Charity Insights

My fourth and final week working with Cornwall Wildlife Trust is drawing to a close. Another week of good progress and I have just about completed all of the work for the project. I‘ve not yet finished a write-up of all of the work I’ve done, to present to the Trust, so I’ve volunteered to continue working on the report and submit it to the Trust once it’s complete.

Two more of the installation quotes were delivered this week, brining the total up to three from the four consultations, but one is still yet to arrive. I set about going through the details of each, as although the same items were discussed at each consultation the proposals from each company are different. The assumptions and approximations made by each consultant are different, and so too are the details of what is included in each quote, and what is not. Because of this care needs to be taken when comparing between them to draw conclusions.

The key themes of my work this week were the financial aspects off an installation. With more quotes delivered I could begin to compare the various estimated costs, and with their estimates of annual energy requirements I could repeat earlier calculations to offer a range of figures; using the variation to create a band within which the actual values will lie. The progression of the study from background and motivation; through potential renewable installations; then fuel options, and also fuel production; to finish with a cost-benefit analysis of the findings has fitted well with a short summer internship.

It’s been a highly interesting experience, to investigate the feasibility of renewable energy installations, and I have certainly gained a lot of knowledge regarding the industry, and some experience of working with the people involved. I would highly recommend the scheme, and Cornwall Wildlife Trust, to future students and I’m glad that I have had the opportunity to undertake this project.

Read Final week with CWT in full

Week three at the Trust completed and I’m entering the latter stages of the project. This week my focus was directed towards investigating the Trust’s potential to produce their own biomass wood fuel to almost eliminate heating expenses entirely.

I began Monday morning generally researching this topic to get an overview of the process and identify all aspect that would require consideration. In the afternoon I accompanied one of the team on a visit to two of the Trust’s nature reserves to get some idea of what is there and where it is.

I spent Tuesday morning investigating any legal requirements of producing your own wood fuel, and what the government requires for this to still be eligible for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments. The assessment from the first installation consultation had come in with predictions of annual heat demand so I used this to calculate estimates of the annual quantity of wood fuel required. I considered soft and hardwood tree species, in various moisture content scenarios, and produced a spreadsheet to allow estimates to be calculated quickly for comparison, once the remaining three assessments are in.

On Wednesday I spent the morning documenting the work from Monday and Tuesday. I also had a consultation with a boiler replacement service for a quote to replace the current boiler in one of the buildings at the site, to include this in the analysis. This work needs to be performed but a biomass installation for the whole site would eliminate this need. In the afternoon I calculated estimates of the current greenhouse gas emissions and the potential emissions for various biomass installation scenarios. To do this I again used the estimate of annual heating demand provided by the renewable installation company, and so again produced a spreadsheet to quickly do this when I receive the other assessments.

 On Thursday I researched the seasoning process required to dry felled trees before they can be burnt as wood fuel. I continued to work on my report, documenting my work, and also investigated the potential for any scrap/resale value in the equipment currently installed on-site, which would be replaced; looking at the quantity and potential value of radiators, water heaters and hot water cylinders.

Friday was spent just working on my report: adding additional information, where necessary; editing sections; checking references and formatting the document.

The project progressed well again in my third week but there’s still a lot to do before I finish! Next week will involve scrutinising the installation assessments to summarise the results and draw conclusions so that I can compile recommendations for the Trust.

Read Penultimate week with CWT in full

The start of my second week with Cornwall Wildlife Trust and I picked straight up from where I had left the project on Friday afternoon, following the first consultation with a renewable installation consultant. The consultation raised questions from both sides and I began to find the answers to the consultant’s and relay them to him. I got access to recent electricity and fuel invoices for the various buildings at the reserve, where I am based. With the recent invoices I began to log and manipulate the energy data to provide information requested by the consultant, and to try and determine the thermal energy demands of the site; attempting to identify what portion of electrical demand was used for space heating.

Tuesday, and I continued analysing the data I had been working on the day before. I looked in more detail at the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive scheme and developed a spreadsheet to quickly calculate the expected returns for various installation and operation scenarios. The intention is to optimise the chosen renewable installation to maximise payments to the Trust for operating the system. I also researched the likely maintenance requirements for an installation and acquired quotes for annual servicing to include this in costing the project.

The second, of four, renewable installation consultations was arranged for Wednesday morning. It was interesting to hear other ideas and discuss the project with another specialist, with different opinions. Questions were again raised which I set about answering. I spent the afternoon looking again at the UK energy statistics I had gathered last week. I attempted to develop some idea of expected future trends in energy markets so as to include some information on likely future electricity and fuel prices.

The first two consultations had been really useful and having questions ready to ask, and discuss, with the consultants had been a big part of this. I had another consultation arranged for Thursday, and the final one on Friday afternoon, so I tried to ensure that I thought of everything I would like to ask over the next couple of days. Between consultations I began to compile the report that will document everything I do on the project and be the final deliverable at the end of the four weeks. I summarised some of the research I had performed in the previous week to provide a quick background on the motivation for the project.

The second week over, and halfway through the project. Another productive week, the project is progressing well and I feel well placed to continue working on it next week.

Read Second week with CWT in full