The UK government’s plans for new gas power stations as back up for renewables should prompt high energy users to consider decentralised solutions to balance security of supply against the need for greener energy, according to a sector expert.
The government says the new gas power stations, which will be capable of operating for as little as one to two hours, are needed to meet demand on days when renewables such as solar and wind cannot deliver.
“These plans underscore the looming energy shortages facing the UK’s power network as the energy mix rightly shifts towards renewable sources, which are inherently vulnerable to unfavourable weather conditions,” said Chris Rason, Managing Director of Aggreko Energy Services. “This issue is most acute for high energy users such as manufacturing facilities and data centres, which must maintain resilience while achieving tough voluntary and statutory decarbonisation targets.
“Coupled with well-documented challenges relating to grid capacity and connection delays, it is unsustainable for high energy users to wait for centralised solutions from government. These will take many years to come to fruition, following site selection, design, planning permission and construction, and may not be ready when needed by energy intensive industries. As a result, a move towards decentralised generation is crucial.”
The short-term decentralised options offered by Aggreko include battery energy storage solutions (BESS) combined with low emission, high performance Stage V generators, supporting or working independently of existing grid supply, with the option to scale to meet increased demand resulting from future expansion. Beyond this, Aggreko is also offering long term renewable solutions on a permanent basis.
Chris added: “Adopting decentralised solutions gives control back to high energy users, assuring them of their ability to maintain uptime despite increasing challenges for the security of supply from the grid, while offering the ability to scale up or down depending on grid performance and operational needs.”
Aggreko’s support for the energy transition is reflected in its recently launched sustainability framework, Energising Change. The framework allows Aggreko and the organisations it works with to embed low-carbon power technologies in their operations.
At the heart of Energising Change are investments that give high energy users access to cleaner and greener energy sources, such as the expansion of its fleets of small, mid and large-size BESS, which builds on $140m earmarked over the last two years to expand Aggreko’s Greener UpgradesTM fleet, including new boilers, Stage V generators, batteries and chillers.
To find out more, visit: www.aggreko.com.
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