Latest Industry News: Edition 2

Public Sector Building and Estates given simpler steps to cleaner, greener, and more cost-effective estates

Energy Systems Catapult recently implemented a new “greenprint” on the 23rd of March 2023, with hopes of this resulting in reduced emissions and energy demand across public buildings and estates. The Public Sector Decarbonisation Guidance has given public sector organisations such as hospitals, leisure centres, local authorities and universities new tools and proven ways to make the process of decarbonisation easier across their sites, such as leisure centres and universities.

The public sector currently accounts for around 2% of greenhouse gas emissions and this guidance will help “save taxpayers millions”.

Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance said: “Reaching Net Zero requires substantial action from the public sector as well as the private. This guidance will provide public sector organisations with the tools they need to explore innovative ways of decarbonising – from implementing new technologies to harnessing data.”

Monitoring, controlling and optimising energy consumption can help to reduce energy costs

Becoming energy efficient and working towards net zero is a great goal for businesses to have and is key to being sustainable. Working towards these goals is great for both businesses and the planet. However, recent sky-high energy costs have resulted in businesses not prioritising net zero and sustainability goals, which is an issue that needs resolving.?

With gas costs rising 424% and electricity costs 349% since February 2021 UK business budgets are stretched like never before, resulting in a reduction in services and staff layoffs. Whilst there are a host of energy-saving solutions such as Solar PV and LED lighting, businesses can also change some of their day-to-day practices to save energy, such as switching off electrical appliances at the plug when not in use.

Installing technology that monitors, controls, and optimises energy consumption in real-time also helps to identify inefficiencies in a business and suggests solutions to provide the best possible set-up to reduce energy costs.

Electric Vehicle sales rise despite supply issues

Electric vehicles are becoming an increasingly popular choice for car buyers. In February 2023, one in four car sales, among the top nine car manufacturers, was electric, according to AutoMotive. Consumers are now starting to embrace electric vehicles which are helping the phase-out of internal combustion engine vehicles and resulting in a more sustainable planet.

In February 2023 there were 10,978 electric vehicles sold - a 16% year-on-year increase.?However, the supply of EVs has been problematic, with the high demand and limited supply causing wait times of up to 18 months for new EV’s in the UK.

Ben Nelmes, CEO at New AutoMotive, said: “The fact that there continues to be long waiting times for new electric cars underscores how consumers and businesses are embracing electric cars. To sustain the UK’s progress towards electric transport, the government needs to try harder to increase the supply of electric vehicles to the UK.”?

Global green investment and innovation set to triple by 2030

Recently, competition between countries for green investment and innovation has been very high. Last year, global investment in the green transition hit 1 trillion dollars and this figure is set to triple by 2030.

International legislation, such as the United States Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the European Union’s Green Deal Industrial Plan?is being welcomed as a key component to the planet’s net zero journey. These acts essentially grant necessary subsidies to wind and hydrogen projects which can drastically reduce the planet's carbon footprint.

In the UK, delivering the net zero electricity system by 2035 relies on building a significant amount of new infrastructure. This includes dispatchable low-carbon generation using clean fuels like hydrogen which may take years to develop. The government’s recent ￡20 billion investment is welcomed but needs to be spent wisely with significant thought towards developing the appropriate infrastructure to deliver the 2035 goal.

British Homes heated by computers

In recent news, Heata claims that its shoebox-sized device has the potential to save UK citizens around ￡150 per year on their energy bills as they discovered that the energy wasted from computers can be utilised. This innovative technology essentially takes the heat from computers, transfers it into a tank, and heats the water. Once the water has been heated, this can be used for anything from washing up to filling up a hot bath.

In its initial development, Heata installed the technology in 20 homes in the UK and will expand this to 80 homes.?Heata states that each unit has the potential to produce up to 4.8kWh of hot water per day, which is approximately 80% of the hot water consumed by an average household in the UK.

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