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Case study: Project OptiNet Costain is working closely with Wales & West Utilities' (WWU) in conjunction with PassivSystems and Cadent on Project Optinet, looking at how smart pressure control, compression and storage might be used to relieve infrastructure constraints and enable more biomethane to be brought onto the UK networks. WWU continues to connect biomethane producers to their network, which currently provides capacity for the energy needs of 130,000 homes. OptiNet partner Cadent, along with the other gas networks, predicts continued biomethane investment in the UK of up to £400m by 2020 which will see as many as 146 biomethane producing plants on-line in the UK. This is forecast to provide 120TWh of green gas feedstock injected annually by 2035 giving safe, sustainable gas supplies for homes and businesses for decades to come and help to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions. Of course, a key driver here is the decarbonisation of the gas network to support the transition to a more sustainable, smarter energy system. With the rising number of distributed gas and biomethane connections in the networks, balancing supply with demand on gas networks is becoming more complex. Costain's role in project OptiNet is focused on the compression requirements to move gas through the network to centres of demand, sometimes from lower to higher pressure network tiers to create the 'space' for the biomethane injection, allowing additional distributed green gas generation to connect and fl ow, even in periods of exceptionally low demand. Tony Voss, transmission & distribution director at Costain, said: "We are delighted to be working with our partners on project OptiNet. By diverting organic waste from landfi ll where it decays and can be more harmful to the environment, and facilitating the injection of green gas into the networks from distributed biomethane plants, we are playing our part in moving to a smart, low carbon energy system which will be critical to the UK in meeting its decarbonation challenge." By further linking these green gas plants up to the UK's power and transport networks, we can not only heat thousands of homes, but also generate renewable power and supply a lower carbon fuel to heavy goods vehicles. With the challenges of large-scale hydrogen and batteries to power heavy vehicles still being researched, biomethane is seen as a 'here and now' means of decarbonising HGVs, buses, and other large vehicles as its combustion can lead to up to 50-80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions and zero particulate matter compared to Euro V diesel vehicles. Statistics indicate that the UK green gas industry is generating enough biomethane to power 80 per cent of the UK's entire bus fl eet and the potential to produce enough biomethane to power 75 per cent of all HGVs in the UK. NETWORK / 21 / MAY 2019 citing opportunities for the UK to address the decarbonisation of the transportation sector and o er a new economic opportu- nity. Last year the government set out proposals to install electric vehicle charging points in new homes, business parks and lamp posts as part of its Road to Zero Strategy. It also con• rmed its ambition to see at least half of new cars to be ultra-low emission by 2030. Cameron Tonkin, Costain's power sector director, said: "The June 2018 progress report by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) found that, in 2017, transport was the largest single greenhouse gas (GHG)-emitting sector in the UK, accounting for 28 per cent of total emis- sions. The three most signi• cant sources of emissions were cars, vans and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), accounting for 87 per cent of the sector's emissions. Decarbonisation relies on the move away from conventional engines to electric transport." But there are barriers that need to be overcome in order to enable the rollout of electric vehicles and other forms of decarbonised transport. Graeme Cooper, National Grid's electric vehicles project director, believes the biggest barrier to enabling a consumer rollout of EVs is overcoming the perception of range and time taken to charge. "Consumers will only switch to an EV if they are con• dent that it will present minimal dis- ruption to their daily lives," he says. "Existing charging infra- structure is limited in number, location and appropriate speed. We believe that for the UK to achieve large scale uptake of electric vehicles there is a need to ensure a widespread network of appropriate charging points, which are easily accessible, and can charge a vehicle at a speed appropriate to the time spent at a given location." Achieving uptake The Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce has been formed at the request of government to make suggestions to govern- ment and industry to ensure that the UK's energy system is ready for and able to facilitate and exploit the mass take up of electric vehicles. Both Brazier and Cooper have their own ideas around how this can be achieved. "A new model of running local electricity grids is needed, so local network operators become distribution system op- erators (DSOs) that have options available to them beyond build- ing new pylons, substations and other infrastructure," notes Bra- zier. "These changes will lay the foundations for Britain's smart grid, moving local electricity grids from being distributors of electricity to being a platform that new technologies and services can connect to." First announced within Chancellor Philip Hammond's budget in November 2017, the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF) is designed to stimulate the deployment of EV charging infrastructure up and down the UK. Cooper points to the type of infrastructure required to enable the mass take-up of EVs: "As set out in the National Infrastructure Assessment, an ultra-rapid charging network (120-350KW) would be the most convenient and cost-e¢ cient solution to overcoming many consumer concerns. Spanning the strategic road network, city forecourts and £ eet hubs, ultra- rapid chargers would provide drivers with the ability to make out of pattern and long-distance journeys and charge their vehi- cle in less than 10 minutes." Over the last year National Grid have studied the power capacity of motorway service "The ENA supports a whole energy system approach to decarbonisation, which includes other forms of decarbonised transport." In association with: