Solar Panels - (Photovoltaics) on Church Buildings

Transcription

1 Soar panes Soar Panes - (Photovotaics) on Church Buidings As Christians it is our duty to care for the word with which we have been entrusted. It is now cear that our modern, energy-hungry ifestyes are changing the panet for the worse. We must act now.

2 Soar panes Soar Panes - Photovotaics The term soar pane covers both soar therma where the sun s energy is used to heat water (the simpest form of soar power technoogy), and photovotaic (PV) where the sun s energy is converted into eectrica energy. This briefing is excusivey about the ater. The technoogy A PV ce consists of one or two ayers of a semiconducting materia, usuay siicon. When ight shines on the ce it creates an eectric fied across the ayers causing eectricity to fow. And the greater the intensity of the ight, the greater the fow of eectricity. PV ces wi ony produce eectricity whist there is dayight. So the energy must either be consumed as it is being generated, or stored for ater use or exported to the Nationa Grid. There are three types of PV ces: Monocrystaine is the most expensive, but has the ongest ife span (about years) and is the most efficient at converting sunight into energy. It is composed of thin wafers of refined siicon. Poycrystaine is simiar to monocrystaine, but made of ess refined siicon. Amorphous siicon ces or thin fim are made of siicon atoms in a thin ayer. This is the east efficient, with a ifespan of around years. Efficiency Wi soar panes get more efficient? Typica soar panes have an efficiency of about 10%; expensive panes perform at 20%. According to Professor David MacKay (chief scientific advisor to the DECC), a mass-produced device with an efficiency greater than 30% woud be quite remarkabe. However photovotaic panes wi become even cheaper and ess energy intensive to manufacture, improving the energy yied ratio. There is currenty no known major innovation that coud justify deayed investment in soar pane technoogy at this point in time. Energy conservation Care must be taken to ensure that the instaation of soar panes is not pursued at the expense of other more basic aspects of energy conservation. Some of the most effective ways to reduce the carbon footprint of a church buiding (or any buiding for that matter) are aso the simpest. Increasing the efficiency of eectricity use owers emissions, as we as saving money. For exampe: Heating - Use a timer and/or thermostatic contros to prevent overuse; upgrade to a more efficient boier system; insuate pipes; ook to minimise heat oss through draughts; consider metering and efficiencies in the way the buiding is used. Lighting - There are numerous ways to make ighting more efficient from ow tech printed Switch off signs by ight switches, through to motion-activated ighting. The use of energy-saving ight bubs can reduce energy consumption by up to 80%. Reduce water use by fitting spray taps, dua fush WCs, and harvesting rainwater. Insuation Ensure ofts and cavity was (where appicabe) are insuated. Gazing Fit doube gazing to windows and externa doors, and use ow emissivity gass. Make sure products used are recycabe or have a ong ife. More compex soutions to reducing the carbon footprint of arger buidings, compexes and institutions might incude bio-mass, mini-combined heat and power pants, or turbines. The Methodist Church aspires to reduce its carbon footprint and recognises that energy consumption in our buidings has a significant contribution to make to this. 2

3 Soar panes Government poicy The Department of Energy and Cimate Change (DECC) has used powers in the Energy Act 2008 to introduce a system of feed-in tariffs (in Apri 2010) to incentivise sma-scae (ess than 5 MW), ow carbon eectricity generation. These feed-in tariffs work aongside the Renewabes Obigation (RO). Export tariff - a further 3.2p/kWh (rising to 4.5p/kWh for systems instaed after 1 August 2012) wi be received from the energy suppier for each unit exported back to the eectricity grid (when it isn t used on site). In the case of smaer systems eectricity exported is not usuay metered, in which case a nomina export of 50% of tota eectricity generated is assumed. The RO is the primary mechanism to incentivise argescae renewabe eectricity generation by pacing an obigation on UK suppiers of eectricity to source an increasing proportion of their eectricity from renewabe sources. Feed-in tariffs Feed-in tariffs (FITs) have two components: Generation tariff is a set rate paid by the energy suppier for each unit (or kwh) of eectricity generated. The government has introduced a preferentia rate to encourage the take-up of soar photovotaics. The rate avaiabe wi be reviewed and potentiay reduced every three months for new entrants to the scheme. Once signed up the same tariff wi be received for 20 years (or 25 years for systems instaed prior to 1 August 2012) and wi be index inked. For systems instaed after 3 March 2012, the generation tariff wi be 21p/kWh. (See aso energy performance audits beow). For systems instaed after 1 August 2012 a ower tariff of 16p/kWh wi be appied. These figures are subject to change and consutations are ongoing so for the atest information pease check Churches are obbying for better tariffs/exemption from tariff reduction for church buidings on the grounds of their community benefit. The cost of photovotaic ces has been expensive. However, government subsidy in the form of feed-in tariffs has shortened the payback period and made them financiay more attractive, especiay in a period of ow interest rates. In May 2012 DECC reaffirmed a commitment to providing an incentive for growth in soar photovotaics. To this end the department announced criteria for the review of FITs with a view to guaranteeing a rate of return on investment of between 4.5% and 8%. Energy performance audits There shoud be a current and competent energy audit of the buiding and any proposed instaation of soar panes shoud be part of a wider package of measures aready taken towards better environmenta stewardship. From 1 Apri 2012 eigibiity for the preferentia generation tariff wi be restricted to buidings with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or above. Otherwise a much ower generation tariff of 9p/ kwh wi appy. 3

4 Soar panes Pre-instaation Consutation/Consents Churches shoud consut with, and/or obtain consent (dependent on significance, period, ocation etc) from: Conservation officer Consutation is required with the Connexiona Team conservation officer for isted chapes. Loca panning authority Panning permission may be required. Insurers A etter of consent is essentia. Buiding-specific considerations When considering the feasibiity of instaing soar panes, there is no one size fits a soution; the best instaations are taiored to the specific needs and resources of the church. You shoud consider the foowing: Can the panes be seen from significant paces? Are the panes intrusive? Wi the panes have a detrimenta impact on the character and appearance of a significant buiding? Is the site free of shading? (Note: Just a sma amount can radicay reduce the pane effectiveness.) Has the roof structure been assessed by a professionay quaified structura engineer or chartered buiding surveyor to ensure that it can carry the additiona weight of the equipment and is a good state of repair? Can the panes be easiy accessed for maintenance? Has a discreet and secure space been identified for the inverter equipment? (Note: The inverters create a humming noise which wi increase with age, therefore the ocation needs to take this into consideration.) How wi the panes be attached in such a way that they do not adversey affect the existing fabric? Does the fixing of the panes aow for easy remova in the future and ensure that wind ift won t be a probem? Panes have an estimated ife of at east 25 years and are generay expected to be maintenance free. However, consideration needs to be given as to what might happen to them at the end of their ife and how the property fabric can be restored to its condition prior to the instaation of the panes. Case Study Bethesda Methodist Church, Chetenham, Goucestershire is a Grade II isted church. It had 32 photovotaic panes instaed on the south-facing roof during 2009 at a tota system cost of 39,000. (Today this system woud be consideraby ess costy). It was estimated that the system woud generate 7,000 kwh each year. In 2011 the system generated 6,693 kwh, of which 5,174 kwh was exported. The church received at tota of 2,677 2,517 for generation (at 37.8p/kWh at the end of 2011) and 160 for export. (For further information go to 4

5 Soar panes Minimum standards expected of the suppier Contractors shoud provide a feasibiity document identifying the expected efficiency of the instaation, annua energy production, monetary and carbon payback periods. Post-instaation It is recommended that churches consider the instaation of a visua dispay monitor to provide a pubic account of the amount of eectricity generated. It is aso recommended that energy records are retained for incusion in the quinquennia inspection report. Finance There are a number of options which coud be considered for sourcing funding. Grants There are many grant-making foundations that wi consider this sort of project eg Landfi Communities Fund. Some energy companies run grant funds, for exampe EDF Green Fund Scottish Power Green Energy Trust www. scottishpowergreentrust.co.uk/content, Energyshare Fund Property grants may aso be avaiabe through the Connexiona Team (emai: grants@methodistchurch.org.uk). Loans It may be worth considering taking out a oan to enabe work to proceed in one continuous operation, whist fundraising is going on. However weigh the impications carefuy, as even with the FIT repayment may take severa years. Loca fundraising Many peope are happy to contribute to projects of this nature, especiay if it is part of a reordering project that improves the wider community use of the buiding. They wi aso ike the fact that the project wi provide a ongterm income for the church through the FITs. Cooperative or community-funded options It may aso be possibe for a group of peope to fund the instaation under a community share issue, or simiar funding mechanisms, in return for the FIT payments. Suppier ed options There are a number of schemes (eg rent your roof or free panes deas), which pay the costs of instaing PV panes in return for the FIT payments. The owner of the buiding wi usuay benefit from the eectricity generated by the panes. (Note: You woud need to be using the buiding in the daytime to benefit from this eectricity and isted buidings are not eigibe for many of these schemes.) Issues around insurance, maintenance, remova etc aso need to be carified. Soar panes: shoud you buy or ease? On baance it has been decided that free soar schemes (ie easing the rooftop for 25 years to a company to insta and maintain soar panes on it) are not as economica as instaing your own panes. For this reason, amongst others, it is advised that churches considering using soar panes shoud proceed by buying their own PV system. Switching to a green energy provider When buying green eectricity it is important to decide what you want the company to be investing in: encouraging more consumers to pay their part by buying eectricity from renewabes? investing in new deveopment of generation? making renewabes more accessibe to peope in other parts of the word? where do you want your green premium to go? The government requires eectricity suppy companies to source green eectricity at an increasing percentage every year under the Renewabes Obigation, but currenty consumer demand for green eectricity is ower than the tota eectricity generated from renewabe sources. So it is hepfu if we, as consumers, demonstrate to the government the demand for eectricity produced by renewabe means, and that we are prepared to reduce our demand. If you are ooking for a company to provide a high percentage of eectricity from renewabe resources, you wi need to know the fue mix that the company uses. The website gives that information. The Methodist Church is ooking to procure discounted energy with a renewabe energy option. 5

6 Further information Steve Huckesby (poicy adviser, Joint Pubic Issues Team) Te: Emai: Juie Robinson-Judd (connexiona property coordinator) Te: Emai: Joanne Bamforth (conservation officer) Te: Emai: Other hepfu information is avaiabe at: Acknowedgement This document is based on guidance produced by the Church of Engand with kind permission of its author, Ruth Watkinson, environmenta poicy officer, Cathedras & Church Buidings Division. 31 May 2012