fiscal, monetary and regulatory policy response create uncertainty and suggest a possible danger of economic disruption.

It is difficult, therefore, to foresee whether adjustment will be positive (leading to a low carbon economy) or negative (high unemployment and disruption to the supply of goods and services) and whether it will be gradual - a soft landing, or whether there will be more impact on the world economy - a potential hard landing.

Market signals will help society adjust to these consequences but there is a need to prepare for non-market effects. Peak oil focuses attention on a wider issue that the South West region should take into account in future discussions and policy decisions concerning the region's energy security, the creation of a low carbon and low oil region, resource efficiency, and the implications for the region's future well being and its sustainable development including investment in alternative renewable energy resources.

These issues are being explored in the SW Debates led by the South West of England RDA and regional partners.

There is a growing number of South West towns and cities becoming 'Transition Towns' with the aim of engaging people in the transition from an oil dependency to a low energy future with, for example, collaboration in drawing up 'Energy Descent Plans'. The Transition Towns website is at www.transitiontowns.org.

If you wish to obtain further information on the issue of peak oil, there are several links to websites about peak oil/oil depletion on the links to environmental and other NGOs page of this webste.

   *Oil demand statistics: International Energy Agency (June 2007)

^ Return to TOP of this page ^

---

Sub-Regional Strategies
that contribute to a 'Low Carbon South West'

Note: This list is not exhaustive but gives examples of some of the strategies within the region. Visit www.transitiontowns.org also to see SW towns and cities planning for a low energy future in response to the challenge of peak oil.

Bournemouth Climate Change Strategy (pdf) - adopted 2003.

Bristol City Council - Bristol's climate protection and sustainable energy strategy. See also Bristol Partnership's Green Capital Initiative - the objective launched in March 2007 for making Bristol a low carbon city with a high quality of life.

Cheltenham Borough Council - Climate change: A strategy for Cheltenham (adopted May 2005).

Cornwall - 'The Energy Strategy for Cornwall - Action Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow, 2004'. This is delivered by the Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership (CSEP) and CSEP's supporting delivery programme Community Energy Plus.

Devon County Council - Climate change strategy (published September 2005).

Gloucestershire - Gloucestershire Energy Strategy 2007-2017, adopted in April 2007 (doc on the Gloucestershire First website).

Mendip Strategic Partnership - draft Climate Change Strategy (January 2007) Note: the 'Tackling Climate Change Locally' action plan, within Mendip's Community Strategy, was national winner of Local Government Chronicle and Health Service Journal award, March 2007.

Penwith District Council - A Climate Change Strategy for Penwith 2006 - 2009.

Plymouth City Council - Climate change: the impacts and implications for Plymouth (report published September 2004).

Somerset County Council - “Responding to Climate Change in Somerset”, the draft County Climate Change Strategy (October 2007).

South Gloucestershire - Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (adopted by the Council December 2006).

Swindon Borough Council - climate change action plan 2006-2010 (published November 2006).

Torbay - a Climate Change Strategy for Torbay 2008-13 (consultation draft published February/March 2008).

Wiltshire & Swindon (pdf) - Renewable Energy Action Plan (published Autumn 2005).

^ Return to TOP of this page ^

---

---

The report can be found on the HM Treasury website, click here: HM Treasury - Stern Review.

Climate Change Bill 2007
The Climate Change Bill, the first of its kind in the world, was published on 15 November 2007 and sets out a framework that will put Britain on the path to become a low-carbon economy, with clear, legally binding targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 60% by 2050, and 26% to 32% by 2020, against 1990 levels.

Key points in the Climate Change Bill include:

  • Legally-binding targets to cut CO2 emissions by at least 60% by 2050 and 26 to 32% by 2020.

  • A new system of legally binding five year "carbon budgets", set at least 15 years ahead, to provide clarity on the UK's optimum pathway towards its key targets and increase the confidence and certainty for business planning and investment in technology needed to move towards a low-carbon economy.

  • A new statutory body, the Committee on Climate Change, to provide independent expert advice and guidance to Government on achieving its targets and staying within its carbon budgets.

  • A new system of annual open and transparent reporting to Parliament. The Committee on Climate Change will provide an independent progress report to which the Government must respond. This will ensure the Government is held to account every year on its progress towards each five year carbon budget and the 2020 and 2050 targets.

  • A requirement for Government to report at least every five years on current and predicted impacts of climate change and on its proposals and policy for adapting to climate change.

  • Enabling powers to introduce new trading schemes through secondary legislation, similar to the Carbon Reduction Commitment, a new cap and trade scheme for large organisations such as local authorities, supermarkets and other large retailers, and government departments. The Carbon Reduction Commitment will be introduced through the Bill.

For link to the Defra web page concerning the Climate Change Bill click here: Climate Change Bill 2007.

Secure energy supplies.
The Government announced in the Queen's Speech during the state opening of Parliament on 15 November 2006 that it was to take steps to ensure it had the right framework for companies to invest to maximise production from UK oil and gas reserves and invest in new energy infrastructure and power stations in a timely way. It will also continue international pressure to liberalise markets in the EU and ensure open and competitive access to energy reserves elsewhere in the world.

The Energy Bill 2007/8 will implement the legislative aspects required for this and was published on 10 January 2008. It is in the legislative programme for the third session of Parliament with the aim of getting Royal Assent by summer 2008. Click here for the Energy Bill web page on the DBERR website: Energy Bill 2007/8.

The SDC report can be found at: http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/tidal.html.

Just before the SDC report was published, work to begin immediately to examine the feasibility of generating electricity from the Severn Estuary was announced on 25 September 2007 by John Hutton Secretary of State for Business. The project's potential to provide 5% of total UK electricity demand from a renewable source will be examined alongside the impact on the natural environment, and social and economic aspects as well as the financing. The study will also look at the potential for other UK barrages.

The review announced by John Hutton will be a cross-Government project, led from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The Severn Barrage is the name of a number of ideas for building a barrage from the English coast to the Welsh coast over the Severn tidal estuary that have been put forward since the since the 19th century. A Severn barrage could have a capacity of up to 8640 Mega Watts and an estimated output of 17 Tera Watt Hours a year - providing around 5% of current UK electricity demand.

A barrage would require compliance with a wide range of environmental legislation, including the EU Habitats and Wild Birds directives. The Severn Estuary is of National, European and International nature conservation significance - and so has been afforded the corresponding levels of legal protection. It is designated as both a Ramsar Site (Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971) and Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU Habitats Directive and is in the process of being designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Estuary also comprises a series of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Further details can be found on the Defra website from this link: Climate change: valuing emissions (Defra).

^ Return to TOP of this page ^

The European Commission tabled proposals on 10 January 2007 for a common energy policy to improve energy supply security in Europe while combating climate change and making industry more competitive. The Commission sought to provide solutions to those challenges based on three central pillars:
  1. A true Internal Energy Market
  2. Accelerating the shift to low carbon energy
  3. Energy efficiency
For further details on the EC website click here: ec.europa.eu/news/energy/070110_1_en.htm.

EU leaders agree binding renewable energy targets & a ban on filament lighting by 2010
On 8 March 2007 the 27 EU Member States agreed to a 20% target for renewable fuel use by 2020. EU leaders also agreed to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020. The measures could include a ban on filament light bulbs by 2010, forcing people to switch to fluorescent bulbs. The EU plan involves:

  • a 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions, as compared with 1990 levels, or 30% if other developed nations agree to take similar action;

  • an increase in the use of renewable energy, to 20% of all energy consumed - this is a binding target but the plan does allow flexibility in how each member state contributes to the overall EU target;

  • an increase in the use of biofuels, to 10% of all fuel used in transport; and a possible ban on incandescent bulbs - with filaments - in offices, street lights and private homes by the end of the decade.

    The European Commission will draft a directive to impose the use of modern low-energy fluorescent light bulbs, coming into force as early as 2008.

EU climate change proposals announced 23.1.08
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced plans to make Europe "the first economy for the low-carbon age" on 23 January 2008. The plans contain proposals to implement the decisions agreed by EU Heads of State and Government at the 2007 Spring European Council, including a 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, increasing to 30% when there is an international climate agreement; 20% of total EU energy consumption to come from renewables by 2020; and measures to support the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) including up to twelve CCS demonstration projects. Mr Barroso put the cost at 60bn euros a year until 2020. It would mean a rise in electricity prices of 10-15% but there would be less reliance on energy imports.

The proposals also put the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) at the heart of EU climate policy, including establishing an EU-wide central cap on emissions covered by the EU ETS to 2020 and beyond, ensuring both scarcity and certainty, changed from the current system of Member States setting emissions caps for their own economies.

For the UK, the Commission’s proposals include:

  • A reduction of 16% in UK greenhouse gas emissions from sectors not covered by the EU ETS by 2020 from 2005 levels;

  • For 15% of the energy consumed in the UK to come from renewable sources by 2020;

  • For 10% of road transport fuels to come from renewable sources, subject to them being produced in a sustainable way.

The EU press statement with the Member States' legally binding targets for 2020 can be found by clicking on this link EU 23.1.08 (external site).

European Union Emissions Trading Scheme
The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is one of the policies being implemented across Europe to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and combat the serious threat of climate change. Phase I of the Scheme began on 1 January 2005 and ran until 31 December 2007. Phase II runs from 2008-2012 to coincide with the first Kyoto Protocol commitment period. For further details on Defra's website, click here: EU ETS - Defra.