A Learning History of Low Carbon Innovation in Local Authorities

Barnsley Biomass Learning History: Headline responses

At the workshop active readers recorded the following top of the head reactions in their workbooks just after they had read the Barnsley Learning History: 

This is similar to what I want to achieve in my Local Authority 

Absolutely compelling read; ….as it unfolded it started to generate ideas for me about what I think we could do – or just confirm some ideas I’ve already had. I want to go back over it and form a jobs list! 

This is all about ‘heat’ and what has been done is excellent. However there are some elements of serendipity that help. 

The story is inspiring – by virtue of what has been achieved. However it took a long time – 20 years. A very enlightening read – a number of issues & challenges simply summarised and themed. I agree that the case is relevant but I feel some key areas are underplayed. (e.g when and why did the Dir of Finance take responsibility!!!) 

You can read a precis of readers' comments here. The Barnsley Learning History can be downloaded from the Lowcarbonworks project website here.

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Barnsley Learning History: Summary of workbook responses

The Barnsley Learning History Poster

At the workshop active readers recorded thoughts, feelings, and ideas in workbooks just after they had read the Barnsley Learning History (which can be downloaded from our project website here). Their headline responses to the History can be read here. This entry provides a general summary of what was in the workbooks.

Readers really engaged with the ‘Biomass’ as a solution aspect of this history and were unanimously appreciative of what has been achieved there. The costs of heating achieved in Barnsley impressed readers – indeed one reader doubted that the quoted figure of 20p / MWh was attainable. In general the history was relevant to readers. It seemed to reinforce ideas they had already and got them thinking of actions they might take in their own locale

As with other Learning Histories there was a sense of urgency evoked as readers noted how the efforts at Barnsley stretched over two decades.

Workbooks showed a concerted attempt to grapple with questions of ‘why Barnsley’ and not elsewhere. This was perhaps a challenge to the provocative ‘it’s a no-brainer’ in the title. Readers were clear it isn’t as easy: There were elements of luck specific to Barnsley – having wet systems in the flats. Getting EST grants – not freely available and the lack of push from Env health. Readers noted Dick’s expertise and the continuity of his championing the project as also being a very particular advantage for the project.

Gaps & missing perspectives from the story were highlighted: one reader wondered about the community perspective; another suspected that there must be a back-story about the political support that wasn’t covered by the History. There were questions about these gaps, but most questions centred around the potential of Biomass as a low carbon solution.

More general points about the approach to innovation were also made. The ideas about risk were of interest as was the systematic approach that combined strategy and piloting implementations. “Once you’ve established it works, half the battle is won” commented a reader.

All readers honed in particularly on ‘trust’ as an important theme. The main thing I have taken from this are the benefits of trust, commented one reader, who went on to note how: ‘trust’ in a person led to ‘trust’ in the technology.

Find out what other readers of the Barnsley history found relevant to their experiences and challenges.

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Barnsley Learning History: Questions

Questions posed by active readers of the The Barnsley Learning History centred around Biomass as a solution – in Barnsley and its potential elsewhere.

Many questions derived from readers’ own experience of the barriers to biomass: Why was air quality not an issue? How did opportunity develop into strategy? I don’t see a political champion so how was this area of support achieved? What resources (staff) were available to search for and complete funding requests?

Readers were also keen to for more practical details of how the project became successful: How was the wood storage yard funded? How have horticulture responded to the change in practice of wood handling? Was a new wood chipper required? What were the costs? How is the woodchip moved around?

Some questions related to missing aspects of the story: how did the tenants experience the changes? How was political support gained? When did the financial directorate become supportive and why was that?

Finally there were lots of questions that were related to the viability of biomass long-term. What proportion of Barnsley’s heat can be supplied from local biomass? And more generally I’d be worried that as market develops the costs increase and there must be a limit to ‘local’ availability – could be wrong – but a worry.

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Barnsley Learning History: Readers relate it to their experiences

We have different circumstances in our Authority but we are not short of opportunities, commented one active reader of the The Barnsley Learning History (which can be downloaded from our project website here)

The reader went on to think about how the fearful attitudes to district heating and biomass in her organisation might be addressed. Another reader cited lack of expertise as a problem – particularly among the property services division. Though he could identify buildings in his authority very similar to those described in the History, and there was high-level support for carbon reduction in his authority, the confidence and expertise was lacking and this was a major barrier. Noting that ‘there is an inevitability about wood heat for large buildings’ he went on to think about how local wood chip might be maximised. A few readers started to think about getting high-level agreement to systematically start replacing existing boilers (gas/oil) with woodchip boilers. Another commented that he would explore the whole-life-costing idea more and try to work to push that.

Part of the Barnsley Learning History Poster

The ‘disinterested’ Environment Health people in Barnsley was perceived as a lucky break by one reader. In his Authority boiler emissions, public opinion and biodiversity were all areas of concern when it came to biomass. The importance of the study tour struck chords with a couple of readers: one remembered a similar useful learning visit he experienced; another noted a possible action might be to arrange one to Austria. Another reader wrote a story of when he had been involved in the development of a Biomass Heating scheme. Though it had started well, the project had lost momentum when the key champion retired. Continuity he remarked was vital for complex projects like Biomass.

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