0:00:02 > 0:00:04Britain produces very little of its own power.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08- NEWS BROADCAST:- Old power stations are becoming obsolete far faster than new capacity is being built.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11We're going to find ourselves in real problems about how we
0:00:11 > 0:00:14ensure that we have energy security for the future.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19It's a fire at a coal-powered fire station.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24We rely on imported coal, gas and oil to power the country.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Many experts believe the potential
0:00:26 > 0:00:29for an energy crisis on our shores is huge.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32..will significantly strengthen Russia's grip over Europe.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Can science help solve this problem?
0:00:35 > 0:00:37One man thinks it can.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Renewable energy fan Robert Llewellyn.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Advances in science and engineering mean that, for the first time,
0:00:44 > 0:00:45renewable technologies,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48things like solar panels and wind turbines, are actually within reach
0:00:48 > 0:00:51of ordinary people, people like you and me.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54And I really think that these technologies can help solve
0:00:54 > 0:00:57the energy crisis this country's facing.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00But can Robert put what he preaches into practice?
0:01:00 > 0:01:02He has a grand plan.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06His dream is for the village he lives in to engage with the global green
0:01:06 > 0:01:09revolution and embrace renewable technology.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13All the solar panels underneath the Mandalay Bay. Wow!
0:01:13 > 0:01:16This is going to be a two-year mission.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Can he get his village onside?
0:01:18 > 0:01:21We've thought of nuclear biosphere, we've thought of community fracking.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24We've discussed all manner of things.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25It's a big challenge.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27So this isn't a hand-wringing,
0:01:27 > 0:01:29crying about the polar bears project,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31it's about practicalities.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34We are facing an energy crisis in this country and I want to know what
0:01:34 > 0:01:38we can do about it. We need to learn how we can create energy,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41distribute energy, own energy and store energy.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44And I think this village could be the perfect blueprint for the rest
0:01:44 > 0:01:46of the nation, cos if we can do it in this village,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48then it can be done anywhere.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Robert has to navigate delicate village politics...
0:01:54 > 0:01:57I personally don't like the look of solar panels.
0:01:57 > 0:01:58I'm the naysayer here.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00..seek surprising inspirations...
0:02:00 > 0:02:05The theory is fine but, in practice, whether or not it'll be acceptable
0:02:05 > 0:02:06is another matter.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11..and look again at a 200-year-old technology now back in fashion.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Here is a 20 megawatt battery array, which is really significant.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21Think of this as The Archers meets The Inconvenient Truth.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25- But if nothing happens, then, after all of this?- We'll have to sell the house and move out.
0:02:25 > 0:02:26We'll just leg it in the night,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28otherwise there'll be a burning cross on the front lawn.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Robert Llewellyn is fanatical about engineering, and nothing excites him
0:02:49 > 0:02:53more than the recent advances in renewable technology.
0:02:53 > 0:02:54For the last three decades,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58I've been playing a character called Kryten in a science fiction
0:02:58 > 0:03:00television series called Red Dwarf.
0:03:00 > 0:03:01Kryten is a mechanoid,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05so I spend about two or three hours every morning being covered in rubber.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07When I'm not doing that,
0:03:07 > 0:03:12I've become increasingly fascinated by renewable energy technology.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15It's a brilliant example of how advances in science can make
0:03:15 > 0:03:18a genuine positive difference to the world.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23I try to put my money where my mouth is, occasionally successfully,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25so I've got solar panels on the roof of my office.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28This is an electric car, this car was charged yesterday when it was sunny,
0:03:28 > 0:03:33so we're currently driving along on pure solar energy, so, you know,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35I'm doing my best.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39For the past century,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Britain has relied on fossil fuels to power the nation.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Coal from mines across the country,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48oil and gas from the North Sea.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53But these domestic sources have increasingly been replaced by
0:03:53 > 0:03:55cheaper fuels from overseas.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00To safeguard our future electricity supply,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03could British-produced renewable energy provide the solution?
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Robert passionately thinks so.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11You know, I can't help thinking that there must be something we can do,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14the people of this country, to help alleviate that,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18to produce our own power and to help keep the lights on, and I really
0:04:18 > 0:04:22believe now that there is technology available that can genuinely help us
0:04:22 > 0:04:23to do that.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Robert has a plan to see if this is possible.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33It involves where he lives.
0:04:36 > 0:04:42Temple Guiting is a Cotswolds village nestled in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45It's a village with a very long history.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51The kind of place where change barely happens over thousands of years.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57That's Temple Guiting down there in the valley.
0:04:58 > 0:04:59People sometimes mispronounce it.
0:04:59 > 0:05:05Sometimes they call it "Gweeting" or "Gitting", but Temple Guiting is how the locals say it, and
0:05:05 > 0:05:08the reason it's called Guiting is because that means torrent,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11so there's a river running right through the middle of the village,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14and the village has been here over 1,000 years and that's why people
0:05:14 > 0:05:18settled here, so they could tap into that power, and I'm hoping now we can tap into
0:05:18 > 0:05:22that power to generate electricity for the benefit of the whole village -
0:05:22 > 0:05:23that's the plan.
0:05:27 > 0:05:33Where better for Robert to refine his plan than here at the village tearoom?
0:05:48 > 0:05:51- Oh, thank you, Jo, brilliant. - OK?- Lovely, thank you very much.
0:05:51 > 0:05:57So, this is Temple Guiting, and it is a village of 62 houses.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Got some little houses here, specially prepared.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04And the plan is that we set up a system where we can generate the
0:06:04 > 0:06:08electricity that we use in the village, but we generate it in the village.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11The most important part of that is that it's owned by the community.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14So we're not basically bringing in power from, you know,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17a coal-burning power plant in North Yorkshire or a nuclear power plant
0:06:17 > 0:06:21in France, we're actually making it here and also having control of it
0:06:21 > 0:06:23here - that's a really important point.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25So, using renewable technologies,
0:06:25 > 0:06:29that is - energy generated by natural resources that are naturally replenished -
0:06:29 > 0:06:32I want to put wind turbines on the hills,
0:06:32 > 0:06:38water mills in the streams and sunlight-capturing solar panels in fields.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41All turning these natural resources into electricity.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46But we're not going off-grid. I mean, it's not about going off the grid,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49it's about generating that power but also, because we're connected to the grid,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51we can sell that electricity to the grid,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55which then generates an income for people in the village as well,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58which we can use for community benefit - I think that's the correct term.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Now the technology is available to make this not only economically
0:07:02 > 0:07:04possible but technologically possible.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06It's really changed in the last few years.
0:07:06 > 0:07:0820 years ago, you couldn't have done this at all,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10it would have been impossible, but now we can do it,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12so I think, if we can do it here in this village,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15then that means you could do it in any village.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24It is an ambitious dream and, if it is to become a reality,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26the other villagers need to share Robert's vision.
0:07:28 > 0:07:29But will they?
0:07:32 > 0:07:35There's no better place to observe the residents of Temple Guiting
0:07:35 > 0:07:39than in their natural habitat, at the annual harvest supper.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Hello. Hello. How you doing? Nice to see you.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54Temple Guiting has been here since the Domesday Book, and so have many of the families.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59That's Guy, the dry-stone waller.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07Well, my link to this wall is a continuation of my dad's wall.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09He built this bit along here in 1982...
0:08:11 > 0:08:13..and this bit I'm doing now, well, it's got to be Victorian.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Yeah, so I'm just continuing his work, I guess.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22- How are you doing?- Very good, yeah. A bit tired today.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24'Sitting next to me is Val.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26'She's married to Paul Hughes,'
0:08:26 > 0:08:29whose family has been farming here for centuries.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Family have been here for a good many years, 100,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36100 years, I suppose, plus.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40And that's Kate. If you want anything done in this village,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42it's always good to have Kate on your side.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45I love living here.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49I've lived here for 18 years, my husband lived here before we got married.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52His mother lives opposite the church, not to say we're inbred,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55but we like living here. We are rural.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59It is rural. We only have a bus through twice a day so, if you miss that,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01you've had it.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05I've got a couple of very brief announcements to make first.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07The first one, which is the most vitally important one, is
0:09:07 > 0:09:13on the 12th of November in this very location is the village hall quiz.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Normally, there's leaflets on the tables to tell you of it, but we don't have them.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19As many people who've been to it before know,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22it's an extremely competitive evening, it's challenging quizzes,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25you need to get your teams ready, it's a very exciting evening.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27- We've got to beat Naunton!- We've got to beat Naunton.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Yeah, it's about time we beat Naunton, they always win.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32HE LAUGHS
0:09:32 > 0:09:37Temple Guiting is a close-knit community of just 366 people.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42Robert treads carefully as he raises what is still rather an alien concept.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46The other quick thing I want to mention is we have been trying to
0:09:46 > 0:09:50develop a community renewable energy project in the parish.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55We're having an evening here in the village hall this coming Friday.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58- What time?- It's in the evening, so after school.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00After tea.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03And we're going to leaflet, there's going to be leaflets and things.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Yes, we'll tell you what time cos it's...
0:10:05 > 0:10:07as you can tell, extremely well organised.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10So, please do come along if you can manage.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Robert's passion project began some time ago.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20It's been heavy going.
0:10:23 > 0:10:24'We had a meeting.'
0:10:24 > 0:10:27We are facing a growing crisis...
0:10:27 > 0:10:29'And another meeting.'
0:10:29 > 0:10:31It generates all the electricity for a very small
0:10:31 > 0:10:33hamlet of 27 houses...
0:10:33 > 0:10:34'And more meetings.'
0:10:34 > 0:10:38The next step which I feel woefully inadequate to carrying out but, I mean,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40some form of e-mail stuff.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Not everyone in the village is a fan of renewable energy.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47I personally don't like the look of solar panels on roofs.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49They stick out like a sore thumb.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54We do live within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and that curtails
0:10:54 > 0:10:56a lot of possibilities.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59If we could produce two thirds of the energy we're using here,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01it would make an enormous difference.
0:11:01 > 0:11:02In ten years' time,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04technology would have moved on so far
0:11:04 > 0:11:07that we will no longer need panels on roofs.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10What I'm trying to say is, who's interested in pursuing the whole project?
0:11:20 > 0:11:23There have been many meetings but not much action.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31So, Robert decides to head to a place that is investing in renewables on
0:11:31 > 0:11:32a massive scale.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36He wants to understand how they've been able to do it and how they got
0:11:36 > 0:11:38their community on board.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46It's a place many might not expect.
0:11:49 > 0:11:50Las Vegas.
0:11:57 > 0:11:58A city synonymous with waste,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02excess, greed and dazzling lights has,
0:12:02 > 0:12:07with typical boldness, committed itself to using renewable technology.
0:12:08 > 0:12:14Reducing reliance on the energy providers and taking back control over its power.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Not by some far future date, but now.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27My dream is to be able to say to the village, look,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30if they can do it in Las Vegas, which is a massive city,
0:12:30 > 0:12:35we can do this in teeny tiny Temple Guiting.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39The burning question for Robert is just how Las Vegas went about taking
0:12:39 > 0:12:41back control over its energy.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Last year, three of Nevada's largest casino companies, MGM Resorts,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51Wynn and Las Vegas Sands announced plans to buy and produce renewable
0:12:51 > 0:12:52energy at their hotels,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56slashing their dependence on state electricity utility companies.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59At the Mandalay Bay,
0:12:59 > 0:13:06they are replacing 1.3 million light bulbs with low-energy LEDs, but that's not all.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Cindy Ortega, the hotel's chief sustainability officer,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15shows Robert another result of this renewable energy drive.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Look at that. It's amazing.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22- Oh, my God, there's more!- The biggest rooftop solar array in America.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24It is amazing, isn't it?
0:13:24 > 0:13:27It's 26 acres in Las Vegas.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29That would be a neighbourhood of 100 homes.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33So you look down over this array, and it's a gigantic building.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35And how many megawatts does that represent, then?
0:13:35 > 0:13:38It could generate eight and a half megawatts of electricity,
0:13:38 > 0:13:43enough power at noon to power a town of 1,700 homes.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Wow, that's a huge amount of power.
0:13:45 > 0:13:46It's a huge amount of power.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49So what were the big challenges, then, in installing this?
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Putting this array here was very,
0:13:51 > 0:13:56very difficult because it isn't the limitation on the technology or even
0:13:56 > 0:14:00the availability of the technology, but it's usually on regulatory lag.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02So it was to get permission to do it, was the...?
0:14:02 > 0:14:06It was to get permission and to change the rules a little bit, and so MGM Resorts
0:14:06 > 0:14:11went through a process to split our utility and to control our own
0:14:11 > 0:14:12sources of electricity,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16so that was our biggest fight in getting the array actually done.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20- Right.- I think that the evolution of thought in your village is exactly
0:14:20 > 0:14:23the evolution of thought in large corporate America.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25You wouldn't think there would be a connection, but there clearly is,
0:14:25 > 0:14:30- I can see it.- It is. You may think that you're a little village in England
0:14:30 > 0:14:34but, in fact, your trajectory is exactly the same as MGM's.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36What would you think about going and actually seeing the array?
0:14:36 > 0:14:40- Yes.- OK.- Oh, I'd love to go and have a look, yeah.- Let's go see.- Yeah, OK.
0:14:47 > 0:14:53So this array could power a whole town, but how does it actually work?
0:14:53 > 0:14:55It's the changes going on at quantum levels
0:14:55 > 0:14:58in the cells that make up these solar panels
0:14:58 > 0:15:01that are responsible for the electricity creation.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Each cell has a sandwich-like structure,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07usually made out of silicon.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Atomic differences in each of the layers creates an electric field.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16When a photon of sunlight hits the silicon sandwich, it disrupts these
0:15:16 > 0:15:19atoms, knocking electrons free.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23The electric field then pushes these free-roaming electrons out,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26flowing down the wires as electricity.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32It's millions and millions of these electrons being knocked free that
0:15:32 > 0:15:37transform the sunlight beating down on the Vegas strip into enough power
0:15:37 > 0:15:39to keep the casino lights on.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45To grasp the full enormity of the array,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Robert has to fly over it in a helicopter.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53But there's just one problem - he's terrified of heights.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56So Cindy from the MGM Resorts told me that the best way to see all the
0:15:56 > 0:15:59solar installations in Las Vegas is to fly over it in a helicopter,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03which is what I'm going to do. A helicopter with no doors on.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05So, you know, that makes enormous amounts of sense.
0:16:05 > 0:16:06See what this feels like.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10I think bloody terrifying would be a good description.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15I'm not going to look down, I'm just going to look that way.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41That's now all the solar panels down there underneath the Mandalay Bay.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Ooh, that's windy! We're going right over them.
0:16:45 > 0:16:46Fantastic, wow.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Just an amazing sight to see them from up here.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16To find out more about how the city got motivated to adopt renewables,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Robert's managed to get a meeting with the mayor of the city of Las Vegas.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25To give him credit, he's nothing if not pushy.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- Hi.- Hi there, Robert.- Very nice to meet you.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Carolyn Goodman has been mayor of Las Vegas since 2011.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38Under her watch, the city of Las Vegas can now claim that 100% of
0:17:38 > 0:17:42electricity used to power all its municipal buildings, fire stations,
0:17:42 > 0:17:47city parks and streetlights comes from green and renewable sources.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50It's the largest city in America to achieve this.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53This cuts our energy, these solar trees,
0:17:53 > 0:17:57by about 30%, and that's just a piece of all the things we've been
0:17:57 > 0:17:58attending to.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01What encouraged the city of Las Vegas to adopt renewables?
0:18:01 > 0:18:05You know, everybody thinks of us as the entertainment gaming capital of
0:18:05 > 0:18:09the world, but the reality is that we're a very modern, contemporary
0:18:09 > 0:18:13city that's very, very concerned about the future generations.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17So I'm trying to encourage the residents of the very small village I live in
0:18:17 > 0:18:19in England to adopt renewables.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22- Have you got any tips?- As with anything, it's all about marketing. - Yeah.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27You've got to sell what you're trying to do and show them why you need to be doing it.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30And then, at some point, get down to the children in the
0:18:30 > 0:18:34schools because it's great to get them on board first.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36- And anything we can do, we welcome you back.- OK.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41My business card is a 1,000 poker chip.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44- That's fabulous!- So I give it to you as good luck and good health.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Thank you very much, that's very, very kind of you.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48And we can't wait to be invited to your town.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52And also, it's our dream, one day, to twin Temple Guiting with Las Vegas,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54that's what we want on the sign on the outside of the village.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58- That's our dream.- Beautiful, we would like some pictures.- Thank you.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Very intriguing and what a formidable lady, and I've now got my 1,000 poker chip,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06which is just fabulous.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Never thought I'd get one of those!
0:19:12 > 0:19:14To see some of the changes to city life,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18the mayor has advised Robert to see these renewable transformations on
0:19:18 > 0:19:23the ground or, as it turns out again, at height.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Oh, my goodness.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Always three points of contact, guys.
0:19:27 > 0:19:28Yeah!
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Oh, wow, oh, right.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36It seems impossible to believe that renewable technology can power all
0:19:36 > 0:19:39of the city's municipal buildings, fire stations,
0:19:39 > 0:19:41city parks and streetlights,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45particularly such an energy-guzzling city as Las Vegas.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01I mean, just look at this city, it's bonkers.
0:20:01 > 0:20:02They use so much electricity,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05even these fountains are going to use megawatts every time they're
0:20:05 > 0:20:07running, I'm sure.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11But if a city the size of Las Vegas can be run on renewables,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14it really proves that renewable energy does work,
0:20:14 > 0:20:15anyone can do it.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20Temple Guiting now really has to step up to the Vegas plate
0:20:20 > 0:20:22and do as well as Vegas because what
0:20:22 > 0:20:25they're doing here is remarkable and it's been really brilliant to see it.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40To find out how renewable technology alone can provide electricity on a city scale,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Robert's heading 180 miles into the desert,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47over the Nevada state border, into California.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54He's heard about the sun's rays being harnessed in a different way
0:20:54 > 0:20:55than solar panels.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02Stretching over 1,765 acres of the Mojave Desert,
0:21:02 > 0:21:06this solar thermal plant is the second largest in the world.
0:21:12 > 0:21:171,700 acres of solar thermal panels is a pretty breathtaking sight.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20They're doing it at a truly enormous scale.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30The solar array on the roof of the Las Vegas casino used the sun in one way
0:21:30 > 0:21:32to make electricity.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37Here in the Mojave Desert, the sun's rays are being used differently.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41This solar thermal plant works like a conventional power station but
0:21:41 > 0:21:45rather than using coal or nuclear fuel to heat the water,
0:21:45 > 0:21:47it uses sunlight.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49The sunlight is captured and concentrated
0:21:49 > 0:21:51by solar collector panels to
0:21:51 > 0:21:54heat a synthetic oil to incredibly high temperatures
0:21:54 > 0:21:56so it can be used to
0:21:56 > 0:21:59transform water into steam,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03driving the plant's turbines to create enough electricity to serve
0:22:03 > 0:22:0691,000 West Coast households.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10This solar thermal plant is so huge that,
0:22:10 > 0:22:14like the renewable energy projects Robert has seen in Vegas,
0:22:14 > 0:22:17the only way to understand its scale is from above.
0:22:17 > 0:22:22Which means that Robert, again, has to face his fear of heights.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29- You ready?- Yeah, as ready as I'm ever going to be.- OK.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Wow. You do get the...
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- You get the enormity of it. - ..the enormity of it, it's so huge, isn't it?
0:22:45 > 0:22:48That is really high, I'm about to freak out.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54- That's about as high as we can go. - That's good. I'm very, very happy.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Sorry, I'm going to swear, because that's what happens
0:22:56 > 0:22:58when I'm really about to shit myself.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02All this part in front of you is what we call Alpha Plant and then it
0:23:02 > 0:23:05stretches back over there as well.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Well, I'm really impressed with the technology I'm seeing but it's mixed
0:23:09 > 0:23:13with sheer terror of being up a really high crane.
0:23:13 > 0:23:14I had no desire to come up.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16You're all right with all this?
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- Yeah.- Every day job. And you come from Cornwall, are you originally from Cornwall?
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- Cornwall, yes, originally.- From Cornwall to the Mojave Desert.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- Yeah, what a step.- It's very like Cornwall in many ways.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Yeah - brown, no green, no sea.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29I think we should go back down now.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Yeah, let's go down really nicely and gently.
0:23:32 > 0:23:33Let's go down.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42- Terra firma.- Terra firma.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- Thank you very much.- You're welcome. - Thank you.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51This is proper big industrial scale electricity generation.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54It's big boy electricity, this is.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Just amazing. I mean, it's not going to work in the UK.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58We don't have enough sun, but there's loads of deserts
0:23:58 > 0:24:00all over the world that this is ideally suited to.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02It's a fantastic idea.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17In Temple Guiting, Robert wants to share how solar panels work,
0:24:17 > 0:24:21how effective they are at turning the sun's energy into electricity.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26To help him, he's enlisted his old friend and engineering whiz,
0:24:26 > 0:24:27Hadrian Spooner.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32I just love going to visit him, because his workshop is
0:24:32 > 0:24:35just a fantastic cornucopia of amazing stuff.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37He's built an amphibious snowmobile,
0:24:37 > 0:24:39he's in the middle of building a steam engine
0:24:39 > 0:24:42and he's even got a vortex cannon that can
0:24:42 > 0:24:44blow smoke rings at 300 kilometres an hour.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48I mean, it's amazing stuff, so I'm really excited to see if he can help me out.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Ah, that sounds like Mr H.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Hey, Rob. How's it going, all right?
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Robert is targeting the youngest members of the community first,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08with a hands-on toy racing car demonstration at the school.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13Well, the idea is that we're going to harness some of the energy from the sun here,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16and we've got a couple of slot cars which we can use,
0:25:16 > 0:25:20- so they can actually play a toy using the energy of the sun.- Right.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23- You all right, H?- Yep.
0:25:23 > 0:25:24We're good there.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Class, can I have your attention just for a moment?
0:25:28 > 0:25:33Hadrian has wired up the solar panels together and on this board are a load of light bulbs.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37They're not working at the moment, I wonder what happens when he joins it together.
0:25:37 > 0:25:38Ah, look! Look, look, look!
0:25:38 > 0:25:41- Yeah, they turn on.- So they're not very bright at the moment,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45- are they? Are they getting brighter when I take these out?- Oh, wow.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Look at that. OK, so now, four or five of you just and in front of the panels
0:25:48 > 0:25:52and just be as wide as you can. Look at that.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56Look at that. Now, OK, so all of you go but one of you stay there,
0:25:56 > 0:25:57so you move away now.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Wow, you can really see it, can't you?
0:26:00 > 0:26:05- So do you think there's enough power and there to make the cars move? - ALL:- No.
0:26:05 > 0:26:06You don't think so?
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Will solar power be enough to drive these toy cars?
0:26:10 > 0:26:12The children don't think so.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16To see if they're right, there's a small matter of assembling the racetrack.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Child's play, surely.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22What does the picture on the box look like?
0:26:22 > 0:26:23We don't need the box!
0:26:24 > 0:26:27- We need that bit.- That doesn't go down there.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30And then it goes round again and then it comes out there.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33We thought electrons and protons were complicated, but that's nothing,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36that's easy in comparison with putting the track together.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Do it afterwards.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44If the cars are going too fast,
0:26:44 > 0:26:46can you think of a very good way of slowing them down?
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Stand in front of it, exactly.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Do some... Do a bit of shade. Yeah, that's enough shade.
0:26:53 > 0:26:54It's a bit easier, though, isn't it?
0:26:54 > 0:26:56It's not flying off quite as much.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59In English weather, this was always an experiment that I thought,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01"Oh, goodness we're going to get the solar panels out,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04"try and get the kids enthused and then it will be cloudy or raining and it won't work."
0:27:04 > 0:27:06But actually it's worked amazingly well.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10There's so much power going into these cars that they're actually flying off the track.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14I think they now know more about solar panels
0:27:14 > 0:27:16than most adults, so, you know, that's good.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Thank you very much, children, you've been lovely.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21- ALL:- Thank you!
0:27:21 > 0:27:25- It's like kids, isn't it?- It is just like kids now we've got to clear up.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28It's really fascinating how much energy
0:27:28 > 0:27:30or electricity has been produced
0:27:30 > 0:27:31by the solar panels.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36I would love to go and get some solar panels because I've just seen how
0:27:36 > 0:27:41useful they could be and how much electricity you can get so easily.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45How do you know how to do that? It's so annoying.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48There we go, there's a clue, I've got it, I've got it.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55After winning the hearts and minds of the village children,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Robert now tackles their parents.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03He decides to hijack a village event.
0:28:03 > 0:28:04Yeah, we've got eight rounds tonight.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07We're going to do six before fish and chips.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09He's found the perfect occasion.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Question number one,
0:28:11 > 0:28:15which English king was defeated at the Battle of Hastings?
0:28:15 > 0:28:20Quiz night. He wants to test how much the residents know about energy.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24The village hall quiz night, it's always the most exhausting gig of the year for me.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28I mean, I enjoy it, it's great fun and it's lovely to see everyone, but it gets very competitive.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32It's quite stressful. Sometimes if people disagree with the answers...
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Hoo!
0:28:34 > 0:28:36OK, can we get the scores now?
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Hello, my name is Robert and I used to be famous.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42LAUGHTER
0:28:44 > 0:28:46Thank you.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48And what is your score? Two!
0:28:48 > 0:28:49CHEERING AND LAUGHTER
0:28:52 > 0:28:54Just to explain, for the people that don't know,
0:28:54 > 0:28:59there are moves afoot to try and install some renewable energy in and
0:28:59 > 0:29:02- around the village, solar panels and wind turbines. - Nuclear power station?
0:29:02 > 0:29:06We thought of nuclear power stations, we thought of community fracking, that was very popular.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10Outside the village shop, let's have a quick fracking well.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13We've discussed all manner of things,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16but it's actually starting to take shape now to be quite a plausible...
0:29:16 > 0:29:21So how much do the villagers know about the energy they and the country consume?
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Robert fires some questions at them.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25So the special energy quiz.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27- CROWD:- Ooh!
0:29:27 > 0:29:28So, here we go, the first one is,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32how many kilowatt-hours of electricity does the average UK household
0:29:32 > 0:29:33consume in a year?
0:29:33 > 0:29:35So is it 2,000 kilowatt-hours,
0:29:35 > 0:29:39is it 4,000 kilowatt-hours or is it 8,000 kilowatt-hours?
0:29:39 > 0:29:42And the average is actually 4,000 kilowatt-hours.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49How many terawatt hours does the entire country consume in one year?
0:29:50 > 0:29:52Is it 100 terawatt hours?
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Is it 300?
0:29:54 > 0:29:55Or is it 500?
0:29:55 > 0:29:57- What do you reckon?- Three.
0:29:57 > 0:29:58Three?
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Any more offers on three?
0:30:01 > 0:30:03- Five?- Ten!- Ten.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05It is actually 300 terawatt hours.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08300 terawatt hours a year.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11There are some LED bulbs here.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14I think you all deserve them but there's not enough for all of you.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16Just put your hands up if you got all of them right.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19- Yeah!- There might be just about enough bulbs.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21Can we go on with the quiz now?
0:30:21 > 0:30:23CHEERING
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Hijacking quiz night to quiz the residents about energy consumption
0:30:34 > 0:30:38has shown Robert that many here, like most of the country,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41don't know the basics.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43Energy doesn't have to be complicated.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46We do get confused when we hear all the technical terms like volts and
0:30:46 > 0:30:51amps and watts and kilowatts and megawatts and gigawatts,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54but they're simple physical measurements of units of energy
0:30:54 > 0:30:58and that's really what I want to explain to people in the village.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00I want them to physically understand what that means.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05Robert thinks that to get more villagers to engage with his project,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09they need to understand more about the energy they consume.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13So he wants to demonstrate what power feels like,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16actually, physically feels like.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20Which means Robert makes another trip to Hadrian's workshop,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23this time to create a device that can help explain power.
0:31:23 > 0:31:28We've got a hub out of a turbine and we've put a display on there of lights.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31It's a perfect thing to feel what power is because I don't really
0:31:31 > 0:31:34think people understand just what it takes
0:31:34 > 0:31:36to get electricity in their house.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38- No.- Each one of these is 50 watts.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40I've attached this hand crank
0:31:40 > 0:31:45so that you can physically feel what it takes to illuminate a light bulb.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49- Right.- Your energy will travel through that lever and then the energy will
0:31:49 > 0:31:52be absorbed when I hit a switch and it turns the light on.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56- Right.- As I turn the switches on, you will have to increase your input...
0:31:57 > 0:31:59So you can feel the load building.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03So every time that someone switches a light on, you're going to go, "Oh!"
0:32:03 > 0:32:06If you were an amazingly fit athlete,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09you could probably do four rows
0:32:09 > 0:32:11at full brightness and that's 600 watts,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14but as you're not an athlete...
0:32:14 > 0:32:17I mean, you know, I've got an athletic streak.
0:32:17 > 0:32:18I've watched athletics.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22- So, if you start turning that. - I mean, there's nothing, it's very easy.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24- It's very easy. - Oh my goodness! Instantly.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Yeah, you can feel it instantly. So there's that one light.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30But one light is not hard to turn on. Oh, Lord.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32There we go. That'll cure you.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35- It needs to go a bit quicker than that.- All right, God!
0:32:35 > 0:32:36I'm not as strong as you!
0:32:38 > 0:32:42That's where somebody who's really fit would have those bright.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46So that's all of them now, Rob, that's a kilowatt of energy there.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51They're like embers in the morning, there's nothing there.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53- Wow.- You got some macho guys in your village?
0:32:53 > 0:32:55There is one or two people who are quite strong
0:32:55 > 0:32:57and they'll think they can do it. And they probably can,
0:32:57 > 0:33:00which will be really annoying and I'll be the weak one that can't.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07Hand-cranking Hadrian's turbine contraption means the villagers will
0:33:07 > 0:33:09understand just how much power is required
0:33:09 > 0:33:13each time they switch a light bulb on in their homes.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15- That is heavy.- That is proper heavy.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19Every aspect of Hadrian's contraption requires hard labour.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Even shifting it into the village church.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26That way round. Sorry.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Each one of these bulbs is 50 watts.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33And as you put more on now, that is now...
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Robert demonstrate his own personal power output.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39That's Robert that's pulsing. OK.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41And it's not a lot.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43ROB STRAINS
0:33:43 > 0:33:44Nearly there, Rob.
0:33:47 > 0:33:52The average human, he chucks out 400, if he's fit, for a few minutes and
0:33:52 > 0:33:55that drops very quickly down to 270, 300.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58Clearly, Rob's about 150 watts.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00LAUGHTER
0:34:00 > 0:34:03One by one, everyone has a go.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08That is annoying, isn't it? Look how good he is.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10That is bright. Oh, OK.
0:34:10 > 0:34:11- OK.- That's a clear winner.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13That was good. There's your winner.
0:34:16 > 0:34:22Robert's hands-on power demonstration is converting the villagers to his cause.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25More and more residents are interested in his crusade to install
0:34:25 > 0:34:27renewables in the village.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29That was very good, I thought.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Very informative, I am all for it.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33Oh, I think there's a lot of enthusiasm in the village.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37There wasn't a terribly good turnout today but I suppose it's because it's a Saturday.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40The theory is fine but in practice,
0:34:40 > 0:34:43whether or not it will be acceptable is another matter.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48Well, I've had a go winding the crank handle.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51It's extremely difficult. And we all know that we use a lot of kilowatts
0:34:51 > 0:34:53but what I really want to find out now
0:34:53 > 0:34:56is exactly how many kilowatts a year the village consumes
0:34:56 > 0:34:58and whether we can supply that demand with
0:34:58 > 0:35:00renewable energy in and around the community.
0:35:00 > 0:35:06Robert has to calculate just how much energy a year the village uses on average,
0:35:06 > 0:35:10to give him an idea about the number of renewable resources
0:35:10 > 0:35:13he needs to find within the parish boundaries.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16I know there are 62 houses here.
0:35:16 > 0:35:22The average consumption for these houses 5.5 megawatt hours a year.
0:35:22 > 0:35:28So if I multiply that by 62, we get 341 megawatt hours a year.
0:35:29 > 0:35:30Sounds like quite a lot.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34341 megawatt hours a year.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38To put that in some sort of perspective,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41one kWh will boil 12 pints of water.
0:35:43 > 0:35:49So what Temple Guiting is doing is boiling about four million pints of water
0:35:49 > 0:35:53a year, which is enough for about eight million cups of tea.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00But that gives some idea of the power consumption of the whole village.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02So that's quite a lot of energy to produce.
0:36:02 > 0:36:07Having calculated that the 62 homes in Robert's village consumes on
0:36:07 > 0:36:11average 341 megawatt hours a year,
0:36:11 > 0:36:16Robert wants to investigate what options the village could explore.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Which renewable technologies, if installed, could generate an amount of
0:36:20 > 0:36:24electricity equivalent to that the village consumes?
0:36:24 > 0:36:29Robert travels to see working examples of renewable power in Britain.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34Temple Guiting's fast-flowing streams join the Thames as it flows to London.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37Robert heads further down the river to Mapledurham.
0:36:37 > 0:36:42Here, a water mill is using 2,000-year-old technology in a very
0:36:42 > 0:36:4321st-century way.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45- Nice to meet you.- Nice to meet you.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47- After you.- Oh, thank you.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49Robert wants to find out how it works.
0:36:49 > 0:36:50Oh, my lord!
0:36:53 > 0:36:54That is remarkable.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00This beautiful piece of engineering is called an Archimedes screw.
0:37:01 > 0:37:06Historically, Archimedean screw pumps were used in irrigation to lift
0:37:06 > 0:37:10water to a higher level by turning a handle at the top.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14When used as a hydro turbine, the screw acts in reverse.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18The weight of the falling water causes the screw to rotate and this
0:37:18 > 0:37:23kinetic energy can be extracted as electricity by a generator.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26The greater the flow and fall of water,
0:37:26 > 0:37:28the more electricity it can produce.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35So I've just noticed the figures over there.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38That's our output at the moment. That's what we are actually putting
0:37:38 > 0:37:39into the grid at the moment.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41So we are putting 20 kilowatts in there at the moment.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45An Archimedes screw like the one at Mapledurham produces around
0:37:45 > 0:37:48500 megawatt hours of electricity a year.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50More than enough for Robert's village.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54The problem is Temple Guiting is a lot further upstream,
0:37:54 > 0:37:58so it's unlikely that a hydro turbine on this scale could be installed in the village.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00The further back up the Thames you go,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02the closer to the source,
0:38:02 > 0:38:05your flow rate of the Thames is going to reduce.
0:38:05 > 0:38:06- Yeah.- So although you could still make power,
0:38:06 > 0:38:10- the amount that you will make... - Is much less.- ..will probably go down as well.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13Water isn't the only source of renewable power.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20Robert pays a visit to a farmer in the neighbouring county
0:38:20 > 0:38:22to see how he has harnessed the power of wind.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26It's going well today, isn't it?
0:38:26 > 0:38:27It's good, yeah.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29It's best facing south-west.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31Right. That's when it gets the most, is it?
0:38:31 > 0:38:32That's when it performs the most.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35The south-westerly wind is the most effective.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38When the wind blows farmer Chris' turbine,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41it turns a central driveshaft.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44A gear system then converts this low speed rotation
0:38:44 > 0:38:47into speeds fast enough to drive a generator.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Here, this moving energy travels into
0:38:50 > 0:38:52a magnetic rotor that spins inside
0:38:52 > 0:38:56loops of copper wire, causing electrons to flow,
0:38:56 > 0:38:59creating electrical energy, or electricity.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02It might be simple science,
0:39:02 > 0:39:03but it wasn't as simple
0:39:03 > 0:39:06getting the permission for this wind turbine to be built.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09It took something like 18 months to get planning permission.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13Right, that's what I was interested in. Because that must have been quite...
0:39:13 > 0:39:17- It was a hell of a battle.- Was it? Right.- Planning has been just nasty over the years.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20I'm interested in what the local people that live around here thought.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24The people that live on the estate were very much in favour.
0:39:24 > 0:39:25Oh! They were for it?
0:39:25 > 0:39:30- They were for it. It was the people in the distance that thought they didn't...- Yeah.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32I mean, they can't see it now, most of them.
0:39:32 > 0:39:33Robert wants to find out
0:39:33 > 0:39:37whether something similar can be installed in his own village,
0:39:37 > 0:39:41so he needs to know from Chris how much power his turbine produces.
0:39:41 > 0:39:42Now you've had it that long,
0:39:42 > 0:39:45you've got a rough idea of how many kilowatt-hours it produces a year.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47In a year... What, money?
0:39:47 > 0:39:51- No, kilowatt-hours, electricity, first of all.- Kilowatt-hours, at the moment, in a year,
0:39:51 > 0:39:56we would produce between 20 and 30,000.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59So 20 or 30 megawatt hours.
0:39:59 > 0:40:00- Yes.- So that's a lot, isn't it?
0:40:00 > 0:40:03- Yes. Yeah.- That is going to be more than all the houses on the farm
0:40:03 > 0:40:04and the farm buildings would use.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07I would think you're producing more than you consume.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09- Oh, yes.- Yeah.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13Farmer Chris' turbine alone produces enough electricity to
0:40:13 > 0:40:15power six homes in Robert's village.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19The success of solar panels in Vegas, the water turbine at Mapledurham
0:40:19 > 0:40:24and farmer Chris' wind turbine is all down to location.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27For these technologies to work in his village,
0:40:27 > 0:40:31Robert needs to find out whether there are suitable sites within the parish boundaries.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36KNOCKING
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Hi, Chris. Hi, how are you? Nice to see you.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41Robert has enlisted a renewables expert to help him
0:40:41 > 0:40:43scope the area.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Alarmingly friendly as always.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47Yes, one is a bit too friendly.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50This is known as a feasibility study.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52So, Chris, this is a map of the parish,
0:40:52 > 0:40:55which gives us a fairly good idea of what we are dealing with here.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58The simple way to think of it is a sort of a sweep across the whole parish.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01We need to be asking what are the candidate technologies that we
0:41:01 > 0:41:03might be able to fit in the parish,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06and the ones we are talking about most obviously
0:41:06 > 0:41:08will be solar photovoltaic generation.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Very small-scale hydro generation opportunities as well.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14We need to ask ourselves the question about wind.
0:41:14 > 0:41:15And in this context,
0:41:15 > 0:41:19I think those will be the main ones that we would be looking at.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25Robert hopes to find a range of options for renewable technologies within the parish.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28If installed, renewables could generate
0:41:28 > 0:41:32the equivalent amount of electricity that the village consumes.
0:41:32 > 0:41:38And electricity could be uploaded to the National Grid to provide its residents an income.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46The first location Robert and Chris visit
0:41:46 > 0:41:49is the stream that flows through the village.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51A tributary of the Thames,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54the river that powers the hydro turbine at Mapledurham.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56A slightly higher flow than normal, I would say.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00The challenge we've got is to measure the flow rate, basically.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04Robert and Chris need to calculate if the water flows rapidly and drops
0:42:04 > 0:42:06far enough for a hydro turbine here.
0:42:10 > 0:42:11OK, so that is 3.6 metres.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18Whilst it looks like there's a nice flow, this is actually very shallow.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20It's very shallow, yeah.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25So, you are 21.5 metres away from me.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29And you are six degrees below me.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33It's a small river and the calculations reveal only a modest amount of
0:42:33 > 0:42:35power can be produced from its flow.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39Could there be more power from harnessing wind?
0:42:39 > 0:42:40So, this is the field, Chris.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42The potential field, yeah.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46Robert takes Chris to the hill he thinks would be perfect for a wind turbine.
0:42:49 > 0:42:50I love how they all watch us.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53- I know.- Not quite sure what is going on.- Yes.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58- I think we are pretty much at the summit.- This is pretty much it, isn't it?
0:42:58 > 0:42:59Pretty much where we are standing
0:42:59 > 0:43:02- is round about where you would want it to be.- Yeah.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04On the leading slope of the hill,
0:43:04 > 0:43:06as the wind comes up the hill,
0:43:06 > 0:43:11you actually get a concentration of speed of the wind, as it rises up.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13If the wind speed was to double,
0:43:13 > 0:43:18then the amount of energy contained in the wind speed goes up by a factor of four.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23Robert's local knowledge means
0:43:23 > 0:43:25he's found a good spot for a wind turbine,
0:43:25 > 0:43:27but what about harnessing the sun?
0:43:28 > 0:43:32Finding locations for solar or PV panels proves to be tough.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35There are plenty of houses in the village,
0:43:35 > 0:43:37but their roofs are under the tree canopy
0:43:37 > 0:43:39or the properties are listed,
0:43:39 > 0:43:42making it tricky to install solar panels.
0:43:44 > 0:43:49Robert scouts for unlisted new buildings nearby in open spaces.
0:43:49 > 0:43:55Luckily for him, Temple Guiting is a farming community and he's heard some new barns are
0:43:55 > 0:43:58being built down the road at the Cotswold Farm Park.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03The new buildings are going to go from where the old stable block is
0:44:03 > 0:44:06down there and go back in this direction.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08It couldn't be much more perfect, could it?
0:44:08 > 0:44:10There's nothing in the way for about 90 miles!
0:44:10 > 0:44:13- We have now got the planning permission.- Right.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16I mean, although the building going up, we are tenants,
0:44:16 > 0:44:20and if we wanted to proceed with this on the basis that it might be
0:44:20 > 0:44:26community funded and they would be panels owned by a third party on a roof...
0:44:26 > 0:44:29- Right.- ..rented by us from a landlord...
0:44:29 > 0:44:32Yes. There are still some more layers of complexity there.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34It could only progress with an agreement with the landlord,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38- but I think that's a conversation that sounds like it would be worth having.- Yes.
0:44:43 > 0:44:44So that is fantastic news.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47They want it on there, they want us to do it.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50The tiny, tiny, and I think it is genuinely a small potential
0:44:50 > 0:44:54bit of grit in the oyster of perfection, is the landlord.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58You know, we've got to get the landlord's permission for it to be a community-owned thing.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12Robert and Chris's survey of the parish has revealed plenty of potential
0:45:12 > 0:45:16for generating renewable energy within its boundaries.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18Possibly a small water turbine,
0:45:18 > 0:45:24a wind turbine and a solar array on the barn at the Cotswolds Farm Park.
0:45:24 > 0:45:29Combined, this would generate enough power to offset the village's energy consumption,
0:45:29 > 0:45:32and by uploading this electricity to the grid,
0:45:32 > 0:45:35it might even provide the village an income.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41Before plans go any further, Robert gets a call.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46There is a problem that could jeopardise the whole project.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52So we're going to go to a substation, one of the
0:45:52 > 0:45:56grid substations just down the road from the village.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00I'm meeting a couple of people from Western Power, who are the company that
0:46:00 > 0:46:03distribute the power in the grid in this area.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05Because I think we've got a bit of a problem.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14This local substation is one of thousands across the country,
0:46:14 > 0:46:17a crucial part of Britain's National Grid.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22The National Grid is the network of wires and cables that carries
0:46:22 > 0:46:24electricity across the country.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28It was designed for the electricity to flow one way - from big power
0:46:28 > 0:46:32stations producing electricity, down to the customers using it.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38When a current flows through a wire, some energy is lost as heat.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41The higher the current, the more heat is lost.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43To reduce these losses,
0:46:43 > 0:46:47the National Grid transmits electricity at a low current.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49This needs a high voltage.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53These high voltages are too dangerous to use in the home,
0:46:53 > 0:46:55so step-down transformers
0:46:55 > 0:46:59at substations are used locally to reduce the voltage to safe levels.
0:47:01 > 0:47:06What the grid wasn't built to do was to push electricity the other way -
0:47:06 > 0:47:09for energy to be generated at the customer's end of the wire.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12You can see here our transformer...
0:47:12 > 0:47:16Steven Gough is an engineer in Western Power's innovation team.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19He wants to show Robert where the problem lies.
0:47:19 > 0:47:24Here we have 66,000 volts going down to 11,000 volts.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26Wow, so that's what then goes into Temple Guiting,
0:47:26 > 0:47:28- into the village, that's what we're getting there.- Absolutely.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30It was not designed for Temple Guiting to send a lot of
0:47:30 > 0:47:33electricity the other way, that's not how it's built, is it?
0:47:33 > 0:47:36No, no. So, yes, when you have long lines like we have here,
0:47:36 > 0:47:39you start having concerns around the voltage limits.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41We need to keep our network within those voltage limits,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43and if you put more generation on it,
0:47:43 > 0:47:45it pushes the voltage to the upper limits.
0:47:45 > 0:47:50If we go above that area you can have sparks and basically break down of insulation,
0:47:50 > 0:47:51and that can be bad for the network.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55The other element is if you start exporting you are actually pushing power back
0:47:55 > 0:48:00through the network, you might get up to the thermal limitation of the network as well.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03Is there any way around that, so that we don't have to
0:48:03 > 0:48:05put a strain on this network?
0:48:05 > 0:48:09So, the old-fashioned way is that you reinforce the network,
0:48:09 > 0:48:13you basically put in a bigger line, which has a lower resistance so it has
0:48:13 > 0:48:15less of an impact on the voltage.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19I'm assuming running a big cable from here to Temple Guiting,
0:48:19 > 0:48:20is not, like, 20 quid.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23No, no, you can imagine if you are talking about larger voltage levels
0:48:23 > 0:48:26it's extremely expensive for reinforcement,
0:48:26 > 0:48:28which makes it uneconomic for people to connect.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35The news from Western Power that the local power network cannot cope with
0:48:35 > 0:48:39large quantities of electricity being produced and exported by the village
0:48:39 > 0:48:44into the grid is a big blow to Robert and his project.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48That was, you know, in some ways a bit depressing because we are restricted by
0:48:48 > 0:48:52the amount of electricity we could generate in the village. These wires just aren't up to the job.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56One of the things that I quite enjoyed was when he described what would happen
0:48:56 > 0:48:57if we overloaded the grid,
0:48:57 > 0:49:00if Temple Guiting produced too much electricity
0:49:00 > 0:49:04and he was describing how it would damage the insulation.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08I kind of now understand what that means is, the wires would melt,
0:49:08 > 0:49:10they would burst into flames, there'd be sparks everywhere,
0:49:10 > 0:49:13setting fire to people's houses, electrocuting things.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16That's not a good idea, that's not what we want to do at all.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30This revelation casts a shadow over the feasibility report meeting.
0:49:30 > 0:49:31- How you doing?- Good.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33- Good.- Good to see you.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38A core group of keen villagers has arrived at Robert's house
0:49:38 > 0:49:41to hear the results of the survey of the parish.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43He's got no prejudice, he'll do it to anyone.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47My 96-year-old auntie got a shock when she came to this.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49Jo, Jo...
0:49:49 > 0:49:52None of them are expecting to hear the news that it's the grid,
0:49:52 > 0:49:55not the sites themselves, that poses the problem.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59The village itself is very constrained
0:49:59 > 0:50:03because the ability of the grid to
0:50:03 > 0:50:06both deliver energy into houses and
0:50:06 > 0:50:09also for houses to export energy back
0:50:09 > 0:50:11the other way simply because
0:50:11 > 0:50:15the wires weren't ever designed to do more
0:50:15 > 0:50:17than they currently do do.
0:50:17 > 0:50:21We are somewhat stuck with the electricity infrastructure
0:50:21 > 0:50:23that does exist at the moment.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28Because of its aged grid infrastructure, there seems to be
0:50:28 > 0:50:30only one last option for the village.
0:50:30 > 0:50:34Solar panels mounted on the new barns at the Cotswold Farm Park,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37as they can use the electricity generated on-site
0:50:37 > 0:50:42without exporting it back to the grid. And they could pay the village back an income for
0:50:42 > 0:50:44investing in the array.
0:50:44 > 0:50:50The reason the Farm Park project is as viable as it is, is precisely
0:50:50 > 0:50:54because the electricity generated in the solar panels has an immediate
0:50:54 > 0:51:01use on-site and the company on-site will pay an amount of money per
0:51:01 > 0:51:03kilowatt hour of electricity.
0:51:03 > 0:51:08There aren't that many options for other things that you could do and I
0:51:08 > 0:51:11think the great advantage of this particular solar opportunity is that it
0:51:11 > 0:51:14looks like it's feasible in the short term.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17There have been preliminary,
0:51:17 > 0:51:20preliminary discussions between the Farm Park,
0:51:20 > 0:51:25Duncan and Adam and the agent, so there's absolutely no agreement but there
0:51:25 > 0:51:27wasn't sort of instant dismissal.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32The villagers are shocked that there is only one option left.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35Just a bit...
0:51:35 > 0:51:39gutting, really. It's quite exciting, but I'm not quite so sure now.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43The ability to affect our being able to feed back to the grid has really
0:51:43 > 0:51:46limited our opportunities in what we can do,
0:51:46 > 0:51:48which has sort of flummoxed me a bit.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50I wasn't expecting that to be the problem.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53I was expecting it to be generating the energy to be the problem,
0:51:53 > 0:51:55not the fact that we couldn't get it back.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59See you. All right. Take care. Bye-bye. See you soon.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07Even a walk with his wife, Judy, can't cheer Robert up.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10His dream seems to now teeter on the brink.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15If it's this difficult for a small village to change how it powers itself,
0:52:15 > 0:52:20Robert is losing hope that his plan could ever be taken up across the country.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22Basically, we're a bit stuffed.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Even if we had permission, say,
0:52:24 > 0:52:27to put a really big solar array in the playing fields, for instance,
0:52:27 > 0:52:30we couldn't because there's nowhere to put the electricity.
0:52:30 > 0:52:31- Oh, God.- So there's all...
0:52:31 > 0:52:34and that goes on and on and on everywhere we've looked.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36So the one place we've got left is the farm park,
0:52:36 > 0:52:40it's up at Bemborough farm, with Duncan and Adam,
0:52:40 > 0:52:45and that we could do, technically, because of all their extensions they're building there.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48So then we thought, "Oh, let's put it on there".
0:52:48 > 0:52:51and that's all right and that could work, except it's not their farm.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53You've done so much work.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55I mean, if nothing happens, I don't know.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57Yeah, I know, it's a depressing prospect.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00It's been a really tough trot.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03So if nothing happens then, I mean, what would you do then?
0:53:03 > 0:53:05We'll have to sell the house and move out.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07We'll just leg it in the night.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Otherwise there'll be a burning cross on the front lawn.
0:53:16 > 0:53:21Then Robert receives more bad news from his one last hope -
0:53:21 > 0:53:22the Cotswold Farm Park.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26- ON PHONE:- Robert, I just want to bring you up to speed
0:53:26 > 0:53:28- with where we were with the building project.- Yeah.
0:53:28 > 0:53:33We are keen to progress the idea of putting PV on the roof of the
0:53:33 > 0:53:35- building.- Brilliant.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39But the complication I have is that it's a sort of
0:53:39 > 0:53:43three-way relationship with us being a tenant.
0:53:43 > 0:53:51So I think that we are going to have to sort of remove ourselves
0:53:51 > 0:53:55from the project, which I know won't come as welcome news to you,
0:53:55 > 0:53:58given the work you've done on hoping it could be part of the community
0:53:58 > 0:54:02- energy project. - No, but I mean, yeah.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04It's a bit of a blow, but I mean also,
0:54:04 > 0:54:07I completely understand because it does make more sense you doing it and
0:54:07 > 0:54:11you know, what I'm really pleased about is that you're doing it anyway, you know?
0:54:11 > 0:54:14If you said, "We just don't want solar at all," that would be more depressing.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18The fact that you're going to do it yourselves is still better than not doing it.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21I shall come and look at it and have massive panel envy when it's done.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24I look forward to showing you around.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26All right. Well, thanks, Rob.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29- That's all right. No, and I'll see you soon, I'm sure.- OK. Great.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32- All right. Good to speak to you. - All right, take care.- Cheerio.- Take care, bye.- Bye.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36You know, after all the effort we went through to sort of find out
0:54:36 > 0:54:38if it was possible and go through all the stages...
0:54:39 > 0:54:45It's just part of the endless process of working out quite how to do this, but...
0:54:47 > 0:54:49Yeah, it's a bit of a setback. No doubt about it.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55That field has got a lot of room for solaring.
0:55:00 > 0:55:05With the Cotswold Farm Park going it alone and putting solar panels on their barns themselves,
0:55:05 > 0:55:11it seems it's all over for Robert's dream of a Temple Guiting community energy project.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15He calls an emergency meeting.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22So, I've got bad news.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26Duncan and Adam at the farm park have decided to go ahead with installing
0:55:26 > 0:55:29a 50 kilowatts solar array on the barn themselves.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32So they are having solar panels, they're just not ours.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35- So a good idea, then?- Yeah, it was a good idea I gave them.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40So there will be solar panels going up in the parish on a large scale.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42OK, so that's a good thing.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45- Thank you for your hospitality this evening.- Yeah, thank you.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49Robert's dream is in pieces.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54Having set out to try and solve an energy bottleneck,
0:55:54 > 0:55:56Robert instead has found himself stuck in one.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59Robert's options seem exhausted.
0:56:01 > 0:56:02Seeking solutions,
0:56:02 > 0:56:07he goes to the headquarters of the thing that has stymied his plans, the National Grid.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09It's very nice to be back.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11That is amazing.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16The big problem we are facing is that Western Power,
0:56:16 > 0:56:18who are our local distributors,
0:56:18 > 0:56:22can't deal with us inputting a lot into our local part of the grid.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26The main solution is either just to build a much bigger grid locally,
0:56:26 > 0:56:29but actually it makes more sense financially, you know,
0:56:29 > 0:56:32and from a community sense, to use that power locally.
0:56:32 > 0:56:37The easiest way to do that is to store it, and the best way to store it,
0:56:37 > 0:56:39going over the next five years, is easily going to be batteries.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41If you look at California, Germany,
0:56:41 > 0:56:45that's what houses and communities are deciding to do right around the
0:56:45 > 0:56:48world, is to start storing and using power locally by having a battery in
0:56:48 > 0:56:50the house, or a battery in the village.
0:56:50 > 0:56:54- Even at grid level your talking about it?- That's right. We're going to have, globally,
0:56:54 > 0:56:56the largest installation of grid scale batteries
0:56:56 > 0:56:59coming in in the UK over the next year. And as you say, it's at grid level.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03Internationally, everybody's looking at it and we're seeing it right down
0:57:03 > 0:57:05to your village and to domestic as well.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07Basically what you're saying has convinced me that
0:57:07 > 0:57:10batteries are the way to go. I mean, that really does make a difference.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13If nothing else, it means we can utilise more of the power we generate
0:57:13 > 0:57:16in the village, we can use it in the village.
0:57:16 > 0:57:20It should allow you both to match off your demand against supply and make
0:57:20 > 0:57:23sure you use your renewable power locally, and in doing that,
0:57:23 > 0:57:27you also reduce the strain on your local distribution grid around there,
0:57:27 > 0:57:31- which will save you money and will help you get more renewables locally.- Right.
0:57:34 > 0:57:38The National Grid's news that they are exploring batteries as a solution
0:57:38 > 0:57:42gives Robert's crusade, that had looked dead in the water, a glimmer of new hope.
0:57:44 > 0:57:49Robert has found a new love in a 200-year-old technology - the battery.
0:57:49 > 0:57:53The thing is, you can't catch and store electricity,
0:57:53 > 0:57:58but you can store electrical energy in the chemicals contained inside a
0:57:58 > 0:58:02battery and batteries then convert this chemical energy back to electricity when you need it.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04I mean, we're all very familiar with batteries.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08We all use them every day, and I've got a whole drawer load here.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12So here's some batteries.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15Big one, medium, little fellow.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19So, there's three main components of a battery.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21There's two terminals made of different chemicals,
0:58:21 > 0:58:23which are typically metals.
0:58:23 > 0:58:26These are called the anode and the cathode.
0:58:26 > 0:58:28And then there's the electrolyte in the middle,
0:58:28 > 0:58:30and this is the chemical medium that allows
0:58:30 > 0:58:32the flow of electrical charge between the cathode,
0:58:32 > 0:58:36or the negative end, and the anode, which is the positive end.
0:58:36 > 0:58:40So when a device is connected to the battery, say a light bulb.
0:58:40 > 0:58:41Here's your battery.
0:58:41 > 0:58:47That's your plus end, that's your minus end and then here's your device. Let's say a light bulb.
0:58:47 > 0:58:49There we go.
0:58:49 > 0:58:50A little screw-in one.
0:58:51 > 0:58:53Once you connect the device to that,
0:58:53 > 0:58:56so you connect the device up and then
0:58:56 > 0:58:58the demand on the battery creates a
0:58:58 > 0:59:01chemical reaction and that lights up the bulb.
0:59:01 > 0:59:03Ping! Light bulb goes on.
0:59:03 > 0:59:06So that, you know, does look like the most boring thing on earth.
0:59:06 > 0:59:09It's just a block, but what is actually happening
0:59:09 > 0:59:11is that is an amazing mini power plant.
0:59:14 > 0:59:18Batteries could store the electricity produced by renewable technologies
0:59:18 > 0:59:22in the village and it could then be used locally when needed rather than
0:59:22 > 0:59:24overburdening the grid.
0:59:25 > 0:59:28But how to share this battery breakthrough with the local residents?
0:59:33 > 0:59:38Robert calls on Hadrian for some creative chemical advice to find a simple
0:59:38 > 0:59:43way to demonstrate how chemical power can be stored and then released as electricity.
0:59:43 > 0:59:46We can go back to a simple test you did at school,
0:59:46 > 0:59:50- which if you're like me, you probably forgot about.- Right!
0:59:52 > 0:59:56That little humble morsel has power.
0:59:56 > 1:00:01- Right.- And you just need a zinc coated nail and a copper nail.
1:00:01 > 1:00:05And what happens is that the electrons are forced away from the zinc and
1:00:05 > 1:00:07are attracted to the copper.
1:00:07 > 1:00:12So that humble potato, look, it is producing 0.9 of a volt.
1:00:12 > 1:00:17- Wow.- So effectively, if we joined ten of those together,
1:00:17 > 1:00:18we would have nine volt.
1:00:18 > 1:00:20Wow. Wow.
1:00:26 > 1:00:30To create a sizeable potato battery and enthuse the villagers with a
1:00:30 > 1:00:33possible solution to their current problem,
1:00:33 > 1:00:38Robert needs more than one potato and more than one villager to come to the demonstration.
1:00:39 > 1:00:42I've got a leaflet for you. Not much warning cos it's tonight.
1:00:42 > 1:00:44This is about your electrical job?
1:00:44 > 1:00:47That's all that electrical business. All right? Nice to see you.
1:00:47 > 1:00:48- Thank you. - Take care, Jim. Bye-bye.
1:00:52 > 1:00:56Will the villagers be turned on by Robert and Hadrian's novel approach?
1:00:59 > 1:01:02Thank you very, very much, everyone, for coming tonight.
1:01:02 > 1:01:04What we thought we'd do is do a science experiment,
1:01:04 > 1:01:06which we'll have all experienced before,
1:01:06 > 1:01:10but it does say something about energy and the way that we live and
1:01:10 > 1:01:12consume energy without thinking.
1:01:12 > 1:01:16So what you're being issued here with is a galvanised nail,
1:01:16 > 1:01:19which is covered in zinc, and a copper nail.
1:01:19 > 1:01:21That's a small potato, sir.
1:01:21 > 1:01:23I haven't taken offence.
1:01:23 > 1:01:24No.
1:01:24 > 1:01:26You wouldn't.
1:01:26 > 1:01:28The village hall has seen a fair few things,
1:01:28 > 1:01:32but I'm confident this is the first ever root vegetable battery created
1:01:32 > 1:01:33under this roof.
1:01:34 > 1:01:38- So what do you reckon we'll get out of it?- 16.- 16, OK.
1:01:39 > 1:01:43- Uh...- 15.8 volts.- Wow.
1:01:43 > 1:01:4515.8 volts.
1:01:46 > 1:01:49Is that one... It's that one that's let us down!
1:01:49 > 1:01:53Straight away here we've got 15 volts.
1:01:53 > 1:01:56I mean, you know, nine volts powers your radio,
1:01:56 > 1:02:00you can listen to several hundred hours of the Archers on a nine volt battery,
1:02:00 > 1:02:03and this is just a very simple way of showing
1:02:03 > 1:02:06that there is power in things that you wouldn't think about.
1:02:06 > 1:02:08- APPLAUSE - Thank you.
1:02:10 > 1:02:12I'm not convinced it's going to happen.
1:02:12 > 1:02:15I know from experience living here,
1:02:15 > 1:02:18that you can get very excited about something and then there's a bit of
1:02:18 > 1:02:21apathy in the village, but I would love to see it happen.
1:02:23 > 1:02:26But I'm not quite sure how it's going to happen.
1:02:26 > 1:02:27- Good to go?- Yeah.
1:02:27 > 1:02:28I should do that.
1:02:29 > 1:02:32Don't leave the lights on! Cor, blimey, it's dark.
1:02:37 > 1:02:41If 20 potatoes can be tapped so as to produce enough electricity to listen
1:02:41 > 1:02:45to over a year's worth of everyday stories of country folk on the radio,
1:02:45 > 1:02:49Robert wants to find out what the latest cutting edge battery technology
1:02:49 > 1:02:53can achieve. What batteries might be suitable for his village that could
1:02:53 > 1:02:58store the electricity produced by renewable technologies and release
1:02:58 > 1:03:01energy back as electricity when needed?
1:03:03 > 1:03:07Robert heads to Birmingham University Centre For Energy Storage.
1:03:09 > 1:03:10Hello.
1:03:10 > 1:03:14Here they have developed a prototype for a new way of storing and
1:03:14 > 1:03:16releasing energy, using air.
1:03:16 > 1:03:18- Is that it, there?- Yeah.- It's huge!
1:03:20 > 1:03:24This is an air battery, the first one like it in the world.
1:03:26 > 1:03:32- It looks like a big power station, but actually it's a giant battery, really.- Indeed, yes, it is, yes.
1:03:32 > 1:03:33It's really impressive.
1:03:33 > 1:03:36I assumed it would be like a little generator set, you know,
1:03:36 > 1:03:37but this is big.
1:03:37 > 1:03:41For this sort of power plant, it's the first one in the world.
1:03:41 > 1:03:43- Oh, is it, this is the first one in the world?- Yeah.- Wow!
1:03:48 > 1:03:49To explain what's going on,
1:03:49 > 1:03:53the centre has made a miniature version of their air battery.
1:03:58 > 1:04:01So, basically, you have liquid air stored in that tank.
1:04:01 > 1:04:05- Liquid air? - Yes, which is -196 degrees C.
1:04:05 > 1:04:07Wow, so that's really cold.
1:04:07 > 1:04:11But it's actually just air that we're breathing but squashed really down?
1:04:11 > 1:04:14Yes, squashed. So when you need electricity you switch on that,
1:04:14 > 1:04:19and liquid air will come out, it will expand at roughly 700-800 times.
1:04:19 > 1:04:24- Wow.- So, you know, quite a high-pressure, which can drive the turbines,
1:04:24 > 1:04:29- produce electricity.- And this is like a little model turbine to show, right... Can you turn it on?
1:04:29 > 1:04:31- I want to see what happens.- Oh, yes, yes, let me do that for you,
1:04:31 > 1:04:33so you'll see how it works.
1:04:33 > 1:04:36- Yeah.- So if I turn this one...
1:04:36 > 1:04:38HIGH-PITCHED WHINE
1:04:38 > 1:04:39Slowly.
1:04:42 > 1:04:47Wow. So this is how many volts... Is that the voltmeter there?
1:04:47 > 1:04:49And that's getting very cold now, wow.
1:04:51 > 1:04:56That is incredible. Because it's essentially very simple technology,
1:04:56 > 1:05:00it's not complicated, it's just wind driving a fan, isn't it, really?
1:05:00 > 1:05:06- Yes.- So then you use excess electricity to run a compressor,
1:05:06 > 1:05:09which you store in a tank, which can be huge.
1:05:09 > 1:05:11Yes, they can go to hundreds of megawatts.
1:05:11 > 1:05:15It's a brilliant way of storing a huge amount of energy.
1:05:15 > 1:05:17Yes, sustain a long system.
1:05:17 > 1:05:19Yes, right, wow.
1:05:19 > 1:05:21That's amazing to see. Thank you very much.
1:05:21 > 1:05:25- Can you just make it go again? I just want to see it working again. - OK, let's try it again.
1:05:27 > 1:05:29HIGH-PITCHED WHINE
1:05:32 > 1:05:33That is brilliant.
1:05:35 > 1:05:40Birmingham University's air battery uses excess electricity to compress air.
1:05:40 > 1:05:45When that energy is needed again, this compressed air is released,
1:05:45 > 1:05:47driving a turbine to create electricity.
1:05:49 > 1:05:50Exciting as it is,
1:05:50 > 1:05:54the futuristic air battery is some time off from being in everyday use.
1:05:56 > 1:06:00Robert wants to focus on the storage possibilities in the here and now.
1:06:00 > 1:06:03Well, we're all used batteries that you use once and throw away, you know,
1:06:03 > 1:06:05once they're chemically discharged,
1:06:05 > 1:06:08and they're being replaced by rechargeable batteries.
1:06:08 > 1:06:10Rechargeable lithium ion batteries,
1:06:10 > 1:06:13that you find in your phone or in your laptop, or even in this car.
1:06:13 > 1:06:15This car has lithium ion rechargeable batteries.
1:06:15 > 1:06:18Lithium is the lightest of all metals,
1:06:18 > 1:06:21making lithium ion batteries an extremely
1:06:21 > 1:06:23efficient way of storing energy.
1:06:23 > 1:06:28Lithium ion batteries' ability to be recharged and reused lies in the
1:06:28 > 1:06:30movement of its atoms or ions.
1:06:30 > 1:06:35In a totally discharged battery, the lithium ions lack electrons,
1:06:35 > 1:06:38so will be entirely connected to the positive electrode.
1:06:38 > 1:06:42Pumping electricity into this system adds new electrons,
1:06:42 > 1:06:47causing the lithium ion to shift to the negative electrode.
1:06:47 > 1:06:50Now loaded with high-energy electrons,
1:06:50 > 1:06:52the battery is then charged,
1:06:52 > 1:06:53restored for another use.
1:06:55 > 1:06:57Robert wants to see how these lithium ion
1:06:57 > 1:07:00rechargeable batteries can be scaled up,
1:07:00 > 1:07:03so rather than being used to recharge a mobile phone,
1:07:03 > 1:07:05they can be used to recharge a whole town.
1:07:07 > 1:07:08In America, Robert is visiting
1:07:08 > 1:07:13electricity company Southern California Edison's Mira Loma Substation.
1:07:14 > 1:07:16They have gone on a large-scale
1:07:16 > 1:07:20lithium ion rechargeable battery spending spree.
1:07:21 > 1:07:24I've come here to look at a bunch of white boxes,
1:07:24 > 1:07:27but they're really clever white boxes and what they represent, really, is the future.
1:07:27 > 1:07:30Once this substation is completed,
1:07:30 > 1:07:34this will be the biggest lithium ion battery storage project in the world.
1:07:34 > 1:07:39There's a lot going on here, and I want to find out how this technology works,
1:07:39 > 1:07:40so I'm about to meet Ron Nichols,
1:07:40 > 1:07:43who is the president of Southern California Edison.
1:07:44 > 1:07:47But I'm just waiting for him to land, because he's coming in a helicopter.
1:07:54 > 1:07:59Batteries are a really important part of overall plan for the rising
1:07:59 > 1:08:01levels of renewable energy in California.
1:08:01 > 1:08:02It's a huge state,
1:08:02 > 1:08:05with an enormous population and an enormous demand for electricity.
1:08:05 > 1:08:08We're going to be at 33% renewable energy,
1:08:08 > 1:08:12that's large-scale renewables, by 2020,
1:08:12 > 1:08:15and 50%, at least, by 2030.
1:08:15 > 1:08:18So as we look at this level of renewables,
1:08:18 > 1:08:21there are periods of time where we'll have
1:08:21 > 1:08:254,000-10,000 megawatts excess energy during the middle of the day.
1:08:25 > 1:08:27So more than you're consuming?
1:08:27 > 1:08:30More than we're consuming. So we need to find a useful home for that
1:08:30 > 1:08:32energy, and that's the benefit of batteries.
1:08:32 > 1:08:37- Right.- You have the ability to use them exactly when you need them.
1:08:37 > 1:08:41- Right.- Here is a 20 megawatt battery array, which is really significant,
1:08:41 > 1:08:46but just a piece of the puzzle to integrate renewable energy.
1:08:47 > 1:08:52These Tesla batteries, the brainchild of technology pioneer Elon Musk,
1:08:52 > 1:08:56will be charged using electricity from the grid during off-peak hours,
1:08:56 > 1:09:00releasing it back into the grid when the demand requires, providing,
1:09:00 > 1:09:02at peak capacity,
1:09:02 > 1:09:06enough electricity for the needs of a Californian town for a full day.
1:09:07 > 1:09:11But what is going on inside these white boxes?
1:09:11 > 1:09:13Robert gets a guided tour from the on-site engineer.
1:09:13 > 1:09:15- Can we have a look?- Yes, let's open this one.
1:09:17 > 1:09:18Oh, right, wow.
1:09:18 > 1:09:21So it's just a lot of big black boxes.
1:09:21 > 1:09:22A lot of single batteries that
1:09:22 > 1:09:26connect together to make the large battery systems.
1:09:26 > 1:09:29- Each one of those, then, isn't that powerful?- No, that's correct.
1:09:29 > 1:09:31It doesn't contain that much, but there's so many of them.
1:09:31 > 1:09:34The common element is fairly small, maybe something you have in your laptop,
1:09:34 > 1:09:37I mean that's kind of the energy content of a single medium cell.
1:09:37 > 1:09:39- Right.- And just you put those together,
1:09:39 > 1:09:42add them together and create those large battery systems, you know.
1:09:42 > 1:09:45So they could, if they wanted to, increase the size of it?
1:09:45 > 1:09:48- They could have 800?- That's correct, just by adding more of those common components,
1:09:48 > 1:09:51you could double the size or triple the size of that system.
1:09:51 > 1:09:55So these 400 boxes, then, they've got a capacity of how much power?
1:09:55 > 1:09:57So 20 megawatts for four hours,
1:09:57 > 1:09:59which is equal to around 80 megawatts an hour.
1:09:59 > 1:10:01So how long do these take to charge up?
1:10:01 > 1:10:03So this system is a four-hour system, which means
1:10:03 > 1:10:07it can be de-charged in four hours, and as a result can be recharged in roughly the same amount of time.
1:10:07 > 1:10:10- Oh, I see.- The power is limited by the inverter,
1:10:10 > 1:10:12the inverter is sized specifically
1:10:12 > 1:10:14to despatch that energy in four hours,
1:10:14 > 1:10:17so you can use the same power to recharge in the same amount of time.
1:10:17 > 1:10:19Because I noticed when you opened the door
1:10:19 > 1:10:21I got the smell of brand-new electronics, you know,
1:10:21 > 1:10:23like when you unbox your new computer.
1:10:23 > 1:10:25So these have just been made, effectively?
1:10:25 > 1:10:28Yeah, basically as soon as they can make them, they ship them,
1:10:28 > 1:10:30and you're correct, this is a brand-new product
1:10:30 > 1:10:33- that was probably only manufactured a few weeks ago.- Right, right.
1:10:33 > 1:10:36It's very inspiring, Luic, thank you so much for explaining it.
1:10:36 > 1:10:40Because if you can do this on this scale - OK, it's a huge budget,
1:10:40 > 1:10:42it's an enormous project, it's the biggest battery packs in the world,
1:10:42 > 1:10:46all that stuff, but it does sort of inspire me to think, well,
1:10:46 > 1:10:49if we do this in the village on a much smaller level,
1:10:49 > 1:10:50it is technically achievable.
1:10:50 > 1:10:53So many houses are in the village?
1:10:53 > 1:10:56- How much power?- It's about 62 houses, so very modest.
1:10:56 > 1:11:00So 60 hours, you may get away with two megawatts -
1:11:00 > 1:11:02maybe a great fit for what you're after.
1:11:02 > 1:11:05I think I'm going to have to suggest that, then, to the parish council.
1:11:05 > 1:11:08We need two megawatts of Tesla batteries.
1:11:08 > 1:11:11We could put them round the back of the school somewhere.
1:11:11 > 1:11:13- Behind the church. - Yeah, yeah, behind the church!
1:11:17 > 1:11:20They really don't look like much, but what they represent, I think,
1:11:20 > 1:11:21is a glimpse into the future.
1:11:21 > 1:11:25These are really a first step on a really big change to the whole way
1:11:25 > 1:11:26that we look at electricity.
1:11:26 > 1:11:30It's not just big scale - it's OFF the scale.
1:11:31 > 1:11:35This lithium ion battery array contains enough stored energy
1:11:35 > 1:11:40to fulfil the needs of 2,500 homes for 24 hours.
1:11:42 > 1:11:45Temple Guiting has 62 houses,
1:11:45 > 1:11:47meaning it only needs around a fortieth
1:11:47 > 1:11:49of this rechargeable capacity.
1:11:50 > 1:11:52Robert looks closer to home,
1:11:52 > 1:11:55to understand how renewables and storage
1:11:55 > 1:11:57can work together on a smaller scale.
1:11:57 > 1:12:00I'm on my way to Oxford, because I've been doing tonnes of research
1:12:00 > 1:12:02about this project I've heard about,
1:12:02 > 1:12:05where they're using batteries but not at grid level,
1:12:05 > 1:12:07they're using them at domestic level
1:12:07 > 1:12:10and I'm really excited to see if we can use something like that in the village.
1:12:14 > 1:12:18This initiative is taking place in 82 homes on a housing estate,
1:12:18 > 1:12:20to help reduce fuel poverty.
1:12:22 > 1:12:24Andy Edwards, the project coordinator,
1:12:24 > 1:12:28is taking Robert to see one of the homes involved in the scheme.
1:12:28 > 1:12:29Some solar on that house up there.
1:12:29 > 1:12:32- This is the one we're going into... - OK, all right.
1:12:34 > 1:12:37- Hello.- Hello.- Eleanor. Hello, I'm Robert.
1:12:37 > 1:12:39Hello, Robert, nice to meet you, come along in.
1:12:39 > 1:12:40Thank you very much.
1:12:41 > 1:12:43Straight through. I've made some coffee.
1:12:43 > 1:12:46Oh, that's very kind of you, yeah, thank you. Yeah.
1:12:46 > 1:12:47Erm...
1:12:47 > 1:12:49Let me go and get the pot.
1:12:49 > 1:12:52Ooh, I'm looking at the graph already. Ooh.
1:12:54 > 1:12:58Yes, that shows the electricity consumption in the house.
1:12:58 > 1:12:59This yellow line
1:12:59 > 1:13:03- is the power generated by our solar panels up here...- Right.
1:13:03 > 1:13:06..and the blue line shows what's coming from the battery,
1:13:06 > 1:13:08that's our consumption.
1:13:08 > 1:13:12So the spikes are your consumption, but the thick blue bits...
1:13:12 > 1:13:15Are when the battery is releasing electricity,
1:13:15 > 1:13:17and so bringing down the spikes.
1:13:17 > 1:13:20Have you noticed a difference in the way you use electricity?
1:13:20 > 1:13:22Because we always used to just switch things on
1:13:22 > 1:13:25- and then never thought about it. - Yeah, it's changed our behaviour hugely.
1:13:25 > 1:13:27So essentially, what we try to do is
1:13:27 > 1:13:30use the electricity when it's coming from the solar panels,
1:13:30 > 1:13:34and then what the battery enables us to do is to use some of the
1:13:34 > 1:13:37electricity generated during the day, in the evenings.
1:13:37 > 1:13:40In the evenings, right. So then in actual financial terms,
1:13:40 > 1:13:42your electricity bill, has it gone down?
1:13:42 > 1:13:44- Oh, yes. Oh, yes. - Right, so it's been
1:13:44 > 1:13:46- a noticeable reduction? - Yes, it's huge, huge.
1:13:46 > 1:13:48So, Eleanor, can I actually see your battery?
1:13:48 > 1:13:51- Where is it? I keep looking round... - As long as you don't mind a mouse.
1:13:51 > 1:13:53- I don't mind a mouse, no.- There's a mouse in the cupboard
1:13:53 > 1:13:55- under the stairs.- Oh, I like mice. - He sometimes comes out.
1:13:55 > 1:13:58There's also an ironing board and a hoover, but you don't mind that?
1:13:58 > 1:14:01- Don't mind, I can deal with both of those.- Come along, then.
1:14:01 > 1:14:04It's here.
1:14:04 > 1:14:07Come past it. So, as you can see, it's a bit of a mess, I'm afraid,
1:14:07 > 1:14:12- but there it is. - Yes, it's very small - if you didn't know what it was,
1:14:12 > 1:14:14you'd just think it was something electrical.
1:14:14 > 1:14:16Yes, it looks a bit like a fuse box, doesn't it?
1:14:16 > 1:14:19- Yeah, yeah.- A bit bigger than a fuse box, but not different.
1:14:19 > 1:14:21- Wow, that's amazing.- So that's all it is.- Right.
1:14:21 > 1:14:25- I'm checking out for a mouse - oh, what a shame, I was hoping... - Oh, he's hiding, he's hiding!
1:14:25 > 1:14:26SHE LAUGHS
1:14:26 > 1:14:28Without the battery storage system,
1:14:28 > 1:14:33residents like Eleanor would rely on the grid to supply all their electricity.
1:14:33 > 1:14:39Now, with batteries in their homes to store energy created by solar panels on their roofs,
1:14:39 > 1:14:41they can use this energy when they want,
1:14:41 > 1:14:44rather than just when the sun is shining.
1:14:44 > 1:14:48I think what I've seen here today is exactly what I was looking for in the village.
1:14:48 > 1:14:51So this is a brilliant example of what we COULD do
1:14:51 > 1:14:53probably on a smaller scale, in Temple Guiting,
1:14:53 > 1:14:55it's really exciting to see that it DOES work,
1:14:55 > 1:14:58which is what I've been trying to communicate to the village
1:14:58 > 1:15:01but without any kind of solid examples,
1:15:01 > 1:15:04and this is a really good example of exactly what I've been trying to do.
1:15:04 > 1:15:07The batteries installed in this community in Oxford
1:15:07 > 1:15:10deliver a mini grid of power storage and demand,
1:15:10 > 1:15:15with the batteries linked up to share excess energy across the 82 homes.
1:15:15 > 1:15:18The residents have more control of the energy they use,
1:15:18 > 1:15:20and rely less on the National Grid,
1:15:20 > 1:15:24helping to reduce the strain on the country's power infrastructure,
1:15:24 > 1:15:26and saving them money too.
1:15:33 > 1:15:35Robert has spread the word
1:15:35 > 1:15:40that the engineers involved with the Oxford project are visiting Temple Guiting,
1:15:40 > 1:15:42to see if something similar is possible here.
1:15:42 > 1:15:43Hi. Mark from Oxford Energy.
1:15:43 > 1:15:45- Pleased to meet you.- And you.
1:15:45 > 1:15:47I'll take you down to a possible location...
1:15:47 > 1:15:49Having immersed himself in batteries,
1:15:49 > 1:15:52Robert believes the best solution for the village is smaller domestic
1:15:52 > 1:15:56batteries that store the energy produced by solar panels,
1:15:56 > 1:15:59until the demand for electricity is needed.
1:15:59 > 1:16:02We have a piece of vacant ground here, south facing,
1:16:02 > 1:16:03which I believe is ideal.
1:16:03 > 1:16:07Yes, that's right. Any shading that we can remove, any shading that you've got control of, will help.
1:16:07 > 1:16:10- These trees, Michael...- Those trees are within my control,
1:16:10 > 1:16:13- so I've planted them and I can fell them.- OK.
1:16:13 > 1:16:17Because of the trees shading most of the village, and many buildings
1:16:17 > 1:16:20being listed, the engineers are looking for places where solar panels
1:16:20 > 1:16:22could be ground-mounted...
1:16:22 > 1:16:24Hello, Mark, welcome to High Cottage...
1:16:24 > 1:16:26..close enough to homes that could house a battery.
1:16:26 > 1:16:29We thought a natural location for us is here,
1:16:29 > 1:16:32because this is a bit of a dead space in the garden.
1:16:32 > 1:16:36OK. The issue is going to be the very building we're talking about.
1:16:36 > 1:16:38So when the sun comes up,
1:16:38 > 1:16:40it's going to take a while before the panels start to...
1:16:40 > 1:16:43Clearly, you're not going to get the maximum.
1:16:43 > 1:16:46It's the only location in this garden that would work.
1:16:47 > 1:16:50Next, the engineer visits Kate, who has plenty of fields -
1:16:50 > 1:16:54potentially the perfect location for ground-mounted solar panels.
1:16:54 > 1:16:57..Thank you for making it. I know, terrible weather too.
1:16:57 > 1:17:01So probably the easiest thing, if we go up here and then across...
1:17:01 > 1:17:03- That way?- Yeah. Is that all right?
1:17:03 > 1:17:07It has been a bit of a roller-coaster since we started this project
1:17:07 > 1:17:09to look at green energy for the village.
1:17:09 > 1:17:11And I think it was a very big low to find out
1:17:11 > 1:17:13that we couldn't actually upload
1:17:13 > 1:17:15to the grid to generate any revenue for the village,
1:17:15 > 1:17:18for any community projects, was also a bit disappointing.
1:17:18 > 1:17:20That flat piece up the top here...
1:17:20 > 1:17:22'To then have this new revelation,'
1:17:22 > 1:17:26which was actually storing energy in batteries,
1:17:26 > 1:17:30which is quite a sensible idea, really, is actually quite exciting.
1:17:30 > 1:17:32So...yeah. I'm excited.
1:17:32 > 1:17:35So it's really anywhere along from this tree
1:17:35 > 1:17:37where our lovely little owl lives,
1:17:37 > 1:17:40and I assume the site would need a clear view,
1:17:40 > 1:17:42so the sun or the light could get to it?
1:17:42 > 1:17:44Yeah, the clearer view they've got,
1:17:44 > 1:17:47the more energy they're going to produce.
1:17:47 > 1:17:49- OK.- Let me show you the kind of thing.
1:17:52 > 1:17:55That's a larger array than YOU'RE likely to have,
1:17:55 > 1:17:57but that's the kind of idea.
1:17:57 > 1:18:01- So they'd be at that sort of angle, facing in that direction.- Yeah.
1:18:01 > 1:18:04That's a slightly different mounting system,
1:18:04 > 1:18:06on metal poles driven into the ground...
1:18:06 > 1:18:09- I see.- So you have the panels on the ground,
1:18:09 > 1:18:11- changing the light into energy. - Yeah.
1:18:11 > 1:18:14When we attach a battery to it, you can store the energy...
1:18:14 > 1:18:16- That you're not using.- That you're not using, exactly.
1:18:16 > 1:18:18- What a great idea.- Does that make sense?- Yeah, yeah.
1:18:18 > 1:18:20HORSE SNORTS
1:18:20 > 1:18:24- I think we've got some interest here.- Ooh, hello!- Hello, boys.
1:18:24 > 1:18:26Hello. Hello, Harry.
1:18:26 > 1:18:29'There was me thinking it was probably not going to be...
1:18:29 > 1:18:32'It was just a great idea, and I'd research it,'
1:18:32 > 1:18:33but actually I think it might have wings.
1:18:33 > 1:18:35I do believe this might have wings.
1:18:36 > 1:18:39So now I'm going to go and hit their website and punch in some numbers
1:18:39 > 1:18:42and see whether that really is the case, but...yes, quite exciting.
1:18:44 > 1:18:47Four householders in the village express an early interest in this
1:18:47 > 1:18:50domestic battery and solar panel combo.
1:18:50 > 1:18:55It's a start - but it's not yet the uptake that Robert had hoped for.
1:18:55 > 1:18:58He talks to others about the advances in batteries.
1:18:58 > 1:19:01So the next step is - rapidly emerging technology
1:19:01 > 1:19:03but it's still early days - is batteries...
1:19:03 > 1:19:06Robert hopes a larger building might be found
1:19:06 > 1:19:08where more solar panels could be mounted.
1:19:10 > 1:19:13This would produce more renewable energy.
1:19:13 > 1:19:17It can be used in the parish, and may even provide the village with a small income.
1:19:19 > 1:19:24Word of Robert's hunt for a suitable larger site reaches local farmers
1:19:24 > 1:19:25Paul and Val Hughes.
1:19:25 > 1:19:28Robert's great, and I think what Robert's trying to do
1:19:28 > 1:19:31with this renewable energy is admirable, really.
1:19:31 > 1:19:37Certainly, yeah, solar panels or wind turbines, I'd be all for that.
1:19:37 > 1:19:39Yeah, they can have as many acres as they like
1:19:39 > 1:19:43from off of us, if they want to put panels up there.
1:19:45 > 1:19:48Hearing that the Hughes might have a barn big enough to fit a large
1:19:48 > 1:19:50quantity of solar panels,
1:19:50 > 1:19:54Robert races to the farm as fast as his electric car can take him.
1:19:57 > 1:20:00This news could be the breakthrough Robert needs -
1:20:00 > 1:20:03a new lease of life for a larger scale community energy project.
1:20:03 > 1:20:06Now, I heard a rumour that you've got a barn...
1:20:06 > 1:20:10The village produces electricity, and makes money by selling it
1:20:10 > 1:20:11to farmer Paul at a discount,
1:20:11 > 1:20:15in return for him letting them use his barn roof.
1:20:15 > 1:20:20I HAD thought about putting panels or some sort of generating
1:20:20 > 1:20:24electric on this wood barn. This is south facing, so...
1:20:24 > 1:20:27- Perfect facing.- ..it would be a perfect place
1:20:27 > 1:20:31and of course we're right local to the high-voltage lines...
1:20:31 > 1:20:34- Wow. Of course. - ..which is 150 metres away.
1:20:34 > 1:20:36Yeah. That's not very far away, is it?
1:20:36 > 1:20:40- So it'd be ideal.- I'm just trying to think what we'd actually get on that roof.
1:20:40 > 1:20:42I mean, you'd certainly get 25 kilowatts on there,
1:20:42 > 1:20:46which is enough for sort of ten houses of annual electricity.
1:20:46 > 1:20:48- Yeah.- So it's quite a lot of stuff.
1:20:50 > 1:20:53After talking to Paul, it's a mixture of two emotions.
1:20:53 > 1:20:55One, elation that he's really keen, he wants to do it,
1:20:55 > 1:20:57he's an electrician, he understands it.
1:20:57 > 1:21:01He's talking about solar on the barn, which is fantastic, it's right next to the village -
1:21:01 > 1:21:03that's all good. The only embarrassing...
1:21:03 > 1:21:05Bit embarrassing that I hadn't asked him before,
1:21:05 > 1:21:08that we've been through this huge journey to try and find places we can
1:21:08 > 1:21:11install renewables in the village,
1:21:11 > 1:21:15and it never occurred to me to ask Paul, who's there all the time.
1:21:15 > 1:21:18I mean, he didn't come to the meeting, so he wasn't sort of in my mind
1:21:18 > 1:21:20when I was talking to people about it.
1:21:20 > 1:21:23Now we've had a chat, it's really good news.
1:21:23 > 1:21:25So it's very good, it's a win-win. Definitely.
1:21:32 > 1:21:36This barn could be the first step to a community renewable energy scheme
1:21:36 > 1:21:41for the village. A 20 kilowatt solar array on the barn roof,
1:21:41 > 1:21:46capable of producing enough electricity to offset around six houses,
1:21:46 > 1:21:49or one tenth of the whole village.
1:21:56 > 1:22:01It will be some time before Robert hears whether Paul Hughes' barn is sturdy enough,
1:22:01 > 1:22:04and in the right position for solar panels to be installed.
1:22:06 > 1:22:09- ..That's lovely. Thank you. - Thank you.
1:22:09 > 1:22:13Robert and the village wait for spring, and news to arrive.
1:22:34 > 1:22:38So we've had the survey done at the barn, up at Hitchins Farm,
1:22:38 > 1:22:43and we can put 20 kilowatts of solar onto the barn -
1:22:43 > 1:22:45which is not a huge amount, but it's enough for, say,
1:22:45 > 1:22:48five or six houses over a year.
1:22:49 > 1:22:52Robert wants to show the village what would be possible,
1:22:52 > 1:22:56if they invest together in solar panels to mount on Paul Hughes' barn.
1:22:58 > 1:23:02Paul will buy all his electricity that he'll use at the farm from those panels,
1:23:02 > 1:23:06and then an electricity company will buy the remainder that he doesn't use.
1:23:07 > 1:23:12It makes it JUST financially sensible for the village to invest in it
1:23:12 > 1:23:13because there will be a return on it,
1:23:13 > 1:23:17there will be a very modest income for the village for the next 25 years.
1:23:17 > 1:23:22More than a couple of jumble sales a year, so, you know, it's quite good.
1:23:22 > 1:23:25But after all this struggle, it's finally actually possible,
1:23:25 > 1:23:29and what I'm hoping today is that a lot of people in the village
1:23:29 > 1:23:32who've sort of seen me wandering around talking about solar panels the last two years,
1:23:32 > 1:23:35will come up to the barn today to have a look at what we're up to,
1:23:35 > 1:23:38and hence that's why I'm putting the bunting on, to try and...
1:23:38 > 1:23:40To draw them in.
1:23:47 > 1:23:49Do you want a cup of tea? Or a coffee?
1:23:49 > 1:23:51How many panels? Actual panels...?
1:23:51 > 1:23:53They're on for putting 60 panels...
1:23:53 > 1:23:56- 60. And that's...- Yeah, that's 20 kilowatts.- Yeah.
1:23:56 > 1:24:00It makes sense from your point of view, if the barn is suitable,
1:24:00 > 1:24:03that you DO use as much as you can, and also batteries is the thing...
1:24:03 > 1:24:05- Yeah.- ..so that you can use then much more of it.
1:24:05 > 1:24:08I'm just interested by the latest development in panels.
1:24:08 > 1:24:10- Yeah.- They're a great deal more sophisticated...
1:24:10 > 1:24:13- Much more sophisticated.- ..than they were.- And cheaper. Much cheaper.
1:24:13 > 1:24:17- And cheaper.- Yeah.- That makes a difference to the viability of the whole project.- Yeah.
1:24:17 > 1:24:19I see it very much as step one -
1:24:19 > 1:24:22if this works and everybody gets to understand what we're doing here,
1:24:22 > 1:24:25then we can then do step two, which may be a bigger project
1:24:25 > 1:24:27somewhere else in the village, some other building.
1:24:27 > 1:24:29You know, there's this barn roof here, which is also suitable.
1:24:29 > 1:24:32We were talking about field-mounted solar panels,
1:24:32 > 1:24:34there's so many questions, but we've got through the first
1:24:34 > 1:24:37very difficult gate.
1:24:37 > 1:24:41It's been a long, hard journey so far for Robert to get here.
1:24:41 > 1:24:43He's had to overcome many obstacles,
1:24:43 > 1:24:46but with dogged persistence and with the help of neighbours,
1:24:46 > 1:24:51his crusade for renewable technologies installed in the village is under way.
1:24:51 > 1:24:54Should the village invest in 60 solar panels for the roof of
1:24:54 > 1:24:56Paul's barn, like the ones on show here,
1:24:56 > 1:25:01this will offset the electrical consumption of around six homes in the village.
1:25:01 > 1:25:04The investment could also give them a small return,
1:25:04 > 1:25:07and after accounting for the cost of the scheme
1:25:07 > 1:25:11could put hundreds of pounds each year into the village community pot.
1:25:11 > 1:25:13This money can then be used to invest in new schemes,
1:25:13 > 1:25:16so in the future not just one tenth of the village,
1:25:16 > 1:25:19but all of the village's electricity could be offset.
1:25:19 > 1:25:23Word of Robert's breakthrough has reached Las Vegas' city mayor,
1:25:23 > 1:25:28and she's decided to send her own message of congratulations.
1:25:28 > 1:25:32It was so nice meeting with Robert and hearing about Temple Guiting
1:25:32 > 1:25:35and everything you're doing for sustainability.
1:25:35 > 1:25:39And now I've heard you've got solar energy and solar panels,
1:25:39 > 1:25:43so come visit us here in Las Vegas and you can see what ours look like,
1:25:43 > 1:25:45and we wish you the very best.
1:25:45 > 1:25:46Congratulations.
1:25:54 > 1:25:56This village is a mirror for the whole country, really.
1:25:56 > 1:25:59If we can do what we've done here, install renewables in this village,
1:25:59 > 1:26:01then it can be done anywhere in the country.
1:26:01 > 1:26:04And it is about taking control of the way we produce and consume energy,
1:26:04 > 1:26:07so it's been a real roller-coaster ride - lots of setbacks,
1:26:07 > 1:26:09but we HAVE managed to do it,
1:26:09 > 1:26:12and it's been amazing surprises and revelations.
1:26:12 > 1:26:14And one of the big surprises is that there's any connection
1:26:14 > 1:26:17between this village, a tiny little medieval settlement
1:26:17 > 1:26:20in the middle of the rolling English countryside,
1:26:20 > 1:26:22and a city like Las Vegas in the middle of the Nevada Desert.
1:26:22 > 1:26:24That was quite a big surprise.
1:26:24 > 1:26:26So, there we go. Anyway,
1:26:26 > 1:26:29that's about straight... Perfect.