Monitoring and reviewing
The importance of monitoring
Both PPS22: Renewable Energy (paragraph 3) and the PPS1 Supplement: Planning and Climate Change (paragraphs 34-37) expect monitoring to be undertaken to ensure the successful implementation of renewable energy and carbon reduction targets and policies.
Monitoring at the regional and local level is essential to review progress towards meeting the regional (and national) renewable energy targets. The Government is committed to a legally binding target of securing 15 per cent of our energy requirements from renewables by 2020, and non-binding targets have also been set by the European Commission, as follows: 4 per cent in 2011/12, 5.4 per cent in 2013/14, 7.5per cent in 2015/16 and 10.2 per cent in 2017/18. There is therefore mounting pressure on all tiers of government to facilitate and monitor the delivery of renewable energy projects on the ground.
Regional and local authorities are also required (as part of the National Core Output Indicators (NCOIs)) to report on the amount of renewable energy generation by installed capacity and type in their annual monitoring reports (AMR).
Where monitoring suggests that the level of renewable energy deployment is not in line with the agreed targets or policy objectives, corrective action can be taken. Monitoring therefore provides you with vital feedback on the effectiveness of policy by checking:
- how policies are being applied;
- how successful they have been in achieving their objectives (i.e. meeting the renewable energy targets); and
- how they can be improved.
The toolkit won’t necessary tell you exactly how to monitor the effectiveness of a specific policy – the detail of the monitoring activity will depend on the exact wording you have developed for your policy. This section describes the obligations on you as a Local Authority to monitor the sustainable energy and climate change adaptation activity in your area. You will need to liaise closely with your Development Management colleagues to ensure that sufficient information is being captured to demonstrate the effectiveness of your policy. This may also involve liaising with external parties, such as developers, to understand policy impact on issues such as viability. Some general guidance is provided in the Reviewing policies and targets section.
Overview of contents
This toolkit will provide you with guidance on:
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Current renewable energy monitoring activity at:
- How you, as a local authority, should capture and analyse data on renewable energy projects
- How policies and targets should be reviewed
