Mission Critical Power June 2020

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ISSUE 27: June 2020

6

Dirty energy: are data centres driving demand for fossil fuels and what action should be taken?

12

Could floating data centres cool demand for energy in Ireland?

46

Uptime Institute survey shows capacity forecasting tops data centre challenges

The dark side of service making sure your UPS will work when its needed p22

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ecarbonising the economy is the challenge of our times. To deliver Net Zero requires immediate and sustained action across all sectors. Industrial and commercial businesses will be required to perform much of the heavy lifting, alongside local authorities and the public sector estate.

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4

COMMENT

Too good an opportunity to miss As restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 lockdown ease, there appears to be a broad consensus that the recovery should be a green one and the argument is compelling: the UK’s ambitious climate change programme of achieving net zero emissions as an economy within the next 30 years. A pivotal point in this transition, perversely, may well prove to be the pandemic and its impact across society.

or infrastructure projects can be contingent on reducing emissions or ameliorating the effects of climate change.

It is difficult to enact lasting wholesale changes to business as usual when everything seems to be OK and many have an interest in maintaining the status quo. The unique circumstances that have led to a fair proportion of the economy essentially being put on pause or operating at a reduced level has eliminated business as usual.

Given the short-term pressure of keeping a business solvent in the current crisis, it is compelling that many large firms – the paying consumer, feel it is too good an opportunity to miss. In an open letter, more than 200 UK businesses, investors and business networks, have called on the government to deliver a Covid-19 recovery plan that aligns with the UK’s wider social, environmental and climate goals.

This allows us the opportunity to rebuild in a different way. The Covid-19 lockdown has perhaps removed the fear of not having business as usual. Many more people have now used video chat regularly, reduced travel to a minimum, shopped online for almost everything. To achieve net zero new jobs and skills are required across clean energy supply, energy efficient technology and infrastructure.

The energy transition was always going to require further cash stimuli from the government to stimulate it. The money that will be necessary to kick-start the economy following the Covid-19 pandemic can, if tied to certain conditions, be used dually as stimulus for decarbonisation. Finance for specific firms, industries

Editor Tim McManan-Smith tim@energystmedia.com t: 020 3714 4450 m: 07818 574300 Design and production Paul Lindsell paul@energystmedia.com m: 07790 434813

Sales director Steve Swaine steve@energystmedia.com t: 020 3714 4451 m: 07818 574300 Commercial manager Daniel Coyne daniel@energystmedia.com t: 020 3751 7863 m: 07557 109476 Circulation enquiries circulation@energystmedia.com

The Committee on Climate Change has previously identified a detailed set of appropriate investments and it says that “many are labour-intensive, spread across the UK and ready to roll out as part of a targeted and timely stimulus package”.

Any economic stimulus required to recover from Covid-19 may as well fulfil the additional aim of meeting net zero legislation which will so in any case be required over the next decade.

Tim McMananSmith, editor

Energyst Media Ltd, PO BOX 420, Reigate, Surrey RH2 2DU Registered in England & Wales – 8667229 Registered at Stationers Hall – ISSN 0964 8321 Printed by PCP No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers.

Mission Critical Power is a controlled circulation magazine available to selected professionals interested in energy, who fall within the publishers terms of control. For those outside of these terms, annual subscriptions is £60 including postage in the UK. For all subscriptions outside the UK the annual subscription is £120 including postage.

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MCP June 2020

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5

IN THIS ISSUE

30

16 Tidal powered

Smarter sewers

data centre

A a common set of standards for installing fibre in the sewers, will also enable wastewater network monitoring technology

As operators seek to reduce their carbon footprints, tidal power could be a solutions

18 Smart energy grid Battery system at the heart of Portsmouth International Port’s new smart energy system

20

Energy procurement The risks and opportunities in navigating energy markets during the Covid-19 crisis

8 Decentralised

missioncriticalpower.uk

ISSUE 27: June 2020

6

Dirty energy: are data centres driving demand for fossil fuels and what action should be taken?

12

Could floating data centres cool demand for energy in Ireland?

46

Uptime Institute survey shows capacity forecasting tops data centre challenges

power

CHP can allow organisations to build site resilience and combat rising energy costs

28

The dark side of service making sure your UPS will work when its needed p22

Light at the end of the tunnell

22

Front Cover

After Covid-19, the power system will have a gradual recovery with its own set of challenges

The dark side of service making sure your UPS will work when its needed

Comment

4

Energy procurement

20

News

6

Critical infrastructure

22

Back-up power

8

IT infrastructure

30

Products

32

Energy management

14

34

Q&A

To subscribe please contact: missioncriticalpower.uk/subscribe missioncriticalpower.uk

June 2020 MCP

6

NEWS & COMMENT

Hydrogen can meet half of UK energy demand Hydrogen produced from both renewables and methane can meet 48 per cent of UK final energy demand by 2050, calculates Aurora Energy Research.

Green hydrogen (produced via electrolysis) or blue (via reformed methane and carbon capture and storage) could produce as much as 500 terawatt hours of power, suggests the consultancy, which counts professor Dieter Helm among its board of directors.

Adopting hydrogen at that scale would entrench renewables deeper in the power grid, Aurora argues, as the gas becomes an easy standby source for generation.

As a generating source, wholesale clean hydrogen could cost as little as £50/ MWh by mid-century, Aurora estimates.

Salt caves would provide standard storage, backed up by a national reserve of 7GW to cover short term needs.

Researchers calculate hydrogen could also mutually benefit the power system and producers as renewable generators could push excess power into hydrogen production, leading to lower production costs, with hydrogen produced power feeding back into the system and reducing balancing costs.

Aurora suggests that benefit could total £3bn/year by 2050.

The country’s gas networks could also be adapted to hydrogen, enabling mass

conversion of boilers to provide clean heat and hot water.

While green hydrogen could help decarbonise the power sector to a large degree, decarbonising heat and transport would require the bulk of hydrogen to come from methane with CCS, states the report.

“Low-regret” options for government, Aurora argues, include stimulation of hydrogen demand in key sectors like manufacturing, transport and power, the

deployment of CCS close to high-carbon sites and the standardisation of networks.

“These initiatives could form an important part of the UK Government’s post-covid stimulus plan,” Aurora Energy said.

“Stimulating the development of hydrogen infrastructure in the UK could facilitate the low-carbon energy transition as part of the UK’s efforts to hit its net-zero target and unlock opportunities across UK industry and transport,” added Aurora Research’s Felix ChowKambitsch.

In February UK gas industry leaders set up the Hydrogen Taskforce, seeking ministers’ buy-in for the fuel’s transformative capabilities.

Germany has launched its Hydrogen Strategy the EU’s hydrogen strategy is expected next month. The UK’s hydrogen lobby last week urged the Chancellor not to fall behind.

How Green is your Data Centre?

DigiPlex has published a guide: “Will your IT withstand a sustainability review?”, to help businesses assess and manage the sustainability profile of the data centres their data resides in.

To date, the environmental damage caused by IT has been largely overlooked, but this is changing. The DigiPlex guide highlights: It has been estimated that data centers and digital infrastructure could be responsible for up to 20% of the world’s electricity consumption and 5.5% of CO2 emissions within a decade One in four Scandinavian consumers would consider using the internet less to reduce environmental damage Nearly three-quarters of Scandinavians believe digital service providers should report on their MCP June 2020

energy consumption and its impact on climate The EU Commission note in their digital strategy that data centers are responsible for a significant environmental footprint, and "can and should become climate neutral by 2030.”

Data, and the digital infrastructure that supports data collection, use and storage, is essential to almost every business. But few organisations have the frameworks and processes to accurately report on the environmental impact of the data centers their data resides in. As they use a wider range of cloud, co-located and on-premise IT facilities, many struggle to even identify where data and computing resources are located.

The DigiPlex guide: Will your IT withstand a sustainability review? provides a compendium of research,

insights and practical advice designed to help businesses assess the sustainability of their IT provision and make decisions to improve it based on industry best practice. It includes summaries of research by leading experts including Gartner, The Uptime Institute and Harvard Business Review, as well as primary research undertaken by DigiPlex with Kantar.

The guide outlines five reasons why organisations should expect an audit of their IT’s environmental impact. It then provides three data center areas where action can and should be taken to prepare for an audit and, more importantly, establish the metrics that can help to reduce CO2 emissions. An missioncriticalpower.uk

7

Carbon removal market targets gigaton scale-up A marketplace matching corporates trying to decarbonise with carbon negative materials producers is bidding to remove gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Early clients of the puro.earth marketplace include insurance giant Swiss Re. The marketplace works by matching buyers with sellers.

The sellers make things like biochar, a type of charcoal designed to hold CO2 and improve soil, or carbon negative building materials, such as blocks and insulation. Only verifiable technologies and products are allowed onto the platform, with verification undertaken by DNV GL. The buyers invest in these companies – de-risking production ramp up and enabling them to scale – by buying tradable carbon dioxide removal certificates, or CORCs, each of which represents a tonne of CO2 removed.

That means buyers are paying for carbon removal as a service instead of trying to find their own potentially unverified negative emissions sources.

Co-founder Marianne Tikkanen says the marketplace has the potential to remove gigatons of CO2 – if it can scale.

“Linear growth will not take us where we need to go. To decarbonise by 2050, we need step change, orders of magnitude.”

While the platform has attracted buyers such as Nordic IT services firm TietoEvry and Sweden’s SEB bank, every marketplace requires numbers on both sides to enable liquidity. There are currently 164 companies involved.

On the supply side, Tikkanen says energy companies in particular have a role to play, and that those burning biomass should consider not just heat and power, but novel forms of trigeneration to enable heat, power and product.

Auctions on the platform to date have attracted average prices of around €20/tonne of CO2 removal, says Tikkanen, significantly higher than the €1/tonne typically charged for offsets.

However, unlike the murky world of offsets, where consultants and administrators can take the lion’s share of the money, Tikkanen says the platform is transparent in terms of cost and that the carbon removal materials are fully verifiable.

“It is very hard to give a false answer if you can take the material to a lab and test how much carbon it holds,” she says. “Buyers can easily do that.”

Tikkanen hopes that puro.earth has got its timing right, and that the post-Covid world delivers on all the talk of building back better.

“Urbanisation is not going to go away in post-Covid times. The world will not stop building and working, so everything that we cannot reuse we should build from carbon removing materials,” says Tikkanen.

“Engineers and energy companies have proven that they can ‘do the impossible’ by pivoting to renewables. If we take the same focus to carbon removal, why not?”

Engineers’ concerns ignored, puts energy infrastructure at risk Only 44% of recommendations to improve the safety and performance of critical energy infrastructure are fully implemented, new research reveals.

A survey, conducted with transformer professionals, shows disconnect between transformer operators and budget decision makers, with some decisions unduly increasing the risk of failure, fatality or fire posed by transformers.

The findings, released by MIDEL, reveal that while safety is perceived to be a top boardroom concern, over half of recommendations are being denied or delayed with cost cited as the key cause in 56% of these decisions.

More pressing commercial (38%) and engineering (36%) priorities also score highly.

In turn, 44% of respondents lack confidence in their board’s ability to properly mitigate missioncriticalpower.uk

transformer-related risk.

Barry Menzies, managing director of MIDEL, says, “In the face of failure, the impact on business continuity and reputation will always far outweigh the cost of mitigating transformer risk.

Evaluating risk mitigation recommendations solely on the grounds of capex short-sighted.

“Many improvements

– both for safety and for optimisation – have farreaching benefits that are only properly captured when considering the lifecycle of the improvement.

“Indeed, when factoring in reduced insurance and maintenance costs, as well as improvements to reliability, resiliency and sustainability, many more risk mitigation strategies stack up financially.”

As the world’s transformer fleet ages, and more demands are placed upon them by continued electrification and intermittent renewables, the environment in which transformers operate is increasingly challenging, creating more maintenance issues, overloading and winding failure.

Concurrently, the survey revealed a noticeable shift towards condition-based maintenance, with nearly half of respondents having

recommended it to mitigate transformer related risk in the past 12 months. Changes to maintenance regimes (34%) asset replacement (34%), asset repair and reconditioning (32%) and substation upgrade (33%) recommendations were also popular.

“Decision makers are being presented with a range of options to reduce transformer risk which makes it even more concerning that many respondents do not see their recommendations implemented fully.

“This suggests that the benefits of these recommendations are getting lost in translation. It may be that engineers need to reframe these recommendations to catch the ear of decision makers, for example, by conveying the commercial implications of transformer risk for aspects such as insurance” Menzies adds.

June 2020 MCP

8

BACKUP POWER

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he state of the UK’s ageing asset base presents a problem to the country’s business community – namely, that it is limiting efforts by individual plant owners and operators to improve the energy efficiency of their respective firms. With energy bills representing between 20 to 25% of a facility’s overall budget, and energy costs rising by 37% on average in the manufacturing sector alone, this issue cannot be understated.

Ambitious, sweeping steps to confront this growing concern are clearly required, but it is possible that the national grid may not be able to maintain the energy supply new solutions may require. Yet with the UK participating in a highly competitive worldwide market, and this ageing asset base hampering companies’ ability to grow and keep pace with their global rivals, it is clear that standing still is not an option.

This situation will only get worse as the grid continues to age, especially when we consider that many companies are also subject to capex constraints around purchasing permanent solutions. Escaping this unenviable and spiralling position is therefore becoming increasingly difficult.

Improving resilience Decentralised energy solutions offer a way to alleviate these mounting concerns, as they allow companies to generate their own electricity on-site.

By adopting such solutions, industry can reduce its current overreliance on the national grid, and sidestep any power resilience concerns that may arise due to ageing energy infrastructure. In fact, this option is growing in profile among UK businesses, with a 2019 survey from Aggreko finding that 49% of companies cited lower energy costs as the main reason behind adopting a decentralised energy solution.

As a result, there is a continuing trend toward adopting decentralised energy MCP June 2020

Building resilience with combined heat & power Efficient decentralised energy technology such as CHP can allow organisations to build site resilience and combat rising energy costs, yet capex constraints can present issues. Aggreko’s sector team leader for manufacturing Craig Akers explores how temporary CHP solutions can offer companies a route out of a worsening situation

Because heat and power are provided from one source, emissions can be lowered by up to 30%, enabling businesses to hit sustainability targets

solutions as an independent power source that can serve as a backup in case of national grid issues. Consequently, manufacturing, commercial and industrial firms are able to safeguard against costly unplanned downtime while reducing energy costs, enhancing their global competitiveness while also reducing their carbon footprint in line with sustainability and emissions targets.

Finding pathways Though the benefits of decentralised energy are clear, some companies can find that the pathway to adopting the technology is littered with obstacles. While other organisations have the financial capital to fund permanent installations, not all companies can do this. This is borne out in survey findings from Aggreko, which highlighted that while 43% of respondents had considered decentralised missioncriticalpower.uk

9

Capex constraints show no sign of easing, meaning businesses need to find innovative ways of combatting rising energy costs and site resilience issues caused by an ageing national grid

systems grows, but global competitors, unencumbered by these financial and infrastructure issues, continue to pull away.

CHP – the solution?

Remedial action is clearly required, and businesses can ill-afford to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to safeguarding their future energy supply. Indeed, just because funding for permanent installations is not available for some companies, this does not leave them devoid of options around energy cost reduction. One such option, CHP technology, can eliminate

it as a ‘bridging gap’ solution, plant owners and operators can enjoy this innovative technology’s benefits without being hamstrung by unaffordable up-front costs. This provides an offbalance sheet option with no requirement for depreciation of tangible assets. In addition to this, hire solutions also come with maintenance capability.

Because a third-party team handles product optimisation, ongoing maintenance and remedial action should issues occur, hiring companies can be assured of its continued reliability as an energy source.

The prohibitive capital

Hiring , a ‘bridging gap’ solution...provides an off-balance sheet option with no requirement for depreciation of tangible assets

38%

The percentage of UK businesses that not invested in energy reducing equipment within the last five years because of capex constraints energy solutions, 38% have had an investment for new equipment to reduce energy consumption turned down in the last five years because of capex constraints.

This can leave UK companies in an unappealing situation, where they need to act to reduce energy bills and improve on-site power resilience, but cannot free up the funds to make this happen.

With change not possible, these firms can find themselves stuck in rapidly spiralling circumstances, where the need to upgrade to more efficient missioncriticalpower.uk

financial and logistical disadvantages, improve site power resilience and allow for operational efficiency gains.

Otherwise known as cogeneration, CHP is a method of electricity generation which involves utilising vast quantities of otherwise wasted heat created by conventional power plants. As a method of on-site electricity generation, it also reduces the pressure on our already-strained national grid and remove stress about the instability of consistent energy provision.

Crucially, CHP installations also create hot water and steam by harnessing this otherwise wasted by-product and repurposing it for processing applications. By doing so, they significantly reduce wasted energy and ensure businesses are, quite literally, not throwing money away. Additionally, because heat and power are provided from one source, emissions can be lowered by up to 30%, enabling businesses to better hit sustainability targets.

Bridging the gap A CHP system is clearly a substantial outlay, yet by hiring

investment required for such solutions mean businesses may not see returns for years, which, depending on their financial position, is time they may not have. However, CHP packages can offer up to 40% in savings for regular business energy bills when compared to importing power from the grid. In turn, long-term hire options could therefore let companies compete and give them the opportunity to build up the capital required for a permanent plant solution.

Capex constraints show no sign of easing, meaning businesses need to find innovative ways of combatting rising energy costs and site resilience issues caused by an ageing national grid. As an efficient and cost-effective means of providing consistent onsite energy, the temporary hire of CHP technology represents an excellent way of doing exactly this.

For those ready to take the next step, but unsure of the options available, there are many incentives available, such as Good Quality CHP under the Combined Heat and Power Quality Assure Programme. l June 2020 MCP

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BACK-UP POWER

CHP – a solution to CCL rises?

Energy bills for most organisations will rise following further big increases in Climate Change Levy (CCL) rates on natural gas is CHP the answer asks Edina CEO Hugh Richmond

T

he decision was announced in the March 2020 budget. It will affect all businesses and public bodies in scope of CCL, except those with Climate Change Agreements or using low carbon technologies such as ‘good quality’ Combined Heat and Power (CHP).

The Climate Change Levy is a UK-wide environmental tax on electricity, gas, LPG and solid fuels supplied to businesses and public sector consumers, with the aim of improving energy efficiency.

CCL on natural gas was increased by 19.7% (to £0.00406 per kWh) on 1 April 2020. Each subsequent year there will be similar double-digit percentage tariff increases through to April 2023, when the tariff will hit £0.00672 per kWh. “Most businesses will see their energy bills rise due to these hikes in CCL on natural gas, which is a fixed, nonnegotiable cost for the majority of organisations. However, organisations using high efficiency CHP will benefit from financial relief,” said Hugh Richmond.

“Those using natural gas CHP on-site and qualifying as ‘good quality’ under the Combined Heat and Power

MCP June 2020

67%

The 2019 increase in CCL charged on natural gas Quality Assurance (CHPQA) standard will be exempt from CCL payments on gas used for power generation.

They will also avoid CCL on self-generated electricity used on-site, thus achieving double savings. This makes the economic case for CHP even more attractive, as illustrated by the rapid return on investment – often within three years.”

CCL makes up approximately 5% of total charges on a typical business energy bill and is one of the largest environmental taxes.

Large increases in CCL rates were first introduced on 1 April 2019 when the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme was abolished. The ‘lost’ CRC tax revenue was offset by much higher CCL rates for most energy users. In 2019 this resulted in a 67% increase on natural gas (from £0.00203 per

KWh to £ 0.00339) and a 45% increase on electricity (from £0.00583 per kWh to 0.00847).

Gas producers currently pay lower CCL charges than electricity producers, even though there has been much greater success in reducing power emissions, compared to the more difficult task of decarbonising gas. The government is levelling up the disparity. As such, CCL rates on electricity will decrease by 4.4% both this year and next year – to stabilise at a levy rate of £0.00775 per kWh through to 2023.

On-site CHP/cogeneration is a highly efficient process involving the simultaneous production of electricity and

useful heat. It is almost twice as efficient as using individual boilers and conventional power generation, where the waste heat is normally wasted to the atmosphere and transmission losses occur in transporting power to the end-user.

CHP can help organisations reduce their energy costs and ensure the security of their supply. It also provides a costeffective way to make carbon savings.

If a project meets the CHPQA assessment criteria for efficiency and environmental performance, it is certified as ‘Good Quality CHP’. It is then eligible for partial CCL exemption, as well as other financial incentives.

These include preferential business rates and taxation benefits under the Annual Investment Allowance.

CCL must be paid by most organisations, except light energy users and charities.

Certain heavy energy users can also qualify for exemption by negotiating a Climate Change Agreement, but most other organisations are liable for this significant levy. Using efficient on-site CHP provides a proven route to reducing the financial sting of this environmental tax on both gas and electricity costs. l missioncriticalpower.uk

AUDIT • DESIGN • BUILD • TEST • MAINTAIN sudlows.com // 0800 783 5697

12

BACK-UP POWER

T

he events of recent months have demonstrated that the ability to operate, secure and recover systems is critical to the global economy. With social isolation a key tactic in the fight against COVID-19, people are increasingly reliant on digital communications, whether because they are working from home, keeping in touch with family, spending time on social networking sites or turning to online shopping in a bid to fill their cupboards. Data centres are playing a vital role in this crisis - supporting missioncritical business and social activities but also allowing governments and health professionals to store and share data which could play an important role in fighting the spread.

Continuity planning and preparedness While business continuity strategies during the crisis have inevitably focused on limiting infection and ensuring continuity of service, the longer-term ramifications of the pandemic will undoubtedly change the shape of continuity planning in the future.

A continuous focus on efficiency and reliability means that preparedness is in the data centre industry’s DNA. Most have very robust strategies in place to deal with power blackouts. Most are already wise to the importance of testing power supplies to avoid downtime and Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) are universally accepted as a piece of critical business infrastructure.

This is evident in the company’s own order books.

As a leading supplier of load testing equipment, the company has reported strong growth so far this year, with a significant amount of business coming from the growing data centre market. During the first month of lockdown, the company saw large orders for a major new MCP June 2020

COVID-19: Increased expectations of uptime As the world reels from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is no surprise that there is increased pressure for data centres to be immune to the risks of downtime, with load bank testing playing a vital role in any future resilience strategy. Paul Brickman, sales and marketing director at Crestchic Loadbanks, explores best practice when it comes to testing back up power supplies data centre in Jakarta, London and a data telecommunications centre in Paris.

Preventative maintenance: An ally in the fight against downtime While the growing focus on power resilience is increasingly evident, simply having the equipment in place is not enough. When power is mission-critical, as it is in a data centre environment,

testing back-up power systems can make all the difference to whether they operate effectively when called upon.

Usually installed at buildphase, standby generators are a common solution to provide back-up power if the standard electricity supply is interrupted. They are known for being robust and reliable, offering the reassurance that they’ll do the job and kick in if the worst happens.

However, just like any other

internal combustion engine, lubrication, cooling systems, fuel system and electrics all need to be tested to ensure faultless operation. Lifting, moving and transporting sensitive equipment, as well as varying on-site conditions such as temperature and humidity, make it absolutely critical that backup power systems are tested in-situ in actual site conditions after being installed and on an ongoing basis thereafter. missioncriticalpower.uk

13 operational conditions.

The inductive loads used in resistive/reactive testing will show how a system will cope with a voltage drop in its regulator. This is particularly important for data centres, where multiple generators might be operated in parallel.

In this type of application, a problem with one generator could prevent other generators from working as they should. Additionally, with fuel, exhaust and cooling systems also unused, as well as the potential for embedded moisture, an untested system becomes extremely high risk.

Properly planned and implemented, preventative maintenance strategies can minimise the likelihood of unscheduled breakdowns and outages, effectively negating the potential risk of costly commercial, reputational and legal issues.

During a crisis, when businesses are required to operate on skeleton staff, having the confidence that back-up power will work if required is even more important

missioncriticalpower.uk

Testing backup power.

What does good look like?

While the risks of downtime vary from site to site, one thing remains constant interruptions in power supply have the potential to cause operational chaos. Wherever a generator is installed, there is also a need for a load bank – a device used to create an electrical load which imitates the operational or ‘real’ load that a generator would use under normal operational conditions. Load banks are used to test, support, or protect a critical backup power source and ensure that it is working optimally should an outage occur.

Ideally, all generators should be tested annually for real-world emergency conditions using a resistivereactive 0.8pf load bank. This type of load bank provides a picture of how well an entire system will withstand changes in load pattern while experiencing the level of power that would typically be encountered under real

The stark reality of inadequate testing The reality is, in many instances, that those in charge of maintaining backup power have no regular testing schedule, making an assumption that occasionally powering the generator up, or testing for a minimal period, will suffice. By not testing the system adequately, the generator is put at risk of failure - with the fuel, exhaust and cooling system untested, along with the potential for embedded moisture, putting the system in the very highrisk category.

During a crisis, when businesses are required to operate on skeleton staff, having the confidence that back-up power will work if required is even more important. While some maintenance and inspection will undoubtedly be on hold for the time being, we expect to see an upsurge in testing when we emerge from this crisis and anticipate that regular preventive maintenance will become increasingly prevalent in the future. l June 2020 MCP

14

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

The power is there, use IT! Too much power capacity in data centres is going to waste – Ed Ansett, chairman, i3 Solutions

F

rom an engineering standpoint, data centres exist to deliver IT workloads in a manner that is both capital and energy-efficient. Yet, the power delivery method remains rigid, inflexible and usually misaligned with IT SLAs (customer service level agreements), which has a significant negative impact on performance and infrastructure capital efficiency.

For many in the data centre sector, one of the most pressing concerns is that much of the world’s data centre infrastructure operates in a manner that is financially suboptimal and environmentally unsustainable.

While there is steady capital inflows to the data centre sector. some are questioning whether data centres are as capital efficient as they could be. If a data centre is only using a fraction of the available power then the capital investment that is tied up in inflexible power infrastructure is impotent. The question is, who is paying for that stranded capacity and unused space?

MCP June 2020

All data centre stakeholders are interested in operating sustainable data centres, energy efficiency, saving money, while making a return on investment.

This includes general managers in hyperscalers, colocation company chief engineers and their end user customers, enterprise CTOs and CIOs. One answer is to change the data centre power provisioning where static power infrastructure is not aligned with IT workloads.

Changing IT needs responsive power As power usage rises and falls according in infrastruture and platform as a service environments, investors and operators are seeking savings by trying to figure out how they can align their power SLA with the IT SLA. The fundamental problem is that virtually all data centre power designs are static. Changing to a dynamic power design is key to eliminating waste and maximising power utilisation.

The need for ‘Power as a Service’ has never been greater and it can be done while saving CAPEX and OPEX.

The Adaptable Redundant Power journey Adaptable Redundant Power (ARP) has been developed at i3 Solutions Group and demonstrates that data centre power systems can be both flexible and responsive, driving efficiencies and lowering operating costs.

ARP works by capturing and then using stranded capacity in the data centre. By providing higher utilisation to the power modules, it delivers significantly improved returns on invested capital.

As occupancy incrementally increases, an ARP enabled power design requires fewer power modules. The modules are then run at higher utilisation. This means that as the data centre load increases, the investment capital of deploying new modules can be deferred because the operator can now access what would otherwise have been stranded capacity from the power system.

ARP does this by provisioning predefined variable redundancy levels to IT loads by accessing redundant power from

stranded islands of power capacity trapped in the electrical infrastructure. This leads to significant deferred capital and substantial capital savings.

In addition, in operating terms, the benefits of ARP start immediately when data centre utilisation rates are low.

For example, in a 10MW data centre with five halls of 2MW each, an ARP based design starts to deliver benefits when utilisation rates are at their lowest, for example when only one or two halls are in use and IT workloads are beginning to ramp up. At this stage, ARP end-state power costs savings as a percentage of total power cost are at their highest. This means operators are not buying unused power or wasting energy. And as data centre utilisation rates rise ARP ensures CAPEX and OPEX savings throughout the lifecycle of the data centre.

The answer to questions about capital efficiency and environmental sustainability in the data centre sector must be seen through the lens of Power as a Service. This is what ARP achieves. l

missioncriticalpower.uk

Essential Services Restricted?

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But your essential infrastructure can’t wait for business as usual.

That’s why at Kohler we’ve adapted every aspect of our business, from project planning to service, so we could continue to support you throughout this crisis and beyond.

Ask us for a no-nonsense quote backed with deep technical knowledge and a genuine desire to help.

Call 01256 386700, or visit kohler-ups.co.uk

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Our power protection professionals really care about helping you get it right, even in challenging circumstances.

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DATA CENTRE INFRASTRUCTURE

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imec Atlantis CEO Tim Cornelius thinks the firm’s share price, just 7% of its 2014 IPO, is “set for the mother of all corrections”.

His confidence is predicated partially on hopes of a clean run at government contracts for difference that look set to be ring-fenced so that offshore wind is in a class of its own, leaving less mature technologies with a better chance of winning.

Landing one of those contracts, says Cornelius, will enable the firm to “get to financial close on 80MW of tidal power”. It would also green light construction of a data centre powered by tidal energy and a private wire, which Cornelius, says could be operational by 2023.

He thinks the data centre will go ahead “regardless” of whether Atlantis lands the CfD. “There’s a lot of political momentum behind it,” says Cornelius, given Scotland’s push for digital independence.

But the prime mover of his predicted price boom is Uskmouth, where the firm is attempting to convert a coalfired power station to burn non-recyclable waste.

Is the tide turning for Simec Atlantis?

CEO says the company’s share price is “set for the mother of all corrections”. Brendan Coyne reports

Attitude adjuster “The share price is a complete anathema,” says Cornelius, who market cap, so we anticipate has spent 14 years at the helm. a moment of awakening,” he “The dislocation between says. the value of the company “As soon as we achieve and the share price is financial close on primarily reflected by Uskmouth … you will the structure of its see an immediate holding.” correction.”

The vast majority, Achieving financial he says, is held by close requires “non-trading” longplanning, permitting term holders. But that and consenting, which means “a few retail Tim Cornelius: Cornelius claims are investors can change “going very well.”

Bullish your fortunes by trading The company has £1,000 worth of stock, which launched a pre-application is infuriating, given we have consultation on its plans, never issued a profit warning which have switched away or missed a target.” from producing the ‘subcoal’ But Cornelius insists the tide waste-derived pellets onsite, to will turn, and that the price bringing them in via rail, which will rise considerably. will require significant new The value of the tidal infrastructure. Atlantis hopes business alone “is multiple Newport City Council will may orders of magnitude of the a decision on its application by MCP June 2020

Q4 this year.

Technology-wise, he says the burn test results, being undertaken by Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe at the site, are due in days.

Volume production and milling tests of the subcoal pellets were published in March.

“I’m not sure if people understand the implications [of Uskmouth],” says Cornelius. “It is not a technology risk.

We have created a fuel that can be used as a substitute for coal. Mitsubishi Hitachi burners

are used in hundreds of coal stations and the fuel can be used in each of those burners.

So the implications for us, Hitachi and GE and others are huge.”

Once those burn tests are complete, Cornelius predicts

Prime mover: Uskmouth power station is being converted missioncriticalpower.uk

fired generation asset has to make Xxxa decision – either shut it down or try and convert it. Some of the Chinese and Japanese asset owners have tens of plant and they face huge decommissioning costs,” says Cornelius.

“In Europe, operators like EPH have been buying up coal stations across the continent.”

As such, Uskmouth is of “substantial interest” to that class of operator, he says.

a “glide path to the end of the year to be pulling together financial close”.

While the energy-from-waste sector is heating up, illustrated

by KKR’s £4.2bn acquisition of Viridor from Pennon, Cornelius claims Uskmouth puts Simec Atlantis in a category of one.

“The energy-from-waste boom is creating competition for black-bag waste. But the non-recyclable bit is what nobody knows what to do with – don’t think straws, think car dashboards,” says Cornelius.

“China has shut the gates, followed by Malaysia, then Poland and the Netherlands. So there is a substantial increase in disposal costs. But that waste is what we take [to make the fuel pellets],” he says. “So we provide a route to market that is not in competition with all the existing EfW plants.”

Meanwhile, he says the technology will allow existing coal plants to stay open.

As such, the company is in “advanced negotiations” with operators in both the UK and Europe and has “hosted parties from Asia and North America,” says Cornelius.

“Anyone that owns a coalmissioncriticalpower.uk

Tidal power and floating wind In a consultation in March, government sought views on its plans to separate offshore wind into a separate pot for contracts for difference (CfDs), the UK’s main renewable generation incentive scheme.

CfD winners secure a set price for power via 15-year government contracts. The auction-based mechanism reduces market risk and enables developers to finance projects. To date it has driven down the cost of offshore wind, but less mature technologies cannot compete on cost.

Whether tidal power can ever compete with offshore wind on price is questionable.

But the government wants optionality, to not put all of its eggs into one basket. If it confirms the decision to split off offshore wind into a third ‘pot’, it will leave technologies such as floating wind and tidal power competing with

each other to secure funds.

Cornelius thinks Atlantis will be the biggest winner.

“There are hardly any consented floating offshore wind projects. So we will get a much better run at competing [in the 2021 auction],” says Cornelius. “They will all be aiming for 2023-25. We have a fully consented project.”

However, when floating wind does “get going”, Cornelius says developers will be customers for its subsea hub, essentially an offshore multisocket plug point. He says the company is “close” to sealing deals to connect floating offshore wind demonstrator

connections to the outside world, Scotland has one, says Cornelius – and relatively little data centre capacity.

The plan for the Caithness project is to link both via the FARICE cable to Iceland and the new Celtic Norse cable, connectivity that Cornelius says will be attractive to developers.

“So we have fibre

We have created a fuel that can be used as a substitute for coal… in each of those burners… so the implications for us, Hitachi and GE and others are huge projects.

Tidal powered data centre Cornelius says the Caithness data centre project “has piqued investor interest from all over the world” as operators seek to reduce their carbon footprints. Meanwhile, he says the Scottish government is keen to become digitally independent as it regroups for a second shot at becoming a fully independent nation.

Whereas the UK has more than 50 major fibre optic

connections and an existing grid connection, which gives us a huge advantage,” says Cornelius.

“We are doing all of the pre-work in terms of planning and application. After the CfD auction results, we hope to get to financial close on 80MW of tidal power, and then …

2022 for construction and 2023 for full operations. But I think it will go ahead regardless, there is a lot of momentum behind it.” l

Maygen tidal upgrade Atlantis’ original tidal project, MayGen, has clocked up close to 30GWh. The firm is now upgrading the Atlantis turbine (the 6MW project uses three AAH turbines and one designed and built by Atlantis) and Cornelius hopes that will go back in the water this month.

“It has performed above expectation, with huge reliability,” says Cornelius.

Two years of commercial operations, he says, have given buyers confidence.

“After 20GWh, people started placing orders, because it is de-risked,” he says, pointing to a deal earlier this year to supply and install a 500kW turbine off Nagasaki for Japanese utility KME. Cornelius is hopeful more sales will follow in the archipelago.

Meanwhile China is now looking seriously at tidal energy, with Simec Atlantis involved in the design of a 500kW turbine installed near Wuhan in April.

“They went from sketch to installed in 18 months, which is unheard of,” says Cornelius. “Hopefully that will roll on and grow the market globally.”

June 2020 MCP

18

SMART GRIDS

Smart energy system supports EV charging GS Yuasa chosen to power Portsmouth International Port’s new smart energy system

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attery manufacturer, GS Yuasa will supply its dual chemical battery technology to a Port Energy Systems Optimisation (PESO) project in Portsmouth.

The project will provide power for electric vehicle charging and localised grid support and will be piloted at Portsmouth International Port.

It will include a dual chemical (lead acid and lithium-ion) hybrid energy storage system. A big problem for rapid charging of electric vehicles (EVs) is the limited power available to many commercial premises. This will often be in the 30-50kW range for a medium sized building.

The battery capacity of standard EVs range from 50kWh to 90kWh, so fast charging can overwhelm sites causing the grids to crash. GS Yuasa’s MCP June 2020

The battery will provide the centrepiece of the project which will help us use renewable energy more efficiently across the port estate containerised solution avoids the need for expensive excavations and relabelling from the grid, reducing the project cost and environmental impact.

The new dual chemical energy storage system will be able to supply 100kW of power.

The system will allow electric vehicles to be fast charged

during the day from electricity supplied overnight at a lower tariff.

Mike Sellers, port director at Portsmouth International Port said, “We’ve previously said we’ll take bold action to meet our goal to be the UK’s first zero emission port. This innovative project demonstrates that we want to be at the forefront of research into sustainable energy initiatives that will help us reach that target.

“GS Yuasa’s battery will provide the centrepiece of the project which will help us use renewable energy more efficiently across the port estate.”

PESO is a two-year project co-funded by Innovate UK. There are three main areas of innovation to the pilot, the

first is the construction of the dual chemical battery system, designed by GS Yuasa. The second is advanced management software which will optimise onsite energy generation.

The third area will be the development of smart port grid infrastructure. All three areas will play a significant part in the port’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Mark Greer, general sales manager - Reserve & Renewable Power Division at GS Yuasa Battery Sales UK said, “As the need to move towards greener energy products increases, we’re delighted to introduce a viable and easily-integrable solution.”

GS Yuasa also offer a fully lithium energy storage system for maximum capacity and capability. l missioncriticalpower.uk

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20

ENERGY PROCUREMENT

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he coronavirus pandemic has left many energy and procurement professionals grappling with a set of seemingly intractable problems.

On the face of it, historically low energy pricing in forward markets provides an opportunity for businesses to lock in attractive energy prices for future years. However, conversations with many of our customers show that there is a raft of issues to consider before committing to new contracts.

Demand slump According to the International Energy Agency, COVID-19 has caused a “staggering� drop in energy demand. Many suppliers have been put in a perilous position as wholesale electricity prices have slumped to their lowest in a decade.

On top of that, suppliers are having to manage a surge in bad debts, as some businesses struggle to make payments.

Not surprisingly, suppliers are reviewing the way they do business so that they can stay MCP June 2020

Energy procurement strategies for lockdown Andrew Toher, Head of Customer Insights, Enel X UK, discusses the risks and opportunities in navigating energy markets during the Covid-19 crisis in business.

Enel X works worldwide with major energy users across multiple commercial and industrial sectors, including manufacturing, retail, distribution and professional services; the majority of our customers have been affected in some way by the lockdown.

Recently we have seen suppliers ask for security deposits or upfront charges even for businesses that have enjoyed good credit ratings in the past. Suppliers are also attempting to limit risk through volume tolerance clauses and more onerous bandwidth provisions.

Some suppliers are refusing to take on new business if they think the risk is too great, and this is severely limiting the options available to customers looking to negotiate a better deal. Without the correct advice, customers may feel they have no choice but to accept increasingly onerous contract terms.

Key challenges Major energy users have had their Andrew Toher: normal business demand patterns Detailed understanding turned on their head.

Where facilities needed missioncriticalpower.uk

21 achieving long-term sustainability goals, monetising flexibility and demand-side response, increasing efficiency measures such as asset optimisation, and deploying EV infrastructure to enable e-mobility.

Some responsible for managing energy supplies feel it is increasingly difficult to balance all these competing priorities. On top of this, getting board-level approval for major energy decisions is difficult when more pressing business issues take priority.

are currently standing idle, demand has plummeted.

For some operations, such as food distribution centres, demand has shot up due to the increase in activities and operating hours. Clients with mixed business-use portfolios are left trying to manage very complex situations where their retail operations are using less energy, data centre demand has remained constant or gone up, and their office facilities are impacted in different ways.

As well as dealing with exceptional patterns of demand in the present, energy managers have to try to predict future demand. With the uncertainties surrounding lockdown exit strategies, businesses have little idea when demand will return to normal, or indeed what normal looks like once lockdown is over.

For many businesses, procurement is just one dimension of an increasingly holistic and complex energy strategy. Additional responsibilities include missioncriticalpower.uk

Taking action Successfully navigating today’s turbulent energy landscape requires a thorough understanding of the sector’s dynamics, including the approach being taken by each supplier. It’s apparent that there will be no one-size-fitsall strategy; the best course of action depends on the sector and each customer’s specific situation.

A typical business energy buying cycle looks two-three years into the future to satisfy medium-term needs, alongside a longer-term buying cycle that is more often focused on decarbonisation goals.

Developers of renewable schemes typically offer 12-15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with offtakers.

One dilemma facing many buyers is that while they are tasked with decarbonising their business’s energy systems, they are looking to procure energy at minimum cost.

Plunging prices for short-term energy deals make long-term renewable PPA commitments look relatively expensive today.

However, this comparison may be flawed; there is nothing to suggest that today’s exceptional short-term price trends will change the long-term outlook for energy prices. A PPA that looked like a good deal a year ago may still be a good deal today. Buyers shouldn’t assume that procurement forecasting models using today’s energy prices will be valid over the

medium to long term.

Forecasting accuracy Customers have to buy energy to sustain their business operations today; they cannot easily delay short-term purchase decisions. While the best approach for each business will depend on their specific circumstances, there are a number of strategies that apply across the board.

Suppliers’ terms of business vary, and we recommend that buyers perform due diligence to assess the deals on offer and aim to invite suppliers of good standing to tender.

It is important that buyers

and assess contract rates.

Customers should notify their suppliers of significant operational changes and work towards a mutually acceptable renegotiation of rates and terms.

With a complete and transparent understanding of a supplier’s terms and the associated risks, customers may be able to take advantage of today’s prices in retail markets to satisfy their energy needs.

Exiting lockdown As we begin the process of exiting lockdown, the transition back to work will be a gradual process for

One dilemma facing many buyers is that while they are tasked with decarbonising their business’s energy systems, they are looking to procure energy at minimum cost perform a detailed review of any terms on offer. What can seem like innocuous clauses in a contract can have far-reaching consequences.

Having access to experienced procurement professionals with expertise in assessing energy contracts will help to manage the risks.

Suppliers are looking to offset their risks as far as possible and one way to do that is with tighter volume tolerance clauses. If customers have to sell back their unused volume, this would shift the risk to them. Consequently, it has become a lot more important to forecast volume – or the amount of energy the business needs – as accurately as possible. Some sectors, such as manufacturers with variable production runs, are more used to dealing with volume risk and forecasting accuracy. For other business sectors, such as offices and retailers, forecasting volume requirements may be less straightforward than in the past.

Whatever a business’s contract terms, it is important to evaluate agreements

many businesses, with social distancing continuing to impact operations for some time. Companies will be under enormous pressure to control their costs as they rebuild, with energy spend in particular coming under the spotlight.

There is growing evidence linking air pollution with the health impact of coronavirus, which may increase pressure on businesses to accelerate their decarbonisation initiatives. Some governments are already demanding steep emissions cuts from certain sectors in return for bailout packages. With this in mind, it’s unlikely that businesses would want to dilute their decarbonisation commitments in order to benefit from cheaper power.

We should expect continued turbulence across the energy sector for some time. Combining a detailed understanding of the dynamics of today’s energy landscape with a vision for the long-term horizon will enable businesses to build agility and resilience into their procurement strategies. l June 2020 MCP

22

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

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The Dark Side of Service

aving spent many years in the UPS and Generator industry, one of the most common mistakes I come across, is when equipment has been purchased and it’s not been looked after properly. Imagine Andrew Skelton, operations director, CENTIEL UK looks at buying a brand-new car (which maintenance and servicing contracts when purchasing a UPS let’s face it, don’t come cheap!) and then not keeping up with the services at the appropriate included within the contracted it is important to remember time. Not having breakdown regular services plus the that it will need to be cover, or, when something emergency callouts. (In other maintained properly. In does go wrong, taking words, is the oil and filter cost addition, an emergency it to a garage that included in the service? Or in contract to support doesn’t specialise in an emergency, how long will the solution (think of its particular model, you be left on the roadside; will this like a road-side where the fault they repair there and then or recovery policy) will goes on to be either tow the car away?). need to be in place for incorrectly identified, Cost is inevitably a the lifetime of the UPS, or it’s fixed but the key consideration with which could be 10-15 years. warranty is invalidated maintenance and support Taking the ongoing costs by doing so. contracts, but minimising for this into account Andrew When purchasing a expenditure at the expense of is important, as is Skelton: UPS, just like a new car, protecting the critical load the understanding what’s Bullish MCP June 2020

missioncriticalpower.uk

23 scheduled to perform five operations the following day at a cost of £100K. Multiply that over five days and the total soon mounted up, not to mention the risk to patients’ lives if the UPS had have failed during working hours (thankfully it hadn’t).

There are two points for consideration here, firstly when agreeing a maintenance and support contract it is essential to use an organisation with the right capability (expertise) and spare parts to look after the UPS solution properly. In this example, the purchasing department had simply ‘chosen the

per year 24 hours per day, is usually the highest level of cover where replacement parts are also included within the cost of the contract.

Each installation is different, and the maintenance and emergency support contracts need to be appropriate to the criticality of the load being supported.

The good news is that modular UPS can simply have modules swapped out and taken for repair off site and so downtime is minimised. For standalone systems, this is not so easy.

A few years ago, I came across one financial installation

Minimising expenditure at the expense of protecting the critical load the UPS was installed to support is a false economy

UPS was installed to support is a false economy. Here’s a good example: a few years ago, I was involved in a project at a medical facility involving several UPS units which supported the load for an operating theatre. They were coming to the end of their life, and the client was looking for advice and a quote for the best option for the future of the facility.

I enquired about the emergency support contracts that were currently in place and they let me know they just paid a few hundred pounds a year to a specialist medical IT company to ‘look after the kit’. I outlined various areas of concern with this approach and just a week later I received a call from them when their support contract company was unable to fix one of the UPS units which had failed. The facility was missioncriticalpower.uk

cheapest’ option. However, those required to carry out the contract need to be experienced in maintaining in that model of kit. Otherwise it’s a bit like a Ford mechanic trying to fix a fault with a Rolls Royce (remember other brands are available!).

Secondly, it is important to consider the level of emergency support cover provided, as it can vary significantly. You could opt for maintenance only – this is where an engineer calls twice per year to make safety checks to the UPS. The next level up, is maintenance plus emergency call out where the client is charged for any replacement parts required.

It’s worth looking into how quickly the engineer is contracted and required to arrive onsite to try and fix the issue. (Have you got road-side recovery for your new car, or will it be left on the A49 for a week until a replacement part arrives?)

Fully comprehensive maintenance and six hour on site response (can be 4 hours in special cases) where engineers are on call 365 days

in the government sector where an engineer had been called in the middle of the night, as one of the paralleled stand-alone UPS had failed.

To try and fix this he tried to use parts from the working UPS to identify the fault in the failed system and ended up damaging both units. This story sounds astonishing but things like this do happen ‘on the dark side of service’ when organisations use people who offer to do a ‘cheap fix’. It can end up costing far more in the long run.

So, the moral of the story is to take a detailed look into what’s included in the maintenance and support contracts of your new UPS installation. Be sure of what level of support you need and who will be providing it.

Thought into the UPS’ upkeep and repair is as important to the overall protection of the critical load as its original purchase. The cost of such contracts can be significant, but they are an essential part of protecting the load and need to be brought into the calculations of the lifetime ownership of the system. l June 2020 MCP

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CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

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attery storage has pushed itself to the forefront of many investors’ and developers’ plans in the past couple of years given the large fall in development costs. Many potential owners are still struggling to make the business case add up, however.

How can this be when we see revenue streams (without stacking) yielding £70,000100,000 per MW per year over the past 12-18 months?

The issues facing merchant trading of battery storage revolve around the following points: potential investors being shown incorrect revenue forecasts; lack of trading and revenue generation expertise in the sector; and the lack of trading infrastructure for battery storage.

Incorrect revenue forecasts In too many cases, battery storage owners are being lied to. Plain and simple. They are being shown ‘perfect world’ revenue forecasts for trading with salespeople convincing them they are able to achieve these numbers. This happened in 2018/19 with FFR price forecasts showing prices 2020 onwards at £15+ MW/h and has happened more recently during 2019/20 with trading forecasts of £60,000+ per MW/h per year. These numbers are unachievable in the current market.

Asset owners are too often pushed into opaque revenue streams with no visibility of the opportunity cost of entering these revenue streams and what could be achieved using other strategies. They are often signed to long-term management contracts and unable to switch out to other more lucrative revenue streams because their trader does not cover that market/service.

Only one company currently offers full access to all revenue streams in the UK. This is abysmal for an industry which has been talking about merchant trading for several years. Battery storage traders have to hold MCP June 2020

The battery storage market is being failed by its traders In the medium term, only the best traders will survive in the battery storage market, suggests Kiwi Power head energy merchant Aaron Lally themselves to account.

How can this be rectified?

Speak to experienced traders, not former consultants, for real world trading numbers. Get the trader to register your asset as a BMU so you can see when the asset is generating and at what price. Lastly, and most importantly, stress test these revenue numbers yourself. Are assets in the market currently achieving these numbers? If not how can your trader? Do not settle for AI algorithms and machine learning as an uplift when presented with

theoretical revenues.

Look under the hood at what these traders are doing.

If they are achieving what they claim, they will happily show you their trading software and real-world examples of revenue generation.

Lack of trading and revenue generation experience Trading and revenue generation is reliant on market experience: the companies that extract the most revenue from assets are the best proprietary missioncriticalpower.uk

27 owners instead of providing route to market services. Too many are trying to leverage their expertise in consultancy or development and apply it to trading. Companies will return their focus to different parts of the value chain: development consultancy, degradation systems, risk management systems, dispatch systems etc.

Protecting yourself as an asset owner How can you work out how your asset is being managed today if you cannot see it as a BMU and there is no appropriate software?

If you only see a cashflow

How do you know the trader is even trading the asset themselves and not handing over full trading rights to a third party and paying a fee?

(This sounds ridiculous but this does currently happen with some of the largest battery storage traders.)

The answer is you do not unless your asset is registered as a BMU and/or you have software that can oversee what your trader is doing.

In summary: to protect yourself as an asset owner stress test all revenue numbers you are given and look to real world examples. Select the trader with the greatest

Battery storage owners are being lied to.

Plain and simple

traders. This is shown in every commodity storage market: Glencore, Trafigura and Vitol in oil markets; Louis Dreyfus, Bunge and Cargill in Agriculture; the list goes on.

Why is battery storage and electricity any different?

Market expertise has to become the focus of battery storage traders’ efforts to succeed. Asset owners have to select traders with market expertise to see returns that justify the large upfront investment today.

Lack of trading infrastructure Trading infrastructure in the battery storage space is limited and normally developed in-house by battery trading companies. This gives asset owners limited visibility over what their asset is doing and how revenue is being generated as well as any costs applied to trading.

I believe in the medium term we will see many start-ups in the battery storage trading space specialise and start selling their software to asset missioncriticalpower.uk

at the end of each month how do you work out if the trader is applying hidden charges or worse still not dispatching your asset when they report they are and incurring large penalties?

amount of trading expertise and get them to register your asset as a BMU so you can monitor dispatching and prices achieved. Make sure they are actually trading themselves. l

Man + machine + money Looking to the future, the market is moving forward with longer duration assets and standardisation of technology. The battery storage market will very quickly start to look like other commodity storage markets, particularly the gas storage market.

Few in the battery space have knowledge of this area outside of the large utilities, which will be operating their own battery assets.

Independent storage traders will be the route to market for third partyowned assets unless asset owners want to sit in line behind the gigawatts that will be owned and operated by the large utilities. How can the independents compete with the large incumbents?

Independents will need more working capital to trade and less AI trading algorithms as trading decisions will move from a minuteto-minute basis to a daily decision-making process and then a re-optimisation in the futures market.

The capital

to trade in the futures and options markets is many multiples that required to participate in the intraday market for example and requires a very different skill set to that being touted by the battery industry as the requirement for battery storage assets.

Many start-ups will not be able to access these markets due to this high capital requirement.

Consultancy will not beat trading expertise in this space. The solution for asset owners has to revolve around experienced trading personnel operating with fully automated trading tools and price prediction algorithms.

Many battery storage traders try to stress the differences of the assets versus traditional generation to impress upon investors their expertise.

The truth is if you are the best at predicting price (whether trading markets or ancillary services) you will extract the most revenue out of the battery storage asset. Power station owners have been trying to do this since the liberalisation of electricity markets decades ago. Perhaps battery storage assets are not that different after all.

June 2020 MCP

28

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

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cross Europe, new COVID-19 cases are declining and economies are taking tentative steps to ease restrictions and return to something like normality. Assuming we do not see a second peak, this is cause for celebration: vulnerable people can worry a little less, families can see one another again, and the hardest hit sectors of our economies and societies can begin to rebuild.

With that will come changes to electricity supply and demand patterns across society. Let’s be clear: this is not a return to ‘before’ the crisis but is a transitionary stage as we gradually recover.

It will bring its own set of challenges – not least for the distribution system operators (DSOs) and distribution network operators (DNOs) operating low- and mediumvoltage grids.

These utilities are faced with a potentially short decisionmaking window and a moving target of societal recovery rates – difficult things to manage if you are accustomed to long lead times and a meticulous decision making process.

Speed and agility will be crucial.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Is the time right to be thinking about this, or is it premature?

As recently as the end of May and the beginning of June we saw prolonged negative power prices in markets such as the UK, Germany, Belgium and France thanks to continued low demand. Clearly, demand on European grids is not back to normal. However, there are reasons to think that change is on the horizon – both for overall levels of demand and how it is distributed.

Across Europe, the common theme has been gradual relaxing of lockdowns since early May, and more planned for early June. Here in Switzerland, cinemas and theatres can open from 6 June, while Spain will allow bars and MCP June 2020

Keeping the lights on at the end of the tunnel

By Anja Langer Jacquin, CCO, DEPsys

restaurants to reopen (at 50% capacity) on 10 June. Each country will proceed at its own pace, but the patterns are similar.

As economic activity returns and people go back to work, we can expect a degree of power demand to return too – and also for the distribution of demand to begin shifting back from residential areas to

commercial and city centres.

In the not so distant future, we may expect industrial demand to pick up too (Russia is already encouraging this) and for electrified public transport services to increase somewhat.

The grid managers’ challenge To put it bluntly, the challenge missioncriticalpower.uk

29 engineers must be dispatched to the field to manually inspect assets.

Not only is this slow, it is potentially difficult at a time of COVID-19. Utilities are contending with reduced headcounts as employees are affected by the virus or need to self-isolate, and face logistical challenges of social distancing for jobs that require more than one person. Staffing issues may be easing, but they have not disappeared, and caution is still paramount.

Therefore grid managers’ ability to collect data to inform their decisions is both slow and reduced – hardly

disruption. The problem is that strengthening the grid with physical assets – new transformers, more copper in the ground etc – is expensive and time consuming. And as we teeter on the edge of a potential pandemic-linked recession, both time and money may be in short supply.

However, digital investments can be transformative in a far shorter space of time. By implementing technology that gives far-reaching and realtime insights, throughout the grid, utilities gain a measure of understanding and insight into asset behaviour, health and performance.

The problem is that strengthening the grid with physical assets – new transformers, more copper in the ground etc – is expensive and time consuming conducive to agile, responsive decision-making. The exceptions are where digitised grid assets enable real-time and remote insight into grid behaviour – but the majority of low- and medium-voltage grids currently don’t have such capabilities.

for DSOs and DNOs will be speed and agility. The situation may change from week to week depending on the virus’ spread. Grid managers are used to decisions – such as whether to reinforce a cable or replace a transformer – that are weighed carefully and intended for the long-term.

Now, the decision-making process must be streamlined considerably.

However, no matter how agile decision-makers can be, they are limited by the information at their disposal.

The vast majority of today’s grids are ‘dark’, in that there is no remote, real-time visibility into their performance or condition. In order to gather data to inform decisions, missioncriticalpower.uk

A ticking clock?

Compounding the difficulty for grid managers, is the potentially short window of time they have to work with.

There is a credible chance of a second peak of the virus hitting in the winter, or of other similarly disruptive events.

This leaves a brief and intense summer-autumn period to recover from the original pandemic, adjust to new paradigms as societies open up again, and prepare for potential further turmoil later in the year – all while portions of their own workforce may still be returning and readjusting to an in-person work environment.

Grid managers must consider what they can do quickly to prepare for further

That is not to say that physical upgrades won’t be necessary: they might be, but prioritisation will be quicker and easier based on real data without the need for manual inspection throughout the network.

This also better protects staff at a time where distancing is still in place and unnecessary travel is discouraged, and reduces the risk of key staff taking vital knowledge with them if they need to spend some time away from work. At the peak of the crisis we saw grid managers living in their control rooms to keep the grid functioning and isolating from their families – this sacrifice wouldn’t be necessary in a digitised world.

There certainly is light at the end of the tunnel, but for those keeping the lights on, there is still much uncertainty and much work to do. An insightdriven approach will help utilities rise to the challenge – and help them adjust to the longer-term changes the pandemic will undoubtedly create. This will be the topic of our next article. l June 2020 MCP

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IT & INFRASTRUCTURE

S

SE Enterprise Telecoms has launched an independently chaired Technical User Group (TUG) that has brought together five UK water companies to develop consistent guidelines for installing fibre in the sewers.

At present there is no existing agreed-upon standard for deploying fibre in the sewers that ensures minimal disruption to the sewer infrastructure, the water company’s customers and the public.

A smarter future Water utility companies provide an essential public service by taking away and treating millions of litres of wastewater every day. The UK contains hundreds of thousands of miles of sewers across the country, some dating back to the Victorian era, their performance is vulnerable to external threats like heavy rainfall and blockages. Realtime data on wastewater flows will help to improve services to customers and protect the environment.

SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ Fibre in the Sewers (FiS) programme runs fibre through existing infrastructure in dense metro cities to improve connectivity, while avoiding costly and disruptive dig sites.

It includes the development of pioneering technology, that has the capability to transform passive sewerage systems into smart wastewater networks.

Enabling water companies to identify problems earlier in order to reduce the potential for flooding and pollution.

SSE Enterprise Telecoms is working with water utility companies to agree a common set of standards that will improve the connectivity ambitions of both businesses and consumers, as well as enabling the water utilities to further improve services to their customers.

The TUG will regularly convene to enable water companies to exchange technical information for MCP June 2020

Smarter sewers An independently chaired working group is developing a common set of standards for installing fibre in the sewers, which will also enable wastewater network monitoring technology the purpose of creating specifications and codes of practice relating to the deployment of telecommunications ducts and fibre optical cables within sewer pipes.

By major water utility companies agreeing on consistent standards, fibre can be laid more quickly across the country with up to date network monitoring technology installed at the same time. This set of standards will help Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to deploy 5G services (supported

by SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ infrastructure) quicker, more efficiently and potentially at

a lower cost which ultimately helps facilitate and accelerate the wider roll out of 5G across the country. SSE Enterprise Telecoms will also be able to monitor its network in realtime, meaning technical teams can respond to issues faster, resulting in more reliable networks.

Sector director for Energy and Utilities at SSE Enterprise Telecoms, Paul Clark said, “To advance the UK’s digital ambitions and drive forward the smart cities of the future, we are rolling out a number of large infrastructure projects to improve nationwide connectivity. We understand that it’s a critical requirement

to keep disruption to a minimum when working on such projects, so we are maximising the use of existing assets including the sewer network to lay fibre. This has helped keep costs down and eventually will enable the real-time monitoring of water flow activity, ensuring strong, lasting relationships with some of the UK’s leading water and sewerage companies.

“By establishing the TUG we have brought some of the key players into one room to agree a common set of standards, that not only enable us to further develop our connectivity offerings via the sewer, but also deploy cutting edge monitoring missioncriticalpower.uk

31

To keep disruption to a minimum when working on such projects, we are maximising the use of existing assets including the sewer network

network is protected.”

Wayne Earp, independent trustee and consultant of WFE Consulting, chair of the TUG, said, “As the industry looks to achieve smarter, more efficient operations, working closely with connectivity providers such as SSE Enterprise Telecoms to turn passive sewerage systems into intuitive wastewater networks, has become a key requirement.

“Although fibre in the sewers is no new concept, the TUG was established to bring key stakeholders from across the industry together to agree on consistent standards for this process, and share knowledge.

The standards...not only enable us to further develop our connectivity offerings via the sewer, but also deploy technology to help water utilities to monitor the flow of sewage, and better manage their infrastructure

technology. This technology will help these providers monitor the flow of sewage, and better manage their infrastructure, which will futureproof them for years to come.”

Paul Kerr, managing director of Scottish Water Horizons, a member of the TUG, said, “Scottish Water has 32,000 miles of wastewater pipes throughout Scotland. It makes perfect sense to utilise this vast infrastructure in order to help enable telecommunications, reduce disruption to our customers and the environment, and support smart networks to provide realtime monitoring.

“With most of us using the internet and our mobile phones on a daily basis, there is a constant demand for increased and improved communications infrastructure. By using the existing sewer network, we can support SSE Enterprise Telecoms in their development missioncriticalpower.uk

of a set of standard specifications to support the deployment of fibre in the sewer network, whilst ensuring that the Scottish Water

This will make laying fibre quicker, while also enabling the deployment of cuttingedge network monitoring technology, helping to reduce wastage, flooding and driving forward a better customer experience.” l

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PRODUCTS

New public API to simplify management at the edge

Schneider Electric has released a public API (application programming interface) for cloud-based software EcoStruxure IT Expert. The first public API for EcoStruxure IT Expert, it enables IT solution providers and end users to integrate a power and critical infrastructure monitoring platform into any preferred management system.

EcoStruxure IT Expert API builds on the success of EcoStruxure IT Expert, the industry’s first hosted monitoring platform, which is vendor-agnostic and powered by artificial intelligence. Now enhanced with new public API capabilities, the platform keeps increasing its flexibility. For example, users can maintain a local data store and build custom applications that react to changes. With this increased access to energy and infrastructure resource data, users can make changes to increase

efficiency and sustainability.

With the addition of the public API, IT solution providers can easily integrate the EcoStruxure IT platform into their preferred systems. By adding remote monitoring of power and critical infrastructure into their portfolio, solution providers drive differentiation and bring more value to their customers who are grappling with the complexities of edge network management.

EcoStruxure IT Expert API is subscription based. With an open, vendor-agnostic platform, EcoStruxure IT software and services provide the power and flexibility for customers to seamlessly manage critical infrastructure devices on their own, with a partner, or to leverage Schneider Electric’s expert service engineers to manage it on their behalf.

Gas fuelled gen-set certified for grid Wärtsilä was awarded certification in April for its 12MWe 31SG gas fuelled generating set. This is claimed to be the largest synchronous generating set of this technology globally that has been awarded the ‘unit certificate’ after full scale testing. This verifies the design and engineering standards as being compliant with Germany’s grid code requirements. The testing and certifying party was the classification society DNV GL. Germany is the first country in Europe to have implemented generating set certification with detail guidelines for grid code compliance, although other countries have already or are in the process of requiring similar compliance. The German grid connection rules are specified in low, medium, high, and extra high voltage levels, and any power plant connection to the network should comply with these rules.

Wärtsilä 31SG engine is available from 7.5 to 12MWe. Certification of the Wärtsilä 31SG places it in a leading market position for 2-stage turbocharged engines. All other gas fuelled Wärtsilä generating sets are currently under certification.

MCP June 2020

E.ON & npower combine I&C units E.ON has announced its latest steps following its acquisition of npower and outlined proposals to combine the two companies’ successful Industrial & Commercial (I&C) supply activities in the UK. Following E.ON’s acquisition of npower in late 2019, npower Business Solutions (nBS) was ‘carved out’ and has continued to operate successfully and independently.

Bringing the two businesses together provides some of the UK’s leading companies with access to a greater range of industry expertise and energy solutions to address customer needs and improve sustainability.

Michael Lewis, E.ON UK and npower chief executive (below), said: “Bringing together our two successful Industrial & Commercial units into a single organisation creates one of the largest B2B energy businesses in the UK. These are fundamentally two complementary companies that bring together wider expertise in different areas of the market.

What this means for British business is an expansion of our abilities to offer a greater range of smarter and personalised support to help meet their business efficiency and zero carbon ambitions.

Under today’s proposals, nBS operations will be combined with E.ON’s existing I&C activity in the UK, with work to integrate the two businesses targeted for completion by the end of 2021.

Detailed plans will now be drawn up looking at bringing the two businesses together, including working locations and timelines to migrate all customers to a joint IT system.

missioncriticalpower.uk

33 Rittal switches small enclosures.

Rittal’s new AX compact enclosure and KX small enclosure ranges offer consistent data delivery alongside, 30% reduction in assembly time, 30% more space for cables and plus 30 other features. The company is giving full support to existing users to help them switch over to the new systems.

An online conversion tool allows the user to upload an existing parts list, this is converted to a parts list for the new AX or KX components.

For customers who use EPLAN Data Portal there is another option which uses the new shopping cart function of EPLAN data portal. They upload a complete project parts list to the shopping cart of the Data Portal and all Rittal components, including

the relevant macros for the new enclosures and compact enclosures, are then available in their parts database, saving time over individual downloads.

Customers who configure their compact and small enclosures with the Rittal Configuration System also have a conversion tool. The system has an inbuilt plausibility check to prevent incorrect or unsuitable parts being displayed.

Further machining operations – such as cut-outs for fans-and-

Critical comms

filter units – are created within the system. Users that have already configured projects in this way can upload the existing configuration to the migration tool, which operates a traffic light system: green – all necessary components have been transferred to the new configuration; yellow – users should check the configuration and red – the system has spotted problems ie. instances where components have been put at odds with each other.

Following any amendments, the result is a 3D model of the AX or KX enclosures, plus a parts list and the processing programmes for the mechanical machining centres for downloading.

Inmarsat has launched a Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) pushto-talk (PTT) solution to connect remote workers using vehicles across the globe. The solution provides realtime data transfer and PTT communications to enable remote utilities, mining, NGOs, agricultur, public safety and emergency response to deliver critical operations.

Inmarsat’s and Cobham’s BGAN solution offers more than 99% uptime. Low form factor satellite terminals, such as the Cobham EXPLORER 323, are mounted on vehicles providing realtime GPS, telemetry and PTT capabilities, through EXPLORER Mobile Gateway globally.

Taking the heat out of data centres In response to rising data centre usage and power demand, M&I Materials has launched two specialist MIVOLT fluids to improve cooling efficiency.

Future trends such as 5G, autonomous vehicles and AI are significant drivers to greater data consumption and therefore greater power demand and cooling requirements to data centres.

However, energy efficiency measures such as improved cooling are key to decoupling data growth from energy consumption.

Data centres are set to become a focal point for climate conversations as their carbon impact becomes more pronounced, potentially accounting for 1/5 of global power demand by 2025.

MIVOLT is dielectric fluid can be used to immersion cool data centre missioncriticalpower.uk

servers. The fluid is non-conductive, so it can come into direct contact with electrical components resulting in more effective heat removal. It is also biodegradable and made without fluorine. MIVOLT claims immersion cooling can improve power usage efficiency by more than 20% and also reduce the physical space required for data centres and their equipment.

Immersion cooling reduces the need for other types of cooling such

as air conditioning, as well as the need to locate data centres in cooler climates. Locating them closer to consumption will be key to improving latency to support trends such as remote communications and artificial intelligence.

M&I Materials product group director James O’Brien, of M&I Materials, comments, “After successfully entering the EV market with innovative fluids that will improve the performance of batteries, we wish to replicate that success in data centres, too. There’s clearly a growing demand for data, most notably as we increasingly look to connect remotely, so it’s a natural progression of the MIVOLT offering. The CL200 and CL300 offer improved safety and efficiency for data centres.”

June 2020 MCP

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Q&A

Louis McGarry Centiel UK’s sales and marketing director Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime

Who would you least like to share a lift with? I hear that when asked this question lots of people seem to say Noel Edmonds. However, I don’t mind him. Personally, I wouldn’t like to share a lift with anyone that talks too much and talks all about themselves. I am aware of the irony as I am writing this statement at the start of a Q&A all about me.

Pic: Universal Studios and Dreamworks LLC

You’re God for the day.

What’s the first thing you do? I have got a real big thing about pollution, specifically plastic. If we don’t stop doing what we are doing, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050. Therefore the first job would be to remove the suggested 12 million tones of plastic currently in our oceans.

If I had any time left after doing this, I would then turn my attention to stopping the Palm Oil producers responsible for endangering species such as orangutans.

If you could travel back in time to a period in history, what would it be? II’ve always liked the idea of 2,000 years ago, not necessarily Roman times per say but the beginning of buildings, forts, roads and baths. That time and that part of the world has always interested me, of course I would be a gladiator.

Who are you enjoying

MCP June 2020

listening to? I’ve recently rediscovered the Ricky Gervais Show podcast, 15 years on from when it was first released. It still makes me laugh today.

What unsolved mystery would you like the answers to? From the moon landing to twin towers to the latest COVID-19, everything seems to have a conspiracy theory attached to it and an associated unsolved mystery. For me, I want the simplest thing in life to be explained. For example: although a cake and the biscuit are made from the same ingredients, why does a cake go hard and a biscuit go soft when left out? Answers on a postcard please.

What would you take to a desert island? I would take tins of Heinz Spaghetti. Not only is it one of your five a day but it is marketed as ‘bringing smiles to mealtimes since 1926’, so if I am stuck alone on a desert island, I’d have no reason to be unhappy.

What’s your favourite film? My favourite film has to be Miller’s Crossing, a Cohen Brothers’ film. It is a story set during the prohibition in the 1920s, with complex romance, intense scenes and suspense. It has everything that you would want from a mobster film.

If you could perpetuate a myth about yourself, what would it be? If I had to perpetuate a myth, it would be that a couple of years ago when I applied for MasterChef I made it through to the production team interview stage. I was asked to leave, as the casting team had falsely heard that Rick Stein was my uncle and it would give me an unfair advantage.

and entertain loads of people, I would not mind the lifestyle that goes along with it, too.ve a talent in!

Although a cake and the biscuit are made from the same ingredients why does a cake go hard and a biscuit go soft when left out?

What would your superpower be? I have always wanted to be able to read minds, purely for my own curiosity and self-indulgence.

People don’t always tell you their honest opinion or desires.

Just imagine how many problems you could solve quickly and easily if you knew everything?

What would you do with a million pounds?

Many people know that I like nice watches and I enjoy cars. Think about the number of watches and cars I could by for a million? That’s a nice amount of quality items but how long would that million last? If it’s given to me to spend, I will spend it, but wisely.

What’s your greatest extravagance? I have a passion for watches. My hobby is researching, collecting and trading particular watches.

Telling time is a given but their use in all walks of life – from deep sea diving to piloting aircrafts to combat – defines the true value of a watch.

If you were blessed with any talent, what would your dream job be? I have always wanted to play the guitar; how cool would it be to have that talent. I want to be able to play

What is the best piece of advice ever been given? “I wouldn’t do that if I were you”. I hear this on a daily basis, as it is something that my wife says to me constantly. You would have thought that after so many years of being married I would have learnt my lesson by now.

What irritates you the most in life?

Lateness, I can’t bear it. There is no reason for it.

What should energy users be doing to help themselves in the current climate? With joined up thinking between designers, suppliers and end users we can ensure the most efficient solutions are delivered and with TCO calculations, suppliers can help you to optimise these solutions to reduce energy usage.

What’s the best thing – work wise – that you did recently? The critical power industry allows me to be involved in some very interesting and fulfilling projects with some fantastic people. Recently, my team delivered a 7.2MW UPS solution to a critical facility as part of a five-week programme of works. For me personally, this is one of the largest projects that I have not only sold but had the pleasure of leading. The most impressive part of this project wasn’t just the size of the systems and the short time scales, it was about how we delivered as a team, working in an intense environment, pulling together to make it happen. l missioncriticalpower.uk