Local Success Stories

Local Success Stories

Country

United Kingdom

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Name of Example

Location

1

Implementation of London Plan – an example of putting PPS1 into action

London

The Initiative

The Mayor’s London Plan is an example of the successful implementation of the approach set out in PPS1. It sets out the energy policies which all new major developments in Greater London are assessed against prior to approval or rejection by the Mayor. Once planning approval is given, the commitments are often enforced through the Section 106 (s106) agreements. All major developments referable to the Mayor of London are assessed against the London Plan.

There is a clear steer in the London Plan towards promoting decentralised energy infrastructure, for example the energy hierarchy stipulates Lean (energy efficiency), Clean (CHP and district heating) and Green (renewables) in that order. The Mayor’s energy strategy sets out a target of supplying 25% of London’s energy requirements through decentralised supply by 2025.

The London Plan includes a heating hierarchy which should be used to select heating systems for major new build developments. This hierarchy (Policy 4A.6) prioritises the use of district heating, as can be see from the following quotation: ‘The Mayor will expect all major developments to demonstrate that the proposed heating and cooling systems have been selected in accordance with the following order of preference:

• connection to existing CCHP/CHP distribution networks,

• site-wide CCHP/CHP powered by renewable energy

• gas-fired CCHP/CHP or hydrogen fuel cells, both accompanied

by renewables

• communal heating and cooling fuelled by renewable sources of energy

• gas fired communal heating and cooling.

The policies in the plan stemmed from the approach set out in London’s Energy Strategy. The following quote from the energy strategy demonstrates the potential that district heating is seen to have: ‘Combined heat and power (CHP) linked to community heating/cooling has the potential to reduce London’s CO2 emissions substantially. Heating represents London’s single largest energy demand and the high heat density here lends itself well to CHP and heat distribution networks. Heat distribution networks can be connected to homes, where they can provide affordable warmth, as well as businesses and public sector buildings, such as hospitals.’

Nature of the impact

The impact is that the Greater London Authority Planning team inspects all proposed major new developments, and assesses them against the requirements of all such developments to be Lean, Clean and Green.

Furthermore, the London Development Agency is spearheading the proposed development of a district heating scheme using 150MW of waste heat from Barking Power Station, to serve the London Thames Gateway, which is Europe’s largest regeneration area.

Main Barriers

Finance is the main challenge which must be surmounted in order to bring about large initiatives like the London Thames Gateway Heat Network.

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Name of Example

Location

2

Joint cooperation agreement (JCA)

Southampton

The Initiative

This is a supportive and cooperative working relationship between the public sector organisation Southampton City Council and Utilicom, its private sector partner taking forward district heating provision within the city.

The JCA commitments include Utilicom providing funding and management of the development of district heating with geothermal energy and gas-fired CHP in Southampton, together with a long-term profit-share for the Council. The Council commits to taking heat for the Council buildings, supporting the scheme by promoting it and ensuring the Council’s planning and highways departments are amenable, treating Utilicom as a ‘statutory utility’ within the city boundaries.

Nature of the impact

The cooperative approach to marketing the scheme works very well in the context of the UK market. Prospective new customers are often nervous of technology that is new and unfamiliar to them. So while Utilicom provide information on energy cost, usually significantly cheaper than for the more usual (in the UK) individual building systems, the Council is willing to approach the potential customer at director or board level, to explain the Council’s objectives and benefits of connecting to the DH system.

The Council has also formulated a Structure Plan and City Development Plan in which they stress the need for sustainable development in the city, utilising CHP or renewable energy. Planning policy has to be validated against the Structure Plan and the City Development Plan, so the Planning department can now insist that developers explore the use of CHP and renewable energy as alternatives to conventional individual heating systems.

The outcome is that commercial customers, while perhaps reluctant at the outset, are subsequently quick to recognise the financial and environmental benefits of connecting to the DH system.

The overall impact is consequently the healthy ongoing growth, by means of new connections, of the district heating system in the centre of Southampton.