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16. RENEWABLE ENERGY
   
 

Policy RE1: Renewable Energy
  Policy RE2: Wind Energy
   
  Introduction
16.1 Renewable energy is the term used to cover those energy flows that occur naturally and repeatedly in the environment - energy from the sun, wind and the oceans, and the fall of water. The heat from within the earth itself, geothermal energy, is usually regarded as renewable, although locally it cannot always sustain continuous extraction. Plant material is an important source of renewable energy. Combustible or digestible industrial, agricultural and domestic waste materials are also regarded as renewable sources of energy.
16.2 In industrialised countries there has been a tendency for energy to be supplied from increasingly large and centralised fossil-fuel and nuclear generating sources via transmission and distribution systems to homes, offices, and other premises.
16.3 Renewable energy sources offer the hope of increasing diversity and security of supply, and of reducing harmful emissions to the environment. Technologies involving the conversion of waste to energy may help alleviate the problems associated with waste treatment and disposal. Some renewable energy resources, such as hydro-power and wind, have already been commercially exploited while others are on the verge of wide spread commercial application.
16.4 Renewable energy systems differ from fossil fuel and nuclear energy systems in their relationship to land-use and the environment. Renewable energy sources tend to be of lower energy output for an equivalent area of land used, when compared with conventional sources, and capital plant requirements may be more expensive. A variety of factors peculiar to the technology involved have to be taken into account in assessing planning applications for renewable energy systems.
   
  Greenhouse Gas Emissions
16.5 A main advantage of using renewable energy is its contribution to limiting emissions of greenhouse gases (the gases which cause global warming). The main greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), produced principally from the burning fossil fuels. At present power generation accounts for around one third of CO2 emissions. Some renewable energy sources (e.g. solar, wind and tidal power) produce no CO2 or other gaseous emissions at all. Others, such as combustion of naturally arising waste materials or energy crops (e.g. fuel from coppiced woodland), emit CO2 but, since the CO2 has recently been extracted from the atmosphere, there is no net addition to concentrations of greenhouse gases - the carbon dioxide is simply re-cycled.
16.6 The second most important man-made greenhouse gas is methane, a more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2. One of the principal sources of emissions is anaerobic digestion of waste in landfill sites. The combustion of this methane to produce energy reduces the global warming potential of emissions to the atmosphere both by converting the methane to the less harmful CO2 and by displacing the CO2 that might otherwise have been emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels in conventional power stations.
16.7 Renewable energy is not the only solution to limiting emissions of greenhouse gases. On the demand side, energy efficiency can also make a substantial impact on reducing our demand for energy. The Government is taking measures to encourage the exploitation of these potential savings. It is estimated that by using cost-effective energy efficiency methods and technology, up to one-fifth of the UK’s energy bill could be saved.
   
  Policy Context
16.8 Government policy is to stimulate the exploitation of renewable energy sources wherever they have the prospects of being economically attractive and environmentally acceptable. This will ensure diversity and security of energy supply and reduce the environmental impacts resulting from the production of energy from conventional sources.
16.9 This approach is set out in Energy Paper 62 published by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in 1994, entitled ‘New and Renewable Energy, Future Prospects in the UK’ and the joint publication from the DTI and the Energy Technology Support Unit (ETSU) ‘Renewable Energy - Planning for the Future’.
16.10 ‘This Common Inheritance’ sets a target of 1500MW of electricity - generating capacity from renewable sources by the year 2000. Use of renewable energy resources is also encouraged by the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) introduced under the Electricity Act 1989.
16.11 PPG22: ‘Renewable Energy’ sets out the relevant instruments of policy, gives a statement of general planning aims and explains how local planning authorities should include renewable energy policies in their plans and provides other guidance on environmental considerations. RPG and the emerging Joint Lancashire Structure Plan also provide guidance on renewable energy.
  Objective
 
  • TO MINIMISE THE USE OF FOSSIL FUELS BY DEVELOPING RENEWABLE SOURCES WHILST CONTINUING THE COMMITMENT TO THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT.
   
Renewable Energy
16.12 The Government’s policy is to stimulate the development of new and renewable energy sources wherever they have prospects of being economically attractive and environmentally acceptable in order to contribute to:
 
  • diverse secure and sustainable energy supplies;
  • reduction in the emission of pollutants;
  • encouragement of internationally competitive industries.
  (Reference: New and Renewable Energy: Future Prospects in the UK, Energy Paper 62, March 1994)
16.13 The Government has published guidance on renewable energy (PPG22) together with technical annexes, which set out in more detail the particular issues that local authorities should consider in determining such proposals.
Policy RE1 Renewable Energy
Permission will be granted for proposals to harness renewable energy provided that the following are taken into account:
(a) the impact of the proposed development on the landscape;
(b) the need to protect features of natural, cultural, historical and archaeological interest;
(c) the mitigation measures which would be taken to minimise the impact on adjoining land uses and residential amenity.
In the following areas proposals will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances and where alternative sites are not available:
(i) within or adjacent to the Ribble Estuary Special Protection Area, Ramsar site, SSSI and national nature reserve;
(ii) within or adjacent to Red Scar or Tun Brook Woods SSSI;
(iii) within or adjacent to the Forest of Bowland AONB;
(iv) within or adjacent to Conservation Areas or where they would affect the setting of listed buildings or archaeological remains of national importance.
   
16.14 The Council acknowledges that new and renewable energy sources can potentially contribute to energy needs in a significant and sustainable way. Renewable energy sources offer the hope of increasing diversity and security of supply, and of reducing harmful emissions to the environment.
16.15 The aim of the planning system is to secure economy, efficiency and amenity in the use of land in the public interest. The Council’s policies towards developing renewable energy sources must be weighed carefully with its continuing commitment to policies for protecting the local environment. The Council acknowledges the advice in PPG22 that proposals to harness renewable energy can display a variety of factors peculiar to the technology involved. Moreover, such schemes can have particular locational constraints since, in many cases, the resource can only be harnessed where it occurs. The Council will need to consider both the immediate impact of renewable energy projects on the local environment and their wider contribution to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
   
Wind Energy
16.16 As discussed above, many renewable resources can only be harnessed at source. Wind energy is no different. The Council will be mindful of the peculiar locational requirements of wind energy when determining any proposals. However, each proposal will be strictly assessed against the criteria contained within the policy.
Policy RE2 Wind Energy
Wind turbines will be permitted outside of settlements and other development areas, subject to the following being taken into account:
(a) the requirements of policies DC5 and DC7; and
(b) the impact on the character of the landscape and in particular the visual impact of ridge top and summit locations;
(c) any local environmental impacts including the effect of transmission lines, noise or reflected light;
d) any electrical or anti-magnetic disturbance;
(e) the cumulative effects of the proposal with any existing or committed installation;
(f) the mitigation measures proposed to be undertaken;
(g) the provision for removing any equipment and reinstating the site should the equipment be no longer used.
In the following areas proposals will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances and where alternative sites are not available:
(i) within or adjacent to the Ribble Estuary Special Protection Area, Ramsar site, SSSI and national nature reserve;
(ii) within or adjacent to Red Scar or Tun Brook Woods SSSI;
(iii) within or adjacent Forest of Bowland AONB;
(iv) within or adjacent to Conservation Areas or where they would affect the setting of Listed Buildings or archaeological remains of national importance.
   
   
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