Environmental Sustainability in Energy Delivery Steve Wallace Head of Climate Change and Environment
Dec 18, 2015
The environmental challenge
Leadership in energy policy
Environmental impact from goods and services that are provided to us
Providing the infrastructure to
decarbonise society
Environmental impact from
the goods and services we
provide
Reducingsociety’s emissions
Our role in decarbonising the economy
Impact from our services and how we and our supply
chain operate
Sustainable, low carbon business
Emissions and resource efficiency
5
Wind, nuclear & CCS dominant at ~25GW – 30GW each
~20GW other renewables
~15GW interconnection
~20GW embedded generation
LNG & continental imports
Bio-methane
Where will our energy come from in 2050?
Gas CCGT Coal CCS
Nuclear Wind Renewable
Interconnector CHP Other
Generation capacity mix
~115GW
~50% from electricityat ~15g CO2(e) / kWh
~35% from gasat ~185g CO2(e) / kWh
~15% from oilat ~245g CO2(e) / kWh
6
Why do we need gas?
~1,000 GWh / dayElectricity demand
(avg. November day)
~4,000 GWh / dayGas demand
(avg. November day)
Energy use is ‘peaky’…Full electrification of heat:what you have to believe…
~150 GW of heat electrified =
Nuclear? ~45 sites at 3.3GW / site
Renewables?~30,000 wind turbines at
5MW / turbine
CCS? ~75 sites at 2GW / site
Solar PV? ~40m homes at 17m2 / home
Inter-connectors?
~150 BritNed’s at 1GW each
…even after significant energy efficiency
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
1 62 122 182 242 303 363
2050 electricity (inc. electrified transport) 2050 heat
GWh
Days
Peak 30 days
3,400
3,600
3,800
4,000
7
The transmission delivery challenge (2020)
France
Netherlands
Belgium
Norway
Ireland
France
existing electricity network
potential wind farm sites
potential nuclear sites
interconnectors
Infrastructure challenge
10’s km of new cable tunnels100’s km new HV cable
10’s new Substations100’s new transformers
100’s km of new OHL circuits1000’s km full refurbishment
Nearly 1000km of new transmission pipe
new compressor stations new compressor units
2000 km gas distribution mains replacement per year
Biogas connections….
Right Footprint – The environmental sustainability challenge
Not exceeding the ability of the planet to deal with our emissions without reducing its capacity to do so in the future
Only using replaceable (organic) resources at less than the rate that they can be replaced and without damaging biodiversity
Only using irreplaceable resources in a way that retains their value and ensures that they remain available to future generations
Super sustainability: Put more back than we take out – add to natural capital and repair the damage done by previous generations
Guiding Principles
Operating as far as possible within closed loops, conserving and enhancing natural resources
Assigning a proper value to external impacts
Integrating the concepts and tools for environmental sustainability into decision making in an organisation-wide culture of sustainability
Assessing aspects and impacts to focus on those of greatest importance to business and stakeholders.
Openly reporting performance and being held accountable
Working with Government and civil society to create a regulatory and legal environment that rewards sustainable decisions
Priority – Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Climate Change Strategy
Reshaping energy markets
Agents for changeEnsure National Grid is a sustainable, low
carbon business
Adaptation‘greening’
the business2020 and
2050 targets
•EE programs and educating customers
•Fleet procurement, etc•Employee engagement
•Carbon Budgets•Executive Comp•Carbon price
•US and UK task forces
•Supporting Renewables•Promoting decoupling•Expanding energy efficiency
Valuing External Impacts (GHG)
Price need to deliver 80% reduction across
society £52/$83 per tonne
CO2(e)
Regulator supported price and incentives
Leadership information to inform debate based on lost opportunities
Investment appraisal assessment
Investment appraisal assessment and fund
Carbon price
Linear to Circular Assets
Manufacture Into products
Procure Stores
inventory Issue to site
Projectdelivery
Asset life
Consumption of resource
Raw Materials
£/$ value
Removal from service
RefurbishRecycleDisposal
(to be avoided)collect Reuse
Loss of valuable resource
Grey spares
Refurbishmentcentres
Valuepreservation
Commodityavailability
risk
Example – Meter Recycling
Community Investment in local industry / community Employment and development opportunities via REMPLOY and young offender programme Localised sub contracted activities
Reputation Best practice shared with industry players, energy suppliers and internal stakeholders Visible Environmental investment in support of National Grid PoliciesRealisation of commercial opportunities for National Grid Visible support of I&D agenda Internal recognition as centre of environmental best practice
Performance Elimination of hazardous materials to landfill Reduction in carbon emissions £k100’s PA Increased revenue from recycled material £m PA savings from meter refurbishment Savings of circa £k10’s PA from reuse of salvaged components
Resources Expanded scope of reclaimed materials Salvaged components reintroduced into supply chainAsset lifecycle optimisedReduction in supply side resourcesIncreased yield via meter refurbishmentEfficient use of existing National Grid estateDevelopment of employees
Virgin Aggregate
Approved Recycled Aggregate
Landfill
Recycling processExcavation
Reducing volume of excavation by no dig or low dig options
Residual waste
Recycled aggregate to
approved specifications
Example - Closing the loop in spoil
Ideal case is to stop doing the red and minimise the green per unit of main replaced
Current performance: 90% recycling road spoil, saving Ca. £6m in landfill tax
Striving for Better Regulation
Successful collaboration between Environment Agency and industry
Better regulation initiative
Delivered a solution not a problem
Delivered approximately £1m in savings
Environmental liability managed
Materials re-use of 66%
Partington(Hub)Runcorn
WarringtonPrescot