Planning for Renewable Energy in Worcestershire Research Paper

11. Technological Issues for Renewable Energyin Worcestershire11.1 When considering the type ofrenewable generation technology whichmay be most appropriate in a givenlocation, there are many factors whichmust be taken into account, including thepolicy and community issues referred toelsewhere in this paper. A technologicalassessment of renewables is alsorequired in order to understand what willor will not make an effective contributionto reducing emissions. A more detaileddescription of each technology is providedat Appendices A and B.11.2 It is worth noting that CO2emissions resulting from electricity areconsiderably higher than those from gasor oil. For example, for a typical domesticheating system, CO2 emissions arecalculated as: 0.27 kg/kWh for oil; 0.194kg/kWh for gas; and 0.46 kg/kWh forelectricity 28 . This is because the electricityused in the home or workplace must begenerated (usually off-site and from fossilfuels), and this results in significant CO2emissions. It is thus more efficient (inemissions terms) to heat water using gasthan it is to heat it with electricity. Thismeans that more renewable energy isrequired to offset electrical usage thangas. The Department of Trade andIndustry give the following example toshow the relative benefits of each:4m2 solar water heating offsets1,600kWh gas;20m2 photovoltaics offsets1,600kWh electricity11.4 The greatest reduction in CO2 willbe achieved through a holistic approach,whereby energy is considered in all itsforms and across all sectors. As stated inthe introduction, this paper is concernedprimarily with energy generation ratherthan conservation. However, it isimportant to recognise the range ofexisting built stock, and to appreciate thatretro-fitting renewables and making existinghomes and businesses more energyefficient could yield massive emissionssavings. It is stated in the Government'sconsultation 'Building a Greener Future:Towards Zero Carbon Development', that"…by 2050 as much as one third of thetotal housing stock will have been builtbetween then and now." This illustratesnot only the scale of the challenge toinfluence that third of all housing that is tobe built, but also the two-thirds of existinghousing that could be upgraded.28Figures taken from the University of Strathclyde'sEnergy Systems Research Unit. Information availableat: http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/01-02/heat_pump/auxiliary.html#top411. TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES ● Planning for Renewable Energy in WorcestershireTechnical Research Paper 27