With an independent UK advisor claiming under-investment in the UK’s energy grid is a ‘significant brake’ on the economy, Aggreko is helping support businesses’ to circumvent growing uncertainty and costs through its energy services offering.
This follows from the publication of a government-commissioned report warning that the difficulty of connecting new projects to the network was ‘increasingly the rate-limiting factor’ for the rollout of renewables[1].
According to Tim Pick, who was appointed to lead the report, this is the result of long under-investment in the UK’s power network and claims there is an “urgent need to upgrade our national grid.” This point is especially pertinent if the UK is to reach its goal of decarbonising the power system by 2035.
Given these challenges, Chris Rason, Managing Director of Energy Services, is advocating the use of short- to mid-term decentralised energy solutions in order to bridge the energy gap while circumventing network disruptions and the costs of expanding the grid’s energy capacity.
He says: “The growing prevalence of grid shortfalls and project delays makes clear the need to modernise the UK’s power network and as inflation continues to impact profitability its crucial businesses are not forced to pay a premium for an uncertain supply.
“The case for energy decentralisation has therefore never been stronger, whether this be through technologies working in tandem with or independent from the grid. These measures stand to offer high energy users the most competitive route through different market and regulatory pressures, while supporting the UK’s wider decarbonisation targets.”
Decentralised energy models make up part of Aggreko’s broader energy services, which aims to provide businesses across industry with the technologies and expertise to determine their own pathway towards energy resilience. This offering has recently been enhanced by Aggreko’s £150 million investment in its Greener Upgrades fleet, which aims to help decision makers conflicted by balancing planet with profitability, to make small switches that make a big difference.
Chris concluded: “As businesses dependent on the grid continue contend with challenges in terms of energy security and sustainability, the network is still to face its toughest challenges yet in the face of pressing decarbonisation goals and ever-increasing demand.
“Decentralised energy is arguably the best way to circumvent these difficulties and, while many high energy users may have some form of onsite generation, short- to mid-term solutions which bridge businesses from the current state of uncertainty to a model of resilience will be key. As such, we are urging manufacturers to revaluate current energy practices and accelerate efforts towards securing a more resilient, more autonomous power model.”
For more information on Aggreko click here.
[1] https://www.ft.com/content/85c5f736-02ed-49b4-b567-f4efb6c600cc
