South Pennine Renewable
and Low Carbon Energy Study
Maslen Environmental was commissioned by a partnership of five South Pennine councils to produce a Renewable and Low Carbon Energy Study as an evidence base for their Local Development Frameworks.
The Government has set a target of delivering 15% of energy from renewable sources by 2020. With the recent revocation of the Regional Spatial Strategies there are currently no standing sub-regional targets for renewable energy generation. This study has provided an evidence base for the potential of a range of Renewable and Low Carbon technologies within the study area. It discusses and illustrates how this potential might be utilised to aid in contributing to national targets.
The study followed the DECC (Department of Energy and Climate Change) regional methodology but this was critiqued and adapted for a sub-regional scale, allowing the effects of important local constraints, such as wind turbine landscape capacity, to be assessed and discussed.
Uptake constraints and drivers for on-site renewables and micro-generation development were further outlined through a number of case studies and visualisations, illustrating the practicalities of developing renewable energy resources.
The study is being put out for consultation by the five councils involved.
