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Can you afford (not to do) energy efficiency and onsite generation ?

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By OnSite Energy

The four main barriers to implementing energy efficiency and onsite generation are:

  1. Payback too long  
  2. No capex available
  3. Commercial Terms
  4. Internal priorities

(1) and (2) can both be addressed by using a third party (such as www.on-site.energy who fund the measures, enabling items with a payback up to 10 years to be realised. The arrangement is called an Energy Supply Agreement (ESA)

The barriers to ESA in my experience are in (3) and (4), where aligning interests, building confidence and being adaptable on commercial terms are key.

Our ESA is short, written in clear English and is fair.  There are no surprises or additional costs and we are flexible to the needs and constraints of the customer. Most ESCO providers are funded by institutions, who fix their criteria (which often don’t suit businesses). Examples are the contract length is too long and “take and pay” clauses which shift all the risk to the customer.

#energysavings #ppa #energysolutions #energyefficiency #netzero

You’ve done as much as you can with short payback, what else can you do?

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By David Kipling, OnSite Energy

Many companies have by now committed to energy reduction targets either through sustainability policy, net zero goals, CO2 emissions reduction targets or via CCA agreements. Further energy efficiencies are going to be needed, as the targets are getting tougher. For CCA, renewables don’t count, it is only efficiency that is eligible.

Where efficiencies can be found will depend on your company’s existing processes and sources of energy. 

The good news is there has never been so much innovation in energy technology.  Costs are falling and the range of applications and efficiencies are improving.   So if you appraised a technology three or more years ago, its probably worth revisiting that appraisal to take account of current pricing and improved efficiencies.  

At OEP, we take a data-led, technology agnostic approach.  We can often add-value by introducing technologies and solutions that hadn’t been considered, from artificial intelligence & internet of things sensing, to the latest heat recovery, absorption chillers, or wind technology.

If this sounds interesting then please get in touch with David Kipling at david@on-site.energy or call him on 07824 018991.  OEP specialises in supporting energy intensive industry.

5 Minutes With… David Kipling, Onsite Energy Projects Ltd

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:

In the latest instalment of our energy management industry executive interview series, we spoke to OnSite Energy‘s David Kipling (pictured) about the company, the pathway to Net Zero, the impact of COVID-19 and innovation in the sector…

Tell us about your company, products and services.

DK: The inspiration for OEP came from my previous role where I led a team addressing energy in over 100 manufacturing plants globally. We saw the value of data-led energy analysis but also experienced the ‘glass ceiling’ of payback. My team came up with lots of solutions, but could only execute those with a short payback. With the pressure now on achieving carbon neutral and sustainability, companies are going to have to find a way of doing the longer payback measures that until now sit on the shelf.   That’s what OEP is about – we both identify measures with a data-led approach, but also implement them as a zero capex ‘off-balance sheet’ supply agreement.  This way we can help companies embrace net zero much faster.

We work with energy intensive manufacturing in the main, and cover a wide range of technologies including efficiency measures, onsite generation and heat recovery.  We think its important to identify the most appropriate measures and which will have most impact, so we keep an open mind on what we recommend and are instead guided by the data.  

What have been the biggest challenges the Energy Management industry has faced over the past 12 months?

DK:  Mis-selling. I see a lot of incorrect sizing and false expectations raised by single technology solution companies pushing solutions that aren’t appropriate, are wrongly sized or which just suit them without considering the long term impact on the customer or the career path of the person making the capex recommendation to their management. The proverbial ‘hit and run’. It makes a bad name for the industry when savings aren’t achieved.

And what have been the biggest opportunities?

DK:  COVID-19 (!) and Net Zero. Every significant business now has a sustainability strategy with goals for achieving carbon neutral, but a lot have also had capex cut for at least the next few years because of COVID-19. So the pressure is building for change, and the main obstacles are capex and sometimes innovation. We can help with both of these with our zero capex approach, and enable companies to stay on track or even accelerate their plans.

What is the biggest priority for the Energy Management industry in 2020?

DK: There isn’t much left of 2020 now, but looking to 2021, I would say its going to be  decarbonisation. Companies are realising the values of decarbonising – often because savings can also be achieved in the process.  

The biggest challenge will be decarbonisation of heat – in other words planning to switch from gas to electricity. This will be a massive change for gas hungry businesses. I think this will be the priority in 2-4 years from now. For a lot of businesses that will mean significant additional cost unless they develop a comprehensive approach and plan.

What are the main trends you are expecting to see in the market in 2021?

DK:  Higher focus on energy efficiency. The EU announced energy efficiency as a core priority and I think the UK will too. A lot of companies have bought green tariffs or offsets as a first step to becoming ‘green’ but haven’t addressed consumption within their sites.  With SECR reporting moving to its second year, comparisons and improvements will become more transparent and increase the pressure to act. Also for some climate change agreement targets are starting to be missed, which will lead to higher CCL costs if they don’t act.

What technology is going to have the biggest impact on the market this year?

DK:  Several contenders… much better heat recovery technology is with us enabling waste heat to be used to produce anything from -40oC to +140oC. This can transform the benefits from CHP, which until now has been thought of only for making hot water.  Also I think heat recovery to electricity.  Also I think there will be some innovative applications from artificial intelligence systems starting to make ground.  

In 2025 we’ll all be talking about…?

DK:  Artificial intelligence. That’s not us pretending we know something !  Its software which learns how to improve performance of a building or process by itself. This will take BMS to the next level, and I think you will see applications in compressed air, process management etc.  

Which person in, or associated with, the Energy Management industry would you most like to meet?

DK:  Lisa Rose of Forum Events! Lisa’s enthusiast and is great at making people talk. We need more Lisas! We also need to get back to some face to face networking but that might be a little while off.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learnt about the Energy Management sector?

DK:  I think people enjoy learning about new technologies. It’s an exciting space which is innovating fast.  It also has a meaningful impact on both business profits and on climate change and sustainability, so the people in the Energy Management space are often driven by the benefits they can deliver.

You go to the bar at the Energy Management Summit – what’s your tipple of choice?

DK:  Mine’s a pint!

What’s the most exciting thing about your job?

DK: Delivering new insights and levels of savings not thought possible.

And what’s the most challenging?

DK:  Countering the “we’ve seen it before” and NIMBYs. Reality is if they saw it previously it has either changed massively or it wasn’t approached in the way we would use it. It doesn’t hurt to take 15 minutes to see if you can learn something.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

DK:  Don’t worry about a “no”, there is someone more deserving coming along!

Peaky Blinders or Stranger Things?

DK:   My TV watching is limited to repeats of Top Gear.

How would your business benefit by achieving net zero earlier than its competitors?

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By Onsite Energy Projects

Customers, investors, the planet want business to be more sustainable and to achieve net zero. Achieving net zero will require energy efficiency, a strategy based on data, innovation and funding.  

The start point is data –what is causing your energy consumption, how is it controlled, how is it bought, what is its carbon footprint, what is the baseload, the peak, when does it happen ?  Also how does your consumption compare to similar businesses … what are your kWh consumed per m2, per m3, is it affected by outside weather ?  Could that indicate outdated plant ? Data is the start point to identify opportunities.  

We can provide a free review of your energy data and provide those insights that can help you start the net zero journey.  We can also help with innovation and even funding the measures, to enable you to achieve net zero sooner.  How would your business benefit if you could achieve net zero earlier than your competitors ?

If this sounds interesting then please get in touch with David Kipling at david@on-site.energy or call him on 07824 018991.  OEP specialises in supporting energy intensive industry.

Energy savings without capex

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:

By Onsite Energy Projects

Most businesses have a short payback limit on the capex they invest. But pressure is growing for businesses to be more sustainable and save money. “Quick wins” have probably already been done. Often companies have projects they would like to do, but don’t hit the payback target, or need help in identifying solutions. 

OEP provides a data-led approach to identify and then fund the measures with off-balance sheet services agreements.

The benefits are:

  • Profit growth (cost savings) without any investment
  • Full benefit of emissions savings
  • Acceleration of sustainability investments and plans

With COVID-19, many companies are facing capex cuts.  So why not look at our no-capex approach.  There is nothing to lose, it won’t cost anything and you could learn something about the opportunities you have.  

If this sounds interesting then please get in touch with David Kipling at david@on-site.energy or call him on 07824 018991. OEP specialises in supporting energy intensive industry.

Onsite Energy Projects provides energy savings and energy generation solutions to energy intensive businesses, without capex if required.

Can you improve your CHP investment?

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By Onsite Energy Projects

Have you invested in CHP in the last 3-4 years, or are you considering it ? If you haven’t yet, we may be able to provide a zero capex solution delivering significant savings.

If you have already invested, we may be able to help improve returns and reduce your business costs even more by helping you use all the power generated more efficiently.  Likewise if the performance or availability of the CHP has disappointed, we can assist with practical advice and review or renegotiate contract terms.

CCL costs on gas are set to rise by 90% by 2025.  So unless you qualify for an exemption (such as a  climate change agreement), you are going to see your returns eroded.  To those who are “power only” out there, it’s time to think out of the box and ensure you use the heat productively. We can help.

We specialise in making use of the waste heat from CHP or other busines processes.  Technologies to use heat productively now mean that in the right conditions we can use waste heat to produce as low as -40oC (to replace blast freezing, cold stores) or as high as 300oC (furnaces, cooking and frying), and pretty much everything in between, allowing us to reduce energy costs even further.

We can provide a free review of CHP performance, operating costs and options for improvement.

In the right circumstances, we could even purchase your existing CHP and provide discounted power back to you – so you still keep some of the savings and resilience benefits but also release cash for your core business in these challenging times.

This is the reason Onsite Energy Projects exists – we help businesses innovative, and implement the full potential of both energy efficiency and on-site generation measures.  We recognised the challenge of capex availability and can provide a no-capex, off-balance sheet solution.

If you would like to know more email us at info@on-site.energy or call on 0161 444 9989.

Onsite Energy Projects provides energy savings and energy generation solutions to energy intensive businesses, without capex if required.

Don’t let COVID-19 wreck your Net Zero plans

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By Onsite Energy Projects

We all need to refocus on the big issue of climate change, but we are facing a significant recession in the next few years. I predict that capex budgets are going to evaporate, and as a result investment plans are going to be put on hold. The consequence could be to derail our climate change and sustainability plans for some years to come.

At the same time, saving money has never been more important – to be competitive and grow jobs.  So how can you keep up the pace of sustainability gains, energy savings and make your business more competitive ?

Never has there been a better time to look at our zero capex, off-balance sheet solution.  We can help with energy savings ideas, sustainability innovation and develop the business cases for energy efficiency measures.  We can deliver them as an energy supply agreement without any cost to you.  All you need to do is pay for the power we provide (at a discount to what you are paying for grid power).

There is no cost to you for our analysis and recommendations.  We have experience in delivering solutions for complex manufacturing environments. We can particularly add value where you have a lot of use of heat, steam, chill or air conditioning.

In short we can accelerate your plans, not have them beaten back by lack of capital caused by COVID-19.

If you would like to know more email us at info@on-site.energy or call on 0161 444 9989.

Onsite Energy Projects provides energy savings and energy generation solutions to energy intensive businesses, without capex if required.

Saving money on energy using Artificial Intelligence

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Many use BMS (building management systems) to control your buildings. BMS is seen a “smart” in that it automates tasks that would need a human to do (such as changing set points, dead bands etc). Artificial Intelligence is best known for self-driving cars and playing chess against grand masters!! So does it have any role to play in managing our building better and saving money?

At OEP, we are already using artificial intelligence in two very real building and energy management applications and seeing £££ financial benefits:

(A) Energy Management. We can take in half-hourly meter data daily (no hardware needs to be installed), and identify patterns that could indicate a developing fault or anomaly, so it can be investigated before it becomes a cost, adjusting for weather and other inputs. The system self-learns and gets better over time at spotting new real issues. We oversee the results with our experienced energy management team, and interact with the customer.

An example benefit we picked up within 24 hours, was a (human) BMS programming error that would have cost £60,000 had it gone undetected, and probably would never have been picked up in the consumption on invoices.

In practice this also helps identify and monitor “behaviour” issues across an estate.  For example, we could highlight the differences in working practices between one supermarket and another in how they work with their refrigeration systems.

This is an ideal tool for multi-site operations (retail, restaurants, banks etc) with a rapid payback.  It allows over-loaded energy managers to have a proactive management tool, particularly across an estate of meters.  We can provide a THREE MONTH FREE TRIAL for businesses to find out if it works for them.

(B) We are also deploying AI to directly to manage the BMS, and even manufacturing processes. The software “learns” how the building or process reacts over time to different load events and climate conditions (creating a “digital twin”) and can develop its own strategies for how to optimise the building to (1) deliver the climate goals consistently and (2) at least energy cost.   It can even re-commission the building regularly.  Energy saving are typically 25%-40%.

The benefit of using AI is the ability for it to react quickly to changing circumstances, which other systems aren’t able to do. Other applications we are engaged on include compressed air management and refrigeration systems.

If you would like to know more email us at info@on-site.energy or call on 0161 444 9989.

Onsite Energy Projects provides energy savings and energy generation solutions to energy intensive businesses, without capex if required. 

Are you getting the most from your CHP?

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By Onsite Energy Projects

We visit a lot of customer sites and am often struck that the heat from CHP is not being used, or that they have operating problems with the CHP and their returns aren’t what they expected.

I equally see CHP vendors and other proposals to customers that advocate a power only solution, but fail to mention the CO2 consequences or IMPORTANTLY the benefits they are missing if they were to achieve Good Quality CHP (GQCHP).

Why is this using the heat important ?

  • 50% of the energy being produced by the CHP is heat – so not using it just wastes it. It also means your CO2emissions will be around 70% higher if you only use the power than just consuming grid power.  If you can use the heat, you can achieve overall CO2
  • If you can use enough of the heat for useful purposes you can reduce your electricity and / or gas consumption. You can also qualify for exemption from Climate Change Levy (CCL) on your gas costs.   For a 2.0 MW CHP that is worth about £160,000 this year – BUT the CCL rates are going up and by 2025 that saving in CCL will be worth £320,000 a year.

So what can you use heat for ?  Well literally you can apply the CHP heat to provide anything from +270oC to -40oC.  So anything from cold stores, refrigerated food manufacturing, cheese maturing, swimming pools to steam intensive manufacturing and even chemicals, ceramics or glass manufacturing with high temperature furnaces can benefit from CHP.

For one of our clients, we have identified a way to save over 2,000,000 kWh of electricity and 12,000,000 kWh of gas using the waste heat from the CHP – with savings of over £450,000.  For another in plastic injection moulding, we can save around 30% of the costs by using the heat.

This is the reason Onsite Energy Projects exists – we help businesses implement the full potential of both energy efficiency and on-site generation measures.  We recognised the challenge of capex availability and can provide a no-capex, off-balance sheet solution.

If you would like to know more email us at info@on-site.energy or call on 0161 444 9989.

Onsite Energy Projects provides energy savings and energy generation solutions to energy intensive businesses, without capex if required.

The danger of green energy tariffs

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Entry into renewable energy PPAs soared in 2019, with European corporates signing up for 8GW of power supply arrangements.  Groups of major corporates such as RE100 (http://there100.org/) advocate for a collaborative, global initiative of influential businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity, to work to increase demand for – and delivery of – renewable energy.  Additionally, most energy suppliers now offer green energy tariffs.

As a result more and more businesses are claiming they use 100% green energy, and claim green credentials as a result.  There is a clear view that as a result of entering into these arrangements they feel their job is done.   But have they achieved net zero ?   The answer is NO and they are missing the benefits of genuinely engaging in energy efficiency and sustainability.

The correct order to delivering sustainable energy benefits is:

1st  –  Minimise energy demand in operations through efficiency measures

2nd –  Solve for that reduced demand as much as possible with efficient on-site generation

3rd –   Solve for the residual grid demand with green energy

The impact of adopting PPAs can be the reverse, as the organisation commits to buying their full current demand, which means they are effectively blocked from considering operational changes that reduce their energy demand.  Reducing consumption is key to reduce emissions and gain business advantage.

Don’t get me wrong, I am an advocate of renewable energy but organisations need to be mindful of whether they are (a) committing too much or too early and (b) whether they have addressed all their efficiency opportunities.

Businesses who are genuinely sustainable should take a close look at their own operations for ways to both reduce consumption AND generate their own low carbon power locally.   These measures can take time to deliver, so perhaps the correct approach is to allow room for these savings to work in alongside PPA commitments ?  The long term business benefits of embracing this genuinely can become a source of sustainable competitive advantage.

This is the reason Onsite Energy Projects exists – we help businesses implement the full potential of both energy efficiency and on-site generation measures.  We recognised the challenge of capex availability and can provide a no-capex, off-balance sheet solution.

If you would like to know more email us at info@on-site.energy or call on 0161 444 9989.

Onsite Energy Projects provides energy savings and energy generation solutions to energy intensive businesses, without capex if required.