ARTICLE / MAKALE opinion of some developers Transco has been obstructive. in contrast the market development arm of Transco has provided extensive support for cogeneration schemes. This includes providing over _1 million (EURO 1 .56 m) of grants for feasibility studies on cogeneration and support for the UK's Combined Heat and Power Association. This support reinforces the anticipation that Transco will react positively to developers who need a connection because they are proposing to buy large volumes of gas. Hence the perverse situation which has existed has caused anger and frustration among many developers. While these problems have not normally caused projects to fail - they represent an unnecessary additional drain on the time, energy and budgets of cogeneration developers. As developers already have numerous administrative problems to overcome these gas connection issues are particularly hard felt -, as they should be insignificant and easy to overcome. Export of power to the gri d The RECs have an obligation to make their network available to third parties for demand and generation connection, they also have an obligation to buy electricity from the cheapest overall source. As such they will always offer a connection and should offer to buy the electricity, however, the method by which they price the grid connection and calculate the value of electricity is a significant cause of disputes. Currently the price paid for embedded generation derived electricity is based on the pool price in England and Wales and the marginal price of electricity in Scotland. A margin can be added to this to reflect the benefit of the embedded generation to the network but this rarely leads to a significant increase in the price. The one area where embedded cogeneration generators do tend to receive some credit is Triad charge avoidance. Triads being the three half hour periods of maximum demand used to calculate the capacity charge element of the charges levied on the PES tor use of the Transmission System. The electricity can of course be sold to any other supplier or direct to a user, there is currently little experience of the later due to the contractual complications and associated risks. Where electricity is supplied direct to an end user there will be requirement to hold a supply licence which has an associated cost and overhead. There would also be a requirement to pay DUoS charges for the use of the network. in some case it may be more economic to run private wires between the generator and the user to avoid DUoS charges. Case study: Private wire in 1994, Arjo Wiggins Fine Papers Ltd installed a Gas turbine cogeneration plant at their Buckland Mili plant which supplied all the site's heat and electricity demand. The plant had a peak electricity demand of 3.5 MWe, the cogeneration scheme had a peak rating of 9.4 MWe with the surplus electricity being sold to local customers, particularly Dover Harbour Board. The supply to Dover Harbour is via a dedicated 1 1 kV cable laid through the harbour for the purpose. The project was a collaborative venture with Scottish and Southern Electric. The investment cost in 1995 prices was approximately EURO 11 millions for the entire project including the private cable.The payback period was estimated to be 5.4 years. ■ Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) A PPA will be required if the generator does not seli his power to the pool this agreement will be between the generator and the REC, second tier supplier. Pooled generators seli their power through the pool and will have to comply with pool trading rules. Where electricity is sold direct to a consumer Distribution Use of System charges will be charged. This situation is currently under review as part of the review of the Electricity Trading Arrangements. PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES Planning Applications to build a cogeneration system will normally involve an application for planning permission to erect a new building, to modify or extend an existing building or to change the use of land. Minor extensions within an existing development may be viewed as 'permitted development' and further planning permission may not be needed. The planning system is designed to regulate the development and use of land in the public interest. The planning system has to protect the environment while permitting development. For cogeneration the majority of planning issues are dealt with by Local Authorities, usually the District Council, who COGENERATION WORLD & Reneable Energy LlL
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