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UK Attitudes Towards Renewable Energy

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 22:51:37 GMT

Green Energy Rollout

Despite the UK government's commitment to net zero by 2050, the rollout of green energy initiatives has been sparse over the last decade. This is attributed to the changes in laws and the manifesto of the ruling party at the time. Since 2015 on-shore wind turbines have been nearly impossible to build due to onerous planning conditions, in which a single objection could effectively block the project ( “Wind of Change”: Labour Government Lifts de Facto Ban on Onshore Wind in the UK, 2024 ). However, with the change in government to one pledged to a more sustainable future, these conditions may change. So far the current government has increased the budget for securing new renewable energy projects by 50%, to make up for the failure to contract renewable projects last year ( Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, 2024 ). The latest auction contracted for 131 new green energy initiatives, which “will power the equivalent of 11 million British homes” ( Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, 2024 ). These actions are incentivising the rollout of green energy initiatives, amongst businesses and the population, which will benefit many communities across the UK. The British Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Public Attitudes Tracker for Renewable Energy conducted in the spring of 2024, showed that overall support for renewable energy has increased from 82% in 2023 to 84% in 2024 ( 2024, p 1 ). There are a variety of different green and renewable energy sources, including solar panels, on-shore and off-shore wind turbines, ground-source and air-source heat pumps, biomass, and hydropower in the form of wave and tidal or dams, each with their benefits and drawbacks. Because of these differences, each new green infrastructure project will have different levels of support in different communities.

Attitudes Towards Renewables

People's views on renewable energy are significantly influenced by their beliefs about the negative impacts and effects it will have on the environment and their health and well-being ( Bartczak, Budzinski, & Gołębiowska, 2021, p 2-3 ). Wind turbines are faced with notable opposition in particular in this regard, despite the growing rollout across many developed nations. There are many advantages of wind turbines such as a focus on 1) local energy production reducing the dependence on foreign sources, 2) more sustainable energy production, 3) a sign of commitment to solving the climate crisis, 4) reduction in air pollution and 5) the potential to increase tourism in local communities ( Smith & Klick, 2007, p 8 ). Despite this, there is reasonable cause to suspect that some locals will object to the construction of a wind turbine in their village, as wind turbines (1) may produce noise which may disturb inhabitants, (2) they have potential to harm wildlife, (3) concerns over which land is used, (4) some people may find that the wind turbine spoils local scenery, (5) concerns over the impact on local property prices, and lastly (6) it may not produce a reduction in local electricity bills ( Smith & Klick, 2007, p 8 ). The DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker confirmed that the British population living in rural areas are more likely to oppose, especially wind farms, compared to their urban compatriots (2024, p 6). Rural communities are more concerned about wind turbines disturbing “local plant and animal life (66% compared with 52% in urban areas), house prices (47% compared with 34%), not benefiting the local community (45% compared with 26%) and not benefiting the local economy (33% compared with 19%)” ( 2024, p 6 ). However, people living in rural areas also showed more concern in regards to solar farms on account of the “perceived lack of benefit to the local community (45% compared with 29% in urban areas) and to the local economy (40% compared with 29%), as well as concern about the loss of fertile and agricultural land (20% compared with 10%)” ( DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker, 2024, p 8 ). In light of these previous findings, it is vital for the success of any proposed green energy initiative, whether in the form of a wind turbine or other infrastructure, that the local inhabitants’ opinions and attitudes are studied and considered.

Thomson and Kempton’s study on the perceptions and attitudes of US residents living near wind turbines versus a coal plant showed that 43% of residents living near a wind turbine felt it had a ‘positive effect’ on their life, compared to the 46% of residents living near a coal plant felt that the plant had a ‘negative effect’ on their life ( 2017, p 305 ). Despite the tendency to prefer the existing power plants in the community, residents from both communities “perceived greater visual and noise impacts from coal than from wind” ( Thomson & Kempton, p 310 ). Their study also concluded that there was no geographic correlation between the positive and negative responses of the visual and auditory impact of wind turbines ( Thomson & Kempton, 2017, p 305 ). Based on this, people’s opinions of wind turbines seem to be independent of people’s exposure to the technology. Biases towards a preferred energy source are therefore not as closely linked to familiarity, local employment and political preferences in the community ( Thomson & Kempton, p 310 ). A key factor in determining the attitudes people have towards local renewable energy sources is their concern for the environment rather than the role of different energy-providing infrastructures ( Scovell et al, 2023, p 10 ). In their study, Scovell et al. investigated how the “energy transition narrative influences local acceptance of solar farms” in Australia ( 2023, p 10 ) and found that people who perceived the earth as ‘fragile’ and in need of protection, in the form of large scale changes in human behaviour, are more likely to support local green initiatives ( 2023, p 8 ). This perception is associated with the belief that their country should be speeding up the green energy transition and that this will reduce greenhouse gas emissions ( Scovell et al, 223, p 8 ).

Attitudes of Rural UK Population

In the UK, 87% of the rural population is concerned about the impacts of climate change, in particular, climate-related issues such as sustaining the natural environment, deforestation, and plastic and air pollution. Possibly due to these factors, rural citizens are more likely to reduce household energy consumption and switch to a renewable energy provider, compared to urban citizens ( Equipping Rural Councillors to Engage Effectively on Climate UK100, 2021 ). The 2023 Climate-Ready Index study by YouGov showed that UK residents over 65 are more likely to take more energy-saving measures (eg turning down heating, shorter/ lower temperature cycles on washing machines, etc) than those aged 18-24 ( Over-65s top poll of climate-conscious behaviours, 2023 ). The economic climate in the UK is a key factor driving how people engage with environmental climate matters. According to the 2017 EON Energy study, 55% of the British participants wanted to see sustainable improvements in their community by making their homes more sustainable and cheaper to run ( Britons Demanding Progress towards Cleaner Communities, 2017 ). As energy costs continued to rise over the last seven years, many British citizens may have been forced to prioritise sustaining their basic needs over making long-term climate-conscious impacts. Acknowledging the immediate needs of citizens, and addressing these with renewable energy initiatives, can bring meaningful rural development if the energy transition genuinely benefits the rural community. In Scotland, community ownership models are used to roll out renewable energy transitions, showing higher social and economic benefits at the local level ( Clausen & Rudolph, 2020, p 6 ). Local community involvement plays a major factor in the realisation of the potential for renewable energy infrastructure. The benefits of renewable energy should be retained locally to ensure support, as rural areas are critical for the renewable energy transition. Only 8% of East of England residents feel proud of investments in green initiatives done by their local communities because they do not feel that they are a part of the decision-making process and across the UK, 60% of adults would like more direct input in how taxpayers’ money is invested in green initiatives ( Britons Demanding Progress towards Cleaner Communities, 2017 ). Furthermore, because of the centralised model of governance in the UK, 85% of rural citizens stated that they do not feel part of the decision-making process ( Equipping Rural Councillors to Engage Effectively on Climate UK100, 2021 ). This indicates a need for community-driven projects driven by a partnership between rural councils, local volunteer groups such as Heating Bildeston and village champions pushing for a Net Zero future.

You probably don't want to read this

trakless@trolleybus.co.uk (Ashley Bruce) — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 18:42:15 GMT

Extracts from Greta Thunberg's state-of-the-art 'The Climate Book', Allen Lane, 2022

Capitalism as currently practised has imperilled the existence of millions of planetary species, as well the health and well-being of billions of humans. It also threatens the prosperity that it was intended to create. – Naomi Oreskes, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University.

We can no longer rule out the risk of tipping points, leading to changes that cannot be stopped… - Johan Rockström, Director of Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Science doesn’t lie – Greta Thunberg, Climate Change Activist and Author.

Unchecked, human-caused climate change could lead to the extinction of a third of the plant and animal species on the planet by 2050 - Katherine Hayhoe, Distinguished Professor at Texas Tech University.

Air pollution from fossil fuels is already responsible for nearly 10 million premature deaths around the world every year - Katherine Hayhoe, Distinguished Professor at Texas Tech University.

Some of the CO₂ we emit today – around 20 per cent – will still remain in the atmosphere 10,000 years into the future – Zeke Hausfather, Climate research lead at Stripe, Berkeley Earth.

Humans have become a geological force - Ricarda Winkelman, Professor of Climate Science Analysis, University of Potsdam.

We are seeing only the beginning of a much larger sea-level rise which is already ‘baked in and will unfold over centuries and millennia to come, even without further warming – Stefan Rahmstorf, Head of Earth System Analysis and Professor of Ocean physics, University of Potsdam.

More and more regions are at or approaching ‘peak water’ – the point where taking more water from the environment is impossible, physically, economically or environmentally. Some rivers are literally consumed entirely by the human use, such as the Colorado River – Peter H Gleick Hydroclimatologist, US National Academy of Sciences.

When the media (covers the problem) they don’t show us what is causing it, for example an SUV factory in Germany, a dairy farm in Denmark, a shopping mall in Seattle, a clear cut forest in Sweden, or a container ship arriving in Rotterdam filled with plastic toys, speakers and smartphones. Instead we get pictures of polar bears in the Artic, melting glaciers in Antarctica and the Greenland Ice Sheet collapsing – Greta Thunberg, Climate Change Activist and Author.

A 2018 study estimated that it would take between 44 and 104 years for forest to recapture the carbon released by burning wood – if they ever could, given their increasing exposure to soil erosion, extreme temperatures files and diseases …. burning wood releases more CO₂ per energy unit than burning coal – Greta Thunberg, Climate Change Activist and Author.

The Amazon Basin in South America: a huge carbon sink that is now drying out because of climate change, while being burned and felled to support industrial scale agriculture. Not only does this pose a threat to the stability of the global carbon cycle, but it also threatens to destroy one of the world’s remaining biodiversity hot spots. The warmer the planet gets, the more frequent and extreme wildfires will become…. This positive feedback loop is like pressing down on a car’s accelerator – Joëlle Geris, Senior lecturer in Climate Science, Australian National University, Lead author, IPCC Sixth Assessment report.

An astonishing 60 per cent of the land area of the Russian Federation is permafrost. While permafrost collapse has been reported to have doubled over recent decades in the Artic, scientists are now reporting that permafrost collapse with associated greenhouse gas emissions is increasing ten times faster on the Tibetan Plateau. The release of these emissions – not to mension the role of underwater permafrost and methane hydrates – would drastically reduce our ability to stay under 1.5°C or even 2°C of warming – Örjan Gustafasson, Professor in Biochemistry, Stockholm University.

The kind of heat that was expected only a decade before human influence is now three times more likely. Extreme heavy rain is now 30 per cent more likely. Droughts – less rain, and drier soil – are 70 percent more likely - Tamsin Edwards, Climate Scientist, Kings College, London and IPCC lead author on sea level rise uncertainty.

What if we could stop our emissions instantly? Some parts of the planet would keep on changing as they continue reacting to our past emissions. The world’s glaciers would continue to retreat for decades or centuries, and the oceans would continue to warm. This means the seas will rise there will be more coastal flooding, no matter wat we do. The IPCC has said that ‘unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach’ - Tamsin Edwards, Climate Scientist, Kings College, London and IPCC lead author on sea level rise uncertainty.

Wherever we deliver care, in our hospitals, clinics and communities around the world, we are aleady responding to the health alarms caused by climate change – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – Director General of the World Health Organisation.

Anthropogenic climate change is responsible for in three deaths due to heat today … Recent studies have projected that, under the most pessimistic scenario (that is, if emissions persist and no adaptation occurs), climate change will increase the current number heat-related deaths by ten times by the end of the century – Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera, Environmental epidemiologist, University of Bern.

In the United States alone, reducing emissions globally to meet the Paris Agreement could prevent about 4.5 million premature deaths - Drew Shinedell, Climate Scientist and Distinguished Professor, Duke University.

…our steady addition of CO₂ into our planet’s atmosphere is making our food less nutritious – Samuel S. Myers, Principal research scientist, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

With the current policies we currently have in place, we are heading for 3.2°C of global warming by the end of the century. This equal disaster. But we are still not reacting. In fact, we are still speeding the wrong direction – Greta Thunberg, Activist and author.

The manifest injustice whereby polluters – largely rich people around the world, who are the most responsible ofr carban emissions and environmental harm – are hurting poor people…overwhelmingly poor people of colour, even in rich countries like the United States – Saleemul Huq, Director, International Centre for Climate Change and Development, Bangladesh.

Today, just 1 per cent of the planet is considered too hot and dry for civilization. But, by 2070, researchers have concluded, 19 per cent of the planet – home to some 3 billion people – might be uninhabitable. This suggests that the world is about to see hundreds of millions of people displacws, and billions more suffer, as the fastest and most disruptive change in recorded history furiously unfolds – Abrahm Lustgarten, Investigative reporter, New York Times.

If the Earth warms by 3°C above pre-industriallevels, the risk is, simply, the collapse of civilisation itself. This will be a global calamity marked by financial collapse, mass starvation, mass migration and the descent of many nations into civil disorder – Eugene Linden, Journalist and Author

In 2021, Moody Analytics estimated the global economic toll of 2°C of warming $69 trillion….Swiss Re estimated that 2.6°C of warming by 2050 would inflict three times more economic damage than the Covid-19 pandemic. Three degrees of warming would produce a world that hasn’t existed since humans emerged as a species….It’s certain that such a world could not support 7.8 billion people….Climate changemust be averted at any price because its ultimate cost can neither be imagined nor calculated – Eugene Linden, Journalist and Author.

In Sweden, only one third of our actual emissions of greenhouse gases were included in our climate targets and theofficial national statistics. The rest was either outsourced or hidden in the loopholes of international climate accounting frameworks. The gap between the emissions that countries reported to the United Nations and the greenhouse gases actually being emitted was enormous: between 8.5 and 13.3 billion tonnes a year, leaving a gap of 16-23 per cent gap of unclaimed emissions…equalling almost the total yearly emissions of China – Alexandra Urisman Otto, Journalist, Dagens Nyheter.

We’ve now reached the point when we need to stop burning things on the surface of the Earth. We shouldn’t be digging down to find coal and oil and gas and setting them on fire – that’s dirty, dangerous and depressing. The transition to renewable energy is going much too slowly to allow us to catch up to the damage of global warming – Bill McKibben, Climate Change Author.

We can put billions of tonnes of carbon back into land through natural climate solutions such as forest and wetland restoration, tree planting, no-till farming etc. A more plant based diet, especially eating less red meat, and smaller global population would also reduce deforestation and global cattle numbers – Rob Jackson, Earth Scientist, Stanford University and Chair, Global Carbon Project.

We have developed impressive creative accounting, loopholes, outsourcing and greenwashing PR narratives that make it seem as if real action is being taken when in fact it is not. Continued economic growth, on the other hand, has been hugely successful – Greta Thunberg, Activist and Author.

Retrofitting or Conservation?

trakless@trolleybus.co.uk (Ashley Bruce) — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 16:59:19 GMT

Time for a new paradigm?

Retrofitting or extensively upgrading our houses is really about saving the planet. The UK is legally bound to a target (Climate Act 2008) to reduce carbon emissions by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. And heating buildings is 30% of the emissions total. That means every single house has to improve by something like 25%. Or, more likely, many are going to have to be very energy efficient.

There's already a standard that goes beyond the current standard, PAS 2035 , called EnerPHi t, based on the ultimate low-energy building standard, Passivhaus. It can mean efficency that is so good that central heating is not required at all.

But with conservation planning inspectors resisting the use of triple glazing and arguing for more modest approaches, there's a growing tension between conservation and retrofitting that will probably intensify as the climate emergency becomes ever more desperate. While there's no doubt retrofitting has to be not just 'fabric-first' but 'whole life costed'. It's also not an excuse to rebound and have higher indoor temperatures. It's also true that hanging onto the past unreasonably could cost us a planet out of control.

There already is much debate amongst professionals, but the real problem is that Building Conservation is used politically to avoid assistance with Energy Conservation, especially amongst those who need it most. There is now no short term solution, because the over-arching solution couldn't be much more important and necessarily long term. Ultimately there can only be conservation of a way of life that doesn't endanger the planet and that, probably, is a paradigm shift.

To reach net zero, according to the research programme UK Fires , we need to -
- install 1 million heat pumps/year by 2028
- retrofit 35% of homes with no loft insulation by 2030
- retrofit 30% of homes with no cavity insulation by 2030
- retrofit 30% of solid wall homes by 2030
- retrofit all non-commercial buildings to EPC rating A by 2030
- retrofit all rented homes to EPC rating A by 2030
- ban all gas boilers from 2028
- subsidise heat pump installations
- subsidise low-income household retrofits
- introduce tax incentives for deep energy retrofits.

(Minus 45 report, section 2.4 Space and water heating)

Beyond 2030, heating in all homes is decarbonised by 2040 and all homes retrofitted to PassivHaus standard.

There's a good guide to retrofitting your home available here .

Comment

Energy Saving and Conservation are not mutually exclusive. There are many ways an older building can be sympathetically improved notably by sealing drafts, providing secondary glazing and improving insulation - without destroying traditional windows to put in triple glazing, which will only give a couple of EPC SAP points improvement out of 100(Energy Performance Certificate Standard Assessment Procedure).

We were a wool town, so perhaps can give wool and other natural materials a prominence in the insulation proposals, extending the project to be a demonstrator for good traditional insulation practice in older buildings. There are local experts. Wool is a good insulator used for thousands of years. Straw and wood fibre is also good.

In connection with energy improvement - the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) defines ‘older, traditional vulnerable buildings’ fabric (likely to include most buildings constructed prior to 1919) as buildings which are constructed in a way that special care is required to ensure that improvements do not result in damage to or deterioration of the building.

The aim from ‘PAS 2035:2019 – Specification for the energy retrofit of domestic buildings’ which is the latest for energy improvement works - for older buildings (pre 1919) should be to improve energy efficiency as far as is practicable, ‘by sympathetic means without prejudicing the nature and historic value of the buildings’ of which traditionally constructed windows and wall/roof finishes and details are important. Also maintaining or restoring breathability, using lime mortar plaster and washes inside and out, and breathable insulation, so that buildings deal with moisture in a traditional way - which is actually good – absorbing moisture when there is surface condensation or rain then allowing it to evaporate later, protecting the lime mortars within. The right detailing is very important, including well designed ventilation, possibly with heat exchange. Specific qualifications and/or training are now required with respect to energy improvement works in older buildings with this aim, particularly if grant funding is involved.

Getting all properties to an EPC A100 by 2030 is not realistic, although a laudable aspiration. Recent new houses generally only reach B 82-86 although this will improve with the latest Building Regulations. With fuel price increases, whole house heating will probably not be realistic in the future, but we lived perfectly well in the past with just one room heated.

With respect to glazing, from trials in an EPC Program for a typical dwelling, double glazing typically gives only 1 extra SAP point (out of 100) over single glazing while triple gives 2. Secondary in conjunction with sealing air gaps can give 3 points over single so can be the best option as well as being the least intrusive. Conversely solar electricity panels, which can be unobtrusive on shed roofs, can give 10-15 SAP points improvement.

There is good information in various locations on the Heating Bildeston website.

After all we are just custodians of a very special place.

There's a detailed look at EPC ratings by Historic England here

Government Energy Strategy

trakless@trolleybus.co.uk (Ashley Bruce) — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 17:18:45 GMT

The problems with the new strategy

The new Government is commited to net zero by 2050, but there are no targets between then and now on the reductions necessary. Little mention of energy efficiency belies thinking that regards energy consumption as too important. As has been said many times, we don't want energy, we want what it brings, the ability to move about, what it can make and comfort against cold (and, increasingly, heat). With such a large percentage of UK energy going on domestic heating, over 40%, and the ever shortening time left before the climate changes catastrophically, you'd think measures to reduce the amount of energy we use would be high on the agenda. Not least because, with some of the leakiest houses in Europe, we start at a comparativley low, and therefore economic, base.

There is a big problem with cutting emissions by the amounts needed. Planting trees can't ever be the answer and geoengineeing is at the very least risky. So far there have not been policy commiments to the estimated maximum of 50 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year. At the moment, it's 384 million tons. And "energy demand must reduce by over 40% to have a reasonable chance of meeting the UK’s net zero 2050 goal." (https://ukerc.ac.uk/news/four-crucial-climate-targets-the-new-uk-government-should-adopt-immediately/).

T he new UK government has yet to state how it will be transparent in reaching net zero.

News Releases

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 23:44:37 GMT

Heating Bildeston News Releases 2022

5th News release dated June 2022

Special event at Chamberlin Hall on Sat 25th June. We are being visited by Scene Connect who are the consultants working on our feasibility study. Scene will be doing a short presentation about low carbon heat networks - the sort of scheme we are hoping to install in our village.

We will be open from 2pm-4.30pm and the presentation will be at 2.30 and again at 3.30.

There will be plenty of opportunities for you to talk to the Scene consultants as well as the Heating Bildeston team.

And, if you haven't already, please bring along your completed Questionnaire.

4th News release dated May 2022

Questionnaire Progress

Over the last three weeks, we've printed and delivered the Energy Consumption Questionnaire personally to nearly every household in the village, all 512 of them. We're now collating the many replies so that Scene, our appointed consultants, can work out just how much energy we use and how. It'll be a core component of the Feasibility Study that will follow. We're hoping to hold a Public Engagement Meeting soon so we can thank all those who participated in completing the Questionnaire - there is still time if you haven't yet. Your information about how much energy your household consumes is very important to our community.

3rd News release dated March 2022:

Heating Bildeston Feasibility Study approved

The Rural Community Energy Fund has awarded Heating Bildeston £32,000 to fund consultants from Scene Connect Ltd. to produce a feasibility study into the most sustainable and economic way of creating a renewably powered heat network while reducing energy use, improving affordability and increasing sustainability. It's a considerable milestone. With carbon energy prices likely to hit all-time highs, a scheme like ours can't come soon enough. There's a lot to do, including getting everybody to complete the questionnaire we'll be circulating soon.

2nd News release dated February 2022:

Heating Bildeston Feasibility Study Update

After three months of intensive work, we have now completed our Heating Bildeston application to the Rural Community Energy Fund and are awaiting imminent approval for funding of a feasibility study that will work out the most suitable and economic way of bringing low-carbon district heating to our homes. We've analysed the consultant tenders and selected which team of experts offer the best match for our project. If approval is granted, the next stage will be to identify just how much energy all our homes use.

Heating Bildeston and our consultants will prepare a questionnaire and approach every Bildeston household for your input. More information to follow in next month’s Bugle.

The Heating Bildeston team recently visited Swaffham Prior in Cambridgeshire where a similar scheme is now being installed. We received a warm welcome, an abundance of great advice and a promise to support Heating Bildeston through our journey. You can find out more at heatingswaffhamprior

First News Release dated December 2021:

Bildeston reacts to blah blah.

Given all the hot air at COP26, it’s good news that a group of local residents have come together to greatly reduce our CO2 emissions and our use of fossil fuels for heating our homes. Established by local resident Gordon Mehrtens,

Heating Bildeston is applying to the Rural Community Energy Fund for a Government grant to pay for a feasibility study to identify the most suitable village-wide scheme. Spokesperson for the group, Shaun Moffat said, ‘It’s early days, but we hope to identify which renewable energy solution can provide economic, low-carbon heating and hot water

to most homes throughout Bildeston.’

If you want to find out more about Heating Bildeston and get involved in this innovative project, contact: Shaun Moffat (01449 257136) or Gordon Mehrtens (07456 737113).

New Government iniative

trakless@trolleybus.co.uk (Ashley Bruce) — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 17:32:20 GMT

Green Heat Network Fund

The government have announced the new scheme relevant to us. It’s called the Green Heat Network Fund.

More details at GHNF , an overview and there's a useful explanation at What is a heat network?

We're not yet ready to apply for the capital costs of our scheme, but it's good to know funding could be available.