Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Clever connections for successful decarbonisation projects

Chiara Lorenzetti

It’s all about connections.

That’s what Salix’s Chiara Lorenzetti says, whose job it is to work with the public sector in pushing innovative decarbonisation projects through to successful completion.

Every day the teams at Salix strive to help organisations reach ambitious net zero goals as the company fulfils its role as government delivery partner for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and Low Carbon Skills Fund.

In the last two years Salix has delivered more than £2bn of government grant funding to tackle the decarbonisation of heat. Our primary aim is working with governments to help the UK meet its ambitious net zero goals.

In 2023 Salix was appointed delivery agent for the Wave Two of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant, managing the schemes on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Like most ambitious and successful companies and teams, this involves teamwork as well as a collective approach.

Chiara is assistant director of programmes at Salix and one of her tasks is to build strong relationships with the Distribution Network Operators which are key to the success of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

As the licensed companies that own and operate the network of cables, transformers and towers bringing electricity from the national transmission network to sites, they are pivotal to decarbonisation projects.

Connection is key.

It’s vital that project leaders think about their onsite electrical capacity long before they require a connection. They will need to know how to make a request for more power and capacity upgrade and how to work alongside the Distribution Network Operator.

Chiara said: “There is a huge amount of expertise and experience within the Distribution Network Operator, and they are key to helping us all understand the power networks.

“At Salix we are working on hundreds of projects and these all face very tight deadlines, especially as they near completion.

“This means we need people to start thinking about how they will access power and feed their sites very early on in a project plan.

“The project planning can be intense, and every element of the supply chain needs to be considered and this includes the Distribution Network Operator connection and permits.

“Since it can take up to eight weeks, possibly longer to get a power increase quotation from a Distribution Network Operator, organisations really need to be thinking ahead.

“If you are installing a new heat pump and solar PV, permissions need to be sought in advance. Unfortunately, projects may get held up because of this and at Salix we see important deadlines missed simply because of a misunderstanding or basic lack of knowledge about the Distribution Network Operator processes.”

This is why Salix has been spearheading a series of webinars, in conjunction with Distribution Network Operator connectivity experts to explain the processes involved in the application. These offer an opportunity to showcase the work of the Distribution Network Operator as well as to explain basic steps in the process.

Salix met hundreds of people at the webinars in July and hopes to hold more events in the autumn.

These have proved valuable to public sector organisations considering embarking on a decarbonisation project or those starting the process having their funds secured.

Chiara added: “We are all learning about decarbonisation technologies at breakneck speed, but we can still get caught out by the planning elements.

“Our learning has shown us that we need to think further ahead, and from the moment we even think about installing new technologies and how we connect to the grid.

“We are getting there, and we will achieve carbon neutrality, but we need to work together and get connected. Our connections are key.”

Chiara’ tips for working with the Distribution Network Operator:

  1. Visit your DNO website and capture any information you can to start with your request and expand your understanding of the works.
  2. Understand what is realistically deliverable in your location in conjunction with your grant scheme timeline. A helpful tool that DNOs offer is a surgery meeting, where a member of the connections team is available to discuss options of connection on your estate. Alternatively, a point of contact is assigned to you once the request is submitted, and you can engage with them straight away.
  3. Read your quotation carefully and understand your journey.
  4. Act on your obligations and continue to engage with your supplier regarding the project delivery. Keep the DNO updated of any changes in your project timeline and energization.
  5. Once you receive a quotation, accept your quotation and pay for the works as soon as possible. Only then, the capacity requested will be yours.
  6. Consider re-risking your delivery by assigning part of your work to an independent DNO (IDNO). Carefully consider your internal team’s knowledge and capacity because this will bring a substantial part of the work in-house.

In 2023 Salix Finance as appointed Delivery Agency for Wave Two of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant, also managing the schemes on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. www.salixfinance.co.uk

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