Solar panels are an effective way of improving the energy efficiency of a project. But this can be costly, with large up-front payments often limiting their use.
The Crown Commercial Service’s Leasing and Loan Finance Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) a range of financing options make securing solar panels for your project simple and achievable. Whether you are looking for a hire purchase, a finance lease, and operating lease or an asset secured loan, you can find the finance solution that will work for you.
Commercial Solutions has released a new guide entitled Schools and the Heat Decarbonisation Challenge with the aim of supporting schools in setting achievable pathways to more sustainable heat.
The report assesses the different heating technologies, solutions and approaches that will need to be available to schools to reduce heatassociated energy usage and emissions in their buildings while prioritising performance and practicality.
Baxi’s new guide:
• explores the currently available options to achieve more sustainable heating in older primary and secondary school buildings outlines the value of planning phased refurbishment programmes to achieve optimal outcomes and long-term goals
• illustrates the achievable carbon and energy savings from a stepwise approach.
Heating is one of the UK’s primary sources of emissions, accounting for around a third of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Decarbonising heat in buildings is therefore key to achieving the UK’s ambitious 2050 net zero target. But it’s a huge challenge and one that can be particularly problematic in existing school buildings.
Andy Green, Director at Baxi Commercial Solutions said: “As heat experts, we understand the issues that schools are up against when tackling heat decarbonisation in their buildings, particularly with the energy crisis squeezing already tight budgets.
“Ultimately, the goal is to transition to low carbon heating technology such as heat pumps. But school buildings are often complex projects for refurbishment. Estates and facilities managers, consultant engineers, M&E contractors and installers can face an array of issues, with time, budget, available power and physical space just some of the typical limitations.”
As full decarbonisation is unlikely to be achieved overnight in older or poorly insulated school buildings with high thermal demand, plotting an achievable pathway to improved sustainability can
be vital to deliver successful outcomes. Using smart simulation software, the Baxi guide analyses the achievable energy and carbon savings from a phased refurbishment programme in theoretical secondary and primary schools. The simulated stages include initial measures to improve energy efficiency, the installation of a more efficient, future-ready system, and a multivalent approach involving air source heat pumps to decarbonise a large portion of the annual heat demand.
“The heat decarbonisation challenge is far from new,” Andy continued. “But the energy and climate crises make it clear that we in the heating industry need to act now to help UK schools progress towards more sustainable, affordable heat.
Ensuring robust design practice is key. By working together, heating manufacturers and professionals can help schools get the most from their heating budget while ensuring best practice for heat decarbonisation.
“Even with the support outlined by the new Prime Minister, it’s essential that schools understand all the available options to drive down heat-related energy consumption in their buildings. Full decarbonisation may not necessarily happen overnight, but, as our report shows, there is considerable value to be gained from taking even the first few steps on their pathway.”
Schools and the Heat Decarbonisation Challenge is available now for free download at: www.baxi.co.uk/landing/knowledgecentre/schools-decarbonisation
Build resilience, sustainability, and affordability into your power with groundbreaking hardware, software, and control systems from Powerstar. Our range of products includes transformers, voltage optimisation, and a unique solution for UPS using battery energy storage technology, all manufactured and supported in the UK.
Our solutions intelligently manage customers’ power flows to make power greener, cheaper, and more secure, come rain or shine.
Fox Community Energy Cooperative worked with clean tech innovation hub Energy Systems Catapult, Attenborough Learning Trust, Loughborough University’s Centre For Renewable Energy Systems Technology, and Leicester City Council to come up with a replicable model that schools can adopt to decarbonise their energy.
Supported by the Next Generation programme and funded by Power to Change, the initiative looks to create a community-focused Energy Services Company (ESCo) to manage the risk and complexity of raising finance and introducing carbon-saving measures.
In the proposed model, finance for capital investment in a school is raised through a public share offer to locals, ensuring energy assets are owned and held for the benefit of the community – with a return on investment and involvement in decision-making part of the offer.
The ESCo’s responsibilities also include finding the right low carbon solutions for the school, and managing bills and energy savings on its behalf. The co-operative is not-for-profit, so any additional revenue raised would be passed on through further bill savings to the school.
Designed and validated by energy innovation experts at Energy Systems Catapult and Loughborough University, the business model involves two stages – a ‘base model’ and a ‘base model plus’.
The base model uses proven low carbon technology – for example solar PV
panels and efficiency measures – which reduces the overall cost of energy, and can generate income. It uses the capital generated through the share offer to start the decarbonisation process and lay a sound financial foundation for the overall business model.
The base model plus requires further capital investment, but enables full decarbonisation of the schools’ energy by installing air source heat pumps and generating extra value through emerging energy markets – including through renewable tariffs, flexibility services and exporting surplus energy back to the grid.
Green Fox and its partners teamed up with Attenborough Learning Trust, a multiacademy trust with four primary schools in the heart of Leicester, to develop both stages of the business model by harnessing real-time energy data from the schools.
Overall, it was estimated the schools would save 42% on their combined energy bill, and would reduce their emissions by a combined total of 88 tonnes CO2 per year.
Ben Dodd, executive director of Green Fox Community Energy Co-operative, said: “Community energy organisations are at the forefront of energy innovation as we move to a new net zero economy. We have the ability to engage with local communities so bring about practical and meaningful ways in which to tackle climate change, allowing the environmental, social and financial benefits to stay within the local economy.
“This model brings together energy efficiency, renewable energy and
Whitecroft Lighting Ltd has been recognised for its work on ten of the emergency Covid-19 Nightingale Centres.
The NHS ProCure 22 (P22) framework has highlighted the speed and cost at which it supplied critical specialist healthcare lighting as part of the NHS’s rapid response to Covid-19.
Whitecroft not only met the exceptionally short deadlines dictated by the potential rapid spread and impact of the virus, but did so within the Framework’s usual capital and operational budgets.
The Nightingale Centres were emergency large-scale healthcare facilities constructed inside existing buildings, such as Manchester Central
emerging energy markets to provide a fully costed pathway to our net zero goals. It allows schools to reduce their energy bills and put sustainability back at the core of the curriculum.”
Simon Briggs, practice manager for business model innovation at Energy Systems Catapult, said: “As natural focal points of communities, schools have huge potential to help drive decarbonisation efforts at a local level. Many schools may not know where to start to improve their energy efficiency and become zero carbon, and that’s where this model can help. It gives schools a blueprint to work with that could reduce the financial risk and actively involve the community – not least the younger generations for whom we need to keep our planet healthy.”
Philip Leicester, researcher at Loughborough University, said: “Detailed energy system modelling can simulate the economic and carbon impacts of energy efficiency and generation technologies over a whole year and multi-year lifecycle and can help to deliver essential due diligence for project viability before more detailed investment decisions are taken.”
The report from the project – Delivering Zero Carbon Schools: A practical and innovative business model for the community energy sector – is available online. https://es.catapult.org.uk/casestudy/green-fox-community-energydelivering-zero-carbon-schools/ https://greenfoxcommunityenergy.coop/
and the Excel Conference Centre in London, as well as emergency wards set up in existing hospitals.
A number of the Nightingale venues were large, cavernous spaces never intended for clinical use, which created a new set of challenges for Whitecroft.
But as a UK manufacturer, Whitecroft holds lighting inventory in stock, and was able to quickly review what was available, and draw on its long experience of lighting healthcare to select and adapt products accordingly.
Three lighting solutions that incorporated wall fixed up-lighting, as opposed to the usual hospital ceiling down-lighting, were adapted, giving the NHS and its contractors some flexibility
for each Nightingale environment.
Some of these adaptations included customising lighting brackets and bodies to aid access for disinfecting for infection control, and LED’s with a high Ra number for truer colour, which assists in the diagnosis and assessment of patients as it presents a truer more natural skin tone.
In total 5,000 bespoke bedhead luminaires were designed, approved, released into volume manufacture and installed on site, within just five days of the initial enquiry.
event
connect high level professionals from within the Public Sector with companies offering a range of products, services and solutions to support their sustainability goals.
top quality conference programme will accompany the exhibition
make this event
Polarice caps are melting. Climate change is very real: We are experiencing heightened temperatures like never before. This week I’m at CIGRE in Paris and conversations are focused on the readiness of our industry to deliver a zero-carbon energy system in Europe. We need to work together to deliver affordable and resilient decarbonisation.
The rest of Europe can learn a lot from France in terms of their investment and security of energy supply strategy. The French government have prioritised home-grown low carbon energy for some time, primarily in nuclear form, and have remained steadfast on their commitment to societal benefits. Key to their national energy strategy has been the need to combine climate ambitions with social ambitions, in order to ensure a “just transition” that delivers green jobs as well as sustainable energy. The ElecLink interconnector between Great Britain and France expects to avert 6.1 million tons of carbon emissions in its lifetime but will also bring 640 million Euros in socio-economic benefits through job creation and supply chain investment.
The energy industry in Europe accounts for around 80% of carbon emissions, of course that varies from country-to-country, but it is no secret that to tackle climate change we need to remodel the entire energy system. Our industry is key to reaching net zero, we must clean up our act.
The challenge is not just about decarbonisation. With energy prices sky-rocketing and the threat of fuel shortages this Winter we have to properly consider the ‘energy trilemma’ which is the challenge of providing affordable, sustainable and reliable energy.
Too often I hear political rhetoric that inaccurately portrays renewable energy as expensive, it’s true that investment is needed in the short/medium term to grow new green energy markets and technologies, but in the longer-term data shows us that energy from renewables is cheaper. After all, it is the price of fossil fuels that is, for the most part, driving up consumer energy bills across Europe.
A shift to renewables can offer a myriad of benefits, not just greener
Ariel Porat, Senior Vice President Siemens Energy, Head of Europe
electricity, but more stability in prices, security of supply, and the potential to reduce geopolitical insecurity through a greater distribution of resources.
A common problem in many European countries is that grids are creaking under the pressure of our changing energy landscape.
Managing the strong fluctuations that result from intermittent renewable energies is complex. Wind and solar sources complicate management of the grid because they vary with the weather conditions. You can’t ramp them up and down as we do with fossil power plants. This vastly increases the complexity of matching supply to demand in real time and creates an urgent need for flexibility.
As we vary energy sources and look for new, innovative ways to generate energy, it’s essential that we don’t forget our grid and transmission network.
Most European transmission networks were built primarily in the age of coal. Upgrade work and changes may be on-going in many countries, but full system upgrades are costly and laborious. Infrastructure affects network voltage, frequency and load flow so we need grid stabilization and storage in order to prepare our grids for the future.
I believe the industry is ready to build up renewable capacity, especially offshore wind, but if we want a successful energy transition, we need to invest in and build our transmission grids.
The challenge we face is not limited to connecting renewable energy to the grid. We must also improve grid transmission quality and efficiency. Due to the intermittency of renewable energies, grid stabilisation technologies will play an increasingly important role. We must look at supplying reactive power to the grid and ensuring stable grid voltage to avoid dangerous voltage drops.
This will require investments in flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS). Such systems increase the power transfer capability of
transmission lines and help to make grids more reliable by increasing voltage stability and regulation.
With the removal of rotating equipment – like gas and steam turbines – from the grids of the future, we need to address the missing inertia. Grid inertia is the factor that protects our grids from sudden blackouts so it must be substituted to ensure grid stability.
One solution providing reactive and short-circuit power, is the so-called synchronous condenser which is basically a large rotating generator connected to the high-voltage transmission network via a step-up transformer. Synchronised condensers built into existing plant, or specially designed plants like those Siemens Energy has provided in Estonia with Elering, provide a defensive barrier in power systems.
The transmission network is the lifeline that connects everything.
When I describe European energy networks, I often compare the connected cables, pipelines and converter stations to the veins and arteries in a human body. Power sources are the vital organs, but in order for the entire system to function properly energy has to be transported, safely and reliably through the transmission network. Leaks, blockages flow issues all spell disaster for any energy network.
Today’s grids are not prepared for the challenge ahead. To unlock the true potential of the energy transition we must invest in infrastructure. Without a robust, resilient and stable grid, we could falter in our combined goal to deliver a low-carbon energy system throughout Europe.
And will less than one billion seconds to reverse the worst impact of climate change, we don’t have a moment to spare.
One Point Five is the culmination of efforts from a team who share the same passion and commitment to delivering a carbon free future.
We have created a modelling tool based on, and supported by, a body of academic research which will give your organisation insight and understanding in how to commit to and deliver its decarbonisation plan. Our modelling tool, which we call the One Point Five HUB, will enable us to collaborate with our partners and stakeholders to set a clear path to achieving net zero by giving you access to detailed dashboard visualisations. These dashboards will allow you to clearly map and prioritise projects, all supported by our team.
We will partner with our clients and provide industry leading guidance from experts in their fields to join them on their journey to decarbonisation.
We want our partners organisation to achieve zero carbon status and become climate positive. One Point Five are committed to supporting your organisation’s goals and be there on its journey.
market volatility is impacting us all and if it’s your role to manage energy for your business, then you’re probably facing challenges you’ve never experienced before. But, there are steps all businesses can take to gain control of energy and help ride out the storm.
Firstly, it’s important to understand what’s causing the unprecedented energy price rises. It helps with perspective and confirms that we are facing a perfect storm here, one we haven’t faced before and hopefully won’t face on this scale again. The factors causing wholesale price increases include, energy demand rising as countries emerged from the Covid-19 lockdown, increased demand in winter 2020/21, dwindling North Sea gas reserves, low winds leading to less renewable generation and the war in Ukraine.
Looking ahead, we don’t expect to see a huge amount of change in energy prices any time soon. Although day-ahead prices for gas and electricity have seen some short-lived drops, rolling average prices support suggestions of an expensive winter ahead for business energy users. While it’s impossible to predict every eventuality, energy market signals suggest that wholesale price volatility could be around for a further 12-24 months. But through being proactive, businesses can manage their risk and make a positive difference to their energy costs.
It’s vital all businesses make sure they’re on the right energy contract. Unlike for consumers, businesses aren’t protected by Ofgem’s energy price cap, so if your contract is coming to an end, it’s time to take action so you don’t roll over onto an expensive standard variable rate tariff.
When choosing an energy contract try and balance short-term needs with long-term benefits. We may be facing price hikes today but no one knows for certain what the picture
will be for the duration of your contract. The most effective approach is to look at your likely consumption profile over a three year period and break it down by the various elements that make up your bill. For example, can you reduce non-commodity charges?
In fact, non-commodity costs are one area that is often overlooked. These costs are all charges aside from wholesale energy costs, such as Transmission Use of System (TUoS) charges, Meter Operator (MOP) charges and Capacity Market (CM) charges. There is the potential to make thousands of pounds of savings every year through negotiating fixed or pass through terms and taking advantage of energy policy incentives and subsidies available to your business.
Finally, when it comes to energy contracts, have you considered whether you are better off on a fixed or flexible contract? Many SMEs are likely to have opted for fixed contracts for budget certainty but with the help of the right partner, and innovative purchasing framework solutions, flexible contracts and the benefits of increased purchasing power aren’t just for bigger businesses. A proactive energy partner will be able to group businesses with a similar level of energy demand and risk approach into a single purchasing framework, allowing them to negotiate contract terms with suppliers as if they were one single larger consumer. An expert will be able to help with all of this and advise which is the best solution for an individual organisation for today and for the longer-term.
At least annually revisit your energy contract terms to check they meet your current usage profile, business plans, working patterns and approach to energy efficiency. You don’t have to wait until it’s about to expire.
When thinking about energy, don’t forget to prioritise the net zero goal for 2050.
While it may feel like there are bigger energy related topics to tackle, decarbonisation makes commercial sense now and is one way businesses can help manage overall energy costs. If businesses can optimise their energy costs, not only is this going to put them in the best possible position today, when we do see energy prices settle, it will help their business thrive.
Many organisations have embraced basic energy efficiency measures but there’s almost always more that can be done to cut consumption. A good place to start is with an energy audit so you have a clear picture of where you’re using energy and then how you can reduce it. Organisations can then look at whether they can lower their energy use from the grid further and increase energy resilience with on-site generation. This includes measures such as solar PV, air source heat pumps, LED lighting and combined heat & power.
As we look forward none of us –unfortunately – can foresee what is going to happen with energy market volatility but I can say with certainty that it is possible to make a difference to how a business is impacted through embracing measures to take control of energy. To reap the most benefits in terms of reducing energy risk, businesses should take a more holistic approach to energy management, that aligns to broader business objectives. Make sure your organisation’s energy strategy is a board level concern and that everyone is engaged. Then measures such as getting the right energy contract, reducing consumption and installing on-site generation will have the maximum impact when it comes to reducing energy costs and helping weather the current energy market storm. The future is a bright, more energy efficient one.
For more information visit
Today’s energy market is volatile to say the least. Small and medium sized businesses have seen their gas bills rise by anything from 250% to 500% in the last year and it’s getting more challenging for organisations to know how to best procure energy. Here, Michael Dugdale, MD at Trident Utilities, discusses how businesses can navigate today’s market and mitigate the pressures they face through managing risk, saving money and reducing carbon.
Through integrated, low-carbon energy
help all parts of the Public Sector
meet
zero
reduce
us at the Public Sector
out how
can
improve
costs.
supply across Europe, National Grid is stepping up its preparations for any potential energy shortages. As part of its emergency planning, National Grid prepares and updates strategies so it has policies in place for any crisis scenario from the pandemic to major supply disruption. Here’s the process if that were to happen:
up to a cumulative 60% of demand.
Gas customers may apply to be classified as a priority customer in the event of a GDE, but this does not guarantee it will be exempt from load-shedding. Applications should not wait until a GDE is imminent, but be made during normal circumstances.
a lot of uncertainty at the moment around energy prices and if there is enough supply to meet demand in Great Britain (GB), particularly for businesses. We’ve been in close contact with our business energy customers to keep them updated on the action being taken by us, as well as the wider energy industry, to protect them and minimise the impact of energy imbalance.
The GB energy market has a diverse supply base and is well set up to cope with the current global uncertainties around physical supply. Nonetheless, the risks around supply are materially higher for this winter than in previous years and so understanding and preparation is key. We are confident that the GB market can continue to call on a variety of supply sources to minimise the risk of physical interruptions to customers’ energy supplies, but to do this is likely to require much higher prices than in previous years.
The current energy situation is volatile due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the relationship between Russia and Europe. Although we generally only get a small percentage of our gas from Russia, supply concerns across the Continent and the subsequent price rises can impact the price in the GB gas market through competition.
Increased volatility in global energy markets is also having an impact on liquidity, i.e. the ability to easily transact volumes of energy on the wholesale market. It also means that there is a larger risk premium commanded by sellers to sell their energy on the market.
It’s important to remember that the current supply of energy to GB is well managed, but we understand the concerns businesses have, and we’re working hard to keep in touch and provide all the necessary information and resources.
As the gas crisis threatens security of
In a Gas Deficit Emergency (GDE), gas transporters (the licensed operators of the gas transmission system) follow a four-stage process. The GDE continues until it is decided the gas network can return to normal operation: Stage 1: if the potential for a gas deficit is identified, suppliers (through the companies that ship gas for them) will be asked to voluntarily drop demand or source supplies elsewhere Stage 2: if the situation becomes more complex, then National Grid takes full control as coordinator and the largest sites will be instructed to reduce their load. If these steps prove to be inadequate, gas transporters will instruct a wider range of consumers to bring down their gas usage Stage 3: involves phased isolation of parts of the gas network to keep pressure in the remaining sections, as planned by the Network Emergency Coordinators. There will be gas rationing within the Local Distribution Zone (LDZ) managed by transporters Stage 4: restoration. Following the shortage, National Grid will begin to restore the areas of the network which had been shut down, with full safety checks at each offtake
The GB power system operator, National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO), will use all of its available tools to avoid shortages occurring in the first place. For example, using the balancing mechanism to contract with generators who have spare capacity available; calling on frequency response providers and using their precontracted reserve contracts to manage any power imbalance before it reaches the point where power cuts or voltage control are needed.
If the system operator identifies a potential shortage, it will issue warnings to the market in increasing severity to reduce usage.
If an imbalance or shortage remains, Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) will begin to carry out steps to reduce demand – which consists of voltage control or load shedding, starting at around 5% of national demand curtailed,
For power supply, the immediate control of the system to protect the network is handled by the ESO as mentioned above. For protracted periods of limitesupply, the concept of ‘protected sites’ may enable power import to be maintained. However, your business must meet several criteria to be considered a protected site. Your supply can only be maintained if:
• There is a national or regional critical need
• Public health and safety would be impacted
• There is the potential for catastrophic damage to high-value plant
You must also show that your site does not have standby generation and it’s not feasible to install standby generation.
To apply for protected site status, you should contact your Network Operator in writing. Depending on the situation, you may still be asked to reduce your consumption.
You can read the full criteria for protected sites and power supply here for power, and here for gas.
If you are able to shift your consumption load then you could make additional revenue or savings through participating in grid balancing schemes in both power and gas markets. Or, if you’re a customer of ours, you could benefit directly from wholesale market optimisation, where our Trading Team can monetise your voluntary demand response in the wholesale markets.
To participate, you must be able to either turn down your energy consumption in response to external signals or increase generation on-site.
If you’d like to capitalise on utilising or turning down assets, apply for protected site status or are just looking for advice to mitigate any impact of energy shortages, get in touch with your Account Manager today
Energy efficiency is the key to sustainability, both for a business’ long-term economic viability and the longevity of the planet. In these challenging economic times, however, efforts towards sustainability and net zero have taken a back seat1 as businesses contend with record-high gas and power prices. Firms across the country face closure as they struggle to keep up with continually rising energy costs.
Data shows that UK firms2 have experienced a 424 percent rise in gas costs and a 349 percent increase in electricity costs since February 2021. The energy crisis is straining business’ budgets and forcing them to drastically reduce their services, products, and workforce. The problem is most acute for small businesses, who are not protected by energy price caps and face the possibility of folding this winter.
The most immediate way for businesses to cut energy costs is to identify efficiency improvements and eliminate excessive energy use. There are a host of measures that businesses can use to improve their efficiency, and it does not require tremendous investments into energy efficiency technology. Instead, adopting simple energy management practices and behavioural changes and implementing solutions to track and report these changes will save businesses tons on energy costs. This all has an impact on the bottom lines for businesses since companies would be able to save money and build resiliency against future economic and market hardships.
Energy efficiency investment has been defined by the International Energy
1 https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www. independent.co.uk/independentpremium/ uk-news/energy-bills-net-zero-climatecbi-b2152013.html&sa=D&source=d ocs&ust=1663060274818694&usg=A OvVaw2KdmCYSx4F_lGbNzGb4J0X 2 https://www.theguardian.com/ business/2022/aug/25/sleepless-nightsbusiness-owners-energy-bills-quadruple
Agency (IEA) as “the incremental spending on new energy-efficient equipment or the full cost of refurbishments that reduce energy use. The intention is to capture spending that leads to reduced energy consumption.”
Global energy efficiency investment, under this definition, reached record levels in 20213. The report admits that this trend will slow significantly given the spikes in fuel and energy prices and inflation, amongst other supply chain and labour factors.
This means, given the current instability and crippling nature of energy prices, businesses that are struggling to pay monthly energy bills will hesitate to invest in renewable technologies, electric vehicles, or building renovations to reduce their current energy spend.
The energy crisis of today requires businesses to rethink their investments in energy efficiency. Significant returns can come from improved energy management measures.
There are many ways to make your business more energy efficient. It all starts with understanding how energy efficiency works.
When we use less energy to do the same amount of work – or produce the same output – we save money. This is because energy efficiency measures typically result in lower electricity demand, which in turn reduces costs and reduces strain on the grid. In fact, businesses that adopt energy efficient practices often enjoy increased productivity, competitiveness, and profitability. 3 https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ b0beda65-8a1d-46ae-87a2-f95947ec2714/ WorldEnergyInvestment2022.pdf
Making improvements to energy efficiency comes through operational and behavioural changes within a business. Many of these quick-win strategies are born out of having an energy audit of your business. From there, an energy plan – supported by energy management technology – will guide your business the rest of the way.
The economic benefits of energy efficiency are many. That saved money leads to the creation of jobs, reinvestments into your products and services, and stabilises electricity prices in the market.
Efficiency is a key component of sustainability because it helps us reduce our electricity demands over time. This means less investment needed in new infrastructure for generation and transmission, which are costly endeavours. Efficiency also diversifies utility resource portfolios – which traditionally have relied heavily on fossil fuels like coal or petroleum products – by incorporating clean energy sources.
Energy today is a far more measurable and manageable commodity than it has ever been before, meaning that businesses can more easily monitor how much energy they are using, where they are wasting it, how they can use it better, and how they can cut costs.
Energy management is the process of monitoring, controlling, and optimising energy in a building, site, or organisation to satisfy both economic and environmental requirements.
Energy management technologies provide businesses with the opportunity to maximise energy efficiency, monitor and target energy waste. They enable businesses to view energy consumption, measure energy performance, and manage energy-related costs – all in real time.
Businesses can respond to the information provided by energy management systems and act on them, changing their behaviours and processes and tweaking their operations to have an impact on their energy consumption.
Implementing energy management measures is the first important step towards energy efficiency. Your efforts ought to be tracked and reported so your business can monitor progress and adjust as required. Data-centric energy management solutions are making it far easier for businesses to do just that.
Through energy management software like ClearVUE.Zero, businesses can show their progress towards energy conservation goals and the cost reductions achieved. Our software is designed to deliver real-time energy data across a business’ entire operation – down to circuit level – through an interface that is easy to use.
Businesses that use our energy management software can quickly
identify inefficiencies, including unnecessary start-ups, high base loads and standby consumption, poor import capacity, poor insulation, air leaks, unbalanced electrical loads, and more.
Using energy more efficiently across your business and its operations is the fastest and most cost-effective way to save money. It also helps elongate the lifespan of your assets and machinery and reduce your greenhouse gas emissions.
Any business that wants to stay competitive in today’s marketplace must make energy efficiency and sustainability a priority. With energy costs on the rise and environmental regulations becoming increasingly stricter, businesses that don’t make investments in energy efficiency will be at a serious disadvantage. The good news is that investing in energy efficiency doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, it can save your business money both in the long run and day to day.
A ClearVUE.Zero customer discovered this first-hand.
A large UK bakery installed our energy and carbon management platform at seven of their business sites. The system identified that one of three compressors at one site had abnormally high power consumption. This was amounting to over 980,631 kWh per year – nearly
2,700 kWh daily – totalling the company nearly £400,000 per year in energy costs.
Upon having these consumption and costs data revealed to them through ClearVUE.Zero, the bakery moved to switch the highest consuming compressor from a primary function to a back-up only. This intervention netted the bakery massive results across key fronts. 396,677 kWh reduced per year (annualised) after their daily consumption dropped to 1,086 kWh per day.
• £73,578 reduction in their annual energy bill costs; £137 daily
• Additionally, 124 tonnes of CO2e emissions were eliminated per year. Keep in mind that these savings were achieved through an operational adjustment in just one machine. By making energy efficiency and sustainability a priority, your business too can position itself for success now and into the future.
Find out how you can cut down on energy costs by visiting www.clearvue.business
In these belt-tightening times Adrian Barber looks at the individual benefits of Local control versus a Building energy Management System for controlling heat in multi-occupancy dwellings.
Theenergy crisis has brought into sharp focus the need to cut consumption of energy. Everyone is feeling the pinch, but for organisations that provide rooms in the form of Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), Halls of residence or Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) the issue is multiplied. The reason being that a lot of this accommodation includes energy costs within the rental price.
Unless constructed in recent years, many buildings use antiquated heating controls, if any! Storage heaters, simple on/ off panel heaters or wet heating systems with no meaningful radiator control are, remarkably, still common place.
PBSA has addressed some of the issues, but in our survey work, we still come across rooms where corners have been cut to save on build-cost and control is simply not effective.
For Managers of these premises their quest to reduce energy consumption is nigh on impossible. They have no metrics, insight, or control!
The two methods I am comparing here are, Local and Central Control.
Both fundamentally do the same thing: They reduce unnecessary use of energy by controlling the heat input available to the room occupant.
A default temperature is set that maintains a comfortable environment. If the occupant requires more heat, they press for a boost which raises the temperature for a period. When this time elapses, the control reverts to default. If a room is unoccupied for a longer spell, heat input is reduced further until the occupant returns. If windows or doors are opened, heat input is also reduced until they are closed.
So, what are the criteria to consider when choosing between Local and Central control?
Both options are suitable for large sites, However, for those with fewer than 50 rooms, Local Control is the cost-effective option. All that is needed is one Control Unit per room and one Programming Handset per site.
Central Control becomes viable for 50+ rooms where the additional features and remote access are more advantageous.
The installation of a Local Control Unit requires connection via a double pole isolator to the heat source. Units can arrive pre-programmed and set to work immediately.
Central Control is a similar process within the room, with the addition of a Power Unit. However, Master and Secondary Interface Units (MIFU and SIFU) are required for communication. Data is transferred to and from room units, MIFUs and SIFUs via the buildings existing electrical circuit, a process known as Mains Borne Signalling (MBS). This negates the need for lengths of data cabling and makes installation expeditious.
Local Control manages heat input to rooms. Models with PIR Absence detection will make greater savings. A 2-event per day 7-day programmer enables automated on/off use and OptiStart will bring a room to temperature at a scheduled time by learning the thermal dynamics of the space. This is all programmed on each Control Unit with the dedicated infrared handset.
Both systems automatically reduce input if windows or doors are opened, without the need for external sensors. And both are tamper-proof.
Central Control does all the above, but remotely. In addition, the system collects data from each room. Humidity, Light, Sound pressure and CO2 can all be monitored, water heating can be controlled, and leaks detected.
Signals are sent in both directions with MBS, therefore additional equipment such as water Shut-off Valves can be instructed to close if leaks are detected.
The adage ‘if you can measure it, you can manage it’ rings true with Central Control. All Data transmitted on the system is displayed on the secure portal and viewed on any internet connected device. This provides Managers with complete remote access to adjust
profiles for individual rooms, monitor environmental conditions and measure energy use. Management reports are easily produced and downloaded. This is not available with Local Control.
Both systems are intuitive and require only basic training to programme.
Having a separate Control Unit and heater means wet or electric systems can be controlled. Also, if either unit develops a fault, the replacement is cheaper, quicker, and less impactful on the environment.
Both options are software based and therefore are upgraded when new features or settings are developed.
Depending on location, building type and previous control methods, Local Controls typically save 30%. While 40% is not uncommon with Central Control, particularly when water heating control is part of the system.
In this two-horse race, circumstances will dictate the appropriate solution. However, significant savings, ease of use and installation mean the investment will certainly pay out. And, with energy prices on their current trajectory the pay-back period is reducing month on month!
Our heating controls are always striving to use less energy, while keeping rooms at a comfortable temperature. Allowing heat boost, but reverting to setback temperatures after pre-set times and, reducing heat input when rooms are empty or if windows are open, are just some of the features that lead to Irus and ecostat2 typically saving 30%-40% on energy costs.
Visit our website to find out more about how we cleverly, but simply, control energy use.
recently seen an upsurge of interest among energy managers in finding and fixing equipment faults across their heat networks. More and more often, the topic of repairs is coming up in conversation with clients. The exact reasons for this maintenance boom are unclear, but we can identify several common themes.
Firstly, the heat network sector is now reaching a level of maturity whereby the first wave of equipment and infrastructure at many sites is nearing the end of its natural life, resulting in more maintenance issues occurring.
There is also a growing awareness among housing associations and local authorities of the legal responsibilities associated with managing communal heating systems, as well as a sense that, when Ofgem steps into the newly created role of heat network regulator in the next couple of years, oversight and enforcement are likely to become even more intense and thorough. Many housing providers are seeking to put their house in order now, to avoid potential penalties in future.
As well as this, the spiralling cost of energy is causing residents to scrutinise their bills more closely than ever before, uncovering anomalies and inefficiencies that might have previously slipped under the radar. We’re seeing evidence of this in our own contact centre, where the number of tariff-related queries is the greatest it’s ever been – 2022 figures are currently five- to six-times higher than last year – with investigations sometimes resulting in the discovery of faults or system errors. Meanwhile, energy managers themselves, mindful of the financial pressures tenants are under, are keen to avoid any unnecessary excess costs caused by inefficient or poorly maintained systems.
As we’ve been saying for some time, the sooner housing providers address the ongoing maintenance of heating systems, the greater the benefits for everyone. It’s gratifying to see that the message is sinking in. Of course, it tends to be the large corporates, with easier access to funds and well-resourced governance systems in place, that lead the charge, while smaller organisations follow in their wake. And there is always a minority who don’t plan ahead or take action until they are legally compelled to do so. With increased regulations on the horizon, we will continue to advocate for immediate action.
Most commonly, the issues energy managers are looking to rectify relate to meters; where they may not be working
or are not easily accessible, making it near impossible to tell if they’re working or not. In a surprisingly large number of cases – 10-15% – poor installation means they have never actually functioned properly in the first place. Often, the problem has been ignored, sometimes for years.
Other faults occur due to damage by customers or because of a straightforward mechanical failure. Lower-cost meters usually have a lifespan of five to six years, and, when they break, managers sometimes feel it’s not worth the expense of fixing them immediately because they’re so cheap to replace.
Investing in quality from the outset is always a good idea. However, even high-end models that last up to 16 years need periodic recalibration for accuracy and will, at the least, run out of power after 10 or 12 years, requiring a systematic battery-replacement programme.
Even if a meter is functioning well, there may be an issue with the connection to it that has either never worked or has developed a fault. Sometimes it may even be something as simple as incorrect labelling, meaning it’s unclear what the meter’s data refers to.
The problems causing meter failure may not be complicated but resolving them usually requires maintenance teams to access properties, with all the cost, hassle and inconvenience to tenants that entails. So, it’s easy to see how many malfunctions can be left unfixed for some time.
However, the knock-on effects of avoiding repairs can be huge. Following the last update to the Heat Network (Metering & Billing) Regulations (2014), individual meters for final customers that provide accurate, detailed and transparent usage data became a legal requirement in most cases. Regulations also state that bills must not be estimated for more than three periods in a row.
Failure to comply can risk civil or even criminal penalties and, with tariffs skyrocketing, residents are likely to complain to Ofgem pretty quickly if charges are persistently inaccurate or if landlords are non-compliant. It’s always much better to take proactive action than to wait until you’re prosecuted!
Investing in improving the metering portfolio sooner rather than later can save a lot of pain and expense further down the line. Crudely designed systems and poor-quality hardware, while appearing to save money, can ultimately end up costing more in energy use and maintenance.
Energy managers can enlist the support of experts to evaluate the metering solutions they have in place and take advice on how to
make improvements to avoid pricey mistakes.
It’s worth considering including maintenance in metering and billing contracts. Regular meter servicing enshrined in a service level agreement can significantly lower the number of faults that occur – in our experience, we’d estimate the reduction to be around 20-30%, compared to in-house maintenance regimes. Third-party suppliers can take a more holistic approach as part of delivering a complete metering and billing service. They are best placed to identify meter faults straight away, and then repair them quickly, as well as working proactively to prevent them happening in the first place. It’s hard to dedicate the same level of internal resources to meter maintenance.
Furthermore, these types of full-service contracts should help to smooth out the cost spikes of unpredictable repairs while also ensuring good service for residents. A small, fixed annual fee is paid per unit for scheduled maintenance and then any unscheduled repair visits are charged at a much lower call-out rate and within an agreed timeframe. Admin costs are reduced too, as there is no need to coordinate a maintenance programme internally.
A systematic approach to maintenance is another means of reducing the number of physical visits needed to a given site. Through analysis of billing data, the billing provider can quickly identify and precisely locate faults and inefficiencies, so that repair visits only happen when and where they’re needed, lowering overall costs.
When including maintenance in a metering and billing contract, make sure that the fees charged by the service provider are transparent and based on actual costs. Additionally, assess contract length to avoid ending up being shackled indefinitely to high prices or poor service.
Whether maintenance activities are outsourced or not, energy managers cannot afford to neglect their meter portfolio. Ofgem’s installation as heat network regulator may not happen until 2024, but it is coming. Don’t leave it too late to complete all the property visits that may be needed to get your house in order. Your tenants will not thank you if you do.
One of the other items of improvement that we have made since we started looking at our energy efficiency concerns an electric water heater located in the ground floor kitchen area.
Out of sight and out of mind was very much the case with this water heater as nobody particularly thought about it, or even realised it was there, and it was only discovered when our original logging results had identified a mysterious load that switched on for several minutes every couple of hours, day and night, 7 days a week.
Only after some hunting around did we find the 10-year-old water heater hiding in an under-sink unit complete with 10-litre tank, feeding not only the kitchen sink but 2 wash basins in adjacent bathrooms.
Inthe previous issue of Energy Manager Magazine, we described the beginning of a journey to improving the energy efficiency, and so reduce the consumption, of the Chauvin Arnoux UK offices. Following that initial logging session, and the subsequent changes that were made, more logging was performed using a PEL104 Power and Energy logger. This second part looks at the resulting data, and reveals the effects that the initial changes had on our consumption.
When we started this process, the suspended ceilings in the ground floor rooms had been fitted with a total of 48 units, each containing 4 x 1200mm 36-Watt florescent tubes, but those had now been replaced by 1200X600 46W LED panels.
Comparing the old and new energy logs for the lighting circuit, shown here together, it can be seen that prior to replacement, the fluorescent lighting consumed approximately 18.405A during the normal working day. And having now replaced them with LED panels, this was reduced to 13.350A.
A little maths reveals that with a measured voltage of 243.6V and power factor of 0.905PF, we were consuming 4,058W. Following replacement with LED units the second log showed that this has gone down to 2,943W, essentially reducing our energy use for office lighting by 25%.
Accepting that we are a small, and mostly administrative business in the UK, and so that 25% only equates to 1kW which, with average unit price for business electricity in 2022 currently at 17.73 pence per kWh, will save us £354 per year. While not huge, that will repay the cost of the LED units in a few years, or sooner at the current rate of acceleration of energy costs. Of course, larger businesses with much more fluorescent lighting that are planning the move to LED could see a similar 25% saving adding up to much more monetarily speaking.
A similar 25% saving was obtained by changing the 100W fluorescent tubes lighting the rest of the building, to 36W T8 8ft LED direct replacements.
Based on its age alone this appliance would have been well behind modern water heating units with regards to efficiency rating, and analysis of our hot water usage in the 3 sinks concluded that our water usage was very small and not requiring of 10 litres of ready to use hot water anyway. Accordingly, it has now been replaced by an 8.8KW instant hot water unit. This type of heater also eliminates any out of hours usage, either overnight or over entire weekends, as it only consumes energy when the hot tap is run.
In terms of energy consumption, zooming into the 1 second sample logs it could be seen that the old heater came on for approximately 3 minutes every 140 minutes as it strove to keep the water inside at the set temperature. During these 3-minute periods it drew 2,192W and this occurred 10 times
per 24-hour period. A total of 30 minutes per day at 2,192W equalling 1,096Wh, essentially 1KWh.
A staff survey showed that it took approximately 7 seconds to “fill the sinks” and that this was being done on average 21 times a day. The meant that in a normal day the new water heater will consume 8.8KW for a total of 147s or 2.45 minutes. This equates to 0.352KWh in a day, which is one third of the energy used by the original heater, and there will be no further inadvertent overnight or weekend wasted energy.
Discovering unknown appliances and out of hour use is another good reason to log actual energy use rather than assuming knowledge of the loads present in an installation. There is also good argument to say that any decent sized business should then continuously measure its energy usage with a permanently installed system. It can then chart consumption over time, identifying out of hours and
seasonal usage, and monitor Power Factor degradation and Power Quality parameters such as harmonics.
Thankfully nowadays you can get a PEL to perform whatever logging you
need around the installation, and then semi-permanently and non-intrusively install it in the distribution cabinet for continuous monitoring. Modern PELs are designed to be so slim that they can be magnetically stuck to the inside of the cabinet door, or another convenient space, and left semi-permanently installed, while being safely locked away.
Rogowski coil current sensors, and magnetic voltage probes that can simply be stuck onto MCB screw heads, or permanently wired if preferred, enable an entirely non-intrusive connection to the supply. There’s no need for a competent trained electrician to have to switch off the facilities power while the PEL is being installed.
These PELs can be selfpowered from the installation to which they are connected, and plugged into the computer network for remote monitoring. Or just interrogated regularly through a tablet or smartphone.
Quite simply, you could deploy a PEL around the site when you want to monitor certain pieces of equipment or departments, and then literally stick it in back in the distribution cabinet afterwards, and monitor on an ongoing basis. As and when you want to use it somewhere else, you can move it, use it, put it back again, and so on. Probably the most cost-effective way to obtain a temporary and permanent logging solution to reduce your energy use.
With regards to our own energy logging and efficiency improvement project we will continue monitoring over the coming months and see what happens as the weather gets colder and the wall mounted panel heaters get switched on. www.chauvin-arnoux.co.uk
meters can all be measured, quantified and visualised on an aM&T system.
The sub-metering systems contain equipment components that measure, record, transmit, analyse, report & communicate the energy management information required for a business to better manage its energy use.
early September, I attended the Association of University Engineers Conference at the University of Stirling. Upon speaking to engineers and representatives from Universities across the UK, I was surprised to hear an alarming number of Universities were using outdated aM&T platforms, and were not using them proactively.
Furthermore, while I was pleased to hear numerous Universities had engaged external consultants to develop their Net Zero plans, I was concerned to see that these appeared to be relatively high level, and offered little substance or real strategy on how Net Zero was to be achieved in practice.
This inspired me to write this article, on not just the benefit of upgrading to a modern aM&T platform, but how proactively using it could pay for itself, while also making some mileage towards net zero.
Automatic monitoring & targeting (aM&T) uses metering and submetering systems, connected to an aM&T software platform to help users save energy, by measuring energy consumption & identifying energy wastage. Electricity, gas, water, oil & heat
An unmanaged aM&T platform is quite simply a lost opportunity and ultimately will prove costly for building owners. Proactive monitoring of aM&T systems is essential in today’s energy market, where the stakes are much higher than ever before.
Building managers need to have a clear visualisation of all of their utility usage, across every building in their portfolio, and furthermore a firm understanding of what ‘normal’ utility use should be at any given time. Modern, market leading, cloud- based aM&T platforms (SaaS) have a number of powerful on-board tools, that when utilised correctly by analysts/engineers, allow building users to develop a highly informed, data led understanding of their portfolio energy usage.
A proactive approach also ensures that the data quality is managed. Once energy profiles are established, appropriate alerting levels are applied, allowing data to be logged at 15 minute intervals, making it much easier to spot corrupt data. Metering issues can be identified and rectified much quicker using this managed approach.
Proactive energy management involves using historical utility data to benchmark buildings and understand building base loads, including any seasonal variances. Data normalisation techniques, IPMVP baselining and portfolio wide analysis ensure a robust hierarchy of usage alerts can be implemented, as well as bespoke and informative periodic reporting,
which can be emailed out automatically to all relevant stakeholders.
At a time of rising energy prices, increased regulations, and complex tariffs, building owners and operators need a simple, financially-focused tool to help them reduce costs, minimise environmental impact and meet energy regulations. As all organisations are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental side effects of doing business, customers often feel the pressure to deliver on financial, corporate and social goals, but are not sure how to achieve them – a proactively managed aM&T system will go a long way, in providing building users with valuable insights, in a timely manner, that enables actions to be taken quickly; reducing consumption, cost and carbon, while enabling our Clients’ to focus on their core business.
We’re already seeing the benefits of proactive aM&T usage across various Public Sector bodies.
We’ve recently worked with Lancaster University to “optimise” (if you’ll excuse the pun) more than 1,500 meters, across their vast building portfolio.
We’ve also been working with Leicestershire County Council in recent months, and have projected an annual energy saving of £72,000 from just 3 months’ worth of aM&T data, which is a 41% electricity usage reduction.
For more information visit: www.optimised.net
Peter Chappell is Head of Client Services – Public Sector at Optimised, who are a sustainability consultant, offering a one stop shop of energy solutions, from reducing the amount you pay, to reducing how much you use, while improving your carbon footprint, aligned to a Net Zero strategy.
Meet me at the Public Sector Sustainability Event at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, on Stand A22.
With clean, efficient steam systems, we can sterilize medical equipment for an operation, produce vaccines and other pharmaceuticals, and even brew the beer on offer in your local pub.
But as we fight the climate emergency, is it realistic to talk about steam as an essential component of the journey to zero carbon? Can steam generation be decoupled from fossil fuels, making it a genuinely sustainable technology?
With Natural Technology, that is exactly what we are aiming to address.
Today’s boilers are highly efficient, minimizing the amount of energy needed. Steam also has a high heat content and energy density, which means that the production infrastructure and pipework can be compact, thus saving space and using less raw materials.
As the world moves towards more electricity production from renewables, steam will become even more sustainable and low carbon: it can be produced by clean electricity, green hydrogen or in biomass boilers, so making steam with reduced carbon emissions achievable right now. For example, it is a key part of energy solutions such as thermal storage and combined heat and power (CHP) systems.
Managed correctly, steam is intrinsically clean and safe. With no fire risk or toxic waste products, the only by-product is water. This can be condensed and re-used in a similar way to the natural water cycle of rain and evaporation that keeps our planet alive.
The potential benefits offered by steam are massive. For example, 35 per cent of all the UK’s industrial heating is achieved by steam systems. As 73 per cent of the UK’s total energy demand is for heat, improving the efficiency of steam generation will have a big impact1
To support these environmental objectives, Spirax Sarco is developing new technologies to ensure steam is a longterm part of our decarbonized future.
When used with 100 per cent renewable power sources, such as hydroelectric, solar and wind, electric steam generators have
no emissions and generate no carbon dioxide. They can convert renewable electricity into steam at 97 per cent energy conversion efficiency2
Another option is using green hydrogen as the fuel to heat water and generate steam. This technology also reduces flue gas volumes by 10 per cent, thus significantly improving boiler efficiency3 Steam can also be generated by combustion of organic waste materials such as olive pulp, rice husks and palm kernel shells, which are the byproducts of food production. This biomass can be used to generate electrical energy as well as heat, when used in a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system. The reduction of organic waste and the utilization of biomass improves environmental sustainability, while also reducing energy bills.
Clearly, there are benefits to be derived from different approaches to steam, but what does a steam system actually consist of?
The core of a steam system is a boiler, which today often burns fuels, but could instead be run using electricity or biomass. The heat from the burner sends hot gases through tubes in the boiler, which run through the tank of water that is being heated.
Once the water is hot enough, it boils, and bubbles of steam are produced which are then routed through pipes and valves in the steam system. The temperature of the steam depends on the pressure in
https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/ anu-scientists-set-solar-thermal-record
https://www.natural-technology.com/en
the boiler and might typically be >150ºC.
Once the steam reaches its destination in a factory or plant, there are many ways it can be used: for example, in an ‘autoclave’, which is a steam-filled chamber to sterilise medical equipment, or to boil or cook food, using a ‘jacketed pan’ which surrounds the pan with a jacket filled with steam.
Typically, the flow of steam will be measured at multiple points throughout the system, enabling energy consumption and efficiency to be closely monitored.
As part of the growing digitalization of industry, including the shift to the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), this presents an opportunity to optimise and automate the new steam technologies, to save money with preventative maintenance, and to drive greater efficiencies.
Steam is a tried and trusted technology, based on well-understood principles with reliable outcomes. Steam provides a low-risk, low-cost way to reduce emissions on the route to net zero, without requiring the ‘rip and replace’ of existing infrastructure.
Natural Technology is supported by decades of engineering expertise. It is based on specific, measurable outcomes, which are substantial enough to make a real difference – and which enable organisations to clearly demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.
It will enable industry to de-couple from fossil fuels and embark on a more sustainable route to zero carbon steam systems for heat, power, and sterilization.
To find out more, go to www.natural-technology.com/en
Steam – this extraordinary, energy dense, fluid which is irreplaceable in all kinds of industries to heat, power and sterilize – leaving nothing but water behind. And with advancing steam generation solutions, steam is part of our sustainable future. This is Natural Technology.
You see steam. We see...
investigation by
The British Medical Journal
warns that NHS Trusts will be forced to find up to an additional £2 million per month this winter, while energy prices continue to soar. As the BMJ reports, and Rory Deighton, senior acute lead at the NHS Confederation states, the energy crisis facing the sector “isn’t an abstract problem, as the gap in funding from rising inflation will either have to be made up by fewer staff being employed, longer waiting times for care, or other areas of patient care being cut back.”
In this context, the latest round of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), offers desperately needed support for organisations looking to invest in mitigating the worst impacts of the crisis and in future-proofing Estates and budgets against energy volatility.
To reduce reliance on fossil fuels, the focus of Phase 3b is on the upgrade of heating systems, decarbonising through a shift towards cleaner – and cheaper – renewable energy. BESS technology plays a pivotal role here, both in maximising flexibility of on-site renewables, and in helping organisations offset the additional energy costs that can come from moving to sustainable, cleaner, heating systems. NHS Trusts have already been extremely successful in securing funding from the previous phases of PSDS funding, incorporating energy storage and renewable power generation alongside modern, sustainable, heating technology.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust successfully bid for £13 million for such
measures; London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust secured £10 million for heat pump, lighting upgrade, solar and battery installation, while Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was awarded nearly £500,000 to upgrade the Rosie Maternity Hospital with a new air source heat pump, battery storage and electrical upgrades to ensure the lowest possible carbon emissions from the new heating system. As these examples of funded decarbonisation projects indicate, the combination of new heat pump technology is far more economical – and far more sustainable – when linked to solar generation and battery energy storage to offset any increased electrical demand. This is where the case for investment in BESS – especially if this can be supported by PSDS funding – is most compelling, for the UK’s largest employer and its most vital sector.
Renewable energy production is inherently inflexible, reliant as it is on weather conditions for power generation. Where Trusts invest in BESS, they can store energy generated on-site, generally from solar arrays, for use when most needed. Particularly relevant with current and forecast energy prices, this can reduce the requirement for purchase from the Grid at peak times, allowing Trusts to buy – and store – energy when prices are lower for use at peak times. BESS is also an extremely useful tool when looking at Electrical Vehicle (EV) charging, both for a decarbonised fleet and as employees and patients move to EV transport, since the same principles apply – flexible charging and energy storage, making the most of on-site generation and off-peak purchasing. Perhaps, though, the most significant benefit of a BESS in the current climate, relates to energy
security, given the instability of power from the Grid that we are all facing this winter. Where the usual back-up power for emergencies has been an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), the drawbacks of this older technology are well-known and increasingly problematic: capacity losses of 10 - 15%, and an asset with no additional benefit other than its role in emergencies. With a modern BESS, the losses are as little as 3 percent and, in addition to the flexibility for energy storage and purchase, it can provide Trusts with new revenue stream through engaging with Grid Services and Demand Side Response, helping to shore up the Grid’s own supply for general usage – both domestic and commercial – while also reducing pressure on the Trust’s budget through income generation and lower energy bills. For an average NHS Trust, this can be around £100,000 of new revenue per year. As the first HTM-06-01 compliant commercial BESS with fast-switching UPS capabilities and the ability to access Grid Services, Powerstar’s BESS has a typical lifespan of 10-15 years, representing a significant improvement and ROI over a traditional UPS, where batteries need replacing every seven to ten years.
At a time when The BMJ is reporting predicted energy bill rises such as Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, who are budgeting for a 214% increase in gas and electricity costs for 2022-23, the coming months look stark, without short-term investment to secure longer-term energy security and affordability.
For support in understanding the opportunities of PSDS funding for your organisation, contact Powerstar: W: www.powerstar.com E: info@powerstar.com
Energy is a unique Energy Consultancy in that we are the only dedicated energy consultancy in the leisure sector. We work with local authorities, leisure operators and charitable trusts investigating their energy cost and carbon footprint at the leisure facilities to identify potential reductions through new technologies. For local authorities, these will be some of the most carbon intensive buildings in their portfolio. As the centres have been built, extended and modified over the last several decades, it means that no two leisure centres are alike and subsequently a fully bespoke energy audit is always completed to understand the requirements of each individual building.
Unusually, for an energy consultancy, we then project manage the installation of the recommendations as both Principal Designer and Principal Contractor resulting in our clients receiving a one stop shop for all of their energy projects.
Over the last couple of years Leisure Energy have specifically been instrumental in assisting Local Authorities fund energy projects via the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS). The PSDS scheme is designed to help upgrade heating systems in public buildings, to those which will then be run on cleaner, cheaper and renewable energy sources reducing reliance on fossil fuels as well as making public buildings more comfortable and cheaper to warm. The focus is on cost effective decarbonisation of heat and the overall achievement of carbon emission savings.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) initiated a £1bn funding stream and Leisure Energy have been involved with all phases of the scheme, currently at Phase 3b. We have been successful in achieving 100% grant success for 29 sites providing grant awards to the value of over £33 Million. Our current projects have resulted in equipment installations which include:
• 22 air source heat pumps
• 1000s of low energy light fittings and sensors
• Over 3300 photovoltaics solar panels on 12 roofs
• Pool water pumps and dosing system upgrades Air handling units with fan motors and controls.
Building Energy Management Systems were upgraded at all sites.
• Battery Storage introduced to store electricity.
From initial client enquiry we develop an in-depth relationship with the customer to identify their prospective portfolio of buildings and their energy reduction targets. Leisure Energy ascertains suggested energy saving measures through on-site audits and an analysis of current desktop consumption data. Our subsequent reports will detail energy savings, carbon reductions and budget capital investment requirements for equipment installations and simple payback periods.
We have recently completed installations at Torbay Leisure Centre working in partnership with Torbay Council and Parkwood Leisure having secured PSDS grant funding of £1,849,899 using Leisure Energy’s carbon reduction feasibility report. Leisure Energy acted as Principal Designer and Contractor for the delivery of the scheme, and worked closely with Parkwood Leisure to reduce disruption to site during implementation, as the building remained operational throughout the installation.
Project completion was June 2022 with the following equipment installations: Two air source heat pumps with a 1000 litre storage tank and six new circulation pumps with VSDs, valves, pipework and control panel.
LTHW heat exchangers were fitted to interface with existing heating circuits and pool water pipes.
• Replacement AHU fan motors and controls with built-in software and connectivity
• 100 kW battery storage system for any excess electricity generated during the day to be stored and used during hours of more expensive tariffs.
• 476 photovoltaic solar panels on the roof to provide electricity to reduce grid reliance.
• 474 LED lights and sensors replaced internal florescent light fittings reducing electrical loads whilst improving illumination levels. Building Energy Management System upgraded. These projects are providing carbon emissions savings of approximately 60% equivalent to 318 tonnes per annum which will take 167 cars off the road.
Torbay Leisure Centre is one of the first fossil free leisure facilities due to a 100% reduction in gas consumption as the boilers were replaced by the installation of the air source heat pumps.
If you would like to discuss how Leisure Energy can assist with your energy requirements please contact: Neil Bland – Managing Director Neil@leisure-energy.com 01865 306688 www.leisure-energy.com
TheUK government has been gearing up to achieve its net zero ambitions. This has seen the nation embark on a widespread search for effective decarbonisation solutions. To embrace these efforts, each sector must play its part and the public sector is no exception.
The UK public sector has played an active part in moderating emissions and is the least polluting industry - with greenhouse emissions reduced by 40% since 1990. However, the sector remains under scrutiny, having been accountable for 7.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide during the same time period.
To help the UK government achieve Net Zero goal, emissions must be minimised at every opportunity, and the government has introduced a range of schemes to help the public sector reach its own targets. One example is the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) – an impact-driven initiative that aims to reduce emissions from public sector buildings by 75% before 2037.
Phase 3 of the PSDS will see over £1 billion funding distributed between 2022 and 2025. The funding scheme – which has already supported organisations with over £555 million across the UK –is set to enter Phase 3b in September 2022: Which will allocate up to £635m of funding to public sector organisations, to be spent in financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25 (up to £402m to be allocated for 2023/24 and up to £233m for 2024/25).
Public sector bodies can leverage the PSDS to fund heat decarbonisation initiatives and energy efficiency measures – but first it is crucial for them to understand the scheme and its processes, offerings, requirements, eligibility, and deliverables.
To be eligible for PSDS funding, operating within the public sector is the key requirement. In other words, PSDS funding is aimed at public sector organisations who aim
to replace their current fossilfuelled heating system.
Public sector institutions applying for the PSDS are expected to have a blueprint in place called the ‘Heat Decarbonisation Plan’ (HDP) featuring several key elements such as funding allocation, project timelines and expected results.
The core of the proposal should be the replacement of fossil-fuelled heating systems with low carbon alternatives. PSDS requirements also advise that applicants must make their buildings as energy-efficient as possible ahead of installing the low carbon heating systems.
Organisations applying for PSDS must demonstrate the ability to carry out the proposed Heat Decarbonisation Plan within a set timeframe using cost effective methods. This can be made possible by partnering with a competent supplier who has an established track record of performing similar work in the industry.
Experienced partners can conduct an in-depth review of the organisation, its requirements, and capabilities. What’s more, they can help public sector institutions in creating an efficient plan that helps to secure funding and execute it exactly as designed.
Ultimately, teaming up with accomplished suppliers can substantially strengthen the funding application and increase the chances of success.
The UK public sector has welcomed the PSDS – with universities, schools, hospitals, leisure centres and councils across the nation already having taken advantage of funding to decarbonise buildings.
Calderdale Council for example
leveraged PSDS funding to decarbonise three different heritage buildings within Halifax. These include Halifax Town Hall (a Grade II Listed 19th Century building); Todmorden Market, a public market hall first opened in 1802; and Manor Heath Mansion, constructed in the 1850s. The local council appointed Cenergist to successfully deliver the installations. Another major example of a public sector authority that utilised PSDS funding is Leeds City Council –with the initiative resulting in Cenergist creating dozens of jobs in the city.
The PSDS scheme can be a valuable asset – and it is crucial for public sector organisations to learn from successful former applicants and the key suppliers they partnered with.
Cenergist is an experienced supplier that holds expertise in working with the public sector institutions such as councils, hospitals, and other public sector buildings to help them achieve their green ambitions.
Cenergist utilises patented technology to provide cost-effective decarbonisation and water savings solutions to help its clients save money and reach their climate goals – an invaluable support service at a time when every industry is working towards reducing its emissions to build towards Net Zero.
Partnering with YPO and CCS to deliver a single platform to manage your entire energy portfolio using cloud technology.
We understand the pressures of meeting budgets and becoming more efficient while making plans for net zero. We have worked with the public sector for many years and understand the high importance of embedding digital tools into current processes to meet these demands.
Utilidex is an integrated platform delivering 3 core modules to empower our energy customers to do more. Data Platform to manage your whole portfolio and all site changes, Bill Validation to check energy bills are accurate, and Energy Analytics to track consumption, carbon, and cost.
Store your whole portfolio in one single place and easily access all your key site info
Easily manage any change of tenancies and alert suppliers right away
Easily input your budgets and track over/under spending sites
Customise your own PPU to meet your increased energy cost and produce accruals to accurately forecast your expected cost
Collect half hourly and non half hourly data and benchmark against various categories
View consumption and spot outliers through a suite of different tools such as dashboards, Power BIs (Business Intelligence tools), automated reports and alerts
Connect accounting systems for a straight through process and create customised dashboards for internal messaging
Automate key reports to the right people at the right time, whether Finance needs a monthly view of energy cost or the Sustainability team needs to forecast carbon reduction from the previous year
Discover more about Utilidex by visiting us at the Public Sector Sustainability Event in Manchester, find us at stand A5 or visit our website to learn more www.utilidex.com
and pledges centred on climate change and the transition to net zero, can feel stagnant – all talk and no action. What we seldom hear, and should, is the triumphs and successes so far.
The world can decarbonise. The UK can decarbonise. There are countless approaches, multiple sectors, and serious obstacles to overcome; but it is achievable. It is not only achievable – it is happening, so we should share best practice and celebrate success.
At a time when we are facing a cost-of-living crisis, skyrocketing energy bills and mass uncertainty, we need to acknowledge critical steps that have
already been taken and learn from both the successful and less effective measures applied to help us come through this stronger, greener, and more prepared for what the future holds.
The vast majority (300) of councils in the UK have declared a climate emergency or developed Local Area Energy Plans (LEAPs) and are taking action to reduce carbon emissions. Many have appointed strategic partners, like EQUANS to support in these efforts and develop net zero carbon roadmaps; as well as apply for government funding to put them into practice.
With grants available including the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) and the Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF), there are a myriad of options for council’s to kickstart this journey.
Several regions across the UK are taking full advantage of this and are spearheading the approach to net zero. The North East of England is a prime example.
We are lucky enough to work with a multitude of partners across various sectors in the North East, including local authorities, housing associations, NHS Trusts, universities and schools. So, we have a clear picture of the volume of work that is being done to decarbonise, with no stone unturned.
We have worked across the North East to introduce measures including, ground source heat pumps, air source heat pumps, solar PV panels, smart building solutions, thermal efficient windows and doors, low carbon heating and hot water, EV charge points and community engagement; all in an effort to decarbonise homes, public buildings and commercial real estate.
Some of the standout projects which have made a big imprint on this route to decarbonise the region include delivering the largest tower block gas replacement in the UK for Gentoo Housing Association. As well as stopping 2,600 tonnes of carbon being emitted into the atmosphere over 20 years – the scheme helped 364 families at risk of fuel poverty, benefit from warmer, more
efficient, and cost-effective homes.
This was an exemplar in making meaningful decarbonisation plans. Gentoo recognised it was important to reduce carbon emissions from an environmental standpoint, but ultimately the wellbeing of customers was the priority. By taking a dual approach to tackling carbon emissions and fuel poverty, it created warmer and more affordable homes for tenants, while supporting the regional plans to reach net zero.
A flagship scheme for EQUANS is that we designed, built, and now operate a low carbon district energy scheme providing low carbon heating and water for buildings and homes in Newcastle city centre and surrounding areas, which is projected to save 30,650 tonnes of CO2 in its lifetime – the equivalent of driving 74 million miles in a petrol car.
More recently, a pivotal project we were proud to support on, was helping Newcastle City Council to obtain £27m from the PSDS; and using the money to decarbonise 12 public buildings across the city, including museums, leisure centres, libraries, and theatres. Once complete – these projects will save more than 4,000 tonnes of CO2 every year, which roughly equates to taking 2,800 cars off the road.
These projects are all important, beneficial and serve a purpose, but they are almost worthless without a key component: community engagement.
Local authorities can invest, and zero carbon specialists can deliver,
but without fundamentally engaging with communities, getting them on board with the region-wide plans to decarbonise or encouraging people to change their behaviour and habits – the new measures are redundant.
It is something we recognised early on and actively worked with local schools, colleges, and young people in particular, to not only bring them along for the journey – but empower them to lead the way.
EQUANS sponsored a global campaign by Common Purpose, which sought to challenge the next generation of young leaders to consider the legacy of their city and support to make it a cleaner, greener place to live.
In Newcastle, 89% of attendees said because of the programme, they felt a responsibility to shape the future of the city, and a further 88% felt more confident that their generation can successfully create a legacy, with an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards climate and behavioural change.
EQUANS also pledged apprenticeships in green jobs to support the next generation make a tangible difference in achieving in net zero.
Decarbonisation is only possible with a skilled workforce. Only by investing in green jobs, encouraging careers within the field, through community engagement, graduate schemes and apprenticeships; as well as developing local supply chains to reinforce the new technologies, will we successfully deliver on these targets.
Local authorities, social housing landlords, universities, businesses and communities across the North East are invested in the net zero agenda. They are thirsty for change, fighting for better and grabbing any opportunity or fund available to make this goal a reality.
This regional journey to decarbonisation, can, and should, act as a model to be replicated for other areas of the UK. If we continue to witness this regional revolution across the board, we will not only hit the net zero targets, but create safer, vibrant, efficient, and more sustainable communities.
Partnerships with 7 local authorities
A 40-year strategic partnership with Newcastle City Council
Working with 11 housing associations
• Supporting 3 universities in the region to decarbonise
• Working with Local colleges and schools
• Providing services to NHS Trusts
• Supplying low carbon heating to businesses and homes connected to our district heating network
• Working with young people in the region to inspire a greener future and offer apprenticeships
https://www.equans.co.uk/
already stretched, meeting the high up-front costs of net zero projects, such as energy efficiency upgrades and solar PV panels, is an extra burden.
you struggling to fund public sector net zero and sustainability projects?
The new one-stop grants and funding opportunities page on the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) website can help.
The UK has cut carbon emissions by more than 40% since 1990. In line with commitments under the Paris Agreement, the UK is the first major economy to pass laws committing to net zero by 2050.
Even though the UK is at the forefront of the fight against climate change, decarbonisation is not happening fast enough. Many public sectors and local government departments are finalising plans on how they will meet their targets and the UK-wide goals set by the government. However, staying on top of emerging net zero obligations and opportunities is challenging.
Barriers include a lack of interdepartmental and stakeholder coordination, lack of access to affordable and readily available energy efficient technologies. Additionally, as many local authorities and communities across England are still building capability and capacity to meet net zero, limited capacity and experience can hinder their ability to gather sufficient information about their energy performance.
Funding net zero ambitions is also a constraint, A green transition requires a significant investment in cleaner technologies. With budgets
Under pressure to deliver carbon emission targets, public sector sustainability leaders and facilities management professionals need to find reliable funding sources. However, identifying reliable financial support for sustainability projects is cumbersome.
Grant information is often scattered across multiple sites and in various formats. Many organisations lack the time and resources to find and apply for net zero grants.
Even after finding the funding, it’s complicated to apply, often requiring stretched resources to divert time to complete the application. Usually, there is fierce competition to secure them before they are oversubscribed.
In September, CCS launched a new web page that brings all open CNZ grants and funding opportunities across the government into one place. The CNZ grants and funding page is a game changer. It simplifies the process by bringing everything together in one place. Moreover, CCS will regularly update the listings as new funding becomes available.
“Until now, customers have had no single place to view available funding
sources and grants to support CNZ projects and programmes. Our new grants and funding page lets customers quickly see what funding is available, which unlocks a considerable barrier to achieving their net zero aspirations,” says Simon Tse, Chief Executive at Crown Commercial Service.
The CNZ grants and funding page lets you review available open funding and providers and identify dates for applications. You can then engage with CCS to understand available routes to market for projects and complementary agreements to help deliver the CNZ solution.
“We have taken the initiative to bring all available CNZ funding sources together in one place. We have also matched our agreements to the funding sources, which is a real time saver for our customers,” says Joe Tilley, Sustainability and Strategic Portfolio Director at Crown Commercial Service.
Don’t let funding deter your net zero ambitions. Start using the new CNZ grants and funding page today.
CCS has many solutions that can help you with decarbonisation across your procurement portfolio, from the obvious areas, such as energy and fleet, to areas you might not even consider, such as technology hardware and food and catering in the future.
https://www.crowncommercial.gov. uk/buy-and-supply/carbon-net-zero/ carbon-net-zero-funding-and-grants/
There is no prize for being the first to achieve net zero, but don’t get left behind wondering what your starting point is. We’ll help you establish your baseline to deliver a programme that realistically achieves your net zero
On June 15th, new lighting requirements set by the 2021 Part L Building Regulations (Conservation of Fuel and Power) came into force. Designed to make the nation’s homes and business premises more sustainable, these changes have significant importance for architects, engineers, electrical contractors, lighting designers, and the owners and managers of non-residential buildings.
Previous Part L regulations have focused on other areas of building energy use, such as HVAC and hot water systems, but the rules now incorporate lighting into a commercial building’s efficiency plan. Although these changes refer to new-construction buildings, they also have meaning for the owners and managers of existing business premises - lighting upgrades to their properties will capture valuable energy savings and ensure they meet future compliance demands.
Past regulations have largely ignored the effects of lighting in a building’s efficiency plan, with high efficacy lighting enough to ensure compliance. This is no longer the case. Now, new commercial buildings must incorporate lighting systems that provide increased efficiency, accurate measuring, and precision
lighting control. (The new changes are in addition to the Single Lighting Regulation and the related Energy Labelling of Light Sources rules which came into effect in December 2019).
To extract more light output from less energy input, minimum lighting efficacy is raised to 80 luminaire lumens
per circuit watt for display lighting and 95 luminaire lumens per circuit watt for general lighting. As well as requiring the incorporation of high-end lighting trim and pinpoint control, these changes may also impact the choice of materials used in the fabrication of internal spaces.
Most commercial buildings are
rules call for greater efficiency in the lighting of commercial buildings. The changes impact new builds and existing properties.
compliant.
see Prime Light’s guide for more information.
over lit, particularly retail premises and hospitality environments such as hotels. The new lighting regulations finally address this issue, with each lighting circuit now requiring a kw/h meter, unless a lighting control system that can accurately calculate and share the energy usage is installed. To further verify compliance of a building, the use of occupancy detection and daylight sensors is also now expected.
For the first time, lighting is a key element in the efficiency plan for all new commercial buildings. Not only will these changes contribute to the reduction in the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, the UK’s drive to Net Zero, and closer adherence to the targets set by numerous COP climate conferences, they will have a positive impact on building expenses and business profitability.
According to the Carbon Trust, lighting typically consumes 20% of the energy used in commercial and industrial buildings. This is not a small number, and, given the recent and large increases in the price of electricity and the absence of a protective price cap for UK business users, the move to smart lighting and high efficacy systems may represent tens of thousands of pounds per year in savings for many business and building owners.
If you’re a designer, planner, engineer, or construction project manager engaged in the construction of new commercial buildings, the regulation changes not only require you to recalibrate your consideration of lighting efficiency within the building design, they provide you with an opportunity to go further – incorporating intelligent control and daylight harvesting systems, timers, detection systems, and smart meters to extract maximum efficacy and stay ahead of further lighting compliance demands.
If you’re the owner or manager of an existing commercial building, the new regulations indicate upgrades and amendments you should consider now. They will help to slash your property’s energy consumption, boost your bottom line, and leave you in a good position to meet the lighting compliance rules that will inevitably encompass existing structures in the future.
The changes to Part L include further reductions in CO² emissions – with targets reduced by 27% for commercial
buildings – and a new emphasis on low-carbon heating systems. Enhanced control of air quality, emissions, temperature levels, and HVAC are all firmly in the spotlight, with the rule changes affecting all non-domestic buildings and demanding immediate incorporation into planning for new builds and retrofitting for existing properties.
Many commercial buildings will struggle to meet the new Part L rules. Blending enhanced lighting efficiency into
new constructions and retrofitting into existing properties will require nuance and expert understanding of lighting control and the products and systems to deliver it. Prime Light provides smart lighting solutions for all types of buildings and every type of business. Talk to us before you begin the process of planning your next construction or replacing your building’s existing lighting system. Stay compliant, stay ahead, and save energy. Prime Light: https://primelight.co.uk/ Email: sales@primelight.co.uk Tel: 020 8968 2000
disaster, and tangible, accurate data is key to facilitating real action beyond promises and reassurances, no matter how well-intentioned.
Unfortunately, many companies are falling behind in their environmental responsibilities.
While all organisations are at different points along their path to net zero, there’s no doubt that action on climate change benefits everyone. Creating and nurturing a more sustainable business helps save energy costs and streamline operations, which is even more critical during periods of energy and wider economic uncertainty.
The quicker we reach net zero, the better it will be for everyone. The key to accelerating this push to net zero? Data, and using it the right way.
Environmental data is already playing a crucial role in sustainability action from businesses, as well as the ability for those businesses to report that action to investors, who are showing increasing interest in the environmental credentials of the businesses they invest in.
Take, for example, Blackrock, the world’s largest asset management company. In 2021, CEO Larry Fink asked1 companies to disclose how their business models would change to make them compatible with a net zero world by 2050. This represents a massive shift in expectations from investors, who now want to see real commitment to net zero via tangible data.
Fink and Blackrock aren’t alone. According to a survey of investors by PriceWaterhouseCoopers2, nearly 80% of investors said environmental and social governance (ESG) was an important factor in their investment decisionmaking, and about 50% expressed willingness to divest from companies that didn’t take sufficient action.
The same survey also highlighted how rapid the increase in focus on
1 https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/ investor-relations/2021-blackrockclient-letter
2 https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/auditassurance/corporate-reporting/esg-investorsurvey.html
ESG from investors has been. In 2016 just 39% of asset and wealth management CEOs were concerned about the threats posed by climate change. Five years later, almost 70% expressed concern about the climate and action being taken by companies.
Long gone are the days when enquiries about a company’s dedication to ESG and the environment could be waved away with buzzwords and spiel; more and more investors want to see real action being taken, and they want to see the data to back it up.
More importantly, current estimates show that the UK is set to miss its net zero by 2050 target unless we change course3 and soon. This year, the High Court ruled that the Government’s net zero strategy did not meet the obligations laid out in the Climate Change Act, and failed to show how legally-binding carbon budgets would be met.4
Failing to meet these obligations would have a devastating impact not just on the bottom line, but on every aspect of life.
Historically, the lack of standardised data requirements has made data integrity less important – and enabled businesses to be bold with their claims despite weak data. Today, governments, regulators and action groups are all pushing for stricter regulation and authenticity, meaning comprehensive and contextual data is fast becoming essential.
Data is fundamental in creating an environmental strategy sufficient to meet the demands of the path to net zero by 2050. We need urgent action if we’re to avoid a climate
3 https://committees.parliament.uk/ committee/517/industry-and-regulatorscommittee/news/161468/uk-will-miss-netzero-target-without-urgent-action-warnslords-committee/
4 https://www.clientearth.org/latest/latestupdates/news/clientearth-are-suing-the-ukgovernment-over-its-net-zero-strategy/
According to the Carbon Disclosure Project, nearly half (49%) of the world’s 500 biggest companies have yet to conduct any sort of analysis of how their portfolio impacts the climate5
The availability of quality data is the single greatest test firms expect to face over the next five years in order to address climate risk, according to Willis Towers Watson6
Many firms simply lack the right systems to collect, analyse, and make use of their environmental data in any meaningful way. In fact, research by the Boston Consulting Group7 (BCG) showed that just 9% of businesses are confident in their emissions measuring, and many respondents estimated an average error rate of 30% to 40% in their emissions measurements.
Data complexity, too, can be a challenge in and of itself. With so many reporting standards, and a multitude of data sources and types to be mindful of, even businesses that are making an effort to invest in environmental data insight can struggle to get any real use out of it.
This brings us to another issue that organisations should be aware of in this new, data-centric world –the importance of data integrity.
Reams and reams of emissions data, supply chain data, and other types of information can look good at first glance, but if it’s not accurate, or missing crucial context, then it’s usefulness can be significantly diminished. Data integrity is absolutely crucial because it’s the context and quality of data that makes it truly useful and empowers action.
5 https://www.actuarialpost.co.uk/article/lackof-data-biggest-challenge-to-address-climatechange-19620.htm
6 https://www.slipcase.com/view/lack-of-datais-single-greatest-challenge-for-uk-financialsector-to-address-climate-risk-over-next-fiveyears
7 https://www.bcg.com/publications/2021/ measuring-emissions-accurately
Ben Rouncefield-Swales, Executive Vice President, UK & Europe at Optima Technology, discusses how data and its use is key to speeding up the net zero journey.
For example, a business might have been recording data on the cost and usage of raw materials from its supply chain. However, if this data lacks context - such as provider and seller information – then its usefulness is limited. One might be able to make determinations regarding cost savings, but not on the environmental impact of the supply chain, rendering that data of limited use for sustainability purposes.
Furthermore, reporting or acting on inaccurate data can land you in hot water. Greenwashing, or the misrepresentation of sustainability data and ESG efforts, is more in the spotlight than ever. Numerous fastfashion brands – along with some big household names – have seen first-hand the damage inaccurate data can cause to reputations, no matter the intent.
So, we understand the challenge facing companies when it comes to collecting and making use of environmental data in the modern world, and why it’s so crucial. But what’s the solution?
We rely on software to take care of many vital processes in the modern world. So why are more businesses not doing the same for their environmental data?
Software that simplifies data collection will empower businesses to achieve true sustainability with
accurate and precise data. It’s a vital part of actually baselining carbon emissions, enabling businesses to understand their starting point and set meaningful decarbonisation targets, as well as measuring their progress. And of course, gaining a clear picture, as close as real-time as possible, also enables those companies to confidently take action to reduce their emissions in a targeted manner.
There’s no need for companies to patch together multiple data sets from disparate sources and unmatched formats in 2022. Today’s technology allows for the easy collation of data from myriad sources into one system, ensuring one version of the truth.
When informed by dependable data
from a single source, businesses can take real, tangible steps towards true sustainability. Supplied with in-depth and contextual data, business leaders can build a sustainability strategy that works, and report the results of that strategy to investors and stakeholders in an accurate way. Relative to manual methods of data collection this represents a costeffective and reliable way for companies to operate - there should be no need to choose between the planet and profit.
There’s no avoiding the importance of environmental data. With the demands of regulatory bodies and investors becoming increasingly complex, companies must prioritise both collecting data and the integrity of that data if they hope to survive. https://www.optimatech.io/
is no secret the UK are currently far behind achieving 2050 netzero targets. Despite the alarming scenes this summer; scorched and yellowing island, drought having been declared across England and the various heatwaves; the government still carries on burying their heads in the sand. There is an overwhelming unwillingness from political leaders to make the difficult decisions required to offset climate change and the future of the planet continues to be overlooked.
Rightly so, environmental groups have legally challenged the UK government and as a result, the high court has ordered the government to outline exactly how its net-zero policies will achieve emissions targets. Although this decision is a breakthrough moment in the fight against climate delay and inaction, forcing the government to put in place climate plans that will address the crisis, more needs to be done if we want to see real change.
Let’s face it, policies alone will not get us to net-zero, we need a lot of attitudes to change. To truly make an impact you need buy-in from as many people as possible and the best way to do that is to focus on behaviour.
The single biggest influence on reducing our carbon footprint is behaviour as it will enable us to create a collective difference. However, we cannot simply just tell people what to do, we need to involve them and make them realise we all have our part to play.
We need to sufficiently engage with the public to educate them about environmental challenges. Lack of understanding can contribute to unchanged consumption choices or behaviours. The 2020 Ipsos Global Trends survey revealed that more than one-third of respondents (37%) stated they were “tired of the fuss that is being made about the environment.” It is vital these attitudes are tackled head on, and businesses and the government take accountability in helping consumers make ‘greener choices.’ A third of consumers (32%) admit that they set out to make a sustainable decision, and then fail to follow through with it, highlighting the intention-action gap and the importance of making sustainable actions easier.
Jeff Dewing, No.1 bestselling author and CEO of Cloudfm
In order to change behaviour quickly and achieve greater momentum, we need to be able to present actionable insights to the very people that can affect change, and then deliver instant gratification on the outcome of their actions.
Behaviour may be key, but it still needs a little help from technology, which is one of the tools we need to use to drive net-zero.
There are various technological innovations that can be implemented to reduce our carbon footprints, make us less wasteful and drive the use of green energy. An effective way to drive these habits back home is through introducing these technologies in places we frequently visit – our workplaces, restaurants, hospitals, universities and schools etc.
For instance, Mindsett has developed intuitive technology using IoT (Internet of Things), Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to monitor buildings and their assets with the aim to change employees’ mindsets, so they make healthier habits through meaningful, accessible and actionable tech. They are provided data in an easy-to-use mobile application that allows users to make early and easy decisions about energy consumption, whether that be turning off the hot water boiler outside working hours or shutting down energy on floors when people are not present.
It is an approach that Cloudfm itself has used to significant benefit, helping prevent the needless waste of energy and resources thus reducing carbon footprint. IoT technology has been proven to help businesses reduce their energy consumption by 20%, providing a substantial monetary saving and a significant CO2 reduction.
As much as policies are good and can be used to tax harmful environmental activities, provide tighter regulations and new environmental standards, we still need to go beyond this.
We need to make it as easy as possible for UK residents to reduce their carbon footprints. Many people may mean well but ultimately, we are slaves to convenience and the fact we are facing the cost-ofliving and energy crisis makes it harder.
Businesses and members of the public should not be put at a loss for doing the right thing. The government should implement more financing measures to influence positive sustainable behaviours.
It is within the government’s power to provide a tax incentive or grant to help fund the adoption of new technologies in homes, organisations and businesses that will help reduce energy consumption and benefit the environment by accelerating the road to net-zero.
It has become increasingly clear that the current response to the climate catastrophe is not going far enough.
This is not simply about implementing a series of “well-meaning regulations”, but a vital response to what has become a clear existential threat. We need greater action now before things get worse.
Jaron Reddy, UK and Ireland
Theenergy problem isn’t going away any time soon.
The cap on energy bills for organisations such as schools, charities and hospitals was a welcome intervention, reducing energy prices to well below what they would be on the open market. But there are two big caveats here. Firstly, the cap is on prices per unit, not on overall bills. Secondly, the government help is scheduled to run for just six months.
Meanwhile, many public sector organisations are still under pressure to deliver on their net zero promises. Some have set themselves targets more ambitious than the government’s “net zero by 2050” pledge; the NHS in England aims to reach net zero by 2045 and over two-thirds of local councils in England are aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Many organisations are investing in their own renewable energy sourcing, both to protect themselves from energy market volatility and to help with climate goals. There are various options for this, from installing your own renewable asset to signing a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a renewable generator.
Castle Hill Hospital in Yorkshire is now powered by solar panels on adjacent land, and July 2022 claimed to be “completely powered by solar energy” – but obviously only in the daytime! Manchester Council is moving forwards with plans to buy its own solar farm, possibly in the sunnier south rather than in Manchester itself. Many other public sector organisations don’t have the budget to purchase their own renewable asset upfront, but they are signing PPAs with renewable generators to guarantee a green energy supply at an agreed price.
Investing in renewables makes sense on multiple levels: security of supply, avoidance of pricing shocks and lower emissions. But the nature of renewables is that their output is intermittent. Even the best solar panel array can’t power a hospital at night, and the output of a wind turbine will depend greatly on wind speed. To keep the lights on, organisations will still need to get some energy from the grid, whether they have their own asset or a PPA.
This means that claims like “100% renewable” are not based in reality, because 24/7 renewable energy is not yet here. But we can still work towards it. Data is the key. If your organisation knows exactly when renewable production is high, or likely to be high, you can align your consumption with it to maximise use of renewables.
This is where the Matcher comes in. ENTRNCE developed this pioneering data technology platform to show exactly how well an organisation’s consumption is aligned with output from its renewable energy sources. It does this by taking halfhourly snapshots of both consumption and sourcing patterns, then shares that data in an easy-to-read visual form.
For many organisations, looking at their data in the Matcher is a real wakeup call. They find out just how much grid energy is being used to cover the gaps between renewable production and their actual consumption. It is not unusual for an organisation aiming for 100% renewable sourcing to find that their true renewable energy “score” is below 40%.
This kind of information allows you to make better decisions about your
organisation’s energy consumption. For example, a council might make real-time decisions about when to charge any electric vehicles.
As well as helping you make ongoing adjustments to optimise your renewable usage, the Matcher can also help with the big long-term decisions. It has simulation functionality, allowing you to model the potential impact of any changes you are considering. This might be investing in a new generation asset, signing a new PPA or looking at battery storage. Crucially, the simulation you see is not generic; it is based on your organisation’s real consumption patterns to date.
In an environment where every budget decision has to be justified, the data-driven simulations from the Matcher provide the hard evidence you need to move forwards with capital expenditure or a new contract. And, of course, when you have made these decisions you can keep using the Matcher to track the ongoing success of your renewable energy strategy.
The public sector is facing challenging times, but smart use of data can protect your organisation from multiple risks: energy price volatility, supply uncertainty and scrutiny on your climate action.
To learn more about how ENTRNCE can help your organisation design a better future, visit www.entrnce.com/cfe
Jaron will be speaking about net zero and carbon free energy at the Public Sector Sustainability Event at Old Trafford on 1st November 2022. For more information visit https://www.pssevents.co.uk/
Manager at ENTRNCE explains how organisations can protect themselves against soaring energy costs and set a clear route to net zero.
The scale and pace of climate change can no longer be ignored. Nor can the enormity of action required to tackle it – the transition to a decarbonised future is complex and not to be underestimated.
Infrastructure investment has taken a back seat for too long, but the time to take decisive action is now. By moving away from gas heat networks and embracing emerging technology, public sector organisations can begin to realise their net zero ambitions in a cost-effective way. But where do you start?
Progressive organisations are embracing the challenge to meet the needs of future requirements for a decarbonised building stock by retrofitting buildings as part of their commitment to tackling climate change. Those fortunate to have successfully applied for funding from the Government’s Low Carbon Skills Fund and Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) have been able to fund Heat Decarbonisation Plans and associated improvements and are on their way to a decarbonised estate.
But the reality is, the funding is woefully oversubscribed and unless organisations have the right expertise in house to act quickly and submit accurate and comprehensive applications, they cannot rely on this channel as a route to decarbonisation.
Changes to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for non-domestic buildings (MEES) aim to accelerate the improvement in energy efficiency of the national building stock in pursuit of net zero. While the minimum standard is currently an E rating, it will need to be a C rating by 2027 and then a B rating by 2030 to be legally compliant.
This staged approach allows public sector organisations to achieve the requirements in a balanced way –because no organisation can make this sort of transformation overnight.
For many organisations, a lack of specialist internal resource and data specialists is hampering efforts to start their net zero journey. The first step for any organisation would be getting a good grip on where you are today, which means measuring your emissions to calculate your baseline. For this, you need to have good quality data, alongside data specialists.
The next step would be to think about how fast you can go and to consider the opportunities available to make net zero a reality. Organisations will need a structured plan that is underpinned by realistic timelines and a clear business case identifying the opportunities and risks.
The third area would be to engage the right partners to help deliver on your plan. It is important to recognise where your gaps are and to bring in the expertise where needed. If you’ve created a comprehensive plan, you probably won’t have all the tools and the ability or capability in house. For many organisations, there will be a skills gap at the initial data gathering point, for others it will be during the planning stage, and for the lucky few it will just be executing parts of that plan.
The key for all organisations, whatever their level of maturity on the net zero path, is to recognise that we can’t always do everything ourselves and to identify the partnerships that will help us achieve our goals.
For more insight or guidance with your decarbonisation plan, email the Zenergi team who are on hand to help! bepositive@zenergi.co.uk
the biggest value for money generally comes from combined heat and power plants (CHP) this is because it has the shortest return on investment and the easiest facility installation.
The major factor in the procurement decision for investing in a CHP plant is economic advantage, this is gained from the efficiency of self-generating power and utilising the by-product of that generation, heat.
The recent volatility of energy prices has brought into question whether self-generation still provides financial savings due to the rise in gas prices coupled with the extra fuel costs required to run a CHP. However, analysis has shown that because of the reciprocal rise in electricity prices the savings have improved.
Even if you do not have a CHP system already you can still benefit by installing one. With the high spark spread, the ratio between gas price and electricity price, the return on investment is typically between 2-4 years, with the equipment having a lifetime of 15-20 years.
2G Energy is one of the leading international manufacturers of combined heat and power plants (CHP) for the decentralised generation and supply of electricity and heat
The 2G product range includes CHP systems with an electrical output between 20 kW and 2,500 kW for operation with natural gas, biogas, other lean gases, biomethane and hydrogen. To date, 2G has successfully installed over 7000 CHP plants in 55 countries. Phone: +44 1928 718533 www.2-g.com
How do industries cope with rising energy prices? There are many solutions to explore including solar, wind turbines, ground and air source heat pumps, biomass, and energy from waste, they all have a place in the energy mix and provide acceptable savings in energy costs.
somewhere on the premises, fed by the gutters installed around the property (if for domestic use).
Such systems typically feature components including the tank and collection pipe, treatment, pump, cistern, distribution pipe and controls.
that underground tanks are the best option if you operate somewhere that sees heavy rainfall in one season.
And the industry you work in could also help inform your decisions when it comes to selecting a rainwater harvesting system.
Thissummer may well have been something of a wakeup call for businesses and individuals alike, with the intense temperatures recorded in July and August revealing just how vulnerable the system is, especially where water is concerned.
In fact, the Environment Agency has just agreed that the entire south-west of England is now in drought after some of the driest conditions seen in almost 90 years.
This has been triggered by hydrological position, such as river flows, rainfall, ground and reservoir levels and soil dryness, as well as the impact on the environment and abstractions.
The result is that, while essential water supplies are still safe, both Defra and the Environment Agency are now calling on water companies to continue with precautions to protect these resources should we see a dry autumn.
Environment Agency drought lead Chris Paul said: “Despite some heavy rain over the past two weeks, it has not been enough to refill our rivers and aquifers.
“River levels across our Wessex area are exceptionally low – many showing the lowest flows on record. This places incredible strain on local wildlife and this is why we are moving to drought status. We are prioritising our local operations to minimise impacts on the environment.”
Businesses, too, have their part to play in safeguarding water resources and reducing their reliance on mains water, which will help protect the environment and build resilience within organisations so they can continue operating, no matter what happens externally.
Rainwater harvesting is a particularly effective alternative to mains water supplies, with the water that falls across your site collected and stored for future use.
Once rainwater is collected from rooftops and other impermeable surfaces, it can be passed through a filter to remove any contaminants. It then goes into a holding tank, which can be positioned strategically
Tank materials can include concrete, brick or steel and it’s essential that they’re designed to ensure that inflow of contaminated groundwater cannot happen.
If the tanks are going underground, they’ll also need to be able to resist vehicular and surcharge loads, as well as backfill pressures. If tanks are going to remain above ground, it’s important to protect them from freezing, as this could cause cracking and lead to leaks. Using the appropriate insulation can help prevent this, however.
A mains backup is included in these installations, with float switches fitted inside the storage tank that can sense when water levels have fallen too low. At this point, the feed opens to refill the tank with mains water instead.
There are various different types of rainwater harvesting system and the right one for you will depend on what you intend to use it for. You may also find that you could potentially benefit from using one or more different types to address different issues across your site.
Options include water butts, direct pumped systems (submersible/suction), indirect gravity/pumped, gravity only, retention ponds and in-ground storage.
Water butts are perhaps the most simple system of them all and generally have smaller tank volumes, which is why they’re ideal for domestic use. They can also be used effectively for farms, stables and so on, with the stored water used for applications such as gardening and washing the car.
For smaller businesses, a submersible pump of some kind may be a good option to consider. These systems are easy to install and can help pump water directly to toilets, washing machines and other such appliances.
Where you’re based may also have an impact on which system is the most appropriate for you and your site. You may find, for example,
For example, those in the agriculture sector could consider investing in retention ponds, which collect surface water runoff and improve the quality of this water through sedimentation, soil filtration and decomposition. This water can then be collected to be used elsewhere, such as irrigation and livestock watering.
Business use of these systems is on the rise around the world and it is an effective way to reduce mains water usage – sometimes quite significantly.
From a financial perspective, after the initial investment is made, a rainwater harvesting system represents a solid opportunity to reduce operating costs, which will have a big impact on your water bills.
Modern systems are so effective that they operate alongside mains water supplies, which means that when harvested supplies do run out, the switchover to mains is seamless – so you won’t experience any disruption to your business operations.
From an environmental perspective, rainwater harvesting can reduce the amount of surface water runoff during periods of heavy rainfall, easing pressure on the pipe network and helping to prevent flooding.
With hosepipe bans having recently been introduced around the country following the dry conditions during the summer, there’s no time quite like the present than to consider how best to go about reducing water consumption.
Droughts are expected to become more frequent and more intense as times goes on, in line with climate change and rising global temperatures, so it may well be that harvesting rainwater becomes a more pressing necessity as time goes on to help ensure that it continues to be business as normal, even in the face of water shortages.
Do you want to find out more about business water? Get in touch with the SwitchWaterSupplier.com team today.
Asclimate change impacts are felt increasingly around the world, there has never been a more urgent time than right now to make significant and long-lasting changes to the way in which we operate.
It’s becoming increasingly important for us all to put sustainability at the very heart of everything we do, ensuring that we’re prioritising adaptation to climate change, as well as mitigation of the effects we’re now seeing on an increasingly regular basis.
Where construction is concerned, a sustainable approach to building is fast becoming a very real necessity, given the impact that the sector has on the environment. Figures show that the global construction industry contributes 40 per cent of drinking water pollution, 23 per cent of air pollution and 50 per cent of landfill wastes.
It’s also one of the biggest exploiters of natural resources in the world, with half of these resources being non-renewable. The WorldWatch Institute estimates that the construction sector consumes 40 per cent of global usage of raw stones, gravel and sand, as well as 25 per cent of all virgin wood annually, Arch Desk reports.
As such, finding ways in which these issues can be effectively addressed is now of paramount importance – and one potential solution that could deal with them all head on is the concept of green building and architecture.
Green building design is that which puts the environment and the natural world at the very forefront of all decision-making and ways of operating, from the design and construction phase right through to end of life.
This doesn’t just mean reducing the negative impacts that the sector has on the environment but also focusing on how the industry can actually have a positive impact, helping to preserve natural resources and improve quality of life.
Green design incorporates a range of different features, including efficient use of water, energy and other resources, renewable sources of energy, good indoor air quality, reuse and recycling, waste and pollution reduction, nontoxic and ethical material use, occupant quality of life and potential for adaptation to a changing environment.
All sorts of environmental, social and
economic benefits can be delivered through the implementation of green building design principles and practices.
Of course, one of the most important reasons to invest in green building design is that it offers vital protection to the natural environment and climate. As well as having the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions significantly, green building can help deliver energy and water savings at both global and local construction level.
But it’s not just the planet that could benefit from eco-friendly construction practices… it seems that green building is good for people, as well.
The pandemic really highlighted just how important it is for us all to focus more on our general health and wellbeing – and the part that our homes and places of business have to play in promoting good health.
The link between human health and the built environment has been put in sharp focus and this can be delivered effectively through eco-friendly construction, such as by preserving water quality to minimise health risks, enhance mental health though building design, reducing disease transmission and improving air quality inside.
Green design also brings with it various economic and financial benefits for both businesses and individuals alike, everything from cost savings in bills through water and energy efficiency measures to a reduction in construction costs, increased occupancy rates and higher property values for developers.
Water quality, sanitation and infrastructure are all essential for providing access to clean and safe drinking water – which is a fundamental human right.
However, 2.4 billion people – or a third of the world’s population – do not have access to proper sanitation, while 40 per cent lack access to basic handwashing facilities, which is a leading risk factor for infectious diseases like polio, typhoid, dysentery, diarrhoea and cholera.
Health risks can also be caused by poor water quality and pollution such as toxic chemicals, infectious agents and radiological hazards. Microplastics is another source of contamination that has
really come to the fore in recent times.
Improving infrastructure quality that delivers access to clean and safe water is absolutely key for any sustainable built environment.
The World Green Building Council states that the desired outcome is for all buildings everywhere to provide their occupants with adequate, safe and sustainable access to water and sanitation, while working towards onsite circularity and efficient use of water resources.
This can be achieved by bringing in universal health-based targets for water quality, as well as locally developed regulations and standards, and preventative risk management throughout the entire water supply chain.
Additionally, contaminant tests can be carried out and water treatment plans rolled out, with smart water distribution systems providing test result notifications to help inform buildings of their options for risk management.
Connection is key when it comes to designing built environments with circular water strategies at their heart.
Writing for Smart Water Magazine, Julia Machado – urban resilience manager and global product manager for green roofs and buildings with Wavin – explained that systems we’ve long considered to be independent could be connected, such as tap water, rainwater and wastewater networks.
This would then lead to circular and controlled water cycles between buildings, neighbourhoods and cities. From there, this concept could be applied to different disciplines, designs, technologies, partners and solutions to achieve the most inclusive and adaptive infrastructure possible.
If you’d like to find out more about being water efficient as a business, get in touch with H2o Building Services to see just how sustainable you can make your operations.
Bank of England recently announced its largest interest rate increase in 27 years to combat inflation, primarily driven by increases in the cost of energy and the consequential increase in the cost of most other consumable goods.
Instability in global energy markets is the fundamental driver of the current inflationary cycle affecting the UK and many other countries. To control inflation in the long term, the government needs to address the underlying vulnerabilities of an economy reliant upon fossil fuels by transitioning to renewable energy and re-establishing supply chains disrupted by the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Other nations have reacted to the recent volatility of wholesale energy prices by acting resolutely to reduce the cost of energy and with it the factors driving inflation. For example, the U.S. Government recently enacted the Inflation Reduction Act, a historic down payment on deficit reduction which will fight inflation while investing in domestic renewable energy production and reducing carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030.
The Act’s overall aim is to incentivize individuals and industry to move away from fossil fuels, with the biggest share of the funding going to tax credits and rebates for a host of renewable technologies. A secondary, longer term impact will be the mitigation of future inflation thanks to the investments in clean energy and electrification and associated reduction in fossil fuel use, energy costs can be expected to stabilize.
The UK can and should pursue a similar approach to counter inflationary pressures while reducing carbon emissions and dependence on unstable fossil-fuel producing countries. According
to energy research thinktank Ember, expanding Europe’s electricity system by quadrupling renewable energy generation and building out electrical infrastructure could save the EU upwards of $1 trillion by 2035, while delivering energy security and cleaner air.
Crucially, rapidly moving away from gas and oil will result in lower consumer energy bills. Between 2000 and 2020, the costs of renewable power have fallen sharply, driven by steadily improving technologies; it was recently reported that UK offshore wind farm operators will sell power for £37.35 per megawatt hour (MWh), while electricity produced using a large (600MW 500 hr) open cycle gas turbine is £222 per MWh according to The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy based on today’s wholesale gas prices.
With a six-fold difference in costs between wind and fossil fuel energy, renewables have the potential to save money and address a key driver of inflation in the UK, while cutting carbon emissions and ensuring we are less reliant on imported gas and oil. At a time when the UK may be facing energy blackouts across industry and households this winter due to shortages, the promise of affordable and abundant renewable energy is most welcome.
Despite the positives of clean energy, the intermittency of wind and solar generation still poses challenges. Put simply, if the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine, then energy is not generated.
Fortunately, solutions exist to ensure that an energy grid reliant upon wind and solar generation can deliver reliable power. Long duration energy storage (LDES) technologies store excess renewable energy to power the grid with affordable, reliable, renewable energy 24/7. For example, iron-flow batteries, such as those manufactured by ESS Inc., are a commercially available LDES technology that delivers 4+ hours of energy storage. Iron flow batteries offer a number of advantages over lithium-ion, currently the dominant storage technology. While lithium-ion is well suited to short duration storage, typically 4 hours or less, it does not provide adequate capacity to deliver baseload renewable energy and fully replace fossil fuel generators. In addition to enabling 24/7 renewable energy, iron flow batteries are cost effective, with a levelized cost of storage which falls as storage durations increase due to the cost-effective iron-based electrolyte. And, they deliver these benefits using safe and non-toxic materials and no critical minerals.
Renewable energy and LDES technologies are commercially available today and are the key to creating an inflation-resilient energy future. The UK needs to invest in the continued deployment of renewable energy while expanding the deployment of energy storage in order to create an economically resilient, decarbonized energy system. https://essinc.com/
In the constantly evolving and expanding sector of green and renewable energy; expert-led training is even more invaluable than ever. Study now with the Accredited Renewable Energy Institute and progress your career.
Receive access to the REI's catalogue of 15 accredited courses and become a Master in Renewable Energy when a minimum of 12 courses from the list below are completed within an 18-month period. You will gain 280+ CPD (Continuous Professional Development) hours during this programme.
Upon completion of the Master in Renewable Energy Award, you will receive one year of complimentary professional membership to reflect your achievement and gain industry recognition. For more information regarding the REI’s professional membership programme, please view here: https:// www.renewableinstitute.org/membership/membership-programme/
For more information, please call us on +44 131 446 9479 or email us at training@renewableinstitute.org
Mix Disclosure (FMD) provides evidence of the mix of fuels used to generate electricity. It is shared with suppliers’ existing customers during a compliance period which runs for a year starting on the 1st April. It’s also a starting point for how you (as the customer) can understand the makeup of the power that you are buying.
If you are a business that is concerned about its environmental impact, it’s likely you’ve chosen an energy supplier based on its ‘green’ credentials. After all, powering your business with genuinely clean energy is one of the key tactics to meeting net zero.
The problem is though, that all is not what it first seems when it comes to FMD. In fact, there are several limitations with the FMD which means it does not give you the full picture about the energy you’re buying. In many cases, it misses out important information about the genuine makeup of the fuel mix.
One of the biggest issues is that energy suppliers can hide their use of ‘dirty’ fuels behind an eco-friendly banner of ‘renewable.’ This is why the term ‘renewable’ in the context of the FMD does not necessarily mean nonpolluting, sustainable or carbon neutral.
As well as clean sources such as wind, solar and hydro power, ‘renewable’ in the FMD constitutes energy from a range of ‘brown’ sources, too. These include biomass, landfill gas and sewage gas too.
Energy suppliers who buy cheap renewable energy certificates to cover up their use of fossil fuels do not need to declare them in the FMD. Energy suppliers can buy fossil fuel electricity from the wholesale market, pair it with a renewable energy certificate – a REGO or European GO – and claim it is 100% renewable. Energy suppliers are required to declare the proportion
of their energy supply which is paired with REGOs or GOs, but they are not required to declare how much of their power is contracted from clean energy sources such as wind or solar.
So, even if you look at the FMD of your supplier, this loophole makes it almost impossible for you to know whether the electricity you’ve chosen to power your business contains fossil fuels, or not. And by not understanding the true source of your power, you could be at risk of greenwashing.
Ultimately it is not enough to take your energy supplier at their word on this, you will need to do your own due diligence on the FMD yourself too.
So how do you really get to the bottom of your supplier’s fuel mix? Well unfortunately you cannot, all you can really do is use the clean REGOs as a guide, but it’s still possible for a fossil fuel generator to buy 100% clean REGOs and claim to be a clean supplier. This, of course, makes the energy buying process very complex. That being said there are a few steps you can take to do your own due diligence and ease the strain a little.
REGO information is publicly available on the Ofgem website. In fact, REGOs are broken down by type of generation. This makes it easier to see what percentage of REGOs your supplier has paired with their energy, and what percentage it’s paired with non-clean energy. Or in other words, how much
dirty energy your supplier is masking behind renewable energy certificates.
For us, clean REGOs are ones that are combined with energy that has no adverse impact on the environment.
This includes hydro, ocean, photovoltaic, wind and filled storage hydro. Whilst non-clean REGOs are everything else. See Fig. 1 for more detail.
Sifting through the REGO data on the Ofgem website can be a minefield.
So we’ve extracted the latest available REGO data for you. See Fig. 2 where we’ve outlined the percentage of REGO-backed energy that is clean and non-clean for each supplier.
As you can see from Fig. 2, almost all the energy suppliers we analysed used an alarming percentage of non-clean energy backed by REGOs in their fuel mix. In other words, these energy suppliers are buying renewable energy certificates, pairing them with fossil or dirty fuels, and are declaring it as renewable energy.
There really is only one way to ensure you are buying genuinely clean energy and that is to choose a supplier who only supplies genuinely clean energy, alongside matching clean energy REGOs
In recent years there’s been a sharp rise in suppliers buying the European counterpart of UK REGOs, called European GOs. Energy suppliers in the UK submitted more than 64.4 TWh of European GOs, in the 2020-21 FMD period. This accounts for approximately
19.7% of overall electricity supply in that period. Suppliers can submit European GOs to Ofgem alongside –or instead of – REGOs for the FMD.
We’ve pulled the latest available European GO data for the UK’s key I&C suppliers and outlined the percentage of European GO-backed energy that is clean and non-clean for each supplier. See Fig. 3.
Our analysis reveals that UK suppliers are bulk-buying renewable energy
certificates from Europe to disguise fossil or dirty energy in their fuel mix. Some of the biggest I&C energy suppliers in the UK are backing a significant portion of their renewable energy with European GOs. Plus, an alarming percentage of that energy isn’t clean.
Energy suppliers can legitimately submit European GOs for the renewable part of the FMD. However, there’s a host of issues when it comes to European GOs. The main issue is that buying
European GOs (instead of the UK counterpart, REGOs) enables energy suppliers to wriggle out of paying green levies which are designed to support UK clean energy projects.
In doing this, energy suppliers are undermining the UK’s support scheme for renewables. Not only this, but if your business buys energy backed by European GOs, you are – whether you are aware or not – also undermining the UK’s transition towards clean energy.
On Thursday 28 July, 2022, the UK government announced a plan to ban British energy suppliers from bulk-buying cheap renewable energy certificates from foreign power stations. Quite frankly, this new regulation couldn’t come into force soon enough.
Not only are energy suppliers manipulating their fuel mix to lure customers into buying ‘green’ tariffs, but they’re also putting their own customers at risk of greenwashing, too.
Loose regulation has long made it difficult for customers to understand where their energy comes from. This plan, which is set to come into effect on April 1st 2023, should help stamp out the deceit in the energy industry. It’s a regulation we fully supported at the consultation stage.
Businesses like yours – who are striving to meet sustainability targets – need clarity on the makeup of the energy they’re procuring. The most important thing you can do for your business’ transition to net zero is to buy clean energy. But with greenwashing so prevalent in the energy industry, that’s no easy task.
Ultimately it’s not enough to put trust in your supplier’s word, you need to do your own due diligence too. The only way to guarantee your energy is genuinely clean is to choose wind, solar and hydro power. At Squeaky, we only include 100% clean, traceable energy backed by matching clean energy REGOs in our portfolio of contract options. https://www.squeaky.energy/
• Imperial College London report calls for new measures to build consumer confidence in switching to lowcarbon heating and grow installer skills
• Report recommends measuring rather than estimating building and heat pump performance both preand post-installation
• Public database of performance and satisfaction data would allow householders to learn from the experience of early adopters before making an investment
consumers, installers and other stakeholders access to real-world heat pump performance data and customer satisfaction scores would help drive the transition to low-carbon heating in the UK, according to a new report published by Energy Futures Lab, Imperial College London’s global energy institute.
The Briefing Paper, which investigates the potential of leveraging early adoption to drive a boom in installations, calls for new measures to give consumers confidence in low-carbon technologies - notably the creation of a publicly accessible database of heat pump case studies.
At present, householders and landlords considering installing a heat pump system are faced with complexity and uncertainty, relying on performance estimates, which do not accurately reflect real-world operation and running costs.
‘Accelerating the transition to heat pumps: measuring real-world performance and enabling peer-to-peer learning’ recommends the development and routine use of standardised procedures to measure building and heating system performance before and after the installation of a heat pump at minimal cost and inconvenience to householders and installers.
“The reality is we urgently need to move away from gas for heating but unless homeowners have the confidence to invest in alternative technologies, the transition will falter,” says Dr Richard Carmichael, a Research Associate at
Imperial’s Centre for Environmental Policy and author of the report.
“By requiring installers to measure the performance of buildings and their heating systems, householders will feel reassured that they are getting a high-quality installation and a heat pump that operates efficiently.”
Combining these measurements with customer satisfaction ratings and running costs to create case studies, accessible through a public database, could unlock social influence effects, helping to trigger the next stage of heat pump adoption, according to Dr Carmichael.
“When it comes to making improvements to our homes, our neighbours and peers could become effective ‘trusted messengers’ if we enable peer-to-peer learning. Letting householders see for themselves how heat pumps actually perform in properties similar to theirs would give them the confidence to make the change. These case studies would also provide the heating industry with a rich resource for upskilling and training plus valuable transparency.”
The report also highlights serious concerns over the reliability and suitability of widely used building energy performance certificates (EPCs), which are based on outdated assumptions and estimated performance and consistently deter households from adopting heat pumps.
The paper is available here: https:// www.imperial.ac.uk/energy-futureslab/reports/briefing-papers/paper-10/
Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has partnered with Associated Technology Services Ltd (ATS) to create the UK’s most sustainable and energy-efficient leisure centre at St Sidwell’s Point, Exeter.
The Exeter City Council run leisure centre will set new sustainability standards in the sector, saving 70% more energy than similar buildings built to traditional methods. As well as being the most efficient building of its kind, it will be the first to meet the Passivhaus standard.
In association with ATS Ltd
