Sustainable Energy in Development

Energy efficiency and renewable energy in development

Woking Borough Council has taken a strong lead on tackling the causes of climate change, and has led the way in developing sustainable energy.

Our Climate Change Strategy commits the Council to setting the highest standards for new development. The South East Plan (published May 2009) expects all new development to adopt and incorporate sustainable construction standards and techniques.

The key requirement of Policy NRM11 (Development Design for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) is:

• new developments of more than 10 dwellings or 1000m2 of non-residential floorspace should secure at least 10% of their energy from decentralised and renewable or low-carbon sources.

The key requirements of Policy CC4 (Sustainable Design and Construction) are:

"The design and construction of all new development, and the redevelopment and refurbishment of existing building stock will be expected to adopt and incorporate sustainable construction standards and techniques. This will include:

• consideration of how all aspects of development form can contribute to securing high standards of sustainable development including aspects such as energy, water efficiency and biodiversity gain

• designing to increase the use of natural lighting, heat and ventilation, and for a proportion of the energy supply of new development to be secured from decentralised and renewable or low-carbon sources

• securing reduction and increased recycling of construction and demolition waste and procurement of low-impact materials

• designing for flexible use and adaptation to reflect changing lifestyles and needs and the principle of `whole life costing'.

The South East Plan replaced the Surrey Structure Plan (which was adopted in December 2004). For over four years all new development in the Borough had to comply with policy SE2 of the Surrey Structure Plan which applied to all development and not just that on sites of more than 10 dwellings or 1000m2 of non-residential floorspace.

For the past four years the Council has applied policy SE2 and required at least 10% of the energy requirements of all new development to be generated from renewable sources on site. Therefore the Council has a substantial evidence base to demonstrate that this is practical and viable. The Council will expect that the "proportion of the energy supply of new development to be secured from decentralised and renewable or low-carbon sources" to be at least 10%.

This requirement is in line with the Government's key planning objectives set out in Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 1 Supplement;

"To deliver sustainable development, and in doing so a full and appropriate response on climate change".

The Climate Change Act

Development of renewable and low carbon energy provides one of the mainstays of the provisions set out in the Climate Change Act. The Act puts into statute the UK's targets to reduce CO2 emissions through domestic and international action by at least 80% by 2050 and at least 26% by 2020, against a 1990 baseline. The Act is supported by the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan which sets out the UK Government's strategy for climate and energy and proposes measures to reduce carbon emissions across all sectors.

National Planning Policy

The Governments Planning Policy Statement: Planning and Climate Change (supplement to PPS1) states that applicants for planning permission should consider how well their proposals for development contribute to the Government's ambition of a low-carbon economy and how well adapted they are for the expected effects of climate change. It goes on to say that the policies in the PPS are capable of being material to decisions on planning applications.

Planning and Climate Change states:

"In the interim period before the development plan is updated to reflect the policies in this PPS, planning authorities should ensure proposed development is consistent with the policies in this PPS and avoid placing requirements on applicants that are inconsistent. Where proposals are inconsistent with the Key Planning Objectives set out in this PPS, consideration should be given to how proposals could be amended to make them acceptable or, where this is not practicable, to whether planning permission should be refused".

Coalition Statement

The Coalition statement confirms the Government's position on a number of issues including the importance they place on climate change. It was stated that:

"The Government believes that climate change is one of the gravest threats we face, and that urgent action at home and abroad is required. We need to use a wide range of levers to cut carbon emissions, decarbonise the economy and support the creation of new green jobs and technologies. We will implement a full programme of measures to fulfil our joint ambitions for a low carbon and eco-friendly economy.

• We will push for the EU to demonstrate leadership in tackling international climate change, including by supporting an increase in the EU emission reduction target to 30% by 2020.

• We will seek to increase the target for energy from renewable sources, subject to the advice of the Climate Change Committee".

Current position

It is considered that the above policy framework supports Woking's continuing approach to require all new development to secure at least 10% of their total energy supply from decentralised and renewable or low-carbon sources.

This requirement is in line with the Government's key planning objectives set out in Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 1 Supplement;

"To deliver sustainable development, and in doing so a full and appropriate response on climate change".

Woking Borough Council expects proposals for all new development to comply with these policy requirements.

The Future

The emerging Core Strategy DPD will include policies related to decentralised and renewable energy and low carbon technology within new development. An SPD will set out the detail to support this.

In addition the Council understand that there are likely to be key changes to Building Regulations within 2010, specifically for new dwellings to improve energy efficiency measures by 25% above current Building Regulation (2006) requirements. This would ensure the energy efficiency of new dwellings would meet this element of level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

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How to submit your energy statement

Planning applicants need to follow six steps to demonstrate how their development proposals meet the requirements for sustainable energy. We strongly recommend that applicants consider how they are going to meet these requirements before making a planning application:

1. Calculate the baseline energy consumption. This is the energy (electrical and heating) that would be consumed by the development when occupied over the course of a year, if the development was built to current Building Regulations minimum requirements. There are a number of tools that can be used to calculate the baseline. These include the National Home Energy Rating Scheme (NHER) for residential development and Energy Consumption Guide ECON 19 for commercial development.
2. Describe the measures that are proposed to achieve 'best practice' design for energy efficiency. Best practice standards are defined by the Energy Saving Trust's Energy Efficiency Best Practice in Housing (EEBPH). This equates to approximately 25% improvement over Part L 2006 Building Regs.
3. Calculate the 'actual' predicted energy consumption. This is the predicted energy consumption of the entire development, taking into account additional energy efficiency measures to achieve best practice in design (measured in KWh/yr for the entire development). Figures shold be provided for the annual predicted energy demand for each of the following: heating (and where proposed, cooling), hot water, lighting and electrical appliances. Energy figures should be expressed in KWh/year (Kilo Watt hours per year).
4. Calculate the amount of renewable energy to be generated. This will need to be at least 10% of the actual predicted energy consumption.
5. Decide what measures will be used to generate the renewable energy. You will need to carefully consider the options (solar hot water, solar electricity, biomass boilers, wind turbines, heat pumps), and demonstrate the viability of the chosen solution. Viability considerations include solar orientation, solar and wind resource, supplies of fuel (for biomass), visual impact and installation and running costs. Note: it is likely that there will be a net capital cost implication and occupiers will benefit from reduced energy costs, viability should not be assessed on whether the capital costs can be recovered through reduced energy bills.
6. Consider whether the remaining demand can be met by use of Combined Heat and Power (CHP). CHP can make a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions through more efficient use of energy. A number of factors will determine whether CHP will be appropriate in a development. These include size of scheme, mix of electrical and heat energy demand and patterns of energy demand (i.e. peaks and troughs throughout the day, week and year). In some locations in the Borough, CHP energy is readily available through existing infrastrcture and you should consider whether your development can connect to it. Alternatively, it may be more appropriate to install CHP on site.

Need help?

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Submitting your energy statement online

Go to C-Plan to submit your energy statement in support of a planning application.

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The Golden Rules for energy efficiency and renewable energy

Follow the seven golden rules to successfully integrate sustainable energy in new development:

• Start to plan at the outset how you will address these requirements. Factors such as site layout, building design and orientation all impact on energy efficiency and generating renewable energy. If these are addressed early on, there will be a wider range of options that are viable and the solution is likely to be more cost effective.
• Aim to achieve the highest possible standards of energy efficiency. The greater the energy efficiency, the lower the energy consumption. This will reduce the target level of renewable energy that will need to be generated within the development.
• Think carefully about how energy will be consumed. For example, a development of one and two-bed apartments will have a very different pattern of hot water consumption than a sheltered housing development, and solar hot water heating may not be the most effective means of generating renewable energy in both cases. This is because the quantity of energy generated by a solar hot water panel may fall short of the amount claimed by its suppliers if the occupiers of a development do not consume hot water at a rate equivalent to its production.
• One size does not fit all. Just as with many other aspects of Planning, every development will bring its own circumstances. For example, the solar resource (amount of sunlight available to generate renewable energy) will differ from site to site depending on overshadowing by other buildings and trees.
• Seek advice from energy experts. Modelling the energy consumption of a development and designing to achieve high energy efficiency and integrated renewable energy generation requires particular skills. Early involvement of the right expertise can help to achieve a successful solution and avoid delays during Planning. Advice for house builders is provided by the Energy Saving Trust and for commercial development by the Carbon Trust.
• An energy efficient development is not a 'niche' development. Whilst some examples of energy efficient development are conspicuous by their leading edge design, very high standards can be achieved in more 'conventional-looking' developments. Energy efficiency and renewable energy generation does not need to be at the expense of quality architecture. Many measures (such as wide cavities, insulation, ground source heat pumps) have no visual impact. New products such as solar tiles are also becoming available that have very low visual impact.
• Do not always assume energy efficiency and renewable energy are very costly. Not all energy efficiency measures carry a net cost. For example, designing to capture passive solar energy. The growth in the market for high specification materials and micro renewable energy and higher volumes of production means increasingly competetive prices. In addition, as energy prices rise and environmental awareness increases, consumer demand for energy efficient homes can be reflected in the marketing of new development. Grants and other finacial incentives (such as enhanced capital allowances) can also reduce the net cost.

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Further information

Woking's approach to reducing the carbon footprint of new development (Sean Rendall, Principal Policy Officer, Woking Borough Council)
Energy Saving Trust Best Practice Housing Programme (Peter Thompson, Energy Efficiency Best Practice in Housing Programme Manager, EST)
Low Carbon Buildings Programme (Peter Thompson)
Best Practice Design for Energy Efficiency (Nick Jones, BRE)
Sustainable Energy Compliance Assessment Process (Aidan Dunsdon, Energy Analyst, ECSC)