Fife Local Energy Masterplan Methodology
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Resource Efficient Solutions 31st March 2017 Burntisland Local Energy Masterplan – Methodology Paper 1. Report overview This report presents the methodology used to develop the Burntisland Local energy masterplan. The findings of this project are presented under the following headings: 1. Report overview; 2. Context; 3. Methodology; 4. Community engagement; 5. Data collection and modelling, 6. Baseline; including geographic scope and calculating energy demand; 7. Energy demand results summary of energy results 8. Energy efficiency measures; (including economic assessment of each and comparative assessment of whole town scenarios; 9. Moving and storing energy; (including economic assessment of each and comparative assessment of whole town scenarios; 10. Low carbon energy generation; (including economic assessment of each and comparative assessment of whole town scenarios; 11. Policy; policy implications and weighted spatial analysis 12. Property archetype data validation exercise 13. Transport energy; ; and 14. Project reporting; Appendix With grateful thanks to our funders and supporting organisations for the development of the methodology and Burntisland Local Energy Masterplan. Introduction The way we generate and use energy has constantly changed. In recent decades it has become the role of the National Grid, gas network, and multinational energy companies to deliver nearly all the energy: heat, electricity and transport fuels. We interact with energy via familiar light switches, gas boilers and petrol stations. In the future, delivery of and demand for energy in Scotland will be transformed. The Scottish Government’s ambition is to see an increasing number of new sustainable energy and district heating networks developed across the country to make the best use of natural energy sources including unused and renewable heat. This can help cut carbon emissions, reduce fuel bills and combat fuel poverty. Energy Masterplanning can assist developers and local authorities plan this process better, provide for ‘future proofing’ for communities and assist in using energy more efficiently. Many of the choices that impact on this wider energy transition are made locally. These energy choices are made by local people, local business, and collectively through local communities and by local government. It is recognised that we all need to start planning today for the coming decarbonisation of our energy systems, and to ensure that communities can transition away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable energy systems, in a managed approach and in a manner which maximises the benefits to local communities. Councils are central to this mission and are now increasingly involved in planning local energy systems and ensuring that local decision making and ownership is at the centre of the new energy paradigm that is emerging in Scotland. It is recognised that future energy systems have to be based within a community instead of outside of it. This is a whole new world of working, thinking and delivery for everyone; from national Government, Local Authorities, Community Councils, infrastructure providers, to utility companies and local communities. There are a lot of questions facing stakeholders when they consider this topic: What does a local energy system look like? One local system may be different from another. What do they have in common? What factors will necessitate differentiation in different locations? All may have different finance and ownership models. How can they all work together? How can we ensure that community benefits and ownership is maximised under different finance and ownership models? What type of energy systems do we need to future-proof us against the twin challenges of climate change and energy security? How can we plan now for the energy transition that Scottish Government believes that the whole country needs to undergo? Fife Council believes that many of these questions can best be answered by trialling the Community Energy Masterplanning process in partnership with a local community. Successful energy Masterplanning requires a lead organisation with a commitment to bring stakeholders together, promote, develop and subsequently adopt and help deliver the energy masterplan. Fife Council is keen to maximise the opportunities that can arise from the process, for the benefit of communities across Fife. One of the key objectives within the Fife Community Plan is the need to reduce carbon emissions and create a healthier fairer Fife for all. Fundamental to this will be engagement with communities around their energy consumption and supply. To facilitate this Fife Council are developing a Sustainable Energy Climate Action Plan (SECAP) for Fife. This will potentially include local energy masterplans as a tool for integrating energy and climate solutions into local community planning. This trial was designed to help us to do that. It is anticipated that the lessons learned within this project will be able to be replicated with local communities across Fife. The purpose of this project is to develop a Local energy masterplan for Burntisland for the local community and council to better understand local energy needs and how it could be supplied locally in a low carbon manner. It aims to reflect the community’s priorities and support its transition to becoming a low carbon, high resilience settlement. The document will then be reviewed as part of the local planning process to help guide proposals and policies influencing Burntisland. This pilot project worked in partnership with the local community in Burntisland, Fife, with the aim of reducing fuel and mobility poverty and reducing carbon emissions. Through a series of consultation meetings and workshops we mapped the ‘whole energy system’ for Burntisland looking at heat, electricity and transport options including storage opportunities. The project brought in external expertise to enable the community to understand their energy demands (using the heat map and other developed tools) and to work collaboratively to map agreed low carbon solutions The priorities and ideas contained within the Local energy masterplan were developed by the local community. The main output from this project is the creation of a local Energy Masterplan for Burntisland to support the development of a locally-planned sustainable energy system. As part of this, the following topics have been considered: Demand side management options for Burntisland; Delivering renewable heat and electricity to customers in Burntisland; Linking local energy demand with local renewable energy generation; and the potential for co-location / combining technologies for example wind and solar Energy storage potential in Burntisland; and Sustainable travel options for Burntisland. The transition to a low carbon economy and energy system will have multiple benefits beyond just reducing carbon emissions. We aim to enable the following outcomes following the development of a Local energy masterplan for Burntisland: 1. The local community will benefit (once projects within the Energy Masterplan are implemented) from secure, affordable, low carbon heat, electricity and transport options. 2. Locally owned energy systems can strengthen local communities by providing an income from local renewable energy generation, improving community empowerment, resilience and cohesion; 3. Reduced fuel poverty by reducing energy demand and providing affordable energy, locally; 4. Improved local air quality leading to health and wellbeing benefits within Burntisland; 5. Improved local understanding of energy and climate change and inspiring others about what can be achieved when communities work together; 6. Reducing carbon emissions – showing that communities can take ownership of, and develop local solutions to this global problem; 7. Experiential and learning benefits - the process of developing a Local energy masterplan for Burntisland has taught all involved, valuable lessons on how best to deliver Energy masterplans which emphasise community decision-making and ownership options.. 8. This knowledge and learning will enable us to bring benefits to other local communities and it is hoped that this will inspire other communities to follow Burntisland’s lead. 2. Context The Scottish Government recognises that the twin challenges of climate change and energy security in an increasingly uncertain world, will force Scotland to look at energy in a different way. As the natural gas reserves in the North Sea and fossil fuels in general become more difficult and expensive to exploit, and as carbon emissions regulations have become more stringent, there is increasing focus on changing how heat and power is provided to homes and businesses. To this end, the Scottish Government’s new draft Energy Strategy and new draft Climate Change Plan were launched in January 2017 and represent the basis by which the Scottish government is moving beyond old energy paradigms and is seeking to replace them with something more fit for the future. Furthermore the Community Empowerment Act and the Land Reform Act, mean that there is also increasing legislative focus on communities having more say and ownership around local energy issues. Other supporting guidance and legislative instruments in this area include: The Climate Change (Scotland) Act, 2009; the Electricity Generation Policy Statement, 2013; and the ‘Heat Policy Statement – Towards Decarbonising Heat: Maximising the Opportunities for Scotland’, 2015; all of which outline the ambition to move