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GREEN RELUCTANT SUPPORT FOR GREEN MEASURE |
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 20th September 2007
Stroud District Council this evening at a Full Council meeting
unanimously supported a recommendation regarding Renewable Energy
Supplementary Planning Advice. The advice is along the lines of the
'Merton Rule' which requires a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions from on
site renewables on new larger developments.
Cllr. Philip Booth, Coordinator of the Stroud District Council Green group who spoke after the meeting said: "We have called for measures to cut carbon emissions on new developments for some years. However Greens supported this measure reluctantly - we would prefer a much higher figure. Some 150 Councils have already passed this measure or are about to and some have already passed stronger proposals, many going for 20%. However our Councils hands are tied to a large extent by new Government guidelines. Our Government is repeatedly failing to take this issue seriously (i). In Germany they already have 200 times as much solar energy as Britain and they generate 12% of their electricity from various renewables, compared with 4.6% in Britain (ii)."
Philip Booth added: "Woking Borough is one of the lead Councils now seeking 40% reduction in emissions on brownfield developments and carbon neutral on greenfield sites (iii). Ray Morgan, Woking's chief executive has commented: 'People give us a lot of credit but we need a reality check. In the grand scheme of things it is a bit pathetic.' "
Philip Booth said: "Stroud's 10% is at least a start, but as Ray Morgan suggests it is still 'pathetic'. We need to get much more serious about climate change. This week the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said it is "very unlikely" we can avoid the 2 degree threshold for dangerous climate change. This is the point many natural systems that sustain life on earth start to die: the Greenland ice sheet melts, coastal cities are flooded, one third of species face extinction and millions face drought and famine plus economic turmoil as financial systems react to uncertain times. At three degrees, the Amazon rainforest - the planet's lungs - will die along with much more."
Philip Booth said: "We can still avoid catastrophic change, and there's a chance we can avoid dangerous change, but we must act and in this context 10% is no where near enough. However there is a commitment to review this Planning Advice and Greens will be seeking all possible measures to see it improved."
Notes:
(i) We are awaiting government guidance, in the form of its PPS on climate change, which will have a significant impact on the future direction of local planning policy in this regard. Over the last few weeks there have been a number of rumours, alleged leaks and denials regarding the Government's attitude towards the future of the 'Merton Rule'. Yvette Cooper last year said all councils would soon have to adopt the Merton Rule, but has since been lobbied by property industry groups which argue that the government should work out a national strategy over the next decade rather than allow local councils to set rules. Indeed, recent Inspectors' reports on core strategies indicate a fair amount of uncertainty in their minds on how LPAs should be proceeding. Commentators note that there is a good chance the PPS may 'prohibit' the use of a blanket 10% approach, in favour of more focused local targets, subject to evidence that this will not harm rates of housing delivery and affordability.
Many groups including the Green party have written to housing minister Yvette Cooper reminding her of the government's duty under the Energy Act of 2004 to establish a microgeneration industry - by which users of energy generate power on a small scale - through use of the Merton Rule, established by the London borough of Merton in 2003 and copied across the country.
(ii) A new report from the Centre for Alternative Technology says Britain could, with sufficient will and effort, go zero carbon in only 20 years. Germany has for example created a quarter of a million jobs in renewables - a number that is growing fast. Britain has only 25,000, a number that represents the amount of jobs created in the industry in Germany in the past year alone. Freiburg, a town of 200,000 people in the Black Forest, has almost as much solar photovoltaic (PV) power as the whole of Britain.
Dr Dieter Wörner, director of Freiburg's environmental protection agency, admits that such is the competition among German towns that Ulm has just overtaken Freiburg as solar capital of the world. "But we are still expanding rapidly. It's a sporting contest," he says. Indeed, by the time Britain starts its first eco-town in 2016, Germany will have 50 or 60 eco-cities. Small wonder that the Labour government has quietly dropped the pledge it made six years ago to catch up with Germany by 2010. In Germany, too, the higher production has pushed prices down sharply. A typical 3kw PV system costs about £17,000 in Britain but less than £10,000 in Germany. Dr Wörner says prices have halved in the past seven years and will do so again in the next seven.
The secret of German success is the "feed-in tariff" (FIT) which Greens have called for here in Britain. Anyone generating electricity from solar PV, wind or hydro gets a guaranteed payment of four times the market rate - currently about 35p pence a unit - for 20 years. This reduces the payback time on such technologies to less than 10 years and offers a return on investment of 8-9%. The cost is spread by generating companies among all users and has added about one cent/kwh to the average bill, or an extra €1.50 (£1) a month.
(iii) The main features of interest in the Woking LDF are:
Development will be refused unless it:
-achieves a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions (against current Building Regulations);
- is carbon neutral (greenfield sites)
-adapts to climate change impacts in design of buildings and open spaces;
-provides a sustainable water management system (runoff and potable water)
Household extensions:
-extensions to existing dwellings will be required to meet best practice standards for energy efficiency
Other Councils like Calderdale Council which is a small largely rural Met Council (90000 households) has a rising Merton Style Target. It goes 10% Renewables target up to 2010, 15% up to 2015, 20% up to 2020
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