Gas
“Winning means you have impressed your colleagues”
As the deadline for entering the Network Awards 2020 approaches, Network is asking the judging panel for their tips on writing an impactful entry that stands out from the crowd. John Parsons, director of digital at the British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers' Association, hopes to find a sector clued up on cyber security and digitalisation.
Gas
Seven tower blocks replace gas with GSHP technology
Residents in seven tower blocks in Sunderland will become green heat pioneers at the conclusion of a new project to install low carbon ground source heat pumps in 364 homes in place of gas boilers.
Gas
ENA launches election wish list for net-zero
As the general election campaign moves up a gear, energy network companies have called on political leaders to commit to taking bold action to achieve net-zero.
Gas
“We’re having joint conversations, but behind on 2050”
Dr Sara Walker, a reader in energy in the School of Engineering at Newcastle University, is joining the judging panel for this year's Network awards. With the deadline now extended until 16 December - to accommodate essential RIIO-2 submissions - what does the judging panel hope will be in store?
Gas
ETI calls for ‘smart’ charging and incentives on EV adoption
A new report by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) argues that "smart" charging is needed to support the widespread integration of electric cars and vans into the energy system to meet the UK's 2050 climate change targets.
Gas
Europe-wide survey scores GB low on electricity system flexibility
Great Britain ranks eighth out of nine northern European countries in attracting and facilitating investment in electricity system flexibility, says a new industry report published by the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA).
Gas
Getting green networks up to speed
Decarbonising heat will involve a future switch to hydrogen, but how should that hydrogen be produced? And as consumers and businesses adopt EVs and take to the roads, are the network operators fully prepared? Tom Grimwood reports on the topics that topped the agenda at this year's Network Asset Performance Conference in Birmingham
Gas
“Awards help us to understand the art of the possible”
Paul Jordan, business lead for the Innovator Support Platform at the Energy Systems Catapult, will be joining the Network Awards 2020 judging panel. We asked him how he sees the role of awards events amid the wider challenges the sector faces.
Gas
ESC launches modelling tool for 2050 scenario planning
The Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) has launched a new software modelling tool that can weigh up different scenarios on how national, regional and local energy networks in the UK can use storage and flexibility technologies to decarbonise at least cost.
Gas
Cadent to pipe bio-gas to HGV refuelling stations
An alternative fuel company has announced plans to offer HGV fleet operators biomethane gas - piped through the gas network - as an alternative to diesel that can achieve net zero emissions.
Gas
Getting the power back on
National Grid ESO is aiming for a world first - coordinating multipe distributed energy resources (DERs) to provide a safe Black Start service in its Distributed ReStart project. Alec Peachey spoke to project lead Peter Chandler.
Gas
An alternative route to Black Start
Electricity interconnectors are increasingly adding flexibility to the high voltage network in Great Britain. But can their convertor capacity also offer a Black Start service to the grid? Oluwole Daniel Adeuyi and colleagues at the National HVDC Centre, operated by Scottish Hydro Electricity, discuss its recent scenario planning around an interconnector Black Start.
Gas
Hydrogen boilers, CCUS and biogas critical to net-zero heat, says ENA report
The government should mandate "hydrogen ready" boilers for new installations in domestic properties as part of a radical strategy to deliver a zero carbon heat network by 2050, concludes a major new report outlining a viable pathway for decarbonised heat in the UK.
Gas
Opening the doors to diverse talent
The demand for power is rising, amidst ongoing skills shortages in transmission and distribution. We need to shout about our successes to attract more women, career changers and apprentices, says Laura Hatfield, recruitment consultant at Samuel Knight International.
Gas
Grenfell report praises Cadent operation to seal gas mains
"Clarity of planning and careful execution" allowed Cadent gas engineers to cut off three gas mains near to Grenfell Tower at the height of the emergency, helping to bring the fire under control after gas sustained the fire in its later phases, the official inquiry has found.
Gas
Net-zero will need a regulation review, contractor warns
New thinking on energy regulation that better supports network investment will be required if the UK is going to meet its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to Burns and McDonnell, a US based engineering and construction business operating in the UK since 2017.
Gas
Wales and West signs up to Welsh ‘net-zero ready’ 2035 target
Wales and West Utilities, the gas distribution network operator for Wales, has become the first company to sign up to the Welsh government's Climate Change Pledge, committing itself to having a "net-zero ready" gas network by 2035.
Gas
EIC and Cadent seek bright ideas for dementia sufferers
The Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) is teaming up with gas network Cadent and the Alzheimer's Society to host a workshop around new innovations in the utilities sector to improve the quality of life and safety of people living with dementia in the UK.
Gas
Labour outlines fast track to zero carbon energy by 2030
The Labour Party has unveiled a report setting out an accelerated plan to fully eliminate carbon emissions from the UK's energy system by 2030, including goals of installing 8 million heat pumps and insulating 27 million homes.
Gas
‘Liquid air’ battery tech firm scales up to 50MW plant
Highview Power, the company promoting "liquid air" as a storage medium for surplus electrical energy, last week announced plans to construct the first commercial scale battery facility using the technology, at a decommissioned thermal power station in the north of England.
Gas
SSEN to purge greenhouse gas from circuit breakers
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Transmission has declared its intention to phase out the greenhouse gas sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) - used to insulate circuit breakers in substations - by replacing it with a climate-friendly alternative air and vacuum system.
Gas
Safeguarding staff from mental health hazards at work
Promoting physical safety has become critically important across the sector, with many organisations priding themselves on a zero-tolerance approach to hazards in the workplace, writes Nadine Buddoo.
Gas
Hydrogen to fuel north west homes and businesses by 2024
The north west is ready to blend hydrogen into the gas grid and pipe it into homes and businesses as early as 2024, according to a 17 October briefing by HyNet, a consortium geared to delivering hydrogen from natural gas.
Gas
Utility Week Customer Summit
With customers at the heart of the utility industry's rapid and disruptive transformation, the future success of energy and water companies alike depends on their ability to successfully combine robust service provision with innovative ways to connect with customers. The 2020 Utility Week Customer Summit provides the only dedicated meeting place for forward-thinking customer professionals across the UK's utilities.
Gas
UK needs ‘Olympic’ delivery body to drive shift to net zero heating, says think tank
MPs and members of the public are equally in the dark over the urgency of decarbonising the heat network, raising the need to establish a powerful new body to coordinate the complex task, according to a report by cross-party think tank Policy Connect.
Gas
“We need to retrain boiler engineers in low carbon heat skills”
With heat decarbonisation rising up the agenda, the UK needs a new programme to re-skill gas boiler engineers and plumbers in decarbonised heat technology, says Network Awards 2020 judge Lily Frencham of the Association for Decentralised Energy.
Gas
H21 project highlights potential of hydrogen
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has said that hydrogen is a credible option to help decarbonise the UK energy system. Network editor Alec Peachey examines the progress being made and some of the challenges that remain.
Gas
Clean energy overtakes fossil fuel power in Q3
Electricity produced from wind, solar, biomass or hydro power exceeded electricity generated from fossil fuel sources in the third quarter of 2019, according to an analysis of government and industry data by climate change website Carbon Brief.
Gas
How materials science will underpin the future energy network
What are the materials that will serve as the backbone for electrical energy storage, renewable energy generation, gas and the grid itself in the future, and how might they underpin the future of the energy network? Four academics from Newcastle University and Durham University discuss the role of materials science in developing new network capacity.
Gas
Lights and heating will stay on after Brexit, National Grid says
National Grid's latest Systems Outlook Report offers reassurance that the domestic gas and electricity networks will have enough supply to meet winter demand even if Dutch and Belgian gas interconnectors were cut off on "day one" of a no deal exit.
Gas
Network Awards 2020: setting the standard
Following a successful inaugural year in 2019, the Network Awards will return on 17th March 2020, shining a light on the good work taking place across the UK's energy networks, their supply chains and stakeholders.