Zero Emission Project

It's time to give a more defined shape to Zero Emission Workspace and Zero Emission Xspace. So far the analysis has been pretty much focused on the technical aspects of the projects, such as the estimate of the electricity consumption of the proposed buildings and some possible solutions to realize them. We have gone through calculations about the energy generated by different kinds of micro-generation systems, the main concepts of Passive House design and a rough investment cost estimate.

What we still need to define in details is how a zero carbon building like the one previously described can contribute to a urban regeneration plan such as the Tolworth project. In particular, we need to clearly describe how the main stakeholders, i.e.:

• local communities
• local businesses
• local authorities

can benefit from the output of this project.

Although the targets will be primarily set for the local interests of Tolworth, the project should possibly bring social and economic benefits to a wider area, such as the Royal Borough of Kingston, South West London or even the whole South East England. The actual scope of the project and its subsequent outcome will depend on the number of partners that will take part in the project and the implementation details which will be set during the consultation and planning phase with all the stakeholders.

Since there is no doubt that the local community, local businesses and local authorities will be among the main beneficiaries of the project deliverables, we now have to clearly define what these benefits will possibly be.

Even though I am going to consider Tolworth as the area of development, all the points that follow can be applied to any area with similar characteristics and community and business regeneration needs.

The analysis is regarding all the services, events and business opportunities that can be provided by Zero Emission Xspace, which is one of the zero carbon projects proposed for the Tolworth Regeneration Strategy.

Figure 1 - How the local community will benefit from Zero Emission Xspace

The diagram in figure 1 shows some of the possible benefits to the local residents:

• An outdoor area dedicated for a weekly local market, which will provide market stall spaces for selected retailers; the market will be focused on organic, low carbon and sustainable products, such as food, clothing, products for babies and kids, art and craft products, body products, home and garden tools and appliances; on market days, indoor and outdoor space could be reserved for product related activities, such as well-being sessions, grow-your-own sessions, natural & healthy cooking classes, art and craft classes, birthday parties and various events for kids;
• A permanent indoor area hosting a high-tech library: the area will feature a coffee and sandwich bar serving organic and sustainable food, a separate quiet area for a working/reading room, a multimedia room with a number of public accessible laptops, an HDTV screen and a projector; electric sockets for customers' personal laptops and wifi coverage for registered users will be provided across the whole library area;
• A small fleet of electric cars (3-4 vehicles) to be used by the local residents via car sharing schemes; an electric car filling station will provide charging facilities for the on-site electric vehicles as well as for other guest privately owned electric cars belonging to registered users; both the on-site vehicles and the electric filling station will boost the introduction of zero carbon electric vehicles as well as increase the penetration level of car sharing schemes;
• Outdoor and indoor areas for special business and community events, primarily focused on exhibitions, conference and community meetings concerning low carbon activities, home quality improvement and environmental issues;
• Indoor space for a community learning and practice centre; this space will host a number of different art and cultural activities, such as visual art, music and dance classes, rehearsals and practice sessions, primarily focused on young people (5-25) in order to give to the area the necessary cultural boost to promote it as a learning centre and a stimulating and rewarding place to live;
• Open days for schools and individuals to visit the centre and appreciate the advantages of renewable energy, building super-insulation and Passive House technologies implemented during the construction of a zero carbon building; this will be a great and unique opportunity for the local schools and communities to learn how a more sustainable way of living is possible and to educate and inspire the public on the measures to take to improve the quality and efficiency of their homes.

It is interesting to realize that many of the advantages for the local community can effectively benefit local businesses as well.

Figure 2 - How the local businesses will benefit from Zero Emission Xspace

The diagram in figure 2 describes the possible advantages for the local business environment by the proposed zero carbon community and business centre:

• The provision of grants for local businesses proposing innovative low carbon initiatives; the on-site electricity generation system proposed for Zero Emission Workspace and  Xspace has been sized to cover in full the annual internal electricity consumption as well as generate an amount of surplus electricity to be sold to the electric grid; although part of the revenue generated by this sale will be reinvested and used for the operation and maintenance of the building, another part will be set aside to be distributed among the local businesses which will propose and realize projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions;
• Local businesses can benefits from the hi-tech library and the conference and meeting room facilities for corporate and marketing events concerning low carbon initiatives;
• Business travel plans can include the scheduled use of the fleet of electric vehicles provided by the zero carbon car park; to make it possible for both individuals and companies to book the cars, part of the fleet will be allocated for exclusive business use while the other part will be available for members of the local community;
• Market spaces for organic, sustainable and low carbon retailers; priority over the allocation of market spaces will be given to local businesses; on market days, retailers could also use indoor and outdoor space reserved for product related activities, such as well-being sessions, natural & healthy cooking classes, art and craft classes, birthday and other events for children;
• Businesses involved in the low carbon economy and home improvement market could take advantage of the open days to demonstrate their products and technologies to visitors; ideally the open days will be an opportunity for the low carbon businesses to meet people and showcase some of the most advanced technologies that can be applied by other businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint; schools will be regularly involved in this learning activity by planning designated visits that will suit their educational needs at best;
• In collaboration with professional service providers, advice sessions for businesses could be scheduled in order to give support to local businesses willing to implement carbon reduction plans.

How will the local authorities benefit from supporting and sponsoring a project like this?

Figure 3 - How the local authorities will benefit from Zero Emission Xspace

Figure 3 gives some good reasons for local authorities and in particular the Royal Borough of Kingston to endorse Zero Emission Project:

• The project is specifically focused on the concrete realization of a zero carbon building which will be one of the central means for the overall regeneration of Tolworth; in fact, being one of the very few existing examples of social and community Passive House building in the world, it will attract huge interest from many players across the worldwide low carbon economy, many visitors from outside the borough (and certainly even from outside England) and it will boost the local economy up to levels never seen before;
• The project will speed up and secure the delivery of the Tolworth Regeneration Project by driving the business regeneration of the area, increasing the quality of community life and promoting low carbon initiatives;
• The quality of community life will be tremendously increased by all the benefits described above; also, an increased number of social opportunities, community spaces and events will help reduce the level of criminal offences by reducing unemployment, promoting inclusive social initiatives for young people, offering learning opportunities for schools and generally increasing the vitality of community life in the area;
• Tolworth will establish itself as a renowned green learning town and a stimulating and rewarding place to live and visit;
• Kingston-upon-Thames will establish itself as a green borough, with a sustainable environment and economy, by hosting one of the very few examples of social zero carbon Passive House building in the world;
• A well established low carbon reputation will attract the interest of investors from within and possibly outside the UK, bringing further stimulus to a growing local economy;
• In particular, the project will bring financial benefits from start: the plan is for Zero Emission Project, the Royal Borough of Kingston and strategic business partners to secure European Union grants, through one of the available UK funding channel, such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) via the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA); further European funding opportunities could be sought through the European Intelligent Energy programme aimed at funding actions to improve the way we generate and use electricity.

Although part of the investment costs will be covered with grants from the European Union and the various partners will probably provide support by giving "in kind" contributions of staff time, it is likely that equity investments and/or loans will be required particularly for the construction phase.

For this reason is crucial to demonstrate that the output of the project can turn out to be a profitable business.

Figure 4 - Possible sources of income for Zero Emission Xspace

The diagram in figure 4 shows how Zero Emission Xspace can generate streams of income:

• All the services, such as the use of the high-tech library and the space for social and community events will be available for the community members with the payment of affordable fees; community members that wish to be registered with the centre will pay a discounted annual membership fee; community members that wish to became project stakeholders (for example buying shares of a community co-operative that will contribute to the funding and will subsequently have partial ownership of the project) will gain total free access to the services provided by the zero carbon community centre;
• All the retailers and businesses will have to pay a fee to rent a space in the local low carbon market; any retailer willing to hire some indoor space for market related activities such as marketing initiatives or training classes will pay a fee;
• The owners of the cafeteria will pay a monthly rent;
• The electric vehicle sharing scheme will bring another source of income; in particular local businesses and members of the local community will normally pay a hourly fee to use the electric cars, with the benefits of no petrol costs, free parking across London and no congestion charge fees; individuals and businesses that have contributed to the initial investments, for example by buying shares of a community co-operative, will benefit from special discounted rates;
• The access to the centre on public open days could follow the same rules described for the library services, in which case an affordable fee scheme applies; open days events can be organized by businesses with marketing purposes, in which case a fee scheme applies;
• If the reputation of the zero carbon site grows to the extent of the one acquired by the BRE Innovation Park in Watford, some professional service providers operating in the low carbon economy, renewable energy technology and energy efficiency improvement could be willing to pay a fee to use some of the premises to sell their services to local businesses;
• One floor of the building (most likely the top floor) could be reserved for office use; three or four small offices could be rented to local businesses generating a source of income;
• The renewable energy electricity generators, i.e. solar panels and wind turbines, are sized so that they will generate more electricity than the total annual consumption of the building; that means that surplus electricity will be sold to the electric grid and this sale will generate an income; part of this income will be set aside to be distributed to local businesses in the form of grants as previously described;
• Finally, the zero carbon centre will benefits from its own success: establishing the area as a renowned centre of excellence in terms of low carbon emissions and advanced construction technologies applied to social and community spaces, it will attract investment opportunities and the subsequent establishment of new businesses, which will eventually become potential customers.

The actual amount of each source of income will be part of a careful financial and market analysis phase which will be undertaken in a later stage of the project.

Nonetheless, the conclusion is clear: there is plenty of opportunities for the main stakeholders coming from the successful implementation of this zero carbon project; although a careful planning phase is certainly required, the benefits to the local businesses and the local community will be undoubtedly tremendous.