a record year for renewable energy in the South weStregensw.s3.amazonaws.com/1271952630_975.pdfA record 90 MW of new renewable electricity capacity was approved in the region over

Annual Review 2007/2008

a record year for renewable energy in the South weSt

Kelvyn Derrick, Regen SW chairman

It has been a record year for renewable energy in the region, with more renewable electricity projects approved than in any previous year. I know that the staff at Regen SW would not claim all the credit for this change, but the south west is undoubtedly seeing the benefit of their early work. Regen SW has built confidence in the region among renewable energy developers, and worked tirelessly with local authorities to improve planning policy.

I’m pleased to say that it is now applying the same focus to the largely untapped market for renewable heat, and is on track to double the south west’s renewable heat capacity through the bioheat programme.

The biggest excitement of the year in the renewables world was the agreement of a new legally-binding EU target for 2020.

There is universal agreement that it represents a huge challenge both for the UK and the south west, but as Regen SW has shown in its Road to 2020 analysis, the 15 per cent target is achievable in the region. It will necessitate a rapid shift in national and local policies, and the benefit will be not only reduced carbon emissions but also new opportunities for south west businesses. Regen SW is already working to ensure that these are maximised.

Regen SW has itself responded to the need for greater action on climate change by extending its remit to energy efficiency, and with the continued funding and support of the South West RDA, Regen SW will now be able to work with energy efficiency businesses to grow employment in this important sector. I am delighted that as part of its new mission it will also be collaborating with the Energy Saving Trust on the roll out of its expanded regional advice service in the south west.

Kelvyn Derrick, Chairman

foreword01

In the course of the year our chief executive, Matthew Spencer, decided the time had come to move on, taking a national role with the Carbon Trust. Matthew led Regen SW from its beginnings in 2003 in a way that combined inspiration with operational effectiveness, and he has been a major contributor to its success. We wish him well for the future. By the time you read this I hope we will have been able to announce his successor.

There is a long way to go before the region can truly say it is on the path to a low carbon economy, but Regen SW continues to demonstrate that high quality insights and early interventions can make a significant difference.


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regen Sw highlights

We held 12 business-to-business events, provided specialist insights and training to over 300 people, and advised over 150 businesses

By April 2008 our bioheat programme had identified around 30 sites for biomass woodfuel installation, with a combined capacity in excess of 40 MW

We brokered £3 million of dedicated grant funding for south west bioheat projects from DEFRA

We became a sustainable energy agency and extended our remit to support energy efficiency businesses

We appointed a low-carbon buildings expert and selected five large housing developments that we will help achieve high energy standards

We won a national Micropower Council award for our work to support low carbon generation

regional highlights

A record 90 MW of new renewable electricity capacity was approved in the region over the year

The number of microgeneration installations doubled in the year to 1,100, with very rapid growth in Devon and Cornwall

The Wave Hub project received its planning approval from the government

The Regen SW business survey showed that renewable energy and energy efficiency are now worth over half a billion pounds to the region

The same survey reveals that employment in south west renewable-energy businesses is growing by 37 per cent per year

The region’s first offshore wind farm was proposed, and the Crown Estate identified potential areas for development in our coastal waters


2007–2008 highlightS of the year

renewable energy and energy efficiency are now worth over half a billion poundS to the region

The ‘Economic Contribution of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Sectors in the South West of England' survey, commissioned by Regen SW

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Solar PV CHP Advance treatment of waste Sewage gas Landfill gas Hydro Wind

Former Avon Cornwall and IOS Devon Dorset Gloucestershire Somerset Wiltshire

South west renewable energy capacity grows by 15 per cent

The 2008 survey of renewable electricity and heat projects in south west England showed a modest but promising 15 per cent growth in installed capacity. It was encouraging that microgeneration installations doubled in the region in the year, with particularly strong growth in Devon and Cornwall, where support from Renewable Energy 4 Devon and the Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership appear to have played a decisive role. Planning approvals also leapt forward with a record 90 MW of new capacity receiving planning permission in the year.

Regen SW expects renewable output to grow significantly in the region in the next two years as approved wind schemes get built and the renewable heat market begins to mature.

The counties that showed the greatest growth in installed renewable capacity in the region over the year were Cornwall, the former Avon and Devon. The counties that experienced the weakest growth were Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

South West England installed renewable electricity capacity (MW)

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Regen SW’s low carbon development programme was launched in 2007 with the arrival of Tony Norton, an energy expert from Exeter University’s Centre for Energy and the Environment.

The aim of the programme has been to stimulate the installation of onsite renewable-energy installations and give backing to businesses in the south west that are developing and supplying building-based energy solutions.

In November 2007, we launched a competition to identify large housing developments within the region, that deserved support in their bid to raise energy standards. An independent panel considered 15 entries and selected winning developments from Plymouth, Exeter, Taunton, Cheltenham and Swindon. These schemes represent up to 35,000 new homes, and support has been directed at developing energy strategies for their growth.

Regen SW has overseen the production of an energy strategy for the East of Exeter scheme, which was published in September. The strategy highlights the importance of establishing district heating in the early stages of the development.


low carbon development overview

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…very detailed, but very informative, and pitched at the right level. we know we need to do it, we juSt need evidence, which waS provided today

Angela Warwick, Situ8, Planning and environmental consultancy, commenting on the integrating renewable energy into new developments seminar she attended.

Regen SW teamed up with CIBSE to run a series of ‘integrating renewable energy into new developments’ seminars across the region. The programme has run three events – in Bristol, Exeter, and Swindon – for building specifiers, attracting almost 400 delegates. The events have received many positive reviews from attendees.

Paul Bowtell, from the Audit Commission in Bristol, described it as “an excellent summary of current policy and techniques.”

Low-carbon development programme in action


buSineSS Support programmeRegen SW saw a significant growth in start-up business activity in the region early in the year, and developed new ways to support their growth. One of our most successful activities was our programme of investment readiness workshops run jointly with the South West Angel Investors Network (SWAIN). Over 50 renewable businesses had the chance to discuss their investment needs with investors and finance experts present. While the workshops were not designed directly to broker investment, one company, Naturalwatt Ltd has successfully received investment from a SWAIN investor.

Naturalwatt has developed the Microgrid system to manage the power from different microgeneration systems. Will Grafton, managing director, said: “the seminar was a great way to promote the good work SWAIN and Regen SW has done for us and other companies, and a useful forum to share experience of the process, both good and bad. Without them we could not have done it and would not be where we are as a major PV systems player in the south west.

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Regen SW also continues to assist businesses, including helping small companies to get to the highest-profile trade shows in the UK. One of the most popular events is Ecobuild at Earls Court, London, where thousands of architects, specifiers and consumers descend to assess the latest low-energy products and services available.

One such company is Treco Ltd. Treco was set up in 2006 and provides multi fuel biomass boilers. It returned from Ecobuild in early 2007 with a full order book. Its turnover has since grown to £1.4 million and it now employs 15 staff. James Trebble, commercial

director, said: “As a company based in the west country we feel it is essential that we can offer our products and services to the widest audience possible. An event like Ecobuild, being one of the premier national renewable shows, is a perfect opportunity for us to do this, but with the cost of London-based events being so high this made it prohibitive for a company of our size in 2006 to attend. But with the support of Regen SW, who gave us the opportunity to attend for the last two years, it has allowed us to walk away with large orders and customers that we would have never attracted.”

Business support in action

with the Support of regen Sw… it haS allowed uS to walk away with large orderS and cuStomerS that we would never have attracted

James Trebble, commercial director, Treco Ltd, commenting the support it received from Regen SW at Ecobuild


South weSt england green energy awardSRegen SW held the fourth annual Green Energy Awards in November 2007, to celebrate the achievements of individuals, community groups, renewable energy companies, housing developers and local authorities in furthering the development of renewable energy in south west England. The level of entries was once again excellent, demonstrating the best examples of renewable energy in the region. M

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2007winnerSMost Proactive Local Authority Devon County Council won the Most Proactive Local Authority award due to funding and support for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects such as Renewable Energy 4 Devon.

Best Sustainable Energy Community South Wheatley Renewable Energy Trust installed Cornwall’s first community-owned wind project in October 2006. The 15 kW wind turbine serves 70 per cent of the hamlet’s overall electricity needs and saves 20 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Best New Renewable Energy Scheme The Avonmouth Docks Wind Park was a first for Bristol and the first scheme to be approved unanimously at committee in the region. The three 2 MW turbines are already a well known landmark, representing a forward thinking area with green issues at the heart of its agenda.

Best Business Innovation Treco supplies and installs environmentally-friendly heating solutions. Their innovative approach includes: the development of their ‘pod’ boiler and fuel store, ensuring installations are literally ‘plug and play’, and provision of support to allow any solid fuel heating engineer to install Treco products.

Best Housing Scheme Cornhill Estates completed five EcoHomes ‘Excellent’ Houses and Six EcoHomes ‘Excellent’ Apartments at Poundbury to BREEAM (Buildings Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Measures) standards. They were one of the highest scoring BREEAM EcoHomes schemes in the United Kingdom for 2007.

South West Renewable Energy Champion Tim German is director of Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership. He champions renewable energy in the region, puts a tremendous amount of energy and his own time into furthering the cause of sustainable energy, and is continually going beyond the call of duty to share best practice throughout the UK and beyond.


South weSt bioheat programmeFollowing its launch in 2007, the South West Bioheat Programme has developed and supported around 30 sites for biomass wood fuel installations to proceed to grant application and commissioning. £3 million of DEFRA grant funding was brokered into the region by Regen SW for this project. The first of the sites to be commissioned is Lanoyce horticultural nursery in Cornwall which is replacing an oil boiler with a 500kW wood chip boiler.

The programme has provided individual client site support using ‘Project Champions’ from the Centre for Sustainable Energy and Black and Veatch, to conduct the essential pre-feasibility evaluation, and then assist the client site with tendering, evaluation and grant application. A wide diversity of sites, from a hospital, through to the National Trust, schools, colleges, housing associations and dairies have been supported.

One site that has been assisted by the bioheat programme is the Dairycrest Creamery at Davidstow, north Cornwall, which will potentially be the largest-capacity biomass boiler in the country. Paul Piper from Dairycrest said: “the support we have received from the south west bioheat programme has enabled us to get this project off the ground. From the initial evaluation and pre-feasibility studies through to our grant application and plans for installation, the assistance we’ve received has been invaluable.”

The programme is funded by SWRDA and the Forestry Commission, and is currently on target to deliver an additional 40-50 MW of installed capacity, which would more than double the south west’s installed renewable heat capacity.

Stephen Green, who leads Regen SW’s work on biomass said: “We expect to see significant growth in the use of wood fuel in the south west region over the next two years, and look forward to supporting the growth in the sector.”

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South West bioheat programme in action

the Support we have received from the South weSt bioheat programme haS enabled uS to get thiS project off the ground.

Paul Piper, Dairycrest


Changing energy policy has been high on the political agenda over the past year, both regionally and nationally, and Regen SW has worked hard to keep people up-to-date on the most current issues. We have provided technical evidence, practical experience, and expertise to help inform policy development.

In particular, Regen SW has worked to secure the first ever regional heat target, and we’ve ensured that county-level renewable electricity targets and policies are present in the forthcoming South West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). The RSS is expected to come into force in spring 2009, and should require renewable energy to be part of all new developments.

We also continue to provide opportunities for councillors to find out more about sustainable-energy policy and practice, through our councillor network. This has provided its members with a monthly newsletter, training days and trips to visit installations delivered through local partner organisations.

Partnership has been a key aspect of Regen SW’s policy work. With help from the Energy Saving Trust (EST), we have supported sub-regional energy advisors and supplied them with low-carbon-housing-development training. This will build capacity in the region to support local authorities.

Policy work in action: Sustainable Energy Planning Tool for New DevelopmentsRegen SW commissioned Faber Maunsell to develop a Sustainable Energy Planning Tool for New Developments, which acts as a guide to the planning system for energy specialists.

The tool can also be used directly by local authority planning, development and building control officers, who have a key role in facilitating sustainable energy in new developments in the region at each stage of the planning process.

The tool was launched to planning advisers at a training event in Illminster, where delegates had the opportunity to discuss the tool and recent developments with other experts in their field.

The Road to 2020Working with the South West RDA, we have produced a bottom-up analysis of how the region could contribute to the national renewable energy target for 2020, highlighting 15 significant opportunities it creates for the region and identifying the help needed by the UK government for a successful outcome. The report concludes that meeting a 15 per cent or even a 20 per cent target is possible within the south west, but only with big and rapid changes to national policy and greater local support for renewable energy. On our current trajectory we are likely to generate less than 5% of energy consumed within the region by 2020.

policy overviewInfluencing the development of sustainable energy policy

The scenario analysis we carried out together with the discussions at the three workshops we held, enabled us to put together ‘building blocks’ of potential contributions from various technologies or groups of technologies.

Stacking these building blocks up in approximate merit order (lowest £/MWh at bottom) illustrates how both 15 per cent and a 20 per cent target might be met in the south west region. The importance of energy efficiency and demand reduction measures is represented by the negative 4 TWh block in the diagram.

The Road to 2020: scenarios by generation technology

Severn tidal offshore wind marine energy transport built environment – existing onshore wind built environment – new LfG, biomass, hydro, EfW, AD energy efficiency

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Existing Scenario 1Current policy

Scenario 2Achieving 15%

Scenario 3Achieving 20%

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Looking forward on policyOver the next 12 months, Regen SW will be looking to exploit the opportunities that emerge from the new UK renewables target. We will be looking at how the region can secure its share of the potential £100 bn investment needed to achieve the national 2020 ambitions, assessing the new opportunities that arise in offshore wind energy, and investigating how the region can secure maximum economic benefit from this. In addition, we will be looking at opportunities for retro-fitting renewable heat technologies, to begin to address the issue of existing buildings and off-gas grid areas.

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2008 2007 £ £

turnover 963,407 643,847 Cost of sales 533,859 214,275

Gross profit 429,548 429,572 Administrative expenses 431,733 438,504

(2,185) (8,932) Other operating income – 500

Operating loss (2,185) (8,432) Interest receivable and similar income 2,868 2,991

Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation 683 (5,441) Tax on profit/(loss) on ordinary activities – –

Profit/(loss) for the financial year after taxation 683 (5,441)

Profit and loss account For the year ended 31 March 2008

The information presented on this page has been taken from the company’s financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2008, audited by Bush & Co. and approved by the Regen SW board in October 2008. Full copies of these accounts can be obtained from Regen SW.


financialinformation

2008 2007

£ £ £ £

Fixed assets: Tangible assets 14,362 15,669

Current assets: Debtors 249,912 229,103 Cash at bank 64,644 45,967

314,556 275,070

Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 309,009 271,513

Net current assets: 5,547 3,557

Total assets less current liabilities: £19,909 £19,226

Reserves: Profit and loss account 19,909 19,226

£19,909 £19,226

Balance sheet 31 March 2008

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our team

Kelvyn Derrick MBA Chairman Deputy chair, South West RDA

Peter Capener Sustainable energy consultant

Charles Couzens Executive director Ecos Trust

Richard Cresswell South west regional director Environment Agency

Juliet Davenport Chief executive Good Energy

Neil Evans Director ESD Ltd

Richard Freeborn Chairman Kensa Engineering

Claire Gibson Director of planning, transport and environment South West RDA

Colin Palmer Development director Wind Prospect Ltd

Simon Roberts Chief executive Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE)

Stephen Ward Associate director Faber Maunsell

Leslie Watson Director of development, Sustainability South West

Regen SW’s board of directors from November 2007

Matthew Spencer Chief executive

Keith Gillanders Senior adviser

Cheryl Hiles Head of programmes

Chloë Uden Office and events manager

James Reddy Communications manager

Anna Halcro-Johnson Technology project manager

Tony Norton Head of low-carbon development

Lee Richards Business support manager

Regen SW staff team (2007/8)

Regen SW is an independent not-for-profit company, set up with the help of the South West of England Regional Development Agency (South West RDA). Our initial mission was to further the growth of the renewable energy sector in the region, but in April 2008 our role evolved to include energy efficiency. Our mission is now to help develop all aspects of the sustainable energy industry in the south west.

We receive core funding from the South West RDA, which means that we can provide free advice to local authorities and businesses on sustainable energy. We also provide advice to the South West RDA on its own investments in sustainable energy, particularly in the development of its demonstration programmes in biomass and marine energy.

In order to maintain our independence, we do not take a commercial interest in technologies or companies.

A South West RDA representative is an observer on our board, with the majority of directors being representatives from businesses working in the renewables sector.

We actively promote the region to renewable energy and energy-saving products and services companies. We also introduce businesses interested in investing in the region to the South West RDA, which can offer financial support in the region’s assisted areas.

Regen SW and the South West of England Regional Development Agency

Photography by P

aul Glendell and M

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Documents

a record year for renewable energy in the South weStregensw.s3.amazonaws.com/1271952630_975.pdfA record 90 MW of new renewable electricity capacity was approved in the region over