Renewables and the Environment

SPECIAL REPORT: RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

2 SPECIAL REPORT: RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

WOOD YOU BELIEVE IT?

SHINING THROUGH

GROW YOUR OWN

WORKING FOR A GREEN REGION

David Clubb outlines an age old answer to today’s questions

Lyn Miles has a sunny outlook

John Brady champions the power of plants

Andrew Mill on the role of research

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Leading the way

to a Sustainable future

NaREC is an independent, cross-disciplined research and development platform serving developers, manufacturers and investors in new and renewable energy worldwide. In partnership with industry, NaREC is achieving new breakthroughs in the design, deployment and commercialisation of sustainable energy technologies, shaping the future through innovation.

In the move towards sustainability, NaREC works with the power industry to evolve electrical networks and systems to accommodate the changing characteristics of energy resources. Upholding high industry standards for testing and certification, we are dedicated to preserving the integrity of the electrical network through innovation.

Developing the Wind Turbines of Tomorrow

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www.narec.co.uk email: webmailin@narec.co.uk tel: 01670 359 555

AT THE HEART OF INNOVATION

CONTENTS

CONTACTS

04 NEWS

ADVERTISING

The regions developments in delivering a green agenda

12 GREEN LIGHT Peter Jackson argues leadership needs to seize this great opportunity

16 A GREEN REGION Andrew MIll on the power of research

SPECIAL REPORT: RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

WELCOME No business today can afford to ignore the environment. Not only is the planet’s future of as much concern to business people and their families as anyone else, they know that customers and legislators will increasingly demand that business leads the way in protecting the planet.

But the green agenda is fast developing and companies often struggle to keep up-to-date.

In this, the second BQ2, or special report each of which focuses on a sector of the region’s economy - we look at renewables and the environment.

In this issue we look at how companies can minimise their carbon footprint, the different forms of renewable energy available and the state of their development. We interview the leading players in the key sectors and discuss with them the issues those sectors face. We also highlight just how strongly placed North East England is to lead and profit from the drive to cut carbon emissions and how such a global trend can be, for us, the driver of a second industrial revolution.

24 GLASS ACT Despite the weather, the North East could play leading role in solar energy

30 HOMEGROWN Biofuel is an important part of the mix, despite its critics

34 MODEL VILLAGE John Topliss discusses the building of a carbon neutral community

36 FOREST FUEL Dr David Clubb on the continuing growth of Biomass

40 STEP ON THE GAS The transition to alternative fuels is the real problem

EDITORIAL Peter Jackson e: peter@bq-magazine.co.uk DESIGN & PRODUCTION Room501 Ltd e: studio@room501.co.uk PHOTOGRAPHY KG Photography e: info@kgphotography.co.uk ROOM501 LTD Christopher March Managing Director e: chris@room501.co.uk George Cheung Director e: george@room501.co.uk Euan Underwood Director e: euan@room501.co.uk Bryan Hoare Director e: bryan@room501.co.uk Mark Anderson Business Development e: mark@room501.co.uk Debi Coldwell Seniors Sales e: debi@room501.co.uk

43 MUCK AND BRASS Bran Sand is the site of a major pioneering porject

48 WIND POWER David Still explains how the North East can be a leader in turbine technology

STEP ON THE GAS

40 RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

e: sales@room501.co.uk t: 0191 419 3221

room501 Contract Publishing Ltd, 10 Baird Close, Stephenson Ind Est, Washington, Tyne & Wear NE37 3HL www.room501.co.uk room501 was formed from a partnership of directors who, combined, have many years of experience in contract publishing, print, marketing, sales and advertising and distribution. We are a passionate, dedicated company that strives to help you to meet your overall business needs and requirements. All contents copyright © 2009 room501 Ltd. All rights reserved. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies, howsoever caused. No liability can be accepted for illustrations, photographs, artwork or advertising materials while in transmission or with the publisher or their agents. All information is correct at time of going to print, April 2009.

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SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

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Businesses, research centres, investors and government are working in the region to deliver a green agenda. Peter Jackson reviews recent developments Crossing continents: (left to right) Mr Hiroshi Kanda, Yanmar, joins HM Ambassador to Japan David Warren and Stephen Bell, Tyneside Cyrenians, in front of the Charity’s new CHP system

>> European first for Tyneside Britiain’s ambassador to Japan, David Warren has officially launched Yanmar’s first commercial combined heat and power (CHP) system to be installed in the UK. The unit will supply efficient low carbon energy to the residential headquarters of Tyneside Cyrenians, the leading Newcastlebased homelessness charity.

Mr Warren was joined by the Japanese Consul-General in Edinburgh, Mr Kenichi Suganuma, and senior representatives from One North East, Yanmar, Tyneside Cyrenians and NaREC to unveil the new natural-gas powered CHP system.

Mr Warren said: “I am delighted to be here today to officially mark the beginning of an important and worthwhile project for Tyneside Cyrenians and the significant introduction of Yanmar to the region.”

Mr Suganuma, added: “Yanmar’s innovative products aimed at improving efficient use of energy look set to offer significant opportunities to organisations both here in the North East and throughout the UK.” This unit is the first production micro-CHP unit of its kind to be installed anywhere in Europe.

CHP provides an efficient way of using mains gas to produce electricity and capture heat generated to improve the efficiency of

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

condensing boilers.

Yanmar, the leading Japanese manufacturer of micro-CHP systems, has worked with NaREC since 2007 to develop and adapt their micro CHP series for the European market.

Keith Melton, NaREC’s director of distributed energy, said: “Having worked alongside Yanmar over the last couple of years, NaREC is delighted to see the first unit installed here in the North East to the benefit of such a good cause as Tyneside Cyrenians.

“CHP provides an efficient low carbon alternative to generating heat and electricity.

Through our role in this project thus far, NaREC has developed a unique understanding of this systems performance and requirements, which we will apply to future projects which might result from those organisations seeking carbon reductions and energy cost savings themselves, and as part of our contribution to the wider region’s efforts tackling fuel poverty.”

One North East’s Investment and Aftercare team has worked closely with Yanmar from the beginning of their investment into the North East, providing advice and support, as well as access to an extensive partnership network of support agencies, sector specialists, universities, colleges, local authorities, knowledge networks and business organisations throughout the region.

>> Accolade for Dave Dave Gowans, chief executive of Seaham based drilling company Drilcorp has been voted Business Person of the Year at an awards ceremony held at the Ramside Hall, County Durham.

The awards ceremony, run by Sun-FM and sponsored by the North East BIC was attended by more than 300 business people and acted as a celebration of all the successful businesses in the region.

Drilcorp’s main area of work is drilling for

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water, including geo-thermal supplies.

The company recently secured a contract worth £1m undertaking work for the London Underground.

Kirsty Gowans, finance controller said: “I am delighted that Dave has won this prestigious award. I nominated him for recognition of all the hard work he has put into the company. We have won a number of high-profile jobs throughout the year in London such as the Royal Festival Hall, the London School of Economics and Kew Gardens. This has helped generate an annual turnover of £3.7m for 2008. None of this would have been possible without the dedication and commitment of Dave.”

Drilcorp chief executive Dave Gowans and winner of Business Person of the Year said, “I was surprised when I found out that I had been nominated never mind winning. I really enjoyed the evening and would like to pass my thanks onto all of the Drilcorp team who have helped achieve our success to date.”

>> NaREC is accomodating NaREC is expanding its offering to support growing energy businesses with the opening of the newly refurbished Brunel Incubation Suite.

Located at NaREC in Blyth, this bespoke facility has been designed to accommodate a cluster of technology developers; manufacturers; and support businesses in North East England. It provides modern flexible office space in close proximity to NaREC’s testing and development facilities; and within easy reach of its technical and energy industry specialists.

Andrew Mill, chief executive of NaREC said: “This type of facility minimises the risk for start-up developers and those companies involved in the energy sector which might be looking to relocate or diversify into new ventures. NaREC has been able to attract businesses to set up in the North East because

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 09

of the added value that our world-leading facilities and personnel can offer them here.

“As an independent centre for the research, development and deployment of new and renewable energy technologies, these companies can learn from us and each other if necessary, and tap into our facilities and minds onsite as and when required.”

>> EU: No more splash and dash A European measure to stop unfair US biofuel imports has been hailed as a boost to the North East’s burgeoning biofuels industry.

The EU has introduced temporary anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports of `splash and dash’ fuels from across the Atlantic.

It is claimed they have been a problem for the Europeans biofuels industry, reducing potential investment, and even causing the collapse of some biofuels companies in the European Union.

Splash and dash resulted from a loophole in a US law which provided a US$1 per gallon tax credit for biodiesel blends. This additional subsidy could be obtained by adding a drop of mineral diesel to biodiesel with the resultant blends eligible for up to US$200 per ton tax relief. This splash of mineral diesel giving a biodiesel blend was then being imported into the EU where home-grown manufacturers could not compete.

But now companies using this material, known as B99, will pay a US$260 to US$410 per ton duty, which will remain for 6 months until the imposition of a definitive tariff.

Dari Tayor, Labour MP for Stockton South, said: “I am delighted that at last the dumping activity of the American biofuel Industry has been stopped by the EU. The determination of all local MPs must be to make this ban permanent or tax American biofuels fairly without an enormous subsidy.

“The low taxation has caused dumping and this has had a sad impact on Teesside’s

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biofuel industry. The EU subsidy ban gives local industry the opportunity it needs to grow and supply biofuels for transport. My aim will be to ensure that the government supports a permanent ban on unfair American subsidies. With fair trading practice Teesside industry will grow and prosper.” Dr Stan Higgins North East Process Industry Cluster, NEPIC, chief executive said: “At last some common sense has prevailed. Here in the North East we have had projects delayed and some that have been severely impacted by the distorted subsidy on these American based products.

“I’m sure that the implementation of the new duties will enable European investors to dust off their projects and begin investing again into the biodiesel industry.

There are at least five companies and projects in our cluster that will be celebrating the imposition of this duty on imported American B99, because it enables them to compete and become established suppliers of biodiesel for transport biofuels”. Professor Dermot Roddy, chairman of Northeast Biofuels, said: “Northeast Biofuels member companies have lost a lot of money and business through a loophole that effectively gave US imports a double subsidy. This has

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affected the whole supply chain from agriculture through to biofuels production. Those who have survived the challenge can now look forward to business growth again”.

>> £50m rubbish disposer ahead of plan With its construction now ahead of schedule, the £50m EcoParc planned for Tyneside should be running by autumn.

Initial hiring of 51 workers, with 20 more to follow, is under way for one of the world’s largest steam autoclave recycling plants.

Waste management firm Graphite Resources is behind the project with operating partner PX Ltd, and the structure on five acres of Derwenthaugh is already complete.

William Thompson, director at Graphite Resources, said: “Many waste producers around the country - councils and businesses - have to look at how to deal with residual waste from now on.

“Landfill costs are rising sharply. EcoParc will show the North East waste sector can deliver new facilities required, even in difficult times,” Clugston is construction contractor for the plant that will treat both residual household and non-hazardous commercial waste. www.graphiteresources.com

>> Dr Keith takes the chair Dr Keith Melton has been elected new president of EUREC Agency, the European Renewable Energy Research Centre Agency.

The Members of EUREC Agency, the association representing European Renewable Energy Research Centres, have appointed Dr Melton, director of distributed energy at NaREC, as the new president, with a three year mandate, at their last College of Members in Oldenburg, Germany.

Dr Melton’s key priority will be to ensure that factors such as the financial crisis do not divert Europe’s commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generating 20% of energy from renewable resources by 2020. He will seek to ensure measures undertaken in order to stop economic recession cannot be allowed to stop efforts in reducing global warming.

“We have to continue to invest in R&D and new technologies for a long term sustainable future,” said At the helm: Dr Keith Melton Dr Melton. “Investing in renewable technologies should continue as a high priority, and EUREC can play a significant role in ensuring that it does so”.

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SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

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>> North East takes Liberty Liberty Electric Cars will manufacture the world’s first zero emission, electric 4x4s in North East England later this year, creating 250 jobs. The Oxford-based company has signed a memorandum of understanding with One North East to invest £30m in manufacturing electric vehicles at Nelson Industrial Estate, Cramlington, Northumberland, and is in discussions with major suppliers in the region.

Annual production for the first vehicle - a

plug-in electric Range Rover - will probably be more than 1,000 annually, creating employment and contributing more than £120m a year to the local economy.

Barry Shrier, Liberty founder and chief executive, said: “The Liberty Electric Range Rover takes electric vehicle technology into a new sector, to large luxury cars that people aspire to drive, particularly in cities and urban environments where environmental controls are becoming increasingly tight. “North East

>> New farm puts County on target The first five turbines at what will be the North East’s largest wind farm development have taken their place on the County Durham skyline.

Regional developer Banks Developments is investing in building the £30m, 12-turbine West Durham Wind Farm on land near Tow Law, in the vicinity of its own offices in the town.

Once it is fully operational, the scheme will provide enough renewable energy to power around 15,700 households, which equates to almost half of all households in the Derwentside district.

Part of the land on which the development will stand was the site of a now-restored Stonefoot Hill surface mine operated by Banks in the 1980s.

Rob Williams, renewables projects director at Banks Developments, said: “This is a major milestone in what is an important project for Banks, and it’s exciting to finally see a visible outcome of many months of hard work by the whole team.

“Investing in renewables infrastructure like this will not only help make ‘green’ energy easily available to homes and businesses in the North East, but also helps to demonstrate the evolution of Banks as a business, from what began in Tow Law in 1976 as a surface mining company to a 350-strong organisation which operates successfully across a range of sectors and which has become a major player in the UK renewables market.

“Once operational, the West Durham Wind Farm will enable County Durham to achieve the targets for zero carbon generation they were set in the regional planning strategy, making them the only North East county, and one of only a handful of places across England, to do so.

“We’ve had a lot of support from local people and community leaders for this project, and are pleased to be playing a part in cementing Tow Law’s growing reputation as an energy generation centre.”

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England, through the stewardship of One North East, is fast becoming a world leader in clean energy, infrastructure development and electric vehicle manufacturing, which is why we feel that our business will prosper here.”

Liberty electric cars incorporate an energy storage and management system, which, the company claims, delivers superior performance compared with existing technology. For the Liberty Electric Range Rover it claims a 200-mile range, and a speed of more than 100mph. Prices are expected to be around £125,000 depending on model and specification. Alan Clarke, One North East chief executive, said: “This investment is excellent news for the region and places North East England at the forefront of electric vehicle manufacture and infrastrucutre development.

“The decision by Liberty Electric Cars to establish a North East manufacturing base reflects their confidence in the region’s skills base and the work we are doing to create an electric charging point infrastructure across the North East to allow electric vehicles to operate to their full potential.

Bob Coxon, chairman of the North East England Science and Industry Council, said: “The North East’s technology strategy which has been pursued consistently over many years is once again paying off with jobs in new growth companies. Our focus on clean energy technology is a key reason for Liberty choosing the North East above other possible locations in the UK and internationally.”

>> Turbine wins cash backing A pioneering wind turbine being engineered in the North East has secured investment from the new national flagship energy research body, the Energy Technologies Institute, ETI. The technology behind Wind Power’s ambitious vertical axis wind turbine, the Aerogenerator – which can harness wind energy from all directions - has received backing from ETI in their first round of £20m funding awarded to new energy projects which could help to ensure the UK meets Energy & >>

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Climate Change targets.

The technology behind the Aerogenerator has been developed at the New and Renewable Energy Centre, NaREC, in Blyth, over the last four years with the backing of North East Finance’s Three Pillars Fund – set up to encourage emerging technologies in the region’s key industries – and from other regional investment including North Star Equity Investors’ Proof of Concept Fund and One North East.

A funding injection from the ETI will enable a feasibility study to support the transfer of the technology to an offshore environment from its testing base in Blyth, as part of Project “NOVA”, one of three offshore wind technologies to be researched in the funding round.

Unlike traditional propeller turbines, Aerogenerator is ‘V’ shaped and operates

around a vertical axis allowing it to harness energy more efficiently. It has the benefit of ruggedness, stability and simpler maintenance access, compared to conventional turbines, and could make a major contribution to meeting the UK’s ambitious wind energy targets.

Amanda McMurray Three Pillars Fund manager at North East Finance said: “This is great news for Aerogenerator and the region. The ETI has real heavyweight backing and its support underlines the importance and potential of this technology to the UK. “The technology is proven and it’s exciting to be working towards upscaling the project. We’re delighted that Three Pillars funding has helped to leverage in the additional investment required to do this, and to help to fulfil the Three Pillars Fund’s

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remit to the region.”

Richard Marr, finance director at NaREC said: “The North East of England is ideally placed to capitalise on the emerging offshore renewable market for wind, wave and tidal energy generation; and in the subsequent industry which will be built around it to operate and maintain such infrastructure.

“The opportunities for manufacturing, engineering, ports and marine operators are huge, and by attracting and developing novel technologies here, such as the Aerogenerator, NaREC is quickly establishing this region as the centre for offshore renewable energy in the UK.” In addition, NaREC is also supporting Wind Power to raise funds for the further development of a smaller device aimed at application for small-scale wind.

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SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

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>> Northstar shines bright for region’s economy Leading venture capital firm NorthStar Equity Investors (NSEI) is gearing up for another prosperous year after fully investing its funds worth £33m and creating a further £60m of follow-on investment in the region - a figure it tips to reach £100m by the end of 2009.

The Newcastle-based operation is at the forefront of the region’s burgeoning science and technology sector and manages the North East Proof of Concept Fund (POC) and North East Co-investment Fund (CoIF), both of which, owing to their success, will now be extended.

A further £2m will be available through POC to entrepreneurs seeking initial seed funding to get their innovations off the ground, whilst an additional £7m will also be invested through CoIF deals by the end of the year.

>> Andrew to do the business Andrew Williamson has been appointed as business development director at NaREC. He has more than 20 years of experience working in the energy industry, which has included government roles operating across Europe and in Japan. In his most recent role for Regional Development Agency, One North East, he has focused on attracting energy and large scale technology and infrastructure projects to the region.

Energy role: Andrew Williamson

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

>> Building for a greener future The introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for commercial buildings was welcomed by some, as a way to address the significant level of carbon emissions amassed each year from non-residential buildings.

For many, they are still seen as a ‘tick in the box’ exercise for the sale and rent of a property and an unnecessary tax in an already tough financial climate.

But, as the call for us all to think a little ‘greener’ continues, some landlords and developers are leading the way, improving the efficiency of their buildings for the benefit of both occupiers and the environment.

David Fairley, director of building consultancy at Sanderson Weatherall and a qualified EPC assessor based at the firm’s Teesside office, said: “Sustainability remains a major focus. Many landlords and developers are actively working to incorporate energy efficient design and maintenance of buildings, to some fantastic results.

“Our clients are keen to offer quality buildings which give the best performance at a value-formoney, realistic cost, to remain competitive and attract new occupiers. With the ‘green’ subject remaining firmly on the agenda, demand continues to come from parties looking for the most energy efficient building with the lowest operational costs.”

Halegrove Court, a brand new courtyard office scheme in Bowesfield, Stockton, recently achieved an EPC B rating to add to its credentials. The scheme, designed by award-winning architects, Ian Belsham, has been established as one of Tees Valley’s premier business locations.

Fairley added: “Halegrove Court’s B rating is testament to the high quality sustainable design of the scheme - where energy efficiency standards are high and above the industry average for commercial buildings in the UK. The environmental impact of the scheme’s buildings has been reduced through careful design and selection of materials and is one of the factors that has attracted a number of high-profile organisations to locate there.

“Although it remains unclear just how the Government will utilise EPCs in the future accountability for high energy bills and high carbon emissions will become greater with rising fuel prices, matched by the growing level of environmental corporate responsibility that organisations are called to undertake, even in times of a credit crunch.”

The new £5m office development overlooking the Tees Gorge provides 17 self-contained office buildings, ranging from 1,300sq ft to 3,000sq ft to buy or to let. Benefiting from excellent transport links and only minutes from Stockton Town Centre, current occupiers include Alliance & Leicester, Browell Smith & Co, Kinsler & Partners LLP, CAD 21 and Frain & Harley.

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APRIL 09

Airline connects the region’s oil and gas sector

Accessibility to and from the North East is key to the prosperity of the region and for many years one airline has provided the business community with important links to leading cities.

Eastern Airways has provided the North East with a network of flights from Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley airports. The energy sector

has been particularly well served with nine flights each weekday to Aberdeen and a daily weekday service from Newcastle to Norway’s oil capital, Stavanger.

The award winning UK regional airline has just been rated the best on-time performer at Newcastle for a third successive year and offers five flights each weekday to North East Scotland. The airline has operated from Durham Tees Valley for nine years with four flights each weekday to Aberdeen.

In 1997, Eastern Airways initially developed its route network around the oil and gas industry with its first services connecting Humberside with Aberdeen. The airline enhanced its links to Aberdeen from the UK regions and it wasn’t long before the North East of England was

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served with Durham Tees Valley services.

It was six years ago when Eastern Airways created a hub from Newcastle serving predominately a domestic market. Fast links to Birmingham, Southampton, Cardiff and the Isle of Man were introduced to save travellers valuable time. The airline’s services are focused around the needs of the business traveller and a dedicated fast track security channel at Newcastle ensures its passengers avoid queues at security search.

Last year, after participating in the successful Rediscover North East England conference to encourage more trade links between the North East and Norway, the airline launched its first non-stop international service from Newcastle to Stavanger.

With North East England recognised as a leader in subsea oil exploration, Eastern Airways’ convenient, punctual services help to strengthen business links in the energy sector.

All-Energy ’09 – the UK’s TER largest renewable energy S I G E R E exhibition and conference – N I L N O looks forward to welcoming you as an exhibitor or visitor.

4,700 from 61 countries attended All-Energy ’08 with its 380+ exhibiting companies from a dozen THE RENEWABLES SHOW IN THE ENERGY CITY countries and 220 speakers.

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The major exhibition features technology across the full range of renewable energy devices; and the free-to-attend conference looks at topical issues and challenges facing the industry and at all renewable energy sources from multi-million pound major projects to microgeneration. There will be networking opportunities in plenty.

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Regularly updated information on all aspects of the show at

www.all-energy.co.uk or from info@all-energy.co.uk RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

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SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

ONE NORTH EAST

APRIL 09

GREEN ENERGY IS KEY TO REGIONAL FUTURE The Smith Newton: the world’s largest road-going electric truck

North East England is synonymous with energy The region’s proud energy heritage is evident in the phrase “carrying coals to Newcastle”, but new innovations are now providing the cornerstone of our economic future. One North East, the Regional Development Agency, is central to the development and achievement of a new economic vision for the region; where North East England is a centre for the low carbon economy.

A new industry of offshore wind energy technology offers major economic development potential for the North East.

We have the attributes to be world leading here - skills, companies, sea access, riverside construction sites, technology - and the ambition.

One of the keys to the region’s ambition is the

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New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) at Blyth. This emerging international centre for excellence played a major part in attracting US energy giants Clipper Windpower to the region, and is now attracting others. It has some of the most significant development facilities for offshore wind in the world, and additional capabilities are being developed, including nearshore and offshore test sites.

Clipper is using the North East as the base of operations for its Project Britannica, which aims to develop and manufacture the largest offshore wind turbines in the world, capable of generating 7.5 MW per turbine, which could potentially provide for the electricity needs of more than 5,500 homes and offset more than 14,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

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New and renewable energy technology also presents an opportunity second to none for manufacturing. Not only do we want to see the wind turbines of the future designed and developed here, we want to see them manufactured, assembled and transported by regional companies.

The region’s Science and Industry Council brings together business, research and the public sector to focus on the development of key areas of strength. Our universities and colleges are embracing the need to drive education and skills development, research and innovation, to meet the needs of our region’s businesses and to attract new investment. Together with our centres of excellence, we have developed a region that is increasingly recognised as one of the leading locations for investment in innovation, energy and high value manufacturing.

That is also one of the main reasons North East

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England is at the forefront of the Electric Vehicle (EV) agenda.

One North East has set the ambition to be quite simply the world’s leader in electric vehicle development. We are working with a wide range of public and private partners, including national and local government, to install a comprehensive electrical charging infrastructure.

The region is already the home to the world’s leading supplier of commercial electric vehicles in Smith Electric Vehicles, part of the Tanfield Group. Smith has the world’s largest installed fleet of electric vans and trucks and counts companies such as TNT and Sainsbury’s as key customers. It is now set for a further expansion into other sectors, such as local authorities, as the climate-benefitting impacts of the vehicles become more widely known.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson recently came to the region to oversee the signing of an historic Memorandum of Understanding by Nissan and One North East.

Under the terms of the agreement, Nissan and One North East will form working teams to promote zero emission electric vehicles (EVs) including educational programmes and the examination of infrastructure.

In addition, the partnership will share information on EV development and examine the suitability of the North East infrastructure for the launch of EVs, as well as promoting Nissan’s Sunderland Plant as a strong contender for EV production.

Other investors are being attracted to the region to take advantage of the developing concentration of strengths, while innovative businesses already based in the region, such as ComeSys, are also benefitting from the development of low carbon vehicles.

The development of comprehensive infrastructure will set the region apart, achieving both targets for emissions reduction and new opportunities for businesses. One example of a company identifying the new potential is regional photovoltaic manufacturers Romag which is developing a solar EV charging point, powered by and delivering 100% clean energy.

Central to the development of this regional vision are the local authorities. North East England is the first region in the whole of

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ONE North east

Understanding: Eric Nicolas of Nissan UK, One North East Chairman Margaret Fay and Lord Mandelson at the signing of the MoU

One North East has set the ambition to be quite simply the world’s leader in electric vehicle development

Europe where all of its local authorities have committed to binding carbon reduction targets, through the Covenant of European Mayors.

The region is at the centre of a “perfect storm” for Electric Vehicles. Not only does it boast the automotive manufacturing expertise, established companies and supply chain, with the technology and motivation to introduce innovative new models; it also has the renewable energy technology to ensure that the power behind electric vehicles is also climate friendly. The key role of One North East is to bring together all of these strengths.

As one example of this role, One North East is working alongside Durham County Council to help transform its Durham Park & Ride bus service into a cleaner and greener way of travelling.

The first green bus trial is currently underway, which has seen the conversion of one of Durham’s Park & Ride buses using an

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Advanced Thermal Management System. This innovative and award-winning bus cooling technology, patented by regional company ComeSys, is designed to improve fuel consumption by up to 15% and as a result lower carbon emissions making it better for the environment.

Other leading technologies are now being developed and taken forward in the region.

These include low carbon domestic buildings, printable electronics and low carbon materials, smart grids, biofuels and biomass, carbon capture and storage and microgeneration. The Centre for Process Innovation and the Printable Electronics Technology Centre are vital catalysts here.

This wide range of strengths demonstrates the region’s opportunity. Over the next few years the North East will take these strengths to the world and we can be confident that once again we are taking forward the next generation of energy. n

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

OVERVIEW

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

APRIL 09

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RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 09

OVERVIEW

All aspects of environmentalism generate more debate than energy but, as Peter Jackson argues, the right leadership could seize a great oppotunity

GIve us the green light

Few issues can have grabbed human attention as comprehensively as that of global warming.

It infiltrates every newspaper and news programme, demands the attention of politicians and religious leaders, has become a commonplace in the classroom and generates fierce debate.

There is, however, no argument about the broad outlines of what needs to be done: assuming resigned fatalism is not an option, we must cut energy consumption and find alternative sources of energy.

Even those who question the extent to which the planet is warming - or the extent to which man contributes to that warming – will accept that fossil fuels are running out, and, therefore, that we must conserve them and find sustainable replacements.

Sadly, even this limited consensus is about as far as people go in agreeing. Few things are more basic to human needs than energy or fuel and so, it should come as no surprise, that debate on future sources should divide on the lines of nation, class, age, political philosophy, and even temperament.

Take for instance, renewable energy sources: which ones should we adopt and in what proportions?

Some have their critics – most notably wind energy, on the grounds that onshore wind turbines have a visual impact on the environment out of all proportion to their energy generating capacity. Others argue that some form of renewables are more effective than others and that it is into these that our resources and energies should be channelled.

At a recent energy debate at NETPark, in

Sedgefield, Professor Dermot Roddy, Science City Professor of Energy at Newcastle University, argued that perhaps we should be in the business of `picking winners’, based on our geography and industrial needs, just as some countries recognise they have lots of biomass, in the form of wood and so create an industry around it, or just as Spain has concentrated on solar power and Denmark has concentrated on wind power.

However, even if some countries naturally gravitate towards certain solutions, the common view seems to be that our salvation, in the UK, will lie in a mix of renewables - and, according to some, that mix will have to include nuclear, if only as a stop-gap.

One thing is clear: as with the Six Million Dollar man, we have the technology. Indeed, some of that technology, in the form of wind power, has been around for centuries, or, in the case of biomass, for millennia. It has been claimed that, if we were to cover 200 square miles of the Sahara Desert in solar panels we could generate enough electricity to meet the world’s demand. Similarly, if we devoted 1,000 square kilometres of the North Sea to wind turbines, we could generate all the energy the planet needs in a year.

But, to exploit this technology, to harness it in such a way that it can feasibly relieve us of our reliance on fossil fuels will demand massive international infrastructure investment which would dwarf say the 19th century railway building programme. This in itself demands a huge investment of capital, energy and political will.

Here we come up against a second area for

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debate: should we even be thinking in terms of one decision being taken, in favour of this or that technology? Are we looking at a top-down solution whereby governments, or even supranational institutions, come up with the solutions and impose them on us? Or should we be relying on a bottom up approach, allowing individuals, communities and regions to make a myriad decisions, find their own paths, adopting a Sinatra doctrine and doing it their way? On the one hand, >>

Politicians stand accused of not daring to face the electorate with the kinds of unpopular measures required.

Leadership displayed is often inconsistent, with the rules being changed

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

OVERVIEW

APRIL 09

should it be a question of the state opting for, say investment in huge offshore wind farms, or do we give people tax incentives and grants to put a turbine on the gable end, a solar panel on the roof and an anaerobic digester in the garden?

On a regional and local level this raises the question of distributed energy as opposed to reliance on the National Grid; so that, for instance, we could have a community such as Kielder generating its own power. However, as Andrew Mill of NaREC points out, large scale industry cannot be supplied in this way and must have the kind of reliable, large-scale base load only the National Grid can supply.

There are those, however, who argue that whether we go for a bottom-up or top-down approach, we will still not meet carbon dioxide emission targets unless we see a radical change in lifestyle to reduce our energy consumption.

As Robin Twizell, managing director of Sedgefield-based Renewable Energy from Agriculture put it at the NETPark debate: his mother used to wash on a Monday; should we now become accustomed to doing our washing when the wind is blowing and the wind turbine spinning? Also, if we could return to a situation whereby people lived close to where they worked, we would, as a society, make huge savings in transport related carbon emissions. Not only that, it might, for example, allow people to get home earlier, to put their laundry on the line and dry it, as their grandparents did, using wind and solar power.

The top-downers suggest that this will have to be imposed, that we will need what amounts to a war time economy, with government telling us what car we can drive and even where we can go on holiday.

There is little doubt that, to some extent, we will be looking to government for a lead, if only by example and encouragement. Only government, for instance, is likely to provide, within the necessary timescales, the infrastructure needed, in terms of say a comprehensive nationwide network of charging points for electric vehicles, and, of course, only government can provide the necessary tax incentives.

Sadly, it is a common complaint among those involved in renewable energy that there is, in

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

the UK, a lack of political leadership. Politicians stand accused of not daring to face the electorate with the kinds of unpopular measures required. It is also claimed that what leadership is displayed is often inconsistent, with the rules on biofuels and renewables obligation certificates being changed. Without confidence that government is going to adopt a consistent approach, business will never, in its turn, commit to the necessary investment.

Perhaps then, if we are torn between individual action and government dictat, and if we feel there is a lack of political leadership from the centre, does the answer lie in a regional initiative? Should we, as has been suggested, declare that North East England will, by say 2030, be energy independent, that its energy, or equivalent energy needs, will all

come from renewable sources? Or, more ambitious, should the North East have a goal of making itself carbon neutral by 2030?

We have, after all, got huge advantages which would make this region a natural for such an initiative. We have the universities, we have the industrial expertise and facilities, we have the coastline for wind power, the woodland for biomass, the chemical industry and infrastructure for biofuels and hydrogen. Such an initiative would draw all this to the attention of the world; galvanise research and investment in renewable and recycling in the region and give us an expertise and manufacturing base which we could export. It would put us at the forefront of the next industrial revolution – the green industrial revolution. ■

CARBON REDUCTION – TIME FOR ACTION

Helen Slinger, Northern sustainability and climate change team at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

In the current climate, the temptation is to focus on the short-term survival issues. However, businesses can not afford to ignore sustainability and climate change, it is time for action. Current events show the need to be more alert to risk.

Carbon management is a crucial strategic issue from both a survival and growth perspective. Recent findings from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Report 2008 show this is one area where companies can reduce risk, reduce costs, engage stakeholders and identify opportunities.

With a significant increase in responses this year, the carbon agenda has clearly moved from debate to action. More companies are realising its importance to their business and the benefits of effective carbon management. This still varies by sector and the findings suggest more should be done to keep this critical issue high on agendas.

Not looking at your businesses carbon footprint will not be an option - the Carbon Reduction Commitment comes into force in 2010. This is a mandatory emission trading scheme covering all UK organisations with electricity consumption greater than 6,000 mega watts per annum. Now is the time to take action and ensure the effects of climate change are integrated into business strategies, as well as resourcing and investment decisions.

The Carbon Disclosure Project collects data in relation to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies from FTSE 350 companies as well as major corporations around the globe. As global advisor to the CDP, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) analysed the carbon disclosures of over 3,000 blue chip companies. This year’s CDP report by PwC looks at the carbon emissions of 234 FTSE350 companies and what they are doing to reduce their emissions.

To understand more about these issues and the impact for your business, please visit our national sustainability pages at http://www.pwc.co.uk/eng/issues/sustainability_ strategy_climate_change.html for services we offer or, contact Helen Slinger in the Northern sustainability practice on 0113 289 4108 or via email at: helen.l.slinger@ uk.pwc.com

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RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 09

NORTHSTAR INVESTS IN A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Newcastle-based venture capital firm The technology ASL has developed helps NorthStar Equity Investors (NSEI) is supporting operators to deal with surges caused by short the region’s burgeoning renewables sector by circuits in electricity distribution networks by providing vital funding and support. regulating current flow and protecting against Managing the North East Proof of Concept catastrophic failure of electricity substations.

Fund (POC) and the North East Co-investment ACAL, which develops low cost fuel cell Fund (CoIF), NSEI has backed many renewable systems based on its novel platinum free energy businesses including Blyth-based cathode technology (FlowCath®), has received Applied Superconductors Ltd (ASL) and ACAL £400,000 through two rounds from CoIF Energy Ltd. funding as part of a total investment of ASL, which creates Superconducting Fault £5.2m. Fuel cells are a highly efficient and Current Limiters (SFCLs), initially received a clean energy production technology capable POC investment through NSEI in 2005 and of replacing combustion engines in a wide has to date received £1.5m in two instalments variety of applications including remote and of51690 fundingAB from NSEI alongside NEL Fund distributed power, residential co-generation as BQ Mag Energy 12x180 15/4/09 17:31 Page 1 Managers and Austrian fund - New Energy. well as automotive and mobile applications.

FINANCE

Marion Bernard, CEO of NSEI commented: “We typically invest in companies that are developing innovative products and technologies in areas that reflect the core strengths of the region - like ACAL and ASL. “Anyone thinking about starting their own business and those with high-growth technology ideas should certainly come and talk to us now.”

For more information on the Proof of Concept or Co-Investment Funds contact NorthStar Equity Investors on 0191 211 2312 or visit www.northstarei.com.

When it comes to recruitment, we know how to harness potential.

For further information please visit www.nrgplc.com or contact Dylan Christie at NRG, on 0191 260 4474 or e-mail dylanchristie@nrgplc.com

People who know people.

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

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SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

The North East is on the verge of building a new industrial sector, as Andrew Mill explains to Peter Jackson

STRIVING TO KEEP THE LEAD Andrew Mill is better placed than most to exert real influence on the North East’s renewable energy sector.

He is, after all, chief executive of NaREC, the very body set up by One North East to drive renewables in the region. It describes itself as a research and development platform for sustainable and renewable energy technologies, its remit covering pure research, consultancy and testing.

Heading all this up was the ideal job for Mill.

An electrical engineering graduate, he has been in energy almost all his working life.

“I’ve been in everything from nuclear to hydroelectricity and I’ve done a lot in what is now called renewables, but was known as alternative energy and that was on a

16

worldwide basis,’’ he says. “A lot of my work has been in developing technology and test facilities, so the work here at NaREC fits very well with my background.

“It’s a fantastic challenge to have something like NaREC and feel you are making a difference through the technology and the work you are doing. It was fantastic to get this job which takes my experience to a new level where it’s a larger scale of operation and also looking at new and different technologies.’’

He adds: “There’s nothing quite like us in the UK and there’s very little like us in Europe. All the other countries in Europe that have big labs tend to be national labs and heavily supported by national programmes. Our model is to get more commercial activity so >>

A fantastic challenge: Andrew Mill leading NaREC, an organisation unique in the UK

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RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 09

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

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INTERVIEW

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INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

we are not a drain on the public purse and, because much of our income comes from the industry we are more focused on our industrial partners and try to meet their needs and what we develop will find its way into the market.’’

NaREC derives income from its commercial activity. Much of its R&D is done in partnership with consortia and universities, in the region, the UK and internationally and it works with small companies with good ideas but a lack of resources. Its staff – which now number nearly 100 – of physicists, chemists, engineers, technicians and fitters also work on its own R&D projects.

Fittingly, from Andrew Mill’s office window can be seen the majestically spinning turbines of the Blyth Harbour project. But NaREC is about far more than just wind power.

“We are working across the whole spectrum, because our role is to bring technologies through that can help meet the targets government has set,’’ he says. “We can only do that with a mixture of these technologies. Offshore wind is our biggest priority and marine renewables are important to us but the other areas will also make a major contribution.’’

As one example; NaREC took over BP’s research on photovoltaics, PV – the conversion of sunlight into electricity – and an old jeans factory in Blyth is now one of the world’s leading R&D facilities for PV. It is currently working on developing a new silicon product for PV and hopes to raise about £10m for a spin-out company employing about 50 to manufacture it. It is already supplying companies all over Europe, the US and Far East with trial quantities.

Further south, on the Tees Barrage, NaREC has a tidal test facility for testing one tenth scale models of technology being developed.

“There is a recognition that around the waters, particularly of the UK, we have some of the best natural resources of energy in the sea, both wave and tidal stream,’’ says Mill.

Technology being explored includes tidal barriers for use on rivers and on systems to harness the energy of the huge tidal streams off the north coast of Scotland or in the English Channel.

“It has the ability to meet a decent part of the UK’s energy need and a large part of our

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

There is a recognition that around the waters, particularly of the UK, we have some of the best natural resources of energy in the sea, both wave and tidal stream

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renewable mix and, the great thing about the tide is, you can tell exactly, to the second, when the tides are changing, for hundreds of years in advance, so, in some ways it’s better than wind, because it’s predictable,’’ he says.

However, wave and tidal power is developing more slowly than wind because of the difficulties of working in such high energy streams of water. Trying to locate a large piece of equipment in a tidal stream that could be flowing at eight knots is the equivalent of trying to erect a wind turbine in a 100mph wind.

It would also be technically challenging to bring the energy back to shore with cables lying on a high energy area of seabed. It is not, therefore, expected that marine or tidal will make a major contribution to the UK’s 2020 renewables targets.

But NaREC has been working with a number of North East and other UK companies on devices for harnessing tidal power and has now tested about 14 different devices in its test tank.

“On tidal we have a lot to offer in the North East, because of our offshore engineering strengths, our shipbuilding heritage, as well as our strong position in heavy engineering generally,’’ says Mill.

In terms of biomass and biofuels, NaREC has installed a woodchip boiler in its Clothier lab in Hebburn along with a biodiesel combined heat power boiler to compare their performance with traditional fuels.

But NaREC and Mill still have big ambitions for offshore wind. Turbine blades are growing in size and it is forecast that in the next few years they will be well over 70 metres long. NaREC is trying to raise £30m – primarily from the government - to build a test facility at Blyth for a complete wind turbine the size of Blythbased Clipper Windpower’s Britannia 10 megawatt turbine.

This will be part of a bigger programme to put NaREC at the heart of offshore wind in the UK, with not only testing facilities but also all the supporting technology, such as condition monitoring.

“There’s a lot of work to be done and NaREC will be in the lead in the UK in a world-leading development facility for offshore wind,’’ says Mill, but he makes it clear that the new test

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

facility is central to this.

“It must happen; if it doesn’t happen in the UK it will happen in Europe. Now we are in the lead and we must maintain that. Out of having that test rig, people will come here to do the testing and development and will then stay here to do the manufacturing. The jobs that will follow on from having these facilities is the real prize for the UK. If we didn’t get it, Clipper would have to go somewhere-else.’’

How many jobs are we talking about?

“The manufacturer of a wind turbine will bring more than 1,000 jobs, once it’s in full production, so if we could attract two or three as a result of having these kinds of facilities, we are talking about 3,000 to 4,000 jobs directly and behind that are all the manufacturers of gear boxes, generators, and of all the other supply equipment and that means tens of thousands of jobs. It’s a complete new industry we’re building.’’ ■

For over 5 years, K Home International (KHI) has been providing its considerable expertise to a broad spectrum of Renewable Energy Partners.

From the generation of energy from waste, through bio-ethanol production and CO2 liquefaction to large scale anaerobic digestion, KHI is seriously committed to supporting its partners in the realisation of their renewable energy projects.

To discover how you can benefit from K Home International’s unrivalled consultancy, detailed engineering and project and construction management capabilities, contact: K Home International Limited

Petrochemicals – Metals & Minerals – Renewable Energy

From concept to completion...

...achieving success together

Pharmaceuticals – Chemicals – Oil & Gas

UK Head Office: Thornaby, Teesside T: +44 (0)1642 765421 F: +44 (0)1642 760721 E: enquiry@khomeint.com W: www.khomeint.com

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

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SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

serving you home and aBROAD Whatever the state of financial markets, banks are still central to economies throughout the world and are, therefore, key players in the fight against global warming. We discover how one bank is playing its part Banks are not exactly flavour of the month at the moment, taking much of the blame for current economic woes and also for not doing enough to undo the damage.

But there is one bank which is bucking this trend: HSBC. It is still making profits – US$9.3bn last year before tax – and it has not had to take a penny of government aid. It has also just put away the most successful rights issue in British corporate history with a 96.6% take-up from existing shareholders.

Andy Parker, senior commercial manager in the bank’s Newcastle Commercial Centre says: “We are still profitable, we are well capitalised, the rights issue has increased our capital strength.’’

This solid position means the bank has not had to change its lending policy over the past 18 months, or reduce managers’ authority levels.

“We are very much open for business and there’s been no change at all in our policy of supporting viable businesses,’’ says Stuart Henry, senior commercial manager at the Middlesbrough Commercial Centre.

And that means viable businesses all over the world. HSBC serves customers worldwide from around 9,500 offices in 86 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region,

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,527 billion at 31 December 2008, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.

HSBC is marketed worldwide as ‘the world’s local bank’.

“HSBC is all about doing international business, we have over 7,000 relationship managers around the world enabling us to provide our customers in the UK with access to local expertise in overseas markets,’’ says Parker.

The bank says it can offer an overseas account opening service whereby virtually all the paperwork can be completed in the UK, including identification and providing names of people they will deal with in branches overseas.

“We provide online banking systems which can link up accounts held around the world.

So someone, from any site with internet access, can get in and view their accounts held in say Singapore or Mexico,’’ says Grahame Maddison, head of commercial banking at the Middlebrough Commercial Centre.

In the North East, the centres have people attached to the teams who are experts in all aspects of international trade finance, >>

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Global operators: Stuart Henry, Grahame Maddison and Andy Parker

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APRIL 09

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

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INTERVIEW

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

whether that is documentary credits, export finance or the setting up of stocking loans or import loans. The bank also provides advice on exposures in any currencies clients may be operating in. In London, HSBC even has a team which can advise clients and which is expert in the varied cultural rules and sensitivities in different countries.

Managers themselves keep up to date with trade conditions in different countries by frequently accompanying trade missions, with 45 managers going with missions to 15 different countries in the past two years.

“We are very keen to speak to any business with an international aspect to what they do.

We have got more that we can add in that area than any other bank,’’ says Henry.

But, while HSBC may have a global presence, it is dedicated to ensuring that it minimises its own impact on the global environment.

In 2005, HSBC became the world’s first major bank to achieve carbon neutrality, so its worldwide operations contribute net zero carbon dioxide. It has achieved this through its Carbon Management Plan which includes four key steps: • The bank measures its carbon footprint • It aims to reduce its energy consumption • It buys `green’ electricity • It offsets its remaining carbon dioxide emissions The bank has also formed the HSBC Climate Partnership, a five year US$100m tie-up between HSBC and four of the world’s leading environmental charities: The Climate Group, Earthwatch, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and WWF. Working with these partners, HSBC aims to combat the threat of climate change by inspiring action by individuals, businesses and governments worldwide.

Since launching the Partnership: • The Climate Group has launched the UK Together campaign, which has helped households save 700,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide to date by providing cheap and easy ways for consumers to reduce their carbon footprint.

• Earthwatch has opened three forest Climate Centres in Brazil, the UK and the US to research how forests can be managed better in a changing climate. Climate

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

Centres will open in India and China in 2009. Earthwatch has designed and implemented an innovative training programme on climate change for HSBC’s global workforce.

• The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has reforested over 100 hectares in the Panama Canal Watershed with 140,000 seedlings.

• WWF has helped 22 nature reserves in China join together to manage jointly 12,000 square kilometres of protected area to tackle increased flooding, reduce pollution and safeguard endangered species in the central and lower regions of the Yangtze River.

HSBC have started working with the HSBC Climate Partnership organisations to develop their understanding, identify future trends, and prepare for the risks and opportunities associated with the water industry, the forestry sector, and emerging markets, specifically China and India.

HSBC is also exploring ways of easing access to capital markets for forest operators, allowing them to monetize future cash flows and so giving them an incentive to protect

22

longer term value of trees through periodic and more sustainable harvests.

Given its commitment to the environmental agenda, it is not surprising that, in the North East, HSBC should have a particular interest in the region’s strong renewable energy sector.

The global nature of this sector makes HSBC’s international banking strengths particularly relevant, as does its long association with the engineering and offshore industries that have taken up the renewable challenge so enthusiastically.

It is joining the North East Process Industry Cluster, Nepic, that represents 500 pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Speciality, Polymer & Rubber, Petrochemical & Commodity Chemical companies based in the region.

“We recognise the firms that make up the membership and it’s one that we want to be part of, given our global presence and expertise in international trade,’’ says Henry.

HSBC is also a member of NOF Energy, which represents almost 300 companies in the oil, gas and energy sectors.

Parker explains: “Our NOF membership is important to us locally because oil and gas and subsea is a thriving part of not only the regional economy, but also nationally, and it sticks out as being one where there’s a lot of growth potential, particularly with the need to be looking for new and different ways of extracting oil and gas from the sea bed. Then there’s also a focus on renewable energy, which is very closely linked because you use very similar skills.’’

This interest in renewable energy has led to HSBC working closely with NaREC, the New and Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth. It has discussed with it the possibilities of financing some of the commercial offshoots of some of the research it has been undertaking.

“It’s about dealing with people like NaREC and having a relationship and a dialogue with people like One North East, so that we know what it happening on a regional level in the renewable sector,’’ says Parker.

So, HSBC is a truly global player, but it is plainly determined to keep close to the ground where is operates, whether that involves tropical rain forests, or the North East’s renewable energy sector. n

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APRIL 09

COMPANY PROFILE

As the global demand for renewable energy increases, this competitive market sees organisations compete fiercely for top talent. Although potential recruits extend far beyond the renewable sector, the rapid growth of this industry today means that companies must develop creative talent acquisition strategies in order to ensure top talent to grow the sector to its full potential

ENERGY OF THE FUTURE

W

ITH a target to obtain 10% of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2010 and 20% by 2020, there are clear opportunities available for development of these technologies in the UK. This ambitious target is not only a key cornerstone of the government energy policy but also critical to delivering the UK’s commitment to the European Union and Kyoto in terms of carbon reduction targets. As the country has the greatest renewable energy capacity of northern Europe, with abundant wind, wave and tidal power sources, the government is making significant investment through regional development agencies to further develop business networks, technology, supply chains, the relevant skill base and corporate investment. By developing our renewable energy resources in the UK industry, we could be become a world leader in this fast-growing field, as countries like Denmark already have.

In line with the UK’s ambitious plans, the North East of England has become a major player in the drive towards a low carbon economy. The region’s energy market is now estimated to be worth £900m, employing around 8,000 people, with this set to grow significantly in coming years. One North East is firmly committed to ensuring that the energy and wider environment sectors are placed at the heart of the region’s sustainable economic growth in the coming years. The demand for a skilled workforce to support this growth offers a significant opportunity with the potential of more than 15,000 jobs being created over the next 10 years. A key requirement is to develop global specialists in wind, marine and photovoltaics although these opportunities are likely to appeal not only to sector specialists but also general engineering, manufacturing and supply chain professionals.

Nigel Wright Recruitment is a leading

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

Above: Alistair Moore, Managing Consultant, North-East Operations Division, Nigel Wright Recruitment

THE REGION HAS A KEY ROLE TO PLAY IN THE PROVISION OF ENERGY FOR THE FUTURE, NOT JUST LOCALLY BUT UK-WIDE international recruitment consultancy, with their head office firmly rooted in the North East. The company, renowned for their customer focused approach and diligence in seeking the best candidates for their clients, actively recruits across a range of professional disciplines and sectors, including the renewable energy sector. Over recent years Nigel Wright Recruitment have built solid relationships with a number of organisations and has an impressive track record of placing talented individuals in organisations such as NaREC, SMD and IHC across a range of functions from wind specialists through to more generic project managers.

Alistair Moore, Managing Consultant for the North

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East Operations division at Nigel Wright Recruitment comments: ‘The region has a key role to play in the provision of energy for the future, not just locally but UK-wide. This obviously creates great opportunities for both businesses and individuals in the North East. While the early stage of this development has required particular focus on technology specialists, consultants and engineers, in order to fully develop the necessary technologies and design; future work is likely to focus heavily on manufacturing capability, power generation and general engineering for turbine manufacture and offshore installation, an area in which the North East has significant expertise.

There will also be a clear need for supply chain specialists as developers look to reduce the cost of manufacture and installation and develop a low cost supply base in close proximity to the major project sites.

Recruiting and developing a skilled workforce to meet the demands of the sector will ultimately be a limiting factor in the rate of growth and is essential to the success of the sector. The North East offers a highly skilled workforce offering engineering, manufacturing, supply chain and support functions such as finance, HR and IT. Nigel Wright Recruitment are focused on helping identify the relevant skills and experience from other sectors that can meet the needs of the renewables market.

For further information or to discuss your requirements with one of our consultants please contact us on 0191 222 0770 or visit our website on www.nigelwright.com

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

Hard to believe with the British climate, but the power of the sun could play a vital role in meeting future energy needs with the North East as a technology leader, as Lyn Miles explains to Peter Jackson

WHAT A GLASS ACT SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

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APRIL 09

“It’s not rocket science, it’s simple,’’ Lyn Miles, chief executive of Romag, tells me, vehement and animated. “Photovoltaic energy is low maintenance, it’s environmentally passive. So many people think it must be so clever, but the clever part is in the design, the technology is straightforward.’’

Miles is no idealistic, impracticable green campaigner. She heads up one of the most successful companies in the North East and is one of the region’s best respected business executives. She believes in photovoltaic, or PV, power for sound economic reasons and her company put its money where its mouth was in developing the technology.

Romag, based just outside Consett, County Durham, had established itself in the 1980s and 1990s as a leading producer of glass for high security applications, such as bomb-proof or bullet proof, and specialised architectural products. In 1997, it was approached by BP Solar to see if it could encapsulate PV cells – which transform sunlight into electricity within its glass laminates. It succeeded.

Prior to that, the cells had been made for solar panel modules, but not as a structural product, which could be part of the integral fabric and incorporated into a building. As part of a window, for example, such a module could not withstand wind loading, would not have light transmission and would not support the load of the building.

By 2003, Romag felt the outlook for the renewable energy market was strong enough to justify floating the company on the Alternative Investment Market to raise capital to install a production line for PV glass –

INTERVIEW

subsequently followed by three more lines.

Romag now has the capacity to produce enough PV glass in a year to generate 33 megawatts of electricity – sufficient to power 33,000 homes.

When sunlight passes through the PV cells it generates electricity in the form of direct current which is converted to alternating current before being fed into the National Grid. The PV cells, which are embedded in the glass, can be concentrated to maximise power generation and give shade, or be more dispersed for greater transparency. They can be incorporated into double-glazed units for insulation or be used as roof tiles.

“It’s tried and tested technology,’’ says Miles.

“As part of a balanced solution to our energy needs PV should be right up there. It’s totally environmentally passive and, once installed, it will last for 50 years and perhaps longer as there’s nothing there to degrade.’’

Certainly her faith in the technology – and Romag’s investment – has, so far, been largely vindicated.

“Over the past few years the market in all sectors of solar energy has grown dramatically,’’ says Miles. “But the market for what we call building integrated PV. BIPV, will grow even more strongly over the next few years, particularly in the UK.’’ PV now accounts for 70% of Romag’s total £23.5m turnover, having grown from nothing in little over five years. It is exported all over the world, to Europe, China and the Middle East; and it is used in domestic, commercial and public contexts, the last including London’s City Hall, the Eden Project and >>

Nuclear power takes 20 years to build but the technology for PV and wind is there now and it should be used more than it currently is. Other countries are doing it and are doing it successfully

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SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

Sunlit uplands: Romag based in Consett has incorporated PV panels in its own building even Stanley bus station. The company is world market leader in BIPV and has no UK competitor.

The market has been growing by between 40% and 60% a year for the past few years, but the global economic downturn has made an inevitable difference and Romag has had to lay off 60 of its 240 staff.

“I see that as a temporary position,’’ says Miles. “Renewable energy will continue to be the growth market world-wide.’’

This would certainly be the case in the UK if, as Miles expects, the government introduces a so-called Feed-in Tariff, such as has been introduced in Europe, leading to huge growth in solar power in Germany and Spain. This obliges electricity companies to buy power from those generating from solar at a premium. At a stroke, this makes the investment in PV attractive by providing a good return on investment period.

“The government in the UK have amended the Energy Bill to allow them to introduce a Feed-in Tariff and it’s proposed that this tariff be introduced in April 2010,’’ says Miles.

“It’s my belief – and it’s only a belief – that the UK will encourage the use of BIPV. Certainly what it will stimulate is the market for roof tiles, for domestic homes and the

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

bespoke type of BIPV.’’ Ideally, to maximise the use of PVs, a Feed-in Tariff would make it so economically viable that it would pay householders to install solar thermal systems for hot water and PV for other power needs, and to make homes self-sufficient in green electricity. With PV on the roof, a householder would generate electricity throughout the day to be sold to the Grid – at a premium if a Feed-In Tarif operated.

When drawing down in the evening, the householder would be buying electricity from the Grid, but without paying the premium. It would then be possible not only to have free electricity, but also make money to repay the investment over a 20-year period.

This, Miles argues, would create a virtuous circle. “As volume increases, prices will come down and with a Feed-In Tariff it becomes a very attractive proposition. If governments operate this for, say five years, the increase in demand will bring pricing down and therefore after that it won’t need support.’’

Since Romag began producing PVs in 2004, under the company’s continuous R&D programme, efficiency improvements have been introduced year-on-year and more and more applications have been developed.

The company recently launched the world’s

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largest laminated glass PV panel – 3.7m by 2.2m – at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, to prove to designers and architects the possibility of such a large structural product. Romag’s PV products are also being tested for the Masdar Initiative in Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest and most sustainable city.

Buildings are not the only area where PV can replace fossil fuels. With One North East support, Romag is developing a PV car park canopy, called PowerPark, where electric vehicles can be recharged. These could be erected in supermarket car parks, allowing drivers of electric vehicles to recharge them, while getting the groceries.

Such projects are important, Miles insists, in that they encourage the development of an infrastructure for the take-up of green alternatives as they become available; just as petrol-driven cars could not become widely popular until there was an infrastructure of metalled roads, petrol stations and mechanics.

Romag is building, again with One North East support, a Solar Business Centre to contain a state-of-the-art training facility, which will be clad completely in PV in various forms. This will allow the demonstration of everything that can currently be achieved and it will also be used to train anyone who wants some involvement in the solar industry, from architects, planners, engineers and electricians to roofers.

“Again, it comes back to establishing the infrastructure to support the Feed-In Tariff,’’ says Miles. “If we do nothing, then in April of next year, when the Feed-In Tariff comes in, nobody will know how to install these things, so there will be a period of a year to 18 months while people develop the skills. We want to avoid that and we can avoid it by taking the steps now.

“We need a number of solutions to climate change. I don’t believe PV is the single solution; nothing ever is. But what I would challenge the Government to do is introduce a more balanced approach. Nuclear power stations are going to take 20 years to build but the technology for PV and wind and so on is there now and it should be used more than it currently is. Other countries are doing it and are doing it successfully.’’ n

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COMPANY PROFILE

ENERGY MATTERS AT DURHAM UNIVERSITY – ONE DAY SHORT COURSE

Department of Earth Sciences Laboratories, Durham University

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HAT is it?

Durham University is providing a FREE course to keep you up to date with the latest energy hot topics and cutting–edge research. The course will be delivered by subject specialists from Durham University and may include specifically selected practitioners from other organisations. The course offers an opportunity to meet those working at the forefront of energy research and will provide a setting for informal discussion and knowledge exchange during lunch and coffee sessions.

This free course is relevant to a wide range of delegates from business and industry; consultancy companies; Regional Development Authorities and Local Authorities. The day will also be of interest to students and researchers from other universities and research organisations. The course will assume a basic level of understanding of energy concepts and principles. The course is free of charge and will be located within the North

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

East of England. The course is planned for January 2010.

Energy Research at Durham University Durham University has received over £36M of funding for energy research in the past 7 years and over 90% of our research has been rated of international quality. We are world leaders in the development of thin-film photovoltaics, offshore wind technology and technologies for fusion energy. We also have leading UK research groups working on: Energy distribution networks Microgeneration Carbon capture and storage Geo-energy Plants and microbes for energy Clean chemical processes Societal aspects of energy use The focus of this research activity will be the Durham Energy Institute, due for launch in 2010.

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What do you need to do?

If you are interested in signing up for this free course or for further information please contact: energy.courses@durham.ac.uk to join our mailing list or contact: Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Science Labs, Durham DH1 3LE Tel: +44 0191 3342300 Fax: +44 0191 3342301

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

FACT FILE

APRIL 09

EVERY LITTLE HELPS Switch off lights when leaving an area even for short periods.

Maximise the use of natural light by opening or inclining window blinds and switching off some or all of the lights.

Ensure that computers, monitors and other office equipment have their powersave functions enabled and switch this equipment off at the wall socket at night and weekends.

‘Switch that light out!’ was the famous wartime cry of the air-raid warden and it will become just as famous in the war on climate change For businesses saving energy doesn’t have to be rocket science as David Morgan, senior consultant from not-for-profit energy advice company TADEA, explains.

He advises that most businesses could save up to a fifth of their energy costs and improve the local environment by reducing their carbon emissions.

They can begin with these eight simple steps:

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

Adjust time controls to heating boilers to allow around 30 to 40 minutes pre-heat in the morning, perhaps slightly longer for a Monday. Switch off 30 minutes before closing to allow for building cool down.

Where electric water heaters are in use switch these off at night and weekends or fit them with a seven-day time control.

Replace any tungsten lighting with energy efficient equivalents where possible.

Establish an energy efficiency code or policy for the business with full staff involvement and appoint energy champions.

Commission an energy audit of the business.

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APRIL 09

TADEA is a not-for-profit private company providing carbon reduction advice services to people, government and businesses in the North of England.

Its areas of expertise include domestic and commercial energy advice, project management and consultancy.

TADEA has won the contract to deliver Energy Saving Trust advice centre in the North East for next 3 – 5 years. It is currently supporting the Energy Saving Trust in their roll out of the Energy Saving Trust advice centre through the expertise of its employees.

Landlords and commercial property owners now need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to be able to sell or rent their properties.

All residential and commercial buildings sold or rented after October 1, 2008 require the new energy certificates. This applies to all types of properties, including offices, hotels, and leisure organisations.

For any new build or building modification, it is the responsibility of the person carrying out the construction or modification, i.e. the contractor, to provide a valid EPC. For existing buildings, an EPC must be available from the seller or their agent whenever a building is sold or let.

Public buildings such as schools, libraries and hospitals must also have a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) in place from this date, informing the public of the building’s energy efficiency rating.

There are some serious consequences for non-compliance with this, ranging from refusal to issue a building control certificate upon completion of a project to penalty fines of £500 up to £5000 for each and every breach.

The reports, prepared by qualified inspectors, advise on which energy measures - ranging from thicker loft insulation right through to solar panels - could cut carbon emissions from a building and improve its energy rating.

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FACT FILE

It was established in 2002 by Stockton Borough Council and National Energy Action with the support of local authorities in the Durham and Tees Valley areas and is now expanding its ideas and products across Yorkshire.

Currently, TADEA is able to offer a cost effective service at reduced rates and interested parties should contact Dan Ludgate on 01642 373026 or by e-mail at daniel.ludgate@tadea.com There is also more information on the TADEA website www.tadea.com.

Energy Performance Certificates tell you how energy efficient a building is on a scale of A-G. The most efficient buildings, which should have the lowest fuel bills, are in band A. The Certificate also tells you, on a scale of A-G, about the impact the building has on the environment. Better-rated properties should have less impact through carbon dioxide emissions. The average property in the UK is in bands D-E for both ratings.

David Morgan, Energy Consultant at TADEA, said: “Energy Performance Certificates and Display Energy Certificates are now a legal requirement, and if developers, landlords and building occupiers don’t have the correct certificate they may not be able to put their property up for sale or rent. This could lead to a delay in selling a property or a loss of rental income, as well as incurring a substantial financial penalty.

“Now that the deadline has passed, demand is expected to increase, so those intending to sell or rent a property are advised to investigate what is required sooner rather than later.”

For more information about Energy Performance Certificates and how to arrange an energy assessment, call TADEA on 01642 373046

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

Biofuel has had its critics, but it is still an important part of the renewable mix for the North East, as Peter Jackson reports

A HOMEGROWN SOLUTION

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

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As visions go it’s pretty impressive – for North East England to become a global hub for biofuels.

And it will be a hub accessing national and world markets and supported by a world class hinterland for feedstock.

North East Process Industry Cluster, Nepic, is the agency appointed by One North East to deliver that vision, with a grant of £1.7m to drive the region’s fledgling biofuels industry forward over three years.

In the words of John Brady, Nepic’s senior project manager biofuels and biorefining: “A significant percentage of the UK’s requirement for biofuels under current Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, RTFO, targets would be produced in the North East.’’

This is no longer a matter of choice, but is being driven by legislation and firm targets.

Brady points out that, from April 2008, the fuel we all buy on the forecourt must contain 2.5% biofuel and that percentage will rise in line with legislation so that it will hit 5% by 2013.

He adds: “The really positive news on renewable fuels is that in December 2008 the EU approved an energy and climate package which commits it to achieve a legally binding target of 20% renewable energy by 2020, and that includes a sub target to achieve a

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APRIL 09

minimum of 10% renewable energy in transport by 2020.’’

But the targets for the UK are even tougher: to increase the share of renewables for transport from 1.3% in 2005 to 15% in 2020.

As with so many other forms of renewable energy, the science behind biofuels is not new or complex. You take, for example, oil seed rape, crush it to obtain the oil and chemically process it in the presence of methanol to produce a fatty acid methyl ester, FAME, otherwise known as biodiesel.

Alternatively, to produce bioenthanol, you take high starch wheat or sugar cane, convert it to a sugar, add yeast and ferment it to produce ethanol.

The nature of this technology and the crops and infrastructure required, all inspire to make North East England an ideal region to lead in the development and production of biofuels and to help meet those challenging targets.

“We believe our strategy will succeed because of our integrated infrastructure, transport and storage facilities,’’ says Brady. “The supply side can draw upon global markets and it’s underpinned by a local catchment area of high yield farming, which is conducted according to world best practice.

“We have an existing chemical and

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engineering infrastructure, a deap sea port at Teesport, big storage facilities, a logistics capability and we have the skills base.’’

These advantages are emphasised by the decision taken by the company Ensus to open, later this year, the largest bioethanol plant in Europe, at Wilton on Teesside. It will use 1.2 million tonnes of high starch, low protein wheat – suitable for animal feed which is typically grown in the North East.

This will produce 400 million litres of bioethanol every year.

But biofuel development has not been universally welcomed, particularly last year, when it was argued that land being devoted to growing crops for biofuels was land not being devoted to feeding the world’s hungry – the so called food versus fuels debate.

“Last year we saw a lot of negativity on the food and fuel debate,’’ accepts Brady. “Cereals and oil seeds, energy and biofuels all operate in dynamic commodity markets and in free markets prices are constantly changing to ration demand and to stimulate or dampen supply. The wide ranging publicity surrounding the food versus fuel issue has been generated by many misinformed comments by people who sought to find scapegoats for a problem that mankind has managed for thousands of years: that of poor harvests. It boils down >>

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INTERVIEW

We have an existing chemical and engineering infrastructure, a deap sea port at Teesport, big storage facilities, a logistics capability and we have the skills base

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

to supply versus demand.

“A prosperous and efficient agricultural sector can supply all of the food and feed that the world needs and the new non-food market for cereals and oil seeds into biofuels provides the market security necessary for investment in continued productivity development.

“Agriculture has suffered a lack of investment for a long time and agriculture has been demand constrained and this market can only help.’’

He further argues that an additional benefit for growers is that the biofuel market can use grain and oil seed resulting from poor growing conditions and which would otherwise be rejected by the food industry. This is a point he regards as particularly salient considering the poor growing conditions facing growers last summer.

Brady also points out that the Ensus plant will not simply be converting crops into fuel, but that another other output from that plant is an animal feed called dried distillers grains with soluble, DDGS. It will also produce carbon dioxide for use in the drinks industry. Both of those product volumes will be similar to that of the fuel.

“So in effect when that plant opens in the middle of this year you will have a biorefinery

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producing one third of its output as fuel and two thirds of its output into the food chain.

When that animal feed is produced it’s possible it will find its way into the UK market and reduce the UK’s need for imported animal feed, some of which is soy-based material, some of which could be genetically modified.’’

However cogent these arguments may be, concerns about the role of biofuels in pushing up food prices led to the Gallagher Review, which concluded that feedstock production must avoid agricultural land that would otherwise be used for food production.

The review has prompted Nepic to initiate a project called the Grower Network under which a number of local growers will carry out trials on oil seed rape to maximise yield in both size of crop and oil content. From the next growing season, trials will also include wheat for bioethanol production.

Also, second generation or advanced technology biofuels, produced from waste, such as commercial and municipal waste, or waste produced by the timber industry, will be double credited towards the 10% target of renewable energy in transport by 2020.

Work has already started in the North East to look at advanced technology projects such as, for example, using a range of biomass

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materials which can be gasified; thermochemically treated and converted into a range of synthetic fuels, which could be diesel, alchohol or jet fuel.

As always, all these exciting developments and potential developments need investment. The Ensus plant is happening, but other projects depend on finding the funding. One such integral to the regional strategy for biofuels - is securing a 500 tonne regional crusher plant, to extract the oil from oil seed rape, producing some 200 tonnes of oil annually for use in biodiesel production.

This would cost £50m – a significant investment to create a significant number of jobs - and a business plan and a business model to attract investment are currently being developed. Discussions, according to Brady, are ongoing with potential investors.

“More investment is required,’’ he says. “In the UK this is still a fledgling industry, it’s developing and it’s continuing to develop in spite of a lot of issues that it has had to face over the last 12 months.’’

But he has no doubt the investment will be worthwhile.

“Biofuels are part of renewable energy and renewable energy is very much here to stay and it’s a growing industry.’’ ■

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APRIL 09

COMPANY PROFILE

The North East is increasingly a centre for new and renewable energy, which is where the Three Pillars Fund comes in; supporting technology and earlystage business where investment is needed most

TRANSFORMING THE CLIMATE FOR TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT

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ECHNOLOGY start-ups, particularly those working in resource-demanding sectors such as energy, have one thing in common: all too often, with early development complete, and technology proved, they find themselves needing additional resources to prepare for market. These - anything from staff to close sales or support customers to expert support for securing additional finance to development of the senior management team – are typical of the ‘proof of business’ resources that early businesses need to bridge the gap between technology and a trading, growing business.

A primary objective of the Three Pillars Fund is to transform the climate for technology and earlystage business investment in the North East of England, and it invests to catalyse innovation from the North East’s science and technology base: Energy Process Industries Healthcare in both the local technology business clusters and by enabling small technology businesses to move into the region and take advantage of the expertise and resources available. Investing at the ‘proof of business’ stage, often following on from a period of intensive and resource-heavy technology development, and usually at a stage where the business is pre-revenue, investment enables businesses to plan for, secure and implement the business resources needed to take the next steps in strategic plans.

This is inevitably the case in the energy sector, where rigorous testing and validation is required right from the earliest stages of technology development, and where real contact with potential customers is essential. Investments into energy and renewable energy companies already

alternatives and utilising wind, solar and tidal and wave power, actively supporting them as they start to trade or prepare for further investment, and working in close collaboration with NaREC, the New and Renewable Energy Centre, to enable them to secure the professional and expert technical resources that they inevitably need.

Amanda McMurray, manager of the Three Pillars Fund, said: “North East England is already, and increasingly, a centre for new and renewable energy; it is a high quality, immensely valuable resource for businesses in the field, a source of expertise and a highly credible and wellconnected focal point for commercial interest and for investment.

“The Fund’s energy portfolio contains a number of businesses with advanced technologies in the renewable energy sector; all potential players in UK plans for improved energy efficiency and green-tech.”

Above: Amanda McMurray, manager of The Three Pillars Fund for technology business investment

NORTH EAST ENGLAND IS ALREADY, AND INCREASINGLY, A CENTRE FOR NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY; IT IS A HIGH QUALITY, IMMENSELY VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR BUSINESSES IN THE FIELD form a significant part of the Three Pillars Fund’s portfolio. In the 18 months since investment began, it has invested in six such businesses, supporting developing energy generation

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Amanda A McMurray PhD MBA IMC, Fund Manager, The Three Pillars Fund tel 0191 211 2324 / 0751 509 9595, email amanda.mcmurray@northeastfinance.org www.nstarfinance.com/nstar-fund-3.asp Ground Floor 1 St James’ Gate Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4AD

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

How green is their valley in Weardale?

Peter Jackson talks to John Topliss about the building of a carbon neutral rural community

A MODEL VILLAGE SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

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A brownfield site in Wear Valley is set to become a pioneering environmental showcase, showing us all what a truly sustainable life might really be like.

This will be a far cry from the Eastgate site’s previous life; it was the Lafarge Cement Works, whose closure in 2003 with the loss of about 150 jobs represented the kind of blow from which a rural community cannot easily recover.

But the formation of the Wear Dale Task Force and a large scale public consultation has resulted in a 21st century vision for the future of the 550 hectare site set amidst some of County Durham’s most beautiful scenery.

As John Topliss, One North East property senior specialist and project manager on the Eastgate Renewable Energy Village, says: “Lots of respondents to the original public consultation started to say, `Why aren’t we looking at a green and renewable agenda and, if a mixed use development is going to be proposed, why can’t that be tied into renewable energies?’ ‘’ The former cement works itself only covers some 25 or 26 hectares of the site, the rest being tenanted slopes and meadows, woodland and disused quarries.

“The vision for Eastgate is to create a sustainable, living, working and leisure development on that site which exemplifies and extols the use of renewable energy in all five land based forms and be a real model of sustainability,’’ says Topliss.

The plan is for offices or small scale workshops, with about 65 residential units and

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APRIL 09

a variety of leisure uses.

The first phase will be the provision of business accommodation and a biomass facility burning waste material from forestry operations and a possible extension of the Wear Valley steam railway and some visitor facilities.

The task force hopes to get a `minded to approve’ decision from the planning authority in June. This will have to be referred to Government Office North East, which will decide whether or not to call it in for a public inquiry. Not all local residents are happy with the scale of the proposals, and the traffic implications of potentially up to 250,000 visitors a year.

Assuming the project clears the planning hurdles, the next stage would be to try to secure private sector investment and public sector funding to help with some initial infrastructure work – both of which Topliss acknowledges would be `a bit of a challenge’ in the current environment. He doesn’t anticipate work starting until 2011.

Further development – if the vision was realised – would be more ambitious, seeing, over the next six to seven years, a hotel and spa, fed from natural geothermal hot springs.

This would be the only naturally heated spa in the country, apart from Bath. Topliss tells me interest has already been expressed by hotel and leisure operators.

The task force wants to work closely with the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Natural England to use Eastgate as something of a gateway to the North Pennines and to educate visitors and local residents about the natural environment in the area.

He adds: “There’s a lot more, additional, softer leisure type uses like mountain biking, hill trekking and a lot of nature based activities we think we could promote because of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that sits around the site and the presence on site of some fairly special and protected wildlife, such as peregrine falcons that currently breed in the quarries. There would also be education elements and a visitor centre to demonstrate what we are doing on site.’’

And what they will be doing on site is showcasing renewable energy and a sustainable lifestyle.

The task force is looking at introducing at least

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two vertical access wind turbines, which have a lower visual impact than conventional turbines. It is also considering a small-scale hydro-electric scheme, using the Wear.

“We would only use probably less than half of what’s generated on site for use on site and the rest of it goes back into the Grid and that would be the equivalent to power all of the residential properties within the dale; so it would effectively make the dale green,’’ he says.

The aim is to make the buildings themselves carbon neutral, with green sedum roofs for insulation and the reduction of rain water run-off, and solar panels. The workforce is also looking at the on-site treatment of waste water and sewage for a living treatment facility using anaerobic digestion.

But the Eastgate Renewable Energy Village will be about more than simply providing the infrastructure for a greener way of living, as Topliss explains.

“We want people either living or working on site to sign up to a change of lifestyle and cut down on consumption as much as possible. It’s an aspiration, but we would look at encouraging people to cut down on car usage, putting in place a car share scheme, providing electric charging points for vehicles, sourcing food locally, encouraging businesses to use local suppliers, whether that’s something as simple as cleaning materials or their whole supply chain.’’

There is a long way to go before this becomes reality and, inevitably, it will require private and public bodies to put their hands in

INTERVIEW

their pockets.

“The hotel and leisure facilities are an aspirational element to the project,’’ he admits. “Having as much and as broad a range of leisure uses as possible on site is also aspirational and whether we can deliver those will be a challenge, because stuff like that, such as mountain biking, generally isn’t commercial and has to be funded through the public sector.’’

But, if all the project’s aspirations are met, the beauty will be not only in its undoubted worthiness, but also in the real economic benefits it is anticipated it will bring. Not only is it expected that the village would replace the 150 jobs lost when the cement works closed but it could also provide a template for other businesses in the region.

“In business terms there’s lots of organisations which are becoming more and more conscious of climate change, carbon emissions and green issues generally and a number have expressed an interest in aligning themselves with this sort of development,’’ says Topliss. “Partly this is because it does them good from a business perspective because it raises their profile and shows how green they can be. But I think there are long term benefits for companies that do adopt a sustainable approach to running a business, it reduces some of their consumption and can reduce costs in the long term. So we are hopeful from a business perspective that we will get people signing up.’’

If they do, the valley will be green again, in more senses than one. n

We want people either living or working on site to sign up to a change of lifestyle and cut down on consumption as much as possible. It’s an aspiration

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SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

FUEL FROM THE FOREST Dr David Clubb, director of the Rural Development Initiatives thinks we haven’t been able to see the wood for the trees when it comes to biomass, but that could be about to change, as he explains to Peter Jackson In the search for a renewable energy source, the answer could lie in the oldest fuel known to man – wood.

And that’s good news for the North East, which has a lot of wood: more than 100,000 hectares of forest cover – about one tenth of England’s total, and this is increasing by about 300 hectares every year.

Dr David Clubb, who also runs Northwoods, a North East initiative to support forestry businesses, sees this as presenting the region with a great opportunity.

“Forestry and biomass are now moving into the sort of scale where they are in the same league as solid fuels, even if a lot further down the league table,’’ he says. But he forecasts that, if coal burning continues to decline in the North East, biomass, largely in the form of wood, will probably overtake it in the next five years.

That’s a big claim to make, but he makes a strong case.

“It’s great, you are getting a low cost fuel,

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

which potentially can impact on fuel poverty particularly in rural areas, you are improving the management of woodlands, thereby improving employment prospects and the resilience of rural businesses and, because you are cutting down these trees and letting more light in, you get biodiversity benefits, and, because you are replacing fossil fuels with a sustainable local product, you are reducing carbon emissions, so, by my count, that’s a quadruple whammy.’’

Wood for fuel is hardly complicated technology to understand. Burning it releases carbon dioxide, but, because the trees burned are replaced, a near equivalent amount of carbon dioxide is recaptured. The wood can be burned traditionally on an open fire, which is only about 35% efficient, with most of the heat escaping up the chimney; or in a stove, which operates at about 80% efficiency.

But those are domestic solutions. For commercial applications, we are talking about modern wood burning boilers, automatically

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fed by wood in chip or pellet form. These systems are 90% efficient.

Surprisingly, the Forestry Commission supplies little wood fuel itself but it is active in supporting private businesses which do supply.

“In North East England we are very fortunate: the Forestry Commission is supportive of small businesses and recognises that without these small businesses and forestry contractors the whole woodland sector would not be viable,’’ says Clubb. ``When we started the New Fuels Producer Group, most people there joined up to see whether there was any extra business they could get. Their day jobs would have been tree surgery or some kind of forestry contracting work, but as the contracts started coming through, some of them decided to go part-time into wood fuel delivery, some of them have gone full-time into that and some have expanded their businesses and taken extra staff on to cope with the wood fuel side of it.’’

While in the UK, the development of biomass is in its infancy, on the Continent it has long been accepted as a regular source of fuel.

“The thing that really strikes you when you go to a market where it’s functioning really well – and, to be honest, almost anywhere on the Continent is better than the UK – is that it’s just normal,’’ says Clubb.

Why is that? >>

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INTERVIEW

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INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

“We had so much oil and gas and in the 1970s it enabled us to be lazy when others were using their heads. Most continental countries didn’t have the same natural resources in terms of fossil fuels that we did, so they had to think themselves out of a hole when the oil crisis came along, rather than dig themselves out of it.

“They had this wonderful resource. Austria, for example, has something like 45% forest cover, Sweden has got a lot of forest cover and they started thinking about ways to provide heat.’’

Another advantage continental countries have had is that they tended to use district heating systems, unlike the UK with its reliance on the National Grid.

In fact, the first district heating system in the UK was in the North East, at Kielder Forest, where houses and businesses, a school and a youth hostel are supplied with biomass generated heat. That system was installed only about six years ago.

But, to be a success, biomass has to make sense for businesses and homeowners as well as for a nation’s strategic energy needs. Yes, everyone knows there are marketing and image benefits, allowing a business to burnish its green credentials, but what about the all important bottom line?

In fact, it is estimated that the cost of heating with wood is between 1.5p and 2.5p per kwh, compared to 4.5p per kwh for heating with oil. Clubb tells me a small rural pub would spend perhaps £10,000 on having a wood boiler installed, for which the payback time would be less than five years.

And he argues that the environmental benefits go beyond the carbon dioxide and climate change issues.

“At one time I didn’t fully understand the benefits to woodlands until I came to the North East and worked closely with the Forestry Commission,’’ admits Clubb. “You have to understand forest management before you understand just how important it is. If you go to conifer or broadleaf plantations which haven’t been managed, you get a lot of trees very closely spaced and biodiversity is very low, it’s not much better than a carpark.’’

As has been pointed out, we have a lot of forest to manage. The North East is the second

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

most afforested area in England and its biggest timber producer, supplying about 750,000 tonnes annually. Little surprise then, that it was chosen as a suitable region for an initiative such as Northwoods, which has been responsible for a large training programme and several wood fuel projects.

This led to the creation of New Fuels to represent all the producers in the region. Its target has been to assess the suitability of 300 businesses for wood fuel use. Clubb tells me they are close to reaching that target and have achieved a conversion rate of more than 10%.

“The North East has been very well supported by public sector involvement,’’ he says. “New Fuels was supported by Defra, Newheat was funded by One North East and I think that’s been the best biomass support project anywhere in the UK, it’s the most flexible and

really delivering the sort of support that business needs. Most regions are really jealous of the sort of support we get from the RDA.’’ If the projections are to be believed, there’s every reason for One North East to be so supportive. Clubb estimates biomass’s current value to the region to be about £49m a year and, by 2015, that will have increased to at least £76m. This could equate to about 2,000 full-time jobs.

But, he warns that biomass will only be developed and the region’s opportunities fully realised, if there is the kind of political will that existed in Europe in the 1970s.

“It was a political imperative to change then, and that’s the crucial thing about any development of the renewable energy sector: if there’s not strong political support, then you can more or less forget it.’’ n

If you go to conifer or broadleaf plantations which haven’t been managed, you get a lot of trees very closely spaced and biodiversity is very low, it’s not much better than a carpark

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RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 09

RECRUITMENT

NRG SUPPLY KEY TALENT TO THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR NRG, the Newcastle headquartered specialist recruitment business, have sourced talent for the renewable energy sector for a number of years. This has included a number of key appointments for NaREC, the New and Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth, a national research and development centre for renewable energy. NRG successfully recruited both Andrew Mill, the Chief Executive, and Richard Marr, the Finance Director, as well as a large number of management and support appointments since NaREC’s inception. NRG Executive, the specialist search and selection practice within the group, utilized a robust search and selection strategy to attract two high caliber individuals to the organization.

NRG’s success in recruiting across the renewable energy field lies in the company’s

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

principal for their specialist consultants to have industry experience and qualifications.

Dylan Christie, Business Development Director at NRG, believes this gives them a unique advantage, “Our strategy of recruiting Consultants with industry experience ensures we save our customers time and money. Our specialist Consultants understand the technical requirements of the role, guaranteeing our short-listed candidates are an excellent technical fit. This ensures our customers have an excellent talent pool to select from in the shortest possible time frame. We take instant feedback from our customers following recruitment assignments and this is something they value extremely highly.”

Patrick Lonergan, NRG’s Technical Division Manager, is an excellent example of this strategy, “I’m a Physics Masters graduate

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with ten years hands-on experience as a Development Engineer. I find my qualifications and industry experience really help me understand both the technical aspects of a role, and the key drivers of success. This is especially crucial when recruiting in niche sectors such as renewable energy, where highly skilled candidates are in demand. Our in-depth technical understanding ensures we target and attract the best possible talent for our customers. “ NRG have been established in the North-East for over thirty years, offering permanent appointments, interim placements, managed service solutions, and full recruitment process outsourcing. Their fundamental business objective is placing the best quality candidate into their customer to assist in the growth of the organisation.

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

STEP ON THE GAS There’s no problem finding alternative fuels to power cars, the difficulty is in the transition, as the University of Sunderland’s Dirk Kok explains to Peter Jackson Life wasn’t easy for the Edwardian motorist.

More than 100 years ago, when the motor car was in its infancy and the plaything of the rich, there were no filling stations and no garages.

You bought your petrol from the chemists and, if you needed a mechanic – and you frequently did – it was a question of seeing what the local blacksmith could do.

For motoring to become widely popular, there had to be an infrastructure to support it, and this took time to build – points emphasised by Dirk Kok, Reach Out Fellow at Sunderland University’s Institute for Automotive & Manufacturing Advanced Practice, AMAP. The 32-year-old Dutch engineering graduate is deeply concerned by this infrastructure issue, for he is pioneering new motoring technology and has led a team to convert a Nissan Almera to run on hydrogen gas using current technology to prove feasibility and affordability.

In partnership with the Centre for Process Innovation on Teesside and Gateshead-based Lambda One Autogas, the AMAP team installed a hydrogen tank in the Nissan, which can run on both petrol and gas power.

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

“Hydrogen has been around for a long time and the first fuel cells were developed in 1838 and people have been using hydrogen in internal combustion engines without too many problems,’’ says Kok. “The purpose of this project was to find out what kind of off-the-shelf technology we could use, what exists, how fast could we get it, how fast could we get it to market.

“It was much easier than anybody predicted; they were all predicting gas leaks and big disasters, but nothing like that happened at all. That was a very big disappointment from my perspective because I’m an engineer and I like things to go boom, but that didn’t happen. It was a success, we made it using off-the-shelf stuff you can basically buy in any hyper-store and you can build it in any car that you want.’’

The cost of conversion was £1,750, although it did cost a further £4,250 for the tank which had to be tailor-made for the project, a price which, Kok is confident, would come down dramatically, if they were to be mass produced.

With all the enthusiasm of someone >>

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RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

If you only get your money back after three years, you are only doing it to save the environment and, however much I’d like to believe that people’s hearts are in the right places, I don’t think they are there yet

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

41

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

immersed in his subject, the young Dutchman eagerly explains that there are essentially two types of hydrogen-powered vehicle: a car such as the AMAP Almera conversion which burns hydrogen in the same way as petrol, and hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles where the hydrogen is reacted with oxygen to produce electricity, which drives the car.

“The internal combustion is a very inefficient engine, whereas an electric motor is much more efficient. Hydrogen in a fuel cell creates electricity and that’s a very efficient process as well,’’ he says.

The likeliest scenario is that we would see hybrid electric vehicles with electricity as a range extender. The vehicle would drive on petrol, which charges the battery, which, in turn, when fully charged, can take over from the petrol. Here, we would be in a transitional stage, on the way to having battery-driven cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

This could be made even more efficient with the development of regenerative braking, where the kinetic energy expended in stopping the vehicle is recovered in the form of electricity to be reused in later acceleration.

But surely with hydrogen there has to be safety question? What about the 1937 Hindenburg disaster, when a hydrogen-filled airship went so spectacularly up in flames?

“The Hindenburg disaster was not a hydrogen disaster,’’ sighs Kok, obviously well accustomed to tackling this particular question. “It was the airship’s inflammable paint on its skin which caused the fire. Nobody got burned by the hydrogen at all because hydrogen has a flame that goes straight up.

One worry is that if you are driving with a big hydrogen tank in the boot, what would happen upon impact? But if you get into a collision that makes the tank rupture the impact of the collision has to be so big the least of your worries is the hydrogen. It’s worse with a petrol tank because whereas with hydrogen the flames go straight up, with petrol it pools under the car.’’

And, if hydrogen is relatively safe, then ultimately there is the prospect of being able to store it at home and fill a vehicle at home.

“It is reasonably easy to store. Using a little compressor, some wind energy and a bucket of water, you can have your own system to

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

Under the bonnet: The internal combustion engine is very inefficent generate hydrogen in your garden through the electrolysis of water. Water is H2O and, if you split water through electrolysis - passing electricity through water - you generate hydrogen and oxygen. The technology has been around since 1838.’’

Before that day dawns, and, even if it never does, the North East is well placed to benefit from any demand for hydrogen fuelled cars.

Some 60% of all the UK’s hydrogen is produced on Teesside as a by-product of some of the chemical plants. Not only that, but the region is home to Nissan - which provided the Almera for AMAP’s conversion – and its whole automotive supply chain.

“The only thing for electrical vehicle production we are missing in the region is a battery plant,’’ says Kok. He argues that there are several factors which determine the popularity of a vehicle: price, performance, ease of filling, flexibility, range and usability.

The petrol driven internal combustion engine of course ticks all of those boxes, and, wheras the early electric vehicles had a problem with range and charging time hydrogen cars would be quick and easy to fill with an acceptable range and potentially acceptable price.

The real stumbling block is that there is practically nowhere - even with a dual fuel option – to fill up on hydrogen, and here we come back to Dirk’s main point: there is no

42

infrastructure for hydrogen powered cars.

“So you could convert your car but you could not get a return on your investment because you cannot then get the cheap hydrogen. We are in dire need of a structure for filling up on hydrogen,’’ he says.

Until that structure exists there can be no reasonable return on the investment in a hydrogen powered car and, for the same reason, that infrastructure has to be sufficiently developed to allow the price of hydrogen to be competitive.

“There has to be a margin between the price of petrol and the price of the other fuel, whether it be LPG or hydrogen in order to warrant your investment,’’ says Kok. “It’s simple mathematics: if the investment costs £2,000 and you drive so much cheaper because of it, you might make your money back in a year, but if you only get your money back after three years, you are only doing it to save the environment and, however much I’d like to believe that people’s hearts are in the right places, I don’t think they are there yet.’’

But, he remains an optimist.

“There’s a lot of things happening out there and a lot of advances in technology. The problem is not whether we are going to achieve a reduction on carbon dioxide emissions, the problem is: in what way are we going to achieve them?’’ n

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

WIND POWER FROM MICROBES Where there’s muck, there’s – well, if not brass, at least energy - as Peter Jackson discovers on a visit to Teesside’s Bran Sands It’s not for the squeamish, but Bran Sands, a desolate spot on the south bank of the Tees Estuary, is the site of a major pioneering environmental project.

There, using the latest technology, Northumbrian Water turns what is euphemistically called `municipal waste’, - or human sewage to you and me - into power.

Distasteful it may be, but, just completed, this £33m plant, the biggest of its kind in the UK, will

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

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annually save Northumbrian Water millions of pounds in electricity costs and significantly cut its carbon dioxide emissions.

The science uses a natural process. With conventional digestion, sewage sludge is heated to 38 degrees Celsius, which encourages natural bacteria to break down the sludge and produce methane and lower volumes of sludge which can then be used as fertilizer.

However, a new advanced digestion process called thermal hydrolysis has been developed, which involves a pre-treatment of the sludge, heating it to 165 degrees Celsius under six bars of pressure. This destroys any pathogens and breaks down the biological cell structure, which enhances the performance of the digestion process.

Donna Rawlinson, project manager for Northumbrian Water explains: “When we say enhanced performance, what we really mean is the additional production of biogas, which is predominantly 65% methane and 35% carbon dioxide. With the thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment it is expected that an additional 60% volume of biogas will be produced >>

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

from the digestion process.’’

The anaerobic digestion process has been sufficiently studied for long enough to make the productivity of those millions of bacteria, working away on our behalf at Bran Sands, surprisingly predictable.

“Sewage sludge is predictable in terms of its inherent calorific value and the energy it has within it is pretty constant and production rates are fairly constant. We can predict within 5%, how much we are going to produce on a year by year basis,’’ says David Charlton, project sponsor at Northumbrian Water.

The process reduces more than 500,000 tonnes of sludge to about 60,000 tonnes; and all this from the treatment of domestic sewage and industrial effluent, from a population equivalent to about 1.9 million.

The sludge, with a far lower water content than that produced by conventional sludge treatment processes , uses less energy in transportation, leading to significant carbon savings.

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

The resulting methane is collected in 11-metre diameter biogas storage bags before being burned in a gas engine to produce nearly 5 megawatts of electricity. Some of this is used in the process, making it self-sufficient, but there is enough excess to meet half of the Bran Sands site’s total energy requirements.

Waste heat and steam generated from the process are also captured and recycled for use elsewhere in the process.

Northumbrian Water first started looking at the project in 2005 when energy prices, particularly gas - used to dry the sludge at Bran Sands - started rising. A feasibility study was undertaken, followed by testing and pilot trials. Stockton-based engineering company Aker Solutions was chosen to deliver a solution, following a competitive design and construct tender process.

But they did not have the luxury of a green field site, or the ability to start with a blank sheet of paper. The project was made more demanding by the need to integrate the new

44

process with the plant already on site.

“That was key because part of the strategy was that we retain the drying capacity as a strategic reserve, so we have had to work very hard to make sure the integration of it has gone smoothly. We have also had to keep an operational plant and keep treating the required quantities of sludge,’’ says David Charlton.

Aker Solutions adopted a technology pioneered in Norway, called the Cambi Process, as an integral part of their solution.

Their solution was chosen based on cost and quality criteria and the confidence they gave Northumbrian Water that the operational cost savings could be achieved.

“Aker Solutions had some experience in related advanced digestion processes, though not within Northumbrian Water, but predominantly their experience came from previous work at Bran Sands and the complexity of integrating a new process within an existing process shouldn’t be understated

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

Partners in progress: Aker Solutions’ Vince Lee and Northumbrian Water’s Donna Rawlinson or underestimated. It has been Aker Solutions’ experience within this field that is making this project a success,’’ says Donna Rawlinson.

Aker Solutions’ Project Manager Vince Lee agrees. “It helped a great deal that we had a long-standing relationship with Northumbrian Water, design consultants MWH and Entec and cost consultants Faithful and Gould, and the co-operation from all parties greatly helped to get the project built and integrated with the existing plant. We had three years experience on the site so we were familiar with the plant and the people here.’’

The company was also able to use the experience it has gained in the energy sector, building combined heat and power plants.

“We are seeing a lot of cross-over between the market sectors we operate in at the moment,’’ says Sarah Weyell, Aker Solutions’ strategy and marketing manager. “There are increasing numbers of opportunities for biomass driven combined heat and power

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

plants, whether it’s woodchip or sewage sludge, and we are able to bring all our experience together from energy and the water industry.’’

David Charlton agrees: “Aker Solutions has used some techniques that we have not seen before; for example, the Cambi Process itself came in modular form, prefabricated off site and that’s a technique we’ve not normally seen in the water industry, but is common in the oil & gas industry.’’

But, in turn, Aker Solutions learnt valuable lessons in delivering the project, which can be applied elsewhere.

Sarah Weyell adds: “We are seeing other opportunities and other water companies are also moving forward in this area. This is a flagship project for us, and it fits very well with our aspirations to expand into the market.’’

Aker Solutions, which has had 50 staff working on the contract and, at times, up to 200 sub-contractors, is particularly proud of its

45

health and safety record, with no `lost time incidents’ during more than 250,000 hours of construction.

Now Northumbrian Water has a site which will cut the company’s annual £40m electricity bill by about a tenth and brings the company significantly closer to having a fifth of its energy produced from self-generated renewable sources by 2015.

But, given that sewage is free and will be sustainable as long as humanity is, why are such schemes not being adopted everywhere?

Well, in fact, the project has already been judged to be so successful that Northumbrian Water is considering similar projects at other key sites.

David Charlton says: “I think we’ll find that in the future people will be looking at advanced technologies to improve digestion to generate gas and then energy.’’

And they will be looking at Bran Sands as an example of how it can be done. n

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

College lea

College leads on Renwable Energy Centre

Renewable Energy Hartlepool College of Further Education is demonstrating its commitment to the government policy of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Ed Miliband, the government’s new climate change secretary, recently set this goal from its former target of 60%.

Hartlepool College of Further Ed government policy of reducing c the government’s new climate c former target of 60%.

The College has invested in a renewable energy centre, in response to an increase in demand from environmentally and economically conscious installers. At the moment the Centre has solar water heating, air source heating, ground source heating and combined heat and power. This has been completed in partnership with manufacturers such as Ferroli Boilers and Dimplex.

With the support from a grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Hartlepool College of Further Education has been utilising the Centre to disseminate this knowledge and expertise to small to medium enterprises.

Many employers have recognised that there are more clients asking for this new technology to be introduced in new and existing buildings.

The College has invested in a r increase in demand from environ At the moment the Centre has s source heating and combined h The most popular course is the BPEC accredited solar water heating. This technology is proven to reduce energy consumption within partnership domestic buildings, with manufacturers and, therefore is becoming popular for home owners to install. The course provides information on how to select, install and commission the most appropriate solar system for a building based on the client’s needs and how to maintain the system once installed.

Simple by design A household solar water heating system uses solar collectors to capture solar energy and uses this energy to heat water for household use. A well designed system will typically provide 80% of a family’s hot water requirements during the summer months of April to September and make a useful contribution during the rest of the year.

With the support from a grant fr (ERDF), Hartlepool College of F Installers who successfully complete the BPEC Domestic to disseminate this knowledge a Solar Hot Water Heating training course can gain access to the DTI’s low carbon buildings programme (LCBP). The Many employers have recognis LCBP is managed by the Energy Savings Trust (EST) new technology to be introduce and BPEC’s Domestic Solar Hot Water Heating course is the only one to be recognised by the EST for which householders can draw funding for new installations.

This obviously reduces energy consumption which not only assists in the reduction of household bills but also the reduction in carbon emissions.

Simple by design A household solar water heating system uses solar collectors to capture solar energy and uses this energy to heat water for household use. A well designed system will typically provide 80% of a family’s hot water requirements during the summer months of April to September and make a useful contribution during the rest of the year.

This obviously reduces energy consumption which not only assists in the reduction of household bills but also the reduction in carbon emissions.

Telephone 01429 292888 for more information

The most popular course is the technology is proven to reduce and, therefore is becoming pop provides information on how to se solar system for a building base system once installed.

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Telephone 01429 292888 for more information Telephone 01429 292888 for more information

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

ANSWER BLOWING IN THE WIND Wind will meet much of our energy needs and the North East can be a leader in turbine technology and production, as David Still of Clipper Windpower explains to Peter Jackson

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

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RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 09

There’s a lot of commentary on wind and a lot of that commentary is based on people not wanting any change in their backyards

RENEWABLES & THE ENVIRONMENT

Could wind power, like North Sea oil and gas prove to be a lifeline for this region’s manufacturing and engineering?

Will it, once again, give the North East world-beating industries, employing thousands and driving a new technological revolution.

David Still, managing director of Clipper Windpower Europe certainly believes so and can marshal some impressive facts and figures to support that belief.

He explains that one manufacturing facility with a capacity to make enough turbine blades to generate just 1,000 megawatts a year would alone employ about 1,000 people, with scores more in the supply chain. A key component of the Government’s recently launched low carbon industrial strategy is an expectation that about 400,000 jobs will be created over the next eight years.

“We will see a level of activity very close to what we saw when North Sea oil and gas started and to meet the demand of offshore wind will require most of the facilities on the East Coast from Aberdeen down to Lowestoft, so it is a vast opportunity,’’ he says.

Still is confident the UK is well placed to capture much of the market for manufacturing turbines, arguing that this is where the demand is going to be, and it is not cost effective to ship 71 metre blades from anywhere very far away.

Such is the contribution offshore wind can make to the UK’s energy needs he is equally sure that market will exist. Current offshore projects generate something in the order of 200 megawatts but future sites are likely to generate up to 5,000 megawatts, from up to 500 machines. This would, by some estimates, he enough to power 3.75 million homes.

Given that the UK is required to meet a significant amount of its energy needs from renewables by 2020, there is going to be a clear demand for offshore wind turbines.

Certainly Clipper is backing this expectation

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INTERVIEW

with investment. Founded in 2001 in California, the company now has more than 700 employees around the world and has chosen Blyth as the location to develop its 10 megawatt Britannia turbine – which, at a 100m high, will be the world’s largest - for which the prime market will be UK and German waters.

Still was an obvious choice to head up the European operation, boasting an impressive CV in wind power. He has worked in the field of renewable in the North East for nearly 25 years and was involved in a project in the early 1990s to develop the first wind projects in the region, in Blyth. He was chairman of the British Wind Energy Association for five years and in 2003 was appointed renewables adviser at the DTI, before joining Clipper four years ago. He has also been given a CBE for services to the energy sector.

The Blyth Harbour Wind Farm, built in 1992, was a trailblazer for wind power. Built by Border Wind, of which Still was managing director, it comprises nine 300 kilowatt wind turbines along the breakwater at Blyth.

“We were the developers of the project and we then attracted the Port of Blyth to become a major shareholder,’’ he says. “It was probably the fifth project in the UK of any size to be built, so it was pioneering because it was semi-offshore when most projects were being built on fields and hills, but we were trying to look to the future, so those turbines became a very bold statement for the future of wind.’’

The second stage was to attract investors to build the first two offshore turbines in Blyth.

“That attracted a lot of attention at the time and really kick-started the financing and the support measures required for the industry. At the moment the Crown Estate has given out options and leases for a total of more than 40 gigawatts of offshore wind around the UK.’’ Not all of those will be built, but it gives some idea of the potential of wind power to >>

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

INTERVIEW

APRIL 09

Impressive CV: David Still has worked in renewables in the North East for nearly 25 years learn that, if they were, they could power 30 million homes. In fact, more than 10% of it has been given consent and will be built over the next couple of years.

As an indication of how technology has improved and costs come down, the nine turbines of the Blyth Harbour Project cost £3.2m and generate 2.7 megawatts, while the two offshore turbines cost £4.2m and generate 4 megawatts. Still estimates that these could supply the equivalent of about 3,000 households.

This, the area’s natural advantages and the presence of the New and Renewable Energy Research Centre, NaREC, with its blade testing facilities, make Blyth a major centre for the development of wind power.

“Blyth and the North East of England have an infrastructure of the rivers and coastline and available land that can be developed to deploy these turbines and to develop the industrial infrastructure needed for manufacturing and

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 09

for developing the supply chain around it,’’ he says.

Clipper has been designing the Britanna 10 megawatt for nearly two years, has started testing some of the components and will be deploying the turbine on an onshore test site in the North East in about two years, if NaREC succeeds in getting its new test facilities.

And after that?

“We will be looking to supply wind turbines to the offshore market and these are likely to be off the North East of England. We would hope to be participating in the successful bid for the Round 3 programme run by the Crown Estate and we hope to be one of the four or five credible turbine suppliers to supply the market when it comes around in 2015 or 2016.’’

Locating offshore wind farms is not straightforward. We are accustomed to the sensitivities surrounding the siting of onshore wind farms, but offshore sites are also subject to many constraints.

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The interests of other users of the sea and sea bed have to be taken into account; there have to be suitable seabed conditions for turbine foundations, the water cannot be too deep, there must obviously be sufficient prevailing wind, but the site cannot be in a shipping lane or straddle too many oil and gas pipes, or be in the middle of an oil and gas field where helicopters are flying, and fishing and ecological sites of special interest have also to be taken into account.

But zones have been announced by the Crown Estate, varying from being 12 miles off the coast in the Brighton area, to the Dogger Bank, about 100 miles off the North East coast.

Of all forms of renewables, wind power most notoriously has its critics: those who claim, among other claims, that because the wind `blows where it listeth’, and does not blow all the time, turbines cannot meet our energy needs.

But Still is dismissive. “There’s a lot of commentary on wind and a lot of that commentary is based on people not wanting any change in their backyards, so they will focus on a variety of issues and the issues around intermittency and the wind not blowing all the time comes up many times. We have a whole power system in the UK which is based on intermittency because it’s based on people turning on and off lights and other appliances any time they like. We have power stations that can trip or fail, so we have a fluid power system.’’

He does concede that we need a mix of technologies to provide stability but, he insists, offshore wind will be a vital component of that mix, making investment in it a reasonably safe bet.

“People now talk about the price of power,’’ he says. “Most people don’t understand how much gas or electricity they use at home but the pressure on price has created a much more open debate and what we have now is more understanding of what’s needed and people understand some of the issues around renewable more. They realise we have to be more efficient with our electricity, more sensible to make sure we use our scarce resources as best as possible and minimise the harmful impacts to our world.’’ n

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