Future of energy infrastructure discussion post the King's Speech

Above: Drax Power Station in Yorkshire, pictured in 2017 when coal-fired but converted to biomass in 2021 (courtesy powerstations.uk)

As part of our post election series, FUTURE CITIES FORUM, asked architects HOK, engineers Buro Happold and the UK Energy Research Institute (represented by the University of Strathclyde and the University of Edinburgh) and to comment on the King's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament.

The focus of the discussion was on the newly announced creation of Great British Energy, extra powers for devolved metro mayors, the reduction of planning red tape for onshore wind, engagement with local communities, as well as the improvement of heat provision and design of buildings, with calls for a joined-up energy strategy from councils and developers.

Chris Glover, Director, Utilities and Energy at Buro Happold has worked for gas, electricity and water companies, while Rob McGill is a sustainable design lead for international architects HOK's London studio. Chris commented first on the creation of Great British Energy:

'The creation of GB Energy, with around £8 billion in funding, is fascinating. The devil is in the detail obviously. Currently we have record levels of renewable energy queued up in the system. Ofgem the regulator has put out a 'connections action plan' at the end of last year, and a significant 'code review' which is changing the regulations. It's well known that for renewable energy there is a 10 to 15 year delay in getting connections - National Grid connections - and we have four to five times the energy we need queued up in the system and it's getting access to the Grid which is the issue. I am not overly clear how creating a new organisation will solve the problem unless the company can remove the bottle-neck. There are a number of key projects, such as green free ports - which we have been working on - which are killed by having a 10 to 15 year wait for a connection.

'The system currently is archaic and it will always look at 'worst case' (scenario) so if I am a developer and I stick in a battery energy storage system and it's a hundred megawatts, the power company will assume worst case which is peak demand and that will kill the project. In fact the battery system will charge up at night when it's cheap, it won't be on at peak time but they (the Grid) won't do that. The process is always assume worst case. In fact for power demand in the UK has been falling since 2008, but we see developments with longer and longer wait times, because we are fundamentally changing the way the network operates. In the old days power would be generated up north - by coal-fired power stations - at very high voltage and then moved down south. These days power is generated and stored everywhere. The process to apply to connect has not changed. There needs to be a fundamental rethink around the planning assumptions to free this up.

'I will quote the UK Power Networks CEO who has said that the London network when it is on peak demand is only operating at 60% capacity. Yet if you try and connect a data centre in London you will be told there is no power! Until that is addressed it will be inefficient. There is a lot of good will around but it needs political will. We need to change assumptions because we are stopping people connecting. There's a physical link north and south that needs upgrading, but the access to the Grid is an issue nationally because it covers all areas in the UK. I think it is good news about the changes to planning that were announced in the King's Speech. Planning measures to date have stopped the process for onshore wind. The new planning measures could double the impact on the Grid. I am talking about changing housing standards.

Rob joined in on the challenges of energy sharing:

'Demand is only going to rise and it is a type of Malthusian perspective that even if you are increasing efficiency, people are only going to use more energy. The building foot prints are expanding in terms of area and the amount of things we are plugging in are increasing. You have sectors like labs and healthcare which are expanding with heavy usage . The story to me is all about sharing energy because there is surplus. For example, at the recent project we have been working on called Keystone which is the sister building to Glasgow University's Advanced Research Centre, we were looking at how efficient the building needs to be in terms of the envelope performance, but we discovered that because there was so much surplus heat, especially from the cooling systems, it didn't matter. It is a multi-level approach within the building. It is not just about national and regional strategies for energy, it is about sharing at a community and local level.

'I made the point that if you had a mix of typologies at a district level - and that example has just come up at an HOK project in Clifton Road Cambridge, where the developer wants a couple of city-based lab buildings mixed in with community buildings - there is an opportunity for onsite generation of energy for community use. However the government, local authorities and local planners need to be up for it and messages need to be spelt out to residents.'

'There is a big uptake on solar for roofs and demand for heat pumps and there needs to be a big uptake in community networks for inner city development. More labs and hospitals are being built which produce a vast amount of heat that could be shared. There are novel solutions in Norway using sand for thermal heat. We need building efficiency and we need to focus on how we can do more with the buildings that we have in cities and not encroach on the green belt. Fuel poverty can be solved by an upgrade in building efficiency. We need attention to detail and a simplified route. Some buildings might not be overly historic but required sensitivity to upgrade for efficiency. We have worked on a project in Inner Temple, London, with Grade I and II buildings, which have required very thin insulation and that pushes the price up. The key is really to understand a building from the start and do all the research required to make the right choices in terms of using breathable materials and tackling moisture problems. You have to respond to what you have and this can be different from one building to another.'

On the measures announced around devolution in the King's Speech, Chris stated:

'I think in terms of energy, the impact on devolution is going to be very limited, but in terms of planning, it could certainly help. The process of getting connected to the Grid at any level goes through Ofgem etc, so outside the scope of the Mayors, but if it makes planning easier that is where it could be of value. Germany for example cannot put a data centre in unless it has a complementary energy solution next to it. The mayoral system needs more joined up thinking. It is rare that you get someone like a mayor that pulls together a new life science building and housing development, but there could be a change in role for mayors there. Central government would just get stuck with that volume of development projects. So the direction of travel is right with the new Labour government, as the previous administration just wasn't interested. Of course it is early days.

'The big problem is that the UK government - whoever has been in power - has never had an energy strategy. One strategy is the transition in buying large amount of energy through electrification, but we already have five times the amount we need in the system. The hydrogen lobby says lets generate hydrogen from that. There is a missing strategy pointing to what we need to do to get to net zero and how much electricity we need for that.'

'Greg Jackson at Octopus Energy has been looking at locational pricing. Most offshore wind comes into Aberdeen but they do not get the cheapest power. I think it could work if local communities were offered lower prices for their energy, they might accept a wind farm in their area. Locational pricing could unlock nimbyism. This may help with the messages that have gone out that Labour will ignore local community opinion.

'Water may become more of a scandal than Horizon (the Post Office computer scandal). Water companies were privatised, adding debt but upgrades have not happened. Five year plans were signed off as long as there would be cheap prices for consumers. An inquest might show that many people knew about what was happening. Often when companies are nationalised, they do not get the investment they need. Over the years the infrastructure crumbles and we are missing the regulation in the UK to protect on this, ensuring that companies are maintaining and improving water pipes. On reservoirs, none have been built since 1992 in the UK. We use medical grade water and just flush is down the toilet. Grey water can be re-used. People do not watch their water consumption because it is cheap. There is some sense in looking at behavioural change. There was a trial that showed success when people were paid to switch off (electricity). But eventually, would people get bored with these incentives? The French run their utilities as municipality-led. It comes under the Mayor and it is managed as a community. A number of councils did this in the UK but they got into trading derivatives when they did not have the expertise. EDF for example has a floor of traders at the London HQ, so they have the expertise, which others do not.'

Rob agreed:

'It is definitely the wrong way to go to look at ground source. In Saudi Arabia, they have been depleting their water resources by constantly draining aquifers. We must look at improving reservoirs and increase efficiency. We need to look at flow rates for different building systems. Building performance evaluation is very important. We need to ask the question - how successful is design really? A lot of local authorities are supplying low energy affordable housing. We need now to survey them to see how they are being used. Yes, encourage behavioural change and learn from that and how we can reduce energy use further.'

Future Cities Forum would like to thank Chris Glover, Partner at Buro Happold and Rob McGill, HOK, for their knowledge and expertise. Look out for the second part of this energy discussion report due to be published shortly with contributions from UK Energy Research Centre - Professor Keith Bell of The University of Strathclyde and Jess Britton of the University of Edinburgh.