The Energyst

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New leaf: Nissan signals intent to become energy services business

June/July 2017

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Storage wars: Triad raid: Battery storage Firms form to be overthrown by queue to condemn energy storage? regulator’s rate cut

“There is a Beis office focused on getting the Big Six to invest. They should all be fired. ” p28

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

50 HVAC

28

Delivering high efficiencies and outputs in the shrinking footprints of today’s plant is the challenge. Remeha thinks its latest development addresses precisely that

Demandside Response UK Power Reserve CEO Tim Emrich says incentivising large new gas plant will drive up business bills and that the Big Six “dinosaurs” should be allowed to die of natural market causes

46 Lighting Making LEDS smarter – Integrating controls into LED lamps multiplies the energy efficiencies

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Policy & Legislation

Energy Storage

There are quick bucks to be made from battery storage, but in three or four years, many assets will be in the bin, reckons redT chief Scott McGregor

Ofgem’s move to cut payments made to distribution connected small generators is likely to push up prices and harm future investment, says ESTA

20 Gas & Electricity

Extending domestic price controls may leave SMEs as the squeezed middle

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theenergyst.com

07

New leaf: Nissan signals intent to become energy services business

June/July 2017

30

44

Storage wars: Triad raid: Battery storage Firms form to be overthrown by queue to condemn energy storage? regulator’s rate cut

“There is a Beis office focused on getting the Big Six to invest. They should all be fired. ” p28

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Gas & Electricity

News & Comment

The big value is not in mastering cyclical trends in energy purchasing but by taking control of your assets argues Gab Barbaro of British Gas Business

Ofgem has confirmed that it will implement steep cuts to small generators’ Triad payments.

This may provide a windfall for the UK’s large thermal generators

News & Comment

Following Brexit and the election, what is in store for business energy users?

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Front Cover ???

Demand-side Response

26

HVAC

50

Insight

12

Policy & Legislation

36

Water Management

60

Certification

16

Behavioural Change

38

Product News

62

Gas & Electrcity

18

Lighting

46

Q&A

66

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June/July 2017

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COMMENT

Focus not on the process but on the outcome The General Election has managed to normalise a kind of collective idiocy. The Tories, although winning, managed to lose their majority and pledged to intervene in the energy market to cap prices. A strategy that they label ‘Marxist’ only a couple of year’s ago when Ed Miliband suggested it. Labour is moving to the left at a rapid rate with increased taxation allied to a seeming lack of recognition as to where the prosperity that is to be taxed comes from.

This is from aside from even mentioning privatising utilities, at what cost to the consumer and what effect on market development and innovation?

You want the most energy saved, the largest amount of Carbon dioxide not emitted for the lowest cost. So focus on that outcome Tony Blair and David Cameron were to all intents and purposes interchangeable and what has disappeared is the middle. The collapse of the neo-liberal consensus has pushed us to one-nation Toryism and hard socialist idealism leaving the proven and effective tool of free market economics stranded. There may be a better way but no one seems to have come up with it yet. This hated symbol of bankers, markets and globalisation has lifted poverty rates far better than any command and control, economy. Between 1990 and 2010, people in extreme poverty fell by half as a share of the total

Editor Tim McManan-Smith tim@energystmedia.com t: 020 3714 4450 m: 07818 574308

Sales director Steve Swaine steve@energystmedia.com t: 020 3714 4451 m: 07818 574300

Contributing editor Brendan Coyne brendan@energystmedia.com t: 020 3771 1267 m: 07557 109724

Commercial manager Daniel Coyne daniel@energystmedia.com t: 020 3751 7863 m: 07557 109476

Production Paul Lindsell production@energystmedia.com m: 07790 434813

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4 June/July 2017

population in developing countries, from 43% to 21% – a reduction of almost one billion people However, both of the two major parties have a desire to interfere in markets, which inevitably involves picking winners. Unless you are a clairvoyant this is a task at which you will fail. Far better to set the ground rules for a desired outcome and let the experts fight it out through differing technologies grounded in economic reality.

You want the most energy saved, the largest amount of Carbon dioxide not emitted for the lowest cost. So focus on that outcome.

Former National Grid boss and Energy Institute vice president Steve Holliday is on the money when calling energy efficiency ‘the poor child of energy policy’. He is also right in suggesting that in incentives for low carbon generation have been a huge success.

If you want to intervene in markets, make the policy coherent, stable and durable.

Focus on outcomes that best serve the intent at lowest cost.

Or risk meddling forever more.

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NEWS & COMMENT

National Grid plots major overhaul of balancing services National Grid has outlined plans for a major overhaul of balancing services over five years. The system operator will start with frequency response, pledging to have a new product in market by next March.

National Grid said it needs to procure faster frequency response closer to real time and wants views on its proposals.

Within the consultation, the system operator confirmed it does not plan another enhanced frequency response (EFR) tender. Routes to market for batteries will instead be wrapped into the new broader frequency envelope.

The consultation calls for industry feedback on how procurement processes might be redesigned for new frequency markets alongside other planned balancing changes.

One of those is manually instructed reserve services, used to correct forecast errors and unexpected losses in generation

Transmission vamp: System Operator to recast balancing tools

or demand. Programmes within this envelope include STOR and demand turn-up. National Grid also uses the balancing mechanism (BM) to access reserve but said that because an increasing number of providers in the BM are also providing frequency response – and can’t use their capacity for both at the same time – reserve providers in the BM were dwindling.

The system operator also illustrated that its requirement for upward reserve (assets that can increase consumption or stop exporting to the grid) may double in the next five years.

As such National Grid said it

will have new reserve products in market by 2018/19, to coincide with a standardised pan-European reserve service, Replacement Reserve (PR), going live in 2019 under Project Terre, as well as new trading rules on interconnectors. Those rules will facilitate interconnector trading on an hourly basis, instead of three hours ahead today, adding to uncertainty, noted National Grid.

The same timetable applies to a new product for reactive power, used to control voltage.

National Grid said the existing set-up does not properly value reactive power and that

declining transmission demand (particularly in summer) means there is a greater need for absorption of reactive power.

Black Start contracts – given to power stations with the capability to reboot the grid in the unlikely event of failure – are also under review. Usually provided by transmission-connected generators, National Grid is mulling how to bring in more providers. In the short term there are contract opportunities from next year, it said. In the longer term, it may be possible to bring in distributed generation.

The system operator wants views on its new product strategy. It proposes four possible service ‘buckets’, grouping existing services to form deeper markets.

National Grid said existing contracts for affected services will not be cancelled, and successful tenders as well as bilateral contracts will continue as agreed.

National Grid will discuss its plans and requirements at Energyst Media’s DSR conference in London on 7 September. See dsrevent.uk for more informaton

Ofgem to slash ‘billions’ from Triad payments Ofgem has confirmed that it will implement steep cuts to small generators’ Triad payments. The regulator suggested its move would save consumers billions of pounds in the longer term.

The changes come as part of a larger overhaul of network charging. Ofgem’s review of embedded benefits – the rates of charges and rewards for distribution connected generators – found that one benefit in particular was distorting the market and affecting other policies, chiefly the capacity mechanism.

The so-called demand TNUoS residual (or Triad payment), meant smaller generators could earn £45/

6 June/July 2017

Ofgem originally planned to take the Triad payment down to less than £2/kW. The regulator said following consultation with industry, it will take it to between £3/kW and £7/kW over three years from 2018-21.

Cutting the Triad payment will likely increase the outturn of the Cuts to Triad payments may provide a windfall for the UK’s large thermal generators

kW by exporting at times of system stress. Ofgem said that figure would rise to £70/ kW by 2020/21. With that revenue stream ‘banked’, small generators could bid low in the capacity market, undercutting other forms of generation, such as large new thermal gas plant.

capacity market. That may lead to some large new gas plants being built but may also provide a windfall for the UK’s existing fleet of large thermal generators.

Small generators with capacity market contracts secured in 2014 and 2015, before the charging review was announced,

Triad cuts to face judicial review?

UK Power Reserve chief executive Tim Emrich is “100% certain” that Ofgem’s plan to slash Triad export payments will be contested via judicial review. Any challenge would likely focus on Ofgem’s analysis to support its decisions, he told The Energyst.

“There will certainly be some entities that are considering their options. If they take that step, I can’t blame them. Ofgem is going to have a Judicial Review on its hands,” he said, “and it is going to be well deserved.”

Judicial Reviews tend to turn on technicalities and Emrich

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Solar, onshore wind and biomass add 4GW to UK generating capacity UK renewable generation increased by 4.2GW in 2016, according to latest government figures.

Solar PV capacity, much of it added in the first quarter of the year to beat subsidy cuts, was up by 2.4GW. A further 1.4GW of onshore wind was added to the mix while bioenergy increased by 345MW, driven mainly by plant biomass (new straw-fired plants at Brigg and Snetterton).

The additions took installed UK renewable

capacity to 34.7GW, an increase of 14 per cent.

Despite those gains, power generated by renewables fell slightly compared to 2015 due to lower wind speeds and reduced rainfall.

At the end of the year, renewables eligible for support via feed-in tariffs, which are added to electricity bills, stood at 6GW, an increase of 660MW or 12%. The vast majority of FiT support, 81% by capacity, is paid to solar PV. Renewable generation in the UK increased in 2016

and whose revenues will be significantly lower than they anticipated when bidding, will now consider their options.

Responding to the decision, Association for Decentralised Energy director Tim Rotheray said: “We are disappointed that the much larger national benefits that small generators deliver by reducing use of transmission networks remain believes that Ofgem’s “rushed, poor” analysis can be picked apart, particularly around the cost of ‘grandfathering’ the rate of Triad benefit for embedded generators with 2014 and 2015 capacity market contracts. Those were awarded before embedded benefits changes were floated by Ofgem and the regulator has ruled out grandfathering.

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unexamined, and Ofgem’s new review must investigate how lowering use of the transmission network can save consumers money over the long term.

“The decision does not address the heart of the issue, which is Ofgem’s approval for the rapid rise in the cost of the transmission network from £943m in 2007 to £3.7bn in 2021.”

“Analysis by Aurora has [since] come out and said grandfathering CM14 and CM15 results in a system saving of almost £600m, versus Ofgem which says it will cost £800m – that is a £1.4bn swing,” said Emrich. “I am no economist [but] you can’t go with that analysis.”

Ofgem did not wish to comment.

Nissan signals roadmap to energy services company

Nissan claims it has batteries representing more than 6GWh on the road via its Leaf vehicles.

Now the firm wants to harness that energy in European balancing markets, according to Eduardo Mascarell.

“Nissan is not just talking about electric vehicles (EVs), but energy services,” said the head of vehicle to grid and stationary storage at Nissan Europe. “Because something is happening within Nissan. We are using batteries inside or outside of the vehicle. Batteries with, or without, wheels.”

Speaking at National Grid’s Power Responsive conference, Mascarell promoted the firm’s push to diversify. He said Nissan has some 90 installations across Europe where its cars’ batteries are providing grid-balancing services, primarily frequency response. Also, he admitted, “for marketing purposes”.

But the carmaker sees vehicle to grid (V2G) services as a significant part of its future.

Nissan trials in Denmark, said Mascarell, suggest EV owners can earn Ð1,300 per year by using car batteries to balance the grid.

Vehicles, he suggested, are on average parked for more than 90% of the time.

“We tell them, the more you are parked, the more you earn,” he said.

“We believe that [V2G] is the cheapest solution to balance the grid – and the

end user becomes part of the solution,” he said, earning a share of the spoils.

Meanwhile the company says its battery warranties accommodate grid services.

This is critical as strict warranty conditions can otherwise be rendered void.

In the UK, Nissan has 10 V2G installations, mostly at Cranfield. Mascarell said while UK storage policy is imperfect, it is workable.

By comparison, German regulation stipulates that, “you have to submit a file for each charger – the same file that would be required to register a nuclear power station”.

To fully deliver a smart grid, Mascarell suggested that local grid operators (DNOs) might need the same level of control as National Grid in terms of dispatching balancing units.

But he expressed confidence in the current direction of travel.

“The automotive and electricity industries are coming together and working together because of EVs,” he said.

“The link between the car and the grid is extremely useful. The car is not just a car any more. It is a platform providing added value to the end user and to the grid.”

The Energyst will publish a reader survey and market report on DSR and battery storage in September. Help us create a robust snapshot of DSR and storage – take our 5 minute survey at the energyst.com

June/July 2017

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NEWS & COMMENT

Whitbread hits 2020 carbon targets three years early and cuts electricity consumption Food, drink and hospitality giant Whitbread has hit 2020 carbon reduction targets with three years to spare.

Publishing copies of its annual report, the firm, which owns Costa Coffee, Premier Inn, Beefeater and Brewer’s Fayre, said it had also reduced electricity consumption in the year to April 2017 by a further 3%.

It aims to reduce consumption by 1% this financial year, although the company said that drive will no longer be incentivised.

In May, Whitbread confirmed that all of its UK power comes from renewable

All Whitbread’s power comes from renewable sources sources. The company said it has also installed solar PV on rooftops of more than

Enel buys into EFR with 25MW UK battery storage deal Italian utility Enel has acquired the 25MW Tynemouth stand-alone battery storage project from Element Power after buying up shares in subsidiary Tynemouth Energy Storage. The firm says its total investment, including construction, will be about €20m (£17m).

The deal means Enel has bought itself a four year contract to supply superfast grid balancing services to National Grid via the enhanced frequency response (EFR) service. The lithium-ion system will be completed by 2018.

Enel head of global thermal generation Enrico Viale predicted “exponential growth in all geographies in the next years” for battery storage.

The Tynemouth acquisition, he added, provides Enel with “an opportunity to gain experience and strategic knowledge in building such projects, which can then be applied to other markets”.

Enel indicated that the fast-

8 June/July 2017

build nature of the project had proved attractive, alongside the EFR contract secured last year at £11.49/MWh, providing the owners with at least one predictable revenue stream.

Only RES and Belectric (now owned by Innogy) secured higher rates in the EFR tender.

After the four-year term is up, Enel said it will bid for capacity market contracts as well as seek revenues from other balancing services.

In a statement, the partially state-owned utility added that the UK is “one of the most advanced markets in the world for utility-scale battery storage systems and one of the first in having set a frequency regulation tender awarding only stand-alone battery storage projects”.

The Energyst is surveying firms mulling battery storage to provide a snapshot of the types of investments planned and hurdles faced. Please take our DSR and battery storage survey at theenergyst.com.

90 Premier Inn hotels.

“This year we are pleased to have achieved our 2020

carbon reduction target.

We will be working to reset our environmental targets early in 2017/18, continuing our commitment to reduce our environmental impact,” the company stated.

“UK electricity generation has become more efficient in 2016/17, reducing emissions per kWh generated. This improvement and our continued investment in efficiency has enabled us to reduce our emissions beyond our 15% 2020 target. During the year we continued our programme of annual capital investment to reduce our energy consumption.”

Renewables profit boost Severn Trent’s investment in renewable energy is paying off, with earnings at the water firm’s renewables business up 16% year-on year, according to its full-year results.

The company said it was on track to generate half the energy it uses from renewable sources within three years, which is significant, given water companies are intensive energy consumers.

Its energy comes from anaerobic digestion (AD) plants,

which turn waste food into gas.

One, at Coleshill, uses the gas to generate electricity. Another, at Roundhill, is about to start generating biomethane, which can be injected into the gas grid, which is more efficient and in some cases can be more profitable. Severn Trent is due to open a second gas-to-grid AD plant in Derby next year.

Profit before interest and taxes for its renewable energy business was £19.4m from turnover of £54m.

Solar power growth for United Utilities United Utilities spent £45m on solar generation in the past two years and plans to invest at least £55m in the next three.

The firm said adding more combined heat and power assets had driven efficiencies but solar represented its main plan to increase self-supply and reduce carbon emissions. It will invest £100m over the current fiveyear spending period (2015-20).

UU said it had “substantially

locked in our power commodity costs across 2015-20, providing greater cost certainty for the regulatory period”.

The company added it has reduced its carbon footprint by 22% in the past 10 years. Its renewable energy production in 2016/17 was 149GWh, representing 18% of total annual electricity consumption. Its operating profit was £623m, up £19m on last year.

theenergyst.com

Environment Agency launches penalty proceedings against firms flouting Esos audits The Environment Agency is launching civil enforcement proceedings against organisations that have failed to comply with Esos energy efficiency regulations.

The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, part of EU law, mandates firms over a certain size or turnover to conduct an Esos energy audit.

Last year’s deadline saw thousands of firms fail to hit the deadline for compliance.

The Environment Agency said it has gone through 2,800 of those organisations that said they would be late and issued about 50 enforcement notices.

Some 1,500 organisations that potentially fell under Esos legislation did not contact the Agency. The EA has subsequently told 500 of them that they do need to

Audit watch: EA found just 16% of Esos audits right first time comply. To the remainder it has served 300 enforcement notices and says it will continue to serve more.

Approximately 1,000 firms told the agency that

EDF acquires Imtech in energy services push EDF Energy Services, the French power giant’s joint venture with energy services firm Dalkia, is to acquire engineering services company Imtech in a push for growth.

Imtech turned over £330m in 2016 and employs 2,100 people. The company specialises in mechanical and electrical engineering services, technical operation and management of facilities, and the integration of digital control solutions. It operates across the public and private sector in the UK and Ireland.

Announcing the deal, EDF said the combined group would offer “services that deliver improved energy efficiencies at every stage in the life of industrial and commercial facilities – from

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initial design and build, operation and maintenance through to control of energy”.

Imtech will continue to be autonomously managed but will look to hire new staff in a bid to accelerate growth.

Sylvie Jehanno, CEO of Dalkia, added: “The acquisition of Imtech UK and Ireland by our joint venture is another major step towards meeting our international growth ambition.”

Paul Kavanagh, CEO of Imtech UK and Ireland said the firm was “delighted to become part of the EDF family”.

“By combining forces with EDF Energy Services, we have secured greater capability to respond to the future needs of our customers,” Kavanagh added.

they did not need to comply.

The EA says “a number” of those organisations are wrong and they will be served enforcement notices.

According to approximately

200 Environment Agency audits of those that did complete their Esos forms, only 16% were compliant in the first instance. Three quarters subsequently complied following remedial action, potentially throwing up questions around the quality of both the audits and the auditors, as previously noted by some lead assessors.

According to the EA’s latest data, some 6,800 organisations were Esos compliant as of 31 January 2017.

The agency urged companies to begin compliance work for the second phase of Esos, although they cannot yet complete them because total energy consumption figures must include the qualification date of 31 December 2018.

BT cuts energy costs and plans to shift EE to 98% renewables BT cut energy costs by £25m in the last financial year, reducing consumption by 2.7%. The firm said like-for-like energy cost savings since 2009/10 now total £221m.

However, overall consumption increased by 12.5% due to BTs acquisition of rival telco EE. That drove UK energy and fuel spend up to £341m from £307m the previous year.

The acquisition also increased overall water consumption by around 17%, although BT said like-for-like, it had reduced its own consumption by 5% through leakage reduction, monitoring and targeting, and asking suppliers to cut water usage.

The company reiterated its commitment to sourcing 100% renewable electricity locally and globally where possible.

The EE acquisition has reduced the UK figure to 84% and worldwide from 95% to 82%.

However, the firm said it has “plans in place to move over 98% of EE’s directly billed electricity supply onto renewables during 2017 and have increased our renewable contracts outside of the UK”.

While BT said last year it had already hit its 2020 carbon intensity targets (on a productivity basis) the company is now exploring how to wrap EE’s footprint into the equation. The company said scope 1 and 2 emissions this year totalled 12.3 tonnes of CO2 per £m in revenue, a decrease of 1.5% on the previous year and of 86% against its base year of 1996/97.

June/July 2017

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NEWS & COMMENT

Centrica to close gas storage facility Centrica is to close Rough, the UK’s largest gas storage facility.

Well past its design life, Rough has been in decline for some time, with longstanding technical issues. Centrica stopped injections at the facility last summer while it undertook more testing and said last April that there would be no further injections in storage year 2017/18.

Following tests, Centrica said it “cannot safely return the assets and facilities to injection and storage operations”.

Devise ‘plan B’ for Hinkley C The National Audit Office has criticised contractual arrangements for the new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point. The watchdog also advised maintaining a plan B in case the project is late or fails to materialise.

Switching sides Wessex Water has acquired switching platform Flipper, which automatically switches subscribers onto the cheapest energy deal.

Wessex is exploring how to apply the platform to the business-to-business market.

Enernoc bought Demand-side response firm Enernoc is set to be acquired

by Italian utlity Enel. The deal values the aggregator at around £240m and the cash transaction is set to complete later this year.

For the lastest news and opinion visit: theenergyst.com

10 June/July 2017

Put ‘troubled’ smart meters programme on hold, urges Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors has called for the next government to put the smart meters programme on hold to avoid “mushrooming” costs.

“The programme has already failed to deliver interoperable meters for switching, is behind schedule, is over budget and wedded to outof-date technology. Not only that, the legal obligation on suppliers to install potentially incompatible meters by the deadline of December 2020 or else pay large fines is already pushing up inflationary costs in wages and advertising,” states the latest instalment of its Business Manifesto, Future-proofing Energy.

As those spiralling costs will be added to business and household bills, “an urgent pause, and thorough review, needs to be undertaken”, suggests the IoD. The directors

The programme… is behind schedule, over budget and wedded to out of date technology want policymakers to revise both EU-derived legislation and the 2020 rollout timetable.

“We do see a need for smarter meters, but much cheaper solutions that can offer

automated meter reading and faster switching need to be included. Top-down rigidity is not the answer,” it states.

The IoD’s wishlist includes policy that delivers better value renewables via more competitive auctions, competitive new nuclear procurement, and one that unlocks shale gas.

The IoD also urged policymakers to resist “crude” interventions such as energy price caps and instead task Ofgem with creating a standard regulated default tariff based on a transparent breakdown of wholesale price, plus each supplier’s network, billing, customer service and other costs.

That approach is advocated by economists such as Dieter Helm. Currently, no supplier offers such a transparent tariff, although Engie, which is entering the domestic market, says it plans to do so.

Smart move: Western Power Distribution presses go on transition to DSO Western Power Distribution has outlined its intention to become a fully smart grid. The distribution network operator (DNO) seeks views on its plan to become a distribution system operator (DSO).

The six DNOs in mainland Britain manage distribution of electricity within their regions.

They have traditionally been highly reliable, defensivelyengineered businesses with little customer interaction.

The shift to a DSO model is a major transformation, entailing management of generation, consumption and flexibility at a local level, while feeding into grid balancing at a national level.

Some DNOs are more advanced in their plans to commence that shift. Western

Power Distribution has already outlined plans to start a local aggregation-type business in the East Midlands, whereby it will sell flexibility both into National Grid’s schemes as well as balance its own network.

But the launch of its DSO consultation spells out its wider intentions and asks for feedback on a number of areas, such as how far its control of customer loads will spread, and crucially, which models of local versus national

control and dispatch will bring about whole system benefits at lowest cost.

The network operator will expand upon its DSO strategy at a stakeholder event on 14 September in Birmingham.

See the consultation at http://bit.ly/2txsQiz. WPD will outline its plans and the opportunities these present for I&C firms at The Energyst’s DSR Event in London on 7 September. See www.dsrevent.uk for details.

theenergyst.com

NEWS & COMMENT

Smart Meter Bill: Wiggle room for rollout deadline?

Following the Queen’s speech last month energy suppliers may have been given wiggle room to complete the rollout of smart meters after 2020.

Brendan Coyne reports

T

he Smart Meter Bill, contained within the Queen’s speech, reiterates that the requirement to offer a smart meter to all households and business by 2020 remains in place. However, it will also “extend the Government’s ability to make changes to smart meter regulations by five years, making sure the rollout is delivered effectively, and that benefits are maximised into the future”, (see this link, http:// bit.ly/2ts4zHb, p32).

Industry body Energy UK’s line is that suppliers “remain committed to the offer of a smart meter to all homes and businesses by 2020.”

But it is not yet clear what the Bill means in practice.

An implicit extension to the rollout would be welcomed by some suppliers, which have suggested that delays to critical infrastructure and standards have led to increasing costs, which are driving up customer bills.

Government’s own figures suggest those delays have helped wipe £415m from net projected benefits of smart meters. Because of the compressed timetable, SSE last winter urged government to rethink the rigidity of its deadline and requirements.

“It is … SSE’s view that a reconsideration of the delivery timetable is urgently required in order to protect customers and ensure benefits are delivered,” said the firm. It also suggested unshackling

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suppliers from the mandate to take “all reasonable steps to offer a smart meter” to all customers.

Precisely what constitutes ‘all reasonable steps’ is yet to be defined by regulator Ofgem.

Business leaders have also urged government to shelve the programme.

The Institute of Directors stated last month that, “The programme has already failed to deliver interoperable meters for switching, is behind schedule, is overbudget and wedded to out of date technology. Not only that, the legal obligation on suppliers to install potentially incompatible meters by the deadline of December 2020 or else pay large fines is already pushing up inflationary costs in wages and advertising.”

It added that “much cheaper solutions” could be delivered instead.

To date, British Gas has installed the lion’s share of the UK’s 6m+ smart meters. As of late February it had installed around 3.5m. Eon had installed more than 750,000, SSE around 400,000 and EDF 150,000. At the end of 2016 Npower had installed 130,000

The programme has already failed to deliver interoperable meters for switching, is behind schedule, is overbudget and wedded to out of date technology

smart meters. Scottish Power had installed 240,000 according to February’s full year results, and stated it would install 2,500 a day over 2017.

Perhaps anticipating a deadline extension, Scottish Power has signed up Actavo to help deliver almost a million additional smart meters across the Midlands over five years. That would take its rollout to 2022.

Update: A spokesperson for the department for business, energy & industrial strategy (Beis) said there is “no change to the timetable for the offer of a smart meter to all consumers by 2020” and that the five-year extension for rule changes was “the normal period for these types of things”.

Firms involved in metering in billing also told The Energyst that while completing the rollout by 2020 was “highly unlikely” without spiralling costs, the government could not be seen to take pressure off suppliers. In any event, said one, requiring suppliers to simply ‘offer’ a smart meter “provides sufficient leeway in terms of the timetable for physical installation”. te

June/July 2017

11

INSIGHT

T

he UK’s first battery flywheel system will be connected to the Irish and UK grids to help respond to energy demand as part of a project involving engineers from the University of Sheffield, Schwungrad Energie, Adaptive Balancing Power and Freqcon.

The !4m project, Europe’s largest, with !2.9m coming from the EU’s Horizon2020 scheme, will develop an innovative flywheel battery hybrid energy storage system aimed at stabilising pressure on the existing grid infrastructure in Europe.

Flywheels work by accelerating a rotor to high speeds using electrical energy, effectively storing the energy within the system as rotational energy to be converted back to electricity when required.

Unlike batteries, flywheels do not degrade over time so combining the two enables the storage system to operate more efficiently and reduce costs over the system’s lifetime.

12 June/July 2017

Battery flywheel system to help grid respond to demand Europe’s largest integrated flywheel and battery system will be installed at the University of Sheffield’s energy storage facility in the UK following trials in Ireland. The system can respond rapidly to changes in frequency on the electricity grid and meets EU technical requirements theenergyst.com

The new project, coordinated

by Schwungrad Energie, involves partner Adaptive Balancing Power, which will provide their adaptive flywheel technology. Freqcon will design and build scalable multi-source power converters to connect the flywheels to the grid.

Dr Dan Gladwin from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Sheffield, says: “The UK national grid is becoming increasingly volatile due to the rising share of intermittent renewable energy sources. This manifests itself in deviations from the nominal 50Hz frequency as demand outweighs supply or vice versa.

“Battery and flywheel technologies can offer a rapid response, and can export and import energy enabling this technology to respond to periods of both under and over frequency.”

Balancing a key for grid stability In the first stage of the project, the flywheel facility will be installed in Ireland, piloted

by Schwungrad Energie at its hybrid flywheel battery facility, which has already seen a successful and highly beneficial

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demonstration project, in collaboration with EirGrid. The flywheel system will be capable of a peak power of 500kW and able to store 10kWh of energy.

The system will then be installed at the University of Sheffield’s 2MW battery facility at Willenhall near Wolverhampton. The gridconnected research facility is one of the largest and fastest battery storage systems in the UK. The flywheels will be upgraded to provide 1MW of peak power and 20kWh of energy storage and used as a hybrid energy storage system with the batteries to provide frequency response services.

Fast acting frequency response services, such as those provided by this hybrid solution, are a key enabler to the realisation of a high penetration of renewables – recognised by the Irish system operator DS3 Programme for System Services.

More specifically, energy storage is a key priority for the UK government, with a policy by the BEIS expected later this year.

A recent report by the National Infrastructure Commission has suggested that energy storage

The flywheel system will provide 1MW of peak power and be able to store 20kWh of energy could contribute to innovations that could save consumers £8bn a year by 2030 as well as securing the UK’s energy supply for generations.

The University of Sheffield is an expert hub for energy storage research in the UK and home to the leading Centre for Research into Electrical Energy Storage & Applications.

Schwungrad Energie’s Jake Bracken says:“The existing hybrid flywheel battery facility has concluded a trial with EirGrid, successfully demonstrating the technology’s capability to rapidly inject power following a frequency event. When implemented at commercial scale the technology will assist in overcoming the challenges of

operating a power system with increased levels of renewables.

“The adaptive flywheel and multi-source inverter being demonstrated by this project have the potential to increase the competitiveness of the solution.”

Freqcon CEO Norbert Hennchen says: “Increasing renewable penetration is a huge challenge for grid stability worldwide, and our company is at the forefront of developing innovative grid support solutions, based on our leading-edge power converters.

“We are delighted to be part of this consortium to develop and demonstrate the flywheelbattery hybrid technology.”

Adaptive Balancing Power,’s Dr Hendrik Schaede adds: “Irish and English grid operators currently hold a pioneering role by developing up-to-date regulations for grid stabilisation measures, which means we can test grid stabilisation technology in the project.

“Our adaptive flywheel technology allows us to tailor the flywheels’ properties to the requirements set up by regulations and local conditions, leading to a high efficiency while providing the grid services at lowest costs.” te

June/July 2017

13

What are you going to do with all that data?

With P272 bringing more businesses into half hourly metering, there will be a huge increase in data but used in the right way it is a powerful tool for better energy management, says STC Energy

W

ith the introduction of P272 in April this year, what are businesses going to do with all the extra data from their newly classified half-hourly (HH) meters?

HH meters will provide businesses with

electricity consumption data every half hour, which means having much more data than you’ve ever had before. For some this valuable data will vanish into a black hole. However, what if you could utilise this data to spot wastage, create

The image above shows the following time bands by colour; green (midnight – 7am), orange (7am – 4pm), red (4pm – 7pm) and purple (7pm – midnight)

14 June/July 2017

reports and set budgets and targets?

P272 is the industry name of the mandatory regulatory change for electricity meters in profile classes 05-08 (often called Max Demand Meters) that affects over 100,000 UK businesses.

Businesses with 05-08 meters will have them automatically read every half hour, giving your supplier your actual consumption from more than 17,500 reads per year. As such, your bill will become more accurate but also a lot more complicated and new charges may appear. In addition, businesses must also appoint a Data Collector (DC) to provide HH profile data and a Meter Operator (MOP) to maintain the meter.

Don’t let your current supplier take control of this and appoint their own default DC and MOP agents. You can make your own arrangements, and almost certainly save money on these annual fees.

Profile Alerts – If you can’t see it you can’t save it Are businesses analysing and utilising this added data to their advantage?

The data coming in from your HH meters can be used to benchmark your usage against other similar sites, enabling you to spot wastage.

But how can you do this?

STC Energy’s Profile Alerts are a successful way to analyse your electricity usage, helping you to reduce consumption and save on costs. They are also an effective way to combat

theenergyst.com

energy waste. By analysing your sites’ historic consumption, our profile data software can form a picture of usage.

This enables us to set accurate targets for each meter. These sites can then be automatically monitored for exceptions.

The Profile Viewer below shows the HH data for a particular site with targets set to show when consumption goes over.

Any deviations found will trigger an email alert to a nominated site contact and/or can be viewed on an online map-based site exception dashboard. Alerts can also be directed to and monitored by our dedicated team who will then inform the customer of the over use. This report

automatically highlights sites that are over target, allowing for fast corrective action.

Profile alerts are very successful in identifying energy wastage directly and in suggesting behavioural changes that can be implemented to reduce consumption. Profile alerts work for both small and large multi-sites.

Due to the independent nature of STC’s systems, data from all providers can be monitored together. This ensures that if a customer changes supplier, consistent records are maintained.

DUoS – Distribution Use of System DUoS charges, for use of the electricity

distribution network, are paid by the end user to the supplier who then passes them on to the relevant Distribution Network Operator (DNO). DUoS charges only appear on energy-only contracts (pass-through contracts) as itemised charges. Fully inclusive tariffs have these charges built into the unit price.

During the week certain times of day are considered peak times and are categorised as Red Bands. Other times during the day are categorised as Amber (daytime) or Green (night time). Amber and Green Bands are much cheaper compared to Red Bands, with Amber Band charges being higher than the Green Band.

This structure means you will pay more if you use electricity at peak times. Analysing your half-hourly data in this way can therefore help you save money by avoiding usage during peak times. So don’t let your data go to waste, afterall you are paying for it.

If you would like to analyse your data and spot wastage, create reports and set budgets and targets call Alan Little on 0208 466 2915 or email alan.little@stcenergy.com

The graph shows the DUoS charges for each band from the 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018 in the South West. These charges will vary based on your DNO

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June/July 2017

15

CERTIFICATION

T

he EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) dictates that all large organisations in the EU must undertake a periodic energy audit. Doncasters Precision Castings’ foundry site in Bochum, Germany, was tasked with implementing ISO 50001 certification to achieve this in 2016 and turned to Energise for expertise and extra resources.

Managing director Martin Meyer ter Vehn says: “Our site, in an industrial area of the city of Bochum, is a foundry purchased in 1997 by the Doncasters Group, an old British company established over 200 years ago that now has factories worldwide.

Some of our buildings in Bochum are from the 1920s, but inside we have installed modern equipment and have established state-of-theart processes for the casting of turbine blades and vanes used in two applications: aircraft engines for defence and civil aviation, and industrial gas turbines (IGT) for generating electricity. The aero components are small and light, the IGT ones heavy and large, but what they have in common is that they are both made from nickel-based superalloys, which are well-suited for applications in high temperature and high corrosion environments.

“We have to adhere to ISO accreditation requirements but there are also so many advantages to saving energy and being more environmentally friendly. In recent years, our annual electricity bill for the foundry site has been around three million euros, and reducing this by as much as 10% would be very significant. Complying with ISO 50001 would help us to reduce our use of gas and electricity, save us money directly, and also make us eligible for considerable tax incentives.”

Time and resource Meyer ter Vehn adds: “With just four months left to complete certification by the end of 2016, we were short of both resources and ISO 50001 competency, and needed external support.

16 June/July 2017

The foundry process begins in the master melt hall where the molten metal alloy is produced

Taking a fresh look at energy consumption Doncasters Precision Castings turned to Energise for ISO 50001 expertise. Managing director Martin Meyer ter Vehn and environmental health and safety manager Rainer Quast outline how working with Energise helped them to meet the deadline Energise was recommended to us by other Doncasters sites and, with their help, we tracked our energy consumption in all departments and buildings, and quickly identified obvious solutions. A team came over from England and spent considerable time on our site to get to know our situation; they interviewed our workers, gathered data, and walked through the factory floor to get a feel for our production area and the areas of high energy consumption, looking at everything from furnaces to air conditioning and heating, and identifying areas for improvement.

Health and safety manager Rainer Quast continues: “Energise had access to all our data, and used their own datacollection and analysis systems to bring everything together, saving us so much time. The biggest surprise for me was the high energy impact of our air-conditioned areas; I fully expected our electrically driven furnaces to be our biggest energy user but smaller factors are really just as significant. Energise helped us work through all the required documents for the certification, and even joined us during the audit itself. I think

it helped tremendously that we invited the auditor in early and made him aware of our tight time schedule and the support we had; the auditor met Energise and saw how systemically we had approached the certification process together, and the result was that we achieved the accreditation in time.”

Identifying solutions Energise helped Doncasters Precision Castings to identify solutions but, more importantly, “they helped us to help ourselves,” says Meyer ter Vehn.

“We have now implemented

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Wax model turbine blades are needed to create the casting moulds

Once cast and removed from its mould, a turbine blade is hardened in the heat treatment furnace

a system of regular reviews with ideas workshops where we identify new ways to save energy and make this a continuous activity; we discuss and generate ideas under the Safety Quality Cost Delivery People (SQCDP) and, now energy, boards in each of our six departments. This is linked to our internal improvement process for employees, and they are rewarded for making energy-related suggestions.

We have also installed big monitors centrally on the factory floor, displaying realtime energy consumption data in each department. This has been incredibly effective at raising general awareness and has really encouraged even

small actions, such as closing doors and turning lights off,” Meyer ter Vehn adds.

Quast concludes: “Energise structured the whole topic and guided us through our ISO 50001 accreditation process really well. We were able to negotiate the complexities of ISO 50001 accreditation far faster than if we had attempted it alone. We were the first Doncasters site to achieve ISO 50001 certification and have recommended Energise to the rest of the group. We continue to have regular audits with them that are helping to further involve our staff in monitoring and reviewing their energy consumption, and we’re now making the transition from Energise doing everything for us to us doing more for ourselves.” te

The biggest surprise for me was the high energy impact of our air-conditioned areas; I fully expected our electrically driven furnaces to be our biggest energy user but smaller factors are really just as significant theenergyst.com

GAS & ELECTRICITY

I

s entrepreneurial spirit alive and well in the TPI sector or is it simply a case of looking to make a quick buck today, gone tomorrow?

The growth of the TPI market has yet to show any signs of decreasing, with new entrants arriving on the scene weekly. Some carry energy experience from work with previous TPIs or suppliers, while others arrive from other vertical markets looking for the opportunity to cross-sell into an already warm client base.

A recent article by Cornwall Energy highlighted that it has profiled 194 SME TPIs and 157 I&C TPIs across the sector.

Depending on your definitions of TPI, I would put the actual figure across both areas much nearer to 1,500, perhaps even approaching 2,000.

The article also highlighted some of the difficulties the established TPIs have been facing, referencing market saturation and customer detachment as a reason for decline.

Why are TPI numbers growing?

In some cases, the established TPIs that grew quickly during the past decade can blame themselves (or pat themselves on the back) for creating an ‘entrepreneurial’ effect, particularly in the SME market.

The incentive packages laid on by the bigger TPIs, fuelled by supplier ambition to retain good relationships with the TPI itself, create a financially stable footing for young and daring individuals to think bigger than just being number one on the sales floor. These successful sales/energy consultants see the opportunity for an easy start-up business, believing they can offer everything that their employers

When will the TPI market hit saturation point?

The TPI market has seen rapid growth in recent years. Larger TPIs are under pressure and perennial concerns over the quality and tranparency remain.

Where is the TPI market heading, asks James Morrison, head of business development at energy sales platform Online Direct

Fighting over market share: the TPI market is becoming increasingly competitive can do and possibly with a more ‘personable’ service, so all they need is a route to market.

The new TPIs, whether it be a one-man band, a few professionals grouped together to create a limited company venture or a business entering from another sector, have several good options for market entry. Some have limitations but often no more limiting than the service being offered by the competition or

their previous employers.

Aggregators – the ‘partner’ channel route is something several TPIs have developed to good effect. Whether it is a simple lead generator package or an actual proposition to help a business get started up as a full-time broker, whole market access and digitalised services such as online pricing portals and energy monitoring software allow a new entrant to quickly punch well above their weight

The incentive packages laid on by the bigger TPIs, fuelled by supplier ambition to retain good relationships with the TPI itself, create a financially stable footing for young and daring individuals to think bigger than just being number one on the sales floor 18 June/July 2017

and often add more value than many established TPIs who have become indolent.

New entrant suppliers – often looking for quick access to market share or at least the opportunity to get there brand noticed, the TPI channel gives a relatively quick and cheap market entry to the sector. Many have set up in the past decade using the TPI channel as the main route to market, rather than competing with the TPI in the direct space, so again they give the new entrant TPI an opportunity and in some cases incentive to help grow a market share together.

Major suppliers apathy towards the established TPI market – in some cases, the more established ‘household’ names in the

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t

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industry have turned to the smaller, developing TPI area of the market to help grow market share. With supplier margins in both SME and I&C becoming strained and shortened, a partnership with a smaller TPI/ consultancy that often they can influence more closely gives the potential for a more value-based proposition, removing the ‘price’ only objection that they are often faced with as the ‘be all and end all’ of the established TPI sector.

The ‘new’ kids on the block Whether it’s the Delboy Trotter sales agents looking to widen their range of products and services, telecoms companies looking to bundle together utilities as a packaged sale or the growing market for the ‘cost consultant’ who deals with all things procurement for small or large organisations, everyone is jumping onto the energy bandwagon.

In the case of existing businesses looking to enter the energy market, the sales and operation infrastructure is often already there and it simply comes down to them understanding the market. The recent acquisition

by Arrow Communications of Pulse shows that the telecoms market is alive to the energy opportunity. Others like Fidelity have grown organically but at pace and I would be surprised if there are not at least three or four more telecoms names making noise in the market in the next 12-24 months.

Is it a good thing?

It should be but I can’t help but feel it isn’t quite having the positive market effect that strong competition in theory should harvest in an open market. The clear upside I see is a strong determination to provide a personalised service, where relationship and communication is the main value add being offered (call me anytime you need me Mr Customer). However, you have to question whether that is enough on its own. The industry is shrouded in much

theenergyst.com theenergyst.com

complexity, so the real value add should be in offering knowledge, experience and process efficiency to ensure the customer is looked after efficiently.

The latter is where I see some of the main issues, with a real lack of appreciation and obligation from many TPIs that often leads to numerous issues with contractual difficulties, such as supplier rejections and contract objections. While this does not always impact the customer financially, often it will through late registration of supply points (or not at all), leading to the dreaded OOC (out of contract) rates from the incumbent supplier being invoked for a period. While knowledge and experience can be learnt and developed, rules on quality and processes should be in place from day one for any TPI looking to earn its stripes.

The future I do not see the boom ending just yet, as ultimately I think the belief still exists from all the new entrants that “Whatever such and such can do, I can do better”.

I had two separate business owners approach me in the past 12 months asking to set up brokerages through Online Direct due to poor experiences they had with their existing TPI. A slightly sad indictment but unfortunately not entirely surprising.

I do, however, believe the plans and actions put in place by all TPIs, new or old, small or large, in the next 12-24 months will be crucial. If you continue to look for ways to add value to the customer and keep on top of the regulatory changes, you will stay ahead of the curve. If you think vanilla and ignore the need for managing your back-office administration, you will suffer and start to feel the effects of hyper-competitive market. Add into all of this the potential for suppliers to wrestle back the initiative more and the ever-looming potential for a regulatory code, only those who dare to be innovative and understand the customer can be confident of lasting the course. te

ScottishPower launches major demand-side response push ScottishPower has launched a major demand-side response (DSR) push. The company believes its pan-European footprint and balancing market expertise will set it apart in a crowded marketplace.

“We are not just looking to set up DSR, we are highly experienced in balancing markets”

William Black heads up ScottishPower’s industrial and commercial energy services unit.

He says the firm’s intention is to build a much more integrated business than traditional demandside response platforms.

The aim is to connect up assets, initially at large, multi-site businesses, to better understand and monetise them.

“That can range from simple peak network charge avoidance through to a more complex offering, including turn down of assets, load shifting or putting flexible capacity into National Grid’s ancillary services markets, such as the capacity market, STOR and frequency response,” says Black.

These assets will be automated and controlled via ScottishPower’s trading desk, which is where Black thinks the firm has a competitive advantage.

“We are not just looking to set up DSR, we are highly experienced in balancing markets,” says Black. “We have more wind farms than anyone else in the balancing mechanism that we use to respond to signals in real time. So we are already very experienced in managing decentralised assets,” he adds.

That capability negates the need for ScottishPower to acquire an aggregator as it seeks to scale its DSR business, says Black.

However, the firm has been

speaking with technology and energy management companies in order to build a common connectivity platform. Black says the company would welcome approaches from technology developers in that regard.

Equally, Black believes the scale of ScottishPower’s I&C supply business, its brand credibility and strong customer relationships, should help with acquiring flexible megawatts, a key challenge for any demand response business.

Meanwhile, ScottishPower’s pan-European footprint will appeal to UK companies with European operations, says Black, something very few DSR providers can currently offer.

“We are looking to deploy services on a European-wide basis and we believe that is a unique offer,” says Black. “We will develop that proposition going forward and into 2018 because it is something businesses that buy from Iberdrola in these markets are asking for,” he adds.

“But whether a customer has multiple sites in multiple countries or operates solely in the UK, we believe they will appreciate dealing with a single, credible and well-resourced partner.”

For further information on how ScottishPower can help reduce your bills and monetise your flexibility, visit: scottishpower. co.uk/commercial-business

GAS & ELECTRICITY

What now for energy?

Following Brexit and the recent election resulting in a hung parliament, Utilitywise’s Jon Ferris considers what the future has in store for business energy users

F

or third time in as many years, the people have spoken in a national poll. The message, however, remains as unclear as it has for most of this millennium.

Not since 2001 has a UK general election resulted in a party both winning a majority of seats and the prime minister serving the full parliamentary term.

No party has a clear mandate for their manifesto, and Brexit will monopolise parliamentary and civil service time for at least the next two years.

Investments in energy infrastructure however, whether grids and generation, or the machines and appliances that consume it, often last for

20 June/July 2017

decades. Even when voters expected the Fixed Term Parliament Act to mean a regular election cycle, energy policy needed to outlive the five-year term in order to give private sector investors the required confidence to deliver the needed investment.

Instead, since the last Energy Act, energy policy has been disrupted by elections and referenda on an annual basis. And recent government intervention in energy markets has often had unintended consequences. Confidence in policy stability has been undermined by the cliff-edge changes to the Feed-in Tariff and Renewables Obligation

schemes that have caused boom and bust investment in most forms of renewable generation. Not to mention the abrupt abandonment of the Carbon Capture and Storage competition.

Conservative manifesto It remains unclear how much of the Conservatives’ manifesto will be enacted during this parliament. The Queen’s Speech has confirmed their lack of a majority, and pressures on parliamentary time due to Brexit will limit primary legislation in this session.

Indeed, the impact of Brexit on the UK’s relationship with Euratom and the European

Investment Bank, which has underpinned much investment in the UK energy sector, and the harmonisation of national systems to facilitate the internal energy market trading arrangements that enable interconnectors to increase security of supply, remains key to the future of the energy sector.

Any further interventions in the energy sector should result from a long-term strategy but the energy industry has long been waiting for the Clean Growth Plan to set out the policies to achieve the fourth and fifth carbon budgets; and for the Industrial Strategy Green paper and Smart, Flexible Energy System call for evidence

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in the early 2020s. It appears increasingly unlikely that the high costs of major projects including the smart meter roll out and Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will deliver the expected benefits by their respective deadlines.

While the proposals for a domestic energy price cap received much attention during the campaign, in the Queen’s Speech it has been diluted to “considering the best way to … extend the price protection … to more of those on the poorest value tariffs.” There are, however, other aspects of the Conservative manifesto which might inform future development.

Smart choices There is a bold ambition for the UK to have the lowest energy prices in Europe. It is hard to see how to achieve this without making full use of the UK’s abundant wind resource, where the generation technology is mature and competitive with fossil fuel generation.

While the UK remains

The aim for every fuel-poor house to reach EPC band C by 2030 is welcomed but there should be higher ambition for all of the UK’s existing housing stock, reputed to be among the least energy efficient in Europe.

The commitment to zero carbon homes should be re-established.

The deadline for the smart meter rollout appears to be slipping, with a commitment to offer them to every household by 2020, rather than complete the installations by that date. If Ofgem decides to implement a price cap, completion of the smart meter rollout was meant to signal its expiry. Temporary measures often become permanent.

When the smart meter design phase was completed by Ofgem in 2011, the iPhone 3 was the mobile phone of choice. If the original nine-year programme was like offering consumers a Nokia 1100 at the time of the iPhone3, extending this deadline to 2025 is like a return to the days before text messaging.

Smart meters are likely to be just as limited, delivering few

consumers, so any plan to cap prices risks a reallocation of costs to other consumers.

Energy-intensive industries receive exemptions from some of the policy costs. These were initially paid for from general taxation and these exemptions are now to be paid for by all other energy consumers. While vulnerable domestic consumers should be protected, extending domestic price controls may leave small and medium-sized businesses as the squeezed middle, disproportionately bearing the burden of rising prices.

The government has left open the opportunity to use existing powers to regulate the industry by announcing support for “initiatives to improve switching and transparency in the market”. However, the industry itself must face up to the issues that have caused a lack of trust, and consumers should be benefitting more from increasing competition.

The energy sector is in the middle of a transition that

While vulnerable domestic consumers should be protected, extending domestic price controls may leave small and medium-sized businesses as the squeezed middle, disproportionately bearing the burden of rising prices to be translated into policy.

One thing that is clear is that the coalition’s pricefocused policies failed to achieve their original aims.

Changes to the Feed-in Tariffs, Renewables Obligation, and early Contracts for Difference schemes lagged behind the declining cost of renewable generation. The Renewable Heat Incentive scandal in Northern Ireland engulfed the DUP leadership and contributed to the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The long-term certainty intended to be delivered by Contracts for Difference, the Carbon Price Floor and the Capacity Market disappears

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dependent on imported gas, the production of domestic shale gas would have limited impact on prices, and would not replicate the transformation of the US energy sector. While there may be some fiscal benefit to producing more gas domestically, it would have limited impact on decarbonising electricity generation as the share of coal has already declined substantially. The production profile makes it unlikely that shale would replace the short-term flexibility hitherto provided by Rough storage. While there was no mention in the Queen’s Speech, further exploration is likely under existing regulations.

of the intended benefits to consumers. Technology exists today for smart meters to monitor consumption by appliance and analyse the data to identify faults.

The price of low carbon The Committee on Climate Change report on energy prices and bills assesses the cost of low carbon support to be only 9% of domestic duel fuel bills.

The figure is very different for businesses, where electricity is a greater proportion of consumption, and low carbon policy costs will exceed 30% by 2020. In additional to the costs of installing smart meters, increasing network, balancing and policy costs fall on energy

will evolve over the coming decades, and we need to ensure that it delivers a low carbon economy, not just at the lowest cost but where the cost is fairly apportioned. All consumers should be incentivised to help the energy sector avoid unnecessary investment, and to obtain a fair share of the benefit.

It is also time to restore business and domestic consumers’ confidence that there is still cross party consensus for the direction of travel, and for policy that may last beyond the next election. After 19 energy ministers in 19 years, it may be the inertia of a hung parliament that brings the policy stability that so many have called for. te

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GAS & ELECTRICITY

Vattenfall plans aggressive green power pricing…

Swedish utility Vattenfall has entered the UK electricity market with a 100% renewable product as it eyes major growth.. Brendan Coyne reports

V

attenfall will compete aggressively on price as it looks to take large electricity customers away from established business market energy suppliers.

The Swedish firm announced plans to enter the UK business to business (B2B) market in May and is now negotiating terms with a number of large industrial and commercial power users, according to James Hunt, who heads up Vattenfall’s UK B2B team.

The company will provide 100% renewable electricity, sourced from its own generation portfolio (which next year will top 1GW in the UK) and the power it buys from other parties.

Customers will be able to manage power purchases via a modified version of the platform Vattenfall established in the Dutch market (the Nuon Handelsplatform).

Hunt says it is designed to service customers with “many

metering points” and that the degree of flexibility it provides enables customers to fully manage price risk.

While providing realtime flexibility to spread purchasing risk is the initial focus, Hunt says the firm will “in time look at other aspects around flexibility”, potentially across areas including demand-side response and flexible consumption.

“But at this stage we are very much focused on delivering a product that deals with the main concerns consumers have regarding price transparency.”

How cost competitive will Vattenfall be?

“Cost is an important factor [for businesses] when choosing their supply. It is not the only reason, but it is a major driver,” says Hunt.

“Ultimately, we expect to have to compete with all other competitors directly on price.”

While some new entrants need time to adjust to the

We are very much focused on delivering a product that deals with the main concerns consumers have regarding price transparency

... and buys into domestic market Vattenfall followed its business market entrance with the news that it has acquired domestic energy supplier iSupplyEnergy. The move gives it 120,000 customers and adds another major player to the ranks attempting to carve up the market traditionally ruled by the Big Six. French giant Engie has also announced plans to attack the residential sector.

Magnus Hall, president and CEO of Vattenfall, said the company is “in Britain to grow and the acquisition of iSupplyEnergy is in line with Vattenfall’s strategy to grow our customer base in Northern Europe”.

Vattenfall’s senior vice president for customers & solutions, Martijn Hagens, said: “We are convinced this deal will be good for our new customers too, as we will combine our experience of customer focused and increasingly fossil-fuel free energy solutions in northern Europe with iSupplyEnergy’s strong, nimble, digitalised and transparent customer service.”

22 June/July 2017

peculiarities of the UK power market, Hunt says Vattenfall has significant experience through its generation activities. It has held a supply licence for several years and Hunt thinks its expertise in balancing its portfolios will help minimise excess costs.

“We pride ourselves on being able to forecast both our generation and consumption very well – that is one aspect that Vattenfall puts a lot of time into managing,” he said. “We feel that provides us with an edge in relation to the competition. Clearly, if you put less imbalance into market you will be less exposed [to ever increasing imbalance penalties].”

While directly engaging large I&C firms, Vattenfall is also talking to third party intermediaries (TPIs), which buy power for the bulk of the B2B market.

Given transparency is one of the pillars of its product offering, is Hunt concerned by perceived lack of transparency in the TPI market?

“We always expect TPIs to be working on behalf of their clients,” he says.

“We encourage them to be as transparent towards their consumers around the rates that they charge in relation to their activities. That is our expectation. From the TPIs that we have spoken to and dealt with to date, they take a similar view.”

Vattenfall’s B2B supply product is expected to officially launch on 1 October. te

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01473 707755 contact.us@havenpower.com www.havenpower.com

GAS & ELECTRICITY

Demand side leads innovation British Gas Business managing director Gab Barbaro believes innovating to disrupt energy is the key to survival and a competitive advantage for both larger utilities and customers. Tim McManan-Smith spoke with him at Energy Live Futures

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nnovation is easy to say but harder to do, comments Gab Barbaro.

“Energy innovation was about getting the price down but now it is about resilience, competitive advantage and insight,” he says.

The customer appetite for embracing demandside services such as energy efficiency and flexibility through DSR and storage is very much in evidence, he suggests.

“Customer appetite drove every innnovation ever. If there is a bottleneck it is at the board level, business growth is valued more highly than cost reduction even if the maths works better for energy efficiency.”

Barbaro has long advocated the mutual gains available for both British Gas and its customers from energy efficiency over slight cyclical savings driven by sharper procurement.

Speaking late last year, he said UK firms were missing an opportunity to save up to £4bn by focusing on the latter instead of the former. “UK businesses spend £20bn [on energy]. There is a 10-20% energy efficiency opportunity they can realise.

That is a £2bn-£4bn profit opportunity for businesses.”

Procurement departments have excelled in extracting value from supply contracts, believes Barbaro, “but if we focus [purely] on commodity cost, then we miss that opportunity.

“If prices are going up, the best way to manage that is to take control of their usage. It is a lot more rewarding and a better investment than trying to predict the commodity cycle, which will go up and down. In reality, the huge value is taking control of your assets,” he says.

“The amount of incentives that are beginning to develop now, through distribution networks, National Grid, government – a lot is unaddressed.”

Time for energy services Energy eficiency and broader services was a ‘no regret’ opportunity both for business and for British Gas, which is spending heavily to scale its

If there is a bottleneck it is at the board level, business growth is valued more highly than cost reduction even if the maths works better for energy efficiency – Gab Barbaro, British Gas Business

1GW of battery storage connections agreed

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etwork operator Western Power Distribution says interest in connecting storage assets, chiefly batteries, has reached “unprecedented levels”. It has agreed connections for more than 1GW of storage, with connection offers also made for a further gigawatt.

The company seeks views from firms mulling energy storage investments so it can plan how to accommodate them on its networks across the Midlands, south Wales and the South West.

WPD’s consultation aims to determine:

24 June/July 2017

• The potential scale of growth of energy storage within its distribution network • The type of energy storage assets/projects that are likely to be deployed within its network and their business models • The typical operating behaviour of storage assets, how they are likely to be used and their typical modes of operation “WPD has received unprecedented interest in connecting storage assets. The

volume of grid connection applications has significantly increased over recent years … A total of 2,354 MVA (across 139 sites) of connected, accepted and offered storage capacity is on our network,” states the consultation.

WPD said the volume of those connections in megawatt terms was broadly similar to the MVA value but was dependent upon the tasks performed by the batteries. Applying a power factor unity of 0.95 to the MVA value would equate to some 2.2GW, the firm suggested.

To plan for the future,

the DNO now seeks views on how the storage market might play out.

WPD said it will begin its modelling on a high growth scenario of 10-12GW and 24-44GWh of energy storage capacity installed across Great Britain by 2030.

Its low growth scenario is 4-5GW and 6-15 GWh. Both figures include 2.7GW of existing pumped storage.

Under its high growth scenarios, WPD moots grid services (frequency response) and the first wave of industrial

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Moving away from supply British Gas Business’s parent company has long flagged its intention to focus more on services and flexible power as economics for large, centralised thermal plant are eroded. In June, it agreed to sell 2.3GW of gas plant to Czech energy firm EPH. This is a significant statement of intent from a vertically integrated utility.

The Langage and South Humber Bank combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power stations will go to EP UK Investments (EPUK) for £318m in cash.

Centrica said the deal continues its shift away from large-scale power plants towards flexible peaking units, energy storage and distributed generation.

The transaction is subject to EU merger clearance and is expected to complete during the second half of 2017.

Meanwhile, last year Centrica invested £145m in Ener-G’s CHP business, acquiring a 500MW portfolio of co-generation across 1,400 sites, predominantly in the UK. It may be that Centrica will attempt further acquisitions in order to build its decentralised business. The firm has stated that it intends to invest £1.2bn of additional resources in distributed energy and power and connected homes up to 2020.

As it divests large thermal assets, Centrica is also building smaller, flexible assets, most notably the 49MW battery plant at Roosecote, in Barrow. The company, which secured a capacity market contract for Roosecote last December for delivery in winter 2020, aims to complete the plant by winter 2018.

The firm says its large battery storage facilities will be able to provide sub-second system balancing and mark “a new era for the energy industry”.

energy services business.

Barbaro says customers win because as well as “10 to 20%” bill savings through energy efficiency, they can generate revenue by exporting excess power.

Data is required to get to the heart of energy efficiency. In the first instance, metering, submetering and building controls.

“It’s easier to do this than in the past when you needed hard coding and commissioning.

Now you can get an alert on your phone from a sensor that’s £30. It’s immediate and cheap,” comments Barbaro.

Finance is key to unlocking

energy efficiency savings.

“You need to guarantee that it will work. We can help this and show that it will work.

Finance companies interested because of the low yield elsewhere,” says Barbaro.

Helping customers locate the finance and then guaranteeing outcomes, makes persuading the board a lot easier, as the business case is more watertight.

A survey conducted at Energy Live Future suggested that more than a third (38%) of delegates agreed that reducing energy costs remained the central energy issue for large

and commercial applications for behind the meter models and co-location taking off between now and 2020.

From the early 2020s, those scenarios suggest rapid growth for commercial and industrial applications with co-location projects for wind and solar becoming viable and an expanding community and domestic market.

In the mid to late 2020s, this could be followed by new business models, arbitrage platforms, widespread domestic storage and co-

location at wind/solar plants as well as integration of heat and electricity storage.

The consultation asks whether respondents agree with those scenarios, as well as its definition of market segments and services as well as more technical questions around discharge and operating modes and profiles.

For those looking to progress projects in the near-term, WPD has launched a network capacity map to help developers understand the best locations to site new connections. te

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organisations. This was closely followed by the challenge of convincing business leaders to allow investment in new technology (35%).

“My challenge to business leaders is to get smart and be more proactive about their energy use. Businesses must think long term rather than be swayed by current political or economic uncertainty – there are countless opportunities for organisations to save money on their bills today, by getting to grips with how it’s being used and taking action where it’s being wasted”, Barbaro says.

“The margins energy

suppliers make on industrial and commercial customers are very thin, sometimes negative,” he adds. “But the margins that can be made on energy services [are better] and another benefit is that you end up with a more engaged customer.”

When asked what would be the biggest energy trend of the coming decade, more than half of delegates (56%) believed that battery storage would be most important, followed by using demand-management technology through the Internet of Things (31%) and energy self sufficiency from on-site generation (12%). te

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25

DEMAND-SIDE FEAT. SPREAD RESPONSE SPLIT

Energyst readers on what might With National Grid needing more firms to help balance the power system, The Energyst is surveying readers. Here’s what those that do not yet provide DSR think would help bring them into balancing markets

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ith some 35GW of renewables on the system, more than a third of it solar PV, summer may become as much of a challenge as winter.

That equates to a yearround revenue opportunity from National Grid alone. Yet relatively few firms provide balancing services via their onsite generation or ability to shift loads. Why? According to The Energyst’s reader surveys, this is for a few key reasons, mainly fear of technical failure and/or incompatible processes and insufficient financial reward.

But lack of understanding and the fact that the most UK firms have not been approached by either aggregators or energy suppliers regarding DSR are also factors.

According to our current survey (please take it at

theenergyst.com), of 101 responses to date, two thirds (65%) do not provide DSR. Of those, 33% of firms said they do not provide DSR because equipment/processes are not suitable, while a third also said they do not know enough about possible opportunities.

Some 26% say returns are insufficiently attractive and 21% are concerned about impact on business operations.

The majority of these firms (60%) have been approached neither by aggregators nor suppliers, which might explain why some of these concerns remain. Yet 55% say they have some form of onsite generation (mostly solar, some back-up diesel and a few with CHP engines) suggesting suitability for some forms of DSR provision. Meanwhile, about one in six (18%) engage in peak network charge avoidance (Triad/DUoS red band).

Three quarters (74%) of those respondents say they would be interested in earning money from DSR if it did not impact their operations.

The survey asks respondents to briefly state how aggregators or suppliers could make it easier for them to participate in DSR. Here’s what those that offered a response say: • “Partner with battery/generator companies to offer a back up power supply package” • “Send offers or quotations” • “Reduce paperwork” • “Simplify the entire market.

Although that is not a job for aggregators or suppliers” • “Aggregators can prepare load shed strategy for facilities in order to maximise savings/ earning and minimise risks of energy reduction for the business” • “Standardised protocols.”

• “More information” • “Longer contracts”

Battery storage: finance and revenues challenging but firms predict 3-7 year payback

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attery storage is nascent but Energyst readers appear to have significant appetite to explore its applications. Here is what our survey has found to date.

Three quarters of companies considering battery storage projects predict payback periods of between three and seven years, according to early findings of The Energyst’s survey.

However, when it comes to securing funds, predictability of revenue is a concern for

26 June/July 2017

almost two thirds (62%) of those surveyed, while stability of policy worries almost half (48%).

Respondents include water companies, telcos, manufacturers, logistics companies, universities and local authorities. Of 101 survey responses so far, half are looking at battery storage (45 companies considering projects, seven have already invested).

A third (32%) of planned projects are sub-250kW, a third (30%) are 250kW-500kW while a quarter (27%) are 1MW+.

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help them provide DSR More than a third of renewables on the system is from solar PV

Five planned projects (11%) are between 500kW and 1MW while eight respondents did not specify project size.

Of those projects, roughly 20% are standalone, roughly 30% are collocated with renewables and roughly 50% are behind the meter.

Respondents plan to stack multiple revenue streams to monetise their batteries, with peak charge avoidance/load shifting and faster frequency response services the most common denominators.

Almost a third of those polled (29%) say planned investments have three- to five-year projected paybacks, while almost half (45%) believe their projects

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• “By providing an automated solution” • “Assist with reviewing scale of opportunity if any in estate and also selling the benefits on to concerned stakeholders – e.g that will affect operations.”

• “By offering detailed concept information” • “Work out what we could have saved” • “Including [it] as part of the supply agreement” • “By giving consistent answers to queries” • “Provide energy storage free of charge” • “By not treating the subject as a ‘black art’ (which does nothing for confidence) and be more transparent about what is done and how it works/I can influence it” • “Reduce scheme numbers to improve clarity of DSR requirements” • “Make it simple, easy to understand and de-risk the opportunity for us” • “Provide automated processes to join when capacity is available/spread the DR” • “Low entry cost to make small loads valuable” will payback in five to seven years. About a quarter (24%) say their projects will take at least eight years to payback.

Some 60% of respondents will finance the battery internally but only four in 10 said they had experienced no problems in securing funds.

These early responses are part of a broader demand-side response survey and market report. As such, a different picture may emerge as the survey sample increases.

If you are an end-user providing or considering DSR, or mulling battery storage, please take the five minute survey at the energyst.com and help us create an accurate market overview. te

65%

Firms that currently do not provide DSR

74% Firms that would be interested in earning money from DSR if it did not impact their operations

In terms of simplification, National Grid has announced plans to redesign its balancing tools and the markets it has created for various forms of flexibility, recognising the need to bring in more providers and improve transparency.

But these early survey findings suggest there remains a need for better communication and costeffective technology solutions if DSR is genuinely going to trickle down from large power users to the broader market: The majority (53%) of firms that said they did not provide DSR were companies with between one and 51 employees and most had an annual energy spend of less than £1m.

While the world’s biggest animals achieve their size by scooping up krill, it could be that aggregators and suppliers see such an approach as too costly. te The survey’s full findings will be published in September. We would be interested to hear enduser views on DSR, positive and negative. Please take the fiveminute survey at theenergyst.com

The Energyst’s DSR event – reserve your free ticket The Energyst’s DSR Event takes place 7 September at the Banking Hall, London EC3V 3ND. Delegates will hear how fellow end-users are unlocking value from demand-side response, as well as gain insight from industry experts including suppliers and aggregators, National Grid, distribution network operators, Beis and Ofgem.

There are a few tickets remaining – and the event is free to end users that could or do provide balancing services (terms and conditions apply to ensure consultants/technology/ services providers do not claim free tickets).

If you would like to attend, visit dsrevent.co.uk and request your free ticket.

The conference runs from 9am to 1.15pm followed by lunch and networking. We look forward to welcoming you and hearing your views.

June/July 2017

27

DEMAND-SIDE RESPONSE

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here is an office within the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy that is focused strictly on getting the Big Six to invest. Not to sound like Donald Trump but they should all be fired,” says UK Power Reserve boss Tim Emrich.

“They do not deliver any investment. It is like they are kryptonite,” he continues.

“What would you do, if you had acquired large, centralised plant for peanuts off the taxpayer in the era of privatisation? Would you be keen to welcome new competition, would you feel the need to invest in something new?”

Emrich, whose firm’s contracted position stands at 800MW of fast-ramping generators – mostly gas, some diesel and 120MW of battery storage, thinks policymakers should stop propping up a legacy power system and its incumbents.

“For Ofgem, the government and others, really it is time for each of them to take a long walk in the park and work out whether they want to embrace the dinosaurs that walk among us, or join us as we watch them go extinct, as the large inflexible incumbents should,” he says.

“These utilities do not have what we need going forward.

We need low carbon flexible generation to complement zero carbon generation.”

Gas or bust?

Emrich thinks policymakers should drop their “obsession” with trying to encourage investment in large new combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs). “Our baseload future is nuclear with a healthy mix of wind, solar, storage and other renewable technologies. If the UK has multiple gigawatts of nimble, efficient gas-fired distributed generation, why do you need expensive to build, expensive to operate, largely inflexible CCGTs?” If that is government’s intention, he says, “then the capacity market should

28 June/July 2017

Why are BEIS and Ofgem ‘walking with dinosaurs’?

UK Power Reserve CEO Tim Emrich says the “obsession” with incentivising large new gas plant will drive up business bills and lead to further market distortion. He says the Big Six “dinosaurs” should be allowed to die of natural market causes. Brendan Coyne reports

theenergyst.com

Do they [Ofgem, the government and others] want to embrace the dinosaurs that walk among us, or join us as we watch them go extinct, as the large inflexible incumbents should?

be renamed ‘the large thermal plant market’.”

Even if cuts to the Triad element of embedded benefits (see news, p6) can raise capacity market prices to the level required to incentivise new build CCGTs, Emrich says the tradeoff is a windfall, and possible life extension, for old coal plant. Not to mention higher capacity market bills, which are picked up by UK businesses.

“The distortion that Ofgem and the big six cartel believe they are correcting by implementing embedded charging reform pales in comparison to the distortion at the hands of coal,” he says.

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“As long as the government keeps coal alive well past the intent of previous policy, then you will get a capacity market that continues to be dominated by the cheapest and most economic forms of energy. First and foremost that is the existing coal that is on the system – actually old anything that is on the system – plus the most economic flexible new generation.”

Emrich describes the desire for a new fleet of CCGTs as “buying a Mercedes to do a job that a Ford is perfectly capable of doing”, a purchase decision that casts doubt on the government’s commitment to affordability.

“The idea that you want to make auctions more expensive is strange to me. We’d all love to drive Mercedes, but can we afford it? Is it imperative?”

The threat of further cuts to embedded generation revenues is presented by Ofgem’s mooted targeted charging review (TCR).

But, Emrich says, “the idea that embedded generation will go from multiple gigawatts to zero gigawatts is not going to happen”.

He hopes policymakers will ensure that all forms of generation are included within the review’s scope. “It needs to deliver for all players, large and small, and particularly for bill payers and the environment.

It doesn’t need to be focused on small-scale generation,” says Emrich. “It seems a weird obsession that people want to wrap anti-distributed generation [sentiment] in the cloaks of a targeted code review.”

On the contrary, Emrich points out that there is no small-scale equivalent to BEIS’ “kryptonite” Big Six investment unit.

Ever decreasing circles “I am not sure government should be in the position of holding the hands of Big Six companies, trying to get them to do the right thing. Especially when there is small-scale generation arriving in waves, driving down the cost to the consumer, improving the efficiency of the mix using clean natural gas, pushing coal off the system, increasing renewables penetration,” he says.

UKPR: 1GW this year?

Emrich claims the firm has “the largest independent flexible power portfolio in the UK, possibly Europe”, with 823MW. He says the winter 2017 capacity auction “could take us beyond 1GW”.

Of that portfolio, the firm has “120MW of battery projects contracted and set to build, and I could envision another 200MW-300MW more on top of that built out if not by 2020, very close to follow.” Emrich believes 2020 will be the “tipping point” for significant UK battery volume.

“I am not sure what it is government and Ofgem are trying to do other than embrace the dinosaur.”

There is an obvious evolutionary problem with that ethos, Emrich points out, suggesting the Big Six will one day be remembered in the same way as now defunct airline PanAm. “Sometimes governments should just get out of the way,” he says. “There is no way around the fact that there are flexible, nimble companies who are unafraid to compete in a market where traditional power has held sway for so long.”

Despite what he sees as anticompetitive rulemaking, “we will continue to run circles around them”. te

Scale and sell?

Emrich says the firm has acquired assets from the Big Six “that they didn’t really know how to optimise”. Is the company now batting away approaches from those it wants to displace?

“I think the Big Six would be wise to think about decentralised energy. Acquiring a company like ours would be a quick fix for them and, in my humble opinion, a smart move,” he says.

“There are a couple that are dipping a toe into distributed generation, but I don’t worry about that competition, because I know they will be largely ineffective in optimising those assets.”

So will UKPR get into bed with market incumbents?

“A UK utility investing in or acquiring in our business seems unlikely,” says Emrich. “But a foreign utility, I think, would do well to partner with a business like ours to help them kick that door open.”

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29

ENERGY STORAGE

Energy storage ‘will wipe out battery storage’ There are quick bucks to be made from battery storage, but in three or four years, many assets will be in the bin, reckons redT chief Scott McGregor. He claims sustainable energy storage that can handle multiple functions for decades without degrading is now viable. Brendan Coyne reports

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redictions for battery storage penetration vary wildly. UK Power Networks recently reported it had received 12GW of connections requests in little over a year, much of it for batteries, much of it “highly speculative”.

Western Power Distribution has 1GW of storage connections agreements on its network, with a further 1GW offered (see opposite).

National Grid meanwhile, sees up to 18GW of all forms of electrical storage on the system by 2040.

Government predicts about 4GW of batteries by 2033.

But Scott McGregor, CEO of energy storage firm redT, believes market sizing predictions and the recent rush to secure frequency response contracts obscure fundamental truths. Battery

30 June/July 2017

At a large-scale, solar and storage can deliver power at around half the cost of Hinkley C Scott McGregor, redT

storage as opposed to energy storage, he says is unsustainable – and many of today’s frequency response “arbitrage exploitation” opportunities will not exist in three years’ time.

Neither, he says, will some of the assets.

“The returns [for frequency response] are currently good.

That’s nice but they are batteries which will degrade and have to be thrown away – and that revenue opportunity will also run away pretty quickly.”

McGregor points to California, which he suggests is suffering a lithium hangover. Battery owners that piled into frequency response now spy other revenue streams. But, says McGregor, “they can’t access them because the battery is only warrantied to provide one service – and if they do more it will burn out”.

Yet most battery providers offer 10-year warranties.

“Lithium is very good if you focus it on a short cycle, not very often. Do that and it will last you 10 years,” he says. “But if you try to frequently perform multiple functions, the lithium will be gone in a few years.”

That poses a problem, given the need to ‘stack’ revenue streams together to build business cases and secure finance.

McGregor thinks the solution is flow-based energy storage, potentially in tandem with lithium or lead acid as a hybrid.

“The energy technology, such as a flow machine, is your workhorse. It will handle 60-80% of the work all day long: shifting solar, providing long duration services. Your lithium will provide short spikes of power. Combine the two and the lithium will last 10 years, potentially even 15,” says McGregor.

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Flow to grow?

Flow batteries store energy in liquid form (see box). McGregor claims the electrolytes in his firm’s machines “never degrade”, making them “infrastructure assets”. He believes that will bring debt finance into the storage market.

“It is very hard to finance a battery. If your battery degrades, you have to throw out 100% of that capital cost.

So it is not a long-term asset.

“Utility industry debt finance is what expanded the renewables industry significantly. Storage will be the same,” says McGregor.

“All of it is equity financed at the moment. Once you prove that storage is around for 20 years, debt will pile in.”

He says current flow paybacks are “seven to nine years, which in terms of an infrastructure asset, is a pretty good return”.

At a large-scale, solar and storage can deliver power “at around half the cost of Hinkley C”, claims McGregor.

For I&C firms – particularly those with expiring power purchase agreements (PPAs) – the combination is also complementary.

“They can [instead] use that solar to handle overnight demand load – it’s a massive commercial opportunity,”

says McGregor. Equally, he says businesses that can no longer secure PPAs due to daytime export limitations on distribution networks, should consider storage.

Private wires are another significant market opportunity, McGregor believes.

“If you are an I&C firm with a lot of roof space, solar and storage means you can sell power to all the businesses within your estate,” he says.

“We are seeing a lot of interest there, it’s a very exciting area.”

Policy void?

As well as finance issues, firms surveyed by The Energyst about battery storage suggest policy uncertainty is hindering investment (see p26). But McGregor is sanguine.

“Irrespective of whether government does anything or not, the policy of increasing renewables is going to drive storage,” he says.

“People are concerned, but while good policy can make markets more efficient, actually, that’s irrelevant. The increase in solar and wind is going to make storage mandatory.” te Scott McGregor will speak at The Energyst’s DSR conference in London on 7 September.

Reserve your ticket at dsrevent.uk

How Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries work RedT’ says its energy storage machines use proprietary Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) technology to efficiently and sustainably store energy in liquid form. The technology relies on the ability of Vanadium to exist in four different oxidation states (V2+, V3+, V4+, and V5+), each of which holds a different electrical charge. The electrolyte in the negative half-cell contains V3+ and V2+ ions, whilst the electrolyte in the positive half-cell contains V4+ and V5+ ions.

VRFB technology uses the flow of this vanadium electrolyte, separated by an ion exchange membrane. A reversible electrochemical reaction allows electrical energy to be stored and subsequently returned. The setup of the electrolyte and the membrane stack can be compared to that of an engine and fuel tanks. The membrane stack (‘engine’) delivers power rated in kilowatts (kW), whilst the fuel (the vanadium electrolyte) delivers energy rated in kilowatt hours (kWh).

theenergyst.com theenergyst.com

DSR: the prize grows for those with access to all markets National Grid’s plan to overhaul balancing markets is welcome, says REstore’s Louis Burford (pictured), and should bring more businesses into demand-side response (DSR). But firms have to look beyond single markets to unlock maximum value from flexible consumption.

Early findings of an Energyst reader survey suggest about half of companies that provide DSR could harness “significantly more” flexibility without affecting operations. That they are not gaining maximum value is a missed opportunity.

Working across multiple sectors in the UK and Europe has given REstore a deep understanding of how to identify flexibility and how to maximise value from it.

In the UK, we participate in National Grid’s schemes to deliver explicit demand-side response. But implicit DSR – around cost avoidance of peak network charges – is also highly valuable. Businesses can also unlock significant savings and revenue by smarter use of power, such as day-ahead optimisation in order to consume power when it is cheap, not when it is expensive.

Trading via the imbalance markets is another growing value stream. Price spikes topped £1,500 per megawatt hour in May and similar levels were seen last November. We have also recently witnessed record lows for power prices, with incidences of negative pricing across day-ahead and balancing markets on 7 June.

Market volatility will increase, negative pricing will become more prevalent and we forecast imbalance events to increase in frequency. Taking advantage of those opportunities is key to

“Working across multiple sectors in the UK and Europe has given REstore a deep understanding of how to identify flexibility and how to maximise value from it” maximising the value of flexibility, which means not putting all of your eggs in one basket and having the agility to react quickly.

Speed of response is critical, given imbalance price spikes may only last for half an hour.

REstore has spent two years designing and refining its FlexTreo™ solution to optimise and automate such opportunities for large industrial customers, and some of the UK’s largest companies are recognising the opportunity being presented to them.

National Grid’s overhaul of its balancing products is to be commended and will drive DSR forward, bringing greater flexibility to a power system that will need to be far more agile in the years ahead.

But the opportunity does not stop there. New markets and value streams are opening to those that can access them.

Contact louis.burford@restore.eu to unlock revenues and cost saving you may be missing.

ENERGY STORAGE

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ydrogen-based fuel cell technology is a hot topic at the moment, especially in the automotive industry, which sees great potential in fuel cells as a result of growing consumer concern for the environmental effect of car emissions.

“The automotive industry has certainly raised the awareness of fuel cells again, which is great, but this is not a new technology,” comments GenCell CEO Rami Reshef.

“Fuel cells have been used in other markets, very successfully for many years now. For instance, NASA pioneered the use of alkaline-fuel cells in its Apollo programme in the 1960s.

It used fuel cells to provide critical light and heat, as well as the electricity to power other onboard equipment on each space shuttle. It chose fuel cells to achieve this as it needed extreme reliability – batteries were simply too heavy and they also couldn’t provide the necessary extended life.”

If it’s not a new, what’s prohibited the wider adoption of fuel cells in other markets?

“In the early days of fuel cell development, the promise of the technology was huge and many businesses were attracted to its many benefits. However, as scientists tried to commercialise the technology, issues with scalability and manufacturability became apparent,” says Reshef.

“As a result, early adopters didn’t receive the promised benefits and this tarnished the reputation of fuel cells as a viable alternative power.

But, as with most technology introductions, this same technology has since been redesigned, refined and the early issues resolved – now enabling fuel cells to compete with more conventional technologies such as diesel generators.

“Fuel cell manufacturers such as ourselves are now enjoying significant success with this technology in

32 June/July 2017

Fuel cells are coming of age What are the current and future challenges faced by the energy market and how can fuel cells fit into the mix?

GenCell CEO Rami Reshef discusses the issues

The possibilities for fuel cell applications are almost endless – just about anywhere you use energy – Rami Ramesh, GenCell several markets. But from a reputation perspective, we are all rebuilding market confidence in the technology, utilising important proof points and customer endorsements to validate its success,” he adds.

What have fuel cell manufacturers overcome to enable it to be a saleable, commercial technology?

“Over the years, many companies have spent significant amounts of time and money in trying to solve the two main barriers to fuel cell use, Capex and Opex,” comments Reshef.

“I can’t talk for others, but in our case, we worked very hard for six years to meet this challenge. We have succeeded in developing a number of patented solutions that have enabled us to reduce our Capex

and Opex costs, including the use of a non-platinum catalyst, as well as mechanisms for using plain air as an oxidiser and lower-cost industrialgrade hydrogen as a fuel.

“One of the key factors regarding the Opex of fuel cells is related to the cost of hydrogen.

While the production costs of hydrogen have been historically lower than gasoline or methane, the current cost of distribution makes it more expensive than gasoline or methane for commercial usage. Fortunately, the increased emphasis on sustainable energy and growing demand for hydrogen has led to the deployment of new hydrogen distribution systems in Japan, California and other US states that should eventually help resolve this issue.

“In addition, there are also

new methods of hydrogen production that use wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric power to split water. The potential of the newer ecofriendly methods coupled with the new distribution channels, will help make hydrogen increasingly economical as new economies of scale are reached.”

Which markets and applications are best suited to fuel cell technology?

“The possibilities for fuel cell applications are almost endless – just about anywhere you use energy,” says Reshef, “but there are already a few key markets where the technology is gaining significant adoption and maturity. These include the transport and automotive industries, industrial power generation and backup power

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for critical systems at utilities, telecoms and many more.

“Indeed, the challenges of Future-of-balancing-services/ ageing electrical grids in many parts of our very connected world makes a steady supply of electricity imperative. For many industries, the cost of business failure outweighs the cost of a business continuity solution.

This is especially true at telecom providers where the business model is pay-per-use [talk]. For them, network downtime causes a complete cessation of revenue and is extremely expensive. For electricity providers and other utility companies, grid downtime is extremely expensive too – and not just to utilities. In 2015, grid failures cost an estimated $110bn to the US economy.

“GenCell uses alkaline fuel cell technology, another lowtemperature type of fuel cell.

Alkaline fuel cells are extremely reliable and highly efficient, in fact the most energy efficient of all fuel cell technologies. In addition, they are highly resilient to extreme temperatures, humidity and air salinity.

“This makes it an ideal fuel cell technology for providing green backup energy in the event of a power failure.

However, in the future, the technology has even greater potential for additional usages beyond back-up applications.”

In what scenarios do you see fuel cells being used outside of a back-up applications?

“In short, continuous power.

When the grid isn’t available, options for providing continuous power is currently limited to diesel generators and batteries.

Historically, fuel cells have mainly been used for back-up applications, as there hasn’t been a solution available to match the reliability and running costs of these alternative power sources. But, fuel cell technology is catching up,” Reshef says.

And should it be possible to provide this in the future, he continues, “there is a clear appetite for fuel cell technology use for continuous power. This

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is because fuel cells emit no greenhouse gases, they require very little maintenance and don’t require regular recharging, they are near silent, vibration and odor free, can be operated in extreme temperatures and have water and heat as their only by-product.”

How far away is this ‘mainstream’ fuel cell technology?

“It is difficult to say,” says Reshef, “but I estimate that we’re likely to see this kind of technology enter the market within the next 12-24 months – initially offering all the benefits of fuel cells and later delivering economies of scale that will give it a price point to replace diesel generators for mainstream energy.

“However, we should not let this detract from what’s available today, as there are substantial opportunities.”

What are the barriers to success in fuel cell adoption in the short term?

“To our minds, simple education.

There’s a lot of misinformation out there surrounding modern fuel cell technology, and when talking to prospects, our first job is often to correct what they think they know,” says Reshef.

“We do that by explaining what we and others have done to overcome previous technology limitations to make modern fuel cells one of the cleanest, most reliable, robust, and highly efficient power sources available.

“We then show them how it’s being adopted by many international market leading businesses, who all go through their own comprehensive due diligence processes to approve the use of fuel cells within their businesses.

“Our second job is to talk to them about hydrogen in general, as many businesses are not familiar with it, we also educate them about sourcing hydrogen and compare its costs to other energy alternatives such as solar, wind, batteries and diesel.” te

National Grid strives to strip complexity from balancing services System operator National Grid is preparing to radically reform and simplify its suite of balancing services. And it is inviting energy users of all sizes to help develop them.

expensive, so the SO recognises the need to reform its services and open up the market.

To address limitations like these within existing services – and lower barriers for new technologies and business models – the SO will now work to simplify and improve its product range. The three stages of the consultation will be: s Rationalisation – the SO will carry out a review to reduce the number of products it buys. s Standardisation – the SO will look for ways to standardise the products within each service to create a level playing field for providers. s Improvement – the SO will work with industry to improve and develop its product suite beyond existing products. A new approach will then be set out in a forthcoming product strategy report.

Through a new consultation, called System Needs and Product Strategy, the business will work closely with industry to improve the products that are available – and make sure all parties and all technologies can take part in the balancing markets of tomorrow.

A changing energy mix makes managing the system more challenging than ever. As intermittent renewables grow, the needs of the system become less predictable and more volatile. These needs fall into five categories: s Inertia/rate of change of frequency (RoCoF) – as traditional power plants close, system inertia is expected to decrease. As a result of lower inertia, greater action is needed to keep RoCoF under control s Frequency response – ensuring system frequency is managed within the limits needed s Reserve – managing the imbalances that arise from forecasting errors or unexpected losses of generation or demand s Reactive power – keeping voltage at the right level s Black start – in the unlikely event that a large section of the network were to shut down, this is required to restore it

How can potential providers benefit from reading and participating in the consultation?

According to Cathy McClay, National Grid’s head of commercial, electricity: “The consultation document gives providers a clearer understanding of the changing system needs and an overview of our thinking in relation to future product design.

“It also provides an opportunity to take part in creating future products and ensure all businesses and all technologies can benefit from these evolving markets. I’d urge everyone to read it – and participate.”

The SO buys balancing services ahead of time to manage many of its main requirements. However, it is seeing a rise in the need to manage more volatile events at the extremes of the system. These are historically bought through the Balancing Mechanism (BM). As this need grows, availability is likely to decrease or become more

Have your say on the future of balancing services National Grid is keen to hear your views and invites everyone in industry to complete its consultation survey at: surveymonkey.co.uk/r/systemneeds-product-strategy You can also download the full consultation document here: www2.nationalgrid.com/UK/ Services/Balancing-services/

VIEWPOINT

Decarbonising heat Joanne Wade, chair of the Energy Institute Energy Advisory Panel and chief executive of the Association for the Conservation of Energy, offers insight on decarbonising heat from the EI’s 2017 Energy Barometer

E

nergy efficiency was efficiency improvements have conspicuous by its been driven by European absence from the legislation. Therefore, there is a Queen’s Speech. need to safeguard this legislation To deliver on the central in the pending exit of the EU. promise to cut energy bills, the This has been emphasised by Conservative manifesto was the overwhelming majority vague at best on commitments of respondents to the 2017 to improve insulation of fuelBarometer, who strongly poor households, and pledged recommended translating EU to revise building efficiency energy efficiency and other standards. Without ramping up energy regulations into UK policy ambition in this area, an law upon leaving the EU. opportunity could be missed.

Energy efficiency In context improvements can contribute to Heat accounts for about 40% many of the new government’s of UK energy consumption stated aims, including tackling and about 20% of UK GHG climate change and ensuring emissions (CCC 2016). Reducing economic productivity while heat emissions is therefore vital reducing fuel poverty, healthcare to reach UK climate targets. costs and energy imports.

However, little progress has been Energy efficiency emerged as made in shifting heat supply a key theme of this year’s to low carbon sources: Energy Barometer, currently only about an annual survey 2.5% of heat on the UK comes from low energy system carbon sources, conducted by compared with the Energy more than 45% UK building stock Institute. for electricity. in 2035 that Professionals Recognising from all parts this exists today of the energy challenge, the industry indicated decarbonisation that efficiency is the of heat was one of best method of cost-effectively the topics that this year’s reaching carbon targets and Energy Barometer focused on. seizing economic opportunities of the low carbon transition.

Future heat mix In part, energy efficiency in EI members expect a the UK has been a success story. moderate rather than complete As the Committee on Climate transformation of the UK’s Change recently showed, UK heat mix by 2030. While gas household savings due to is expected to remain the increased energy efficiency dominant heat source, its share have more than offset costs of is predicted to decrease by a corresponding policies, and will noticeable extent (to 55% from continue to do so through to 70% in 2015). The shares of 2030. However, many energy electricity and bioenergy are

86%

34 June/July 2017

Little progress has been made in shifting heat supply to low carbon sources: currently only about 2.5% of heat comes from low carbon sources, compared with more than 45% for electricity

expected to grow moderately in absolute terms and several low carbon sources are expected to become more prominent in the mix, such as hydrogen, solar thermal and waste heat.

There was a high variation of estimates across the survey’s respondents, which reflects the uncertainty about the future heat mix. In the UK debate, the previously favoured route to heat decarbonisation via electrification is being superseded by a multiple technology approach.

The next decade will likely be dedicated to further efforts to scale up a variety of low carbon heat technologies, such as heat networks, low carbon hydrogen, as well as heat pumps. Several government initiatives are now funding research into hydrogen networks and heat storage, as well as supporting uptake of heat networks and heat pumps.

Residential space and water heating accounts for the majority of emissions from heat. To reduce these emissions, EI members strongly agree that proven technologies – particularly those related to efficiency – should be prioritised in the period through to 2030. They emphasise the importance of retrofitting buildings (49% of respondents) and ensuring high energy efficiency in new buildings (45%) through proper wall and loft insulation.

Furthermore, upgrading equipment such as boilers is seen as one of the technological measures enabling the greatest emission reductions through to 2030 (45%). The only immature technologies identified are controls and smart systems (43%).

In comparison, heat pumps, CHP and heat networks as well as solar thermal and heat from biofuels were ranked lower by the surveyed energy professionals.

The emphasis EI members place on energy efficiency is in line with the CCC assessment identifying energy efficiency as a ‘no regret’ measure that should complement any approach to low carbon heat sources through to 2030. Energy efficiency improvements account for 47% of total emission reductions from buildings in the CCC’s central scenario for 2030, in particular better insulation of about 7 million walls and lofts in existing buildings. These will constitute the vast majority of the future UK building stock: about 86% of buildings in 2035 will be ones that already exist today.

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UK heat mix in 2015

UK heat mix in 2030

(%, from BEIS Energy Consump@on in UK Table 1.04)

4

4

8

14

70

Gas Electricity Oil Coal

UK heat mix in 2030 UK heat mix in 2030 Bioenergy & Waste (%, from 2017 Energy Barometer) (%, from 2017 Energy Barometer)

n UK n UK

4 2 4 2

4 1 4 1

8 8

2 2 5 5

55 55 19 19

Gas Gas Oil Oil Bioenergy & Waste Bioenergy & Waste Solar Thermal Solar Thermal Other Other

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Electricity Electricity Coal Coal Hydrogen Hydrogen Waste heat Waste heat

UK heat and efficiency policy a policy gap for encouraging Despite the various benefits energy efficiency measures (%, from 2017 Energy Barometer) of home energy efficiency in able-to-pay households, improvements, this topic and that a scheme replacing has been neglected by UK the Green Deal should be energy policy in the past simple and have more effective 4 1 4 policy five years. Due to delivery and communication.

2 changes, the total number of Moreover, a trajectory for energy efficiency measures increased energy standards for installed under government new and existing buildings is 8 down 87% in schemes was needed to reengage the supply 2 compared with 2012.

2015 chain and cost-effectively In particular, loft insulation deliver highly efficient new improvements plummeted and retrofitted buildings.

5 after 2013, when the existing Uptake of energy efficiency schemes were replaced by the measures is driven not only 55 policy but also Energy Company Obligation by efficiency (ECO) and the Green Deal, by prices. Rising energy costs which itself was abandoned improve the business case 19 in 2015 due to low uptake. for energy efficiency and, in Similarly, standards addition to climate policy, EI developed since 2005 that members see them as one would have required new of the main factors driving Electricity homesGas in England to be the low carbon transition. carbon neutral from 2016 were Consequently, they see Oil by the government inCoal existing market conditions cancelled 2015. This contributed to the as the main factor limiting Bioenergy & Waste UK being ranked second to-lastHydrogen investment in building energy among the EU member states efficiency at the moment, in in 2015Solar Thermal in terms of progress Waste heat addition to a changeable and towards the goal of near zero uncertain policy framework.

Other emissions in new buildings While financial savings should

after 2020, as required by and will always be an important the EU Energy Performance incentive for energy efficiency of Buildings Directive. investments and policy should Among EI members, the always be aligned with this perceived most effective policy driver, regulation should also measures to make progress have the aim to contribute to in decarbonising heat up to creating a culture where the full 2030 are financial incentives value of efficiency is recognised such as tax credits or capital and investment in it is “the grant schemes (68% of done thing”. People should respondents), mandatory want to invest in it for similar standards for buildings (63%) reasons as for other building and, to a lesser extent, engaging improvements – because they with communities via new believe it will make their homes ownership models (39%). healthier and more comfortable, Furthermore, training, because it will add value to education and certification their property and keep their of the heat and buildings energy spending down. workforce (34%) features Policy should help to make among the most chosen policy investment in efficiency options. On the other hand, the new “normal” or, as carbon pricing in the heat Lord Deben says, “to make sector, government funding for it easy for everyone to do demonstrator projects of CCS the right thing”. te and hydrogen technologies, private funding and voluntary The UK heat system development standards are not prioritised is one of many topics covered in the in the period up to 2030.

2017 Energy Barometer. To explore These findings reinforce the the full results, visit knowledge.

CCC’s assessment that there is energyinst.org/barometer

June/July 2017

35

POLICY & LEGISLATION

The value of a vibrant renewable energy sector The hung parliament shouldn’t mean energy transition is ‘hung out to dry’, says Kate Jack, UK country lead for Innovation Hub by Innogy

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n a sunny Sunday this June, for even the briefest of moments, a record 70% of the electricity for the UK’s homes and businesses was low carbon. This was the culmination of wind, solar and nuclear power coming together to offer a glimpse of how the UK’s energy provision might look in the future, as the fast-moving transition to a low-carbon economy maintains its momentum.

Certainly, the uptake of renewables worldwide continues to gather pace, such as the significant reduction in the global consumption of coal. This is despite the US’s recent withdrawal from the Paris climate change agreement, which appears to have left other countries undeterred in their pursuit of an energy revolution.

Here in Britain alone, use of coal fell by 53.5% in 2016, partially due to the closure of three major power stations.

Moreover, according to the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (Recai) from EY, the UK climbed back into the top 10 most attractive countries for renewable energy investment in May (following a slip from 4th in 2013 to 14th in 2016).

Investment in innovation With renewables performing so well, why should the government continue to prioritise green energy?

Quite simply, despite the unmitigated success of these

36 June/July 2017

energy milestones, there is still a long way to go. The only way to ensure Britain’s continued commitment (and success) to cutting carbon emissions is through government support for a vibrant renewable energy sector.

Unquestionably, the UK’s recent announcement of what is an ambitious new carbon target for the early 2030s will go some way in allaying fears of the UK being left behind its counterparts in energy transition.

However, the government is yet to outline how it will actually support low-carbon energy, such as offshore windfarms, beyond 2020.

Indeed, several government policies – including a massive business rate hike of 800% and a significant reduction in subsidies has led to an 81% decrease in new solar installations in the first three months of 2017, compared with the average in 2016.

The government has also withdrawn any kind of support for onshore wind schemes even though this is one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation.

This is certain to hamper the growth of the renewable sector, and leaves us vulnerable to missing our ambitious targets. Now is the opportunity for firm action to both foster investor confidence and provide the boost that the green energy sector needs to enable long-term growth; significant considering the warning in 2016 that the

government, on its current course, will fail to achieve its 2020 renewable energy targets.

A significant reduction in subsidies has led to an 81% decrease in new solar installations in the first three months of 2017, compared with the average in 2016

Passion, purpose and progress But it is certainly not all doom and gloom. Innovation is sitting at the heart of the renewable energy milestones we are experiencing, courtesy of the entrepreneurial ideas and impactful solutions coming from our start-up and SME communities. These innovations go far beyond just the generation and supply of power but are also in services and platforms and in turn the benefits for Britain are vast.

Aside from being a sector which offers economic growth and the promise of a sustainable, affordable and secure energy future, there was also an increasing appetite from the electorate who appear to recognise and believe in the significance of renewable energy; the better way to generate and harness energy.

Essentially, there is a huge opportunity for our incoming government to reap the rewards of energy transition, and renewable energy is absolutely a sector in which Britain can lead.

Crucial to this is ensuring both sufficient support for our innovative entrepreneurial and start-up communities that are already accelerating solutions to some of our biggest energy challenges, and robust and clear leadership at a national level from government to avoid falling behind our global competitors. te

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Sponsored column

It’s time to get serious about resilience The disruption and financial consequences of downtime due to a power outage are well documented, most recently in the case of British Airways (BA). John Hartley, Head of Propositions at Centrica Distributed Energy and Power, identifies the measures that should be taken to enhance resilience and avoid any interruption to business continuity During the late May bank holiday, BA flights were brought to a standstill at Heathrow and Gatwick with 75,000 people affected by three days of disruption – the worst to hit the airline for seven years. Experts suggested BA’s huge compensation costs could top £100m and shares in International Airlines Group slumped.

on business as usual services.

Businesses should also be comfortable using their backup generators as part of their business as usual activity – using a generator to reduce bills by being on during peak times for example can ensure it is more likely work work when needed in an emergency as well as earning that business some additional revenue.

Cause and effect BA’s check-in systems, call centre, and website suffered a major IT failure that affected its operations worldwide, something that was later attributed to a power supply issue. BA’s Chief Executive Officer, Alex Cruz, said that the surge was ‘so strong that it rendered the back-up system ineffective’. While some commentators have questioned whether the robustness of IT systems also contributed to the crisis, the situation has brought the issue of power supply and resilience to the fore.

Centre of attention As the BA case demonstrated, reliance on IT means that data centres have to be amongst the most resilient facilities out there. Many are designed to meet good practice infrastructure guidelines and there are numerous documented examples of N+1 designs, systems designed to withstand the loss of a component.

However, more emphasis should be placed on reacting quickly when a component failure occurs rather than assuming that N+1 will solve all problems.

Ensuring a quick repair places a premium on staff training, predictive diagnostics, good support contracts and on-site spares.

In the event of a prolonged power failure, in addition to a UPS a further source of power will be required – usually a generator – which, given sufficient fuel, will keep running indefinitely.

Developments in battery technology mean that effective energy storage is also now within the reach of most organisations. Obviously, it is not enough to simply install equipment to back up power, as it must be properly maintained and regularly tested to ensure it is operational when needed.

Power up Power surges are a very real phenomenon and, while blackouts are obvious threats to on-site equipment, other conditions can also cause problems. Brownouts occur when the mains supply cannot cope with its overall load and the voltage levels reduce, in extreme cases for periods measured in hours. Mains power can also sag, or drop in voltage level for a few cycles, usually after a large load such as air conditioning or rotating machinery is switched on.

We may never know exactly what happened at BA but it highlights how an unexpected event can have potentially devastating consequences for a business.

In fact, research carried out by the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) found that following a disaster around a quarter of businesses never reopen, 80% of companies that don’t recover within a month are likely to go out of business and 75% of companies that do not have a business continuity plan fail within three years.

Most organisations will have an outage at some point in time. The skill is in ensuring that it happens as part of a planned maintenance programme, not due to an external factor. To this end, businesses should plan for an outage to occur annually and during that outage ensure that every mitigation measure at its disposal is tested, to ensure that when something happens it will be able to mitigate the worst effects. This could include continuous access services where data processing and storage is split across two or even three sites simultaneously so that the failure of one site does not impact

The generation game Having a well designed and well maintained standby power system is the best protection against utility power outages. Whether located in a factory, data centre, hospital or anywhere else housing mission critical electrical equipment, generators are vital, as they can withstand heavy load for long hours and start off the power supply on full load within minutes. Combine this with a battery solution that offers an almost instant response to a power failure and businesses can stand easy.

The combination of resilience and using assets in a smart way is not always obvious.

While often considered a key facilitator of resilience, generators offer much more than power back-up and are woefully underutilised. The most forward-looking organisations are opening up new revenue streams by making their assets available to the National Grid to help balance the system and trading in the market when prices are high.

Monitor and manage Keeping an eye on how energy is being used by plant and other electronic equipment can also help prevent outages.

Smart devices are available that consist of completely non-invasive, wireless and selfpowered circuit level technology, coupled with cloud based analytics.

By clamping on the outgoing electrical wire from the circuit breaker, Centrica’s Panoramic Power sensors monitor the flow of electricity and can send information wirelessly in real-time. Hundreds of sensors can be installed in just a few hours and by transmitting data wirelessly, they deliver energy information to a software analytics platform that provides insight into real time energy usage and enables users to optimise their operations, processes and maintenance resources, while identifying what devices are using most energy. The level of granular detail available means that proactively controlling and actively managing energy rates by shifting loads, or by reducing loads in real time, is possible.

There are significant operational benefits to be gained also, such as preventative and condition based maintenance. For example, if a chiller is short-cycling, a facilities manager can be alerted and initiate measures to prevent damage and downtime. It can also highlight inefficiencies in the plant and unusual current behaviour – thereby maintaining performance and productivity.

Centre forward A business must possess the ability to react quickly and decisively to any situation it is presented with, and uptime should always be front and centre of any strategic planning.

Good resilience to power outages means faster recovery after incidents, reduced impact of incidents and protection of brand and reputation. It can also provide a better understanding of an organisation and demonstrates to internal stakeholders that their wellbeing and livelihoods are important.

For this to happen, of course, the importance of resilience needs to be understood and championed across an organisation: from engineering and operations, to risk and finance. It is only through this that organisations can gain the requisite insight into their energy, make the most of equipment such as generators and invest in new energy infrastructure. In turn, they can avoid the considerable cost and pain of an unplanned power outage.

BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE

Regenerating the drive for change Energy efficiency is a long-term necessity for cost and compliance, Ashley Phillips, sales & marketing director, DONG Energy Sales (UK), outlines a fresh approach for behavioural change

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eeking ways to reduce energy consumption is a common activity for businesses these days.

As costs rise, it has remained the biggest way to keep a handle on energy budgets, while lowering an organisation’s carbon footprint. So, a winwin situation all round.

Not only do the commercial and environmental benefits stack up, government has been quick to encourage businesses to reduce their consumption as well, to support the country’s sustainability targets. The Carbon

38 June/July 2017

Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC), introduced in 2010, has obliged businesses to produce a complete view of emissions from across the organisation and report that year on year. While this has, at times, been far from easy - and of course the scheme will be abolished after the 2018-19 reporting year – it has created a greater awareness of consumption and emissions within UK businesses and arguably created more drive to identify opportunities to reduce usage. Similarly, the introduction of the Energy Savings

Opportunity Scheme (Esos) in 2015 was aimed at identifying tangible energy reduction options within businesses.

For many businesses, Esos came a little late, with the majority of larger organisations having already reviewed their energy portfolio and implemented any energy efficiency ‘quick wins’, such as introducing LED lighting or replacing aging equipment with more efficient models. With the more straightforward activities completed, businesses must now consider either higher investment

energy reduction programmes, or place renewed focus on changing user behaviour internally.

The hardest nut to crack It is well publicised that influencing user behaviours within an organisation is one of the biggest and cheapest ways in which a company can reduce its overall energy consumption. This covers all manner of activity, from switching off lights when leaving a room, to running educational, incentivised programmes across the organisation. However, while sounding like the simplest

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aspect of an energy efficiency plan, often changing mindsets within an organisation is far from being easy, and presents many challenges. While people have become better at switching off lights as they leave a room or switching monitors off at the end of the day, the explosion of smart phones, iPads and so on means that we are using more and more energy to charge equipment, which counteracts some of the progress made.

Not only does this put greater pressure on an organisation’s cost base, looking more widely it means that as an industry we are having to work harder to predict consumption patterns and match that back to generation profiles.

As we transition to a more sustainable sector, our generation is increasingly decentralised and less predictable, making system balancing a more complex task.

Leading the way: influencing user behaviours within an organisation is one of the most cost effective ways in which a company can reduce its overall energy consumption

e

11% Energy cost saving achieved

by Kodak Alaris using DONG Energy’s site optimisation solution

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– is a highly effective way of keeping costs under control. This includes careful consideration over the times at which highconsuming equipment is used as well as office behaviours.

As user needs change, technology is changing too. In the past, companies were reliant on user-led monitoring and targeting systems that profiled the impact of changing consumption patterns with a limited number of data inputs. It is now possible to work with systems that take real time cost feeds from the market, along with specific site asset data, to make recommendations on how to optimise cost. With a fully costed outcome for each scenario, it is far easier to garner support for changing operational patterns that lead to commercial advantage.

We worked with Kodak Alaris to do exactly that. Like many organisations, Kodak Alaris was

by 11%, as well as cutting operational planning time.

“Now we enter plant information through the web portal”, says David Jeans, energy manager for Kodak Alaris. “Site optimisation then analyses all of the information and produces our optimum daily run schedule.

I’m able to take the information directly from the interface, print it out and hand it to our operational staff in our morning production meeting. Everyone finds it really easy to use, as the solutions are always practical.

It’s a very different plant from previously: we’d have a plan for the week that didn’t change all week because it was built on averages. Now we have a plan that changes from hour to hour, and that really optimises what the plant is doing each day.”

Integrating for impact Influencing user behaviours

Gone are the days of placing ‘switch me off’ stickers on computer monitors; for real bottom line impact. Energy must rise up the organisational agenda and infiltrate all manner of operational activity The importance of timing The combination of an evolving industry and changing user behaviour has moved the conversation on from complete energy reduction to becoming smarter about the times when consumption must be reduced.

Altering the times at which energy is consumed makes a big difference to overall costs, and as a consequence, should also be factored into programmes for influencing behaviours.

Transmission and distribution costs, for instance, are higher during peak consumption periods where the respective systems are under greater stress. The ability to change consumption to less expensive times makes huge economic sense. Similarly, an ability to quickly take action in response to a fluctuating wholesale market – consuming more when energy is cheaper, and less when it’s more expensive

eager to optimise its site but lacked the resource to analyse its consumption patterns against a whole host of variables, from wholesale market prices to peak system costs and DSR scheme returns, at a sufficiently granular level. Our site optimisation solution was developed to do all of that for them automatically, taking market data feeds to produce optimal run schedules for the plant and making accurate, hourly operational planning a reality.

Site optimisation does not simply highlight the most expensive periods, it recommends a precise course of action based on Kodak’s site, whether that is importing from the grid, switching to on-site generation or exporting when market prices are higher. By sticking to the recommended run schedules, Kodak Alaris reduced its energy costs

is undoubtedly a crucial way of taking control of energy budgets. But that conversation has moved on from energy efficiency alone. As energy managers increasingly take an integrated approach to managing energy effectively – from buying on the wholesale market at the right times to participating in DSR schemes – so too must they improve the sophistication of their approach to internal behaviour.

Gone are the days of placing ‘switch me off ’ stickers on computer monitors; for real bottom line impact. Energy must rise up the organisational agenda and infiltrate all manner of operational activity.

Having the means to model the impact makes that conversation so much more compelling and straightforward, and ultimately more successful. te

June/July 2017

39

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

A voltage for all seasons A Powerstar LITE voltage optimisation solution is helping the Four Seasons Shopping Centre in Mansfield to reduce its electricity consumption and cut costs Powerstar’s commercial director Stuart Clegg with a Powerstar LITE system

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owerstar, the voltage optimisation and energy storage brand, is addressing energy saving solutions within the leisure industry, and has assisted many golf clubs, shopping centres and retailers achieve significant energy consumption and cost savings without compromising business operations or guest experience.

A recent satisfied customer is the Four Seasons Shopping Centre in the heart of Mansfield, which has been in operation since 1974 and boasts more than 50 stores.

The centre was actively looking for ways to reduce its energy consumption, without affecting the dayto-day operations of the shopping centre, which is

40 June/July 2017

open seven days a week.

The incoming voltage at the centre was fairly stable, but higher than required at an average of 240.9V. This is a common issue as power is often supplied from the National Grid at a higher voltage than is required by most commercial properties.

Energy management solutions, such as voltage optimisation technology, can assist in bringing it in line with the needs of a site, resulting in an improved electricity supply.

Furthermore, the design characteristics for most electrical equipment in the UK is to work most efficiently at approximately 220V, adding further viability to voltage optimisation technology.

At the Four Seasons

7.5% Guaranteed energy savings achieved by lowering the centre’s incoming supply to an optimised average of 223V, which reduces annual electricity consumption by 24,289kWh

Shopping Centre, Powerstar implemented its concept to completion service, setting out an engineering-led solution that provides tangible reductions in electricity costs, CO2 reductions, and guaranteed energy savings.

Following a full analysis of the voltage profile and survey of the client’s site, Powerstar found the voltage to be high but stable. It therefore recommended a fixedvoltage optimisation 179kVA Powerstar LITE solution.

Powerstar carried out the installation with no disruption to the centre’s operation or the enjoyment of its visitors, a critical component to any customer-facing business within the leisure industry.

Powerstar LITE is delivering the predetermined reduction of 17.5V, lowering the centre’s incoming supply to an optimised average of 223V, which reduces annual electricity consumption by 24,289kWh, equating to guaranteed annual savings of 7.5%.

Martin Moran, operations manager at the Four Seasons Shopping Centre, said: “Powerstar successfully managed the installation of the voltage optimisation and power factor correction systems at the Four Seasons Shopping Centre through a tailored solution that met our requirements, while not disturbing the service provision to our customers.

“To date, the technology has had a significant effect in reducing our electrical consumption.” te

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IT IN ENERGY

Drive towards digitalisation hampered by challenges Research reveals that although a majority of energy companies are on a digitalisation journey to improve interaction with customers, major barriers are hindering their progress Just 7% said there were no barriers stopping them from progressing towards full digitalisation.

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he UK energy industry is undergoing digital transformation to address a myriad of industry challenges, with 96% of respondents to an OpenText research study stating they had already set out on their journey towards digitalisation.

Respondents to the study, carried out by IDG Connect, cited multiple industry challenges for having to undertake changes, including maintaining service levels (48%), keeping customers (44%) and increasingly challenging asset management demands (41%).

Drive towards digitalisation The benefits of digitalisation in the energy sector are clearly recognised by respondents: • More seamless interaction with customers across multiple platforms (76%) • Ability to load balance with new technology (76%) • Ability to store and

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search media rich content effectively (56%) However, with nearly fourin-10 (37%) saying they “have a way to go” and only 11% claiming full digitalisation, there is much more to be done to fully embrace digital ways of working.

“With customer service riding high on the priority list of all energy organisations – largely mandated by the sector’s regulators – organisations are looking for ways to

59% Respondents who cited lack of obvious ROI as a barrier to full digitalisation

improve engagement and ensure customer experience is seamless,” said Russell Vise, sales director for energy and utilities UK at OpenText.

“The drive towards digitalisation highlights this focus. Many energy organisations struggle with outdated processes and legacy systems, making it challenging to provide a quality service to the customer, and also ensure industry compliance. Only by digitalising these practices can all requirements be met.”

However, a significant majority of organisations see several barriers halting their progress towards achieving full digitalisation, with 80% of respondents selecting three or more barriers when asked.

Top barriers included: • Lack of obvious ROI (59%) • Getting management buy-in and/or project approval (48%) • More pressing/urgent matters taking priority (44%) • Compliance requirements (44%)

The elephant in the room?

Some 89% of respondents stated that siloed data was an issue within their industry. With nearly a quarter of respondents stating that it was a huge issue impacting customer service (22%), it is a concern that cannot be ignored.

“The sheer volume of information, as well as the increasing amount of documentation required by regulatory bodies, has resulted in an information management explosion within the energy sector,” said Vise.

“If not handled correctly, silos develop, preventing the seamless information exchange required for effective customer engagement.

“For forward-thinking companies, the challenge is no longer just organising information. It’s ensuring information is accessible in ways that make it easy to extract and utilise its business value for the customer.” te OpenText commissioned IDG Connect to undertake a study involving more than 50 respondents in management positions in the energy industry in the UK and Sweden. In addition, seven top executives of energy companies in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the UK were directly interviewed for their feedback. The research took place during the first three months of 2017

June/July 2017

41

MONITORING & TARGETING

Flow and return

Micronics Portaflow 330 ultrasonic clamp on flow meters

What’s flowing where?

Portable and fixed clamp-on flow metering provides a quick fix for those needing to monitor and manage water and energy consumption in buildings, writes Micronics’ managing director Michael Farnon

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rying to get a grip on the energy flows within the hydronic systems of building services and potable water and domestic hot water services consumption can be a daunting task. What’s flowing where?

Who’s consuming what? Are the questions to be answered and starting with a clean sheet would be great but in practice we’re faced with old systems, limited drawings and a confusing and tangled mess to sort out. And when we think we’ve established the circuit or area to be investigated, how are we going to measure what’s going on?

Well the conventional solution is to install in-line meters but we are not sure we want to invest in the considerable cost of installing a fixed or permanent solution or face the disruption associated with draining down systems, cutting pipes and so on. Ideally we need a quick solution, which is cost-effective and involves minimal disruption.

The answer is clamp-on ultrasonic flow and energy meters, which are available as portable instruments for temporary investigations or fixed meters for longer-term measurement and monitoring,

as a direct alternative to conventional in-line meters.

Clamp-on ultrasonic metering is a best value, minimum disruption solution for retrofit of building services in existing buildings with no draindown or cutting of pipe-work, delivering a quick lower cost installation. And the ongoing benefits include dry servicing with minimum down time and interruption of building services.

So if you need to find out what’s flowing where to manage energy or control billing of energy or water consumption, this a tool that is easy to install and integrate with aM&T and/or BEM’s systems. te

Managers at an acute district general hospital in north and mid Bedfordshire wanted to understand their consumption of hot water, which would in turn allow them to identify the requirements for replacing their equipment with the most energy efficient.

They called in ETA Energy Systems, a Bedfordbased consultant, designer and supplier of specialised energy equipment and systems that works with the Carbon Trust to reduce energy usage.

ETA specialises in determining that pumps, flow-rates and balancing valves are correctly set.

ETA managing director Peter Richardson comments: “During our assessment of the hospital’s needs, we established full weekly hot water consumption profiles allowing equipment to be accurately selected and specified for the replacement project.

“Having considered various measurement alternatives, two Micronics PF330 meters were selected due to the ease of installation and the maintenance and service benefits delivered by this non-contact technology.”

The non-invasive measurement represented significant savings on installation costs and less disruption than installing alternative in-line meters.”

Hot water and large-scale heating surveys Surveying existing large-scale heating and HWS installations to establish a basis for installing, Environmental Treatment Concepts (ETC) found that a portable clamp-on flow meter is an ideal tool for the job.

ETC technical services manager Simon Elliot says: “The PF330 has proved to be a great tool to undertake plant surveys including identification of circulation shortfalls, even pumps going backwards. It provides a real insight into what’s going on, like having X-ray vision. And it’s also a valuable tool for demonstrating how well our installations work to improve performance and reduce energy consumption. We’ve got a lot of Public sector – MoD and hospital installations with very old pipe work where we’ve been pleased with the product performance and the ongoing service support has been there when we’ve needed it.”

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VIEWPOINT

Embedded generation is going to be discouraged, leading to increased loading of the transmission and distribution systems potentially requiring further capital investment, which will ultimately increase costs to electricity end users

Ofgem backs the big guys Ofgem’s decision to reduce the payments made to distribution connected small generators is likely to push up prices and harm future investment, writes Andrew Park, vice-chairman of independent energy consultants’ group ESTA and director of Swan Energy

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ollowing recent debate, it has been identified by Esta that all activity arising below grid supply points should be regarded as demand-side.

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Climate Change, when reporting on electricity market reform, stated: “Distributed energy – although this is technically a form of electricity generation, it is sometimes considered to be a demand-side measure because the generating capacity is connected directly to the distribution network rather than the transmission network, allowing surplus energy generated to be offset against the call on centralised generating capacity.”

Up to now any reduction in demand occurring during a Triad period has

44 June/July 2017

benefited distribution connected loads and generators by avoiding the Triad charge to the extent of the reduction in demand. (The Triads are three separate half hour periods when the demand on the national transmission system is highest.) In the past this benefit could be realised by reducing usage in these periods or by bringing in additional generation. It made no difference if the generator was connected directly to the distribution network or connected behind the end user’s supply meter.

Organisations bidding into the capacity market (CM) T-4 auctions in 2014 and 2015 (ie for delivery in 2018 and 2019) did so after factoring in the Triad benefits.

Both Ofgem and the then Department for Energy & Climate Change celebrated

the success of the capacity market T-4 auctions in 2014 and 2015, both in terms of delivering lower costs for consumers than were expected and for bringing on flexible generation. Indeed, to quote the Decc Capacity Market press release dated 19 December 2014: “The outcome is great news for consumers as fierce competition between participants has driven down costs below expected levels. The result will ensure that… enough of our existing capacity will remain open at the end of the decade as well as unlocking new investment...”

Ofgem announced before the 2016 T-4 capacity auction that it was reviewing embedded generation benefits and that there was a strong possibility that the Triad benefits for embedded generators

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were likely to be curtailed. This change benefits existing large transmission connected generators (ie the ‘big six’) at the expense of smaller generators and end users, as discussed below.

The announcement of this review was unexpected as a number of reviews had been carried out in recent years, all of which concluded without recommending a change to embedded benefits. The most recent of these was in 2014 led by National Grid. Once again no change to benefits was recommended and therefore embedded generators could not have anticipated the proposed rapid removal of embedded benefits.

Ofgem’s decision on industry proposals (CMP264 and CMP265) to change electricity transmission charging arrangements for embedded generators suggests that it is acceptable for consumers to benefit from these low CM 14 and 15 prices and then to remove the very revenue streams that

response thermal generators will now be discouraged resulting in further new capacity required and this further new capacity is likely to cost consumers more to procure • Some of the thermal plant that were successful in the 2014 and 2015 T-4 auctions may now not be built, again requiring further capacity to be needed • There is evidence that existing transmission connected thermal plant with limited hours left under the Large Combustion Plant Directive has been withdrawn from the merit order and bid into the 2016 capacity market. This creates an increased capacity gap and perpetuates the use of coal for generation • Embedded generation is now going to be discouraged leading to increased loading of the transmission and distribution systems potentially requiring further capital investment,

Distributed energy... is sometimes considered to be a demand-side measure because the generating capacity is connected directly to the distribution network rather than the transmission network investors relied upon to achieve that low CM price, before CM 14 and 15 assets are even operational. This will in all likelihood push up future CM prices and harm future investment.

The Ofgem review of embedded benefits arose from suggestions made

by SSE in a working group for the Connection and Use of System Code (Cusc) as later amended following variations put forward by EDF Energy and Scottish Power. The final recommendation of the CUSC working group was voted through by the members; of which the ‘big six’ represented more than half.

As a result, very little new embedded thermal generation plant was successful in the 2016 T-4 auction, which was dominated by existing transmission connected plants, including CCGTs, coal and nuclear.

It is Esta’s view that these changes have the following detrimental consequences for participants in the demand-side of the electricity market, both users and small generators: • Investment in new, efficient, fast

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which will ultimately increase costs to electricity end users • The reduction in new efficient embedded generation assets being built is going to have serious implications for the security of supply • In the absence of new distribution connected generation, both wholesale electricity prices and capacity payments are expected to be higher, leading to higher costs for end users We wrote to National Grid sharing these concerns, copying in Ofgem’s senior partners, and while we received a considered response from National Grid, Ofgem has yet to comment. te The Energy Services and Technology Association (Esta) is a not-for-profit association owned by its members and has for more than the past 35 years been providing support to small, medium and large enterprises and organisations that deliver energy-efficient solutions in the UK energy market. It is recognised as a leading UK authority on demand-side energy management.

LIGHTING An unobtrusive G5 LED batten in a hospital recovery room

Making LEDS smarter Integrating controls into LED lamps multiplies the energy efficiencies, writes LED Eco Lights sales and marketing director Saima ShafI

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ince 2006, we have seen great shifts in LED technology, delivering huge improvements in light output, colour rendering, reliability of electronic control gear and, of course, vast difference in purchase prices.

While these improvements will doubtless continue, other developments are taking place in parallel. Manufacturers are exploiting the inherent controllability of LED technology by integrating LED lamps and luminaires into smart buildings technology. An obvious first step is to link lighting with sensors – either built-in or connected.

Integrating motion sensors into lighting directly reduces the complexity compared with the traditional approach of using external occupancy sensors.

Thermal sensors can also be added to improve detection of personnel in specific areas.

Older solutions quickly earned notoriety amongst users, who frequently had to wave their arms

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or walk around the building in order to bring the lights back on. Siting position and thermal sensors with the lighting makes this a thing of the past.

Sensors that measure ambient light level similarly offer improvements over traditional timed switch-on/switch-off arrangements. Why turn the lights out at 7pm just because it is assumed that everyone has gone home by that time? Why wait until 7am to turn them on?

A further advantage of integrated sensors is that it removes the need for separate installation of PIR detectors and the like. Improvements in control and automation can be added step-by-step, instead of involving multiple contractors and projects. This expands the potential for including lighting into building-wide automation.

Smart technology starts learning for itself This would allow lighting to be driven by users’ habits.

For example, lighting units can be grouped together and communicate with each other so that they perform functions in harmony. Lights can be programmed to dim up and down according not only to current but also to anticipated occupancy levels. Another possibility is to switch lights on ahead of occupants moving through a long corridor, then dimmed or switched off behind.

LEDs are flicker-free, combatting presenting no issues with being turned on and off.

Another example is using central automation to control lighting in response to

emergencies. For example, all lights in a building be switched on full in the event of an evacuation, with the building automation system switching-in backup power as required. These smart luminaires can also be grouped together so that banks of units can be controlled to the same parameters. A pre-set level of lighting can be maintained across the whole area if required.

Systems such as the new Goodlight architectural lighting range of modular LED luminaires can be attached

Built-in controls will reduce the costs control allowing it to be a viable retrofit solution

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e t to

Organisations that have already made the switch to LED technology have seen energy and maintenance savings of up to 85% and 100% respectively to intelligent controls that learn how the areas in an office are used, and adjust the lighting accordingly.

In the smart building, control of lighting now goes hand-in-hand with some level of monitoring to deliver the necessary energy saving benefits. Major energy users are – or will be – finding ways to monitor their lighting usage not only to reveal patterns which will help reduce consumption but also to have a better understanding of how their buildings are being used, which can help to identify all sorts of user-related efficiencies.

What is the ROI? Measuring return on investment is not a simple calculation.

Estimating the ROI of a future installation project is especially challenging, because every building is individual. Potential adopters should look first at the returns enjoyed by organisations that have already made the switch to LED technology both in energy savings, of up to 85%, and maintenance savings of up to 100%. Goodlight has found typical return on investment calculations show full payback within three to 36 months.

To refine their estimates, new installers will typically calibrate their early estimates with real data from a pilot installation.

Naturally, there is some resistance to adopting this relatively new technology. In the

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past, lighting controls have been standalone systems, which are deemed to be quite expensive, delivering payback over decades.

Conventional wisdom is that such an approach is more pertinent for new builds than retrofits into existing buildings.

But integrating the control system within the light itself changes this model. Smart LED lamps are already relatively inexpensive, making automated lighting highly accessible. In the future, as integrated smart moves from an added extra for a lamp to a standard feature, making energy efficient lighting even more attractive not only to cost-conscious landlords, owner occupiers and facilities managers but also to users, who ultimately will gain control of the lighting in their surroundings.

Such appeal should be viewed through the prism of external regulation. While lighting itself is not governed by any specific regulatory framework, here it is possible that legislation will emerge mandating smart lighting.

Security is an issue One area of concern – and a possible subject of regulation – is the issue of security. In connected buildings, security is only as strong as its weakest link. This is particularly true if lighting automation relies on connectivity, such as to the Internet of Things. Consider, for example, a smart building in which a security breach allows hackers to turn lights on or off: on to highlight a target for physical attack; off to provide dark cover for intruders. Worse, poor security in a lighting installation could provide entry points into other systems, such as power utilities or customer records.

Despite these gloomy prognostications, the overriding advantages of connectivity and intelligence will continue to drive down the cost of intelligent lighting, with benefits right across the building automation sector. te

LIGHTING

Total control Having worked closely on some of the UK’s most intensive warehouse operations, Luxonic embarked upon a project with online retailer The Hut Group to develop a complete LED and wireless control solution. Ray Conboy recalls the experience

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he growing demand for e-commerce services means many industrial sites are facing up to the challenges of rising energy consumption and facility costs within a 24/7 operation. Many of the UK’s logistics businesses have been spurred to seek energy efficient solutions. When The Hut Group came to us with a brief to dramatically focus on energy consumption at its Warrington-based Omega site, with our long history of successfully lighting industrial projects, we felt confident that we could deliver a modern, sustainable solution.

Having surveyed the 690,000 sq ft warehouse space The Hut Group would eventually be populating, we recommended a variety of luminaires based on the purpose of each space, from mezzanine levels to production studios and aisles. To support detailed tasks taking place in studio spaces, the HI-MAX was Luxonic recommended a variety of luminaires based on the purpose of each space

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selected, while the AISLELUX was chosen for racking areas. Our CRR LED was installed within mezzanine levels and walkways to give a wide spread of light in reduced height areas.

To further tailor the lighting system to The Hut Group’s energy needs, we introduced its Omega site to wireless controls. As a more sustainable alterative to traditional DALI systems, using less copper, wireless control solutions are becoming increasingly popular within industrial and warehouse sectors. Sensors within individual light fittings require less cabling, making installation an easier and cheaper task compared to commissioning some other forms of lighting control.

Wireless systems provide users with flexible control over existing or newly fitted lighting layouts. Our Luxlink Wireless range, in particular, enables clients including Amazon to reduce energy consumption of their lighting

In-floor lux detectors measure the amount of light falling onto a surface from skylights adorning the warehouse’s ceiling, adjusting luminaire output

system, thereby saving on energy spend in the long term.

In The Hut Group’s case, each luminaire installed was grouped via the Luxlink Wireless system according to our detailed specification for how each area should be optimally controlled.

Throughout the entire build, presence detectors were installed within luminaires, wirelessly powering down lights following periods of inactivity, enabling The Hut Group to significantly reduce energy consumption onsite.

Our Luxlink Wireless system supports daylight linking technology, and in The Hut Group’s case we installed in-floor lux detectors, which measure the amount of light falling onto a surface from skylights adorning the warehouse’s ceiling. These detectors signal to surrounding luminaires, adjusting output in accordance with the levels of available natural light to further drive down unnecessary energy waste. A ‘bolt-on’ energy monitoring system was provided, allowing occupants to monitor energy consumption throughout the site. It enables the e-retailer to investigate high-usage areas and reconfigure the system to continually improve the site’s sustainability.

Through our close consultation, The Hut Group has been able to light a large-scale warehousing operation with effective control. The simplicity of the system has allowed its logistics operation to optimise overall energy usage. te

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HVAC

High output in a small space: condensing the boiler Delivering high efficiencies and outputs in the shrinking footprints of today’s plant rooms can prove a challenge but the next generation of condensing boilers are striving to deliver high output to physical size ratios. Remeha has unveiled its latest R&D development, which addresses this issue through innovative heat-exchanger design. Louise Frampton reports efficiencies of up to 97.7% for energy-saving operation.

Gas 220 Ace alongside Gas 210 Eco Pro at Samuel Whitbread Academy

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riginally founded in Holland in 1935

by Gerard van Reekum, Remeha became a pioneer of efficiency-led condensing boiler technology following the energy crisis of the 1970s. The UK’s first commercial condensing boiler, introduced into Watson House (the British Gas testing centre) in 1983, was manufactured and supplied by Remeha. Today, the company continues to invest heavily in innovation. The Energyst recently visited the company’s European manufacturing headquarters in Apeldoorn, Holland, to witness the official launch of the next generation boiler technology.

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Restricted space in pump rooms is becoming a major issue for commercial customers – particularly in the UK. People want efficient, smaller-sized boilers but they don’t want to compromise on heating output.

Remeha has looked at this and come up with a solution.

The Gas 220 Ace is the successor to the Gas 210 Eco Pro and uses proven condensing technology for central heating and indirect hot water production at working pressures up to five bar in new and existing buildings. Available in 160, 200, 250 and 300kW models with outputs from 34.7kW to 310kW, it achieves high gross seasonal

Our efficiency is consistent across all outputs – you are not compromising efficiency for size

Space saving At the heart of the newgeneration technology is a new design of heat exchanger with exceptionally high output to physical size ratio: at the top end output (300kW), it is almost half the size of previous models.

“The monobloc heat exchanger is cast from a single piece of aluminium,” explains Ryan Kirkwood, area sales manager, Scotland. “This design means that there is no welding, joins or sections, which is important in ensuring equal co-efficient of expansion.

It ensures heating reliability, efficiency and durability.”

All connections and pipework enter the top of the Gas 220 Ace, allowing the boilers to be positioned in space-saving, modular configurations. They can be cascaded in-line or in a back-to-back arrangement, which helps ensure flexibility, while making it possible to install a high heat output in a small area.

The overall footprint has been reduced by around a third.

While the previous range had been successful, the 250-300kW units had quite a large footprint, and this space is key for the customer. To put 300kW in such a reduced footprint is a significant step forward and was a major R&D undertaking, according to Remeha. However, the new model can achieve “massive outputs, while using minimal space. Remeha says that the market is moving away from »

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HVAC »

Efficiency Highlighting the boiler’s high efficiency of up to 97.7%, Kirkwood points out that the new generation technology will ensure energy savings from reduced gas usage.

“Efficiency is important – you will often find with certain boiler outputs is that is geared up for one efficiency, so it will have a peak efficiency at a specific range, then waiver throughout. Our efficiency is consistent across all outputs – you are not compromising efficiency for size.”

However, he adds: “It is important to consider the system holistically – lowering your flow temperatures, using modulation; it is all about controls. By integrating this, you can help the boiler make the system more efficient. The boiler itself is a small link in the chain. It is a very important link, but it is ultimately a link and a lot of people forget that...

If you can run the boiler at a lower flow temperature, do it.”

He adds that the water ways have to be tight to achieve the efficiencies demanded for the boiler. To achieve overall

Remeha Gas 220 Ace

efficiencies – whether it is the boiler, the pump or the radiators – modern buildings also need to have good, clean, dosed water systems.

Maintenance and installation Time spent on site also needs to be minimised and the unit has been designed for ease of maintenance and installation.

“The more solutions can be prefabricated and brought to site in a controlled manner the better, but how you send a boiler to site is also important,” comments Kirkwood. He points out that sometimes the most ‘blindly obvious solutions’ are overlooked and the logistics of how to physically get a unit into a space can prove challenging.

“Our boilers come with pallets, which then become ramps or act as ‘skis’. Because the units are on wheels, they can be easily rolled and manoeuvred into place. It

The smaller footprint gives us greater accessibility within our plant rooms and we also like the enhanced control platform. It’s small, simple and accessible 52 June/July 2017

“which means there’s no need to dismantle the boiler to get to it when servicing.”

The heart of the Gas 220 Ace is its pioneering control platform with time and temperature controls supplied as standard.

The enhanced, back-lit panel simplifies input and control for end-users while new parameter codes provide heating engineers with access to greater technical detail for rapid, straightforward servicing and diagnostics.

Tristan Mitchell, facilities manager at Galliford Try, First UK installation facilities management provider Ease of maintenance and for Samuel Whitbread Academy installation were among the PFI, comments: “The smaller key benefits highlighted footprint gives us greater by contractors at a recent accessibility within our plant installation in the UK. The first rooms and we also like the Gas 220 Ace was installed in enhanced control platform. It’s the UK at Samuel Whitbread small, simple and accessible.”

Academy in Shefford, replacing He adds: “We have instructed an existing 13-year-old Gas 210 our installer to proceed with the Eco Pro and serving the Arts Gas 220 Ace for the remaining and Drama block that houses four boilers to be installed this the school’s main hall, theatre year. This is mainly down and activities hall. to the accessibility Heating engineer, the smaller unit Ashley Jones gives us within of Spa Gas, our plant rooms comments: but also the fact “A lot of The boiler’s efficiency that the new thought has across a broad range interface allows gone into the for faster, clearer packaging and of outputs and simpler pallet design user control.” to simplify and speed up installation.

Next steps in Disconnecting the old boiler evolution Gas 210 Eco Pro, unpacking The next steps forward on the the new Gas 220 Ace and then horizon for boiler technology positioning it in the plant room will be predictive maintenance took just an hour and a half.” and Remeha has been investing The reduced footprint heavily in R&D in this area. and lighter weight were also The company revealed that winning features. Jones adds: field trials are now underway “The Gas 220 Ace is a nice across Europe. “Everything size – it’s light and extrawe do in terms of the design of compact which makes it easy controls has one eye on this,” says to handle as well as providing Wichard Elverding, manager more working space. I also like (intercompany) at Remeha. the integrated wheels which “We are aware that the make it easier to manoeuvre market is changing. There the boiler into final position.” is an increasing demand The Gas 220 Ace features a for digital data and we new ‘click and go’ condensate are making our products drain positioned underneath, ready for this, as well future rather than inside, the boiler. proofing them for impending “This is really easy to connect regulations,” he concludes. te and access,” continues Jones, is a really simple but important feature which contractors really like,” says Kirkwood.

The boiler also has an internal light, as a safety feature. As soon as the maintenance engineer opens the boiler they can see inside; they don’t have to use a torch. Other safety features include a differential air pressure sensor. If the pressure differential is more than 6 millibar, it knows there is a problem with the flue and it will shut the boiler off.

having one or two large boilers towards lots of smaller modular boilers that allow designers a good turn down ratio and match the building load.

The boilers can be scaled up and down, and ‘mixed and matched’. If 350 kW is required, for example, a 160 kw and 300 kW can be located side by side.

Remeha says that it has previously cascaded as many as 16 units in one installation.

97.7%

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HVAC

Heat recovery from sewers Grant support to facilitate installation of heat recovery systems in five locations across Scotland

Beneath our streets there is an alternative energy source that so far has been ignored

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ollowing the recent announcement by Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon at this year’s All Energy Event in Glasgow, SHARC Energy Systems, the European arm of Vancouver-based International Wastewater Systems, has been awarded grant support to facilitate the installation of SHARC waste water heat recovery systems at five locations across Scotland.

SHARC’s technology that allows sewers to be used to generate renewable heat – producing savings in energy, costs and carbon emissions – will be used to demonstrate how the solution can be

deployed across a wide range of geographies to support both urban and rural customers, as well as a platform for wide scale low carbon district heating.

Funding from the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) – managed through the Scottish government – has been granted to enable the development of the five new projects.

Under the plans, SHARC’s ‘heat-from-waste water’ technology is earmarked to heat Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow, a leisure centre and public library in Campeltown, a leisure centre in Orkney and a new district heating scheme at the Clyde Gateway

regeneration project in Glasgow.

The LCITP funding is being matched by commercial finance that will facilitate the required capital investment to establish local energy centres that will generate their income from sales of heat to the customers involved.

Scottish Water Horizons and SHARC Energy Systems have been collaborating over the past three years to promote the adoption of sewage heat recovery in Scotland, and last year announced their intentions to form a strategic alliance, and both parties see the LCITP announcement as playing a key role in building on their work to use Scotland’s

water resources to help generate renewable energy.

Already deployed in North America and Europe, the SHARC technology works by using a heat pump to amplify the warmth of waste water in sewers – such as from showers, dishwashers and washing machines. This generates an energy-saving system for heating, cooling and hot water production in commercial premises and homes.

Paul Kerr, recently appointed head of Scottish Water Horizons, said: “Beneath our streets there is an alternative energy source that so far has been ignored.

“With 32,000 miles of sewers pipes across Scotland and Scottish Water treating more than 900 million litres of waste water every year, the opportunities presented from this technology are clear to see.

“Using the sewer network to transfer heat means that the heat source can be used to supply heat to the customer as close as possible to the customer’s premises.

This minimises the cost and disruption of installing new heat pipes in the street.” te

SWEP secures 100 Bishopsgate BPHE order

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WEP, a leading supplier of compact brazed plate heat exchangers (BPHEs), has won the contract to supply BPHEs to the 100 Bishopsgate project in the heart of the City of London. Consultant Hilson Moran has designed the project.

A total of 64 BPHEs will be supplied to the 40-storey Brookfield Development building, which will provide best-inclass office and retail accommodation.

The BPHEs will help ensure comfortable heating and cooling

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conditions for occupants and visitors.

The contract will see SWEP supply its B649 BPHE model, a gasket-free heat exchanger that can handle up to 10MW. Third party performance testing to verify the heat transfer performance was carried out by the German company DMT, with B649 performing well beyond minimum performance requirements.

Last year, SWEP achieved AHRI (Air-conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute) certification for its product range. te

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HVAC

Unlocking further revenue from flexible refrigeration Many businesses operating in the commercial refrigeration sector have taken advantage of static frequency response contracts. However, now these contracts have reduced in value, it could be time to unlock further flexibility – and revenue, says Limejump head of industrial and commercial Jason Stocks with energy storage, we act as one powerful balancing tool, using big data and cloud-based innovation. Our VPP uses sophisticated algorithms and automated processes to call on individual assets to swiftly turn consumption up or down.

We remove traditional market constraints and create a level playing field for assets to operate and trade on the wholesale markets, while also Price per MWh for a maximising revenue dynamic contract vs possibilities by to 30 participating in grid minutes, as low as £3 balancing products. there could for static Temperature deadbe limiting bands or other operational parameters constraints are accounted for the asset’s for, and assets are monitored ability to perform open in real time to ensure that market dynamic frequency participation has no impact response requirements. on business operations.

Commercial refrigeration Businesses can choose businesses can, however, when to make their assets unlock even further flexibility available and can maintain and revenue through working control of them, even if their with an aggregator that involvement is automated. offers a portfolio approach The commercial refrigeration to frequency response. This sector has assets that are highly is where a number of assets suited to frequency response, across multiple organisations and it plays a vital role in and industries are brought balancing the grid. Unlocking together – enabling businesses flexibility enables businesses to to access lucrative frequency earn money, reduce costs and response contracts and truly optimise their sites to get increasing the financial rewards. the best possible outcome when At Limejump, we go it comes to energy consumption. beyond the capabilities of However, the key to unlocking traditional aggregation by this potential lies in combining bringing together a number of flexibility with big-data and different assets across multiple hyper-responsive asset control, industries through our Virtual responding to real-time signals Power Plant (VPP). Pooling the on a sub-second basis. te flexibility of businesses along Taking advantage of assets with dynamic frequency response – from chillers to refrigeration units in retail

£20

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ommercial refrigeration businesses have always been ideal candidates for firm frequency response (FFR). They often have a wide variety of appropriate assets, such as cold and chilled stores, on site (and sometimes across multiple sites). These assets can be fast responding, and can be turned up or down without having any impact on their performance, or the temperature dead-bands they need to operate within.

The majority of commercial refrigeration businesses participating in frequency response have been involved in non-dynamic (static) contracts – where consumption is turned up or down within 30 seconds and held at that level for 30 minutes. However, we have recently seen static payments plummet; whereas businesses could once rely on annual contracts of about £10/MWh, values have now fallen to as low as £3/MWh

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in open market contracts.

This is because grid requirements are changing.

With renewable generation – which is unpredictable in nature – becoming more commonplace, the speed of response needs to be even faster and even more flexible to keep grid frequency within the required boundary of 1% of 50Hz. With speed being the name of the game, dynamic frequency response has become a much more lucrative revenue stream for businesses, especially those with assets that are flexible enough to respond instantaneously, and will therefore have an immediate impact on grid frequency. In fact, dynamic contract values are over six times higher than static contract rates – payments can be as much as £20/MWh. Variable speed drive compressors running refrigeration plant are ideal for dynamic frequency response contracts. However, unless this asset can be available for up

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VIEWPOINT

Disruption is headed your way, and it’s OK UKAEE’ president Rajvant Nijjhar puts some perspectives on the new energy world era we live in

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he year is 2026. You come home from work and park up your EV car into your solar PV-clad home. Your app registers this and logs into your local energy club – a community group within your neighbourhood with one central battery storage power pack storing energy from all solar PV generation systems in the area that are tagged into your club.

While you sleep, at 2.30 am, your app registers to buy from the clubs’ battery pack – it is at the best pricing deal. Your EV charges up. At 7am you wake up and drive to work. At lunchtime, you return home as you have childcare duties. As you stop by the local supermarket, your app tells you to sell, into the grid – it is at the best pricing deal. It is a sunny day and the supermarket could use some energy to chill food; the national grid is at maximum capacity generation.

At the end of the month, a settlement occurs and you have optimised your own storage as well as the grids’ use. You are either rewarded with credits (as you were a smart prosumer and sold into your club more than you used) or invoiced.

A typical system The International Electrotechnical Commission, Committee Draft on Smart Grids is working to put together a standard that will refer to the GridWise Architectural Council Model (NIST, 2012) in which several process layers identified: • Organisational – including business processes and procedures, business objective, economic and

58 June/July 2017

regulatory frameworks.

• Informational – including semantic understanding and business context i.e. data structures • Technical – including syntactic and network interoperability i.e. ability to get messages across, and basic connectivity At a recent ISO meeting in Beijing, China (June 2017), a New Work Item Proposal was put forward by China National Standards, which is currently trading peer to peer energy in a pilot using a blockchain system.

The standard, Guidance for Managing Smart Energy System Optimisation, has identified several layers: system evaluation, system interfaces, energy trading, cloud services, O&M management, multi-energy dispatching, multi-energy planning, overall architecture function. This standard is at least four years from publication.

Potential issues This scenario leads to a question of how to deal with: a) security, b) the role of the big six energy supply companies, and c) settlement and energy pricing.

Firstly, in a more decentralised system of an energy club, it is going to be harder to bring down several nodes (or energy clubs) in a cyberattack than it is for

one node (eg big six supplier).

Indeed, EVs are considered as having significant potential for increasing energy security (as well as reducing carbon emissions, and improving local air quality). However, clearly those ledger systems that settle your invoice or provide rewards at the end of a pre-determined period will need to be backed up for protection at a local area network and system security will need to be a major thought in the design of any process

to the issue of security from data loss of these meters.

Finally, pricing models would need to be revisited and rewarded to reflect grid demand management. Inevitably, with more individuals and energy clubs having the power of pricing in their own hands, the widely known projections of various scenarios of rising energy prices might need to be revisited. Which has a snap-back effect that none of us working in the energy efficiency areas

The next few years will bring progressive leaps and bounds in the technology in this area… people have more and more power than they realised before Secondly, the energy suppliers will need to change their business model or die.

Clearly, infrastructure costs will need to be met somewhere – which could lead itself into new disruptive models of the financing of the infrastructure of these energy clubs.

As we know with energy performance contracting in the UK currently, there is still a great amount of learning with respect to the measurement and verification of energy.

Low cost metering will deal with this aspect – and so back

The AEE is holding its 40th World Energy Engineering Congress in Atlanta, US from 27-29 September, open to all to attend. The World Energy Engineering Congress (WEEC) is the largest energy conference and technology expo held in the US specifically for business, industrial and institutional energy users. It brings together the top experts in all areas of the field to help you set a clear, optimum path to energy efficiency, facility optimisation and sustainability. For more details visit: energycongress.com

want to see, as we know that higher prices are a driver for improving the payback of energy efficiency projects. The bestcase scenario would be the cost of infrastructure will balance the better trading and keep prices where they are currently, by the time 2026 arrives.

The next few years will bring progressive leaps and bounds in the technology in this area. As we have also seen with recent political turmoil, people have more and more power than they realised before. The power is now in the hands of the people, and those smart organisations will need to consider disruption as the norm and working disruptively too by listening to the consumer. The new energy world is upon us, and it’s OK. te See the full article at theenergyst.com

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WATER MANAGEMENT

Savings boost for business Approximately 1.2 million businesses in England now have control over who supplies their water.

Utilitywise claims they could collectively save as much as £200m on their water bills

F

igures released by Utilitywise have suggested that businesses in England could collectively save up to £200m on their water bills.

This follows deregulation of the English water market, giving business owners the chance to renegotiate their existing water contracts or look to a new supplier.

Utilitywise estimates that savings on water tariffs will be about 10%, dependent on region. The water market in England is valued at £2bn, and 1.2million businesses now have direct control over who supplies their water.

In the month following water deregulation on 1 April, Utilitywise received more than 50,000 business engagements regarding water supply. This represents a 740% increase from the month prior to deregulation, as business owners look to take advantage of potential savings on their water

bill in a time of economic uncertainty and rising costs.

While the initial response to water deregulation has been encouraging, there are potentially hundreds of thousands of businesses that are missing out on its benefits. Separate research from Ofwat, the industry regulator, and Utilitywise both revealed that less than half of the 1.2 million business responsible for their own water supply were aware that they would soon have a choice of water retailer.

Utilitywise CEO Brendan Flattery said: “A deregulated market could produce savings of as much as 10%, as well as improved service and greater choice. To complement this, bundled utilities contracts, such as those offered by Utilitywise – which combine electricity, gas and water – have shown to save businesses up to 25%. Ofwat has a responsibility to ensure that these companies are aware

A deregulated market could produce savings of as much as 10%, as well as improved service and greater choice

of the water options open to them and to push for greater margins of savings for smaller businesses.”

Andy Poole, specialist water policy advisor at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: “We believe the new water market will bring opportunities for many small businesses to take advantage of the different services and tariffs on offer.

Competition should drive up services, standards and trust for small business customers.

We encourage businesses to examine what they are being offered by their current supplier and compare it with what others are offering. They should look at price, advice and support, innovation and technology, customer service, combined utilities and other additional services.

There’s no need to rush into a new contract you’re not sure about. See what suits you best before making an informed decision.” te

Dignity consolidates procurement

W

ater procurement for Dignity, a UK leader in funeralrelated services, has been won

by Inteb Managed Services following the company’s Inteb’s successful electricity and gas automatic meter reading (AMR) and data rollout project.

With the newly deregulated water market in England, Inteb is now looking to place business on behalf of Dignity with a smaller number of suppliers to cut the administration burden

60 June/July 2017

of handling its current list of 20-plus providers.

Inteb will also be negotiating water contracts with shortlisted water suppliers to agree discounted rates for Dignity to cut its utility costs in line

with the business’ ongoing utilities efficiency strategy.

Inteb’s commercial director Raja Khan (left) said: “Dignity will be able to obtain bestvalue water rates from open market tenders and minimise the internal administrative onus of managing water contracts and understanding market changes.

“Operating with a more competitive water supply market can result in improved customer service, too.”

As part of the partnership

operation, Dignity will now be considering the implementation of water AMR to its high water-consuming properties and putting in place water efficiency measures to reduce actual water usage and costs in addition to tariff reductions.

Dignity, whose headquarters are in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, and has 3,000plus employees, owns more than 790 funeral locations and operates more than 40 crematoria in the UK. te

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OBITUARY

Bill Wright, 1953-2017 Energy management has lost a champion – a man who seems to have been universally praised for his knowledge, dry wit and passion. He died in hospital surrounded by his family after a long battle with cancer

“H

e was a superb electrical engineer and I witnessed many detailed chats with voltage optimisation guys,” comments long-term associate Andrew Jones. “They definitely came off worse having begun confidently but then promising to get their real tech guy to talk to him. He obviously had superior knowledge but he never talked down to anyone or wanted to show them up.

He let nice guys down gently.

“A number of us used to bump into him near the bar at various events, and out of those friendly argumentative chats grew the idea for a more formal retailers’ body.

We formed The Retail Energy Forum that shared energy knowledge and best practice ... and began with an evening networking session in a suitable restaurant. The next day meeting always began late. Founder members included myself from Boots The Chemists, Mervyn Bowden from M&S, Ken Carter from Tesco, Julius Brinkworth from Sainsburys, Mike Hepworth from WH Smith, Richard England from Asda, Nigel Holden from the Coop and Andy Francis from B&Q. We were a closeknit, knowledgeable and challenging group who would not have gained such national and government aclaim without Bill’s leadership.

We, and the many REF members who have come after us, will miss his quiet authoratative manner, his input, his summaries and, of course, his intelligent

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and often very dry wit.”

It has been clear from LinkedIn comments that Bill Wright commanded universal respect, was loved and will be sorely missed by his old REF friends, former colleagues and the wide energy and environmental fraternity.

After graduating from Trinity Hall, Cambridge University in 1975, he spent the early part of his career in the civil service, latterly working for now privatised Qinetiq as head of test services.

A chartered electrical engineer, he then moved to the John Lewis Partnership, where he held a variety of roles over a 25-year period, including chief electrical engineer and corporate energy manager After leaving John Lewis in 2009, he became a consultant at his own company, where he was director at Wright Energy and Environment.

He was also the ECA’s head of Energy Solutions, a role in which he made a major

and sustained contribution, with his vast knowledge of technical and energy matters.

A fellow of the IET, he also played a key role in the development of previous and the latest Wiring Regulations.

He also held a variety of non-executive roles at bodies including Electrical Safety First, Gas Safety Trust, SummitSkills and NICEIC. From 2013-14, he

was also ‘Master of the City of London ‘Lightmongers’ Livery Company’.

His interests included sailing and hill walking. He had an abundance of energy and enthusiasm and approached everything with a smile and a great sense of humour.

His passing is a great loss to all who knew him and our sympathies are with his family at this difficult time. te

Thoughts from his contemporaries There was not enough space for all of the comments that were sent to The Energyst, but here is a small selection of what Bill meant to to those who worked woith him and knew him: “He was a lovely English gentleman with a great sense of humour and an incredibly knowledgeable engineer. He will be greatly missed.”

“Great loss, lovely bloke, really helpful to myself when I worked on a number of JLP fit outs.”

“Bill was truly a great guy. I worked with him for many years and he always had a sense of humor and excellent engineering knowledge. He will be missed.

“What sad news – a really nice guy and he knew his stuff.”

“Really sad and shocking news! Bill was a fantastic guy to work with and had a big influence on the sector. He had a deep knowledge of how buildings ACTUALLY operate and was a truly nice guy. Bill always brought something new to the conversation, an engaging speaker and writer. A loss to us all. Sad, sad news.”

“I remember Bill particularly for his quiet insistence on high standards in all that he became involved in. A great example to others in the industry and will be substantially missed by all who knew him.”

June/July 2017

61

PRODUCTS 800kW CHP system to Boston Scientific Finning UK & Ireland has supplied a combined heat and power solution to the Boston Scientific manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland, delivering energy-saving efficiencies of up to 23,328kWh of primary energy per day.

The site, which manufactures more than 5.6 million life-saving devices for the company’s cardiology, rhythm management and vascular group, endoscopy and urology and pelvic health divisions, has invested in an 800kW gas-fired CHP unit to

help cut energy costs, improve operational efficiencies and increase sustainability.

The CHP system generates electricity onsite while also capturing the usable heat that is produced during this process. In contrast with conventional means of generating electricity, which are typically only 40% fuelefficient with all the potential heat energy simply going to waste, CHP technology can increase a site’s energy efficiency dramatically, with Boston Scientific now achieving a total efficiency rating of 87.7% when compared with conventional

Easy maintenance and sustainability KPIs Developments in Shire Systems’ new version of the Pirana CMMS, for maintaining assets and controlling maintenance operations include new modules for maintenace and sustainability. The enhanced key performance indicators utility delivers an instant view into maintenance efficiency and process performance.

The KPI module interface has been advanced and new metrics added to highlight the worst performing assets, monitor uptime and regulate costs.

It is easy to schedule work, control costs and meet regulatory compliance and the work scheduler supports reduced downtime and minimal resource wastage, which in turn frees up extra time and slashes costs.

Shire Systems can advise on or supply a range of devices including those that are ruggedised, drop tested, submersible, IP67, ATEX compliant, integral barcode or RFID scanner.

Pirana CMMS delivers: • Asset, meter and task registers • Checklists and condition monitoring (servicing and inspection)

62 June/July 2017

• Preventative maintenance, work scheduling and requests • Meter readings and routes.

• Stock, inventory and purchasing control • Costs and charges management (ideal for contractors) • Management KPIs

and reporting • Document and image management • Personalised dashboar • Detailed reporting • Extensive security options • Customisable • Choice of language.

• Rapid deployment Setup options • On-premise (installed on your own network) • On-demand (cloud) standalone (laptop/PC) • Mobile Pirana CMMS software is scalable and there are no hidden costs. Contact Shire for a free trial or demo.

electricity generation.

Featuring a containerised, Cat CG132-16 natural gas-fired generator set with an electrical output of 800kWe at 400 volts,

the system will also generate up to 406kWt from the engine’s water jacket circuit and 450kWt from the exhaust, providing low temperature hot water that can be used for the site’s utility building services and manufacturing processes.

Offering a payback period of less than three years, Niall Ahern, facilities engineer at Boston Scientific, explains: “We began the process of looking to improve our operational efficiencies more than two years ago, with CHP offering the best all-round investment for us in terms of cost, efficiency and sustainability.”

Faster to install than other Rogowski cables Carlo Gavazzi has launched a Rogowski coil solution for the popular EM210MV threephase energy meter for retrofit applications. The ROG4K Rogowski solution, which significantly does not require an external power supply or external integrator, makes installations faster and simpler, thanks to the meter’s selfpower supply from the voltage reference inputs, automatic phase detection with wrongphase-sequence warning and fast application-oriented programming procedure.

Current measurements are carried out by means of a ROG4K flexible current sensor, which has a hole diameter from 115mm to 275mm and can measure a primary current from 20 to 4000Amps and guarantees Class 1 accuracy. It includes three coils in different colours to simplify the work of the installer and a secondary cable terminal with tag of the same coil colour to simplify

and minimie wiring errors.

The EM210MV series offers single phase variables such as THD, Neutral current and hour counter to link the energy consumption to the relevant working hours as well as, compatibility with the CTV versions. Available in two input voltage ranges, MV53 or MV63, and 333mV current signal as well as the new Rogowski cables.

The EM210 MV has a selection of variables which can be programmed providing for active and reactive energy measurement or a complete set of 3-phase variables from six application options. Options include: system variables such as W, var, PF, Hz and phase-sequence; single-phase variables including A, PF and THD (A, V, up to 15th Harmonic); relevant phase to phase and phase to neutral voltages and phase currents. It can also calculate the neutral current instantaneous value.

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Lighting the way to greater energy savings Orchard Energy is advising businesses to act ahead of the upcoming DCP228 legislation, which will change the way that many firms are charged for their energy use.

The new legislation is expected to be enforced by Ofgem in April 2019, which means businesses have less than two years to ready themselves. The legislation will change the way that customer tariffs are calculated and could drastically impact energy bills.

DCP228 will reduce charges made during peak ‘red’ energy use periods but businesses

that use energy during ‘amber’ and ‘green’ periods could see their bills go up.

Business owners are being encouraged to seek advice and re-examine when energy is consumed to ensure they are not stung by the changes.

Orchard Energy managing director Amar Hussain said: “Orchard Energy can advise business owners on how DCP228 will affect their business, what opportunities there are for savings to be made and how business owners can mitigate against possible rising bills.”

Quorn delivers healthy carbon savings Veolia is helping Quorn Foods advance its sustainability goals by delivering energy using combined heat and power technology.

As the first global brand in their sector to achieve Carbon Trust certification of its carbon footprint figures, Quorn Foods will now be able to guarantee the energy needs of its production facilities and reduce carbon emissions by a further 3100 tonnes per year.

With the focus on further reducing the carbon footprint, Veolia will design and install a 2MWe CHP unit and combination boiler that will provide low-carbon electricity, hot water and steam to the production facility at Stokesley, North Yorkshire.

Quorn, part of the Monde

Nissin Corporation, is a meatfree brand with sales of about £150m, and increasing the energy efficiency is part of a £30m investment to boost production and drive growth.

The CHP will deliver approximately 13GWh of electricity each year, which will provide stable energy costs that are less susceptible to energy market price changes. Also included in the contract is a 10-year operation and maintenance service.

Large companies and public sector can do more to reduce emissions The largest public and private organisations in the UK can do more to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, according to Philips Lighting.

The company’s analysis of the most recent data published by the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme reveals that organisations included in the scheme emitted a total of more than 41 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide during the 2015/16 period. This is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of 8.7 million passenger vehicles driven for a year, or the CO2 emissions from the electricity usage of 6 million homes for a year.

Yet only a third (32%) of these organisations confirmed they disclose carbon emission reduction targets in their annual reporting, with 15% saying they do not and more than half (53%) refusing to disclose

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whether they do or not.

Similarly, only 29% of organisations disclosed their performance against carbon emission reduction targets, with 16% not disclosing their performance and 55% not confirming whether they do or not.

Less than half of the organisations reporting to the scheme (45%) say they actively engage employees to reduce carbon emissions at work.

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is a mandatory carbon emissions reporting and pricing scheme that covers large public and private sector organisations in the UK that use more than 6,000MWh

of electricity per year and have at least one half-hourly meter settled on the halfhourly electricity market.

The sectors targeted by the scheme generate more than 10% of UK CO2 emissions.

Philips Lighting’s analysis reveals that private sector companies reporting to the scheme averaged 22,929 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions last year. To absorb this level of CO2, 4,586ha of forest would be required; the equivalent of 6,423 soccer fields.

The 496 public bodies reporting to the scheme averaged only 13% less, emitting 19,839 tonnes of

CO2 during the year.

There are relatively straightforward actions organisations can take that can make a significant difference in a short space of time. For instance with Philips InterAct Office, real estate owners do not have to rip out and replace existing cabling. The system uses wireless gateways that connect the lamps and luminaires. By combining high-efficiency LED lighting with connected system management, energy savings of up to 70% can be achieved.

Philips InterAct Office is set to be introduced in the UK later this year.

June/July 2017

63

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Q&A

Steve Retford Energy Management’s CEO on Newcastle United FC supporters, being separated at birth from Austin Powers and rivalling Usain Bolt that amount on doing it up.

Trouble is, with two flat tyres and dust all over it, it still looks like it’s worth £2k

Who would you least like to share a lift with? Why? Any Newcastle fans. As a lifelong Sunderland supporter, they’d be unbearable after a season in which they won promotion and we went down.

If you were blessed with any talent, what would your dream job be and why?

A pro golfer. I love a challenge and, mentally, golf challenges you like no other sport I’ve ever played. One day you can play like a champ, the next like a chump.

You’re God for the day. What’s the first thing you do?

I’d put a smile on everyone’s faces, as life’s too short to be grumpy.

If you could travel back in time to a period in history, what would it be and why?

I wouldn’t mind going back 1,000 years ago to see if I could not only survive but thrive. With my engineering knowledge, it would also be interesting to see what could have been done differently to advance society.

Who or what are you enjoying listening to? (music, radio etc) Despite being in my mid-40s, I still like listening to Radio 1, especially ‘Innuendo Bingo’.

What unsolved mystery would you like the answers to?

I’d love to know what really went on with the

moon landing in 1969. I have my doubts as to the accuracy of the official accounts.

What would you take to a desert island and why?

I’ve had a guitar for about 12 years and I still haven’t got past three chords, and even they don’t sound very good! I might get up to four chords if I had time on my hands to practise. Failing that, it would come in handy as fire wood/fishing line.

What’s your favourite film (or book) and why?

Austin Powers. It’s like we’ve been separated at birth!

If you could perpetuate a myth about yourself, what would it be?

I’m exactly the same speed as Usain Bolt (if you drop us both out of an aeroplane at the same time).

What would your super power be and why?

I’d love to see into the future. That way, I might be able to back one of my greyhounds to win.

What would you do with a million pounds?

Flatten Avonvale RFC’s rugby pitch.

It must have a 10-degree slope from side to side; it’s a nightmare to run on.

What’s your greatest extravagance?

I own a classic XJS. It cost £2k and I’ve spent eight times

I’m exactly the same speed as Usain Bolt (if you drop us both out of an aeroplane at the same time) 66 June/July 2017

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

If you’re ever nervous about something, just think of the Queen on the toilet.

What irritates you the most in life?

Lateness. I hate running late, it stresses me out.

What should energy users be doing to help themselves in the current climate?

Be open-minded to change and not bury their heads in the sand. Like domestic users, a lot of people in business shy away from switching energy suppliers because they like the easy life, but that can cost them a lot of money.

What’s the best thing – work wise – that you did recently?

Joining Energy Management.

The company has been built on firm foundations and the heights to which it can reach are, in my opinion, unlimited. te

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