Utility Week

Utility of the Future: Business models and skills 8 | 17TH - 23RD JANUARY 2020 | UTILITY WEEK Raising the bar Weather events like extreme flood- ing, wildfires and violent storms have become a common phenomenon and the latest science shows that global warming must be limited to below 1.5C to avoid the most catastrophic climate impacts. And that means reaching net zero emissions worldwide by 2050. The concept of net zero applies to all sectors and dictates that human- caused emissions, such as from vehi- cles and industry, should be reduced as close to zero as possible. Any remaining GHGs must then be balanced with an equivalent amount of carbon removal, for example by restoring forests or through direct air capture and storage technology. Water companies have made strong progress in reducing their emissions over the past decade, but net zero by 2030 represents a step change. Accord- ing to figures from Ricardo, approxi- mately four million tons of CO2 will need to be managed and reduced, encompassing both operational emis- sions and capital carbon used during the construction of assets, such as water mains, sewers and pumping stations. Stuart Colville, director of strategy at Water UK, says: "This commitment really sets the pace and as a highly energy-intensive industry it represents a massive challenge." Details of the roadmap for implemen- tation are currently being developed and an initial report is due for release in March, followed by a more detailed blueprint later in 2020 which will outline the framework of measures companies need to take over the next ten years. A first step for the project team is to trawl through environmental perfor- mance data that has been reported by the industry at a granular level since 2008, to identify key sources of emis- sions and areas requiring improvement. Forward projections will then map out what would happen to emissions in a business-as-usual scenario without any action from the sector. For example, the rapid ongoing decarbonisation of the electricity grid will help the sector sig- nificantly reduce its carbon footprint. Ian Behling, principal consultant, energy and climate change, at Ricardo Energy & Environment says: "We can overlay that with new technology oppor- tunities and other efficiencies to deal with the shortfall, as well as opportuni- ties to remove carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere through carbon sequestration projects. The carbon man- agement hierarchy is always to reduce emissions first before trying to offset them because it is more cost-effective. In simple terms, if you're burning less fuel, you're spending less money purchasing fuel." Net zero is a shared target for water companies in England and Wales and each organisation is expected to imple- ment different carbon-saving measures and solutions based on their own spe- cific strengths and weaknesses. Yorkshire Water one of the sponsors of the project on behalf of the sector. It is hoping to exploit its large land real estate portfolio and work with tenant farmers and other significant landown- ers to promote more sustainable land management practices, including peat land restoration and tree planting. Liz Barber, chief executive of Yorkshire Water, tells Utility Week: "It will be very difficult to completely decarbonise with- out working in partnership with those in our region, thinking needs to be joined- up both within the sector and beyond it." Anglian Water, another sponsor, wants to exploit its renewable resources. During 2017/18, as part of a carbon miti- gation strategy, the company saved more than 6.5GWh of electricity and gener- ated 106GWh of renewable power from biogas CHP [combined heat and power], wind, and solar combined. Ambitious goals David Riley, head of carbon neutrality at Anglian Water, tells Utility Week: "We've got very ambitious goals around renew- able energy. We want to source 44 per cent of our energy consumption from on-site renewable resources." As with the other Public Interest Commitments, net zero 2030 will be sub- ject to independent scrutiny and held accountable for incremental progress against incremental targets, details of which will be forthcoming. Decarbonising water Anglian thinks big on solar energy Anglian Water is looking to reduce carbon emissions with the instal- lation of a huge solar array at its water works in Jaywick, Essex. The solar installation was developed with renewable energy company HBS and comprises 3,312 solar panels that will generate 36 per cent of the site's energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions by over 300 tonnes in the first year. At its peak, the site is capable of generating almost 900kWp, enough energy to power 200 homes. "In simple terms, if you're burning less fuel, you're spending less money purchasing fuel." IAN BEHLING, PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT, RICARDO ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT continued from previous page ☛

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