Toby Gill, CEO, IPG Energy
While carbon reduction targets have been widely established, there is currently no UK-wide legislative requirement that sets the equivalent targets for pollutant emissions. This is despite the fact that air pollution has been identified as the single largest environmental health risk in Europe, and exposure to even low levels is linked to increased risk of strokes, cancers and premature death.
The construction industry is one sector which has a problem with this, with sites featuring among the highest contributors to poor air quality in London. This is due to the large quantities of PM10, or dust, produced by demolition activities, and additional pollutants NOx, CO and PM2.5 found at lower quantities in the exhaust fumes of non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), such as diesel generators.
To combat the latter, the Construction Leadership Council, author of the Zero Diesel Sites Route Map, has proposed that 78% of diesel plant should be eliminated from UK construction sites by 2035.
So what is being done about it?
Some authorities and organisations have set minimum emission standards for NRMM. In London, Air Quality Neutral (AQN) and Air Quality Positive (AQP) guidance is setting air pollution standards for new developments, while the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will require all Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) to be zero emission by 2040.
Although these targets may seem daunting, the work that has already been done to identify viable solutions for achieving zero carbon construction will make achieving pollution-free sites even easier.
The move towards the electrification of tools and plant machinery, as well as emerging solutions offering a clean, net-zero alternative to the diesel generator for on-site power generation, show that reducing pollutant emissions in the same breath as targeting zero carbon is a real possibility.
One such alternative offering a clean, net-zero alternative to the diesel generator includes renewable generators which employ flameless and/or catalytic combustion technologies. Not only do these technologies, found in fuel cells and fuel-agnostic gensets, produce power without emitting pollutants, they also have the additional benefit of reducing carbon emissions due to their compatibility with net-zero and zero-carbon fuels.
It’s time to clear the air
Both solutions enable construction companies to decarbonise their operations and improve the health of their site teams without prioritising one over the other. They are indicative of progress being made within the sector to unlock the transition to cleaner jobsites, and with the help of more ambitious government tenders and national legislation, we can accelerate this transition further still.
The awarding of large tenders presents an opportunity to transform the priority that is placed on pollutant emissions reductions in this process, and see mitigation action for them playing a more prominent role alongside carbon emissions. Driving positive change from the top down in this way will help to bring about change throughout the whole construction value chain. It’s time for construction to set the standard for all industries where fuel-based power is needed and prioritise solutions that solve both the carbon and pollutant problem in the same breath.
This article appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Energy Manager magazine. Subscribe here.