REPORT TO: AUDIT AND PERFORMANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE ON 19 MARCH 2014 ACTING CORPORATE DIRECTOR (ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES)

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1 PAGE: 1 REPORT TO: AUDIT AND PERFORMANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE ON 19 MARCH 2014 SUBJECT: BY: RENEWABLE ENERGY ACTION PLAN ACTING CORPORATE DIRECTOR (ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES) 1. REASON FOR REPORT 1.1 To inform the Committee of the status of the Renewable Energy Action Plan. 1.2 This report is submitted to Committee in terms of Section III (J) (11) of the Council's Administrative Scheme relating to evaluating the actions of committees and implementing the Action Plan set out in the Corporate Plan. 2. RECOMMENDATION 2.1 It is recommended that the Audit and Performance Review Committee scrutinises and notes the content of the report. 3. BACKGROUND 3.1 In the 2009/2012 Single Outcome Agreement under Local Outcome 22 Carbon Management and Climate Change, there was a commitment to prepare a Renewable Energy Action Plan (see Appendix 1). A draft plan was referred to the Greener Strategic Group on 8 March 2011 for agreement on scope and approach. Milestone updates were reported to the Community Planning Board on 29 March 2012 when it was explained that there has been no further work undertaken within the 11/12 time period due to limited staff resources. 3.2 The aims set out in the draft Renewables Action Plan were as follows:- maximise the economic, social and environmental potential of Scotland and specifically Moray s renewable resource. communicate the opportunities associated with renewable energy to developers, communities and householders.

2 PAGE: 2 contribute to meeting targets for energy from renewable and for emissions reductions to 2020 and beyond. enhance security of energy supply. maximise the benefits for communities from renewable energy 3.3 A table accompanied the draft plan which set out a number of outcomes and actions. Most of the actions attributed to the Council are being progressed or have been completed. There are areas where no progress has been made, woth no targets or timescales set for the installation of renewable heat installations. The Council is yet to undertake work on developing skills in the local workforce in the installation and maintenance of renewable technologies, although this was not attributed to a particular partner. 3.4 The information contained within the draft Renewable Energy Action Plan is now out of date. Work has continued on a number of projects that focus on renewable energy and the following paragraphs detail how the above aims have been met. 4. WHERE WE ARE 4.1 Enhancing security of supply and contributing to national targets for renewable energy generation The total output of renewable energy proposals consented in Moray equates to 569 MW. The following table shows the spread across the various technologies. Table 1 Renewable Energy Consent in Moray Technology Output in MW Percent of total Onshore Wind 538 MW Biomass 31MW 5.44 Small scale hydro 0.14MW 0.02 *Solar MW 0.01 Total MW 100% *permitted development rights mean that many solar installations do not require planning permission and are therefore not accounted for. 4.2 Onshore Wind At almost 95% of the renewable proposals consented onshore wind still is the primary technology that is being pursued in Moray. The Table 2 shows the various stages of the process and the MW output for each stage.

3 PAGE: 3 Table 2 Wind energy proposals in the planning process Operational Under Consented In Construction Planning At appeal Refused 200MW 64 MW 274MW 96MW 28MW 20MW According to figures from the wind farm developers the operational 200MW equates to enough electricity to power 110,000 households. General Register Office of Scotland (GRO) figures in 2012 showed Moray as having 40,466 households. Therefore Moray is producing more electricity than would be consumed locally. It should be noted that wind energy is intermittent and this means that traditional coal fired and gas fired power stations cannot be decommissioned as a result of wind energy installations The Scottish Government has committed to producing the equivalent of 100% of Scotland s electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020 with an interim target of 50% by In terms of Morays contribution to national targets, in 2012 installed capacity of onshore wind energy was 5,843 MW of this 200MW was from wind farms within Moray which equates to a 3.4% contribution. This may appear relatively small but Moray s population of 93,295 is only 1.75% of the total population of Scotland which is 5,313, The scale and nature of wind turbine applications has changed considerably in the last few years, with more small/medium turbines, often single or small groupings being proposed. This is not unusual to Moray and is a national trend. Applications for wind turbines have increased from 18 in 2009, 49 in 2010, 63 in 2011 and 51 in This trend appears to have tailed off in 2013 which has seen a reduction to 25 applications. There does however appear to have been an increase in other renewable technologies which as summarised below. 4.3 Biomass applications for biomass proposals have been submitted since 2007 equating to 31 MW with 15 MW currently operational. Data was not available relating to the output of all proposals. There is a mixture of commercial and domestic applications for biomass. There have been a number of large scale applications for indigenous industries which make up the bulk of the consented MW output. The Council has commenced a programme of biomass boiler installations at Speyside High School and Milnes Primary, planning consent has been granted for Aberlour Primary and an application has recently been submitted for West End Primary School.

4 PAGE: 4 Table 3 Biomass Applications Installation Combination of Rothes Distillers Macallan Distillery Glenlossie and Mannochmore Distillery James Jones (Mosstodloch) Output 7.2 MW - Operational 15 MW 3.6 MW - Operational 2.9MW - Operational 4.4 Solar applications have been submitted relating to the installation of solar panels, there is no distinction between photovoltaic and solar thermal equipment. Most applications have been submitted with information relating to the size of panels as opposed to output. On this basis output has been estimated 76 kw with 54 kw currently in planning. There have been several applications for larger scale commercial solar arrays of ranging from 134 to 218 panels and it is anticipated that this trend will continue. This is however subject to the Government incentives relating to feed in tariffs (FITS). As stated in the Table 1 these figures only relate to solar installations requiring planning permission. 4.5 Micro hydro applications have been submitted for micro hydro installations since 2010 ranging in scale from 14.5 kw to 50 kw. In all 140Kw of output has been consented and there are no planning applications pending consideration. 4.6 Promoting Renewables To promote renewable within Moray, the Council has also hosted a number of awareness raising events including the Greener Moray Festival to encourage the uptake of renewable by the public, developers and businesses. 5. WHERE WE ARE GOING 5.1 Communicating Opportunities for Renewable Energy In March 2013 the Council adopted the Moray Offshore Wind Energy Supplementary Planning Guidance. This guidance provides clear advice to potential developers on areas of search for the various scales of turbines and the key issues that will require to be taken into account Within the Moray Proposed Local Development Plan there are a number of policies in relation to renewable energy, including onshore wind, biomass and other renewables. These policies provide a framework for assessing renewable energy proposals ensuring they are directed to appropriate locations. Policies are also included that require all new development to install renewable technologies and there is promotion of the sensitive introduction of renewable energy equipment on Listed Buildings and buildings within Conservation Areas.

5 5.2 Maximising the economic, social and environmental opportunities ITEM: 6 PAGE: There is an established working group promoting Buckie Harbour as a location for an Operations and Maintenance base for the offshore turbines located in the Moray Firth. The Council has been successful in attracting European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) money for the refurbishment/conversion of a building for use by the renewable industry and various options are currently being explored The Communities and Sustainability Group will be responsible for leading on renewable energy. At the inaugural meeting of the Communities and Sustainability Group in September 2013 it was decided to focus on energy. Specialist input from consultants will be sought in terms of innovative and more holistic solutions to reducing energy consumption across the Council and Community Planning Partners. Work is ongoing to determine the best way to take this forward and see what services are available. A report on the proposal is being prepared for Full Council Furthermore, an approach has been made to work in partnership with neighbouring authorities (Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Cairngorms National Park Authority) on the creation of a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) for the North East of Scotland. The idea for a SEAP for the north east is for the creation of a high level document which covers all areas of sustainable energy, across the scope of business, commercial, domestic and transport. The time period of the plan is still to be established but could potentially cover A SEAP is seen as a key phase in delivering the essential local carbon ambitions for the participating local authorities and aims to assist in delivering quality, long term sustainable local economic growth. This will also be referred to Full Council and if agreed will be progressed through the Communities and Sustainability Group. The scope of the action plan is still being developed, however this is seen a positive means of co-ordinating action on promoting renewable energy, emission reductions and aligning targets and priorities with other authorities. 5.3 Community Benefit The Council does not have a policy for community benefits relating to renewable energy. A Group has been established to look at this subject and proposed action by the Scottish Government on setting a national rate per MW output, provides a good baseline and guidance for communities negotiating community benefit. Community benefit arrangements are an entirely voluntary process that the council has no influence over. The working group set up to consider community benefits is scheduled to meet on the 19 March In 2013 the Onshore Wind Community Benefit Protocol was published by Scottish Renewables, a body that represents the onshore wind industry. This document detailed a consistent approach to community benefits across Scotland. The Scottish Government has taken on board much of what was set out within this document in its consultation document Good Principles for Community Benefit from Onshore Renewable Energy Developments

6 PAGE: 6 published in late In 2014 Scottish Government guidance will be developed to cover community benefits from onshore renewable. A key principle of the guidance will be a national rate of 5,000 per MW per year for the life of the development for communities. 6. SUMMARY OF IMPLICATIONS (a) Council / Community Planning Priorities The ten year plan highlights the need to reduce carbon and achieve greater energy efficiency. Renewables also contribute to economic growth and diversification by using the areas natural resources. (b) Policy and Legal None. Although the renewable action plan was not completed due to limited staff resources this has not hampered the growth of renewables in Moray. (c) Financial implications There are no financial implications from this report. (d) Risk Implications There are no risk implications arising from this report. (e) Staffing Implications There are no staff resource implications arising from this report. (f) Property There no property resource implications arising from this report. (g) Equalities No equalities issues arising. (h) Consultations The Equal Opportunities Officer (Don Toonen), Committee Service Officer (Lissa Rowan) and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services (Rhona Gunn) have been consulted and their comments incorporated into the report.

7 PAGE: 7 7. CONCLUSION 7.1 Despite not having a Renewable Energy Action Plan in place, work has been ongoing to promote renewable energy in Moray. There will be forthcoming projects that seek to address the Council s energy consumption and carbon emissions that will require innovative solutions and the utilisation of renewable technologies. The development of a Sustainable Energy Action Plan in partnership with neighbouring authorities is seen as an appropriate means of developing a future strategy. Author of Report: Emma Gordon (Planning Officer) Background Papers: Draft Renewable Energy Action Plan Ref: