Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 17TH - 23RD JANUARY 2020 | 9 Utility of the Future: Business models and skills Case study: SES Water EVtrial Emissions from SES Water's in-house vehicle fleet account for 17 per cent of its net carbon footprint, and those belonging to its main contractor account for a further 20 per cent (when the • rm is doing work for SES), making the switch to greener alternatives a key concern. In February this year, the water company partnered with its energy supplier, Drax, to trial ten Nissan e-NV200 vans over a period of • ve years to help iden- tify the best operational set up. Initial fleet analysis by Drax determined the vehicles and systems that would work best for the individual vehicle users in the trial covering diverse roles such as M&E [mechanical and electrical] technicians, site operators, network inspectors, samplers and education coordinators. An EVs-as-a-service leasing arrangement was introduced to cover the installation of charging infrastructure, operating soŠ ware, van leasing, and the renewable electricity used to power the vehicles, for a single monthly fee. According to SES Water, part- nering with an energy supplier removed many of the barriers associated with EV uptake. Initial fleet analysis and identi• cation of suitable vehicles and charg- ing systems went beyond the traditional remit of fleet or energy management. The trial is expected to deliver carbon savings of at least 43 tonnes of CO2 per year, as well as facilitate and encourage greater uptake of EVs among employees and in the contractor's fleet. Data collected from the vehi- cle telemetry will highlight the typical mileage di" erent types of user get from vehicles between charges and how it varies based on outside temperatures. In addition, EVs con- tribute to improved air quality in the local communi- ties the company serves. SES Water now plans to roll out EVs more widely than initially envisaged and has extended the number of charging points from the 16 proposed in the trial to 28 across four sites, including three treatment works and at its head o— ce. user get from vehicles between charges and how it varies based on outside temperatures. In addition, EVs con- tribute to improved air quality in the local communi- ties the company SES Water now plans to roll out The Utility of the Future is also the theme of Utility Week Live taking place at the NEC in Birmingham on 19-20 May. Visitœwww.utilityweeklive.co.uk for more information. Nissan's e-NV200 electric van Colville comments: "There's a big question of how we manage this com- mitment post-2020. We need to think through the management framework, we need data reporting information, and some way of ensuring that we stay on track to satisfy independent scrutiny." Principal o enders Hitting climate targets means pinpoint- ing and tackling the biggest sources of emissions. According to - gures from Ricardo, grid electricity currently accounts for half of the sector's overall footprint, followed by process emis- sions related to water treatment and sludge disposal, which comprise about 25 per cent. Aƒ er that, various sources are broadly equivalent, such as trans- port and emissions from the direct use of fuel, like natural gas or gas oil. Look ahead to 2030 and the picture changes somewhat: the rapid decarboni- sation of the national grid is expected to reduce related emissions to 30 per cent of the total, elevating the impact of pro- cess emissions to about half. Behling at Ricardo comments: "Decarbonisation of the grid will sup- port the continued decarbonisation of power usage by the sector, so energy going into pumps and treatment pro- cesses will become less carbon intensive over time. The sector is also investing hugely in renewable energy, both tradi- tional renewable generation such as PV and wind, and using biogas that comes o‹ sewerage treatment processes much more eŒ ciently." Cutting process emissions will place a greater emphasis on technological innovation. UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) launched a project in August, speci- cally linked to net zero, to develop a better scienti- c basis to quantify pro- cess emissions resulting from water and wastewater treatment. A signi- cant amount of carbon is locked up in stringent EU environmental constraints and treatment processes required to remove damaging chemicals like phosphorus. Whether the rules remain in a post-Brexit Britain is uncertain; it is possible that regulations will change to favour natural habitat or biodiversity solutions that remove chemicals upstream before going into treatment works. Cars, vans and HGVs are a vital com- ponent of most large businesses and their supply chains, and they will need to quickly shiƒ from petrol and diesel fuels to low-carbon alternatives. Northumbrian initiative Northumbrian Water aims to make all new vehicle purchases for its thousand- strong › eet zero emissions from 2024 as part of its industry-leading commitment to become carbon neutral by 2027. SES Water is currently trialling EV vans (see case study, below). But renewing › eets within ten years raises challenges. EVs require exten- sive charging infrastructure and there are currently no viable electric options for HGVs and freight, which may mean looking at less tried and tested solutions such as LNG, hydrogen fuel cells or even biogas-powered models. Riley says: "We need to work with manufacturers to assess the impact on warranties and the cost of operating these vehicles. Discussions are ongoing with the net zero target in mind." Among the many other factors to consider in pursuit of net zero are meas- ures to cut operational energy demand, such as new low-carbon operational processes and assets, reduced pumping and treatment of surface run-o‹ , and e‹ orts to prevent leakage. Water has a poor track record on the latter, but one of the - ve Public Interest Commitments is to triple the rate of leakage reduction across the sector by 2030. "Carbon is so interlinked with everything that we do we need a holistic suite of policy objectives for the sector that draw links between di‹ erent areas," says UK Water's Colville. "We need to think about asset plan- ning, the consumer dimension and the supply chain." continued overleaf

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