Planning for Renewable Energy in Worcestershire Research Paper

Appendix A. Characteristics and Appraisal ofdifferent Renewable Energy technologies inWorcestershireLarge-Scale Wind TurbinesLarge-scale wind power, in the form ofsingle wind turbines, or groupings ofturbines in wind farms, currently has thegreatest potential to help the UK meet itsnational energy targets. However, at theCounty level, it may not be the mostappropriate means of delivering onemerging regional/sub-regional targets,for reasons of technical viability, andenvironmental/social/economicacceptability.As a land-locked County, Worcestershireevidently has less capacity to generatewind energy than some coastalauthorities. The practical and policyconstraints that apply across the Countywill require any potential siting of largeturbines to be carefully evaluated againsta clear set of criteria.Technical ConstraintsThe primary technical constraint whenlooking at wind power will be theavailability of a sufficient wind resource.This means that information on the windspeed and 'wind profile' of any potentialsite should be available. Wind profilesprovide details on the direction of thewind, and the different times in which itblows in particular directions. Thesuccessful operation of wind turbinesrelies on an average wind speed inexcess of 6m/s (optimum speed is in therange 13-25m/s). Below this threshold,the mechanics of the turbines do notallow them to work efficiently, althoughthe minimum operational wind speed isgradually decreasing.The 2001 study 'Renewable EnergyProspects for the West Midlands' includedsome large-scale wind mapping thatcharted those areas with sufficientaverage windspeed for turbines tooperate (see Appendix F). Based on thismapping, it seems Worcestershire haslarge areas capable of delivering windpower, predominantly in a belt stretchingfrom the centre of the County to the southand the east. The maps show thatapproximately half of the County iscovered by 'planning constraints',although it would be incorrect to assumethat these are absolute constraints towind development. It is important to notethat any wind speed mapping must not beused to categorically exclude future sites.One of the Government's key principles inPPS22 makes clear that to exclude apotential renewable resource based solelyon "assumptions about the technical orcommercial feasibility" is unacceptable,and that "Technological change can meanthat sites currently excluded as locationsfor particular types of renewable energydevelopment may in future be suitable". 32For this reason, wind turbines and windfarms proposed in areas outside of thoseidentified on the wind resource mapcannot be excluded from consideration,but it is recognised that in the currentmarket, with current technologies, thelikelihood of development proposalscoming forward in these areas is minimal.The West Midlands Regional Urban WindCapacity Study (June 2004) confirmedthat wind speed is the principalconsideration when looking for potentialsites, stating that "As a rule, developersuse this data as a guide and supplementit with on-site data prior to assessing thedeliverability of sites".APPENDIX A ● Planning for Renewable Energy in Worcestershire32Paragraph 1(v), Key Principles, Planning PolicyStatement 22: Renewable Energy, DCLG (2004)Technical Research Paper 33