EnergyScapes and Ecosystem Services
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Centre for Environmental Policy
Abstract
Renewable energy has recently received considerable media and public attention because of perceived benefits to the environment, including climate change, the potential to replace imported sources of energy, the possible impact on food production, and aesthetic issues related to the location of wind turbines. Potential sources of land-based renewable energy include bioenergy from forests, arable crops, energy crops and waste, solar heating and electricity, hydroelectricity, ground-source heat, and wind-energy. The spatial organisation of such energy sources, together with energy demand, energy infrastructure and other energy-sources within a particular landscape can be termed the 'EnergyScape'. 'Ecosystem Services' is a collective term to describe the various services we obtain from land and its associated ecosystems. They include the provision of food, fibre and fuel, the regulation of nutrients, water supply and water quality, the creation of opportunities for recreation and education, the maintenance of biodiversity, and the space to build and maintain our supporting infrastructure. The development and use of land-based renewable energy resources will have both negative and positive impacts on these services. Positive aspects may include increased biodiversity from biomass crops; negative aspects may include reduced river flows and increased road transport of biomass. This one-year research project aims to determine, through a pilot study, how a systematic understanding of the 'EnergyScape' and 'Ecosystem Services' could help guide the deployment of land-based renewables. For the pilot study we have selected Marston Vale in Bedfordshire which is a sub-catchment of the Great Ouse river, and contains a mix of agricultural, forestry and urban land. It is the site of a community forest and there is local interest in renewable energy. Working with national and local stakeholder groups, the project will identify the key sources of renewable energy within the study area and the key ecosystem services likely to be affected by the development of land-based renewables. Using spatial data, geographical information systems and existing models, the project will then develop a spatial description of the EnergyScape and the key ecosystem services for the study area. Because some models are weaker than others, we will use a 'Plug and Play' framework, as used in computing, so that new and improved models can be introduced as they become available. Similarly, the approach will allow new data sources to be included as they become available. Starting from the base-line description, we will then investigate the benefits and losses associated with the deployment of different combinations of land based renewables. Because renewable energy sources have different spatial and temporal characteristics relative to the demand for energy, the outputs will not be simply additive. Similarly, there will be complex interactions between energy generation and different ecosystem services, and amongst the ecosystem services. Some interactions will be antagonistic (e.g. solar power v demand for heating; food v biofuel) whereas others may be complementary (e.g. sharing of facilities; biofuel v biodiversity). By using appropriate visualisation tools, we hope that the key interactions can be explained to stakeholder groups, who can then use the information to inform future decisions. We intend that the approach developed in this research, which will be limited to the renewables and ecosystems of a specific area, can be applied to other regions and at a national spatial scale in future research projects. To validate the academic efficacy of our approach, we will submit papers for peer review, seeking to get them published in high-impact scientific journals.
Organisations
Publications
Howard D
(2013)
Energyscapes: Linking the energy system and ecosystem services in real landscapes
in Biomass and Bioenergy
Burgess P
(2012)
A framework for reviewing the trade-offs between, renewable energy, food, feed and wood production at a local level
in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Description | This was a collaborative award, with the key objectives being at the consortium level rather than associated with this individual component project. The consortium set out to (i) develop means of modelling the spatial interactions between energy demand and energy generation potential, (ii) extend those techniques to model the impact on ecosystem services and then (iii) demonstrate the developed techniques in a limited case study. All these objectives were achieved. This individual project aimed to contribute expertise to elements (i) and (iii) of the overall objectives, and was successful in that regard, |
Exploitation Route | The modelling techniques and being further refined through a series of PhD studies and much of the collaboration developed in the project has been maintained.. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Energy Environment Government Democracy and Justice Transport |
Description | The findings have not been used directly, although experience the PI developed during the projects has fed into advice given to a number of energy companies. We are currently discussing a follow-up project to apply some of the modelling techniques to improve the sustainability of new initiatives in marginal land agriculture, but this has yet to be confirmed. |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy,Environment |
Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
Description | EnergyScapes Teaching |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Results from the project have fed into MSc Teaching at both Imperial College London and Leeds |
Description | EPSRC Standard Research |
Amount | £1,136,810 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/N001745/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2015 |
End | 09/2018 |
Description | Teaching |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Lectures conveyed much of what had been achieved by the project and stimulated discussion Increased interest in related PhD projects |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |