Electric Vehicles

Geting Oxford ready for Net Zero

Tim Rose of Pivot Power explains how Energy Superhub Oxford’s integrated approach to decarbonising power hopes to make Oxford a shining example for other cities aspiring towards net zero around the UK.

 storage, low-carbon heating, and smart energy management to improve wair quality and accelerate Oxford’s zero-carbon journey.

The £41 million urban decarbonisation project will unlock significant emissions reductions across power, heat and transport as part of the programme to decarbonise Oxford by 2040 – saving 10,000 tonnes of CO2 every year, equivalent to taking over 2,000 cars off the road, increasing to 25,000 tonnes by 2032.

Cutting edge battery system

The battery system stores renewable energy at times of high supply and will provide flexibility as renewable energy is scaled up. During periods when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, the battery will discharge, which helps to ensure electricity is secure and reliable throughout the day. According to the project’s partners, technology like this will be essential if the UK is to reach its goals of 50GW of offshore wind and 70GW of solar capacity by the 2030s, as well as fully decarbonising electricity by 2035.

The system combines a 2MW/5MWh vanadium flow battery with a 50MW/50MWh lithium-ion battery that can balance the intermittency of renewable energy. The system will be controlled and managed by Wärtsilä’s GEMS Digital Energy Platform and optimised by Habitat Energy’s AI-enabled battery trading system.

Pivot Power plans to deploy up to 40 Energy Superhubs across the UK, with the next two projects already underway in Coventry and Sandwell. Once complete, the network could provide almost 10 per cent of the energy storage that the UK is predicted to require by 2035. And as the flagship Superhub city, Oxford is leading by example to show how ambitious local councils can accelerate their net zero plans. The city recently set out its plans to reach net zero by 2040 and reduce emissions by 40% by 2030.

Ground source heat pumps

Energy Superhub Oxford has also supported the installation of over 60 ground source heat pumps for social housing properties in Oxford, helping to alleviate the reliance on fossil fuel-based heating that has pushed energy prices to record levels and placed increased strain on working families.

The heat pumps combine smart controls and dynamic energy pricing, using machine learning to create a model for heating the property based on occupant’s preference and building fabric.

According to Oxford City Council, residents who have already received the heat pumps have reported running cost savings of over 50 per cent – a 25 per cent increase over a standard ground source heating system.

Councillor Imogen Thomas, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Climate Justice, Oxford City Council, said: “Oxford has a history of being ambitious as we look to adopt new and exciting transport approaches in our city. Redbridge was the location of the country’s first full running Park & Ride in 1973, and now almost 50 years later, we are home to Europe’s most powerful electric vehicle charging hub. In order to achieve a Zero Carbon Oxford by 2040 we need to encourage uptake in electric vehicles, and drivers want to know that they can charge their vehicles quickly and efficiently. The completion of Energy Superhub Oxford is an exciting step for our city and the future of EV charging.” L

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Owain Pearce, Transport Manager at Oxford Direct Services

“ODS, together with a select number of other authorities, considers itself a pioneer in the public sector fleet world. We have been a strong advocate for green fleets having operated electric vehicles for well over a decade. Over the last few years ODS has rapidly grown its electric fleet and introduced a number of specialist EVs such as an electric refuse collection vehicle, a sweeper, an excavator and we’ve recently converted a milk float for street cleaning services. We also provide home charging for a number of our remote working operatives. This fleet improvement supports Oxford City Council’s emissions policies and prepared our operations for the launch of the UK’s first Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) in Oxford’s city centre in February 2022.” The battery system stores renewable energy at times of high supply and will provide flexibility as renewable energy is scaled up

FURTHER INFORMATION

www.energysuperhuboxford.org

A smarter way to light up Edinburgh

Street lighting is the biggest user of energy for most local authorities and one of the few areas with a proven payback to help meet carbon reduction targets. The City of Edinburgh’s award-winning four year upgrade is estimated to save £54 million over 20 years

City of Edinburgh Council are celebrating after taking home the top prize in the category Energy Project of the Year – Public at this years’ energy Awards, which recognises the work the team have undertaken over the past four years to upgrade Edinburgh’s streetlights - improving visibility and helping the city to reduce its carbon emissions. Working with contractor Amey and asset managemernt consultancy Currie & Brown, the upgrading and maintenance programme began in June 2018 and has involved more than 55,000 streetlights, approximately 1,600 street lighting column replacements and various auxiliary electrical elements throughout the streets of Edinburgh. This renewal has helped the city reduce CO2 emissions in compliance with SEEP (Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme). This estimates saving the local authority in excess of £54 million over a 20-year period.

Reducing light pollution

LED street lighting offers a sustainable and environmentally friendly option for motorways, car parks, residential areas, public transport stations and more. In addition, directing only the amount of light that is needed in a concentrated output has seen a reduction in light pollution - particularly relevant in urban locations. Savings vary, but typically up to 75 per cent of the energy used by high intensity discharge lamps can be saved by switching to LED streetlighting supported by

a central management system (CMS) by Telensa. This allows lighting levels to be varied as the use of an area changes throughout the hours of darkness, whilst accurately recording the changes in energy use for each streetlight which is on an unmetered supply. The CMS also negates the need for someone to drive around at night looking for outages as it automatically Working in a city with UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the contractors faced many challenges including replacing many heritage lanterns reports any issues. Contractor Amey used a tracker to manage the inventory and provide full oversight of 65,000 units - from what the original lantern was, what the new E