Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 5TH - 11TH APRIL 2019 | 15 This week Gridserve to build 'electric forecourts' Network of electric vehicle charging stations powered by solar farms and batteries is unveiled Gridserve has unveiled plans for a £1 billion network of superfast electric vehicle (EV) charging stations powered by solar farms and batteries. The company intends to build 100 "electric forecourts" across the UK over the next five years. The forecourts will typically include 24 bays with chargers rated at up to 500kW for cars and vans and multiple megawatts for lorries and buses. As the name suggests, they will feature facilities including coffee shops, convenience stores and "airport- style" waiting lounges with high-speed internet access. A new queuing system will be used to minimise waiting times and drivers will be able to reserve charging slots in advance through a soŠware app. The charging stations will be supplied by a series of solar farms, the combined capacity of which is eventu- ally expected to surpass 1GW. Batteries will be installed at charging stations not directly connected to the solar farms to minimise the size, and therefore cost, of the required grid connections. The company recently signed a £62 million deal with Warrington Borough Council to build the first two, near York and Hull. Construction at York has begun and is expected to be completed by October. Work on chargers at both sites is due to commence before the end of 2019. Gridserve has already secured sites for 80 charging stations on busy roads that have suitable access to the power grid; it has partnered with Chargepoint to build the network. TG ENERGY Energy-from-waste plant is approved A £480 million energy-from- waste plant at Northwich in Cheshire has been given a green light aŠer the developers tied down financing for the project. With the ability to process up to 600,000 tonnes of waste each year and a maximum power output of 60MW, the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant will be one of the largest such facilities in Europe. The Danish fund manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners owns a 60 per cent stake in the project. The remain- ing 40 per cent is held by the waste supplier for the plant, FCC Environment, which will also be responsible for its operation and maintenance. The plant is scheduled to begin operating in the second quarter of 2023. ELECTRICITY Reactive secures Equinor investment Reactive Technologies has secured a multi-million-pound investment from Equinor. The smart energy start-up provides measurement and analytics tools for grid operators as well as optimisation services for renewable generators. Working with National Grid, Reactive has developed a way of accurately gauging system inertia in real time by altering the load on the electricity net- work and then monitoring the effect on frequency. Reactive Technologies has previously received funding from Octopus Investments, RES and most recently Ingenious Infra- structure in October last year. Equinor was known as Statoil until 15 May 2018. WATER UU announces long- term partnerships United Utilities has awarded a number of long-term contracts to businesses based in its North West operating area. The six-year contracts began on 1 April and have been awarded for maintenance work on the company's water and wastewater network. Four partners have been appointed to look aŠer the water and wastewater networks in UU's North and South regions: Morrison Utility Services will be responsible for the North region water network; Sapphire Utility Solutions will look aŠer the North region wastewater network; T&K Gallagher will be the South region water net- work partner; and Amey Utility Services will look aŠer the South region wastewater network. UU has also appointed water and wastewater small project and specialist services partners. Artist's impression of Gridserve electric forecourt Finance & Investment Stock watch 890 880 870 860 850 840 NATIONAL GRID SHARE PRICE, FIVE DAY 7 Mar NATIONAL GRID SHARE PRICE, ONE MONTH Just over £800 million was wiped off National Grid's share value on 28 March aer Labour's plans to renationalise the company were accidentally revealed. According to reports, an article detailing the proposals briefly appeared on the BBC's website, despite the party opting to delay the announcement. Aer starting at 880p, the share price fell almost 3 per cent over the course of the day, to 856p. 900 880 860 840 28 Mar 29 Mar 1 Apr 2 Apr pence pence 12 Mar 15 Mar 20 Mar 25 Mar 28 Mar

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