Decentralised Energy

Southwark Heat Network to go ‘live’ in next few months

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Admin

September 2013: Detailed interview in Inside Housing on the new SELCHP district heating project. “Southwark Council is one of the few landlords with ‘pipes in the ground’ for a new district heating system. One of the scheme’s masterminds is councillor Barrie Hargrove.” Points raised include:

  • The scheme is “looking at connecting before the winter period – October or November at the latest.”
  • The captured waste heat from SELCHP will go through a heat network to an five existing Southwark housing district heating network replacing heat produced from existing gas boilers. “It’s cheaper for the tenants and residents living in 2,500 homes as well, particularly for the council leaseholders because they’ll be paying 10 per cent less than the price of gas.”
  • The scheme “cost £7 million – Veolia have put the capital in, there’s no capital cost to the council. Council tenants and leaseholders pay Veolia for their heating bills. There will be a profit share between the council and Veolia.”

Read the full interview here.

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Energy and Climate Questions to the Mayor

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Admin

September 2013: This month the Mayor has been asked questions in relation to:

How the Mayor’s programmes will respond to the forthcoming IPCC’s (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) 5th Assessment Report; the Mayor’s “climate sceptic views“; London’s growing energy demand; £145k spend on climate change adaptation;  the amount of energy generated from waste incineration; the number of GLA officers working on energy efficiency retrofit; the amount of ECO funding that could be directed to London; the operation of the RE:FIT schools energy efficiency programme in Harrow; the RE:FIT schools programme in Brent; Government’s proposed changes to building regulations and its potential impact on London Plan energy requirements; the Mayor’s response to DECC’s Community Energy – Call for Evidence; the Mayor’s support for community energy schemes in London – such as Brixton Energy; publication of the latest London Energy and Greenhouse Gas Inventory (LEGGI); the cost of producing ‘Using Local Powers to Maximise Energy Efficiency Retrofit – How to’ materials for London’? (report here); the terms of loans provided by the London Energy Efficiency Fund (LEEF); extending LEEF loans to the private sector; details of the LEEF Advisory Committee; consultancy companies working on LEEF; the amount spent by LEEF; the number of loans given out by LEEF; rollover energy contracts for SMEs; Londoners energy bills; the amount of renewable electricity provided by Source London electric vehicle charging points; funds previously spent on adding energy efficiency measures to Metropolitan Police buildings currently for sale; developing a Fuel Poverty Action Plan for London; the supply of electricity to London’s electric vehicle charging points; the supply of electricity to London Underground; London Green Deal targets; a London Green Roofs map; the Mayor’s Green Deal assessment on his home; stimulating Green Deal finance packages; spend of the Green Bus Fund; funding received from the Green Bus Fund; identifying brownfield land in London suitable for sustainable energy projects; CO2 savings achieved by the Mayor’s climate change programmes; potential for the London Pension Fund Authority to invest in low carbon energy projects; when the next update to the Mayor’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy is to be published; how climate change will affect London’s summer temperatures; new anaerobic digestion plant in Surrey; the level of waste being directed to the Beddington incinerator; the London Plan’s policies on incineration; the Mayor’s approval of the Beddington incinerator; if the Mayor had pressed for the Beddington project to develop as a anaerobic digestion plant; if the Beddington incinerator can operate in combined heat and power (CHP) mode; heat network around the Beddington incinerator; the growth of waste incineration in London to 2016; the role for future incineration in London; local planning controls and fracking; the fracking potential in London; details of the new RE:NEW domestic energy efficiency programme; targets for the new RE:NEW programme; the choice of the Capita Group to manage the new RE:NEW programme; GLA buildings that have been treated by the RE:FIT programme; whether the Mayor’s Environment advisor had visited the Kings Cross CHP and district heating scheme.

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London’s Zero Carbon Energy Resource

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Admin

September 2013: Detailed GLA-commissioned study looking at “two particular categories of heat, both of which can be termed ‘secondary sources’: waste heat arising as a by-product of industrial and commercial activities; and the heat that exists naturally within the environment (air, ground, water).”

Details of the full report here (direct links below) the findings of which include:

  • For most secondary heat sources, their temperature is too low for direct use. It is therefore necessary to ‘upgrade’ them to a useful temperature using heat pumps. Heat pump efficiency is important for secondary heat source utilisation as it affects the cost and carbon intensity of the heat delivered and will impact London’s electrical infrastructure.
  • Analysis shows that by using heat pumps to deliver heat at 70°C, the total heat that could be delivered from secondary sources in London is of the order of 71 TWh/yr which is more than the city’s total estimated heat demand of 66 TWh/yr in 2010.
  • The proportion of London’s heating demand that could be met by district heating networks operating at 70°C could rise to 30 TWh/yr by 2050, assuming ambitious retrofit programmes were implemented over that period.

Secondary Heat Study – Summary Report
Secondary Heat Study – Phase 1
Secondary Heat Study – Phase 2
Datasets for the study are available on the London Datastore

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HNDU and Heat Networks

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Admin

July 2013: DECC’s recent publication ‘Summary evidence on District Heating Networks in the UK’ highlights that extent that London dominates the regions in relation to the use of district heating. The report sets out that “London has over half the heat networks in the UK (55%) with two thirds (65%) being small”. Table 5 from the evidence paper (copied below) provides some additional detail:

To take forward the Government’s 2012 Future of Heating Strategy, a series of actions were set out in a further report published earlier this year – The future of heating: meeting the challenge which includes a major chapter on heat networks. Not suprisingly, London is featured prominently with examples of recent activity on developing decentralised energy networks in Islington, the Upper Lea Valley, the Olympic Park and Stratford City, as well as the heat network installed in The Shard.

The report also highlights how work is being coordinated in London through the DEPDU initiative. Page 55 sets out “in September 2011 the GLA established the Decentralised Energy Project Delivery Unit (DEPDU) to support the London boroughs in bringing forward plans for decentralised energy. The unit, which is staffed by technical, financial and commercial specialists,has focused primarily on developing heat network projects.”

DECC are now seeking to replicate this model through the creation of HNDU.  The ‘meeting the challenge’ paper states that “DECC will support local authorities in developing heat networks by establishing a Heat Networks Delivery Unit (HNDU) within the Department that will work closely with individual authorities’ project teams in England and Wales. DECC will provide funding over two financial years to contribute to local authorities’ costs in carrying out early stage heat network development. This will enable local authorities to bring forward projects to the stage where they are suitable for investment including loan finance from the Green InvestmentBank or commercial lenders.” [p38]

£3m over two years will be committed to HNDU to provide specialist expertise and be a “bridge between the local authority and the market, acting as a ‘critical friend”. The unit will also have a “funding stream of £6m over two years [which] will be available to local authorities. It will contribute to the cost of procuring technical reports and advice on the phases of a heat network’s development.” [p57] The HNDU team held a workshop in  London last week where they set out their likely criteria for how they will judge applications to the fund – see the final slide (slide 12) of the following DECC presentation for full details on this. Attendees to the workshop were also informed that the HNDU team is being finalised at the moment, with an announcement expected shortly on the appointment of a lead Investment Director who will head the unit. Finance is anticipated to become available to local authorities for qualifying projects from this Autumn. Though the HNDU team has set itself a 7-year business plan – funding secured from DECC only lasts until 2015 at the moment.

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Euston Road Energy Centre and District Heating Network

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Admin

July 2013: After several years building the case, it is hugely positive to see that Camden have now released a tender for a £5.7m  decentralised energy network along Euston Road. The tender document sets out that:

“The London Borough of Camden has identified a cluster of four communally heated estates in Somers Town, Kings Cross, London NW1 which are in close proximity to the Francis Crick Institute, a new major biomedical research facility due to be completed in 2015/16. The aggregated volume of heat and electrical demands for the estates and Francis Crick Institute has been assessed by Arup on behalf of the Decentralised Energy for London programme and is considered to provide an excellent opportunity for a phased decentralised energy network. Full planning consent for a centralised energy centre has been secured and full Cabinet approval has been secured from the London Borough of Camden to procure the project.”

The tender information goes on: “The scheme will be commissioned and delivered in the following phases:

  • Phase 1 – would see a heat only district heating project design, built, operated and maintained for the four estates via a district heating network connected to a central energy centre for which full planning permission has been granted.
  • Phase 2 – Once the Francis Crick Institute (“the Crick”) establishes a sufficient electrical demand (envisaged 2016) and an agreement is reached, Camden Council may commission the installation, operation and maintenance of a c.1MWe CHP unit (indicative size only) at the Phase 1 Energy Centre with a direct electrical connection to the Crick. Upon Phase 2 commission, the CHP system shall then also be the primary source of heat supply to the district heating network installed in Phase 1.
  • Phase 3 – Camden Council intends to extend the network to connect to Council regeneration planned for the wider Somers Town area over the next 4-5 years. This phase will not be procured within this exercise. However, the design and build under Phase 1 will include the expansion capacity to support future district heating demands.

The proposed heat route can be seen on the planning application for the CHP here. An open day will be held for bidders on Monday, 5 August 2013.

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Further Funding for London Sustainable Industries Park

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Admin

July 2013: The Mayor has approved further funding for the development of the London Sustainable Industries Park (LSIP) with the provision of £2.989m to go towards investment in “essential infrastructure”. The new approval form sets out that this spend will include £1 million to bring a gas connection to the London Sustainable Industries Park . The Mayor had previously announced £30m going to LSIP in September 2012, which is based in Dagenham and which will include a new anaerobic digestion plant along with a planned decentralised heat network.

The approval form also provides some background to the development:  “LSIP will create a landmark cleantech business park, concentrating leading environmental industries and technologies. By co-locating businesses that share resources and exchange by-products, the LSIP encourages synergies that can deliver cost savings and competitive advantages through industrial symbiosis. The UK cleantech sector has continued to grow throughout the recent economic downturn and investment in the new infrastructure at the LSIP represents an opportunity to access a market estimated to be worth over £23 billion in London alone and to support up to 750 jobs in clean tech/energy businesses and up to 500 construction jobs.“

More on LSIP on their website www.londonsip.com. Further information on the project can be viewed on an earlier post here.

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Southwark Heat Network Update

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Admin

July 2013: Deborah Collins, Strategic Director of Environment and Leisure of Southwark Council provided a useful update of the Southwark Heat Network project at the recent BASELondon show.

1,200 Southwark properties will benefit from the district heating network, which will be fed from currently wasted heat from the SELCHP waste to energy plant, based in neighbouring Lewisham. Work has been ongoing on installing the heat mains for the scheme and it is anticipated that this month will see the completion of all remaining pipes being installed and final boiler room modifications. Testing and calibration of the scheme will run over August and September with October being the target month for heat delivery to residents.

Further information can be viewed on the following presentation.

Southwark will also see further decentralised energy systems in the borough, with CHP and PV systems being installed on the new Elephant and Castle leisure centre and also biomass and PV used in Camberwell at the new Sacred Heart school development.

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Nuclear heat for London…?!

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Admin

27 June 2013: The Climate Change Committee released their 4th progress report yesterday. A very useful read – however it does include the following oddity:

“District heating should be based on sources from low-carbon fuels such as biomass. Further work is required to identify the potential for such sources. For example, in the London heat map produced by the Greater London Authority, the primary source was identified as waste heat from nuclear power, but further work is required to determine whether this is viable and the costs and barriers associated with this approach.” [p133]

No – we have no idea what this is about either…!

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London Electricity Future Discussions

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Admin

18 June 2013: In November of last year the Mayor held an Electricity Summit at City Hall where a High Level Electricity Working Group was formed to “discuss the energy systems needed by London over the coming decades and the mechanisms by which the challenges can be met”.  A background paper Delivering an Accessible and Competitive Electricity Network for London was presented as well as a presentation setting out the remit of the Working Group.

The  papers from the first two High Level Group Meetings have now become available and can be downloaded here (15 January) and here (28 March).

The papers for the 15 January meeting set some comprehensive information of key issues and detail the future priorities of the Group including:

  • Identifying growth hotspots and areas of existing network stress that require strategic infrastructure investment
  • the Potential of Decentralised Energy systems, district heating and demand side response measures to reduce electricity distribution infrastructure costs
  • and Estimating costs of investments required and considering models for how they could be met/shared

The March 28 meeting set out a series of action points including that:

“The GLA and UKPN are establishing a sub- group with respective experts to discuss identified Decentralised Energy and demand side response issue identified at the January meeting. It meets for the first time on 3 May. As and when appropriate, the sub-group will report back to the High-level Working Group.”

The third of the Working Group meetings took place today: Sir Edward Lister is standing down from chairing, and the Mayor’s Environment and Political Advisor Matthew Pencharz will attend the Group meetings from today and chair from henceforth.

See here for the Mayor’s response on how renewable generators issues will be represented on the Group.

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London Energy & Climate Priorities for the year

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Admin

June 2013:  The GLA’s Environment Programme budget for 2013-14 has recently been approved by the Mayor, setting out a total spend of £946,000 to support the delivery of the GLA’s environment policy and programmes. The approval form sets out in detail priorities being focussed on across the environment programme,  but listed below are those actions specifically related to energy and climate:

  • £100,000 to fund consultancy support for Energy Assessments: The London Plan sets out a requirement for developers to submit an energy assessment as part of their planning application.The Environment Team appraises at least 300 applications per year and requires part time expert consultancy support to assist on some highly technical issues. More on this  here.
  • £125,000  for the preparation of the London Energy & Greenhouse Gases Inventory (LEGGI) and London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (LAEI) which provide baseline information on London energy use, greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions.
  • £30,000 for a CHP in social housing study. This research will help demonstrate the commercial viability of Combined Heat and Power schemes in social housing over the installation of individual boilers and support the application of the energy hierarchy in the London Plan.
  • Guidance for developers on revised Building Regulations. The review of Part L of Buildings Regulations will lead to revised standards for new buildings coming into effect in October 2013. This study will recalibrate the standards in the London Plan (Policy 5.2 – see page 141) and provide guidance to the London Plan team and developers.
  • £30,000 to London Climate Change Partnership (LCCP) to undertake 3 projects: a) working with commercial landlords to reduce climate risks to the premises and tenants, b) working with social housing landlords in 4 boroughs to reduce overheating risks, c) undertaking a scoping study to define and increase the ‘adaptation economy’.
  • £30,000 for Hydrogen London – The Hydrogen London 2013-2014 programme will deliver the Mayor’s vision of London as a global centre of hydrogen and fuel cell activity, services and early adopter of these technologies.
  • £10,000 to review London’s CO2 emissions from waste – including to monitoring CO2 emissions from municipal waste management and reviewing CO2 metrics for waste (for previous work on this issue by the GLA see the following links here and here)
  • £160,000 to retrofitting London –  £110k will support the development of interventions with London Councils and the boroughs to remove barriers to delivery of energy efficiency. These include guidance for conservation areas and areas with a high density of listed buildings; procurement and analysis of energy performance certificate (EPC) data to enable the targeted identification of properties, quantification of the impact of emerging energy legislation and build the investment case for increasing the ‘success rate’ for delivery of measures. £50k will support the development of delivery models to maximise engagement to increase uptake in the private rented and owner occupied sectors (70 per cent of London’s housing stock).
  • £66,000 to delivering decentralised energy – Funding the London Heat Map (£16k in 2013/14 and £9k per year thereafter) – which identifies opportunities for local energy supply projects. The costs involve the GLA maintaining the current site hosted by RADE includes cost of ArcGIS server licence (a one off fee), hosting and admin costs for the site. LWaRB have agreed to pay 50 per cent towards the licence and hosting services.
  • £30,000 for Energy master plans (EMPs) – these provide the strategic planning function that underpins the delivery of strategic DE projects. The EMP provides a high-level feasibility and viability assessment and puts forward a ‘preferred solution’ for the energy infrastructure of that area. Funding will support three EMPs . EMP costs around £50k to produce. GLA will make £~10k contributions, developers and boroughs will contribute the remaining required budget. Recent energy masterplans undertaken include major regeneration sites in Croydon, Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea, White City and London Riverside.
  • £20,000 in 2013/14 and £50,000 in 2014/15 to Licence Lite – following our recent application to become a supplier we will need to work with Ofgem and the electricity supply market to develop business model and submit for Mayoral approval. We will work with market advisors on completing matrix of services needed and completion of formal legal agreements for services. (see here and here for further detail).
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Heads of Terms Signed for Funding Enfield Biomass Project

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Admin

June 2013: News reports provide an update on progress being made by developer Kedco of their 12MW biomass heat and power plant planned in Enfield. The article states that “Kedco plc, the renewable energy developer and operator focusing on the production of clean energy in the UK and Ireland, is pleased to announce the appointment of the Foresight Group (“Foresight”) as the preferred funding partner in relation to its 12 MW Enfield Biomass CHP project located in North London. Kedco has signed a non-binding heads of terms with Foresight for the provision of debt and equity facilities which will part finance the construction and operation of the Project.” See previous posts here for detail on the scheme.

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GLA ‘license lite’ to allow opportunities for London DE

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Admin

May 2013: A recent question to the Mayor provides some useful information on the Mayor’s application to the energy regulator Ofgem for the Greater London Authority to be classed as ‘license lite’ under the electricity supply regulations (see previous post for background). Asked what the process would be if the GLA were successful, the Mayor response was as follows:

“Following grant of the licence the Greater London Authority will enter into agreements with the owners /operators of decentralised electricity generating capacity in London for delivery to the GLA of the electricity to be supplied under the licence, supply agreements with the parties who will consume it and an agreement with a fully licensed electricity supplier for the provision of the necessary technical electricity market services to enable the licence to be operated.”

All of this is conditional however on internal approval within the GLA for the organisation to take on electricity supply operations:

“Acceptance of the licence and commencing operations is conditional on a positive and commercially prudent business model being approved by Mayoral Decision .”

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