Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 22ND - 28TH JUNE 2018 | 5 ELECTRICITY Grid confident of coping with EVs, says minister The electrification of road transport will result in only a 10 per cent increase in demand for electricity by 2050, according to a govern- ment minister. Junior business minister Rich- ard Harrington told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) select committee that at the recent first meeting of the govern- ment's electric vehicle (EV) task force, National Grid had expressed confidence about the ability of power networks to cope. Harrington, giving evidence to the committee as part of its inquiry into EVs, said: "We are not going to find sudden power surges and that the grid can't cope." The 10 per cent increase factored in the assumption that EVs will dominate the motor market by the middle of the century. WATER Severn Trent prosecutes over discharge breach Severn Trent hopes its successful prosecution of a company that dis- charged excess trade effluent into its network will act as a deterrent to others. The UK's second-biggest water company brought the action against Black Country firm Star Polishing and Plating. It was fined £3,600, with costs of £4,256 and a victim surcharge of £170, by Wolverhamp- ton Magistrates Court this month. Samples taken in January last year revealed nickel and chromium exceeding agreed consent levels in waste being discharged into the sewer. The pH level was also found to be 5.4 – outside agreed limits of 6 to 11. 34% A third of energy buyers for businesses said in a Centrica poll that a lack of board-level support was the biggest barrier to investment in new energy tech. Irish utility ESB has entered the UK storage market with the purchase of a 7MW battery site from renewable developer Anesco for an undisclosed sum. The Mill Farm facility, near Grantham in Lincolnshire, consists of six containerised battery units with a total storage capacity of 7MWh. The project was funded and developed by Anesco. It was built in just 12 weeks and became operational in April. "We are disappointed that water companies' draft water resources plans fell short of our expectations" David Black, senior director for Water 2020, says water companies must do more on drought and resilience. Carbon capture, usage and storage is the segment of the energy industry that faces the greatest risks from policy uncertainty, according to a survey of industry professionals by the Energy Institute. Its Energy Barometer report for 2018 found that policy uncertainty is considered to pose the least risk to energy efficiency measures. Building energy efficiency Offshore wind Solar New gas-fired electricity generation Bioenergy Upstream oil and gas District heating Small-scale renewables Low carbon transport infrastructure Energy storage (electricity, heat) Onshore wind Nuclear Hydrogen Marine (tidal and wave) Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) 0 20 40 60 80 100 Percentage of respondents CARBON CAPTURE HIT BY POLICY UNCERTAINTY Very high High Neither low nor high Low Very low

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