Sustainable Energy Supply

The chemicals industry is one of the most energy intensive business sectors in the UK. Whether you’re just buying electricity off the grid, or gas for onsite generation and process heat through steam, you’ll be very conscious of the continuing trend towards price increases and high fluctuations in spot pricing.

For an excellent objective fountain of knowledge on both the supply and demand side of longer-term energy balance in the UK, have a look at David McKay’s Sustainable Energy: Without the Hot Air: www.withouthotair.com. It’s worth noting that he’s recently been appointed as Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) should be essential technology for manufacturing sites. It is essential technology for the UK, to ensure useful heat produced when generating electricity does not go to waste. Use heat, yes? Use electricity, yes? Get CHP: http://chp.defra.gov.uk/

Although in a perfect world, we’d have eliminated waste streams, the North West is an ideal location to help minimise waste going to landfill and reduce demand on fossil fuel based energy, through Energy From Waste plants. Envirolink NW has done a study to assess the technology and opportunities in the North West (available here).

Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs) enable a business to claim 100% first-year capital allowances on their spending on qualifying plant and machinery. Businesses can write off the whole of the capital cost of their investment in Energy-saving plant and machinery against their taxable profits of the period during which they make the investment. This can deliver a helpful cash flow boost and a shortened payback period. Within the ECA Energy scheme are Solar Heating Systems, CHP, Biomass boilers and Ground, Air and Water Source Heating Systems. See: www.eca.gov.uk/etl