Landowners have a big part to play in meeting green energy needs.
The way we use the land is changing and many landowners, including the owners and managers of large rural estates, are providing the sites to help society adapt to new challenges.
From developments in agriculture, to the provision of residential and commercial premises, the role of landowners in matching their sustainable business models to the demands of a changing world are well-documented.
Where that brings about changes to the landscape, however, it can create controversy. In recent years applying to use land for the creation and distribution of energy, from installing solar farms to building wind turbines, has prompted some of the most serious debate.
Landowners provide sites for solar parks, onshore wind turbines and, most recently, battery energy storage systems, to meet the needs of an energy industry that is dramatically reducing its carbon emissions. But as a result, some have faced long battles with opponents of change.
It is impossible to take everyone with you, as you embark on a project that may alter a landscape that is loved by its community.
But where estates have already built-up positive relationships and are trusted by their neighbours to be open, transparent and honest, problems can be overcome. Good communications, in this context, matter enormously.
There is little disagreement about the necessity of making changes to the way we generate and distribute the electricity we need, and no question that landowners are well-placed to play their part.
Electricity generation is one of the UK’s main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and changing the way we do that is essential if the UK is to hit its target of becoming net-zero for carbon emissions by 2050.
Building more battery energy storage systems has a large part to play in reaching that goal, but a lack of understanding among the general population of their purpose and importance is, in some cases, fuelling objections and holding up the planning process.
As Britain moves away from the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity, wind and solar power become ever more important to top up baseload to meet peaks in demand.
But the main concern around making more use of wind and solar - beyond mixed messages from politicians - is that they are intermittent: they generate electricity when conditions are right, and this very often is not when demand is at its highest.
One way of dealing with the imbalance is the use of battery energy storage systems which can store excess energy when demand is low and release it back into the grid when most needed.
Sometimes these are built and linked directly to new solar farms, but they can also be “standalone” systems. These need to be located relatively close to a connection point in the grid, as energy is lost in transmission so the closer to the grid the better.
Private landowners can provide sites for these battery storage systems – and are doing so, often helping them blend into the landscape behind newly planted hedges, so contributing to biodiversity net gain.
But they need to be able to make the case for what is, undeniably, yet another new use for land and raises questions and concerns for those people living in the area.
The environmental arguments in support of building battery energy storage systems to store vital renewable energy clearly stack up. If landowners and the energy companies they are working with engage professionals to communicate that positive message, the process from initial plan to a fully operational system can be made so much smoother.
Powering Britain - where we are now
Coal: Back before the 1960s this was undeniably King Coal – it alone kept the country running. Today there is only one coal-fired power station in Britain, Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire. As coal is considered the most polluting of our energy sources, this plant is due to close in September 2024, ending King Coal’s reign.
Gas: As we have seen following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UK is both an importer and exporter of natural gas, depending on cost and demand. Around half the gas we use comes from Norway, and more recently liquified gas from the USA accounted for more than 20% of total imports. But global supplies are finite and costs subject to shocks based on events overseas. As a fossil fuel, gas can only be used in a decarbonised electricity grid if sufficient operational carbon capture technology can be implemented.
Nuclear: Britain’s eight nuclear power plants provide around 13% of the country’s electricity, but many are old and most are due to be decommissioned by mid-2028, about the same time as Hinkley Point C, the first new UK nuclear plant in more than 20 years, is due to come on line. Other new stations have been proposed but progress is slow. There has been talk of small modular reactors (SMRs) being introduced but again there is great uncertainty over the timescale of their deployment.
Wind: This has been a relatively unsung success story, with wind, now largely offshore, generating around a quarter of our electricity. One new wind farm under construction, at Dogger Bank in the North Sea, will, it is claimed, generate five per cent of our electricity alone. Onshore wind, with turbines built on land, is more cost-effective to build and connect to the grid, but faces political push-back.
Solar: Land-based solar farms currently occupy around one fifth the space taken up by golf courses in the UK, and all new proposed solar farms would take up less space than all airports combined. Some places in the country are better-placed to make most use of solar energy, notably the south west and south east of England, as well as large parts the east coast up to the Humber, as they get the most sunshine.
Biomass: Large-scale biomass for electricity generation is largely based at the Drax power station in North Yorkshire, which was once a major coal-burner. It is an effective baseload energy producer, but its fuel is predominantly woodchip pellets shipped from north American forests.
Hydro: There was a boom in the development of hydro-electric power in the 1950s and 1960s, and today hydro generates around 1.5 to 2% of our electricity. Because the optimum sites are already in use, it is unlikely new hydro will be developed at any scale in the UK. However, a new interconnector from Norway linked to its more abundant hydro resources can contribute almost 4% of our electricity needs.
The upshot is that only two sources of renewable energy can be deployed at the scale and rate needed to tackle climate change: solar and wind. At the same time, we need more battery storage to respond to peaks and troughs in supply and demand, to keep the lights on.