Renewable Energy in Lincolnshire

Written by Rob Davis on 14th December 2010

Renewable Energy in Lincolnshire. Something’s got to give. We all enjoy the convenience of a modern kitchen stocked with electrical appliances, we all need computers and the internet for our businesses to function, and if the future of domestic transport is in electric cars, we could even need our 240v domestic power supply to keep our vehicles on the road, too.

The problem is, fossil fuels are dirty, expensive and finite. Furthermore, as they become more labour intensive to source, they’ll become more expensive.

Lincolnshire is already the UK’s most popular county for the siting of wind turbines, and this month we consider the possibility that in addition to serving as the county that feeds the country, Lincolnshire could soon be serving as the county that powers the country, with renewable energy projects blossoming across the county.

Lincolnshire is one of the best sites around the UK for power generation from wind turbines, and Ecotricity is one of the UK’s largest firms, operating four sites in Lincolnshire, with two more sites proposed and its largest site currently under consideration.

But the grandest development is yet to come. In planning since August 2009, a proposed site at East Heckington — just behind the Lincolnshire Pride offices in fact — could feature 28 turbines, which would generate 64.4MWe; enough for 47,386 homes; more homes than there are in the North Kesteven district.

Heading up the project is Ecotricity’s founder Dale Vince, who says; “Early studies show that this is a good site for windmills, but we’re at an early stage. Our next step is to consult local people and the Council. We can’t be definite how on how many turbines we’d create or what size they’d be, but the site has the potential to provide electricity for more homes there are in North Kesteven.”

Ecotricity currently operates 36 turbines producing 26.8MWe, at sites in and around Mablethorpe. The firm also has sites at

Worksop and near King’s Lynn — including the only wind turbine that visitor can go inside, with an adjacent visitor centre.

The company is also proposing an increase to its Fen Farm wind park, and is considering creating a ‘hybrid’ development, which will incorporate solar technology to create power from two sources — a sort of sun farm.

Lincolnshire really does have the ability to lead the way when it comes to ‘farming’ power; “The Government’s Energy White Paper requires the East Midlands to source 10% of all its power from renewables in 2010, 20% (or 3,610MWe) in 2020.” says expert Rebecca Jones.

The company’s Sleaford based Renewable Energy Project (REP) was green-lighted in

November 2008. Construction is likely to begin in Spring and could be operating as early as 2013. An identical plant has also been planned on the former British Sugar Works plant in Brigg, with planning refused in April 2010 and an appeal currently being processed.

In each case, the company’s Biomass plants will pay local farmers £6m for their waste straw, and will create 40MWe at each plant — half of the total power required for the East Midlands’ renewables target. This would represent a saving of over 250,000 tonnes of Co2 annually, and power 130,000 homes — 65,000 homes per site. In addition, the waste ash can be recycled as (sterilised) fertiliser, and 80 jobs in total will created at each site; 30 each in the plants’ direct operation and 50 each at the farms supplying the plants.

Dr Andrew Toft, pictured above, is heading up the project and hopes that Eco2 will soon be providing farmers with a new market for their waste whilst providing clean, compromise-free energy, burning biomass material to produce pressurised steam which then spins a turbine.

Also generating clean energy in Lincolnshire is the Spalding Energy Project. Whilst burning gas, and therefore not a renewable energy project per se, the plant has been designed with environmental considerations in mind.

The plant has been operating since 2004 and currently produces 860MWe — the equivalent of powering 1,000,000 homes. However, as Pride goes to press, consent has just been given for the Spalding Energy Expansion project to go forward, which will see the site almost double in size, and more than double in output, producing an additional 900MWe.

Whilst the facility burns natural gas — a fossil fuel resource — the plant produces power in two ways. A gas turbine is used to drive one generator, whilst residual heat is used to power a heat recovery system to drive a second generator. The system produces twice the electricity, and produces 50% less CO2, making it a much greener option than conventional systems.

Whilst Lincolnshire is leading the way with industrial scale power production, homeowners needn’t be left out either.

Companies like Stow-based FreeWatt — which has recently fitted Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue, Sleaford’s St Deny’s Church and Lincoln’s Sparkhouse Studios with PhotoVoltaic (solar) panels — is offering consumers opportunities for what’s known as Microgeneration.

William Simpson works for another company, EvaEnergy, which supplies wind turbines for domestic homes, farms and businesses, with smaller units from as little as £13,000 — from which consumers on average recoup the cost over a period of 6-11 years.

“Wind power isn’t consistent.”says William. “Obstables, height of the property and continuity of windflow all affect supply, but on the right site, microgeneration could be the way forward.”

The theory is that in times of plentiful production, consumers with small-scale generation equipment can feed excess energy back into the national grid. Excess power is ‘sold back’ to the grid and offsets the cost of equipment.

Conversely, when their equipment isn’t generating sufficient power, consumers are still connected to the national grid.

Microgeneration isn’t necessarily an immediate solution to the energy crisis — that is, the fact that fossil fuels are in finite supply and don’t provide clean energy.

However, with the ideal terrain and enterprising companies willing to invest, it’s clear Lincolnshire — particular our farmers — have a new role to play in energy production. In the future, Lincolnshire could be considered the county that powers the country, as well as the county that feeds it.