Wind Turbine special news story

Wind turbine turns project greener

The innovative sustainable housing scheme, Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) in Nottinghamshire, has erected a wind turbine to meet its energy needs. It is one of very few examples in the UK of a community owned wind turbine, whereby the owners are supplied directly with the ‘clean’ renewable energy produced. The occupants of houses have set out to meet both personal and global responsibilities to live in a more sustainable way. Wind energy is the most cost-effective and appropriate for the locality. The use of renewable energies in the daily running of the Hockerton Housing Project, demonstrates that ordinary families and individuals can take responsibility for and significantly reduce the output of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. It is also hoped to demonstrate the financial viability of wind energy compared with other forms of renewable energy systems in a community setting.

The grid linked 5kW (rated output) Proven wind turbine erected on a 26m tower is expected to produce around 12,000kWhrs annually with the wind conditions on site. The grid link will allow for both import of energy during periods of supply shortfall, and export for periods of excess energy production. The excess exported will offset most of the imported energy from the grid. The energy generated will not only be used to provide energy to the homes, but also to power the jointly own electric car – a wind-powered car!

Due to the very low energy requirements of the homes at HHP (about 10% of an average UK home), it is expected that the energy generated by the wind turbine will offset the vast majority required by the occupants. Any remaining requirements will be met by planned use of Photovoltaics (solar energy). This means that the homes will hopefully not be responsible for any of the polluting ‘greenhouse gases’, notably CO₂, identified as being responsible for global warming and climate change. This qualifies the HHP development as meeting a number of the highest environmental housing standards in the UK, namely, Zero CO₂ and Autonomous (see notes for definitions).

HHP was awarded over £10,000 from ScottishPower’s Green Energy Fund towards the cost of installing the wind turbine. Hammy Smillie, ScottishPower’s business and community relations director, said: “Not only will this project be an excellent example of how to make use of renewable energy in the home, it will also give the families the opportunity to contribute towards helping the environment. On a practical level, by using renewable technologies as a power source, the Hockerton Housing Project will save money and set a leading example in the UK.”

It is planned that others interested in renewable systems will be helped by the installation of the HHP wind turbine. Visitors on guided tours of the Project will benefit from seeing a practical working example of a wind turbine supplying all the electrical needs of domestic dwellings; of which there are currently very few examples. Energy aspects are a main area of interest with visitors and it is hoped that they will be encouraged to adopt similar schemes. The additional experience gained by project members in managing this renewable energy system will be fed back into educating others.

HHP’s determination for the wind turbine has already had a significant local and regional impact on renewable energy policy. A milestone was reached in the planning process with HHP’s local planning authority, Newark and Sherwood District Council by the creation of a supplementary planning guidance (SPG) on wind energy. The local authority energy advisory service said “The SPG was proposed initially as a reaction to a specific application (the Hockerton Housing Project) which generated concern from elected members that existing national policy guidance was not sufficient to enable them to fairly consider the application”. The council went onto to approve the application after this SPG was in place. In 2001, the East Midlands Regional Assembly commissioned a study on the potential for sustainable energy in the East Midlands; one of its conclusions was, “Developers of new build should be encouraged to construct low or zero CO₂ emission developments. The Regional Energy Steering Group should disseminate information about existing developments in the Region, such as the Hockerton Housing Project, to help raise awareness about the practical measures that can be taken by developers.” Since the wind turbine was installed the project has received several requests to view the wind turbine by others considering applying for their own wind turbine.

Since erected the general reaction to the wind turbine from locals and recent visitors to the project is surprise that it is smaller than they expected. For most of the year, with leaves on trees, it will be almost invisible from points of public access

The achievement of installing the wind turbine has not been without some difficulties, particularly with the planning process. In all, four applications and an appeal were lodged with the Newark & Sherwood District council over a five year period. In all but one case the planning officers recommended approval, but each application was rejected by elected councillors (apart from the final one). There were two main concerns; noise and visual intrusion. On the subject of visual intrusion, the Director of Development and Planning, Mr Chris Perret, wrote in his recommendation for planning approval - “although I accept that the proposed wind turbine will be visible in the landscape, I do not consider it to be visually detrimental to the surrounding area or nearby residents due to its reduced size. PPG22 states that it is almost impossible for a turbine to be sited without causing any visual intrusion, but that the intrusion should be weighed against Government policies for reducing greenhouse gases.”

Charles Secrett, director of Friends of the Earth, visited the project in May 1999. He was particularly concerned with the struggle HHP was having in obtain planning permission for the wind turbine. He said, “it is about finding the most appropriate energy sources for the most appropriate site. This is a perfectly acceptable place for a wind turbine of the scale proposed. We would urge the council to look sympathetically. We need much more renewable energy, not less”. However with the new SPG in place the fourth application was submitted in July 1999. On 23/9/99 the application was considered and approved.

NOTES

1. The Hockerton Housing Project is the UK's first earth sheltered, self-sufficient ecological housing development. The residents of the five houses generate their own clean energy, harvest their own water and recycle waste materials, causing minimal pollution or CO² emissions. The houses are amongst the most energy efficient, purpose built dwellings in Europe.

2. HHP provides opportunities for people to visit the scheme through guided tours. Individuals and small groups can join others on tours held one Saturday every month. Otherwise groups of 10 or more can arrange their own date by contacting HHP. Also see Guided Tour section of this website.

3. The independent Green Energy Trust was created in May 2000 to administer ScottishPower’s Green Energy Fund, which has been developed to support the government’s target of achieving a twenty percent reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2010. The Green Energy Fund extends ScottishPower’s long-term commitment to the environment to make a positive contribution to the world about us. These are projects that would not otherwise happen without the support of ScottishPower’s Green Energy customers. ScottishPower is independently recognised as a champion of green environmental policies and has been accredited with top awards including The Environment Award accredited by Utility week in December 2000. ScottishPower’s optional Green Energy Tariff funds the Green Energy Trust, where a small premium of four pence a day is included as part of a customer’s utility bill. All the monies generated by the Green Energy Tariff are invested in the ScottishPower Green Energy Fund and used to help finance renewable energy projects. The Scottish Power Green Energy Trust is always looking for submissions for further renewable technology community-based projects. The Trust will consider all projects from across the UK that will have a positive impact on their local communities and the environment. Funding of up to 50% can be granted to successful projects. To obtain a project submission pack, please contact: The Secretary, ScottishPower Green Energy Trust, Zone 23, Cathcart Business Park, Spean Street, Glasgow G44 4BE. Interested parties who wish to find out more information about the Green Energy tariff should visit www.scottishpower.co.uk/greenenergy or call 0845 27 27 111/0845 272 12 12.

4. Technical Data:

· Power rating = 5kW

· Annual output (estimate) = 15,000 kWh

· Height = 26m

· Blade Diameter = 5.6m

· Guided tube tower

· Grid-linked

· Gear-box free (less noisy)

· Noise levels will not exceed 35dB measured outside a 200m radius from the wind turbine

· The proposed wind turbine will be no closer than 200m from the nearest non-involved dwellings.

5. Definitions:

Zero CO₂-A zero CO₂ house creates no net emissions of CO₂ on an annual basis. This means that it must obtain its heat power from renewable energy. It may do this by buying electricity on a “green tariff” from a company generating renewable energy. If the house makes use of any non-renewable energy sources, it must have its own renewable energy system of sufficient capacity such that, during any one year, it can export enough renewable energy to compensate for the CO₂ emissions associated with other imported energy.

The Autonomous Standard - An autonomous house must meet the zero CO₂ and zero heating standards defined above, but it must achieve this by use of on-site renewable energy generation, which may be a stand alone system or grid-linked. It must not use any mains services apart from electricity and, if it is linked to the electricity grid, in any year it must export sufficient renewably generated electricity from its own system to balance its intake from the grid. In addition, it must provide its entire water supply and treatment services from the resources it can collect from its site, without the need for mains connections, and it must process its own waste water and sewage within the confines of its site. No waste water or sewage discharges of any kind must leave the curtilage of the site, including surface water run-off. (In this context, ‘the site’ may be taken as the boundary of the housing estate to allow communal autonomous solutions to be proposed.)

(BRE = Building Research Establishment)

For further information about this story please contact Nick White by email, hhp@hockerton.demon.co.uk, or by telephone on 01636 816902.

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