5. RENEWABLE AND LOW CARBON ENERGY OPTIONS 5.1 Introduction There is a wide range of large and small scale low or zero carbon technologies that can be considered to meet part or all of the development’s energy requirements. The delivery of decentralised energy needs to consider the current energy infrastructure and provision within the area to ensure the most financially sustainable approach is adopted. Within this section an assessment of current utility capacity has been provided. Following this an assessment of spatial capacity for decentralised energy generation technology has been undertaken to see whether each technology is effective for the development in the first instance. The large (macro) and small (micro) scale generation technology options that have been considered for the NS&OC site include: 5.1.1 Macro • Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and Combined Cooling Heat and Power (CCHP) • Gas Electrical Engine • Fuel Cells • Biomass Boilers • Wind Turbines • Anaerobic Digestion (AD) • Gasification • Pyrolysis 5.1.2 Micro • Solar Photovoltaics (PV) • Solar Thermal Collectors • Biomass boilers • Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) • Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) • Micro CHP • Micro Fuel Cells A detailed review of these technologies is provided in Appendix 5. The review covers the likely availability of each of the above technologies, the capacity of the technology to power the site, potential capital costs and a view as to the effectiveness of the technologies at NS&OC.
5.2 Current Energy Infrastructure A preliminary energy utility (and ICT) assessment has been undertaken for NS&OC which is presented in Appendix 6 of this report. In terms of electrical infrastructure, UK Power Networks (UKPN) has noted that there is currently 3MVA capacity within the local Sprowston Primary Substation that may be available to the initial growth of NS&OC. Further capacity would be made available in the strategic primary substation expansion planned at Hurricane Way, Norwich with connection to the NS&OC site coming from new 11kV electrical cables.
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