| Energy
Battery Barns... a new dawn?
BCM, specialists in rural property operating throughout southern England, report considerable excitement in the rural world at the moment over the concept of battery storage and its potential to earn income for landowners and farmers.
T his has been widely covered in print, digital, TV and radio media. Through reviewing some of the proposals being put to our clients, we believe considerable caution needs to be exercised before committing to such schemes.
Some of the current proposals need further scrutiny in terms of the other opportunities that exist on potential sites. There can be an opportunity cost of signing with the wrong type of facility in comparison to others that are available.
Reasonably few sites are appropriate for grid-scale genset development. However, even fewer are suitable for battery storage. Furthermore, the embryonic battery storage market is so immature even the world’ s biggest battery storage operators are struggling to make the numbers work for standalone, gridscale schemes in the UK – even on the best possible sites.
BCM can access specialist, expert and independent advice on these proposals and that can give an accurate steer as to a site’ s viability and the type of technology they should be implementing. Further advice can be provided in terms of delivery of any suggested scheme and payment for the service provided will be made by the chosen operator, with the client having entered into an option and lease. For those with the right sites, properly handled, the potential rents can be substantial, £ 50,000
per site is not unusual. Giving the rights to a developer without properly reviewing the market or agreement can lead to much poorer deals.
The important thing is for landowners and farmers to safeguard their grid rights and then seek competing offers with the most credible operators with proven track records. This should optimise ground rent and terms and provide the greatest chance of achieving a successful scheme.
With grid capacity being limited, landowners and farmers should review this as soon as possible. Local grid capacity is issued on a first come first served basis, meaning that if someone locally avails themselves of any available grid capacity first, then you will not be able to.
Solar thermal in limbo as Government continues to delay decision
Six months since the Renewable Heat Incentive consultation the industry needs certainty to invest.
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1 organisations have backed a letter to Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property, urging her to retain solar thermal within the Renewable Heat Incentive( RHI). The group, representing the solar industry, local government, manufacturers, housing providers, land owners, and environmental campaigners, argue that the internationally proven technology should not be unfairly disadvantaged by being removed from the scheme and that the diverse application of solar thermal should be fully recognised.
“ The UK currently lags well behind other countries in its use of solar thermal- ranking 44th according to the IEA for installed capacity per capita”
Paul Barwell, STA Chief Executive, commented:
“ The industry was shocked, in March, when the Government proposed removing solar thermal from the RHI, whilst retaining support for heat pumps and biomass. Now, six months later, the industry is still in limbo as it waits for the Government’ s response. We are confident that the Solar Trade Association made a compelling case to support solar thermal and hope the Government rethinks their proposal. However it is urgent that we get a decision quickly to end this uncertainty.”
Solar thermal is an internationally proven technology with the potential to play a major role in decarbonising the UK’ s domestic and commercial sectors. Unlike other renewable heat technologies, solar has negligible running costs, and can be combined with existing heating systems, making it particularly well suited for homes in fuel poverty. It works effectively in built-up areas, on smaller roofs, and in areas where air quality is an issue. In London solar thermal is the dominant technology for RHI applications.
Instead of cutting solar thermal from the RHI the organisations signing the letter argue that the Government should expand the number of applications of solar thermal allowed. The letter reads:
“ The UK currently lags well behind other countries in its use of solar thermal- ranking
44th according to the IEA for installed capacity per capita. However, with continued support from government under the Renewable Heat Incentive solar thermal has the opportunity to contribute to ever-wider range of applications, including district heating, space heating, industrial process heating, and valuable integration with other renewable heating technologies. The scope for solar thermal to displace fossil heating in industrial process heating is remarkable. Analysis by IRENA( The International Renewable Energy Agency) shows that solar thermal technologies could technically provide nearly half of heat demand in the industrial sector, displacing large amounts of carbon.
If the proposal to remove solar thermal from the RHI is implemented there is every prospect that the current supply chain will atrophy, together with valuable UK skills and manufacturing capacity. Without this vital technology the Government will struggle to meet its dual targets of alleviating fuel poverty and reaching 12 % renewable heat by 2020.
40 | Farming Monthly | November 2016 www. farmingmonthly. co. uk