Table 1 shows the projected CO2 savings associated with each of the proposed schemes. If all of the schemes were to be implemented it would represent a saving of more than 26000 tonnes, or 41% of the original CO2 emissions of the area. It is quite clear from these values that the proposed schemes were not sufficient to make the community ‘net zero carbon’ however this was recognised to be the case early in the project. For the community to get closer to net zero carbon it would have been necessary to also look into areas such as road transport, as well as the other factors mentioned in the Net Zero Carbon page such as aviation and imported goods. A number of other areas were highlighted for further study and it was estimated that they could contribute a further 8% saving however even taking into account all of these factors it is unlikely that it would be possible for the community to be net zero carbon.
| Scheme | CO2 saved per year (tonnes) |
Percentage of total community emissions saved (%) |
Energy from waste |
121 |
0.2 |
Tree planting |
196 |
0.3 |
Photovoltaics |
907 |
1.4 |
Wind turbine |
2775 |
4.6 |
Demand reduction |
5198 |
8.1 |
Biomass CHP
|
16857
|
26.3
|
Total CO2 saving |
26054 |
40.7 |
Table 1: CO2 savings
Graph 1 shows the current and the potential CO2 emissions of the area if all the schemes were implemented fully. The graph shows clearly the large reduction in the emissions of the two areas of focus, industrial and domestic energy consumption of 69% and 74% respectively. If these results could be replicated in some of the other sections, such as reducing demand in commercial and office buildings then even larger CO2 savings could be made.
Graph 1: CO2 emissions
The project demonstrated that it is unrealistic to think of an urban community as separate from other surrounding communities. The schemes investigated are capable of supplying a considerable amount of the community’s energy, however it is unlikely that an urban community could realistically go off-grid and supply all of its own energy. A proportion of the community’s energy will always need to be imported so it is important to simultaneously look at the CO2 emissions associated with the imported energy. Sometimes it is also important to work on a larger scale than is possible in a small community of 7000 people. This was illustrated by the energy from waste section, where it is proposed that the community’s waste contributes to a larger energy from waste scheme and a proportion of the CO2 savings are attributed to the community. Whilst the Biomass CHP plant is fuelled in a large part by spent grain and algae from the community it would also be necessary to import wood chips from outside the area so this is also dependent on imports from outside the area.
It is important to take all reasonable measures to reduce the emissions within the community, however there will be a point where it is more effective to look for solutions outside the community. At the present time it is likely, for example, that a more effective way of reducing emissions could have been found outside the community than installing PV panels on the roofs.