Historic cities and
green energy

Historic cities and green energy: How do you deliver wind and solar?

The sweeping spires of Oxford, the pinnacle towers of Cambridge: No one would or could break those historic city skylines with a wind turbine. But universities like Oxford and Cambridge own land and assets which are potential platforms for large-scale, green energy generation.

What are the options for wind and solar energy installations for these types of asset-rich institutions to support decarbonisation in heritage cities, and how can they be sensitively and practically delivered?

There are many obvious benefits to generating green electricity, not least reducing carbon footprint and meeting climate targets. For large institutions, it’s also an opportunity to reduce operational costs and secure more reliable, less volatile energy prices over the long term.

Having large portfolios of land and assets means there could also be a commercial opportunity.

“It might be more economic to look at a scheme that is slightly larger than needed to bring in economies of scale but also potentially to sell to another college or neighbour with similar requirements,” says Jamie Baxter, Associate Partner – Energy & Infrastructure.

Larger arrays of solar or wind farms make investment more commercially viable and can reduce the cost per unit of energy.

There is an opportunity for institutions like the colleges of Cambridge and Oxford Universities to collaborate and pool resources and assets to create bigger overall projects.

Key considerations for delivering wind and solar farms

But this is all immaterial if you can’t develop or install. A few solar panels on a historic building produces one set of challenges, but delivering green energy generation at scale is another.

“It’s not just getting through planning but putting together a well-thought-through application that involves subcontractors who can advise on things like ecological studies and landscape impact,” says Baxter.

Solar farms can be disguised behind hedges, but there are other practicalities and costs to consider. Critical is understanding the cost and feasibility of connecting the source of power generation to the grid or private wire connections to colleges.

“If your array is a long way from the grid, the route of cabling can make or break the viability of a smaller solar or wind project,” says Stephen Drury, Partner – Architecture & Building Consultancy.

It’s important to get robust feasibility work done early in the process and not underestimate the cost of cabling and connections.

“Location is also important, as the grid may already be at capacity in certain locations. Larger arrays tend to be located in areas where there is capacity to feed in renewable energy,” adds Drury.

Long-term maintenance of the installation and connections also needs to be considered as part of the process.

Land should be assessed for any potential environmental constraints, such as flood risk, so that plans can be drawn up for how these can be mitigated.

Around a city like Cambridge, which has a small airport, there are also airspace considerations. The movement of aircraft means height restrictions for wind turbines within a certain radius.

While solar is becoming more acceptable to the public, mainly because it can be hidden away, there are still concerns.

Community engagement and good communication are essential.

A common concern is farmland being taken up by solar arrays or wind farms, but these have been overstated.

Only 1% of land is currently used for solar farms, and to meet the Government’s targets for solar generation, it would only need an additional 0.6% land.

“For wind, it’s around 2% of land required to meet the Government’s target, but the ‘land take’ from wind farms is actually a very small portion of that, only 0.02%, and it can work alongside other farming uses such as grazing or growing crops,” says Baxter. For context, 2% of land is less than a fifth of the land used by landfill.

Local communities, understandably, may also be more accepting of large-scale projects if they get something back.

“The wind farm developers we work with focus on delivering community benefits as part of their schemes,” says Baxter. “Larger schemes may have specific community funds, and in some cases, there may be an opportunity for the community to invest.”

Deliverable green energy schemes

Wind and solar energy generation at scale isn’t unprecedented for a historic city like Cambridge, and technology is developing which helps.

While its East of England location favours solar rather than wind, and wind farms tend to attract more of a negative reaction, Cambridge does have two installations to the east and west of the city. Technological advances now mean certain wind turbines can operate at lower wind speeds.

And in the historic city centre, one of its iconic heritage buildings, King’s College Chapel, now has a series of solar panels installed.

“They have been carefully and sensitively designed so that they are tucked away behind the parapets and from certain positions you’d never know they were there,” says Drury. “And while it only generates approximately 3.5% of the college’s annual electricity needs, I think we’ve got to move forward and change attitudes about renewables generally.”

It’s important to approach sustainable energy projects in and around heritage cities with open eyes and careful planning.

Nonetheless, there is huge potential for institutions with assets based in these cities. As we move closer to meeting net-zero carbon targets, and look to further electrify sectors including heat and transport, the demand for green electricity is only going to rise.