Ladock parish community wind turbine

Progress and next steps

July 2012

About Low Carbon Ladock• Low Carbon Ladock was set up in 2008 in response to the problems of climate change and peak oil• The co-operative was set up to manage and distribute income from low carbon installations put in place in Ladock Parish• Everyone who lives and/or works in the parish is invited to become a member. Low Carbon Ladock currently has over 100

members (about 7% of the parish)• Registered objects of the co-operative include:

– The promotion of the conservation, protection and improvement of the natural environment and prudent use of natural resources for the benefit of the public

– The promotion of sustainable development for the public benefit– The prevention or relief of poverty in Ladock (parish) and surrounding areas– The creation of training and employment opportunities – The maintenance, improvement or provision of public amenities– The protection or conservation of the environment

• In December 2009, Ladock Parish put in a successful bid to the Government's Low Carbon Community Challenge. The scheme provided half a million pounds to introduce measures to aid transition to low carbon living. Eight houses, plus the two village halls, two pubs and three other local businesses were selected for low carbon developments including:– 12 Sets of solar PV panels and 5 sets of solar thermal panels– 2 biomass boilers– 2 ground source heat pumps– Insulation of 4 buildings– A 20kW wind turbine installed on a farmers field

• Low Carbon Ladock is seen as a pioneer of low carbon communities in the UK• In early 2012, the first re-investment of funds were awarded with money going to:

– Traffic calming measures– The cricket club– [Chris to complete]

About Green Trust

• Green Trust CIC is a community energy company, based in Cornwall. We are working with Low Carbon Ladock to develop a community wind turbine for the parish

• We are a Community Interest Company (CIC) limited by guarantee, which means our primary purpose is to generate community benefit and there are legal restrictions on how what we can do with our profits

• We are a social business and we need to generate a profit from our activities. However, any profit we make is re-invested in further community energy projects

www.greentrustwind.co.uk

This project is part financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 2007-2013: Europe investing in rural areas delivered through Defra as the Delivery Authority.

What could a community wind turbine do for Ladock Parish?

A single 500kW - 800kW wind turbine could:

• Generate over 1/3rd of the parish’s annual domestic and commercial electricity consumption

• Generate around £30,000 (possibly more) per year for the Low Carbon Ladock community fund for 20 years

• A community investment offer, providing a good 20 year investment return

• Green electricity supply for local homes and businesses

Isle of Tiree Enercon 800kW community wind turbine

How far have we got?• In September 2011 the Low Carbon Ladock co-operative voted to explore the potential for a

medium to large-scale community wind turbine in Ladock Parish• Green Trust then looked across the parish for potentially suitable sites. Considerations

included:– Good wind resource (i.e. exposed hilltops)– Proximity to viable electrical grid connection points– Distance from houses– Access– Ecology and land designations

• A number of potential sites were identified. The owners of 3 of the sites were willing to host the community wind turbine. Further work was then carried out on those 3 sites including commissioning a specialist to assess grid connection cost and site visits by a planning officer and an ecologist

• The Fenton Ladock site has been chosen as the preferred site for a single turbine of up to 76m to tip height and 500kW – 800kW rated generation capacity

• We now want to make sure everyone has the chance to understand how the turbine could benefit the parish, and the potential impacts, before progressing the project to planning submission

The proposed turbine

Size Hub height – 50mRotor diameter – up to 52mTip height – up to 76m

Generation capacity

500kW – 800kW

Estimated annual generation

2,000 MWh>30% of Ladock parish’s electricity consumption300 homes

Turbine options EWT DW52 500kWEnercon E48 800kW(both a direct drive, low noise turbines) An EWT 500kW turbine, the same as

turbines at St Enoder, Bodmin and Otterham (near Bude)

The proposed site

The proposed site is at Fenton Ladock farm, on the ridge up to the East of New Mills to the South of the road

Key considerations• Key planning and technical considerations will include

– Visual impact – the site is on high ground, but houses to the west and south are screened by topography and trees. Houses to the north and east will be able to see it

– Noise – the site is sufficient distance from housing that under most conditions the turbine should not be audible. We will do noise studies to demonstrate this

– Ecology – We have already started ecology work and no sensitive species have been identified

– Shadow flicker – all houses to north, east and west are a sufficient distance away that shadow flicker should not be an issue. We will do further studies to confirm this

– Access – an access survey has confirmed we can get the turbine to the site– Grid connection – an application has been submitted to Western Power Distribution

• Key community support considerations include– Impact on and concerns of immediate neighbours– Levels of support from the parish– Levels of objection from the parish

What next?

Summer / Early Autumn ‘12

Community awareness raising and consultationPublic opinion survey

Autumn / Early Winter ‘12

Complete development work submit planning applicationOngoing community involvement

Jan ‘13 Planning decision

Spring ‘13 Investment raising (including community share offer), finalising legal and financial arrangements and procurement

Summer/Autumn ‘13

Construction

How much will it cost?

Total cost£0

£200,000

£400,000

£600,000

£800,000

£1,000,000

£1,200,000

£1,400,000

£1,600,000

£1,800,000

Surplus to re-invest in other projects*

Contingency fund

Preconstruction

Civil and electrical works and project management

Grid connection

Turbine

*Green Trust raises more investment than is required to build the project and uses this surplus to re-invest in further projects. Green Trust’s objective is to raise enough surplus to fund the development costs of 2 further projects (up to £400k)

Once planning permission and other key agreements are in place, investment will be raised from a number of sources

• The first priority will be an investment offer to residents of the parish. Minimum investment per person is likely to be £100. The offer will be managed so that anyone who wants to invest can

• If the local offer does not raise all of the investment required, Green Trust will raise the remaining investment from other sources which could include a bank loan, local businesses, and investment funds

• Returns to investors are capped at the minimum required to raise investment

How much income will be generated?

For a 800kW turbine annual revenue will be around £280,000• The wind turbine will earn income

for its 20 year lifetime from the sale of electricity generated and the feed-in tariff. If electricity prices rise, or a 500kW turbine earning a higher FiT is possible, income will be higher than the base case

• Annual production of a 500kW turbine would be slightly less than that of a 800kW turbine, however, a 500kW turbine would have a higher annual income than a 800kW turbine due to the higher FiT rate currently available

• The FiT rates are subject to change but the turbine with the highest income potential will be chosen for development

500kW 800kW0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

400000

450000

Feed in Tariff Electricity exported

Turbine Size

Ann

ual I

ncom

e

How will the income be used?

Operating costs

Community Fund

Investor Return

Tax Operating costs :• Land rent• Service and maintenance• Business rates• Insurance• Administration• Grid charges• Contribution to a reserve fund to cover

component replacement

Community Fund:• Around £30,000 per annum paid to

Low Carbon Ladock Community Fund for 20 years

• Any surplus income also paid into the fund

• The fund will be managed by the LCL co-operative and re-invested in further local community initiatives

Investor return:• Returns to local and other investors (if required) to

achieve an average 20 year return of around 5-7% per year plus capital repaid

• Returns to investors capped – Any surplus income is transferred to the Low Carbon Ladock community fund

Local Investment Offer• The aim is to raise as much of the investment as possible from local investors• First priority for investment will be a bond and/or share offer open to all residents within the

parish (the minimum investment is likely to be £100 per person)• Expected return of 5-7% over the 20 year life of the project (increased with inflation), plus

your original investment returned• A £1,000 investment would earn back over £2,000 over 20 years (this includes repayment of

your original investment)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

-£1,000

-£500

£0

£500

£1,000

Year

Factors that influence economics• Construction costs could be higher or lower than

estimated. Changes in the grid connection costs and the Euro exchange rate could both have significant impacts

• Wind speed at the site could be higher or lower than estimated. However, we are confident that the site does have a viable wind resource

• The government could further reduce the feed-in tariff. However, the feed-in tariff is fixed for 20 years from the point that the project is commissioned. A reduction from the current rate has already been factored in

• Electricity prices could go up or down (more likely to go up!)

• We may have to offer a higher rate than the target investor return to secure the required investment. However, we are confident that we will be able to secure investment to build the project once planning permission and grid connection has been obtained

How is the Ladock community wind turbine different to a commercial development?

• The project has been initiated by the Low Carbon Ladock co-operative• It will only be progressed to planning submission if there is broad community support• It will generate a target income for the Low Carbon Ladock community fund of around £30,000 per year or

more. A commercial developer of a similar sized project might offer around £3,000 community contribution • We will aim to raise as much of the investment as we can from local investors, so the investment returns are

retained locally• We are working with a number of energy companies to come up with a local electricity supply offer that will

enable local households and businesses to buy the green electricity generated at a discounted rate• Green Trust will generate a profit from the project, but this profit is locked within the company and will be

re-invested in further community energy projects• If the project generates a higher profit than anticipated, this will go to the Low Carbon Ladock community

fund• The community purpose of the project will be embedded in the project company mem & arts of association,

the land lease and the planning application. • Low Carbon Ladock will be represented on the board of the project company and may own an equity stake in

the project (to be confirmed following financial and legal advice)• Green Trust will be ‘open book’ with the economics of the project and financial arrangements. Two suitably

experienced members of Low Carbon Ladock will oversee the financial arrangements to ensure the community interest purpose of the project is adhered to

Events to look out forWe will be holding a variety of events where you can obtain more information, raise concerns and express opinions• In early September there will be public exhibitions held in Grampound Road and

Ladock village halls where you can find out more information and have questions answered

• There will be stalls providing information on the wind project at Grampound Road and Ladock markets

• On 14th July there will be a stall at ‘Blues in the Barn’ • Activities and workshops for the schools• An organised visit to see a local operational wind turbine (date to be confirmed)• We will conduct an opinion poll in early September to determine the overall level

of community support• Leaflets and posters throughout the parish

Contact

Green Trust CICFalmouth Ambulance BuildingQuarry HillFalmouthCornwallTR11 2BP

Jake Burnyeat (Director)t. 0781 501 45 40e. jakeburnyeat@greentrustwind.co.ukw. www.greentrustwind.co.uk

Low Carbon LadockWoodland Valley FarmLadockTruroTR2 4PT

Chris Jonest. 0797 143 63 19e. jones-farm@btconnect.comw. www.transition-lgr.org