Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 25TH - 31ST MAY 2018 | 5 ELECTRICITY Drax to trial CCS at biomass plant in Yorkshire Drax has announced plans to trial carbon capture and storage (CCS) on one of the three biomass units at its power station in Yorkshire. The demonstration project is the first of its kind in Europe. If suc- cessful, the scheme would enable the company to generate renewable power with negative emissions. Drax has partnered with C-Capture for the £400,000 trial. The initial phase, starting this month, will examine whether the solvent developed by C-Capture is compatible with the biomass flue gas emitted from the plant. A lab-scale study into the feasibility of re-purposing the flue gas desulphurisation absorbers at the plant will also be carried out to assess potential capture rates. The equipment has become redundant on the three units that have been converted from coal to biomass. Depending on the outcome of the feasibility study, a demonstra- tion CCS unit will be connected up to one of the biomass units this year for the second phase of the trial. Drax Group chief executive Will Gardiner said the initiative was only the first step. "We will soon have four operational biomass units, which provide us with a great opportunity to test different tech- nologies," he said. £100m Lloyds Bank will dedicate £100 million of cheap loans to help small businesses take advantage of supply chain oppor- tunities related to the construc- tion of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. United Utilities is working with a youth focus group to ensure the water company's long-term plans meet the priorities of those most likely to foot the bill – today's under 25s. It has formed a "pioneering partnership" with Youth Focus North West to seek the views of some of the region's most socially and politically engaged young people. "Advances in technology can assist businesses in their focus on efficiency, agility, fast- access to data and the handling of regulatory requirements" Tim Rogers, head of sales and business development for Contigo, says almost three-quarters of people in the energy sector find it hard to keep up with new technological developments such as blockchain, cloud and big data. 300MW Anesco has revealed plans to build around 300MW of battery storage over the next three years, quadrupling the size of its existing portfolio. THE POWER DRIVING CHANGE Connection applications Pivot Power has unveiled plans to build a £1.6 billion network of 50MW batteries and rapid EV chargers at 45 locations around the UK. Ten of the facilities are due to be installed over the next 18 months, with the first coming to Southampton in the first half of 2019. The full rollout will take five years.

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