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Renewables set new records Renewable generation shot up by 32 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 as biomass, wind and solar set new generation records. At one point renewable electricity sources were providing almost 70 per cent of Britain’s electricity. Analysis, conducted via Imperial Consultants, by academics from Imperial College London for Drax Electric, showed that emissions fell by a third compared to the same quarter last year, and the carbon intensity of electricity fell to an all-time low of 21g/kWh on the Spring Bank Holiday. At the same time wholesale power prices plummeted 42 per cent from same quarter last year as demand reduced. The report adds that the cost to balance the grid rose to over £100m per month as pumped hydro storage and CCGTs called on to manage low demand and high generation from wind and solar sources. Dr Iain Staffell of Imperial College London, and lead author of the quarterly Electric Insights reports, said: “The past few months have given the country a glimpse into the future for our power system, with higher levels of renewable energy and lower demand make for a difficult balancing act. To help the country decarbonise further it is vital that flexible technologies which provide power and system stability play an increasing role in our grid.” Alongside keeping power supply and demand perfectly in balance, National Grid ESO must also stabilise the system. It does this by ensuring there is not just the right amount of megawatts available to meet demand – but also the right kind of MWs. During Q2 wind and solar power provided a lot of the electricity required by the grid, which helped the carbon intensity fall to 153g/kWh averaged over the quarter – its lowest on record. However, these technologies are unable to provide all the services needed to stabilise the system, such as inertia, which is essential for maintaining the grid’s frequency at 50Hz and preventing power cuts.
GOVERNMENT-FUNDED SCHEME FOR HOUSEHOLDERS
Green Homes Grant worries increase There are growing concerns as to whether the new Green Homes Grant scheme can succeed in supporting the 100,000 jobs and improving energy usage in the 600,000 existing homes which Chancellor Rishi Sunak originally promised when he announced it (see EiBI July/August 2020). This will be the first Governmentfunded scheme open to every householder for over thirty years. The grants will not begin until late this month. All related work under the £2bn scheme needs to be completed and invoiced before next April. Work can be undertaken only by “installers accredited with TrustMark, working to specified standards with robust consumer protection practices.” Concern is being expressed focussing upon the very restrictive range of measures that are deemed to qualify to help ordinary private sector householders (a separate scheme is available for social housing). Initially, national newspaper and websites were told that permitted measures would be very wide-ranging. As well as insulation and heat pumps, these would include double, triple and secondary glazing of doors and windows, appliance thermostats and smart heating controls, modern lighting systems and high efficiency
condensing boilers. However, in late August a final definitive eligible product list was published on the relevant government website, “Simple Energy Advice”. This entirely excluded any assistance for the installation of both lighting systems or new boilers of any kind. Both of these energy-saving options have considerable numbers of trained and skilled installers already available. All of these people can now play no part in the process. Similarly, those in the glazing and heating controls industries are permitted to install only “secondary measures”. These can only be included if at least one of the primary measures have already been commissioned. And, crucially, “secondary measures” can only be “subsidised up to the cash amount of subsidy provided for a primary measure.”
So even though grants may be available worth up to £5,000 per home, if a household receives £1,000 to pay for primary measures, they can qualify for only a maximum of £1,000 towards any “secondary measures”. And in all cases, the householder must pay at least one-third of the costs. There are two categories of “primary” measures. These are lowcarbon heat, predominantly air source and ground source heat pumps. Last year, just 30,000 heat pumps were installed in homes in Britain. In contrast, around 1.6m condensing gas boilers were put in. While the Government website states clearly that “for low-carbon heating to be installed, households will need to have adequate insulation”, it is unclear how this is to be enforced. All forms of insulation are rated as “primary” measures, except curiously hot water tank insulation. The Committee on Climate Change has warned that the numbers currently employed in installing established retrofit installation measures for lofts, roofs and cavity walls has fallen by over 90 per cent since 2012. Currently, there is no commitment at all to continue with any energy-saving stimulus programme after March 2021.
Heat pumps ‘to play key role’ in net-zero London Heat pumps will have a critical role in tackling emissions from London’s buildings and delivering the Mayor’s 2030 net zero ambitions, according to a new report from the Carbon Trust. ‘Heat pump retrofit in London,’ commissioned by the Mayor of London, includes detailed analysis of the potential to retrofit heat pumps across a range of existing buildings in London and recommends an action plan for scaling up energy efficiency and heat pump retrofit across the capital. The report will help guide local authorities, social housing providers and others considering a heat pump retrofit, highlighting the principles of good practice system design. Decarbonising heat is London’s biggest challenge to achieving net zero emissions. Natural gas, used mainly for heating buildings and water, accounts for 37 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions in London. To achieve the Mayor’s net zero target by 2030, London will need to make a rapid transition from gas to low-carbon heat solutions, the majority of which will be retrofitted into existing buildings, as at least 80 per cent of buildings are expected to still be standing in 2050. Additionally, a prerequisite for the roll out of heat pumps in many buildings will be improved thermal
energy efficiency, which is likely to require significant investment from central government, alongside investment and co-ordination with local authorities and the private sector. Retrofitting energy efficiency measures, combined with heat pumps, provides multiple benefits including reducing energy bills, and enabling the heat pump to operate more efficiently.
06 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | SEPTEMBER 2020
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