November 2021 DRAFT Minutes EOM
BIGBY PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF AN EXTRAORDINARY MEETING HELD ON WENESDAY, 24th NOVEMBER 2021
CHAIRMAN – COUNCILLOR D. COWLING
PRESENT: Councillors:- D. Cowling, N. Francis, W. Pinney, C. Wilson
Also in attendance: -
Mrs. A. Hannath – Clerk to the Council
BUSINESS TO BE TRANSACTED
76 Notice convening the meeting.
Taken as read and approved
77 To Receive Apologies and Reasons for Absence
Cllr. B. Orr
Cllr. J. Pinney
78
a) To Record any Declarations of Interest by any member of the council in respect of the agenda items listed below. Members declaring interests should identify the Agenda Item and the type of interest being declared.
All Councillors declared a pecuniary interest in agenda item 4 (Minute 79)
Cllr. C. Wilson also declared a personal interest. (His daughter works for one of the companies being considered for the feasibility study.)
b) To Note any Dispensations given to any member of the council in respect of the Agenda Items listed below.
All Councillors were given a dispensation by the Clerk to discuss item 4.
79 BIGBY COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY ENERGY PROJECT
a) To receive feedback from the Councillor representation on the above, with particular reference to the feasibility study and the two possible candidates to undertake it on behalf of the group.
Councillors Cowling and Wilson advised that there have been several meetings of the Working Party, looking at the various issues that have arisen.
A grant has been offered in the sum of £39,456.00. Three companies have tendered for the feasibility study, ranging in price, excluding VAT, from £9,000.00 to £32,880.00.
A meeting took place on Friday, 19th November to receive presentations from two of the companies. The details of these presentation were shared and are as follows.
RPS presentation
a. Representatives from RPS: Henry Bonham, Alex Mozaffari and John Edinborough from RPS
b. The presentation was in the form of a discussion with the representatives responding to the questions posed
i. The timescale is achievable
ii. Experience includes working closely with network operators. Discussed time constraints, Northern Powergrid has a 90 day turnaround, however it is possible to put a strategy in place to meet time constraints of the feasibility deadline. To review existing site development rather than new surveys - Anthony to make existing documents available. Site visits to be made. They have experience with residential development using geo thermal although geothermal is not hot enough for power generation but works well for warming buildings etc. Hydrogen production: green hydrogen needs a lot of energy.
iii. They believe we would struggle to benefit from the carbon capture and hydrogen pipeline
iv. Examples of collaboration include Glasgow, York, Cardiff, Leeds and Nottingham Universities; the Coal Authority
v. What do we want from the project? Look at connection to the grid, the generation of power and the business case. To identify the benefits and constraints of each option. Community benefit could be leaseholder/share options, community facilities. Is the project limited to Bigby Parish?
vi. Fee: £29,880.00
ARUP presentation
c. Representatives from ARUP: Stephen Carter, Sameer Jafri, Mark Anderson, Mark Griffith
d. ARUP gave an illustrated presentation covering all questions (see attached).
i. The timescale is achievable
ii. Experience and expertise in Solar PV, electricity storage and private wire; hydrogen and fertilizer production; geothermal and ground energy; horticulture carbon capture and utilisation; community engagement. All are potentially feasible. Uses for Solar could be private wire, export to the grid or onsite usage. The focus would be on utilising the energy produced. An economic model would be produced for each option.
iii. They would investigate the possibilities of utilising the carbon capture and hydrogen pipeline. A constraint of this is the availability of information.
iv. Examples of collaboration include Newcastle and Hull University, Durham Energy, the Coal Authority, British Geological Society. University PhD Development
v. Been involved in a diverse range of projects. Once the possibilities have been identified, a cost/benefit analysis will be produced. The business model will ensure the community benefits.
vi. Fee: £32,880 ex VAT
The merits of both quotations were discussed by the working party and the following conclusions were drawn.
Both RPS and ARUP met the initial brief. Both have the capability and capacity to deliver, however, ARUP have more experience in a wider range of applications
Although ARUP is more expensive than RPS the working group were unanimous in recommending ARUP due to their wider experience.
b) To consider the quotations for the feasibility study and to determine which one is best suited for a project of this sort in the Parish of Bigby.
Having considered the information provided by Councillors Cowling and Wilson:
It was resolved that the contract for the feasibility study be awarded to ARUP
Proposed: Cllr. D. Cowling Seconded: Cllr. W. Pinney
The meeting closed at 7.35 pm