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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.
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UK CAN SET OWN REGULATIONS FROM JANUARY
Consultation on appliance standards
The government has been running a public consultation on how best to set ambitious new climate-friendly standards for electrical appliances. Most of these are already subject to Europe-wide agreements.
When the UK leaves the EU on January 1, it will be able to set its own product regulations. Previously, these have always been agreed across the entire European Union, via the Eco Design directive.
UK government statistics have shown that the most cost-effective energy efficiency policies for every category of consumer are those standards for energy-using products.
Official figures have stated that, before lockdown occurred, it had been anticipated that during 2020 European product policies were together already saving the average UK household £153 a year, the average SME £17,000, and larger businesses around £62,000 on their fuel bills.
Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, Kwasi Kwarteng said: “After
we exit the transition period, we will be able to go even further and faster than the EU to set energy efficiency rules on new appliances.
“Improving energy efficiency standards of the fridges, ovens and washing machines we all rely on will help save consumers money on their energy bills, while helping us meet our zero emissions target by 2050.”
An additional option is setting requirements for smart appliances that can automatically adapt their energy usage in response to signals, such as the price of electricity, to save consumers money.
Government analysis shows that if
the UK raised the minimum energy performance standards for the 5m ovens and hobs sold annually by one energy class, from A to A+, it could stop up to 300,000 tonnes of CO 2 being released each year.
Other areas for improvement under consideration include developing energy labels beyond the familiar A to F ratings, to include displaying the lifetime energy costs at the point of purchase. Changes could also include providing additional information such as the current cost of running a product, its repairability, re-usability, recyclability, and durability. All helping consumers make more informed choices.
Head of home products and services at Which?, Natalie Hitchins, welcomed the Government’s call for higher energy standards. She said: “The chance to update and adapt energy product labelling to better suit consumers and wider UK needs could lead to improved overall standards for energy efficiency.”
IN BRIEF
Manufacturer set for rebranding
Ideal Boilers is to rebrand as Ideal Heating, to future-proof the positioning of its increasingly diverse range of products and solutions.
The brand has offered cylinders and controls with its awardwinning range of domestic combi, system and heat-only boilers – alongside a comprehensive product range for the commercial market.
The move is designed to communicate Ideal’s total heating system offering, with further expansion into low carbon technologies planned for the coming months.
First SMETS2 meter operates
Britain’s first ever SMETS2 ‘three-phase’ smart meter has been installed at a property in Gloucestershire, marking a significant milestone for the country’s transition to a smarter, greener energy system.
The device — which will provide homes and businesses on a ‘threephase’ electricity supply with the option of a smart meter — was installed by meter asset provider SMS plc at the home where there is a 12kW solar power array, electrified heating as well as an electric vehicle.
Yü Group buys up B2B portfolio of Bristol Energy
Independent utility supplier to UK business, Yü Group plc, has acquired the B2B customer portfolio of ailing Bristol Energy Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol City Council.
Yü Group has paid £1.24m in cash on completion and, as part of the acquisition, has acquired £1.0m of receivables of which the majority is due for payment to Yü Group in August 2020. A further £100,000 is payable by the group deferred for three months. In addition, the group has assumed liabilities totalling £580,000 payable in August 2021.
The B2B book, for the financial year to 31 March 2020, showed revenues of £15.2m and generated an operating loss of £0.48m.
Yü Group will gain 4,000 meter points to its portfolio of 9,800, an increase of 40 per cent.
Bristol Energy’s portfolio comprises a range of gas and electricity supply contracts running for up to three years, servicing a range of public sector and business customers. However, the acquisition does not include Bristol Energy’s forward commodity purchases.
Bristol Energy management will provide full support for Yü Group throughout the transition of the contracts.
Bristol Energy was put up for sale in June, just a month after Bristol City Council announced it wanted to cut its ties with the company.
Retrofit plan could create 500k jobs
A plan to retrofit 8.7m homes by 2023/24 could create over 500,000 new jobs, reduce household carbon emissions by 21 per cent by 2023/24 and cut household bills by an average of £418, according to new research published by the New Economics Foundation (NEF).
NEF analysis of over 30 independent forecasts for the UK economy shows that GDP is set to be £136bn (2019 prices, 6 per cent) lower by the end of 2021 compared with pre-Covid forecasts, unless government takes action now. However, a four-year programme to retrofit millions of UK homes could boost annual economic activity by £28bn by 2021 compared to previous forecasts, and by £36bn by 2023/24.
news update
Trump seeks shower reversal
America’s President Trump has spent much of his first four years in office seeking to reduce established energy efficiency standards for many familiar items, from lightbulbs via clothes washers and dryers to boilers, and to cars and vans. But now, in the midst of a pandemic, the US Government is following up on Trump’s campaign pledge to get “rid of the restrictors” on showerheads. This is just part of his repeated false complaint that toilets, taps, and other household fixtures have all been ruined by efficiency standards.
New rules will permit the reintroduction of showerheads that waste enormous amounts of water and energy, increasing utility bills and greenhouse gas emissions.
This profligate showerhead proposal coincides with a new detailed study, published in the journal Science, which found that a “vast region of the western United States, extending from California, Arizona and New Mexico north to Oregon and Idaho, is in the grips of the first climate change-induced megadrought.”
Currently, three-quarters of the showerhead models for sale use at least 20 per cent less water than the maximum allowed nationally This is mainly due to six states, comprising about 25 per cent of the U.S. population, having their own tighter showerhead standards. These measures have strong support in Congress, where any relaxing of standards would be rejected.
So Trump is trying to get round the original 1994 law, which set a 2.5 gallon-per-minute maximum flow rate per showerhead standard. His proposal encourages manufacturers to make giant showerheads with several nozzles within them. Official test procedures will be altered to characterise each of those separate nozzles as a separate showerhead.
The latest multi-nozzle showerheads would not only needlessly waste water, exacerbating shortages caused by drought. They would also boost carbon pollution from the electricity and gas used to power the shower. No one benefits from this gimmick.
ILLEGAL LETTING OUT OF PROPERTIES
Councils failing to enforce regulations
Councils are failing to enforce energy efficiency regulations designed to protect renters living in the least energy-efficient homes.
Fewer than six per cent of borough and district councils across England and Wales have taken any enforcement action against landlords illegally letting out properties with the lowest energy efficiency ratings.
Since April 2018, it has been illegal for a landlord to start new tenancies for any property with energy performance certificate rating of F or G. In April 2020, this rule was expanded to cover all tenancies. The rules now mean that 290,000 rented homes – almost half of which house tenants living in fuel poverty – should receive improvements.
One landlord told the i newspaper,
Transport for London, London’s single largest consumer of electricity, has launched a market test to be supplied with renewable power direct from generators.
By changing the way electricity is supplied, the Mayor, Sadiq
Khan, and TfL are seeking to move towards a greater use of renewable energy as a key measure in helping tackle the climate emergency.
The aim is that all electricity requirements for the Underground are met via zero carbon sources by 2030.
All passenger rail services operated by TfL are electrically powered and, as part of the
London Environment Strategy, the Mayor has set TfL the goal of achieving a zero-carbon railway by 2030. TfL is one of the largest consumers of electricity in the UK, with a r equirement for 1.6TWh per A group of energy trade bodies is calling for the reinstatement of the 5 per cent rate of VAT on energy-saving materials and products.
In a letter to Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, the Association for Decentralised Energy, Regen and the Electricity Storage Network, Energy UK, the Renewable Energy Association, RenewableUK and the Solar Trade Association, say that the qualifying
which undertook the survey: “Are people from the council coming out and asking to look at your Energy Performance Certificate? The answer is no. It is simply not being policed.”
The Government estimates it will cost an average of £1,200 to £2,000 to bring an F or G rated property up to standard, and landlords can claim an exemption if costs exceed £3,500. As of early March, 9,269 exemptions had annum, equivalent to the electricity consumed by over 437,000 homes which is 12 per cent of homes across London. TfL currently source electricity directly from the National Grid via the Crown Commercial Service. By developing plans to purchase power from renewable generators through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), TfL would enable the rail network to be supplied by technologies should also be expanded to include storage, air-source heat pumps and EV charging equipment. The call comes in response to opposition to the increase last year of VAT on small-scale solar and storage systems.
In addition, the bodies are asking the Government to provide temporary tax relief as a means of boosting the industry, giving confidence to investors been registered with the government for domestic properties.
But fears are mounting that thousands of landlords flouting the rules are going unpunished.
Of the 268 local authorities which responded to a Freedom of Information request from the i asking for enforcement details, only 17 had taken any enforcement action. Since 2018 a total of 449 compliance notices and just 17 financial penalties have been issued for breaches of the law.
The most inefficient domestic properties are up to 2°C colder in winter than the most efficient ones. Bills are high, too – costing £1,000 more a year to heat. Many struggle to afford this: during winter 2018-19, 17,000 people in the UK died due to
TfL tests contract to buy direct from generators
cold housing conditions. energy sources including wind and solar power, rather than a mix of power generators that emit carbon into the atmosphere.
The market testing will e xplore all elements of these contracts so TfL can secure a good deal for London and will also look at the potential for meeting the GLA group’s wider demand for renewable electricity - a total of143 GWh which include s Greater London Authority (GLA), London Fire Commissioner (LFC), Transport for London (TfL), Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and Old Oak Common and Park Royal Development
Bodies call for 5% VAT on energy-saving products
Corporation (OPDC). and allowing shovel-ready projects to immediately come forward.
As part of a green recovery the bodies believe that clean energy technologies could provide 3m job-years and add over £125bn to the economy. They are asking for temporary rates relief in order to jump start these projects, but also looking to longer term reform, to ensure clean technologies pay their fair share of rates.
