Recent news from the National Grid announces that 52% of electricity generation came from low carbon sources (wind, solar, hydro and biomass) this summer making it the ‘greenest’ summer on record. Since 2000 the UK has seen a steady increase in renewable energy use and the strive to meet energy demands using renewable energy strategies has never more prevalent.
As stated within the national Planning Practise Guidance (PPG) for Renewable and Low Carbon Energy (2015) “Planning has an important role in the delivery of new renewable and low carbon energy infrastructure in locations where the local environmental impact is acceptable”. In the past 7 years, RMA has completed a number of successful assessments (including EIA, Environmental Appraisal Reports (EAR) and Flood Risk Assessments) on renewable energy schemes as an energy consultancy. To date it is estimated that approximately 8% of our projects have been renewable schemes with a number in the pipeline.
The schemes have involved a number of Photovoltaic Solar farms (accounting for 70% of our renewable projects), onshore wind turbines and biomass schemes such as the Davidstow Creamery Biomass project in Cornwall.
The cumulative effects of the consented renewable schemes RMA have contributed to, estimates to an energy output of 316,000 MWh per annum. This equates to powering approximately 95,800 households in the UK (1 average UK household = 3,300 kwh) and has saved around 171,300 tonnes of Co2 emissions.
RMA are consistently striving to work with developers on renewable projects, which meet the needs of the local environment and assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are an energy consultancy that can help: Contact us