.png)
.jpg)
A recent study by EY has led to a report entitled the Cumbria Distributed Energy Strategy. Commissioned by the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership with funding from North-West Net Zero Hub, it explores the potential opportunities in the region for alternative energy sources.
The report highlights the green energy projects already well established, as well as investigating potential others and identifying those energy sources that the region would most benefit from prioritised development.
We’re looking at the distributed energy sources included in the report, to understand its findings.
Onshore wind
Harvesting the kinetic energy of wind is nothing new, and wind turbines are now a regular sight when driving up and down the country. The report rightly points out that wind turbines have been operational in Cumbria for more than 20 years – 247 turbines to be precise, with a combined capacity of 447GWh.
In Cumbria, and it’s everchanging weather conditions, wind farms are already generating power. Investment in technology and efficiency improvements over recent years means new models are now available that can generate even more capacity, so looking at repowering these could have help to produce more renewable energy in the region.
But Cumbria’s landscape brings with it challenges. The hills and mountains look magnificent in person as millions of visitors explore them each year, but their height means installed wind turbines are subjected to tough weather conditions – making it difficult for them to operate and incurring expensive maintenance costs. Limited grid connectivity is another challenge, meaning new infrastructure needs to be carefully considered due to restricted capacity.
The report does highlight however that local wind energy solutions provide a good alternative to the length and time it would time to gain the planning permission and grid updates required to introduce new large-scale wind turbines. Instead, prioritising community focused installations with energy generation less than 1MW, provides a viable option that local residents would still benefit from.
Tidal and wave
Tidal energy typically uses an underground turbine to generate power from the ebb and flow of water, whereas wave energy is generated through a device that is usually installed on the surface of the water, using the motion of the waves that are naturally being created.
With West Cumbria being located off the Irish Sea, the county has some of the strongest tides in the UK. Development work is already well underway for tidal and wave power capability, with expectations that should projects come to fruition it could provide significant power generation.
Cost becomes a barrier however, with high up-front costs to invest in the materials and technologies required to create tidal and wave solutions, considerably more than other clean energy sources.
Solar Photovoltaics (PV)
On a glorious day, a visit to Cumbria is hard to beat – which makes solar power an interesting option. Two installations of solar photovoltaic cells are typically seen – rooftop localised installations and solar farms which are designed to produce at a much higher capacity. Industrial sized solar farms are already well established in Cumbria, including the capacity to produce 19MW of power at the Aspatria Solar Farm across 87 acres.
The vast rural and farming land in Cumbria, together with opportunities to install solar PV panels on top of buildings, mean there are already several options being developed, and a steady pipeline of solar power energy initiatives that will allow power to be produced, utilised locally and fed back in the national grid.
Deep geothermal
Deep geothermal energy production harnesses the heat from deep beneath the Earth's surface to generate electricity and provide heating. This process involves drilling wells several kilometres into the ground to access hot water or steam, which is then used to drive turbines and produce power.
As you could expect, the cost capital expenditure of set-up costs such as machinery to create new geothermal solutions is significant, making it difficult to get financial backing and Government buy in. So, whilst the land in Cumbria certainly has the factors needed to make it a good potential location for geothermal power generation, cost and appetite for it means it wouldn’t be an energy source to prioritise anytime in the near future.
Heat networks
A great example of distributed energy is heat networks, with five generations of the technology having now been developed. The networks provide heating for a group of buildings that are connected to the same central heating source. This eliminates the need for each building to generate its own heat, which subsequently reduces consumption.
In rural locations creating distributed heat networks becomes unviable as communities are too spread out, but more populated areas in particular new build apartment living spaces could be prime targets for developing heat networks.
Bioenergy
By using biological sources, for example plants or animal residues, energy can also be produced through digestion, fermentation or combustion. This can produce biofuel, biogas and biomass.
Biomass is of particular relevance in Cumbria, with 5 stations already in operation that have a combined estimated capacity of 100 MW. Perennial grass Miscanthus provides a good source for biomass production, with its tall height allowing more fuel to be grown per hectare. It’s a sturdy grass, that’s right at home in Cumbria’s soil making it ideal for growing to create bioenergy. With it continuously yielding fresh crops without needing to replant, it’s also a cost effective solution which, when combined with farm waste, can provide a high capacity for bioenergy production in Cumbria.
Hydropower
The final clean energy production technique the study looked at was hydropower, using the movement of water to create electricity. It’s clear that there are enough lakes in Cumbria to introduce hydropower solutions, but quite understandably these are protected areas and shining examples of natural formations.
It’s no surprise to see that researchers suggest this option will need careful consideration. The networks of rivers and streams that feed into larger waterways however may provide opportunities to investigate hydropower further.
Setting the focus for Cumbria’s future energy
You can find out more about the potential benefits development of green energy sources such as these will have on the region by reading our recent blog.
Preparing for a distributed energy strategy
Local energy and engineering companies looking to grow their expertise and bring on board new skills to benefit from future renewable and alternative energy projects, are welcome to get in touch with our Egremont team to discuss their future workforce plans.