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Utility Week 16th February 2018

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24 | 16TH - 22ND FEBRUARY 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Operations & Assets "Freedom Project maximises the use of existing gas and electricity networks without requiring any significant new infrastructure." Comment Chris Clarke I t has been clear for a long time that the decarbonisa- tion of heat is essential in order to deliver for energy customers in the future while continuing to meet challenging environmental targets. But over the past few years, this has too oen been the silent partner in the debate about future energy policy. Instead, the decarbonisation of electricity has taken prime position – dominating public interest – even though proportionally it is a much smaller challenge. In recent years, the untested assumption has been that the decarbonisation of heat signals the end of the gas network and the electrification of heat. Ironically, this comes just years aer the iron mains replacement programme delivered a low cost, low carbon distribution network. This hypothesised electrification presents an infrastructure challenge unprecedented in British his- tory, requiring thousands of miles of new overhead lines and associated pylons, bigger cables in our streets and upgrades to substations. HS2 and Hinkley Point C pale in comparison. And that's outside the home. Eighty per cent of homes and businesses in the UK are currently heated by gas. Their boilers (many of them new and efficient as a result of changes to building regulations) and central heating systems would need to be removed and replaced by new electricity systems with deep retrofitted insulation and low temperature heat delivery systems. To the customer, the cost of con- tributing towards not only the infrastructure required but also the new internal fixtures and fittings, would be unprecedented – while the behaviour change required by consumers cooking on gas would be significant too. Instead, it's now becoming clear that a holistic approach is required to decarbonise heat and deliver a future energy system that meets the needs of customers and the planet. The solution needs to be cost effective, reliable – definitely there when customers want it, and decarbonised. At the heart of all of Wales & West Utilities' future of energy work is the customer. They're not interested in how the energy gets to them, just that it delivers the service they want at a reasonable price. So we've worked with partners Western Power Distribution (WPD) and PassivSystems on the first gas and electricity network future of energy project – the Freedom Project – which brings the idea of energy network integration into the home. A Freedom Project installation – of which there are 75 on trial in the "living heat laboratory" in Bridgend, south Wales, integrates a traditional gas boiler and an electricity air source heat pump with a smart control system. This smart control system enables switching between gas and electricity, based on the affordability and carbon intensity of each vector. When there's a surplus of green, renewable electricity, the air source heat pump will be heating the home through electricity. Conversely, at times of peak demand or low renewable energy generation, the smart switching technology will direct the gas boiler and gas network to pick up the strain. This switching is based on the least cost and least carbon option, and takes advantage of existing infra- structure. Integral to Freedom Project is the consumer-first prin- ciple, therefore retrofitting to existing homes is simple, necessary behaviour change is minimal, and disruption to customers once the installation is fitted is nonexist- ent. Freedom Project maximises the use of the existing gas network and electricity system without requiring any significant new infrastructure. The gas network in this integrated energy system isn't the gas network of yesterday, but a network delivering for today's and tomorrow's customers. It's a network that is, to all intents and purposes, brand new. New plastic pipes are replacing the majority of old metal ones, and transporting different gases. We're part of the H21 project, working alongside our partners in the north and south, exploring the feasibility of converting cities to hydrogen. We're also integral to the BioSGN project looking to produce gas from black bin waste by injecting manufactured gas into the network for the first time since the 1970s – but this time low carbon. Meanwhile, across Wales and the southwest of England, we've connected 17 biomethane sites to the gas network so far – with the current connected capacity able to deliver enough green, renewable gas to heat 125,000 homes. Additionally, we're working with the Health & Safety Executive, among others, to obtain all the necessary safety and regulatory permissions to allow us to start blending hydrogen into the gas network now – thus beginning to reduce carbon intensity. The interim findings of the Freedom Project suggest this comparatively simple initiative may be a vital break- through, with minimal impact of any kind – financial or otherwise – on customers. This is something the Depart- ment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Ofgem are clear has to be central to all future planning. So, while it may be a bit more prosaic than new net- works, new batteries or electrification, Freedom really could set us on the pathway to decarbonising heat. Chris Clarke, director of asset management & HSE, Wales & West Utilities

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