Crestchic’s Paul Brickman warns that many sites are not properly testing their standby power systems. In light of recent events, critical facilities need to up their game… The UK’s energy mix is going through a transition from fossil fuel-generated electricity to an increased reliance on renewable sources – posing challenges to the National Grid when it comes to balancing demand with ensuring a stable, consistent supply. That said, managing frequency deviations on the transmission grid Read more…
Unlocking savings: ESCOs, EPCs and EaaS
Energy as a Service (EaaS) models are highly attractive to the technology giants – the so-called FAANGs (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google), but there are a wide range of energy services on the market. So, how can end users decide the best option for their organisation? Steve Fawkes, founder of EnergyPro, provides an insight Usually when we talk about energy service companies (ESCOs) we mean companies that deliver energy efficiency upgrades through Energy Performance Contracts (EPCs) that Read more…
Bridging the energy gap: industry leaders reveal concerns
A new report finds that energy security and rising costs are impacting competitiveness for UK industry, so how could decentralised energy be made more accessible? Industry barriers to decentralised energy strategies must be addressed, amid rising costs and fears over energy security, concludes a new report by Aggreko. Bridging the Energy Gap highlights the findings of a survey of 200 key energy decision makers from industry and shows that energy security remains a major or Read more…
Risk of cyber attacks on power networks
Cyber attacks on London electricity networks are likely to disrupt more than 1.5 million people and could cost £111m daily, even for a relatively small attack… Critical national infrastructure such as smart electricity networks are susceptible to malicious cyber attacks that could cause substantial power outages and cascading failure affecting multiple business, health and education organisations as well domestic supply, says Dr Edward Oughton from the UK Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium (University of Oxford and Read more…
82% believe energy security ‘a concern’, but cost hinders on-site generation
Industry barriers to decentralised energy strategies must be addressed, admid rising costs and fears over energy security, concludes a new report by Aggreko. ‘Bridging the Energy Gap’ highlights the findings of a survey of 200 key energy decision makers from industry and show that energy security remains a major or significant concern for most respondents (82%). Reducing energy consumption is also viewed as a medium or high priority for the vast majority (94%). Some 55% Read more…
Cyber attacks to power networks could cost £111m daily
Cyber attacks on London electricity networks are likely to disrupt over 1.5 million people and could cost £111 million daily, even for a relatively small attack, according to new research from Dr Edward Oughton, from the UK Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium (University of Oxford and the Centre for Risk Studies at the Cambridge Judge Business School). “Critical national infrastructure such as smart electricity networks are susceptible to malicious cyberattacks which could cause substantial power outages Read more…
Crestchic Loadbanks provides Pakistani port with a solution to regenerative power
The container shipping industry is an ever-growing, fast-paced environment, and power infrastructure cannot always grow in-line with power requirements. For this reason, many container ports are choosing to expand their power capacity by using stand-alone temporary power solutions, such as diesel generators, rather than waiting for additional power infrastructure. This is often the best way to secure additional crane power, thereby increasing the number of containers that can be moved simultaneously. It does, however, come Read more…
Potential for micro-grids to increase resilience in an uncertain energy landscape
The rise of virtual power plants will be a key trend in 2019, according to ABB’s Sagnik Murthy. He says there is wider uptake of distributed energy resources, but there are challenges around the intermittency of solar and wind generation, which means battery storage has a key role to play. Murthy points out that the energy landscape has faced challenges around regulation and uncertainty, in recent years, and this has prompted developers to change their Read more…
Energy security remains a major concern for industry
Energy security and cost concerns are highlighted as key issues for UK industry, according to a report launched by Aggreko. Entitled ‘Bridging the Energy Gap,’ the new report is the result of 200 key energy decision-makers across industry offering their views on decentralised energy in the UK. It finds that energy security remains a major or significant concern for most respondents (82%), while reducing energy consumption is viewed as a medium or high priority for Read more…
Carbon zero targets high on the agenda at the Energyst Event
The Energyst Event once again explored approaches to an integrated energy strategy, in an energy market where disciplines are rapidly converging. The conference delved into many current niches such as Esos, EVs storage and making energy efficiency a tradable resource. Crucially, it looked at how they fit together as a whole. The event opened on 1-2 May at the National Motorcycle museum, on the day the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) advised government to set Read more…
Rolls-Royce to offer microgrid solutions for mines
Rolls-Royce is expanding its portfolio of energy systems with the addition of microgrid solutions for mines from MTU Onsite Energy. This means that mine operators will now be offered a sustainable energy supply system that can be operated in remote regions independently of public power grids. The solutions combine renewable energy sources with a battery storage system and both diesel and gas generator sets, in addition to a central controller to ensure that the mine’s Read more…
UK energy price cap predicted to fall in autumn
According to the ICIS Power Index (IPI) Analysis there is a real prospect that UK energy bills are likely to fall from 1 October due to the substantial reduction in wholesale energy prices. On 1 April, Ofgem, the body responsible for the regulation of the UK energy market, raised the price cap on default retail gas and power tariffs by 10%, or £117, to £1,254 per year. Similarly, the pre-payment cap rose by £106 to Read more…
Power technology trends for 2019
Power Control’s director, Rob Mather, explores some power technology trends for 2019, aimed at driving energy efficiency and improving resilience… The need to balance resilience, efficiency and cost savings in mission critical sectors is driving some key technology trends around battery storage, UPS systems, and intelligent monitoring. Among these trends is an increasing interest in lithium-ion battery technology. According to market reports, the lithium-ion battery market is forecasted to grow from $36.20 billion in 2018 Read more…
Distributed energy market opens up opportunities for mission critical sites
The falling cost of distributed energy technologies is opening up opportunities for hospitals and industrial sites to make a major impact on emissions reductions. A report by Centrica shows that new energy technology could meet more than half of the 20% carbon reduction target by 2030 for the healthcare, industry and hospitality sectors, as set out by the Clean Growth Strategy. Published following the IPCC’s report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C, the Read more…
Onsite generation ‘will continue to boom’
A boom in onsite generation is in now sight and the UK market has the potential to triple in size, according to Jonathan Maxwell, CEO of Sustainable Development Capital Limited. “There is a very substantial opportunity,” he suggests. “The intensity of focus from large corporates on minimising their carbon footprint is completely different compared to five years ago. The energy regulator is tearing up the current electricity charging arrangements and starting from scratch. Some argue Read more…
‘Too many data centres operate in reactive mode’ warns consulting firm
Nils Gerstle from Collaboretix Enterprise Consulting warns that failures are all too often due to a reactive approach to data centre management. Data centre failure can be described as a critical failure of any of the elements constituting the data centre and impacting the entire facility. These may include many components, from electrical to HVAC. However, the main causes of data centre failures are difficult to substantiate, because data availability is skewed. Few companies fully admit Read more…
Loadbanks deliver resilience for Europe’s greenest mine
Crestchic has provided two of its 1MW resistive only loadbanks to the first ever underground data centre, based in Norway. The Lefdal mine, a 120,000 sq m facility based within an old mine shaft, is set to be one of Europe’s largest and greenest data centres. The facility is powered exclusively by four glacial hydropower stations and two wind farms, providing a capacity of more than 300MW. Crestchic was asked to provide two 1MW, 400V, Read more…
Eaton reports pilot success for UPS-as-a-reserve
Louise Frampton recently caught up with Eaton’s Mike Byrnes and learned how UPS-as-a-reserve has been received by the data centre sector since its initial launch Two years ago, Eaton announced its move into developing technology that would enable participation in demand-side response (DSR) and set its sights on engaging data centres with the concept of UPS-as-a-reserve’ (UPSaaR). The aim was to enable data centres to contribute to renewable energy, by helping to stabilise the grid, Read more…
Transformers: robots to the rescue?
More needs to be done, through early detection and improved inspection regimes, to mitigate the risks posed to critical infrastructure by unexpected transformer failures. Louise Frampton reports Transformers are critical elements of power networks. When they fail unexpectedly, the impact on critical infrastructure – such as hospitals and industry – can be catastrophic. Poorly maintained, ageing global infrastructure is exacerbating the risk of failures, while downtime can result in many millions in lost revenue for Read more…
Government urged to act on blackout warnings
As the UK transitions to a lower carbon economy, the GMB union is warning of the need to ensure a safe and secure energy supply. The energy union has called on the Government to heed ‘nightmarish’ blackout warnings from the Institute of Engineering and Shipbuilding in Scotland A new paper, Engineering for Energy, says coal and gas power stations are needed to make sure the country can get back online quickly after a system crash. The report Read more…
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