'No power, no site' - Key takeaways from Insider Media's Access to Power roundtable

Leah Holmes, associate director, smart energy & sustainability at Hydrock now Stantec, recently sat down with other industry stakeholders - including Jonathan Maclaren, technical specialist, energy at Stantec - for Insider Media's Access to Power Roundtable.

The barriers preventing power access and how they can be overcome was the main topic of conversation. Here are Leah's key takeaways:

On the biggest challenges relating to power procurement:

"Over the last few years we’ve seen a massive increase in renewable energy coming onto the [electricity] grid. As we come off the gas grid and move away from fossil fuels, we are also seeing the electrification of transport with EV charging. Our power needs in order to meet net-zero by 2030 and achieve decarbonisation are increasing.

"At the same time there has been under-investment in the national grid, which means it isn’t ready to respond to this increasing need for power. We have this ageing infrastructure that all of a sudden needs massive reinforcement. This is affecting pretty much every sector at every level.

"It’s not just an issue for those huge power loads, like data centres. Even smaller residential, logistics and industrial sites are struggling to achieve a power connection in the timeline that they need. We are seeing delays into the 2030s to get a power connection. If you don’t have power, you don’t have a site. There is no building that doesn’t require power."

On whether power delays affect the viability of a site:

"There are reforms happening. At the moment, it’s first-come, first-served. That’s because the DNOs [Distribution Network Operators] have had to have some kind of system to process those who have applied for power and are ready to pay.

"We had a development of 3,500 homes that was ready to go, but it was sitting behind a 100MW battery storage facility application in the queue for power. Because of this system, the DNO and the National Grid had to prepare the infrastructure for a 100MW facility first, before they could give the residential development the 2 or 3MVA needed.

"A reform is being agreed in the next couple of months at the transmission level [National Grid level] to move from first-come, first-served to ‘shovel-ready, first-served’. They think it will halve the number of projects in the queue and should speed up those that are ready to go.

"The DNOs and National Grid find the balancing of the systems that have power flowing both ways challenging. That’s what is creating a lot of the constraints. We are working with the Grid where there are either renewables or battery storage sites that need both demand and export but are stalled. In the North East there is a lot of generation [from renewables] but there isn’t the demand for it. The infrastructure has to be upgraded to take all of that export and direct it somewhere else - and that is what’s creating such a queue.

"Northern Powergrid said they had a 260 per cent increase in generation capacity requests. That’s the highest of all DNOs. The demand isn’t there to absorb it."

On what is required to boost energy independence:

"We are starting to see some solutions that simplify this [challenge]. We use the word ‘Microgrid’ like it’s scary new technology, but really it’s just a private utilities network. Not every home needs solar panels on the roof that the homeowner will need to maintain. There are companies that would fund this infrastructure, as well as operate and manage it and protect customers from price increases.

"If as a community or landowner you can have more control over generating and distributing your power, you become more resilient. There is a government fund called the Community Energy Fund, any community which is a legal entity can apply for it in order to become more energy resilient. Yes, there will be a capex commitment, but at some point, it will come good."

Click here to read Insider Media's full summary of the roundtable.

To learn more about how Hydrock, now Stantec can help meet the power procurement needs of a project, click here.