What are feasibility and innovation studies?
We are always on the lookout for different ways to increase community-owned energy generation, or improve our understanding, the scale and the impact of our work.
Where appropriate we will undertake a feasibility study – this basically means investigating whether or not an idea will work, and if it does whether or not it might make financial sense at a scale that can make an impact for MK. This includes, for example, the work we did to explore the opportunity for hydropower along the River Ouse in our area.
Our highlights
We continue to explore the feasibility of building solar farms on suitable local sites. Using the latest available generation and storage technology, we are very close to being able to build viable farms. We are grateful to the Rural Community Energy Fund for their support.
The object of the study was to evaluate the potential for hydropower generation at a
number of mill and weir sites along the River Great Ouse watercourse from Stony Stratford and Wolverton to Newport Pagnell.
Alongside our project partners that included the Environment Agency, we investigated several sites to conduct feasibility checks covering aspects such as general access/ ownership, water controls, flow rates and grid availability. After extensive review, we found that the scheme would be beneficial to the community in providing educational opportunities and a positive impact on CO2 levels. However, given the high licensing, planning, construction and grid connection costs compared to disproportionate community energy generation, social benefits, and annual revenue it would create, the project overall was found not to be financially viable.
We have led the feasibility study into incorporating a renewable energy microgrid for the 100 home Agora regeneration as part of the Love Wolverton project (with the developers Town).
Through our Home Energy MK programme we’ve created a map to show a snapshot of the results from over 65 homes in Milton Keynes that have had a heat loss assessment carried out by our partners at Build Test Solutions. Each assessment has provided the homeowner with an individually tailored report that details the heat loss and humidity levels that were measured in their home as a basis for understanding the scale of retrofit measures required to become ‘heat pump ready’.
Our map allows us to see the high level results from various property types across the city with red, amber, green colour coding to indicate their heat loss level and demonstrates that even solid wall Victorian Homes can successfully reduce their heat loss and become ‘heat-pump ready’.
We recognise that even though every home is different, a house that is similar to yours may be made from the same building materials and share some of the challenges that you have in your home.
With this in mind, alongside our partners at Debouge Tech, we developed the Whole House Planner as an innovative online tool to help Milton Keynes homeowners find a property like theirs that has had a professional Whole House Plan conducted, to help them see the potential opportunities for their house and the steps required to reach specific retrofit targets.
Why do a feasibility & innovation study with us?
Our feasibility studies are often about new innovation, for example the plans that have been developed with Town who are leading the regeneration of the Agora site in Wolverton. With them, we succeeded in achieving planning permission that incorporates a renewable energy led microgrid in the development. We look forward to its implementation.
If you have a potential community energy project that you’d like our help to explore, please get in touch.
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