Utility Week

16 | 20TH - 26TH APRIL 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Policy & Regulation Energy you can't see, change you can We've invested over £2.5 billion in renewable energy over the past decade, with tangible results. Chief executive's view Michael Lewis, chief executive, Eon UK T here is a common view that processes such as evolu- tion or climate change happen gradually, impercepti- bly, over time and can't easily be observed over the short term. But government statistics show that efforts to combat climate change – in the energy sector, not least – have moved, and moved quickly, with real impact. Since 1990, the UK's green- house gas emissions have fallen 41 per cent – carbon dioxide is down more than a third. Emis- sions related to energy supplies also fell 57 per cent in that time. Declining coal use has reduced UK carbon emissions to levels last consistently seen in 1890. In my time at Eon – Power- gen when I joined as an envi- ronmental specialist 25 years ago – renewable energy was seen as a niche set of technolo- gies. It's taken time, but we've taken those technologies main- stream; we've made sustainabil- ity business as usual. We picked those technologies where scale and cost reductions could allow renewables to compete on a level playing field with fossil fuels. Offshore wind is now at a record- low price, enabling renewables to compete with other energy sources. Onshore wind and solar are even cheaper and should continue to be deployed at scale where there is local support, so UK consumers won't pay more than is needed to successfully decarbonise the power system. Our past performance on renewable energy, networks and new solutions and services to customers mirrors the massive shi in the UK and elsewhere towards renewables and other new technologies. Over the past ten years, we've invested more than £2.5 billion in renewable energy in the UK, building onshore and offshore wind projects such as the Lon- don Array in the Thames and Rampion off the south coast. We've developed clean tariffs that let customers benefit from energy supplied from renew- able sources and we're develop- ing city-based solutions, such as our Blackburn Meadows plant in Sheffield, which uses waste wood to power the local grid, as well as feeding heat to a district scheme in the Lower Don Valley. Changing times Last year, 90 per cent of the 4 billion kWh of power generated in the UK came from renewable sources. Indeed, the UK saw its first day – 21 April 2017 – without coal power since the industrial revolution. A month later on 26 May the UK reached its highest recorded level of solar genera- tion at 8.7GW: around a quarter of total demand at the time. That is change you can see. At Eon we believe our capa- bilities are better deployed where there is still a problem to be solved, so we need to turn to transport and heating. Transport has not progressed as quickly and finds itself the largest con- tributor to UK emissions. In the last reporting year of 2015/16, transport emissions increased by 2 per cent on the previous year. Here too, the energy system is providing a solution. Electric vehicles are the game changer – swapping petrol and diesel vehi- cles for alternatives that are low emission by nature, that have little or no impact on air quality in our city streets and are fuelled by an ever-greener energy grid or directly by homes and busi- nesses using solar panels, bat- tery technology and other lower carbon solutions. Improving competitiveness It's worth noting that while the UK has cut emissions by more than 40 per cent, our economy has grown during that time by more than two-thirds – the best performance of any G7 nation. This reminds me that business can make long-term sustainable change happen while improving competitiveness in global mar- kets. This is why it is vital that a planned price cap is developed and set in the right way, so com- panies can make a fair return and have the confidence to invest in future energy solutions. We want to build on success, which is why customer solutions are at the heart of our ambitious strategy across the UK, Europe and around the world, ensuring our customers at home, in busi- ness or across entire communi- ties and cities, are well placed to take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by the switch to a low-carbon economy. From our city-wide part- nership to help deliver a zero emission Berlin by 2050 to our flexible combined heat and power and e-mobility solutions for businesses in Britain, we have many examples of how we are sharing experiences with our customers and working together now to create a better tomorrow. Michael Lewis will speak at the Utility Week Energy Summit in London in June. For more infor- mation, visit http://bit.ly/2FMNstz

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