Encouraging Renewable energy
generation through public policy in
the UK
The Renewable Obligation, Feed-in tariffs and
the Renewable Heat Initiative
Presenter: Neil Packer CEng, MCIBSE
CIBSE Low Carbon Consultant
Senior lecturer , Staffordshire University
22-24 Feb 2011
Historical perspective
Main European Renewable energy
policy and legislative drivers
Kyoto Protocol (1998)
 The Kyoto Protocol (1998) required developed countries to collectively
reduce 1990 carbon emissions by 5.2% over 2008-2012 by mechanisms such
emissions trading and clean energy development.
 The Protocol regards the EU as a single entity and requires it to cut its 1990
carbon emissions by 8% over the same period.
 Each individual member state has agreed its own target with some
committing to a percentage reduction in excess of 8% while others were
allowed to increase their emissions.
European Climate Change Programme (2007)
The European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) outlines a climate change
strategy to help prevent temperatures from increasing to more than 2°C
above pre-industrial levels.
The strategy, agreed by the Council of Ministers in spring 2007, sets three
targets to be reached by 2020:
 A reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 20% from 1990 levels (or by
30% in the event of an adequate international agreement)
 An improvement in energy efficiency of 20%
 An increase in energy from renewable sources to 20% of total
EU Renewable Energy Directive (2008)
The EU Renewable Energy Directive sets targets for the amount of
energy each Member State should obtain from renewable sources.
 The EU’s overall target (set in January 2008) is for 20% of its energy
to come from renewable sources by 2020.
 The UK has signed up to the EU renewable Energy Directive which
includes a UK target of 15 percent of renewable energy from by 2020.
 This target is equivalent to a seven-fold increase in UK renewable
energy consumption from 2008 levels: the most challenging of any EU
Member State.
Main UK Renewable energy policy and
legislative drivers
Climate Change Act 2008
The UK Climate Change Act sets a target for the UK to reduce carbon
emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. It also set an interim target of
a 34% reduction by 2020 (with the potential to increase this to a 42% cut
given an international agreement) and established the concept of carbon
budgets.
Among the provisions of the Act are:
 A carbon budgeting system which caps emissions over five-year periods,
with three budgets set at a time, to help UK stay on track for the 2050
target. Carbon budgets up to 2022 were set in May 2009. The Government
must report to Parliament its policies and proposals to meet the budgets.
This requirement is fulfilled by the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan.
.
 Further measures to reduce emissions, including powers to introduce
UK emissions trading schemes more quickly and easily through
secondary legislation – the first use will be the Carbon Reduction
Commitment - Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC-EES).
 A requirement for the Government to issue guidance by 1 October
2009 on the way companies should report their greenhouse gas
emissions, and to review the contribution reporting could make to
emissions reductions by 1 December 2010. A requirement also for the
Government to use powers under the Companies Act 2008 to make
reporting mandatory.
 New powers to support the creation of a Community Energy Savings
Programme (CESP) by extending the existing Carbon Emissions
reduction Target (CERT) scheme to electricity generators.
.
UK Renewable Energy Strategy
The UK Renewable Energy strategy (RES) was published in 2009. The strategy
aims to reduce UK carbon emissions by 750 million tonnes between now and
2050 whilst reducing fossil fuel demand by 10% and gas imports by 20-30%
compared to 2020 levels. It intends to create up to half a million jobs in the UK
renewable energy sector resulting from a £100 billion investment.
The scenario suggests that:
 UK renewable electricity generation could increase from 5.5% today to 30%
chiefly from on and offshore wind supplemented by hydro, wave and tidal
power.
 Renewable heat generation to be supplied by biogas, biomass, solar and
ground sources will increase to 12% of UK total.
 10% of transport requirements will be supplied from renewable sources up
from approximately 2.6% today.
UK Renewable Energy Commitment
50000
Generated electricity (GWh)
45000
40000
35000
30000
PV
Hydro
25000
Offshore wind
Onshore wind
20000
Biomass/Biogas
15000
Tidal/wave
10000
5000
0
2010
2015
Year
2020
Source: www.eea.europa.eu
UK Renewable Energy Committment (PV)
Genearted electricity (GWh)
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
2010
2015
2020
Year
Source: www.eea.europa.eu
Energy Act 2010
The Energy Act 2010 implements some of the key measures required to deliver
the UK government’s agenda. The Act includes provisions on:
 Carbon capture and storage (CCS) to support the construction of four
commercial-scale CCS demonstration projects in the UK.
 The preparation of regular Government reports on the progress that has been
made on the decarbonisation of electricity generation in Britain.
 Introducing mandatory social price support to help tackle fuel poverty by
lowering the energy bills of more of the most vulnerable consumers. These
measures will be funded by requiring energy companies to make available at
least £300 million per annum by 2013-14 on social support.
 The fairness of energy markets and the role of Ofgem (Office of Gas and
Electricity markets) in extending its remit to include the reduction of carbon
emissions and the delivery of secure energy supplies in their assessment of the
interests of consumers.
Encouraging renewable electricity
 1978: Jimmy Carter US President describes the energy crisis as “a clear
and present danger to our nation” and introduces the National Energy Act
and the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act which requires utilities to buy
electricity from independent power producers.
 1990: Germany introduces its “Stromeinsspeissungsgesetz” or “Law on
Feeding Electricity into the Grid”. Utilities required to purchase electricity
generated from renewable energy sources. It results in 4400MW of new
wind energy capacity by 1999.
 2000: Germany introduces its “Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz” or Act on
Granting Priority to Renewable Energy Sources. A feed-in tariff that leads
to massive take-up of PV systems.
 2002 Renewable obligation commences in UK
Renewable Obligation (April 2002)
 Principal pre-FIT UK mechanism for supporting Renewable Energy
 Obligation on all licensed electricity suppliers to source a specific
amount of their sales to customers from eligible renewable sources
(or buy-out to fulfil their obligation)
 Administered by Ofgem
 Players: Ofgem, licensed electricity suppliers, renewable energy
generators and perhaps traders and brokers
Renewable obligation relationships
Ofgem
3
4
5
1
RE
generators
2
2
Traders
and Brokers
Licensed
electricity
suppliers
2
Role of Renewable Energy Generators
 To receive ROC’s(Renewable energy certificates) from
Ofgem for each MWh (Megawatt-hour or 1000kWh’s) of
electricity they generate. 1
 To sell ROC’s to licensed electricity suppliers (or traders
and brokers)* 2
 To confirm electricity output figures(MWh) to Ofgem.
3
[*However......ensuring they provide an attractive return can be a fulltime occupation and likely to be unattractive to smaller generators.]
Role of Licensed electricity suppliers
 To buy ROC’s from renewable electricity generators (or
traders and brokers). 2
 To supply ROC’s to Ofgem or pay buy-out charge .
4
Role of Ofgem
 To supply ROC’s to renewable energy generators for each
MWh of electricity they produce. 1
 To set renewable obligation targets for licensed electricity
suppliers 5
To receive ROC’s or buy-out charge from licensed electricity
suppliers. The buy-out is recycled to those suppliers who
met their RO with ROC’s . 4
To confirm electricity output figures(MWh) from renewable
electricity generators 3
Renewable Energy Certificates (ROC’s)
 Historically 1 ROC per MWh
 Banding introduced to allow different technologies to
receive a ROC for different numbers of MWh generated.
Intended to support or encourage commercial deployment of
emerging technologies.
ROC banding examples
Generation technology
ROC’s per MWh
Landfill gas
0.25
Sewage gas, co-firing biomass
0.5
Onshore wind, hydro, energy from
waste with CHP etc
1.0
Offshore wind, Biomass etc
1.5
Wave, tidal stream, AD, Biomass with
CHP, solar photovoltaic, geothermal,
tidal impoundment etc
2.0
The UK renewable electricity
Feed-in Tariff
FIT Background
 Existing arrangement for low carbon electricity generation
(Renewables Obligation) is complex and not suitable for non-energy
professionals.
 Energy Act 2008 identified modifications to electricity supply and
distribution licences as a means of facilitating Feed-in tariffs (FITs).
 UK Low Carbon Transition Plan and Renewable Energy strategy (July
2009) set out intent to incentivise low carbon small scale electricity
generation.
 Also in July 2009 Consultation on Renewable Electricity Financial
Incentives published. Replies from RDA’s, existing and potential low
carbon generators, licensed electricity suppliers, technology
manufacturers, installers, etc (closed Jan 2010).
 FITs available from 1 April 2010.
FIT Scheme design
Overview
 To encourage small scale low carbon electricity generation
(up to 5MW) by non-energy professionals
 FITs support new anaerobic digestion, hydro, wind and solar PV schemes up to a
maximum capacity of 5MW with tariff rates varying with technology and scale.
 FITs will also support first 30,000 micro combined heat and power (mCHP)
installations with a electrical capacity of 2kW or less, as a pilot programme.
 FITs will not initially support solid or liquid biomass technologies for reasons of
compliance, accreditation and fuel sustainability (though will continue to be
supported by RO).
 Payment comprises two element tariff – generation and export
 Generation tariff (£/kWh) dependant on technology and scale (kWpeak).
A dedicated generation meter is required.
 Export tariff (£/kWh) independent of technology and scale.
Amount (kWh) exported may be metered (larger generators) or assumed
(’deemed’) to be a proportion of generation for installations of <30kW.
 No upfront loans and grants for cost of generating equipment and installation.
 Payment to generators made by large scale licensed electricity suppliers (e.g. Big
6 Centrica, EdF, EON, RWE, Npower, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern)
 Expected to support 750,000 small scale low carbon electricity generators by
2020 saving 7 million tonnes of CO2 over 10 years.
FIT Generators and suppliers
 Scheme defines renewable energy installations of 50kW and below as
‘microgenerators’
 Renewable energy Installations of 50kW up to and including a capacity of
5MW are termed ‘small generators’
 Large (> 50,000 domestic customers) existing licensed electricity suppliers
(mandatory FITs suppliers) will be obliged to offer FITs to generators who
qualify.
 Smaller suppliers (voluntary FIT suppliers) may participate if they wish and
will in any event have right to decline to offer FITs to prospective generators
over 50kW.
 Small scale and micro generators enter into contracts with and are paid by
licensed electricity suppliers offering FIT’s.
 New generators who are currently off-grid are still eligible and may
approach any mandatory FIT supplier
 The costs of the scheme will be borne by all licensed electricity suppliers in
proportion to their share of the UK electricity market.
 A ‘levelisation’ process will be carried out by Ofgem on an annual basis
using FIT returns made by the suppliers.
 Suppliers who have paid out less than their calculated share will need to
pay into a central fund for redistribution.
 Ultimately the suppliers costs will be reflected in their retail electricity
price to all customers.
 Scheme will be monitored and enforced by the Office of gas and
electricity markets (Ofgem) who will provide central accreditation and
registration.
Structure of FIT tariffs
 The generation tariff (p/kWh) differs by technology and scale will be paid for
every kWh generated and metered by the generator regardless of whether the
electricity is used on site or exported to the local electricity network.
 The export tariff (p/kWh) will be either metered and paid as a guaranteed
amount that generators are eligible for, or will, in the case of microgenerators be
assumed to be a proportion (typically 50%) of the generation in any period in which
case a meter will not be required.
 Tariff lifetimes vary from 10 – 25 years dependant on technology e.g. Solar PV
schemes have a lifetime of 25 years, wind and hydro schemes 20 years.
 Payments will be made quarterly
 All generation and export tariffs are linked to the retail price index (RPI).
 FITs income for domestic properties generating electricity mainly for their own
use will not be regarded as taxable income. Non-domestic generators check with
HMRC.
 Tariffs rates have set by considering technology costs and generation expectations
at different scales to deliver an approximate rate of return of 5-8% at well sited
installations.
 Technologies are banded according to scale (kW) and whether the generator
comprises an individual, a collective or an affiliation.
Some examples:
500kW for anaerobic digestion……..’farm scale’
100kW – 2MW for hydro……..’community scale’
500kW – 1.5MW for wind……..’community scale
 Once an installation has been allocated a tariff, that tariff remains fixed
(relative to inflation) for the life of the installation or the life of the tariff
whichever is shorter.
 Tariffs that are available for new installations will however ‘degress’ or
reduce each year to reflect predicted technology cost reductions and
maintain the rate of return.
Typical generation rate ‘degression’ over first 10 years of scheme:
Anaerobic digestion, Hydro, Mico-CHP, Wind (>100kW) - 0%
PV ~ 43% of 2010,
Wind (<100kW) ~ 60-66% of 2010
Level of FIT tariffs
Technology: Solar PV
Scale or capacity
Tariff lifetime: 25 years
Generation tariff level for new
installations (p/kWh)
Year 1
1/4/10-31/3/11
Year 2
1/4/11-31/3/12
Year 3
1/4/12-31/3/13
4kW new build
36.1
36.1
33.0
4kW retrofit
41.3
41.3
37.8
> 4 – 10kW
36.1
36.1
33.0
> 10 – 100kW
31.4
31.4
28.7
> 100kW – 5MW
29.3
29.3
26.8
Stand alone system
29.3
29.3
26.8
Export tariff (additional to generation tariff): 3p/kWh
 PV tariffs require a little clarification;
4kW ……’new build’
- where installed on a new building before occupation
4kW ……’retrofit’
- where installed on a building which is already occupied
……’stand alone system’
- not attached to a building and not wired to provide electricity to
an occupied building.
Technology: Wind
Tariff lifetime: 20 years
Generation tariff level for new
installations (p/kWh)
Scale or capacity
Year 1
1/4/10-31/3/11
Year 2
1/4/11-31/3/12
Year 3
1/4/12-31/3/13
34.5
34.5
32.6
> 1.5 -15kW
26.7
26.7
25.5
> 15 – 100kW
24.1
24.1
23.0
> 100 – 500kW
18.8
18.8
18.8
> 500kW – 1.5MW
9.4
9.4
9.4
> 1.5MW – 5MW
4.5
4.5
4.5
1.5kW
Export tariff (additional to generation tariff): 3p/kWh
Technology: Hydro
Tariff lifetime: 20 years
Generation tariff level for new
installations (p/kWh)
Scale or capacity
Year 1
1/4/10-31/3/11
Year 2
1/4/11-31/3/12
Year 3
1/4/12-31/3/13
19.9
19.9
19.9
> 15-100kW
17.8
17.8
17.8
> 100kW – 2MW
11.0
11.0
11.0
> 2 – 5MW
4.5
4.5
4.5
15kW
Export tariff (additional to generation tariff): 3p/kWh
Technology: Anaerobic digestion
Tariff lifetime: 20 years
Generation tariff level for new
installations (p/kWh)
Scale or capacity
Year 1
1/4/10-31/3/11
Year 2
1/4/11-31/3/12
Year 3
1/4/12-31/3/13
500kW
11.5
11.5
11.5
> 500kW
9.0
9.0
9.0
Export tariff (additional to generation tariff): 3p/kWh
Technology: MicroCHP pilot
Tariff lifetime: 10 years
Generation tariff level for new
installations (p/kWh)
Scale or capacity
2kW
Technology: Various
Year 1
1/4/10-31/3/11
Year 2
1/4/11-31/3/12
Year 3
1/4/12-31/3/13
10.0
10.0
10.0
Tariff lifetime: to 2027
Generation tariff level for installations
(p/kWh)
Scale or capacity
Existing microgenerators
transferred from RO
Year 1
1/4/10-31/3/11
Year 2
1/4/11-31/3/12
Year 3
1/4/12-31/3/13
9.0
9.0
9.0
Export tariff (additional to generation tariff): 3p/kWh
FIT Eligibility and timing
If your generator was installed after 1 April 2010:
 it must be a technology recognised by the scheme i.e. Anaerobic digestion,
domestic scale mCHP, Hydro, Solar PV or Wind.
 it must have an installed capacity of less than 5MW. (2kW or less for mCHP)
 it must be appropriately accredited by the Microgeneration certification scheme
(MCS) if under 50kW or Renewables obligation order (ROO-FIT) for 50kW – 5MW
 must have an approved generation meter and if installation is over 30kW an
approved export meter
 it must not be registered with more than one FIT supplier and cannot be
simultaneously registered for ROC payments
Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS)
 an independent industry-led certification body
 accredited by the United Kingdom accreditation service (UKAS)
 assesses installation companies and products against robust standards
 provides assurances about quality, durability and energy generation
 provides a level of consumer protection meeting OFT requirements
ROO-FIT
A scheme run by Ofgem (Office of gas and electricity markets)
Siting
A site is defined in relation to address, map reference and electricity meter
identification.
 Two different technologies on a single site will be classified as two different
installations and attract separate tariffs.
 Multiple installations of the same technology on a single site will be classified as a
single installation for the purposes of tariff allocation.
So for example a 3MW wind farm site cannot be registered as two 1.5MW
installations to benefit from the higher tariff rates.
Installation
 Microgenerators (50kW or less) will have to use Microgeneration Certification
Scheme (MCS) products and accredited installers who will also lodge the FIT
registration centrally with Ofgem.
 Installations of 50kW to 5MW must register directly with Ofgem.
 Any expansion of an installation within 12 months will be regarded as an
increase in capacity of the installation. If the expansion takes place >12 months
after registration, the original will retain its classification whilst the new will be
rated at the capacity of the aggregate of the two stations.
 Refurbished/renovated/second hand/re-commissioned installations will not be
eligible for FITs because of the different cost base involved.
 The reading and reporting to the FITs supplier of generation and export meters
(where present) is the responsibility of the generator.
Multi-installation site
Tariff rate
1.5MW
9.4p/kWh
1.5MW
1.5MW
=
3MW
+
1.5MW
4.5p/kWh
1.5MW
=
3MW
9.4p/kWh for initial turbine
+
4.5p/kWh for additional turbine
After 12 months
FIT Auditing, assurance and enforcement
Shared between Ofgem and licensed electricity suppliers:
 to ensure only eligible installations claim FITs
 to ensure claims are at an appropriate level of tariff
 to ensure generator information is accurate
 to provide checks to prevent abuse or fraud
 to ensure a fair ‘levelisation’ process takes place
 Ofgem responsible for establishing and managing central FIT register
 Suppliers to undertake checks that payments made are accurate and
appropriate
Reviews and interactions with other policies
 Under EU law FITs must comply with rules on provision of state aid
with a view to ensuring that government interventions to not distort
competition and intra-community trade(e.g. FITs and grant
programmes). To be monitored on a case-by-case basis.
 Micro-generation products are eligible for both CERT and CESP.
 Eligibility for exemption from the Climate change levy (CCL)) or for
the issue of Renewable energy and CHP guarantees of origin will not
be affected by FITs
FITs interaction with Renewables Obligation (RO)
 Microgenerators (capacity of 50kW and below) having applied for
RO accreditation prior to 31/3/10 will have this accreditation
transferred to FITs scheme and will not be required to meet MCS
accreditation requirements. Must find FIT supplier by 1/10/10 to avoid
interruption of support.
 Microgenerators having applied for RO accreditation prior to
15/7/09 will transfer to a FIT generation tariff of 9p/kWh and will
receive support until 2027. This is calculated to be equivalent in level
and duration to the support they would have received if remaining in
RO scheme.
 Microgenerators having applied for RO accreditation after 15/7/09
but before 1/4/10 will transfer to FITs at appropriate tariff.
 Small generators (capacity above 50kW and up to and including
5MW) having applied for RO accreditation prior to 15/7/09 will remain
in RO and will not be eligible for transfer to FITs scheme.
 Small generators having applied for RO accreditation after 15/7/09
but before 1/4/10 will have a window of opportunity to apply to transfer
to FITs if they wish. Ofgem must be informed in writing by 31/8/10
 To reduce administrative complexity all small generators transferring
from RO to FITs from 1/4/10 will have a six month reduction in support.
All small generators transferring from RO to FITs from 1/4/11 will have
an eighteen month reduction in support.
 Small generators that commissioned on or after 15/7/09 but have not
applied for RO accreditation prior to 1/4/10 which make a one-off choice
as to which of the two schemes they join.
There are approximately 6000 potential migrants.
15/7/09
1/4/10
Micro-generators
(<50kW)
At FIT rate
At 9p/kWh
Timeline
Timeline
Timeline
Stay in RO
Small generators
50kW – 5MW
RO Application/accreditation
Post-FIT result
Fit or RO
Impact
Late 2010 :
 Total installed capacity under FIT scheme to date - 57.6MW
Majority of schemes are PV.
 SHARP factory, Wrexham, N Wales
£30 million investment announced to increase PV production to
500MW /annum and increase workforce by 300 by Feb 2011.
 Energy secretary Chris Huhne overturns law banning councils from
selling renewable electricity. Electrical energy production of UK local
authorities (0.01% of total ) predicted to increase to 1% of UK total.
Late 2010 :
 Renewable energy systems manufacturers attempt to tap
into FIT opportunity with price reductions. Small scale wind
turbine manufacturers claim disadvantage due to FIT tariff
and UK planning laws.
e.g. ‘Quietrevolution slashes turbine prices 40 per cent’.
 European manufacturers and suppliers shadow most attractive FIT
tariffs.
e.g. German integrated package solar manufacturer Centrosolar
launches UK subsidiary and obtains UK’s MCS certification for
products.
 Application made for 5MW PV solar farm, Lanhydrock, Cornwall.
FIT take-up ( MW) by technology
Dec 2010
7%
19%
Wind
PV
Hydro
74%
FIT take-up by installation number
Dec 2010
1% 6%
Total: 57.6MW
Wind
PV
Hydro
93%
Total: 17568
Fit take-up (MW) by sector
Dec 2010
13%
5%
Community
Domestic
Non-domestic
Total: 57.6MW
FIT take-up by installation number
Dec 2010
<2% <1%
82%
Community
Domestic
Non-domestic
Total: 17568
98%
STOP PRESS #1
UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
FIT installations to 26 Jan 2011
Anaerobic digestion: 2
Hydro: 178
MicroCHP: 36
Photovoltaic: 19854
Wind: 1132
Total: 21,202
Total capacity: 76.66MW
Genearted electricity (GWh)
UK Renewable Energy
Committment (PV)
2500
2000
UK PV generation target for
2010 – 40GWh
1500
1000
500
0
2010
2015
Year
2020
Back of an envelope (assuming 90% new schemes)
Installed PV FIT capacity (Jan 2011) =
0.94 x 0.9 x 76.66MW = 64.85MW = 64850kW
Assuming 1kWp installed PV generates 750kWh/annum
then new PV FIT schemes (Jan 2011) able to generate annually:
64850 x 750 = 48,637,500kWh = 48.64GWh i.e. 122% of 2010 target
STOP PRESS #2
7 Feb 2011
UK coalition government Energy secretary Chris Huhne announces
early comprehensive FIT review assessing:
 All aspects of the scheme, including eligibility, administration and
tariff levels, to be completed by the end of the year
 Fast track consideration of large scale solar PV
 Uptake of farm scale anaerobic digestion.
Existing tariffs will remain unchanged until April 2012.
The Government will not act retrospectively and any changes to
generation tariffs will only affect new entrants.
Installations which are already accredited for FITs will not be affected.
The Future – The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
 Heat accounts for 47% of UK’s carbon dioxide emissions and 60% of
average household bills.
 In 2008 UK imported around 25% of its natural gas. Projections
suggest that by 2020 this could rise to 60%.
 Renewable heat incentive (RHI) is to encourage a radical change in
the way we generate heat on domestic, commercial and industrial scale
 Unlike Feed-in tariffs there is very little experience of operating this
kind of scheme.
 Like a Feed-in tariff in so much as renewable heat generator is paid
according to generation (kWh).
 RHI available from April 2011 – PROPOSED
Likely RHI Scheme design
 To encourage low carbon heat generation at all scales
 RHI to support solid biomass, bioliquids (up to 45kW), biogas on-site combustion
(up to 200kW), biomethane injection to grid, ground source heat pumps (all scales),
air source heat pumps (up to 350kW) and solar thermal hot water schemes (up to
100kW).
 Single tariff rates varying with technology and scale
 Amount (kWh) generated may be metered (larger generators) or estimated
(’deemed’) for small/medium installations.
 No upfront loans and grants for cost of generating equipment and installation.
 Payment to heat generators made by Ofgem.
 Likely to be funded by new levy on fossil fuel suppliers.
European experience – Vauban district, Freiburg, Germany
European experience – Vauban district, Freiburg, Germany
European experience – Weinbourg, Alsasce, France
Solar farming
Installed capacity: 4.5MWp
Array size: ~ 36,000m2
No. of panels: 27,500
11:00 26/4/10 Output 2.7MW
Sources of information
www.berr.goc.uk
www.carbontrust.co.uk
www.communities.gov.uk
www.decc.gov.uk
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
www.epia.org
www.FITariffs.co.uk
www.lowcarboneconomy.com
www.microgenerationcertification.org
www.ofgem.gov.uk
www.sd-commission.org.uk
www.solarcentury.co.uk
Contact details
Neil Packer
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Technology
Staffordshire University
Beaconside, Stafford, ST18 0AD
Tel 01785 353243
email n.packer@staffs.ac.uk
Illustrative Technology:
Wind Energy
Factors affecting wind velocity
 Elevation above ground
 Surroundings - Proximity of Built environment
 Presence of hills or mountains
- Leeward location , sheltered, low wind velocities
- Windward location, turned to wind, higher wind speeds
 Ground cover - surface roughness, slows down wind
Frequency
Energy in the Wind
Site wind speed is a variable
0.20
0.18
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00
mean 4m/s
mean 5m/s
mean 6m/s
mean 7m/s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Wind velocity (m/s)
Typical annual wind velocity distribution
Horizontal axis
wind turbine
(HAWT) array
Vertical axis
wind turbine
(VAWT)
Power output of wind turbine
The output of a wind turbine is not constant
power output (kW)
Wind turbine performance curve
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
wind velocity (m/s)
Typical Power - wind velocity turbine performance
30
Some ‘Rules of Thumb’
 A 1kW wind turbine will typically deliver 2500kWh of
energy annually at an annual average wind speed of 6m/s
 A 6kW wind turbine will typically deliver 11000kWh of
energy annually at an annual average wind speed of 5m/s
Cost of installation
 Single machines : £4000 - £6000/kW peak
 Large wind farms: £700/kW peak
Example
A community using 100,000kWh/annum decides to install a 20kWpeak
wind turbine on common land. The turbine is predicted to generate
45,000kWh/annum of electrical energy.
A FIT supplier says his tariff is based on a ‘deemed’ 50% export of
generated energy. Grid import electricity is priced at 12.5p/kWh.
What annual income stream (£/annum) can be expected from the
installation?
If the cost of installation is £5000/kW peak, determine the simple
payback period (years) for the generator.
Income from generated electricity
= Annual energy generation (kWh/ annum) x tariff generation rate(£/kWh)
=
45,000
x
0.241
=
10,845 (£/annum)
Income from exported electricity (‘deemed’ 50% of generated)
= Annual energy generation(kWh/ annum) x 0.5 x tariff export rate(£/kWh)
=
45,000
x
=
675 (£/annum)
0.5
x
0.03
Income from offsetting grid imported electricity
= Annual energy generation(kWh/ annum) x 0.5 x import tariff rate(£/kWh)
=
45,000
x
0.5
=
2812.5 (£/annum)
x
0.125
Generate
@24.1p/kWh
45,000kWh
Export to grid
@3p/kWh
22,500kWh
Used on-site
100,000kWh
Output for
on-site use
22,500kWh
Import from grid
@12.5p/kWh
77,500kWh
Total income = £ 10845 + £ 675 + £ 2812.5
= 14,332.5 £/annum
Simple payback period = cost of installation(£) /annual income (£/annum)
= (20 x 5000) / 14332.5
= 6.977 years