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Alarm sounded on energy costs for business

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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The outbreak of COVID-19 led to a substantial reduction in energy demand, but an industry veteran has warned that the tide is turning – where forward annual energy prices were averaging at 4.5p six months ago, the cost today has risen to 7p, a monumental increase of 45%. 

Corin Dalby, founder of philanthropic energy buying consultancy Box Power, has issued a stark warning to businesses across the UK about the surging wholesale energy prices they could be stuck with when October rolls around.

Figures have shown how the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, at the start of last year, caused a substantial reduction in energy demand as commercial activity was restricted for the majority of businesses and organisations. While some of this was offset by the increase in residential usage, this drop in demand meant prices plummeted.

However, since December, it seems the tables have turned. Where forward annual energy prices were averaging at 4.5p six months ago, the cost today has risen to 7p – an increase of 45%. Dalby puts this down to a successful vaccine roll-out leading to increased consumer confidence and believes that as long as this upward trajectory continues, prices of commodities like oil, LNG, electricity and carbon will just keep rising.

“The market is extremely volatile right now,” says Dalby, “No Summer to Autumn period is ever easy-going, with it often being the time that power stations choose to shut down for maintenance and hurricane season comes about, but this year has the added factor of European storage levels being well below normal.

“That’s why business figures need to put their procurement hats on now. By waiting until one month before their current energy contract is due to end, businesses will have no choice but to compare the marginal percentage difference between two or three providers’ rates there and then.

“Little to their knowledge, one of these providers could have been offering brilliant rates a mere few months earlier – so they’ve missed out on huge savings by simply not checking. It’s also possible that the effect of lots of businesses hunting around for deals at the same time results in demand-pull inflation – escalating prices even more.”

There are a number of reasons why businesses leave switching to the last minute, according to Dalby – either due to hope that things might improve, putting it off due to thinking of it as a hassle, or waiting for the ‘switching window’. But it is possible to switch and lock in deals as early as 24 months ahead of a contract’s end date. In fact, this could have huge benefits.

“Last April, on the day when oil stock price dropped to -$20, we advised one of our clients to take advantage of the cost and lock the deal in – even though their current contract isn’t up for renewal until October this year. Now, they’re all set to reap the benefits, no matter what happens in the market.”

Dalby sums up by emphasising how: “Planning and timing is everything– especially for those looking to avoid getting trapped in a position where they are expected to pay over the odds, with potentially disastrous consequences for their day-to-day business longevity.”

Energy chiefs predict sector recovery post-Covid-19

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Energy leaders responding to a survey conducted by the EBRD and summarised in a Covid-19 policy note investigating how the sector will deal with the 5 per cent fall in energy demand worldwide brought by Covid-19 in 2020, have indicated they are confident of a quick recovery.

One-third of respondents from 32 countries across the EBRD regions say they believe energy demand will recover fully in 2021; a further 45 per cent believe it will have recovered by the end of 2022; and more than 90 per cent believe recovery will be complete by the end of 2023.

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen falls in both energy demand and investment. The International Energy Agency estimates that demand fell 5 per cent worldwide in 2020, with fossil fuels affected most, and investment in new technologies fell further. With the energy sector responsible for more than 70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, clean energy needs to be at the heart of the world’s economic response and plans to “build back better” after the pandemic.

The EBRD, already at the forefront of climate finance, is committed to making a majority of its investments green by 2025. In December 2020, it conducted this survey of senior decision-makers in the energy sector to understand better how pandemic response measures correlate to the longer-term green recovery trajectory. More than 100 responses from policymakers in 32 countries on three continents are the basis of the results.

The survey’s findings on the impact of Covid-19 on the energy sector are that emergency spending hit energy investment hardest, delaying investments in generation and network maintenance in ways that, in some countries, could damage the future resilience of the sector. Private-sector actors are widely believed to have been more affected than state-owned enterprises.

Respondents were however largely positive about the sector’s emergency response, especially on energy security, with success acknowledged in putting in place a safety net for domestic customers, especially in European Union countries.

Respondents also stress the need to build back better to reduce the risk of future shocks. To achieve a swift and sustained energy-sector recovery, the top priority they highlight is grid modernisation, followed by investment in renewables. Clean energy and the digital transition also score highly.

Just under half think Covid-19 will provide greater opportunities for the development of renewables, despite it being a top priority for a sustainable recovery. But more than half say their country will focus on a clean energy transition.

While an inclusive transition is seen more as an outcome of a successful and sustained recovery than a driver of it, over 90 per cent of respondents consider Covid-19 to have increased the importance of scaling up digitalisation in their countries.

“The key issue in future will be the ability and desire of debt-burdened states to finance the investments required to deliver a clean energy transition,” the report on the EBRD survey said.

Global carbon dioxide emissions rebound strongly after Covid dip

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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The Covid-19 crisis in 2020 triggered the largest annual drop in global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions since the Second World War, according to IEA data, but the overall decline of about 6% masks wide variations depending on the region and the time of year. 

After hitting a low in April, global emissions rebounded strongly and rose above 2019 levels in December. The latest data show that global emissions were 2%, or 60 million tonnes, higher in December 2020 than they were in the same month a year earlier.

Major economies led the resurgence as a pick-up in economic activity pushed energy demand higher and significant policies measures to boost clean energy were lacking. Many economies are now seeing emissions climbing above pre-crisis levels. 

“The rebound in global carbon emissions toward the end of last year is a stark warning that not enough is being done to accelerate clean energy transitions worldwide. If governments don’t move quickly with the right energy policies, this could put at risk the world’s historic opportunity to make 2019 the definitive peak in global emissions,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director. “In March 2020, the IEA urged governments to put clean energy at the heart of their economic stimulus plans to ensure a sustainable recovery. But our numbers show we are returning to carbon-intensive business-as-usual. This year is pivotal for international climate action – and it began with high hopes – but these latest numbers are a sharp reminder of the immense challenge we face in rapidly transforming the global energy system.”

The 2020 trends underscore the challenge of curbing emissions while ensuring economic growth and energy security. Amid a growing number of pledges by countries and companies to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century, the rebound in emissions shows what is likely to happen if those ambitions are not met with rapid and tangible action.

Emissions in China for the whole of 2020 increased by 0.8%, or 75 million tonnes, from 2019 levels driven by China’s economic recovery over the course of the year. China was the first major economy to emerge from the pandemic and lift restrictions, prompting its economic activity and emissions to rebound from April onward. China was the only major economy that grew in 2020. 

In India, emissions rose above 2019 levels from September as economic activity improved and restrictions were relaxed. In Brazil, the rebound of road transport activity after the April low drove a recovery in oil demand, while increases in gas demand in the later months of 2020 pushed emissions above 2019 levels throughout the final quarter.

Emissions in the United States fell by 10% in 2020. But on a monthly basis, after hitting their lowest levels in the spring, they started to bounce back. In December, US emissions were approaching the level seen in the same month in 2019. This was the result of accelerating economic activity as well as the combination of higher natural gas prices and colder weather favouring an increase in coal use.

“If current expectations for a global economic rebound this year are confirmed – and in the absence of major policy changes in the world’s largest economies – global emissions are likely to increase in 2021,” Dr Birol said. “Nonetheless, there are still reasons for optimism. China has set an ambitious carbon-neutrality target; the new US administration has rejoined the Paris Agreement and is putting climate at the heart of its policy-making; the European Union is pushing ahead with its Green Deal and sustainable recovery plans; India’s stunning success with renewables could transform its energy future; and the United Kingdom is building global momentum toward stronger climate action at COP26 in November.”

Global emissions plunged by almost 2 billion tonnes in 2020, the largest absolute decline in history. Most of this – around 1 billion tonnes, which is more than the annual emissions of Japan – was due to lower use of oil for road transport and aviation. As travel and economic activities pick up around the world, oil consumption and its emissions are rising again. The record increase in sales of electric vehicles is insufficient to offset the growth in emissions caused by the uptick in road traffic around the world.

Global emissions from the electricity sector dropped by 450 million tonnes in 2020. This resulted partly from lower electricity demand but also from increases in electricity generation by solar PV and wind. For the world to achieve the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, notably of limiting global warming to well below 2 °C, a decline in electricity sector emissions of around 500 million tonnes would need to occur every single year. Even greater annual drops in emissions from electricity generation would be required to put the world on a path in line with warming of 1.5 °C.

In order to show a sustainable path forward, the IEA will publish on 18 May the world’s first comprehensive roadmap for the energy sector to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. As part of its focus on leading clean energy transitions worldwide, the IEA is working with the UK’s COP26 Presidency to bring together heads of government and ministers at the IEA-COP26 Net Zero Summit on 31 March to step up international efforts to turn net zero pledges into concrete energy policies and actions.

In April, the IEA will release its Global Energy Review 2021, which will examine this year’s emerging trends in global energy demand and CO2 emissions.

Finding the Formula to Combat Back-to-Work Anxiety in STEM

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Mental health is a popular topic at the moment, while the majority of us were trying to maintain a healthy routine and lifestyle while stuck indoors, it begged the question, what about after lockdown? Back to work anxiety was bad enough for some of us after months of leisure time and lie ins. But entering the next stage of eased lockdown regulation is a cause of mental health disruption for some of us, bringing a sense of unease, worry, and anxiety.

At first, the thought of losing our freedom and summer plans caused anxiety in itself, but once we got used to our new life it subsided. While some are eagerly anticipating a return to work and normality, others are genuinely distressed by it — whether this is facilitated by concerns of the virus or facing our colleagues, there’s a real issue that needs addressing.

In this article, we’ll take a look at back-to-work anxiety in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) industries, helpful tips to deal with feeling anxious, as well as a question and answer session from the engineering sector and how they’re dealing with returning to work.

What is back-to-work anxiety?

Being away from your job for a period of time can affect your feelings regarding work, whether it’s the workload or challenging colleagues. Some of us have time to mull over our skills and put ourselves down over our abilities, knocking down our confidence. According to research by YouGov, two in five are anxious about returning to work and the threat the virus has to our health and wellbeing.

Back-to-work anxiety can have physical effects such as headaches, stomach issues, trouble sleeping, and behavioural changes like feeling irritable and isolated. If your job was stressful to begin with, it’s likely that returning can be even more difficult. Although anxiety is a normal emotion, there are many self-help methods you can use to manage these feelings. You should always consider seeking medical and therapeutic care if this severely interrupts your days.

STEMming from anxiety

STEM industries have recently been under scrutiny regarding the working environments in these sectors fostering anxiety and depression. For example, a report called “Masculinity in Engineering” noted that more than a fifth of engineers take time off due to their mental health as well as over one in three UK tech professionals claiming they’re worried about their mental health as it has deteriorated during Covid-19 which was previously one in five before the pandemic. The fast-paced and competitive nature of the work can stop workers from switching off.

These industries are traditionally male and white-dominated sectors notorious for a toxic masculine culture which can make people feel isolated. So it isn’t surprising that this, combined with the notion of returning to work after a period of absence from the office or lab, is having a significant impact on STEM workers mental health.

Although it’s difficult to judge how exactly social distancing measures can be implemented across a broad range of sectors from science to mathematics and the different ways that these job roles are carried out, many workers are also nervous about the spread of Covid-19. 

How to handle back to work anxiety

Try to make the transition back to work easier and consider these steps. It’s also helpful to identify the source of your worries to come up with solutions. myGP, a smartphone app for online NHS services including specialist areas like mental health, suggested the following:

Prepare yourself

Getting into the routine of work life can be a daunting feeling, however preparing yourself can make it easier. Whether this is preparing your lunches for your break, or dinners in advance for when you get home late and are too tired to cook, what may seem like minor preparations can actually relieve your mind of things you need to do for yourself. Remember, you and your needs should come first.

If you’ve been spending lockdown not getting out much and waking up late, try to get into a good routine to prepare yourself for when you’ll be on your feet again. Spending time outdoors whether it’s walking through nature or laid out in your garden can help to calm you down and keep you grounded in the present moment.

Speak with your manager and colleagues

Solidarity can be helpful in alleviating feelings of anxiety — try speaking to your colleagues to comfort each other and provide support. Recognising that others feel the same can help you feel like you’re not alone.

If you feel comfortable, it could be worthwhile speaking to your manager about your concerns and throwing yourself back into work life. Employers can be helpful in introducing informal support mechanisms like online resources and volunteers to provide support. They may be able to reduce some of your concerns or make plans to help your return to work.

Find out what will have changed in the workplace. For example, you may find that there will be fewer people in the workplace in order to maintain physical distancing. You could arrange a visit prior to your first day back which might reassure you about the measures that have been put in place to keep you and your colleagues safe. This brings us to our next point.

Seek resources

Lear, an automotive technology leader, created a comprehensive guide of returning to work to ease anxieties workers may have, including protocols, procedures, and rules in place to keep everyone safe, as well as mandatory onsite health screenings in ‘drive-thrus’ of temperature and overt symptoms. 

Many organisations have mental health or counselling resources that you are eligible to use if you are an employee — if not there are lots of useful resources online that provide techniques for reducing anxiety.

Plan fun things to keep your mind busy

Summer might’ve been cancelled by Covid-19 this year, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t plan fun things in the meantime. Meet up with your friends outside abiding government guidelines, go for mind clearing walks and hikes in nature, or, if you have the funds, plan a holiday next year to look forward to! Making fun plans can help tackle the looming feeling of dread when thinking of going back to work.

Avoid unhealthy habits such as reaching for alcohol, cigarettes, or caffeine when you are feeling stressed or anxious.

Words of wisdom…

Research mindfulness and breathing exercises you can practise to improve your mental state. Meditation can be helpful as often when we feel anxious about things, we try to distract ourselves or might spend hours scrolling through our phones to avoid the pressing issue. Writing down your problems to face them can also be extremely helpful, as well as noting down the positives and the parts and people of your job that you enjoy. And remember — try to get a good night’s sleep, drink plenty of water, and eat healthy meals to keep your energy up.

If the feeling of back-to-work anxiety feels serious or you find that you’re not getting any relief, consider getting medical advice from your GP or book an online doctor appointment if you’re concerned. Anxiety is a real condition that can be helped with the right treatment. Don’t ignore how you feel, or this can be even more difficult to cope.

Q&A in the engineering sector

Paul Staines, senior controller in production engineering at Unipres, a global automotive manufacturer, gave insight into how his workplace is handling the transition back to work.

Q: How is your plant planning to facilitate social distancing and safe working?

Paul: When the pandemic seriously impacted the UK and most workers were placed on furlough, we immediately assessed what impact the virus could have on our industry and in our factory in particular. We began to evaluate the risk in every element of the plant. The first noticeable change was the provision of hand sanitiser distributed throughout the plant. Each management team from each department then began to risk assess operations from staff entering the site and carrying out their daily work. On entering the plant, we marked the pavement with two-meter markers on the floor, these markers where put in place as a visual aid to maintain distancing when entering the plant. 

Meeting rooms were carefully measured to see how many people could safely occupy a room and maximum occupancy signage placed in the room. Chairs have been removed to further enforce this measure. For any activity where social distancing could not be maintained, controls were developed such as personal protective equipment (PPE) and back-to-back working for a maximum of 15 minutes. As majority of staff were not at work, a return to work handbook was developed to give guidance to staff on what to expect when returning to work. The handbook covered all changes we implemented and even given guidance on traveling to and from work.

Q: What steps do they have in place to phase in colleagues?

Paul: On the initial return to work all staff received a presentation on the new protocols outlining what is expected of them to mitigate the spread of the virus. Supervisors and team leaders received separate training for enforcing social distancing, how to spot the symptoms, and most importantly what protocol is to be followed if someone were to have symptoms on site. Starting times were staggered to mitigate large gatherings when entering the plant as temperatures of all staff are taken on entering the building. We also staggered the break times to enable staff to maintain social distancing in all restrooms in the plant. Again, each restroom had staff allocated ensuring maximum occupancy was not reached. 

Every single piece of machinery or rest room appliance was risk assessed and a disinfection standard was created so all users were trained to disinfect said machine or frequently touched surface before and after use. The entire plant has been decorated with our Clean IT campaign reminding staff of the new protocols and to assist supervision to observe the standards are being met.

Q: Are there any mental health groups or processes to support those who are anxious about returning to work?

Paul: Unipres offers support through a service provided by an organisation called Talk Works. The mental health service is available to all Unipres UK employees, offering ongoing stress guidance, counselling, and expert advice to employees and staff who are struggling with mental health issues. Talking therapies allow employees to talk about their life or worries to someone who is trained to listen and help. The service is 100% confidential and free, and so far employees who have used the service have found it very beneficial.

The importance of ventilation in controlling COVID-19

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By ETS

Looking to the future, property teams will also need to consider how they will reopen sites again once staff start coming back to the workplace. 

As we look forward to the eventual reopenings –it’s important for building managers to keep up to date with the latest government guidance. In particular, information coming out from groups such as the Environmental Modelling Group. As their recently released paper highlights, the role that ventilation systems have to play in controlling Covid-19 transmission throughout buildings is becoming increasingly clear.

The Role of Ventilation Systems (H2)

Ventilation is obviously an important factor in mitigating the risk of virus transmission. As a result, optimising ventilation operation should form an integral part of a wider Covid-19 mitigation strategy for all multi-occupancy spaces. 

This should include investigation into the current ventilation performance in all parts of a building, and implementation of a strategy which is adapted to ensure that ventilation is adequate throughout. For example, multi-occupant spaces that are reused regularly and are poorly ventilated (i.e. those that have a ventilation rate of below 5 l/s/person or a CO2 level of above 1500 ppm) should be identified and prioritised for improvement.

Measuring for elevated CO2 levels in indoor air is an effective method of identifying poor ventilation performance in multi-occupancy spaces. However, it should be noted that in low occupancy or large air volume spaces, a low level of CO2 cannot necessarily be used as an indicator that ventilation is sufficient to mitigate risk of transmission.

Part of an Encompassing Solution (H2)

While ventilation is one of the primary factors when it comes to Covid-19 mitigation in multi-occupancy spaces, it should form part of a wider strategy. 

Ventilation should be balanced against other aspects – in particular, thermal comfort. This may pose a challenge in naturally vented buildings, however strategies such as intermittent airing and partial window opening to compliment background ventilation may enable this to be achieved (or enable sufficient ventilation to be achieved whilst limiting the impact on thermal comfort.)

Overarching guidance from the Government recommends that organisations identify where they may need to secure additional financial or technical support to enable them to take appropriate actions to ensure the safety of the space they provide or occupy. 

How can ETS help? (H3)

Energy & Technical Services have a long history of improving HVAC system performance across all sectors – ensuring appropriate ventilation rates whilst maintaining a firm grip on cost and carbon. We also offer a technology-led Indoor Air Quality solution, to measure internal conditions for a wide range of parameters, and subsequently control building services operation to ensure optimal internal conditions for occupants. 

To discuss your requirements, get in touch. You can contact us by calling 0117 205 0542 or drop us an email at enquiries@energy-ts.com.

www.energy-ts.com

Reflections on 2020 and Predictions for 2021

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By Carl Ennis (pictured), CEO Siemens and Smart Infrastructure, GB&I

Since becoming CEO in December, most of my life has been dominated by Covid-19.  But despite causing many difficulties, the pandemic has brought some good. It has accelerated the pace of change and given us valuable insights into where – and how – we will work in the future, the skills we will need, and the environmental challenges we face.

It has also provided distraction from Brexit, which I hope will move the discussion away from its rights and wrongs to focus on how the country can maximise any opportunities in the year ahead.

In the new future many people will continue to work from home if they can do so effectively, while offices will become places to meet. At Siemens, like much of the UK business community, we have found that intercontinental flights and getting together in person is not as essential as we thought. We now run strategy workshops and town halls online, and even festivals where we engage with all our employees. I predict that these ways of communicating with each other and groups of people will continue.

One of the many benefits of this working model is accelerated decarbonisation, which we urgently need. Our economy was almost crippled during the first lockdown, yet CO2 emissions reduced by just 20% and NOX by 40%. Strategies to increase decarbonisation will be central to discussion at next year’s UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow, in which I hope President-elect Biden’s administration will play a crucial role. Having the US agree that climate change is a real risk, with its scale and ability to influence global policies, will help the world address the issue.

My worry for the UK is that in the government’s enthusiasm to kick-start the economy, we will do what is easy or cheap rather than what is right. But instead of trying to generate short-term jobs we must “grow back green” and invest in long-term jobs that help decarbonise.

The government is also focused on identifying a couple of big things it can do to achieve the decarbonisation targets. These large-scale projects, such as investing in wind power and hydrogen, are important. Wind power is already generating more than 20% of the UK’s electricity, and hydrogen has huge potential for fuelling vehicles and trains and for replacing natural gas in home heating systems and industrial turbines.

But local initiatives are also essential if we are to meet our net zero carbon targets. That’s why Siemens has been helping local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and local governments address energy challenges in transport, industry and infrastructure. Individuals need to get involved too. The old adage of environmentalists is “reduce, reuse, recycle.”  Reducing consumption requires all 66m people in the UK to participate.

I believe the shock that the virus has delivered to our economy will speed up digitalisation across industry. We will build a digital environment which will become central to everything we do. Unfortunately it will be painful for many sectors and businesses, but in the mid to long term it will be positive. History shows that when countries go through industrial revolutions there are winners and losers, but overall in the end everyone’s a winner.

We know that our businesses will be very different 10 years from now. A statistic that always astounds me is that 80% of the employees that we will have in 2030 are with us today. So while entry-level skills for apprentices and graduates matter, the existing workforce will need to re-skill too.

Adult learning is crucial and has gone unaddressed in the UK for too long. Covid-19 and Brexit have reinforced the need for us to develop and change our skills. This is not just about technical expertise — soft skills and vocational work will become increasingly necessary.

The fact that the virus pushed Brexit down the hierarchy of news was probably helpful. Anybody who’s been involved in negotiating a big deal knows you don’t want to do it on a public stage. The challenge is how to unlock the benefits people wanted without causing damage in the short term for individuals, society and business.

The negotiating teams have been trying hard to do that, and while time is short, most deal-making is done in the eleventh hour, so I remain hopeful. The gap between both sides is probably quite narrow, but a deal is essential for stability. Anything that goes above WTO arrangements will be positive.

President-elect Biden has been clear on his desire that the UK government does not implement changes that destroy the Good Friday agreement. We must not put that at risk. My father was from Dublin so I know first-hand how important the island of Ireland is to the Irish and our shared culture.

It’s going to be tough. From a business perspective, erecting barriers to trade is never a good idea. Brexit is likely to result in friction between us and our biggest trading partner, mainland Europe. That will present a challenge, but we’ll have to make the best of it. Luckily, as a nation we’re pretty good at triumphing over adversity and our business people are entrepreneurial.

Meanwhile, Brexit hasn’t stopped Siemens investing in the UK. In Hull, we partnered with Associated British Ports in a £310m investment to build a wind turbine blade manufacturing facility creating 1,000 jobs. And now we are spending £200m in Goole on a train facility to build the next generation of underground trains with 700 new jobs.

We still see the UK as a vibrant place and will continue to invest. While we would rather the added level of complexity of Brexit wasn’t there, it’s not stopping us from doing business.

But it will make life difficult for those of our suppliers and partners with vertically integrated supply chains in continental Europe and those who are trying to sell their products there. A brave person might make predictions about where they will be in a year’s time. But I will put my crystal ball aside for now.

The future of offices

 420 280 Stuart O'Brien
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By ETS

The role of the office is changing. Over recent times, we’ve seen a rapid shift in how businesses across all sectors operate. Due to Covid-19, more people than ever are working from home, with many offices remaining empty or at least operating with heavily reduced capacity.

And the response to this has mostly been positive: employees have gained additional flexibility and are able to spend more time with their families, while, from a business side, reports from industry seem to suggest that there haven’t been any significant drop-offs in productivity. It’s probably safe to say that remote working is here to stay in one form or another, and is likely to make up a large chunk of people’s working weeks going forward.

Of course, this begs the question – what does this change in working dynamic mean for the concept of the company office, and businesses’ existing estates?

The Changing Role of Office Spaces 

It’s important to examine the function the office has traditionally played for businesses in order to work out how it might change in the future.

The office has always been a key social space for companies. Not only is it somewhere for existing colleagues to collaborate and connect, but it also acts as an essential hub for new employees, and a key part of the overall business ‘identity’. For staff – especially new recruits – the process of coming to the office, meeting your new colleagues and learning about the company culture has always been an essential step in employee onboarding. 

And it’s hard to see this changing drastically in the future. Businesses will always need that physical hub, even if it isn’t used in exactly the same way with the same level of frequency.

One shift we’re expecting to see is just how much office space businesses need. Many large companies structure their office portfolio through a ‘hub-and-spoke’ model. This means that, usually, they have one or a few large offices in the central business districts of key cities, such as a London or Manchester, and several smaller regional offices elsewhere.

With the majority of employees regularly working from home, these smaller offices could come to be seen as inessential, prompting companies to reduce their overall property footprint and instead focus on one or two central offices, which are served by good transport infrastructure – and with a potentially higher requirement on quality of space for these remaining key assets.

It is estimated that real estate roughly accounts from 8% of a company’s total operating costs on average, so cutting back on total occupied space could act as an effective way to protect company finances during these turbulent times. Any freed-up budget could be retained, funneled into R&D and service development, or be used to fund areas of the business that were traditionally supported by the office, such as company culture and staff collaboration.

Flexible Work Environments 

As businesses consolidate their portfolios and certain offices become unoccupied, demand will grow for increased flexibility in these assets, as property and portfolio managers look to adapt and reposition commercial space in the market and seek out new streams of revenue. We’re likely to see a shift in how these spaces are used, perhaps transforming into co-working areas or even seeing either partial or full transformation into alternative uses – such as retail or even residential.

With this increased need for offices to play multiple roles, there will be a greater need for flexibility and adaptability of space – likely to be facilitated through the adoption of a ‘Smart Buildings’ approach. 

Many offices aren’t currently equipped to function in a way that future demand may require them to, and with things changing quickly, its important that building managers pinpoint the changes that need to be made, the associated technical requirements, and then look to evaluate the current capability of the existing building services to facilitate such alteration.

Where office use is to be retained, businesses are likely to expect more from their space in the future – especially from a health and wellbeing perspective. In light of Covid-19, factors such as internal air quality are going to be more important than ever.

Additionally, energy efficiency and operational cost will also be key considerations. With many offices operating at reduced occupancy, the automation of lighting, heating and other systems will play an essential role in streamlining processes, and ‘right sizing’ consumption and cost.

Furthermore, with an ever increasing focus on sustainability performance – especially in the light of the huge recent traction around the Net Zero carbon agenda – the ability of building systems to adapt to the increased demand for space flexibility whilst maintaining robust control of consumption and cost, and to operate on a trajectory to Net Zero status, will require more consideration of how buildings are specified, managed, adapted and maintained than ever before to mitigate risk of building obsolescence and to protect capital and rental value.

In these changing times, it’s important to partner with the right technical advisor. ETS has a wealth of experience across all these areas, and can help you prepare your offices for the future. 

We will assist your business to find the optimum Smart Buildings solutions to enable building adaptation, futureproofing and occupant wellbeing, whilst keeping a firm grip on cost and driving down carbon emissions.

Our expert team are always here to help; you can contact us by calling 0117 205 0542 or drop us an email at enquiries@energy-ts.com.

www.energy-ts.com

COVID to accelerate transition to renewable energy

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It’s being predicted that the energy transition will be accelerated by several years by the COVID pandemic, with trillions of dollars expected to flow through economic relief packages into the deployment of low- and zero-carbon infrastructure, as well as research and development into technologies that enable it.

That’s the conclusion of Lux in its new report Owning The Energy Transition: 2020 COVID-19 Update, which outlines these changes and predicts the impact of the disruptive global energy transition going forward.

“The aftermath of COVID-19 will shake the economic fabric of the energy sector,” said Yuan-Sheng Yu, Senior Analyst at Lux Research. “We witnessed many historical firsts, such as oil futures trading in the negatives, U.S. renewable energy in the electricity mix surpassing coal, and the largest year-over-year drop in global CO2 emissions.”

Yu explains that while the sudden effects may be a flash in the pan as the world returns to normalcy, 2020 provided a preview of the more permanent challenges the industry will face in the next decade. This “white swan” event will force companies to learn how to be more resilient, while countries planning their post-COVID recovery will capitalize on the opportunity and accelerate the energy transition through improved resiliency and greater agility and by insulating themselves from the macroeconomic impacts of the volatile conventional energy sector.

“The pandemic highlighted the risks of disruptions to our current energy infrastructure and supply chain,” added Lux Research Analyst Tim Grejtak. “In response, we will see aggressive diversification of business portfolios to avoid the risk of underutilized and, eventually, stranded assets in order to capitalize on opportunities provided by increasing renewable energies.”

Grejtak cites long-duration energy storage investments and project developments in the first half of 2020 by the likes of Highview Power, Form Energy, and AES Distributed Energy as just the beginning of the added urgency of companies preparing for the energy transition.

Analyst Runeel Daliah added: “While COVID-19 momentarily pushed aside climate change from the political discourse, companies and countries that deprioritize climate change mitigation efforts in favor of near-term financial recovery would be making a mistake – decarbonization is an unavoidable megatrend that will continue to loom well after COVID-19.”

Daliah points to countries forging ahead with decarbonization strategies centered around hydrogen, such as Portugal, South Korea, Australia, and Germany, which recently unveiled a $10.2 billion National Hydrogen Strategy.

Meanwhile, Lux Research Senior Analyst Christopher Robison emphasized that the most noticeable effect of COVID-19 on modern life was the drastic reduction in mobility – As the world sheltered in place, there was an immediate reduction in emissions and improvement in air quality, with residents in some cities notorious for pollution seeing blue skies for the first time.

“The magnitude of the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on mobility remains unclear as more people work from home and replace work travel with virtual meetings, but the push to reduce and eliminate emissions from the transportation sector has only increased, with many post-COVID stimulus plans focused on low- and zero-emission vehicles,” said Robinson.

Brits want country to focus on renewables before space travel

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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43% of British consumers care more about technology that can reduce carbon emissions and remove plastics from the oceans, than space travel or house robots.

The findings, from research conducted by Expleo, come as the UK government is under pressure to embrace a ‘green’ recovery post-COVID.

The report, which surveyed 2,000 UK adults, suggested that people prefer “powerful, but boring” tech that solves real-world problems over flashy gadgets or novelties such as home robotics, virtual reality or home entertainment.

In tandem with the desire to reduce ocean plastics and carbon emissions, 41% of people specified that they would like to see an advance in renewable energies over the next decade. Smart meters, – which by law, will be in every home come 2024 – were praised by over 80% of people for adding value to their lives, due to their long-term potential to reduce energy use and CO2 emissions through better energy management.

On the other hand, interest in ‘headline grabbing’ technology was low. Just 15% of people surveyed expressed an interest in space tourism, and even fewer (11%) said that they want to see robotics carrying out domestic chores in their homes in the next decade. Only 19% of respondents are optimistic about the prospect of self-driving vehicles, but slightly more (22%) said they’d be open to introducing more smart technologies, such as voice assistants, into their homes.

Stephen Magennis, UK Quality MD at Expleo said: “The results of our research suggest that consumers are keen to see technology being used to improve society as a whole and not just bring comfort in our life. This topic is not new, but I think that the coronavirus pandemic has opened many people’s eyes to the transformative role technology can play in solving real-world problems, whether that’s streamlining the transition to remote working or accelerating innovation in the medical sector. ​

“Today’s businesses should not ignore this or they could face serious backlash from their consumers. More than ever, they need to focus on green technology and innovation to positively influence the planet. It is particularly true for businesses in the energy and mobility sectors: reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption, or driving electric vehicles, are top of consumers’ minds.”

EDF’s solar PV expansion in UK ‘to provide impetus for economic recovery’ amid COVID-19

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:

French utility EDF is launching a major solar-plus-battery storage hybrid initiative in the UK as part of its plans to increase its installed renewable base.

Analyst house GlobalData anticipates that this is likely to provide a boost to its solar portfolio in the country and also act as a green stimulus to the stagnant economy, which is now slowly resuming activities.

Somik Das, Senior Power Analyst at GlobalData, said: “EDF renewables has been a key player in the wind sector in the UK, however, it has not performed significantly in the solar PV sector. GlobalData’s figures suggest that more than 800MW of active wind plants are owned by the company in the UK, however, there is a notable abcense of the company in the solar sector. With this initiative, EDF Renewables would be able to strengthen its solar foothold and become a noteworthy player in both areas.”

Looking at ways to expand the current renewables portfolio in the UK, the EDF Group plans to have a 50GW renewables portfolio by 2030 becoming Europe’s market leader in clean energy.

Das concluded: “COVID-19 provided an opportunity to successfully produce electricity by minimizing the use of coal in the generation mix for over a month. It has supported the country’s target of decommissioning coal-based power plants by 2025, which might now be brought a year ahead. This is expected to reduce emissions, which had already seen a drop by 42% last year. EDF’s initiative is likely to aid the cause and help in achieving the country’s net-zero target.”

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