Utility Week

Community Slow motion When it comes to national infrastructure, there's plenty of big talk about electrifica- tion – of transport and heat, or whatever – but progress runs at a snail's pace. We haven't even managed to electrify all our railways yet and the government is already boldly proclaiming the imminent banning of the sale of petrol-engine cars. Beyond these shores, things move a little quicker. In the Netherlands and Belgium, for instance, this summer will see five 52m-long all-electric barges carrying loads of up to 425 tonnes between ports in Amsterdam, Antwerp and Rotterdam. It is estimated they will carry enough freight to see 23,000 diesel-powered lorries taken off the road. Initially manned, the barges are expected to pilot themselves once new infrastructure is built. Anyone like to place any bets on when HS2 will be com- missioned? Or a new Heathrow runway? Thought not. Transparently better Electric transport is all very well, as long as it is powered by renewables. And here there is good news too. Donald Trump might have imposed swingeing tariffs on Chinese solar panels in an attempt to revive the ailing fos- sil fuel industry in the US, but one can't help but feel that he is swimming against the tide. Subsidy-free wind is already with us and solar power could be about to get a lot cheaper. One of the issues with pho- tovoltaics is the environmental and financial cost of producing the silicon, since it takes a lot of heat to make the wafer. Researchers in Oxford and Stamford universities are investigating a group of crystals called perovskites, which offer the same levels of energy absorption as silicon but can be produced at lower temperature and at a fraction of the cost. There are technical prob- lems to be overcome – such as deploying them at scale – and the material has not yet been made hardy enough to with- stand the elements, but a lot of R&D is going into this "next generation" of solar technology. "The hope is to make the cost pennies per watt. That is the goal of these solar cells," said Nitin Padture, director of the institute for molecular and nanoscale innovation at Brown University. Whether it will be UK, US or Chinese companies that spearhead this revolution is another matter. Chinese whispers The smart money must be on the Chinese. They are ambi- tious, industrious and have a unique economic model that enables the authorities to dictate massive investment. Plus, they like to give them- selves a little, er, leg-up, as the African Union found recently. China kindly paid for and built a shiny new headquar- ters for their "African friends" in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at an estimated cost of nearly £200 million, complete with an all-new computer system. The building was commis- sioned in 2012 and the only hitch its new occupants found was a mysterious data surge that would kick in aer mid- night. According to an inves- tigation by French newspaper Le Monde, computer experts draed in from Algeria discov- ered "someone" had built a backdoor into the network, so all the data – including confi- dential communications – was downloaded to mirror servers in Shanghai. The backdoor was hastily shut down and the building swept for bugs. An earlier investigation by the paper found that African Union diplomats had been tar- geted for surveillance by British intelligence. Good to know we're still ahead of the curve. Disconnector Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Deputy editor: Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: janegray@ fav-house.com; Associate editor: Suzanne Heneghan, t: 01342 332106, e: suzanneheneghan@ fav-house.com Features editor: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080, e: loisvallely@fav-house.com; Deputy news editor: Katey Pigden, t: 01342 332082, e: kateypigden@fav-house.com; Content editor: Alice Cooke, t: 01342 332102, e: alicecooke@fav-house.com; Energy correspondent: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Reporter: Clare Ruel, t: 01342 332069, e: clareruel@fav-house.com Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@fav-house.com; Sales executive: Ben Hammond, e: benhammond@fav-house.com. t: 01342 332116; Conference sponsorship manager: Sophie Abbott, t: 01342 332062, e; sophieabbott@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amandabarnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332057, e: peterbissell@fav-house.com. ISSN: 1356-5532. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Printed by: Buxton Press, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE. 2,500 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2016 Membership subscriptions: UK £669 per year. Overseas £781 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332057 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK's magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact the editor, Ellen Bennett, at ellenbennett@fav-house.com. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk UTILITY WEEK | 2ND - 8TH FEBRUARY 2018 | 31 Duncan Carter @Duncan_E_Carter Other customers to pay to protect credit balances of failed Future Energy retailer. Perhaps better to check some of the small suppliers are credible before providing them with a licence to sell energy Sandbag @sandbagorguk EU renewables growth is now deeply uneven – Germany & the UK were responsible for more than half of the growth over the last 3 years Dept for BEIS @beisgovuk Energy & Clean Growth Minister @claireperrymp chaired the first meeting of the Council on Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS). The council will offer specialist advice to government, review progress of our new approach to CCUS and commitments made for #CleanGrowth Laura Sandys @Laura_Sandys Thrilled to be a member of the council addressing this crucial component of decarbonisation – CCS has been the Cinderella of the climate challenge now being brought into the forefront by @claireperrymp Rachel Fletcher @OfwatChiefExec Water companies must embrace #innovation to deliver the best for customers. Throughout February, @Ofwat will be inspiring the sector with the launch of Spark! #SparkInnovation William Marchant @richonlyinname Right of appeal feels reasonable in principle, but it's hard to see how CMA appeal can co-exist with implementing a price cap in practice. Most of the window covered by each cap would have passed by the time it reached its decision. Alan Whitehead @alanwhiteheadmp Happy to support Big Energy Saving Week – but the Government needs to double funding for home energy efficiency to meet their own #fuelpoverty and #climatechange targets. They should join @UKLabour in making this a National Infrastructure Priority EUA @energyutilities The stark reality is that #fuelpoverty is a life or death matter and is far more extensive than many realise. It's time to recognise the serious risk cold homes pose and act – our recommendations can be found in our new report Top Tweets

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