Utility Week

12 | AUGUST 2021 | UTILITY WEEK Special report on decarbonising water Analysis You lead Anglian Water's decarbonisation programme – what are your targets? Anglian aims to deliver 44 per cent of power from renew- able sources by 2025 and then 80 per cent by 2030. At the end of AMP6, renewables provided 20 per cent of our power, so there is a significant challenge to meet. However, last year we recorded our highest amount from renewables: 12GWh from wind; CHP 115GWh; and solar 7.2GWh. This is generated from three wind turbines on two Anglian sites, CHP on bio-treatment works and 13 solar sites. We have combined heat and power across all our sludge treatment centres and are always looking to optimise this as much as possible. The treated sewage is turned into bio-methane and used on site, and any spare put into the grid. What now? We're looking to ramp-up the solar generation to meet the 44 per cent target, combined where possible with storage capacity. Generally, we're looking to procure about 100MW of solar power from investors – 30MW peak in the first phase; in the second phase 30-50MW peak; and a third portfolio in the later part of the AMP (20-30MW peak). We're looking for deals with private wire to connect to our sites. We're also looking for opportunities with investors looking to develop generation near our sites. The cost to Anglian is neutral, as it's covered by the con- tract with investors, rather than through our regulated business plan. That way, as we continue to deliver new assets we can reduce operational costs. In 2019 we launched the UK's largest subsidy-free solar and energy storage framework and appointed five framework investors. These sites are then leased to the successful investors, who develop and design a solar array which they own and operate under a 25-year power purchase agreement with us. Spare energy is exported to the grid, so the developer needs to apply to have connections. Anglian agrees to use at least 90 per cent of the power, which we will purchase from them at lower rate than the grid. We have an AMP7 base target of £5 million opex saving, but the creation of new infrastructure is cost neutral. The main problem is that we're not being able to deliver solar across as many sites via PPA with investors at the pace needed. I think it's been a learning curve for developers, who are mostly used to developing solar in green field sites. We're looking to integrate technology into existing sites/ facilities which can be 40-50 years old. It's been a real learning curve for us as well – recognising what good looks like and understanding the pinch points. The PPA model is yet to be proven for ageing infrastructure, but we think 2021 will be a real breakthrough year because we've moved from trying to work with solar builders to partnering with investors. In future we would expect to have storage as part of the equation as battery and solar costs fall, but there are no schemes in development yet as the economics don't stack up. We expect storage to play a bigger role in 2025- 30, so that all the power can be used from the genera- tion sources – and lead to operational savings. We're sticking to dry land, rather than floating arrays, because of costs and complications. However, we're cer- tainly not banking on getting to 44 per cent renewables by 2025 just through solar. We're also looking at 'sleev- ing' green renewables from other sources as part of the overall strategy. Some could be in the Anglian region, but it all depends on cost – it could be power from the east coast or it might be onshore from Scotland. The plan would be to get this direct from a generator, or through Onshore wind has a role for Anglian Generating solar power through private wire PPAs is top of Anglian Water's to-do list. But onshore wind will also be needed, explains Daniel Blunt, renewable Energy strategy manager at Anglian Water. Anglian Water's Grafham Water solar array

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