Developing Community-led Local Energy Plans

1. Developing Community-led Local Energy Plans Ross Jones Local Energy Scotland Gareth Oakley Wood 1

2. Developing Community-led Local Energy Plans • Session objectives • Increase your knowledge and understanding of Community-led Local Energy Plans • Use the approach developed through the pilot to help you assess whether a plan can benefit your community • Provide examples of learning and output from the pilot • Introduce the tools and resources available 2

3. Pilot background • COBEN: Delivering COmmunityBENefit from Civic Energy • North Sea Region Interreg funded project with 50% match funded by Scottish Government • Pilot across 4 locations in Highlands and Islands to: • provide an evidence base which demonstrates the benefits of local energy planning • develop a consistent and flexible methodology that can be replicated and toolkit to support this 3

4. Guide to local energy plans and toolkit Guide now available through website and supported by toolkit: 4

5. What is a Community-led Local Energy Plan? created by local communities designed and developed in line with local need a ‘whole-system’ view to include power, heat, transport, demand management and storage, energy efficiency sets out the key priorities and opportunities that will promote the development of local energy systems places these in the context of planning processes that are developing as part of regional and national strategies 5

6. Table exercise • The benefits of opportunities identified in a local energy plan can be measured in a number of ways for example: • Direct benefits such as generation of electricity or heat for local use displacing more expensive grid supplied electricity or fossil fuel • Indirect benefits such as switching from diesel to electric vehicles reducing emissions from exhausts and improving air quality • Please list other criteria that can be used to assess the benefits of opportunities 6

7. Local benefits (examples) Direct Generation of electricity or heat for local use displacing more expensive grid supplied electricity or fossil fuel Indirect Switching from diesel to electric vehicles reducing local emissions of particulates and improving air quality Economic Developing employment and supply chain opportunities associated with energy supply or energy efficiency Social Production of local energy to supply homes in fuel poverty can reduce stress and enhance health outcomes for residents Using energy storage mechanisms to maximise outputs from community owned generation or using technology to enable better trading of locally produced energy Strategic 7

8. Working together – community & council drivers Opportunity for aligning objectives • Refocusing objectives for worthwhile projects • Identifying efficient solutions • Closer relationships • Harmonious programme delivery • Accelerated local energy projects Highland Council perspective David Cowie, Development Plans 8

9. Working together – mapping future opportunities Local authority duties Energy opportunities Community priorities Social factors • data assessment & analysis = project identification • could help inform review of local development plans Highland Council perspective David Cowie, Development Plans 9

10. Working together – energy & low carbon planning Internal relationships LEP LEP LEP LEP Highland Council perspective David Cowie, Development Plans 10

11. Plan Development Stages Initialising Taking the plan forward Development can be considered as part of six inter-linked stages with the community at its core. Mobilisation Plan development Community Options appraisal Data gathering 11

12. Initialising Initialising Taking the plan forward • What can be summarised by the community at this point? • What organisations might be involved in developing the plan? Mobilisation Plan development Community Options appraisal Data gathering 12

13. Mobilising Initialising Taking the plan forward • How do we begin to engage with the community? • What area should we be looking at? • What do we want to achieve? Mobilisation Plan development Community Options appraisal Data gathering 13

14. Developing the plan What format should the plan development group take? 14

15. Table exercise Who should be involved in steering the development of the plan? List key stakeholders to be approached What does local community engagement look like and when should it happen? 15

16. Community engagement Technical support 16

17. Community engagement 17

18. Data gathering and plan development • The bit after initialisation and mobilisation! • But where to start? • Discuss a study area boundary to focus data collection efforts • If possible, align with pre-defined administrative boundaries e.g. • Output area • School catchment area • Political wards 18

19. Gathering data Initialising Taking the plan forward • What plans and policies are there? • What previous studies have been looked at? • What data is immediately available? • Are there any significant changes planned that will affect energy and transport needs in the area? Mobilisation Plan development Community Options appraisal Data gathering 19

20. Existing energy consumption Community characteristics Demographics, employment/ unemployment, levels of fuel poverty, residential property characteristics (age, tenure, construction, heating and energy efficiency), access to cars Energy Supply Systems Local electricity grid capacity Other fuel supplies Road networks, other transport Energy generation (existing) Existing community renewables, household scale generation Renewable resource Energy demand 12-month snapshot of energy demand (power and heat) 12-month view of typical transport energy use, local EV charging points? Other systems and future demand?

21. Finding data • Look at publicly available data • Then ask others to help: • Ask the Local Steering Group – what’s been done already? • Speak with Local Authority, NHS Board, Scottish Water – understanding local energy systems and demand • Seek local understanding – ask non-domestic users (e.g. Survey Monkey) • Conversations with local businesses • Sense check with Local Steering Group

22. What does it tell us? • What energy needs do we have now? • 12-month snapshot of energy use (power, heat and transport) • Overview of domestic energy use • Overview of non-domestic energy use • Overview of typical domestic transport requirements and non-domestic travel • Known things that will change in future • significant future development (housing / non-domestic) • energy systems (grid upgrade; local renewable energy) • review relevant Local Authority strategy documents and othersto ensure consistency with allocations (housing, industrial etc.) and wider objectives • Areas of focus • look back at our original aspirations / objectives

23. Options appraisal Initialising Taking the plan forward • Which options fit with our aspirations and ambitions? • What benefits might these ideas offer? • Does the list of opportunities still meet the community needs? Mobilisation Plan development Community Options appraisal Data gathering 23

24. Options appraisal – a process Direct Community priorities + Review of energy systems and demand/supply Options to take forward - Behaviour - Efficiency - System change Economic Prioritised list Indirect Social Strategic Net benefits

25. Options appraisal – where it might lead Efficiency

26. Plan development Initialising Taking the plan forward • Collating all the work in one place • Reflect on the draft plan • Complete all summary outputs Mobilisation Plan development Community Options appraisal Data gathering 26

27. What’s in a plan? • Tell the story….. • Reflect the community views • Summarise relevant details • Energy systems • Community demand and future requirements • Initial estimate of impact of options • Actions to take forward • Actions and next steps important • The Plan is a step in the journey – not the end

28. Plans published – July 2018 28

29. Plan actions 1 includes actions covering cost reduction for heating oil 29

30. Taking the plan forward Initialising Taking the plan forward • What group or body is responsible for making actions happen? • When should details in the Plan be updated? Mobilisation Plan development Community Options appraisal Data gathering 30

31. Taking the plan forward – Barra & Vatersay promote awareness of EVs and potential car club promoting energy efficiency promote bulk purchase of oil ULEV or hydrogen community shuttle bus on-going insulation and building fabric improvement Transport promote energy & transport action with Barratlantic to non-domestic users support re tariff switching extend EV charging infrastructure Energy Efficiency promote active travel opportunities community joint venture water efficiency project investigate smart grid development opportunities district heating scheme for Castlebay School & St Brendan’s Hospital explore community solar PV & promote small-scale renewables Smart Energy Systems Energy Generation continue dialogue re Western Isles ESCo advance dialogue to address constrained local & distributed network heat pumps as primary heat source for new builds and retrofit community wind turbine & hydrogen production 31

32. Case Study: Barra & Vatersay energy efficiency Continue to improve fabric, insulation and space heating within local residential properties Secure funding for ongoing improvement works to insulation, building fabric and space heating as appropriate to building form, age and wall construction • Funding application to Warm Homes Fund Round 3 (Feb 2019) by CnES with TigheanInnse Gall (TIG) and B&V Community Ltd to install ASHP central heating systems in conjunction with all necessary insulation within the properties. This will target both social and private households (EPC E-G). • Data from LEP will be used to develop application further if successful. • Outcome expected from end for April 2019. 32

33. Case Study: Barra & Vatersay energy generation Community wind turbine and hydrogen production Explore potential for local hydrogen production using community wind generation. Market availability to consider ferry operators, hauliers and bus operators • Discussions commenced with CnES, Community Energy Scotland and Lews Castle College UHI to progress approach with other Western Isle communities. • Provided comment into study by Point and Sandwick Trust Scottish Western Isles Ferry Transport using Hydrogen (SWIFTH2) re. Barra - Eriskay Ferry. • Approached Aberdeen City Council to share learning from hydrogen development. • Western Isles Hydrogen event at Stornoway on 2 Nov 2018. 33

34. Case Study: Barra & Vatersay smart energy systems Smart grid development Seek development of localised grid management system • Energy Technology Partnership multi-vector energy systems modelling study for a solution covering Castlebay. Led by QU Systems (now Littlenergy) and University of Strathclyde. • This has the potential to feed into the ERA-Net study within which Barra & Vatersay have provisionally been included as an ‘energy pool’. 34

35. Case Study: Barra & Vatersay business partnership Community to work with Barratlantic to promote energy and transport action among non-domestic consumers Share knowledge and understanding of support to non-domestic users and potential actions around energy and transport • Resource Efficient Scotland visit undertaken August 2018 • Transport review report completed by EST September 2018 • Results now being reviewed by Barratlantic 35

36. Case Study: Barra & Vatersay integrated approach Covers multiple actions in the LEP covering energy generation, efficiency and transport Barra Energy in Motion: Integrated energy generation, storage and EV charging project supported by community EV • Combined approach by two community organisations Garadh a’ Bagh a’ Tuath and Voluntary Action Barra & Vatersay with support from B&V Community Ltd to secure funding 36

37. Looking ahead • Local Energy Plans provide: • communities with a locally owned set of priorities and opportunities to take forward new projects and support the delivery of local and national development strategies • What next: • COBEN project to support early stages of implementation to pilot locations through to Oct 2019 • continue to work with Scottish Government and local authorities to share the learning from the pilot and the role local energy planning can play in the future alongside the development of the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies • communities can use guide and toolkit to develop local energy plans 37