RSS Policy ENV5
Print this pageWhat are the main requirements?:
- Energy efficient design and use of combined heat and power (CHP) (A)
- Deliver large grid-connected renewable energy installations according to regional targets (B.1.)
- Secure use of decentralised and renewable or low carbon energy in new developments (B.3.)
Monitoring progress against the targets is also required.
This toolkit focuses on Policy ENV5B.3, which states the requirement for renewable and low carbon energy in new developments:
"Promoting and securing greater use of decentralised and renewable or low-carbon energy in new development, including through Development Plan Documents setting ambitious but viable proportions of the energy supply for new development to be required to come from such sources. In advance of local targets being set in DPDs, new developments of more than 10 dwellings or 1000m2 of non-residential floorspace should secure at least 10% of their energy from decentralised and renewable or low-carbon sources, unless, having regard to the type of development involved and its design, this is not feasible or viable."
Further explanation of what this policy means for local authorities in practice is set out in the local section.
ENV5 is largely about tackling climate change, but it also serves to meet the Government’s need to ensure that our energy supplies remain secure i.e. through more decentralised and local supplies of energy.
ENV5B3 is the Region’s strategic policy approach based on the climate change supplement to PPS1 that expects a proportion of the energy supply of new development to be secured from decentralised and renewable or low-carbon energy sources. Since progress on Core Strategies meant that there was likely to be a policy void on the subject, ENV5B specified a minimum target of 10% of the energy supply of a building over 1000m2 or ten dwellings to come from decentralised and renewable or low-carbon energy sources.
Why is ENV5 proving difficult to implement?
There are a number of areas where Policy ENV5 is proving difficult to implement. These are best expressed as frequently asked questions that have been received from local authority officers.
Can developers more effectively reduce carbon through energy efficiency measures rather than renewables? If so, why ask for 10% more?
Yes, in some circumstances this can be the case. Some buildings without renewable energy can be more energy efficient that other buildings. However, this misses the point that the requirement to have a more decentralised approach to renewable energy is not only about reducing carbon emissions. The UK Renewable Energy strategy stresses the contribution that such sources of energy make to the long term security of our energy supply. To that end, Policy ENV5B should be seen as a supplementary requirement to Policy ENV5A (improving the energy efficiency of development).
How can a developer predict the energy use of a building and set a baseline against which the 10% can be calculated?
The Renewable Energy Toolkit gives detailed guidance as to how this can be achieved. The message to give developers at an early stage is that they should consider how they can go about meetings the requirements at an early stage of the design. There is a considerable amount of guidance out there which the Toolkit helps steer you through. Ultimately because the 10% is a minimum it is less about delivering the precise target and more about encouraging developers to consider decentralised and renewable or low carbon energy and get the debate going.
Doesn’t the Policy duplicate Building Regulations? And won’t it be superseded by the requirements of the Code for Sustainable Homes?
At the same time as RSS was being prepared the Government was making changes to the Building Regulations. These combined with the Code For Sustainable Homes requirements have confused the issue. The table below sets out the roles and relevance of each requirement. It shows that as Building Regulations develop and the Code for Sustainable Homes is more widely applied, the need for Policy ENV5B.3 will reduce. At the moment public buildings are leading by example, hence the targets in RSS for Yorkshire Forward development.
