Wind powers up Environment Agency’s renewable plans

Under the plans, which the EA will unveil on the first of its two-day annual conference held in London, the agency will build around 80 wind turbines on land it owns across England and Wales.

The EA said the project would generate around 200 megawatts of renewable energy – enough to power 90,000 households – as well as raising £2.4 million of revenue a year, which it said it would plough back into improving the environment and adapting to climate change.

“By developing these renewable energy projects we are helping to limit and adapt to the effects of climate change, reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and helping to develop a low-carbon economy,” said chief executive of the EA, Dr Paul Leinster, ahead of the Environmental Futures 08: Creating The Climate For Change conference.

The EA owns 15,400 hectares of land in England and Wales and has identified 255 sites that could be used for wind farms, although none have yet been confirmed as sites for development.

The agency has teamed up with Partnerships for Renewables to help deliver the ambitious project. Partnerships for Renewables, a company created by the Carbon Trust, will cover the costs of the development process and use its expertise to ensure that only environmentally appropriate sites are developed.

The EA said electricity generated from the wind turbines would be supplied directly to the national grid or, where appropriate locations are identified close to an existing EA electricity load, would deliver green electricity directly to agency offices and facilities.

“We are identifying the main contributors to our own carbon footprint, such as major pumping stations, and looking at how we can generate renewable energy to power them,” said Leinster.

The EA confirmed that it would have to go through the normal planning process for any sites that are identified for development.

The EA is committed to reducing its CO2 emissions by 30 per cent by 2012 from 2006/07 levels (65,000 tonnes). In 2007/08 it achieved a 6,000 tonne reduction.

The agency already sources all of its electricity usage from renewable energy sources and by the end of 2010, will have moved its national headquarters into Cabot House in central Bristol, an eco-friendly building that will save an estimated £180,000 per year for the agency.

 
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State at the new Department of Energy and Climate Change, welcomed the EA’s latest initiative to generate renewable energy itself, saying the Government wanted to encourage communities and businesses to do the same.

“By installing its own renewable projects the Environment Agency, working with Partnerships for Renewables, will boost the amount of renewable energy generated in this country, helping to cut carbon emissions and secure more home grown energy," he said. “We want even more homes, communities, businesses and public sector organisations to join in this national effort to play their part in defeating climate change. That’s why we’re putting in place a feed-in tariff to make smaller-scale generation more financially attractive to more people.”

Miliband will speak at the Environment Agency’s annual conference at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, tomorrow (November 25).