Energy, Sustainability and Carbon – Page 12

Renewable energy on a farm: scale, grid and landscape

Soil quality, a workable grid connection and landscape effect decide farm renewables applications. A site specific agricultural land classification survey is usually the single most useful document.

Overheating on a noise constrained site: the ventilation conflict

A closed window acoustic strategy and an open window overheating model cannot both be right. Resolving it is a layout decision taken at concept stage, not a modelling tweak.

Securing energy performance after construction by condition

A condition requiring Part L compliance is unenforceable in planning terms. One tied to the improvement the energy statement promised is not. The difference decides whether it can be discharged.

Defending the assumptions inside an energy statement

Reviewers go straight to four assumptions in any energy statement. Here is what they check, why the numbers slip and how sensitivity testing settles the argument early.

Water efficiency standards and how planning secures them

The optional technical standard only applies where local policy justifies it. Here is how the fittings calculation works and how compliance is actually verified.

Evidencing a fabric first approach in a planning submission

Fabric first only counts when it is quantified. Here is what to put in an energy statement so the demand reduction survives officer scrutiny and condition discharge.

What an energy statement for a single new dwelling needs

For one new dwelling the energy document should run to a few pages. Here is how to check whether it is required and what to put in it.

Heat network connection requirements in local plan policy

Connection, connection-ready or a feasibility case: which one applies decides plant space, riser strategy and flow temperatures, so settle it before the layout is fixed.

EPC ratings, minimum standards and where planning fits

An EPC is not a planning consideration, but the works that improve one often need permission. Here is how the two regimes meet, and how to sequence a retrofit or conversion.

Energy work on a listed building and the consent needed

Listed building consent is needed for most energy work that touches historic fabric. Here is what is usually accepted, what is resisted, and the evidence a conservation officer expects.

Air source heat pumps: planning limits and noise assessment

Most domestic heat pumps go in under permitted development, subject to conditions including a noise standard. The limits have changed more than once, so check the current Order.

How far a local plan can go beyond Building Regulations

Local plans can set energy standards above Building Regulations, but the statutory basis is narrower than it looks and ministerial statements pull the other way.

Part O overheating: simplified method or dynamic modelling

Approved Document O offers two routes. The simplified method is quick but rigid on glazing and free area, and noise or security constraints on opening windows usually push a scheme to dynamic modelling.

How a BREEAM rating is secured by planning condition

Two certification stages, a version-specific manual and mandatory minimum credits sit between a pre-assessment and a discharged condition. Where schemes come unstuck.

Whole life carbon: what modules A to D actually cover

Upfront, embodied and whole life carbon are three different totals built from the same modules. Which is which, and the assumptions that move the answer most.

What Part L 2021 changed for a planning energy statement

Emissions, primary energy and fabric efficiency all have targets now. What the 2021 uplift changed, and the double counting that officers look for first.

Green roofs: drainage, biodiversity and thermal benefit

Green roof policy arrives through drainage, greening and biodiversity policies at once, and each asks for different evidence. Here is what substrate depth buys, how much attenuation credit to expect, and how the condition is usually worded.

Energy modelling assumptions officers challenge

Energy statements are challenged on their inputs, not their headline percentage. Here are the assumptions officers query, from baseline edition and heat pump flow temperature to PV capacity and air permeability.

Battery energy storage: the planning issues that decide it

Since 2020 battery storage of any capacity in England is a local planning decision. Fire safety, plant noise, landscape and decommissioning are what the application turns on.

The optional water efficiency standard and planning conditions

Part G sets 125 litres per person per day as standard and 110 as an optional requirement that only applies when a planning condition brings it into effect. Here is how that mechanism works in practice.

Farm scale wind turbines and the planning route

There is no permitted development right for a farm turbine in England, and a hub height above 15 metres makes it Schedule 2 development. Here is the evidence base a council will expect.

13 September 2026Read article →

Rooftop solar on commercial buildings under Class J

Roof arrays on commercial buildings are usually permitted development, with a prior approval step. Where flat roof tilts, listings and storage change the route.

13 September 2026Read article →

On-site carbon reduction targets in local plan policy

Percentage improvement, absolute standard or hierarchy: three drafting patterns that behave differently. Plus the baseline problem when Part L changes.