A Handbook for Reducing CO2

EmissionsSmall Business

Sector

A summary of actions of the Low Carbon Communities for Business Project 2006-2009

Ideas to reduce carbon emissions from a range of small business types

Marches Energy AgencyRegistered in England and Wales at The Pump House, Coton Hill, Shrewsbury, SY1 2DP

Registered Charity number 1070942Company Limited by Guarantee number 3443349, VAT number 709 8289 00

W: www.mea.org.uk E: info@mea.org.uk T: 01743 246 007

Editor: Tristan Haynes, MEADesign: Nancy Davies, MEA

Printed on 100% recycled & chlorine free paper using vegetable based inks.This handbook is recyclable and biodegradable.

Marches Energy Agency is an independent charity with thirteen years experience in the field of addressing climate change and energy use. We work with a broad cross section of stakeholders, from community organisations to co-ordinating EU-wide projects.

*Note: on 1st April 2009 all District and Borough Councils in Shropshire merged to form the unitary Shropshire Council. Marches Energy Agency does, however, acknowledge the assistance that the former authorities have given over the course of the project.

Low Carbon Communities for Business was delivered by MEA and Shropshire Council on behalf of Advantage West Midlands and the Rural Regeneration Zone

Partners & SupportersWe are grateful to have had support from such a range of organisations and schemes in delivering the project:Aston UniversityBusiness Link West MidlandsCarbon TrustCleobury Country LtdEllesmere Chamber of CommerceLight Foot EnterprisesNorth Shropshire District Council*Oswestry Borough Council*RADAR ProjectSouth Shropshire District Council*

Executive SummaryThere are two purposes to this Handbook:

to summarise the actions of the Low Carbon Communities for Business project andto inspire ideas as to what might be achievable in similar communities and businesses

Over one hundred small businesses across four communities in Shropshire received technical assistance regarding the implementation of sustainable energy measures in their premises during the three year project. Twenty five sustainable energy projects and six business diversification projects were implemented with a total of £210,000 in grant funding. This is estimated to have directly resulted in the avoidance of at least 200 tonnes of CO2 and £50,000 in energy costs to businesses per annum.

As a result of the project, the use of nearly every available sustainable energy technology and actions in nearly every business sector can be demonstrated in Shropshire. Energy efficiency, solar hot water and small wind turbine projects were the most popular measures although some biomass and heat pump projects were also implemented.

As a result of the project, guidance on ‘demand specific’ sustainable energy measures has been produced to give small businesses a simple reference point when considering implementing these.

There are now several initiatives in place to roll out this and other related actions across the sub-region.

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Contents Executive SummaryBackground Summary of Achievements The CommunitiesTechnology Focus Low Carbon Products and Services Low Energy Lighting Energy Efficiency Wind Solar Energy Heat Pumps BiomassSector focus Leisure and Tourism Pubs Industry Farms and Food Processing Healthcare Office and RetailNext Steps Lessons Learnt Where Do We Start? Targeting Sustainable Energy Measures in Practice Where Next? Taking it Further

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Background Low Carbon Communities was a three year project supported by Shropshire County Council and delivered by the Marches Energy Agency over the period 2006-2009. Three distinct communities with different circumstances, opportunities and challenges were chosen to be involved in the project: Cleobury Mortimer in South Shropshire, Ellesmere in North Shropshire and the Floodplains near Oswestry.

The boundaries of these ‘communities’ were defined by amalgamating neighbouring wards in each community to include a minimum total of 3,000 households. Defining them in this way had a number of advantages including the apportionment of baseline energy consumption data (see below) and, politically, ensuring that the boundaries aligned with the wards of key councillors.

A legally binding ‘Local Public Service Agreement’ committed the council to effecting a 6% reduction in CO2 emissions in the communities over the three years. The carbon footprint of the three communities combined was estimated from government data at the start of the project with the assistance of Aston University and found to be some 70,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum. The target was therefore set at savings of nearly 4,000 tonnes.

Whilst at the outset of the project it was expected that the majority of savings would come from measures implemented in households (due to the impact the sheer number of relatively small measures like insulation could cumulatively make), the availability of free impartial advice and grant funding for businesses made a diverse range of actions amongst the 300 businesses in the communities possible and increasingly important to meeting the target.

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Information on the businesses was gathered through meetings with Business Link West Midlands and the Economic Development departments of the relevant local councils: North Shropshire District, Oswestry Borough, Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough and South Shropshire District councils. Engagement of these organisations was critical in spreading awareness of the availability of the grants and advice.The availability of grants was also promoted at relevant Chamber of Commerce events, some specific ‘Low Carbon trade fairs’ and through a telemarketing campaign. As actions were implemented, case studies were produced.

The grant funding was also available to businesses in Bishops Castle which had effectively piloted the ‘Low Carbon Communities’ scheme over the previous three years in the domestic and community sectors only. A specific event was organised here with the ‘Wasteless Society’, a partner organisation implementing the Home Energy Service in the town.

In addition, funding was available for businesses in and around the communities to develop low carbon products and services that could serve the communities involved. Such interventions were termed ‘business diversification’ grants.

Background

This brochure is focussed on the various actions taken in businesses in different sectors and communities during the project. Its purpose is to not only highlight what has been achieved in these communities but also what might be possible in similar communities or business sectors.

The aim of this is to show why certain technologies were more appropriate in certain areas or to certain sectors and what was used to provide low carbon solutions to heating, lighting and powering the various business premises involved.Over the course of the project it became clear that as well as the social make-up and infrastructure of the communities, their geography and even geology has an influence on the approach to be taken in minimising its carbon emissions.We hope the lessons learnt will be useful in inspiring action amongst businesses and others in your community.

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A total of just over £200,000 in grant funding was available for energy efficiency (non-lighting) and renewable energy projects over the three years. This has part funded a total of twenty one measures in the Low Carbon Communities (LCCs) and five in Bishops Castle. It is estimated that these projects have resulted in savings of over £45,000 per annum to the businesses in the LCCs alone. Energy efficiency, wind and solar hot water projects were the most popular measures, followed by biomass.

Summary of Achievements

Some £40,000 of the funding was allocated to six business diversifications throughout the RRZ. Although it is impossible to determine the CO2 savings made through funding these it is likely that they will be far more significant than the overall CO2 savings made through the capital projects. Energy efficient lighting projects were implemented in an additional fifty five businesses across the LCCs.

The project has been able to demonstrate support for almost every available technology across almost every business sector.

Business carbon footprints were found to vary from around 1 tonne per annum to over 1,000 tonnes. A total of almost 200 tonnes per annum has been estimated to have been directly saved from low energy lighting, energy efficiency and renewable energy measures across the three LCCs alone with an additional 28 tonnes in Bishop’s Castle. (Note that the graphics above refer only to those measures implemented in the three Low Carbon Communities.)

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Annual CO2 Savings and Grant Spent by Technology in the Low Carbon Communities

Energy efficient measures

Energy efficient lighting (new fittings)

Energy efficient appliances

Heating fuel switch

Solar hot water

Wind power

Ground source heat pump

Biomass energy

Biodiesel

14.25tCO2

76.88tCO2

23.21tCO2

2.95tCO2

6.42tCO2

22.03tCO2

5.00tCO2 0.65tCO2

8.00tCO2

£13,262

£13,240

£9,313

£3,819

£19,166

£31,560

£15,000

£840

£15,000Carbon Savings in ContextTo put the savings and actions into context, the total carbon footprint of the seventy businesses for which data was available and this could be calculated, was some 3,400 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

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Pyramid of Actions in the Low Carbon Communities

The Time FactorAlthough the LCC project started in April 2006 because of various administrative issues no projects were implemented until almost a year later! It then took a long time to gain momentum amongst the businesses involved. This was complicated by the target areas being very specific and so not being able to promote the project ‘county-wide’.50% of the savings made were implemented in projects during the last six months of the project.Unfortunately this ‘delivery lag’ should be expected as typical in projects of this nature.

“We found that for many businesses ‘low and no cost’ measures identified in their business audit were all that could be done and that very often simply focussing on energy consumption in the business raised their awareness to be more conscious of it. However, many could utilise more efficient lighting and a few could undertake more substantial projects.”

1 potential community energy scheme

21 renewable and energy efficiency measures

300 businesses

100 energy audits

55 lighting makeovers

Background

Over 70% of the carbon savings were made through energy efficiency projects, costing less than 40% of the overall capital budget.

The Communities

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Cleobury Mortimer Cleobury Mortimer Is the second largest (in population) of the three Low Carbon Communities. It is a linear settlement with a high street fronting on to the busy main road that runs from Ludlow to Kidderminster and carries significant quarry traffic from Clee Hill. Aside from the core of stone buildings there are various housing estates that have been developed since the 1960s. The town also has a large secondary school and sports centre serving the wider area.The high street is home to around forty small shops, cafes and other services as well as agencies, offices and even small manufacturers. There are significant numbers of people working from home in the wider hinterland and consequently the town has established a ‘business resource centre’ to provide communal facilities and services to these businesses. The town has been involved in a Market Towns Initiative since 2004 and established Cleobury Country Ltd to continue the work of this. The chosen boundary for the project also included a large rural area around the town, encompassing a number of commercial farms and parts of the Wyre Forest (where a specific project on wood fuel is being implemented). The town is unusual considering its size and location on a major route in that it has no access to the mains gas grid leaving many buildings reliant upon oil and electricity for heating. This of course furthers the opportunities for maximising both the carbon and cost saving benefits of any measures implemented. It is interesting to note that if there were access to mains gas it is likely that the town’s footprint would be some 1,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum less than at present – effectively reaching the target in one action! This opportunity was investigated with the National Grid but dismissed on technical and cost basis (the nearest main is some six miles away). The town effectively lies in a river valley (the Rea) and the hills that flank it give access to good average wind speeds with good exposure to the prevailing wind direction.

EllesmereThe largest of the ‘Low Carbon Communities’ (pictured right) and most typical given that the town has access to mains gas. This settlement is nucleated in the same way as a much bigger town might be expected to be. Essentially it is a small market town built around a thriving centre with a good number and diversity of small shops, agencies, pubs, cafes and restaurants. Many of these are ‘networked’ through a very active Chamber of Commerce. There are several large industrial parks located around the outskirts of the town most notably home to a now internationally important and highly specialist dairy equipment manufacturing sector. Tourism is also a major aspect of the town with attractions including the mere and canal. One of the projects funded was the conversion of a steamboat to enable it to run on biodiesel.As regards energy use the town is most similar to the national ‘average’. It is on the gas grid meaning that, as the cheapest and lowest carbon fossil fuel, the use of energy efficient technologies has been more prolific than the use of renewable energy technologies. There are various specific locations around the town, which is situated within a ‘glacially’ formed landscape resulting in rolling hills, upon which wind powered generation would be viable.Ellesmere Goes Green (EGG) has now been established by volunteers in the town to take the work of LCC forward.

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FloodplainThe ‘Shropshire Floodplain’ community is not one cohesive community but rather composed of a number of disparate hamlets and farms. The largest in land area of all the communities and perhaps a ‘microcosm’ of the make-up of much of (rural) Shropshire when looked at on a ‘land use’ basis.This ‘community’ is located between the River Severn and the A5 (South of Oswestry and North of Shrewsbury). Business activity is mainly confined to farming, with very efficient units operating in some sectors (i.e. dairy) but some of it only just commercially viable. Beyond this there is a small leisure and tourism sector encompassing a number of campsites, pubs and self catering accommodation. There are also a few relatively large businesses typically run from proprietors’ homes.The Nesscliffe army training area covers much of the eastern edge of the area.Again, there is no access to mains gas and so most properties are heated on oil, electricity or even coal. The generally flat and sheltered nature of the land makes wind-powered generation unviable across much of the area.

Bishop’s Castle The original ‘Low Carbon Community’ upon which the project was based. Whilst much had been done on the domestic front by the Wasteless Society who created the ‘Home Energy Service’ (now run by the community interest company ‘Light Foot Enterprises’), little targeted advice (and no capital assistance) had been available to businesses. The LCCB capital grants programme was therefore also extended to the town. LCCB has resulted in advice being given to around a dozen businesses in the town and capital grants to half of them. As another community off the gas grid and largely reliant on heating oil there are good opportunities for businesses to save money and CO2. This isolated but vibrant nucleated market town attracts many tourists who are increasingly looking to favour sustainable businesses. The LCCB programme has funded some projects that clearly share this commitment such as a wood pellet fired boiler in a self catering log cabin and another in a whole food shop on the outskirts of the town amongst many more.

Background

Low Carbon Products & Services Businesses were able to access funding for diversifying into servicing the emergent ‘Low Carbon Economies’ in the three communities. Several installers of low carbon technologies have been supported and have gone on to install dozens of solar, biomass and wind installations in and around the low carbon communities in business, community and domestic premises.

In addition the manufacture of biodiesel and development of an innovative ‘plug and play’ remote energy monitoring system for businesses has been developed.

Technology Focus

A solar hot water installation installed on a house in Ellesmere after a local engineer was supported to diversify into installing low carbon technologies through the project (left).

IT company Information Solutions developing their remote energy monitoring software system.

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Case Study: EzSolarAndy Perkins (above) had successfully run an engineering company based in Cleobury Mortimer for some years. He became interested in installing more affordable domestic solar hot water systems and has since gone on to expand his services to installing wind turbines and heat pumps. In fact he has installed over half a dozen of the LCCB supported installations! The new business has been sufficient to virtually replace his existing business and he is now considering also adding log-fired boilers to his range.

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“It was not only the direct assistance given to my business for training and equipment that has helped me to expand. The advice and grants available to businesses, homes and community buildings in the Low Carbon Communities and beyond (mainly through MEA) have fuelled demand for my products and services and continue to do so.” Andy Perkins, EzSolar

Case Study: Project Carbon MEA’s very own ‘Project Carbon’ service was supported by the grant funding resulting in over 100 lighting makeovers of business and community buildings across the Rural Regeneration Zone.

Waste vegetable oil is processed into biodiesel and made available to residents of Cleobury Mortimer and the surrounding area.

Joe from the Project Carbon team replaces strip lighting with more efficient T5s in Ellesmere Town Hall; fully funded through ‘offsetting’ donations to Project Carbon.

Technology Focus

LEDs – the future?Good quality LED bulbs with sufficient light output to replace 50W halogen bulbs on mains or 12V fittings became available towards the end of the project. These could have a massive impact on the consumption of lighting in retail premises given the number of such bulbs that such premises use. Consuming just 7W of power and with a lifetime of 30,000 hours these are a worthwhile investment! In fact each one will save around £10 in electricity costs per annum and last 15 years in an average retail premises - saving over half a tonne of CO2. These will also be appropriate in domestic kitchens and bathrooms where such bulbs are being used in increasing numbers.

Low Energy Lighting

MEA’s ‘Project Carbon’ service was set up to implement the first action recommended to almost all of the businesses involved: switching to low energy lighting. The service itself was funded by the scheme. Some fifty businesses in the Low Carbon Communities received ‘lighting makeovers’ resulting in the saving of 120 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

Case Study: Cleobury Café The new Cleobury Café installed over 20 low energy light bulbs saving an estimated £250 and 1.5tCO2 per annum. Many different styles were required in order to create the desired ambience. Project Carbon was able to assist in supplying some of the more unusual types.

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T5sWhat on earth is a T5?You may well ask! Basically it is a very thin strip light available in lengths of up to 5ft. Not only does it consume less Watts to emit equivalent light levels to the older style T8 or T12 tubes, but it also uses electronic switchgear resulting in less electricity literally ‘buzzing’ round the control gear for the tube.

Over the course of the project it became clear that many premises (retail & sheds) used strip lighting. As a fluorescent technology anyway it was thought that there was little scope for energy savings. However, retrofit devices enabling T5 tubes to be used in any fitting up to 8ft, resulting in energy savings of up to 50%, were found. These were subsequently fitted into over 30 premises saving around 25 tonnes of CO2 per annum!

T5 ballasts are available at www.greenenergycentre.com amongst other outlets.

The Project Carbon team worked hard on each business’ behalf finding the right bulb for the right job, stocking over forty different types of low energy CFL bulbs.

Technology Focus

Energy Efficiency

Fuel Switching Sometimes carbon savings can arise simply by switching fuels. One business is saving over 2 tonnes of CO2 a year having switched from using electric heaters to using a mains gas fired central heating system.

Hot WaterWe came across several premises heating up large tanks of hot water whilst occupants were only using a few litres per day for hand washing! Instantaneous electric devices are a better option in such circumstances as they only draw power when it is required and there are no storage losses. Such devices are cheap, very simple to install and could even be powered on solar PV.

Energy efficiency projects implemented ranged from the installation of loft insulation to more efficient boilers. These projects typically had the best value in terms of £ spent ‘vs’ CO2 saved. Specific projects include insulating the disused top floor of a pub, reducing both the amount of space heated and heat loss. Elsewhere a laundrette fitted more efficient dryer appliances reducing gas consumption by a third.

Project Carbon identified that spotlights in the shop could be replaced with more energy efficient versions, saving nearly 0.5 tonnes of CO2 and £85 worth of electricity per annum, whilst improving the quality of light.

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Wind projects

Wind projects funded in the communities ranged from 1kW to 11kW.

Whilst these are mainly free-standing they also include one of the only known successful building-mounted turbines in the whole country (right), proving that it is all about having the right turbine in the right location. The advice available helped to ensure this.

Wind turbine users range from home workers to a poultry unit.

PlanningPerceived problems with obtaining planning permission were not an issue when the right turbine was put in the right location. All users were advised to only size the turbine to their requirements. One district authority did however cause the process from grant approval to installation to be extended to over a year through perceived environmental health issues over noise, which were proven to be unfounded in context.

11kW, 1kW building mounted and 6kW wind turbines (clockwise from left) collectively avoiding the emission of over 20 tonnes of CO2 and generating over £7,000 worth of electricity per annum.

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You will need:Suitably high average wind speed (preferably above 5.0 m/s at 10m above ground level).Check out the wind-speed data base on-line for an idea of wind speeds in your area www.bwea.com/noabl/index.html in conjunction with an OS topographical map.Sufficient land area or a suitable building.

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Technology Focus

Solar EnergySolar Hot Water Solar hot water installations in the Low Carbon Communities range from domestic sized installations providing farm workers showers to vast installations supplying hot water to swimming pools.

Did you know? Solar hot water is now permitted development on dwellings that aren’t listed or in a conservation area. Planning Permission is therefore not required in these situations.

You will need:A south-facing roof.A use for at least 50 litres of hot water per day.A separate hot water circuit (i.e. not a combi boiler).

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Solar PV Solar PV is only likely to be economically viable in one building across the 4 communities; the new build Cleobury Country Centre. Due to its ‘dual’ status as a business and community building it should be able to attract match funding and therefore 100% funded for this. This will result in 25% of the centre’s forecast electricity consumption being effectively supplied free (of cost and CO2) over its lifetime.

Of course, PV could also make good financial sense for off-grid installations where connecting to the grid would be costly.

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When to consider heat pumps:You are off mains gas (gas is still a relatively low cost and low carbon fuel compared to electricity).You can install under-floor heating (i.e. it is a new build or refurbishment).You do not need large volumes of hot water.You have a potential source of renewable electricity on-site (ideally).

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Heat Pumps Several businesses in the LCCs are now using heat pumps to heat their premises. This includes what is believed to be the first ‘process use’ of a Ground Source Heat Pump at Hobson’s Brewery where it is used to both heat and cool rooms for the conditioning of beer casks. Over three times the amount of electricity required by this is now supplied by an 11kW wind turbine which also contributes towards the electricity requirements of the wider site.Because of the need to use the hot water produced in an efficient distribution system like under-floor heating, all the businesses using heat pumps were either embarking on a new build or major refurbishment project.

Heat pumps work by using the very efficient process of condensing and evaporating coolants in a heat exchange loop to upgrade the temperature of the air, ground or water source to produce low temperature hot water - generating up to 4 units of heat for every unit of electricity used! This figure is termed the ‘co-efficient of performance’. Because the seasonal average temperatures of the ground or bodies of water are higher than that of the air heat pumps exploiting these are likely to have higher ‘co-efficiencies’.

An air source heat pump heating a refurbished office in the flood plains. The new build ‘Cleobury Country’ Business Resource Centre for the many home-workers in the area will also use a 25kW heat pump, whilst the newly refurbished ‘Mere’ visitors centre at Ellsemere will use a water source heat pump and solar hot water panels to provide space heating and hot water respectively.

The proprietor of Hobsons brewery where beer casks are conditioned using ground source technology.

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Technology Focus

Biomass

Log, Pellet or Wood? The choice of biomass fuels out there can seem daunting! In a nutshell - the more processed the fuel the more expensive it will be (though still cheaper than oil!), the less storage space it will require and the easier it will be to handle (i.e. wood pellet). The less processed fuels (i.e. woodchip and logs) are also more suited to larger heat demands.

In rural areas like the Low Carbon Communities there is certainly no shortage of potential wood fuel resource. Installations in the Low Carbon Communities are so far limited to a few log or wood pellet fired room heating stoves (some with back boilers heating hot water and radiators). Wood waste burners in a number of craft workshop premises are also very likely to happen in the immediate future.

Unprocessed wood waste and briquettes made from timber processors’ waste can also be

used to provide heat from wood.

This is useful on sites where there is lots of ‘waste’ and the

need to heat a large space.

A new build log cabin for self-catering accommodation in Bishops Castle incorporating a wood pellet fired room heating

stove for space and hot water heating.

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Straw Bale burners:These are likely to be particularly appropriate in areas such as the floodplains as there are a number of businesses and farms run from predominantly domestic premises which are likely to have a higher heat demand. They also have easy access to plentiful supplies of timber and bales and the equipment to handle such materials.

It was identified that one large premises could save over 13 tonnes of CO2 and £2,000 per annum through using a once-a-day burn square bale system with accumulator tank.

Case Study: Harvest Whole Foods Harvest Whole Foods is a whole foods retailer based on the outskirts of Bishops Castle. MEA’s Business Audit found that as well as using more efficient lighting the shop would benefit from significant cost savings through replacing its oil-fired central heating system with a wood pellet fired stove. The stove directly provides radiant heat to the cashier’s area and has a back boiler with radiators connected to heat the main shop floor and offices up stairs. It does require manually filling up with a 12kg bag of pellets at least once a day at the coldest time of the year. The total cost of the installation was around £9,000 of which a 50% grant was received through the LCCB project. As well as savings of 6.5 tonnes of CO2 and £400 per annum the modern-looking appliance has had the unexpected benefit of becoming a major talking point for customers!

“Thanks for all your help, we couldn’t

have done it without you and we’re all

really pleased with the end result!”

Sue Jones, Proprietor of Harvest Whole

Foods on MEA’s assistance with

funding for her wood pellet stove.

Technology Focus

Leisure and Tourism

Sector Focus

Tourism is big business throughout Shropshire. Reducing energy consumption not only benefits the bottom line but is increasingly being demanded by the discerning ‘green’ tourists that visit our beautiful county - all the more reason for businesses to shout about it!

Pleasure steamer ‘Lady Katherine’ runs on carbon neutral biodiesel.

Solar hot water provides showers for up to 200 golfers per day in Cleobury Mortimer.

Solar Hot WaterInvesting in Solar Hot Water systems has been proven to have a very good payback in areas reliant on oil or electricity for heating water and is particularly applicable in those businesses using a lot of hot water – like those in the Leisure/Tourism sector.

The ‘Mere’ Visitors Restaurant being rebuilt incorporating solar hot water and ‘water source’ heat pumps (funded through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund).

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Pubs

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Pubs deserve a section to themselves as they are very good places to implement energy saving measures. Not only do they consume large amounts of energy for lighting, hot water and cellar cooling but they are also at the heart of many communities!

Hot Water Heat RecoveryIt was hoped that one of the pubs in the Low Carbon Communities could be convinced to take up a hot water heat recovery unit for cellar cooling as this is possibly a better method than solar hot water for some pubs. Unfortunately a suitable candidate did not arise but this is worth considering elsewhere.

A pub in the floodplains (above) using solar panels for heating hot water.

A pub in Cleobury (right) that has undertaken a complete energy efficiency makeover.

Sector Focus

Industry

Businesses with an annual energy bill of over £50,000 can receive free ‘opportunities assessments’ from the Carbon Trust. We encountered only two businesses that had had such audits through the project and were able to take them on to actually implement the recommendations. In addition SMEs are eligible for a 0% loan on projects that prove to save sufficient carbon and costs and some energy efficient equipment is eligible for tax relief through ‘Enhanced Capital Allowances’.

CHP- Combined Heat & PowerSeveral premises that could potentially use conventional gas-fired CHP were identified but unfortunately an installation was not implemented during the course of the project. With 50kW units now available any site with a (preferably year round) large electricity and heat demand could use CHP with benefits of at least £1,500 and 4 tonnes of CO2 in energy savings every year per unit - even when just using the unit for space heating!

Given their rural nature there are only a handful of large industrial premises in the Low Carbon Communities. However, this includes a dairy equipment manufacturing business of international significance.

On this one site a huge range of measures have been implemented including external cladding to the factory office, internal insulation of the factory, power factor correction equipment and inverters on the compressor and vacuum pumps, ensuring they only draw power ‘on demand’. All this resulted in CO2 savings of nearly 45 tonnes per annum!

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Farms and Food ProcessingIt was found that the greatest use of energy on modern farms was usually in the farmhouse itself (i.e. predominately domestic and unfortunately not eligible for the business grants). However, intensive and food processing units have significant and specialist uses of energy. For example, dairies use significant amounts of energy for cooling milk and heating water (which can be made more efficient through heat recovery) whilst chicken units have constant electrical load from fans and lighting.

Clearly farms have access to a larger land area than an average business and so this also makes options like wind turbines a more likely option.

Bio-digestionSome suitable sites for on-farm bio-digestion have been identified during the course of the project. This is a technology worth considering anywhere with large amounts of organic waste. Whilst a viable scheme will require very much more capital investment and assistance than LCCB is able to offer and the co-operation of a number of individuals MEA is hoping to take these ideas forward through its involvement in the European-funded ‘RADAR’ project:www.radarproject.eu

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Mawley Town Farm in Cleobury Mortimer recently installed robotic milking machines to become more efficient in production. They are now considering installing solar hot water, heat recovery and bio-digestion technologies in order to become more energy efficient.

The Three Tuns Brewery in Bishop’s Castle is believed to be the last remaining working gravity-fed Victorian brewery. Replacing the boiler with a modern more efficient one will save around 13 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

Sector Focus

Healthcare

The LCCB team worked with a number of GP Surgeries and nursing homes (run as businesses) through the project. As a central point of any community, demonstrating savings in a surgery is a good place to start! Nursing homes are heated to high temperatures and use a lot of hot water all year round and so are excellent places to consider installing biomass heating and solar hot water.

The carbon footprint of a typical market town doctors surgery was found to be about the same as five average households.

Office & RetailThe main source of carbon emissions and savings in these premises is typically lighting. In fact it was found that very few retail premises have permanent heating systems. Hot water consumption is also low.

Refrigeration is a major energy consumer in food-based retail. Even just replacing units with modern equivalents was found to result in a 20-40% electricity saving on that appliance’s consumption.

Fitting low energy lighting reduced the carbon footprint of each practice by around 1 tonne of CO2 per annum saving at least £200 in electricity bills.

Eight low energy T5 lights were retro-fitted to the Ellesmere Community Nursing Home

‘League of Friends’ shop in Ellesmere (above). These cost around £100 (retail) but it is

estimated they will save this in the first year alone! MEA’s ‘offsetting’ fund was able to

contribute £40 towards their cost as 2 tonnes of CO2 will be avoided over their estimated 12

year lifetime.

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Lessons LearntIt’s not been easy, but that is why few have attempted it before. We know first hand most of the pit falls of trying to implement sustainable energy measures in small business and these are just a few pointers to help others trying.

DO ensure you have a good up-to-date source of information on the businesses in your area (this may be very difficult to achieve!)DO use every means possible to engage businesses:

Door to door calling works best.Use your local Chamber of CommerceStrategic partners that might ‘add value’ to the service (Business Link, Economic Regeneration Officers) Even ‘telesales’ can work!

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DO refer to direct financial savings rather than abstract environmental benefits.Energy costs are often such a minor concern that they are not thought about, but it is often easier to reduce these than increase income.DO be aware that there is sometimes very little that can be done about energy consumption in many small businesses, but a lot that can be done in others.

DO focus on solutions not problems.DO use case studies of similar businesses to show what is possible at the earliest opportunity.

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DO keep it simpleOffer lighting surveys initially as a ‘foot in the door’Don’t expect businesses to have maintained good records of energy consumption or have any feel for their energy use

DO use other sources of guidance for larger/more complex situations (see ‘Taking it Further’ section, pg 27)

DO expect rapid change in the business sectorIncreases in production may increase ‘absolute’ energy consumption but it is the ‘relative’ efficiency of that energy consumption that should be the real concernMeasures installed either need to be transferrable to other premises or of relevance to potential alternative uses of the premisesSmall business owners are invariably very busy and will not have time to engage in anything that isn’t fairly straightforward

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DO target a sector where there are known problems and solutionsKnow the specific issues of the sector you are engaging with and they will respect your advice much moreDO use ‘trade fairs’ as a way of engaging businesses in the wider process – by showing them the potential ‘end result’!Start with ‘off the shelf’, ‘bolt on’ or ‘one size fits all’ solutions if possible‘Unusual’ uses of energy will require more researchDon’t get side tracked by any seemingly obvious but actually relatively minor uses of energy or non-energy issues (e.g. rain water harvesting)

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Next Steps

Next Steps

Where Do We Start?The value of the energy advice given came from being able to identify the most significant uses of energy (from a cost or carbon emissions perspective) through dissecting a single set of meter readings (often for more than one premises). We have summarised our broad experience of what to expect in different sectors in order to help others prioritise which buildings to target and knowing where to start or what to investigate more thoroughly.‘Moderate’ in the table below indicates a typical ‘household’ level of consumption.

ApplicationSector

Lighting Hot water Space heating Refrigeration Other appliances

Pub/RestaurantSignificant Significant Significant

Significant (cellar cooling)

Moderate

Retail (non-food) Significant Insignificant Insignificant Not applicable Insignificant

Retail (food) Significant Insignificant Insignificant Significant Insignificant

Food processing Significant Moderate Moderate Significant Significant

Office Significant Insignificant Significant Not applicable Moderate

Bed & Breakfast Moderate Significant Significant Not applicable Moderate

Farm (business premises)

Moderate Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable Moderate

Farm (Intensive Units)

Significant Significant Not applicableSignificant (on-site processing)

Significant

Medical Practice Significant Moderate Significant Insignificant Moderate

Nursing Home Significant Significant Significant Moderate Moderate

Industrial Significant Insignificant Significant Not applicable Significant

Energy Use by Business Sector

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Targeting Sustainable Energy Measures in PracticeLocation specific (i.e. wind requires a sufficient wind-speed and solar PV requires a south-facing or flat roof) renewable energy installations can be used regardless of the energy applications on site as long as there is a mains electricity connection (which will usually be relatively straightforward if less than 6kW).

Demand dependent measures on the other hand relate to the significance and type of demand on site. There is no point in producing hot water from solar panels, for example, if you have no use for the hot water! We found that a typical office or retail unit did not have sufficient demand for hot water to justify storing hot water, as is required for solar hot water systems, whilst pubs and B & Bs had a plentiful demand. Also there is no energy saving to be had if premises are not being heated and so whilst insulating it may increase comfort it will not result in an energy saving! This was typical of most retail units for example.

The chart below gives some indication of where a range of measures might be applicable (though there will always be exceptions!)

Measure

Sector

Energy Efficient Lighting

Solar Hot Water

InsulationHeat recovery

Efficient appliances (includes refrigeration)

Combined Heat and Power

Biomass heating

Pub/Restaurant √ √ √ √ √ √

Retail (non-food) √

Retail (food) √ √ √

Food processing √ √ √ √

Offices (including medical practices)

√ √ √ √

Bed & Breakfast √ √ √ √

Farm (business premises)

√ √

Farm (Intensive) √ √ √ √

Nursing Home √ √ √ √ √ √

Industrial/Craft √ √ √ √ √

Next Steps

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Where Next?

Additional projects with CO2 savings of around 50 tonnes of CO2 per annum were identified towards the end of the project and will hopefully be implemented through the RE:think Energy scheme amongst many other renewable energy projects throughout the RRZ. We now hope to build on the work of Low Carbon Communities for Business through working with the original communities on developing more significant ‘community-scale’ renewable energy generation schemes through other projects. These include MEA’s ‘RADAR’ project, which has looked at the energy demand and potential for generating energy from biological sources across South Shropshire and is now looking into the feasibility of a community farm-based anaerobic digester in Cleobury Mortimer.Beyond this we hope to directly recruit many more communities across the Midlands into a schedule of activities across the whole community through our ongoing ‘Low Carbon Communities’ initiative. Indirectly we hope that the availability of this publication will influence other communities in knowing where to start in tackling carbon emissions from the business sector and beyond!

The town of Gussing in Austria where a single 8MW combined heat and power plant fuelled by wood provides energy to much of the town through a district heat main and the electricity grid.

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Taking it FurtherThere is a variety of national and region-specific (West Midlands) assistance available (including both free technical advice and grant assistance) for implementing similar schemes in your community or business. These are just a few initiatives:

RE:think Energy Offers technical assistance and grants for renewable energy measures in business premises throughout the West Midlands Rural Regeneration Zone (RRZ) until April 2010 and likely to be extended region wide after this. Contact the team at 01743 277130

Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme Will fund biomass installations anywhere except domestic premises. Criteria changes each round. Next round expected Autumn 2009. Administered by DECC. www.bioenergycapitalgrants.org.uk

Community Sustainable Energy ProgrammeOffers Project Development Grants paying 75% of the costs of feasibility studies on sustainable energy in community buildings. Capital grants will pay for up to 50% of the cost of implementing appropriate renewable energy measures – assessed in quarterly rounds. From BIG Lottery funding and managed by the Building Research Establishment. www.communitysustainable.org.uk

Micro Generation SchemeLists all micro-generation scheme certified installers of renewable energy technologies.Searchable by region.www.microgenerationcertification.org

Enhanced Capital Allowances Certain energy and water saving technologies and cars are eligible for 100% tax relief in the first year. Refer to the Environmental Technologies List for eligible energy-saving technologies www.eca.gov.uk

Carbon TrustOffers free publications through its website and ‘opportunities assessments’ to organisations with expenditure of at least £50k per annum on energy. Interest-free loans are available for projects making certain CO2 and financial savings.See www.carbontrust.co.uk