Future of Renewable Energy in the UK | Essay

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Future of Renewable energy in the UK
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
A global approach towards managing the climate change.....................................................3
The United Kingdom approach towards tackling climate change..........................................4
Literature review........................................................................................................................6
Sustainable construction.........................................................................................................6
The impact of construction on the environment.....................................................................6
Sustainability criteria and indicators in construction.............................................................7
Overview of the Renewable Sources of Energy.....................................................................7
Research by haven power.......................................................................................................8
The white paper: construction industry and energy...............................................................9
Sustainability........................................................................................................................10
Energy for next two decades.............................................................................................10
Industrial construction and the energy industry...................................................................11
The problems of industry consolidation...............................................................................11
UK strategy in sustainable construction...............................................................................11
Overview of sustainable construction standards..................................................................12
Building regulations and the definition of zero-carbon homes.........................................12
Energy efficiency..................................................................................................................12
Code for Sustainable Homes................................................................................................13
BREEAM..........................................................................................................................13
Renewable and low carbon energy generation opportunities and constraints......................13
Wind power..........................................................................................................................13
Biomass................................................................................................................................15

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Types of biomass..................................................................................................................15
Waste....................................................................................................................................16
Hydropower..........................................................................................................................17
Technical constraints and limitations...................................................................................17
Policy and regulatory context...................................................................................................17
Support to the renewable energy sources.............................................................................17
Renewable obligation.......................................................................................................17
Climate Change Levy (CCL) Exemption.........................................................................18
Research & Development Programme.............................................................................18
The feed in tariff-..............................................................................................................18
National policy developments..............................................................................................19
Climate Change Act 2008....................................................................................................19
Copenhagen 2009.................................................................................................................19
UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, 2009................................................................................19
Energy White Paper 2007.....................................................................................................19
European Energy Directive 2009.........................................................................................20
UK Renewable Energy Strategy 2009..................................................................................20
Planning Policy Statements..................................................................................................20
PPS22 – Planning for Renewable Energy (2004).............................................................20
PPS1 Supplement: Planning and Climate Change (2007)................................................20
PPS7 – Sustainable Development in Rural Areas (2004).................................................20
PPS7 – Sustainable Development in Rural Areas (2004).................................................20
Energy Act 2008...................................................................................................................20
Regional policy developments.............................................................................................20
Regional Planning Guidance RPG10...................................................................................20

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Analysis....................................................................................................................................22
A brief review of environmental assessment methods.........................................................22
Reflection on the recent policy in sustainable construction.................................................23
Swot analysis........................................................................................................................23
Further research........................................................................................................................24
Conclusion................................................................................................................................25

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Introduction
The modern society heavily depends on the energy in order to effectively run it is daily
operations. Most of the vital infrastructure of the society including water supplies, transport,
telecommunications, and waste management are highly reliant on the energy infrastructure.
In the earlier days, these systems have been powered using energy derived from carbon fuels
such as coals, and gas. Nonetheless, these carbon fuels have detrimental effects as they are
also posited to become obsolete; thus there is the need to develop more environmentally
friendly mechanisms of harvesting the energy t be utilized in various communal
infrastructures. The new mechanism is thus geared towards mitigating the issues of climate
change. All energy systems do generate greenhouse emissions which significantly contribute
to climate change with regards to various levels of the primary material used in the
generation of the energy. For instance, coal is found to emit more greenhouse emission than
the gas. N the recent definition by the international panel on climate change, the body, did
conclude that since the mid-twentieth century, the most extremely likely contributor to
climate change is human activities- defined as a 95-100% likeliness. This implied that two-
thirds of all the global anthropogenic is contributed by the energy sector; hence, a change in
this sector is vital for the circumventing of the climate change (Agwu, 2016).
The development of the global electricity has resulted into a number of socio-development
positive agendas which has advanced the civilization to come up with sophisticated tasks and
with minimal efforts, with a large expense on the biosphere. To minimize this damage,
recently there has been a push towards the implementations of renewable techniques. On the
year 2015, more than fifty percent of the global power generation was coming from the
installed renewable generators. Despite creating a solution by the installation of such
renewable generators, these devices also come long some challenges which environmentally
impacts the atmosphere. Hence, the new systems need to be technically evaluated. On a

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global perspective, implementation of electricity decarbonisation policies is done; however,
there is no common ground which has been arrived at following the complexities of such
systems. The energy analysis is attempting to come up with empirical research in order to
design more approaches and decisions on the global issue (Ahvenniemi et al., 2017).
A global approach towards managing the climate change
In the last decades, there has been extreme emission of the greenhouse gases, s the human
race seeks to avoid feeling the effect of these extreme climate change. Besides, the
greenhouse emissions, other pollutants which are more environmentally unfriendly are
having a more vital role in all the procedures of decision making, giving rise to their
incorporation in government-led planning. Worldwide, mitigation of climate change has been
given recognition as one of the harmful threats which face humanity.
Several pieces of evidence continue to re-surface in relation to the effects of global warming
such as changing landscapes, increased levels of temperatures, as well as rising droughts and
seas. The rising threat of climate change degenerated into a global response on the climate
change, which eventually resulted into the adoption of the united nations framework
convention on climate change protocol in the year 1977 (UNFCCC). Later in 2005, the world
first task force of reducing the energy gas emissions entered into a treaty. Some of the major
target Emission’s by the Kyoto protocol included: methane, carbon dioxide,
hydrofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, nitrogen trifluoride, and sulfur
hexafluoride (Ajayi et al., 2017). The reduction targets are with regards to the agreed 1990
emission levels that set a benchmark for the protocol. In spite of national agreement which
addresses the issue on a global perspective, the agreement is only focused on the developed
nations within the UNFCCC. A new agreement was developed in Paris, in the year 2015,
which was set to replace the Kyoto protocol. The anticipation is that this agreement which
overall results into a more cohesive approach towards avoiding the catastrophic effect so of

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climate change. In the agreement, the global action plan is oriented towards limiting the level
of climate change to less than 2 degree Celsius. In the agreement, all parties are required to
submit their respective national inventories of anthropogenic sink removals as well as the
GHCghc emissions. The nations which have been compiled to these demands are to prepare
annual reports and which also comprises of supplementary information detailing their
compliance (Albert et al., 2014). The developing nations which eks to be part of the
convention are required to submit their compliance within the first three to four years of entry
into the convention, and then thereafter after every four years. Pinpoint interest areas are
provided by the national GHC emissions which are objected towards attaining the reduction
targets as well as providing a baseline data. The emissions which are within the boundaries of
a certain nation are the ones included in the inventory, also regarded as the production-based
emission accounting. The productions which are arising from the imported materials and
importation re not to be included in the emissions. Information from the critics shows that
most of the developed nations are sourcing their energy driving products in the nations
abroad, thus relieving them of the responsibility of the emissions. Other areas which are also
left out of the emissions lists is the aviation and international emissions, despite accounting to
5 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions (Allen & Iano, 2013).
From the first time in 2015, the levels of carbon dioxide surpass the monthly threshold of 400
ppm, which highlighted a necessity for action. It implies that more energy-related efforts
need to be implemented in attempts to achieve the decarbonisation. This, in action, is
practically true in nations such as the United Kingdom which have seen the implementation
of such efforts. In the UK, the global domestic product has shown some of the preliminary
signals of decarbonisations from the industry based emission and fossil fuels. Nonetheless, it
has been the failure of the government to offer the required support towards the transition of

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carbon into the future. The further recommendations are that the objectives are not only
geared towards decarbonisation only but safe and affordable delivery (Alwan et al., 2017).
The United Kingdom approach towards tackling climate change
The United Kingdom become among the first nations to implement strategies of reducing the
greenhouse emissions in the years 2008 via the climate change act. In the act, the UK
government commits to reducing the greenhouse emissions by 80% below the levels
proposed in the 1990 Kyoto protocol, by 2050. The act incorporated numerous political
impetus which resulted into the development of green policies to assist in the low carbon
technology investments. In order to safeguard the 2050 target, as well as a five-yearly target
on the carbon targets. To offer an advice to the government ion the carbon reduction
strategies, a committee on climate change was as well established. One fundamental target
towards meeting the greenhouse emission target is by decarbonisation of the supply of
electricity. Presently, the electricity sector alone accounts to 122Mt CO2e, which is equated
to 24% of the overall emissions in the UK. The committee has suggested that decarbonisation
of the emissions at this levels of electricity supply could be significant towards minimizing
the emissions on the others construction sectors as well. The complex nature of the issues has
not led to a common ground of tackling the transition on the best strategy to implement the
programs (Amaral et al., 2017).

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The dissertation paper will be divided majorly into five sections namely, introduction,
literature review, discussion and analysis, conclusion and recommendations, and finally the
references as shown in the below section
Chapter 1: introduction
This section will basically denote an overview of dissertation topic: The future of renewable
energies in the UK construction sector.
Chapter two: a literature review
The section of the literature review will majorly focus on the previous literature in regards to
the UK construction as well as renewable energy sources. It will be a comprehensive section
as it vividly presents the history and the background of the construction sector and the states
of the construction sector in regards to renewable technologies
Chapter three: analysis and discussion
The analysis section will cover a discussion of how the sustainability issue is addressed
within the UK construction through the incorporation of renewable energy technologies
Chapter four: Conclusion and recommendations
This section basically gives a brief overview of the dissertation, highlighting some of the
major findings of the research, as well as giving some of the recommendations in regards to
the topic of discussion which the future of renewable energy in construction within the UK

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Literature review
Sustainable construction
According to DuBose et al. [l], "sustainability is a way of interacting with our world which
reconciles the ubiquitous human desire for a high quality of life with the realities of our
global context. It calls for unique solutions for improving our welfare that does not come at
the cost of degrading the environment or impinging on the wellbeing of other people”.
WCED 621 defined ecologically sustainable development/ Sustainable development as
‘development which meets the wants of the present generation without contravening the
needs of the future generation. The term ‘development' includes activities across different
industry sectors. As the impact of the construction industry on the environment rates as one
of the highest among all the industries, close scrutiny of the construction industry is
necessary to minimize its impact on the environment, hence the emergence of the term -
sustainable construction’’ (Arquillos et al., 2012).
A concrete definition of sustainable construction as a sustainable development subset will be
the first point towards any scrutiny. In this dissertation context, the meaning of sustainable
construction will imply the whole process from land preparation to the post-construction
activities such as asset management as well as commissioning. Originally, the term
sustainable construction was adopted to offer a vivid description of the responsibility of the
construction industry in attempts to achieve sustainability. There are four basic attributes of
sustainability: economic, social, technical and biophysical attributes which assists in
advancing and comprehending the topic of sustainable construction (Banani et al., 2016). Ki
Bert views sustainable construction as healthy way of construction environmentally friendly
structures with minimal resources which are renewable. Wyatt and Lawson on the other hand
see sustainable construction as a cradle to a grave appraisal that includes reuse and recycling
of building materials to minimize the wastes that is often linked to demolition. Also,

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according to Bourdieu et al., it is the responsible maintenance of a healthy built environment
which relies on resources efficiency as well as ecological principles (Bailey, 2016).
The impact of construction on the environment
One of the vast industries in both the developing nations as well as developed countries in the
construction sector. The effects of construction on the natural environment is so far regarded
as significant, with reaction to the loss of agricultural land and soil, loss of wildlands and
forests, loss of non-renewable sources of energy, air pollution, as well as depletion of the
mineral resources. Levin posits that the contribution of building to the total environment
burden lies in the range of 12.42%(Banias et al., 2011).
The building construction activities and buildings account to 64 percent of the total energy
consumption in the United Kingdom. This level of consumption was quoted in the United
States of America by cooper and Burwell. The two estimated that the construction sector in
UK utilises close to 6 tonnes of building materials every year for each person. These figures
clearly imply that there is a considerable amount of environmental loading which is imposed
by the construction sector which has an effect on the sustainability. Thus, the major
challenges with the construction sector are re-engineering of the whole process so that the
impacts affecting the environment are significantly reduced (Banias et al., 2011).
Key philosophies towards sustainable construction
In the section above, the various descriptions of sustainable construction are focused towards
the creation of a healthy environment via the ecologically sound process and resources
efficient techniques which promotes the maintenance of natural resources present in the
surface of this planet. The various principles with which the above definitions have been
defined can be framed into one major principle of sustainable construction (Baykara et al.,
2011). In essence, various models which detail the sustainable construction principles will be
reviewed superficially. Bowen and Hill categorised the sustainable construction principles

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into four major pillars; economic, social, technical and biophysical. "These process-oriented
principles suggest approaches be followed in deciding the emphasis to be given to each of the
four pillars OS sustainability, and each associated principle, in a particular situation."
According to Palmer et al., the principles which ground sustainable construction includes the
environment, futurity, equity, as well as public participation, principles which received
recognition by the BEQUEST, a sustainable urban development organisation (Becker et al.,
2011).
Criteria and indicators of Sustainability in construction
To determine the impact of a building on the environment as well as assessing its
performance, it is essential to determine the indicators as well as the performance criteria in
sustainable construction. These indicators and performance criteria need to be comprehensive
as possible and address a particular environmental issue. The common identification of these
sustainability criteria and indicators includes availability, population growth, utilisation of
resources such as forests, water and land, depletion of the non-renewable resources such as
fossil fuels and mineral reserves, pollution, urbanisation, habitat deterioration/destruction,
geopolitical problems, global warming, soil erosion, indoor environment, acid deposition, as
well as stratospheric ozone depletion (Bradley et al., 2016). Translation of the needs for the
sustainable construction calls for a considerable amount of effort into the specific technical
performance criteria for the buildings. Further, an assessment of the building blocks that
constitutes the particular building characteristics is called for.
The performance criteria will be described as either qualitative or quantitative based on the
Performance indicators. These indicators provide information about a phenomenon and often
gauge the suitability of a certain aspect in a simple manner. Nonetheless, these indicators
need to conform to the environmental standards of measurability, as well as verifiability.
They also needs to be independent of each other (Buchanan et al., 2016).

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Overview of the Renewable Sources of Energy
Wind power.
The weather conditions in Europe place the UK at a favorable position to advance in wind
power production. High wind speeds that are experienced by offshore and onshore farmers
prove the fact that the UK is well placed for the commercialization of wind power
production. The UK government has greatly utilized the resourcefulness of the offshore
regions by installing high capacity wind power, this greater than the all other countries in the
world.
Bioenergy
Wastes from living organisms, biodegradable materials, animal wastes and remnants of food
staffs are a major source of biomass. These biomasses are bunt in thermal and heat generation
chambers and are used in anaerobic digestion to make bio-gas that is conveniently burnt in
heat generation and electricity. When refined, bio-gas becomes methane that can be injected
directly into the gas grid.
The commitments by the UK authorities to regulate and reduce the emission of the
greenhouse gas injection into the atmosphere to a considerable amount of about 80% by
2050. Various strategies and regulations have been established by the Energy system of UK
to help achieve negative emission. This simply implies that the carbon content that is
extracted or removed from the atmosphere must be more than the amount of the same gas
released into the atmosphere. Carbon extracted from atmosphere and consumption and
production of biomass provides a perfect avenue for the UK authorities to attain the negative
carbon emission. This results to a reduction on the greenhouse emission by 80% and again
the production of 130TWh of bio-energy sources yearly. This approximately contributes to
about 10% of the UK energy demand by 2050 (Caponecchia & Sheils, 2017).
Marine wave and hydroelectricity

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The most established power production system in the UK and the rest of the world is
Hydroelectric power where the kinetic energy in the flowing water is used to rotate the
turbines that rotates the motor that eventually generates electricity. Hydropower can be
sourced either through dam systems and naturally flowing water sources such as rivers.
Large water bodies such as oceans also can be used to produce electricity through marine
and wave technology implemented by the Marine and wave industries. This sector is rapidly
growing due to the support to research and innovation of new effective designs. It's with great
expectation that Marine and Wave technology will bring about the significant contribution to
power production beyond 2020 through renewable power generation.
Solar PV
The harvest of sunrays through solar photovoltaics to convert the rays into electricity. About
8.7GW are currently installed, and these figures are rapidly increasing on an annual basis. In
2015 the growth rate had exceeded 80% (Caponecchia & Sheils, 2017).
Research by haven power
Haven power is one of the largest electricity suppliers in the United Kingdom. It conducted a
research which revealed that over 60% of the construction firms in the United Kingdom are
behind the renewable energy solutions and that the renewable techniques are the key
solutions to a clean future. Forty percent of the people interviewed believed that more effort
needs to be adopted to address the issue of carbon emissions. The survey was designed to
assess the future energy requirement, and energy, office management as well as the utility
decision-makers were among the priorities in the construction industry who were
interviewed. By extension, sixty percent of the persons were delighted by the idea of selling
the energy back to the grid, highlighting the increased appetite for the construction industry

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for sustainability. In another sector, the food and beverage only 40 5 of the interviewed
personnel’s were for the idea of reselling back the energy into the grid. In spite of being one
of the progressive industries, it is still hindered by some factors which prevent its
implementation. Some of these factors include cost, which attributes to 40%, uncertainty in
terms of the investments attributing to 33%, as well as the obstacles which inhibits them from
attaining their goals and objectives.
The comments by the chief operating officer at the haven power industry were that it is
encouraging that the recommendations of the renewable technologies are coming from the
construction industry itself, with most of the firms already having on-site batteries storage
which are already installed. However, much sensitization is still necessary on the
implementation of the renewable technologies in the construction industry as some of the
firms are still not sure on the certainty of the approaches towards the installation of such
plants in their firms. The inquiry to the construction firms on who to put the blames of the
energy emissions; the firms were quick to point it to the energy suppliers, with 50%
responsibility followed by the government at 30%. On the other hand, most of the industries
which were surveyed felt that the major responsibility is on the energy provider such as the
agricultural business.
In summary, Paul Sheffield from Haven Power says:
"Understanding of renewable energy and its benefits varies greatly from sector to sector, but
it's great to see construction firms are taking steps towards a more sustainable future. It's
imperative that organisations of all sizes work together with their energy provider to
implement changes that will be beneficial to everyone. Here at Haven Power, we are keen to
help businesses understand the wider benefits of renewables."

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The white paper: construction industry and energy
The journal notes that traditionally, the construction industry has been run by fossil fuels, in
the transportation of materials, powering machinery, installation OOF SYSTEMS which as
well needs gas and coal oil. The substances above are naturally formed by the planet with
tonnes of years going into each coal pit or oil reserve. There are two major issues with the
fossil fuels; first, they emit harmful gases to the atmosphere, and secondly they are not
renewable hence may become obsolete in the near future. The white paper thus proposes
other mechanisms which can be used in the place of fossil fuels to foster sustainability in the
construction industry. The alternatives proposed in the white paper include (Caponecchia &
Sheils, 2017).
Solar energy- solar energy is among the cleanest sources of renewable and clean energy. It
harnesses the solar from the sun using the solar modules and then converts it into electricity
using the photovoltaics technology. It can be incorporated into the design of the buildings so
that the conventional mechanism is eliminated
Wind power- this is a natural force which drives the wind, converting into kinetic energy and
then into electrical power. The air which flows via the turbine will mechanically power the
generators.
Hydropower- the vast water bodies offer the opportunity and potential and harvesting energy.
The concept is of utilising the tidal waves to drive the generators with eventually leads to the
generation of power.
Geothermal energy- is generally related to the areas which are characterized with natural
sources of heat such as volcanic areas. The heat generated by the natural sources is easily
converted into electricity. For instance; in Iceland; 68 billion kilowatts is generated from the
geothermal station every year which is sufficient typically from 6 million households.

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It is evident that all these renewable sources of energy have great potential. Most of the
locations can at least accommodate one source, and it would be in the interest of the UK
government to step up initiatives which will see the implementation of such ideas.
Waste energy -Majority of the household generates a lot of wastes which eventually goes into
the oceans or landfills. Further, during the construction of most structures, a lot of waste is
generated which either pollutes the environment or results into environmental degradability.
Using this waste to generate energy is one smart way of producing energy, such as through
the biomass technology, and compost manure. In the current times, the energy from waste
materials accounts to 23% of the total renewable energy, a value which is bound to rise with
time. The resources can be saved by smart utilisation of the waste. For instance, recycling
utilises less amount of energy with minimal environmental impacts, an idea that is better than
generating new materials. The implication is that replacing the brand new materials with the
recycled ones is way cheaper and a better methodology.
Fracking and nuclear power -These two topics; fracking and nuclear power are some of the
most controversial topics in the construction industry as well as the energy sector. By its
principles, freckling involves the extraction of gas by drilling down the ground and then
injecting chemicals, water, and sand into the rocks using very high pressure. The technology
becomes controversial as a result of the amount of water which is required as well as the
carcinogenic chemicals which is potentially released into the natural resources. The
implication from the previous researches is that it has the ability to result in the collapse of
buildings and structures. Despite its success in the United States construction industry, the
impacts associated are not predictable in the United Kingdom (Caponecchia & Sheils, 2017).
On the other hand, nuclear power is also one other technique which can be used as an option
of replacing the fossil fuels. It utilises the technique of nuclear reaction of two subatomic
particles which generates a huge amount of energy coupled with fewer emissions of carbon

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into the atmosphere. Nonetheless, the advanced thought is associated with other detrimental
factors such as the release of uranium. An instance is the Fukushima disaster in 2011, which
actually demonstrated how nuclear power could be both detrimental to humans as well as the
environment. Despite other alternatives ways of harvesting energy in a renewable manner, the
construction industry seems to adapt slowly. Hence; for the sake of the future, it is necessary
for various institutions in the construction sector to step up.
Sustainability
In the previous years, the topic of sustainability has been discussed in terms of ways which
are excluding the business aspects. It has mostly focused on the environmental concerns,
which has more to do with environmental protection and conservation. However, it is
essential for the various construction industries, which relies on most of the natural sources
such as wood to adopt sustainability in order to extend the lifestyle of such natural resources
to the next 50 to 100 years.
Energy for next two decades
As per the experts, there are five points which are deemed to shape the energy industry. The
first and key point is the drive towards decarbonisation. This option is one which we do not
have another thing to do towards it expect reversing the damage which has been caused since
the industrial revolution. By extension, we find that the movement towards the green energy
seems to be slow, but the bottom line is that we need to place decarbonisation as a priority.
The second key task is the shift towards decentralization. As at now, the norm in the energy
sector is the centralised energy grids. However, these systems in the past have been
characterised with lots of failures such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters as well as
multiple failures. The answer to this problem lies in the microgrids as well as Nano grid
technologies. The energy industry will continue to face a number of shifts, emanating from

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technological advancements. For instance, the prices of solar technology keep on going down
with the technological advancements as they also become readily available.
The final option is on the creation of a more interconnected energy world as well as focusing
more on energy efficiency.
Industrial construction and the energy industry
In almost all the energy industry, there exists an industrial construction. For instance; from
maintenance to road construction, to forestry, as well as bridges and buildings. This simply
implies that there is a big role played by the energy in the construction industry. The nation’s
infrastructure will have depended so much n the construction industry, utilising the fossil
fuels. It, therefore, means that renewable energy techniques have to be incorporated into the
construction industry, for instance; by adopting the wind, solar, as well as hydroelectric in the
generation of renewable energy. Apart from updating the national infrastructure to shift from
the centralised grids, the existing energy infrastructure needs to be supplemented by the green
infrastructure plants (Caponecchia & Sheils, 2017).
The problems of industry consolidation
One of the most and best reliable sources of renewable energy is the solar energy. However,
it has recently been realised to face numerous challenges in relation to the prices of the solar
modules. This has costed some companies to even sell their products at a lower price in order
to maintain the business momentum. However, this was not enough. Most of these companies
have come up with a noble way of pulling the massive solar platforms together with the aid
of pulling out the bankruptcy and ensuring that the future of the solar business remains bright.
One sector which will be of great significance in realising this dream is the industrial
construction when the entire industry shifts to the environmentally friendly options as
opposed to the fossil fuels.

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UK strategy in sustainable construction
Presently, the belief is that the construction industry plays a great role in the delivery of low
carbon emissions. Nonetheless, this goal becomes only realistic once a holistic approach is
adopted towards realising the same. There are a number of significant incentives as well as
policies which have been enacted by the UK government geared towards encouraging
sustainability and utilisation of renewables sources of energy in the construction industry. An
instance is a report from the sustainable buildings task group in 2014 proposed some
recommendations of minimum standards in key resources efficiency criteria in the areas such
as waste and use of materials, water efficiency, and energy efficiency. Additionally,
legislative powers have also been implemented in many sectors. One area which is more
encouraging is the implementation of an act on the domestic buildings which are constructed
after the year 2016, to all have zero carbon emissions and that by 2019, all the non- domestic
buildings to follow suit. In the current times, the UK has published a new strategy which
generates a clear and definitive objective from the UK policymakers that the construction
industry is fast becoming a world leader in sustainable construction by 2025, highlighting
further key themes to help achieve the sustainability (Caponecchia & Sheils, 2017).
Overview of sustainable construction standards
Building regulations and the definition of zero-carbon homes
The introduction of code for sustainable homes in 2006 issued a notice of building a greener
future. The document outlined a decade plan for moving towards the zero-carbon structures.
In its proposals, the sutsinable homes were to be in accordance with the utilisation of
minimum carbon dioxide reduction requirements. (Caponecchia & Sheils, 2017).

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For a new domestic building to be zero carbon, the requirements are that it will have to
deliver zero energy such as in the various chores (washing, cooking, as well as electronic
appliances).. The diagram below shows the proposed approach
Energy efficiency
It is proposed that inclusion of high levels of energy efficiency in the reduction of carbon
mixtures be adopted. Some of the essential factors in minimising the demand for energy is to
ensure that the home is well insulated as well as airtight. To achieve this, the zero-carbon hub
did set a specialist task which would give recommendations on the same. The overall
outcome demonstrated the maximum demand in every square meter of the floor. The
simplification of the process followed a proposal of two levels of proposed energy demand.
For the mid-traces and apartment blocks, the maximum demand for energy is 39 wh/m2/y.
For the structures with less heat loses such as semi-attached and end of terrace houses, the
maximum demand for energy is relaxed at 46kWh/m2 /y.

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Code for Sustainable Homes
The introduction of the code for sustainable homes was done in 2007 as a single national
standard for the rating of the new homes. It generally focuses on the general sustainability of
the new buildings against the full range of criteria such as water, energy, materials as well as
biodiversity. It came as a replacement of the economies standard. The privately constructed
housing does not necessitate for certain levels of the building codes other than the improved
standards of energy which are stipulated in the building regulations.
BREEAM
Presently, BREEAM is among the best environmental design practices for management in the UK
Its certification is done by licensed assessors, who ensures that the assessment services by the
assessors work with a certain quality assurance framework. The areas which are assessed
include;
Renewable and low carbon energy generation opportunities and constraints
In this section, we will look at some of the renewable energy sources opportunities in the
United Kingdom and quantify them accordingly. There are some of the renewable energy
sources which can be easily quantified while others are difficult to quantify. In such a case,
they can be regarded as a standalone system. Basically, they comprise the waste materials,
wind, and fuel from wood materials. The wood fuel, specifically, will be of vital role in
meeting the high demand for the reductions of carbon as a result of the high community
heating level. Generally, the solar present in the United Kingdom are related to the buildings
and hence have a direct influence on the development of policies. Nonetheless, the large scale
stand-alone systems such as the solar photovoltaic systems are becoming more popular due to
the feed-in tariffs which are associated with them. There is a huge potential in incorporating
this stand-alone system s into the current construction system; it's only that there has not been
great research towards the same. In the section below, we will have a discussion of some of

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 23
the low or zero-carbon energy sources which when incorporated into the United Kingdom
construction sector will have a major impact to the economy of the nation as well as in
addressing some of the environmental challenges (Costanza et al., 2017).
Wind power
The stand-alone wind power offshore systems is a technology which has been practiced in
various parts of the globe, coupled with millions of installations. When a comparison is
made, the United Kingdom has the largest wind resources in the whole of Europe, yet the
amount of energy generated only amounts to 2% of the total electric supply in the United
Kingdom. By 2020, the extrapolation is that 20% of the total energy will be generated from
the stand-alone systems in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the plan is that it will be
achieved through offshore as well as the onshore plants.
Despite lack of rigid systems close to the onshore for the wind turbine systems, the individual
on shore turbines are categorised under four groups; namely; medium, micro, small and large
size bands. The typical range for the wattage of these size Bands is 5 watts, going up to 3
megawatts for the commercial sale turbines.
In most cases, the micro scale turbines are mounted on the buildings, while the medium and
small scale have a standing free mast, and then deployed as single installations having a
specific development. for instance, a 15-kilowatt turbine supplying a school, farm building or
a small business. The location of the wind turbines is generally on the remote areas which are
then directly connected to the national grid (Costanza et al., 2017).
Averagely, a large scale turbine has the capacity of generating an amount of electricity which
can power between 1200 to 1600 homes, while a small turbine can power minimum of eight
homes. The output of the wind turbine varies between zero to a full rated output in relation to
the local windspeed, with a generation of 70-85% of the time. In UK however, there is a less
variability in the entire wind power portfolio, vis-à-vis the speed of wind of the country as a

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 24
whole. The on-site solution, “building a greener future” is more concerned with the large-
scale developments. some of the limitations to the viability of the implementations as
compared to other forms of zero-carbon generation includes factors such as the decreased
economy and planning restrictions.

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 25
Biomass
Types of biomass
By definition, biomass is a material which is derived from a biological origin, wither a plant
or animal matter. Biomass is primarily categorised as either wet or dry biomass. Dry biomass
is usually burnt or combusted so as to generate electricity or produce heat while wet biomass
is digested through the anaerobic methodology to produce biogas, which is used in the
transport industry as a biofuel.
It is extensively utilised in a number of nations for the modern heating systems. T is well
developed for the modern heating systems and applied in the buildings for all the sizes either
via district heating networks, or individual boilers. Additionally, it is used as fuel electricity
plant or integrated with power and heat plant due to the low emissions of carbon which is
associated with its application. Some of the primary types of biomass include wood fuel from
the forestry sources, wood waste, energy crops, and a biodegradable fraction of municipal
solid waste as well as agricultural residues.
Woodlands – these are products which are derived from existing woodlands such as forest
residues, round wood from branches, and coppicing. By extension, the woodlands can be
obtained from new woodlands which are purposely planted, for instance; short rotation
forestry (Costanza et al., 2017).
Overview
Wood fuel regarded in this context involves energy crops and untreated wood residues also
referred to as virgin, obtained from arboriculture and forestry. Difficulty comes in when
separating virgin from non-virgin or contaminated wood, due to the overlap existing with
waste, in a case where the virgin wood is found in some waste streams. The difference
between contaminated and virgin wood will define sectors of legislation that will employ to
its function concerning the emission permits. Energy crops and wood residues are generally
assigned to be untreated or pure unlike other waste wood residues which may include
contaminants like preservatives, paints and would be categorized under tighter emission and
pollution controls.

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 26
Biomass contain low carbon emissions since the carbon dioxide emitted during energy
generation is balanced by that amount of CO2 taken in during growth, hence biomass is
regarded as one of the renewable fuels. An assessment of the final carbon balance can be
carried out after taking into consideration fossil fuels exploited in the biomass growing stage,
transportation as well as processing. Nonetheless, total CO2 emissions per unit of energy
produced are much lesser for the fossil fuels are higher as compared to biomass.
The residues of the sustainable management are known as Woodland residues. Several
procedures are employed in making the feedstock earlier for it to be used in different forms;
for example woody biomass may involve wood chips, logs, briquettes and pellets. All these
processes entirely dictate the ultimate specification of the biomass. For certain energy plants,
Quality control of the elements is essential.
Short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and Miscanthus are major wood fuel energy crops
which are grown particularly for producing energy. Both energy crops and woodland residues
can be can be used in the heat production or electricity as well as combined heat and power
through series of energy conversion techniques such as pyrolysis, and direct combustion. The
type of energy conversion technology applied is greatly influenced by the quality and form of
the wood fuel product used especially its moisture content and size.
Waste
Overview
There is already a revenue which has been levied for sustainable electricity generators, which
employs biomass content of waste undergoing treatment. The commonly used types of
organic matter feedstock in anaerobic digestion are farm slurry, sludge and some components
of MSW and the commercial food waste. Additionally, biogas can also be used to produce
energy. A nitrogen rich liquor known as digestate together with residual solid are the by-
products of anaerobic digestion and they can be used as fertilizers or soil conditioners
respectively. Anaerobic digestion system is probably considered part of an integrated farm
waste management. Nevertheless, large scale Centralized Anaerobic Digesters (CADs) do
exist, they employ feedstock brought from numerous sources.
Processing waste streams into Refuse Derived Fuel (RFD) is another alternative to energy
recovery from waste plants. This process involves removing hazardous and toxic materials
Consequently this fuel can be used in fueling CHP plants (Costanza et al., 2017).
Devon County Council, a waste disposal authority takes top regarding waste disposal and
treatment activities within Devon. By September 2010, this facility was set to operation. The
second one is in the planning stages, still under development with the South Devon waste
partnership. This facility is probably to be incineration based and the targeted date of
operation is 2014/2015 dealing with 200,000 tons per annum. It will handle the remaining
residual municipal waste materials also from the United Kingdom. Most probably it will have
a capacity dealing with waste products from a bigger population.
Hydropower
It involves using water flowing from a raised to a lower level to move a turbine connected to
an electrical generator, where the energy produced is depends on the waterhead. It however
requires some limitation when it comes to the micro scale turbines. Small scale hydro power

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 27
plants in the United Kingdom mostly refer to regions ranging up to few hundred KWs
(Costanza et al., 2017).
Technical limitations and constraints
Besides making sure that heads and the flow rates are enough throughout the year, and that
the location is large enough to accommodate the required equipment, there is quicker
accessibility to the site and that the power generated is capable of being transmitted to the end
users. In addition to visual effects, other vital considerations involve river ecology and
hydrology. Fish populations specifically are most likely to be exposed to changes in water
measures and flows like fish passes are frequently included to reduce the effects.
Policy and regulatory context
Among the powerful tools towards supporting the implementation of sustainable energy is the
land use planning system. The system got more support following the governments white
paper which was themed as ‘planning for a sustainable feature’ in 2007. The white pare, as
had been seen in this context sets out a clear and detailed proceedings regarding the planning
systems as well as the role which the local authorities have to play towards the climate
change as well as the tackling of energy efficiency issues. There are various policies which
offers support to the implementation and development of renewable energy as well as low
carbon emissions. In this section, some of the relevant legislations policies will be covered
both at regional and national level (Costanza et al., 2017).
Support to the renewable energy sources
In order to make the dream a reality, and ensure that the renewable energy techniques are
incorporated in various sectors such as construction, the government came up with various
policies and elements such as the renewable organisation that acts as driving forces. They are
behind the consumers as well as investor interest in ensuring that they oblige to a specific

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 28
percentage of electrical energy which comes from the renewable sources. These major drivers
for the renewable energy includes
Renewable obligation
It is the major support scheme for most of the renewable electricity projects in the United
Kingdom. Majorly, it encourages the suppliers of electricity to sources for the renewable
sources of energy generators. The supplies are then mandated to generate a compliance
document with the office of gas and electricity markets, also known as renewable obligations
certificates. Since the introduction of the renewable obligation, the amount of the UKS
renewable energy capacity have significantly increased. As at now, the total percentage
accounts to 20% of the total electrical energy supply in the United Kingdom, which is close
to 150 per cent increase from the 1.8% in 2002 (Costanza et al., 2017).
Climate Change Levy (CCL) Exemption
This is an environmental tax which is levied on the supply of various commodities such as
coal, gas, electricity, as well as the energy which is supplied to the final consumers. The
chartable organisations as well as domestic consumers are not obliged to pay the climate
change levy.
Research & Development Programme
The government, over a time have incessantly come up with programs which focuses on
eliminating the obstacles which have stood along the development of renewable energy
through collecting of information and conducting further research to aid the individual
industrial activities on local levels. In order to maintain a steady coexistence of the programs
as well as environmental organisations in support of sustainable economy, there is the need
for a cooperation between the government and the industrial organisations. Additionally,
these programs stipulates objectives for addressing the vital technological and non-
technological issues. There exists various stages which are lid pout for testing of the

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 29
technologies. These stages includes assessment, R&D, demonstration and market entry, full-
scale industrialization and competition. The various strategies for specific programs incudes
the operations at various technological development strategies. There is also the creation of
an exit strategy which is meant to prevent a subsidy within the government. The amount of
the greenhouse emission’s and the cost effectiveness are to determine the set priorities for the
instalment of the renewable technologies. Some of the priorities for the development includes
- Near terms – there encompasses the competitive renewable sin the uk such as
waste and biomass residuals, geothermal, onshore wind, passive solar, as well
as landfill gas.
- Medium term- these are renewables which significantly helps in achieving
10% of the total energy and demonstrates a great contribution towards the
2015
- Longer term- these are renewables which demonstrates a longer potential
when placed under the r and d [program. An instance is the photovoltaic and
fuel cells technology.
- Very long term – these are renewables which only calls for basic research at
this stage, or instance; nuclear energy, ocean thermal, tidal barrage, and
hydrogen energy.
The feed in tariff-
This is a program which is designated for offering support to for the small scale renewable

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 30
National policy developments
There have been numerous policies aimed at increasing the implementation of the renewable
energy sources as well as combating climate change. Some of the key drivers towards these
two agendas includes
Climate Change Policy:
o Climate Change Act 2008
o Copenhagen 2009
o UK Low Carbon Transition Plan 2009
• Energy Policy:
o Energy White Paper 2007
o EU Energy Directive 2009
o UK Renewable Energy Strategy 2009
• Planning Policy:
o PPS22 – Planning for Renewable Energy 2004
o PPS1 – Supplement on Climate Change 2007
o Planning and Energy Act 2008
o Energy Act 2008
Climate Change Act 2008
The act stipulates some of the legally binding targets such as the reduction in the greenhouse
gas emissions by at least 2050in the year 2050. However, the act does not clearly stipulates
the roles of the local authorities in great detail. Nonetheless, the budgets as well as the carbon
targets will be a best guiding for the task of the committee towards the local authorities going
forward.

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 31
Copenhagen 2009
This was in relation to the UN climate change conferences which was aimed at a collective
fight against the climate change. However, most of the speciations from the conference were
not met. This implies that the uk still is experiencing some shortcomings in the
implementation of the aforementioned targets.
UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, 2009
This comprehensive plan was first set out in the summer 2009, becoming the uk first ever
plan towards combating the carbon emissions by 18%, probably by 2020. It lays out a range
of actions which the government is supposed to undertake (Costanza et al., 2017).
Energy White Paper 2007
The energy white paper clearly stipulates that the overall planning should prioritise the wider
advantages of the renewables even if there are associated local benefits.
European Energy Directive 2009
The directive from the European energy is that 15% of the total energy in uk should be
supplied by renewable sources of energy by the year 2020.
UK Renewable Energy Strategy 2009
This is just a framework whose recommendations are aimed at increasing the energy, heat as
well as electricity which is generated from the renewable sources of energy. It was proposed
by the department of energy and climate change.
Planning Policy Statements
The policy statements stipulates various national policies on various aspects of spatial
planning which should be taken into account by the lpas when coming up with a draft of the
local development documents as well as determination of the planning applications. The
ambitions outlined in the planning policy statements should be fully reflected in the local
development frameworks (Costanza et al., 2017).

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 32
PPS22 – Planning for Renewable Energy (2004)
The planning anticipates for local and regional planning inclusion of the renewable energy
targets, as well as criteria policies for the identification of the renewable energy
developments at a regional level. The planning body advises that the effects will depend on
the landscape setting as well as the location, that is in regards to the visual effects and
landscape. The policies in the local documents should be able to gi9ve priority to the
minimisation of the visual effects, for instance on the layout, design, siting, as well as colour
of schemes.
PPS1 Supplement: Planning and Climate Change (2007)
The supplements highlights out clearly that managing climate change is key to good
planning. The body as well highlights other key requirements
PPS7 – Sustainable Development in Rural Areas (2004)
The emphasis generally is on the significance of landscape designations as well as
encouraging good and quality design. The body stipulates various objectives which will be
key towards renewable energy developments.
PPS7 – Sustainable Development in Rural Areas (2004)
The planning authorise the local authorities in the uk to set out some of the energy
requirements utilisation for the local plans.
Energy Act 2008
In this act, feed-in tariffs is included and was effected on 1st April 2010. The feed in tariffs
provide financial support for the generation of low carbon in projects up to 5 megawatts. The
main aim is for the generators to receive a guaranteed payment for generation of low carbon
electricity (Costanza et al., 2017).

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 33
Regional policy developments
After the reorganisation of regional policy developments, the strategic leader’s board took the
mandate of transport, planning, as well as housing, duties which were formerly undertaken by
the regional assembly. Among the duties inherited included Regional policy developments.
Regional Planning Guidance RPG10
The adopted regional guidance offers limited guidance in regards to the renewable energy.
The policy states that the local authorities should come out and offer support towards the
greater utilisation of renewable energy. In regards to the local planning policy, the
documents should stipulate various measures and policies for the layout, design as well as
construction techniques.

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 34
Analysis
A brief review of environmental assessment techniques
In UK, environmental impact statement of a new development refers to the first generation of
environmental controls. Its purpose was to display the effect of the proposed improvement
over its lifecycle on the existing environment and the manner in which the development met
the requirements of the local urban planning. Such controls were regional in nature and they
aimed on matters like noise, traffic flow, height and size of the development, rogue reflection,
landscape, pollution, disposal of surface water among many others. Without any benchmark
performance, environmental influencing statements were judged in a subjective manner
within the context of existing economic, social and political climate.
Many years back, a big range of environmental categorization or building rating systems
related with life cycle assessment (LCA) heaved into sight in response to commitments to
sustainable development by several developed nations. The following consists of the best
well known systems; Home energy rating, BRE Office Tool kit, BREEAM and BREDEM all
found in United kingdom; SIB in Switzerland, Athena in Canada, Waste/ Environmental Data
Sheet in Europe BauBio Data Bank in Germany, Ecolab in Netherlands, European eco-
labeling (Europe), BMES Index in Australia, LEED in the US and BEPAC in Canada. A
summary explaining about the above mentioned systems can be obtained in Cole and Larsson
(161) and Wolley (151), Beeststra(171)and Gay et al (20)- they criticized LCA demanding
that a lot of environmental aspects have not been included and that LCA method is unable of
weighing variety sustainable criteria and assess tradeoffs among many environmental aims.
This method is claimed to be too complicated when building components and materials are
regarded and hence not usable except several criteria and indicators are brought together
(Costanza et al., 2017)

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 35
A growing demand for more systematic and stricter assessment of projects has given an
impulse for the development of numerous recent assessment techniques. A concise review of
such recent methods under development will now be provided. Beetstra (171) explains on the
development of BEDS (Building related Environmental Decision Support), a recent integral
assessment technique in Netherlands. This technique involves an inadequate set of aims, and
verifiable and quantitative indicators, which can be employed in all phases of a project
development cycle. Generally eight indicators are employed, three of which are site related-
accessibility, use of space, green balance, other three are building related- energy balance,
water balance, HBF influences and the remaining two are set at building elements- material
use and reuse. Such indicators measure the result in digits from 0 to 100%, with 100 being
the maximum though technically realized point. Levin (9) reports the development of
SEABEP (Systematic Evaluation and Assessment of Building environmental Performance
model that addresses the requirement for thorough performance assessment and evaluation
related to life cycle assessment, industrial ecology and comparative risk assessment. It
determines and evaluates the contribution of buildings to the overall environmental burden,
measures several environmental problems on a local or project scale and global scale and sets
targets related with defined sustainability criteria. Chatagnon and Nibel (181) outline a
methodology for the improvement of a model in the kind of a matrix for environmental
assessment in the design stage of a project. It aims consistent assessment of the
environmental quality of a given project at distinct design phases. The environmental impacts
due to the sources are calculated by the evaluation model, which then expresses them
according to assessment criterion. The suggested procedure is repetitive and enables every
project to get assessed from the environmental quality perspective. Another different
approach is described Gay et al (20) relating to assessing sustainability of projects- it tries to
advance a sustainability index necessary for assessment of buildings. The index is formed by

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 36
expressing environmental effects of a building in terms of external prices which represent
calculable or measurable prices of direct results like death of forests, health injuries, or the
price of stopping all these. The advantageous part is that the ultimate result can be converted
to monetary sum. If included to the conventional construct cost, simple distinction between
distinct alternatives will be possible. This system will measure and weigh basic performances
for example maintainability, functionality and economic performance; Green performance
like materials use, energy use, airborne emissions, land use among others; as well as Process
performance so as to determine whether specific protocols have been outlined. The suggested
system will be capable of addressing regional and global matters, together with making it
possible to measure both actual and potential performance (Costanza et al., 2017).
Reflection on the recent policy in sustainable construction
In spite of the various legislative and incentive measures which have been suggested in the
construction industry in a bid to promote sustainable construction, much realisation suggests
that numerous challenges have emerged in the face of sustainable development. There are
various barriers standing on the way to achieve sustainable development in the construction
industry. For instance; risks, costs, time, culture, intergenerational, communication,
responsibility, legislation as well as lack of information. Thomson and el-haram (2011) posits
that one challenges which remains a barrier towards a sustainable implementation in the
construction industry is the range of traditional structural and traditional barriers such as lack
of integration between different profession and project stages within the project team. A
number of researches has also stressed on the issue of cost being the most prevalent barrier
when it comes to construction sustainability. Pitt and the colleagues also explains that lack of
client awareness and demand for sustainable buildings also attributes to the challenges
restring the implementation of sustainability in the construction industry. Reffat (2014, is also
keen on noticing that insufficiency of human resources also contribute to the critical

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 37
challenges facing the construction industry due to the skill level of the professionals, and the
numbers.
Swot analysis
The swot analysis gives a summary on the weakness, strengths, threats and opportunities
which impact the strategy development. By extension, the analysis provides a comprehensive
insight into the corporate strategy, history, business structure and operations.
Strengths
The major strength of the united kingdom construction industry is that approximately 7% of
the nation’s gross domestic product is represented by the industry as well as 10% of the value
added of the total uk employment sector. In addition, the construction industry has a
significant role in planning, be-spoke design provision, as well as an in building regulation
service. The construction industry also has a large supply chain which accounts to £124
billion of intermediate consumption that increasingly should be sourced within the United
Kingdom. On the global perspective, the uk has experienced an outstanding reputation in
terms of their skills and resources particularly in the civil engineering, architectural design, as
well as low capital and low entry cost (Costanza et al., 2017).
Weakness
These comprises of he lost opportunities in the development of sustainable construction as a
result of low levels of innovation, low technological transfer and low investment in the
collaboration. The construction cost have been degraded by the implications of brexit, which
has also resulted into increased cost of construction as compared to the overseas nations.
Opportunities
The opportunities encompass the government’s policies towards achieving sustainable
construction through a common framework. An instance is the 2009 climate change act
which aims to minimise the carbon emissions by at least 80% in the year 2050. In 2011, the

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 38
commitment of government is that all buildings be zero emissions in order to solve the global
housing crisis as well as slack of supply through aims of constructing one million homes by
the year 2020.
Threats
The major threats which are facing the uk construction industry is late payment and bank
finance. There are limited opportunities in the uk construction industry coupled with less
skilled personnel and professionals. This greatly acts as a barrier towards promoting
technological advancements and innovations in the construction industry.
Sample renewable energy projects in the uk from 2016
These firms have been categorically chosen, with reference to the fact that they are still under
construction and utilizes different resources in the generation of electricity.
Kepler energy tidal turbine
This is one project which has the potential of proving as a game changer in the renewable
energy industry. The founders have come up with a second generation tidal turbine the kepler
energy was established by senior academicians in oxford university in the year 2010, and the
project has a capacity of 5 megawatts, ten meters long in terms of its diameter, and 60 meters
in terms of length. The technology was tried in 2016 at the coast of wales. The successful
trial is to influence an installation of 30 megawatt project in bristolmchannel/severn estuary
(Fais et al., 2018).
Wanley extension
This is an offshore wind farm which is currently under construction, off the cumbias coast in
the Irish sea. Its situation is close to the walney 2 and walney 1 project. It is one of the largest
global wind firm since it is rated as a single wind farm, with a capacity of 367 megawatts.

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 39
A new extension is to add 90 wind turbines, with a total of 660 megawatts. The turbines are
either rated 7 megawatts or 8 megawatts, with a height of 222 meters tall. The extensions are
expected to significantly push the aims of the uk further, and meet the 10% of the national
energy demand.
Kent biomass power
There is a planned construction of biomass poser station in kent, and is expected to generate
energy which will meet the demands of 50, 000 homes. The capacity of the biomass plant is
27 megawatts ((Fais et al., 2018).
Templeborough biomass
The biomass plant was oppened in 2017 and the anticipation was that it will be able to meet
the demands of 78000 homes. The biomass plant has a nameplate generation capacity of 41
megawatts, and it will be able to save more than 150, 000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Vine farm
Wind parks and solar plants have been constructed by baywa r/.e Company which is meant to
generate a capacity of 260megawatts. Currently, the company is constructing one of the
largest solar farm in the south cambridgeshire. The extent of the site is approximated to be
250 acres, with the construction commencing in 2015.
Lynemouth
Originally, the Northumberland location based plant was used for the production of
electricity through coal technology. It was later sold to Czech company, which have currently
turned it into a biomass power plant. The total approximated cost for the project was
estimated at $8000 and a generation of 420 megawatts from the burning wood pellets (Fais et
al., 2018).

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 40
kIlgalioch
This is one of the largest energy projects being built in the uk, Scotland, due to it conducive
political, commercial as well as natural conditions. It is expected to have a largest energy
generating capacity , providing up to 239 megawatts when in operation. In Galloway and
Dumfries county, Scottish power renewable is developing a wind farm project which its
completion is estimated to be in end 2019.
The estimated cost is $300 million and will utilizes 96 turbines. The extent of the area is 32
square kilometer’s.
Rampion
This is one of the largest off shore wind farm which is being constructed by an English farm
at the coast of Sussex. Upon its completion, it is estimated to have a total capacity of 400.2
megawatts with a total number of 116 turbines. The total cost approximated to cover the
whole project is $1.3 billion , on an area of 72 square kilometers.
Meygen
Despite wave energy and tidal energy being different sources of energy in terms of the
technologies used in harvesting them, they are commonly categorized under one group.
Since they have got s number of similar characteristics. The planned renewable energy
construction is known as Meygen tidal energy with a capacity of 398 megawatts. The project
is located in the inner south of the Pentland Firth, between the Stroma Island and Scottish
mainland. The total approximated cost of the project is $70 million (Fais et al., 2018).
Swansea bay tidal lagoon
This is a project which commenced in 2018 and is expected to be complete by 2022.it is a
unique renewable energy project in the united kingdom and is deemed to change the face of

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 41
the nations renewable energy market. Its installation is to utilize sixteen turbines, having a
nameplate generation of 320 megawatts, a capacity that can power 155,000 homes. By
extension, the project is anticipated to have a wide range of economic benefits in the city of
welsh. The generation of electricity will begin in the third year. The project had received a
number of Funding from the government, following the potential of uk tidal energy.
Recommendations on meeting zero energy to impact the construction sector
From the literature above, the future of construction industry seems to be very luminous, as
well as the renewable energy is concerned. However, there are a number of factors which
might hinder this from being realized as anticipated. Hence, it is of significance for the
government t as well as other affiliated parties to step up and promote the renewable energy
sector. Some of these initiatives include
1. Upholding a supportive route to market for the onshore renewables
As at now, the government has excluded the solar, onshore wind as well as the hydro from
the auctions in the power generation through contracts for difference. It becomes difficult for
the renewable energies to find a viable rout to the market, without subsidized support for the
renewables. Incase various financial initiatives are put into place to route support for the
o0nshore wind renewables, close to 800 projects which have passed the planning stage shall
be constructed. These schemes combined together have the capacity of generating 12
terawatts –hours of energy annually, which is equal to 60 per cent of the total energy
generated annually. As at now, the route market is one of the major bottlenecks for the
onshore developers.
2. Repowering of the existing renewable projects and life extensions

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 42
One significant element in sustaining energy is by improving the unproductive conditions of
the onshore development. This include installation of new systems to the various renewable
projects which might see them through to the next 20-25 years. Incorporation of highly
efficient technology will enable this thus influencing to a wider perspective the construction
industry. Recently, a report from the renewableUK highlighted that close to 8 gigawats ten
gigawatts capacity will
3. Repowering the old renewable projects will likely influence the construction industry
in a positive manner.
Creation of a positive planning environment for the existing and new projects
There are a number of stringent requirements which has to be met by both the new and
existing renewable projects. For instance, it includes consideration of the location, the cost,
technology, as well as the materials which are utilized. In addition, proper planning of these
plants will influence the success and eventual positive outcome on the UK construction sector
4. Investing on the upgrading of the national grid \
Most of the developments in the renewable energy of the uk is hold back by the national grid.
Historically, the grid was designed to withdraw power from large scale centralized generators
such as nuclear and coal, which has a consistent power supply. However, the renewable
energy technology requires a variety of generating sites in various locations. These
opportunities have been currently limited by the national grid.it thus calls for upgrading of
the national grid, to allow intensive technology such as the nanogrid and the microgrid
technology (Fais et al., 2018).
5. Drive positive messages concerning the renewables to the public

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 43
‘‘The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s recent public attitude survey
highlighted that 79% of people support onshore wind. However, as discussed above, the
planning environment in England gives the power of refusal to the 21% not in favor. ‘’
Much of the public does not have a clear knowledge of the renewable energy. Public
sensitization of the renewable energy technologies will be significant in ensuring the success
of the renewable energy, that overall will positively impact the UK construction sector.
Further research
Taking consideration of two overlapping sections on the building technology to which to
most applies. The conventional building technology which is based on availability of cheap
and common materials, has immensely contributed to waste control through recycling
dependent on the building life, ranging between 50 to 100 years. The question involving
balance of minimal impact to the environment and the average demand is its sustainability.
The assumption that all these can be mutually agreed upon thus allowing quantification with
relevant summation. The quantity involving virgin raw inputs required to be extracted and
used in the reduction of the demand for landfill disposal is based on the Design for
Deconstruction (DFD) which facilitates the recycling process. The ‘clever manner’, the
recent technology that involves the construction using fewer input materials is quite
sophisticated and hazardous.
The sustainability may focus on the content covered in schemes rather than the efforts to
standardize the agreed standard techniques. Life cycle assessment is focused on a wider
aspect depending on the building lifetimes based on very short or very long life duration. At
times the focus shifts to considerably small quantities of important resources which plays a
crucial in sustainability of modern buildings. These involve the use of stronger materials such
as Titanium which obtained from environmental friendly sources and use of alloyed steels
instead of limestone or iron ore. Titanium is rare and produces less waste in their production

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 44
and these majorly contribute to ecologically sustainable building. However these materials
may instigate political in surges in complication on equity issues in socio-economic stability
both within and without borders. Another challenge with these materials might be rapidly
increasing population which comes with high demand for materials for improved standard of
living.
Conclusion
Rapid growth in population with correspondence high rate of consumption, deforestation and
careless emission of carbon related waste into the atmosphere has greatly disturb the planets
ability to provide and maintain environmental equilibrium for better conditions. Among the
leading industries that greatly contribute to this environmental imbalance is the Construction
industry, thus its quite sensitive to adopt the sustainable techniques with improved efficiency
and effectiveness of its entire operations. However it is not practically easy to achieve this
with the uncontrolled rapidly increasing population which comes with high demand for
infrastructural development and demand for materials and buildings, all these geared towards
sustainable living standards
Going by scientists warning that the carrying population capacity of the earth is way beyond
limit then the major focus should be on how to effectively control and minimize the rate of
consumption and at the same time balance it with the corresponding environmental
improvements associated with human daily activities. The development of techniques in life
cycle assessment and their roles in sustainable construction will be important as
advancements in technologies for building continues to develop, crucial elements of
sustainability might also change and scholars should be aware of such changes when they
occur. This therefore calls for further development of socio-economic aspect of sustainability.

FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE UK 45
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