Sustainable Hockerton (SHOCK),  a group of residents from the village of Hockerton, are celebrating the planning approval for the installation of a 225kW wind turbine within parish. 

Background Information

Wind turbine

Since July 2006 residents of the parish of Hockerton have been meeting regularly to discuss becoming a zero carbon village.  

The key objective of SHOCK is to try to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide production. A key first step was to develop a proposal to erect a community owned wind turbine, to generate clean electricity and use any profits to promote other objectives.

Location 

Care was taken to ensure that any area being considered was at least 500m from any property (well in excess of Government guidelines). A site about 1km from the next nearest village and sympathetically sited away from the neighbouring parish boundary was agreed as the location for the wind turbine.

Local support  

A vote was conducted in February 2007 with about a quarter of the village residents responding of which 28 supported the idea and four were against. The majority of those in favour were also interested in financially investing in the wind turbine. It was therefore agreed to develop the proposal further towards a full planning application.

Power Generation 

The objective of the wind turbine is to generate the equivalent amount of clean electricity that the homes use in the Hockerton parish. 

• Do you want to cut your energy bills?
• Would you like a more energy-efficient home?
• How can your home achieve a better Environmental Performance Certificate?
• Do you want a greener life at little extra cost of effort?

Saving energy in the home is a book written by Nick White in association with HHP. Nick has been a member of HHP since the start of the construction of the homes in 1996. He contributed to the self-build and has led the development and marketing of the Project’s on site ‘eco-business’ since 1998. Now with this book, Nick offers you straightforward and achievable strategies for reducing your energy bills and living a more environmentally aware life. With lots of useful tools to assess your energy and carbon use, Saving energy in the home gives practical advice on everything from heating homes to managing those teenage consumers.

In February, Laurence Llewelyn Bowen visited the Hockerton Housing Project  to find out more about Eco homes and sustainable living. This was for a current series called Laurence Llewelyn Bowen’s History of Home , charting the changing relationship and attitudes towards our homes. The 9th out of 10 programmes, The Eco House , uses Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) as a case study. This will be broadcast on Thursday 3 April 2008 15:45-16:00 (Radio 4 FM).

Laurence interviewed both Nick White and Simon Tilley, both residents of HHP, to try and find out more about the emergence of eco housing, discover some of the misconceptions, and try to understand where it maybe leading to, for instance zero carbon homes. In Laurence’s typical flamboyant style, the interviews were very spontaneous, tangential and with distinct velvety undertones!

The Hockerton Housing Project recently collaborated with the BBC Programme Blue Peter, for a special edition, ‘Green Peter’ .

On Tuesday 29th May , Blue Peter became Green Peter to look at the changes that are happening to the planet and the ways the Green Peter audience can help limit the effects of climate change.

“Green Peter won’t be a list of scare stories, the purpose will be to focus on what is being done, what can be done, what needs to be done to protect the world the Blue Peter audience will inherit.” (Richard Mason, Blue Peter Editor).

….This is where the Hockerton Housing Project comes in, as explained by Tim Fransham (Programme Director)….”Hockerton will play a pivotal role in the programme, showing our viewers a different way of living, through younger residents living in a carbon neutral environment. This will involve taking our presenter around their home and the hockerton site, giving us the low down on living in an different kind of home. Our hope is that the programme will inspire our viewers to take action against environmentally damaging activities and become more green”.

Francesca & Naomi (young residents of HHP) act as project guides showing Blue Peter presenter, Gethin Jones, many different aspects of Hockerton Housing Project; how they reduce their environmental impact, as well as how much fun it is to live here.

The programme is part animation, part archive, part child-led films, set in the year 3007 from a space ship overlooking earth.

Yvette Cooper MP, Minister for Housing and Planning, visited Hockerton Housing Project today to find out more about the issues associated with achieving zero carbon housing.

During the whistle-stop 50 minute visit, Nick White (Director & Project resident) gave the Minister and an accompanying Guardian journalist a quick tour of his house and explained how they worked, what was successful and what lessons had been learnt over the last 9 years.

Summary of points made to Minister

What can be achieved?

• Ultra low energy homes (25% energy use compared to homes built to current building regulations) by primarily focusing on reducing space heating
• Ultra low energy homes need not cost any more to build – BUT need to remove complex spaced heating systems and use savings to invest in insulation & glazing
• Increase in thermal comfort
• Long term energy cost savings (approx. £1000/annum for HHP homes versus average UK home)
• Future proofing householders against rising energy/water costs
• Zero carbon homes …BUT currently at a cost due to expensive renewables.

Barriers

• Perceived premium costs for environmental building
• Attitudes towards keeping complex space heating
• Love affair with high technology & gizmos!
• Micro-Renewables currently expensive and too much emphasis on payback rather than return on investment.

Key Lessons

• Get the structure/basics right early on in design
• Energy conservation first, second & third…then generation
• Complex heating systems are very poor value for money compared to use of high levels of insulation as part of construction
• Technology invariably disappoints in terms of performance and durability
• Energy generation costs a premium
• Micro-wind very site sensitive and unlikely to perform in urban environments
• Design should limit on-costs & maintenance
• Keep it simple ….easier/cheaper and less wasteful.