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UK Power Networks will commit almost £1 million to upgrading the electricity grid to allow for renewable energy to be connected to the power grid for households in Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Wind and solar farms will be able to feed energy into the power system, reducing reliance on non-renewable sources. The ‘load blinding relays’ are like safety valves that help to monitor electricity. 

New Zealand’s EnviroWaste is setting a target of keeping concrete out of landfill by using an innovative process to recycle the vital building material to create various grades of aggregate. A new recovery and processing plant has been unveiled at its Bombay Resource Recovery facility in South Auckland. The company has a long history of innovative recycling including kerbside collection of recyclables, food scraps and glass recycling. The latest plant will help New Zealand to reduce the environmental impact of its current building boom by bringing old concrete into new projects and reducing the need to mine virgin sand and coarse aggregate. 

UK citizens aiming to support the country to hit net zero carbon emissions are benefiting from extra funding to help the United Kingdom get there by 2050. UK Power Networks is carrying out 86 low-carbon energy projects worth £66 million that will help transition the economy to one that has a lower environmental footprint. ‘Shovel-ready’ plans were targeted for immediate impact, including installing rapid electric vehicle charging stations in local communities, energy generators looking to connect more renewable energy to the electricity network, and community energy projects. 

Northern Gas Networks Finance raised £1 million through the sale of a green bond to local investors that will allow them to realise returns of 1.6% a year over 10 years. The funds will be used to upgrade the current network of gas pipes to make them hydrogen ready as Northern Gas Networks builds the zero-emission network of the future. Offering the bond to the public gives people a chance to participate in greening their future. 

HK Electric is helping construction sites to reduce their noise and air pollution on site while also decarbonising construction work. In crowded Hong Kong, construction sites are often hemmed in by thousands of pedestrians and neighbours just metres away from noisy diesel generators used to power their reach for the sky. By providing a timely, reliable and adequate grid electricity supply during construction, builders can switch from diesel power on site to quieter, greener electricity. Neighbours and workers will love getting a break from the din of diesel during construction, and carbon emissions can also be reduced by 60%. 

Northern Gas Networks has been actively involved in funding and directing projects aimed at using zero-emission hydrogen to reduce the use of fossil fuels across the economy. Partnering with gas distribution company Cadent and the UK government, it has built two homes that are equipped with hydrogen-powered appliances. The semi-detached houses, built near Gateshead, were officially opened in July by the former Energy Minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan. The houses will be models for hydrogen-heated homes, providing the least invasive and most cost-effective route to zero carbon home heating for a large proportion of UK homes in the future. 

Installing homes for migratory swifts might not be the first thing you think of a power company doing, but UK Power Networks partnered with North East Herts Swifts Group to do just that. The birds’ population has been declining for years and the power company is helping by installing potential homes, including tempting bird song audio, on the village hall in Albury, southwest of London. Swifts nest as colonies and return to the same home every year after their long migration to Africa, so once established in Albury, they could return annually. 

High-performance management at HK Electric is supercharged through education delivered by a host of internal and external professors at the HK Electric Institute. 

Northern Gas Networks is partnering with National Grid and others to create a £12.7 million closed-loop experimental system to test the use of hydrogen in support of the UK’s goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions. The multi-firm collaboration will receive an award of £9.07 million from Ofgem (the UK energy regulator) via their Network Innovation Competition. 

With brighter days – and even brighter nights – ahead, UK Power Networks is upgrading London’s nightlife. A £16.2 million upgrade discreetly installed under the legendary Leicester Square Gardens will see three major transformers replaced with cleaner and greener successors over a two-year period. The site will also be visited by school leavers and out-of-work young people being helped by a local programme to develop career-starting skills for a brighter future. 

A first-of-its-kind energy microgrid that takes its supply from wind, solar, and thermal generation, and manages distribution using battery solutions, has won big in 2020. EDL’s Agnew Hybrid Renewable Project in Western Australia has won Engineering Solution of the Year at the 2020 Global Energy Awards. The project has also won at the 2020 Asian Power Awards (Innovative Power Technology of the Year – Australia) and the 2020 Australian Engineering Excellence Awards (WA Division). 

HK Electric provides a free one-stop Smart Power EV Charging Solution service to assist customers in implementing electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, including accessing a HK$2 billion government fund for the installation of EV charging-enabled infrastructure in private residential buildings. The free charging service at HK Electric’s 12 EV charging stations across Hong Kong Island has also been extended to the end of December 2021 and half of these now feature new multi-standard quick chargers. 

UK Power Networks is making the most of middle management by launching a new Leadership Academy that will reach up to 600 line managers. The UK’s Apprenticeship Levy scheme is being reinvested in delivering courses leading to Chartered Management Institute qualifications in a programme tailored to the company’s specific needs. External experts will enliven the programme and it will finish with a full graduation ceremony for those ready to flex their new management skills! 

COVID-19 may be invisible to the eye, but not to scientists working with Northumbrian Water to trace its spread by sampling wastewater. 

Two UK-based gas and power companies have been recognised for their ambitious work, receiving prestigious awards for their latest endeavours. Northern Gas Networks’ H21 hydrogen project was awarded the 2020 Pipeline Industries Guild Award for the best onshore pipeline concept. And UK Power Networks was named ‘Network of the Year’, taking the top prize at the annual Network Awards. 

A Wales & West Utilities Army reservist made the switch from his job as team leader in the gas emergency and pipeline service to assist with the British Army’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He admits that retraining to work in the fight against coronavirus “was a bit of a culture shock”, but his work helped keep front-line medical professionals and the community protected from COVID-19. 

Wales & West Utilities (WWU) brings mains gas to the new NHS Nightingale Hospital in Exeter. Building new infrastructure is normally a long, drawn-out affair, but the COVID-19 field hospital couldn’t wait. Connecting this high gas-usage facility was urgent and WWU delivered. 

Northern Gas Networks received a £770,000 grant to link the Bradford Alternative Fuel Centre to the gas network which will, in turn, power the development of a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling station. This funding from Ofgem will help the UK on its way towards reaching its decarbonisation goals, building on the green advantages of CNG as a fuel alternative. 

Powercor opened two new depots, valued at A$10 million each, in Kyneton and Shepparton, Australia. These developments have replaced outdated facilities from the ’60s and ’70s, allowing its local workers an upgraded space to continue providing its services to their communities.

Fun fact: A heritage-listed tree graces the front of the Kyneton depot!