modern utility management issue 101

Risky businessEnsuring that utilities abide

by the requirements of a growing compliance burden

is obviously essential

Europes energy transitionThe key developments and issues that are going to be at the top of the agenda for

Europes power sector

Next waveField service organisations must recognise the needs

and motivations of the new, up and coming workforce

ManagementMODERN UTILITY

Issue 101 The power and utilities magazine

fuel?Future

Simon Colvin takes a look at the biomass market

Chairman Andrew Schofield

Group Managing DirectorMike Tulloch

Editor Libbie Hammond

Art Editor/Design David Howard

Production Manager Fleur Conway

Staff WritersJo Cooper, Andrew Dann, Steve Nash

Advertisement AdminTracy [email protected]

Sales DirectorDavid Garner

Advertisement SalesDave [email protected]

Head of ResearchPhilip Monument

Editorial ResearchMark Cowles

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2015 Schofield Publishing Ltd

Risky businessEnsuring that utilities abide

by the requirements of a growing compliance burden

is obviously essential

Europes energy transitionThe key developments and issues that are going to be at the top of the agenda for

Europes power sector

Next waveField service organisations must recognise the needs

and motivations of the new, up and coming workforce


Issue 101 The power and utilities magazine

fuel?Future


2 NewsUpdates and announcements from the utility arena

Features

4 Next waveJohn Cameron looks at the emerging field service worker: young, tech-savvy and collaborative

8 Risky businessIs automation the answer to utility sector compliance?

10 Europes energy transitionThe key developments and issues to be examined at the POWER-GEN Europe and Renewable Energy World Europe Conference

14 Future fuel?The use of biomass as an alternative fuel source has seen rapid growth in recent years

Profile17 Landis+Gyr

Libbie Hammond [email protected]

www.modernutilitymanagement.com 1

In the feature on page 10 Nigel Blackaby describes how Europes power sector is experiencing radical and permanent change. As he asserts: The conventional model of supplying electrical energy to customers from central power plants via one-way systems is becoming increasingly challenged as a direct result of policies to reduce the emission

of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and decrease the dependence on energy from fossil fuels.What effects is this going to have on the market? Overall it is going to require smarter working. However, as Nigel states: Fortunately, the energy technology sector has always responded well to challenges Given the changes that are approaching, it looks likely that utilities are going to need to harness all their innovation in the years to come.

PLEASE NOTE: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Contents

Editor

17

4

Need for change

10

2 www.modernutilitymanagement.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

Altuity Solutions has released a new Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) solution AltoSUE. Using highly accurate 3M Radio Frequency Identification (RFiD) markers, GPS and geo-tagged imaging, AltoSUE makes invisible underground assets visible.The product is targeted at owners, contractors and workers in the construction and utilities sector or any organisation that lays underground assets, which need to be accurately recorded before being handed over to a site owner.Steve Voller, founder, Altuity Solutions, explains: AltoSUE is different from other SUE solutions in that it provides a cost effective way to record as built and as maintained information about underground assets using integrated hardware and software. AltoSUE uniquely uses map and CAD site plans as the background to view data and combines this with the ability to record underground asset locations using a variety of techniques - rather than a one size fits all approach. Weve placed a huge importance on ease and simplicity of use to ensure AltoSUEs acceptability by back office and onsite workers.

Go for new deall According to research by Investors in People (IIP) 43 per cent of the manufacturing & utilities workforce is considering moving jobs in the year ahead.Job satisfaction is the number one reason for the desire to change roles in manufacturing & utilities, with 59 per cent believing they could be more satisfied elsewhere, followed by desire for higher pay (43 per cent) and skills not being valued (32 per cent). Salary and not feeling valued as a member of staff are the top factors in determining perception of current employment, the former cited by 54 per cent and the latter by 46 per cent.Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: This latest report highlights an increasingly fluid employment market. As the UK economy warms up staff are thinking about where their career is headed and are aware of the opportunities out there. The research should be a stark wake up call to many businesses. These companies must work hard to retain the staff they have and also put the effort into attracting top quality talent from elsewhere. This exodus is driven by workers that value the wide range of professional and personal benefits that a good employer can bring: career progression, job satisfaction and development of expertise. Employers must carefully consider what they offer their staff; an active jobs market can be a blessing to those who raise the standard of how they treat, train and develop their people.

Wake up call

l Boulting has been awarded one of the key AMP6 Control and Automation services framework contracts from Thames Water, over the 2015-2020 investment periods. Boulting Technology, a strategic business of Boulting, has won a Lot 1a agreement, covering manufacture and related system integration of Motor Control Centres, and a Lot 1b agreement, which includes complex systems integration projects. The appointment comes as an acknowledgement of Boulting Technologys expertise, skills and experience in the design, production, management and servicing of large scale automation projects. The appointment of the Boulting Technology comes as a result of Thames Waters new approach to supply management, which focuses on creating a collaborative supplier community that encourages innovation and low whole life cost. As a strategic partner, Boulting will support Thames Waters AMP6 capital alliance eight2O, the operations team and other aspects of the water companys capital programme. The systems integrator is well-placed to meet Thames Waters new approach. Boulting Technology is a key supplier and project manager of design-and-build automation services, with a history of successfully implementing projects in partnership with water companies.

Strategic partner

l Intergraphs release of Intergraph Outage Notifications will help utilities improve customer service during electricity outages. The application provides utility customers with near-real-time information about outages that impact their home or business enabling utilities to improve customer communication and better meet customer expectations.Intergraph Outage Notifications generates automated notifications to individual customers at the time the outage occurs, when updates to outage information such as projected restoration time or crew status are made and when power is restored. The system also features the ability to manage planned outages.The solution also integrates with social media so utilities can reach their entire customer base without the customer having to subscribe. Automating this workflow for large-scale outages enables the utility to focus on restoring power while the application automatically posts to social media based on changing conditions within the outage management system.

Caring for customers

l Despite several warnings recently about counterfeit and inferior personal protective equipment (PPE) finding its way into UK workplaces, the problem appears to be growing according to workplace equipment supplier Slingsby. Lee Wright, marketing director at Slingsby, says: A lot of the examples we have seen are badly made and fail to offer any real protection, as well as being non-compliant with safety standards. Some products even come with falsified certifications.The fact that to the untrained eye, many of these products still look the part often makes it difficult to spot they are fake. This means it is important to buy PPE through reputable suppliers and to ensure it is certified to the appropriate British or European standards.Lee continues: However, new legislation currently being considered would help to eradicate counterfeit PPE by making retailers and distributors accountable for ensuring the quality of the products they sell. At the moment manufacturers are solely responsible for checking products comply with performance standards but a new European PPE directive, which is currently being circulated in draft form, would close a loophole that enables companies to sell substandard products without being accountable for their quality. Under the proposals, companies selling these products would have to keep records about their stock and ensure products meet required standards and this has to be welcome news for the industry.Finally, Lee says: Until the changes are introduced businesses and organisations have a responsibility to their employees, customers and the public to provide PPE that is safe and will do its job should the worst happen. This makes buying PPE a big responsibility because safety equipment that doesnt perform can ultimately cost lives.

Is your PPE the real deal?

l Yorkshire-based specialist equipment housing manufacturer Portastor is collaborating with power industry leaders from the worlds of academia and industry on a ground-breaking research project into the viability of energy storage systems to provide support to the UK grid.The Grid Connected Energy Storage Research Demonstrator is based at the Willenhall primary substation, near Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. Its a research project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which aims to show that batteries could provide a cheap and easily automated way to store excess energy from the grid and respond quickly in times of high demand.Portastor has designed a modular bespoke housing for the Demonstrators grid interface comprising the UKs first two megawatt (MW) lithium titanate battery, the largest of its type installed in the UK, as well as an area for testing the viability of used electric vehicle battery packs for domestic or industrial electricity storage. The housing is fully compliant with both the grid operator Western Power Distribution (WPD) and the research teams specifications, and incorporates safety monitoring and fire protection equipment as well as intruder alarms.Construction of the housing and installation of the equipment took place at Portastors 60-acre factory in York before transportation of the unit (8m x 3.6m x 3.6m) to the West Midlands substation ready to start operation.As the recognised industry experts in engineering prefabricated modular integrated equipment housings, Portastor was invited to join the research project so that the consortium would benefit from its engineers unrivalled experience providing tailored equipment housings to companies in the power sector including National Grid, BNFL, ESB (Eire), Ineos, Sellafield, as well as many of the UKs electricity distribution companies.

UKs biggest battery

l One of the UKs most advanced cement production facilities has improved its maintenance operations and safety levels by installing new equipment from NOV Mono. Hanson Cement has achieved these improvements by adding a duty/standby Mono Munchpump package to the sewage handling operations at its Padeswood plant in Mold, North Wales.The plant had originally been using submersible pumps for sewage transfer duties, but these had become inefficient. Any maintenance work involved an engineer going down into a confined space, explains Hansons engineering manager Paul Cowell. We wanted to make maintenance and cleaning operations safer, easier and more effective.Mono designed and installed an aboveground Munchpump package, which proved to be an excellent fit for Hansons needs. The package includes two EZstrip progressing cavity pumps and two SB Munchers, in a duty/standby arrangement, transferring the sewage at 25m3/h to the main sewerage system. The Munchers macerate any solids within the flow to a small particle size, therefore protecting the pumps from any large solids, which could cause blockages. The Munchers make light work of this maceration process, as each shaft is fitted with a series of interleaving cutters that allow liquid to pass through, trapping the solids and macerating with their high torque cutting action. Low operating and cutter tip speeds dramatically reduce mechanical wear and also offers greatly reduced noise levels when compared to high-speed macerators.

Mighty munchers

Go for new deal

Caring for customers


INDUSTRY NEWS


The field service industry has, in previous years, been a subject of concern for having an ageing workforce and the implications this

has as those with such great knowledge and experience reach retirement age. However, as the industry continues to evolve, a major trend has been the emergence of young, tech-savvy and collaborative workers. Indeed, according to Aberdeen Groups latest report, Emerging Workforce in the field: Tech-savvy to technician, approximately one-fifth of the current workforce is under 30, with the average age of a field service technician being 32 years old. Field service organisations must therefore recognise what the needs and motivations of this new, up and coming workforce are, in order to keep them for the

long haul as well as to attract the next pool of young talent.

Technology is overwhelmingly recognised as an aid to achieving key strategic objectives. It is therefore important for organisations to understand how the influx of young workers use, process and engage with technology. A key factor to consider is flexibility and mobility. Tech-savvy workers do not want to be tied down by old, legacy technologies. They want the freedom to engage with the latest advances and utilise technologies they are used to in their personal lives. As a result, the mobile landscape for field service organisations is evolving and the emerging worker is helping to speed up this transformation.

There has been much debate in the sector around Bring Your Own Device

waveNext

John Cameron looks at the emerging field service worker: young, tech-savvy and collaborative

BYOD is considered by many as being the only

way forward for businesses looking to compete

effectively and offer the most efficient customer

service and increased employee satisfaction


FIELD WORKERS

strategies, where employees have the ability to connect their own technical devices, such as smartphones, laptops and tablets, to their companys network instead of using a device owned by the company. BYOD is considered by many as being the only way forward for businesses looking to compete effectively and offer the most efficient customer service and increased employee satisfaction.

Aberdeen Groups report found that 62 per cent of the top performing field service organisations have incorporated a BYOD strategy as a result of a more tech-savvy workforce and 43 per cent are more likely to give technicians access to social media and collaborative tools to facilitate knowledge transfer.

A major characteristic that the emerging field service workforce encompasses is the ability to be collaborative, and this is a trait that will help transform service and the relationship with the customer. Organisations must therefore capitalise on this by developing the collaborative tools needed to help the workforce perform as experts in the field and resolve customer needs as quickly as possible.

Collaborative tools, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops offer users the chance to take advantage of mobile apps. There are a number of bespoke mobile apps on the market today that are tailored to help manage a field service operation and simplify business processes.

Indeed, mobile apps offer technicians the ability to share, store and view job data while out in the field, providing them with a virtual link to the back office. Critical information such as daily tasks, customer histories and billing can be accessed on demand. Furthermore, locations of nearby teammates can be retrieved on a mobile device and a real-time connection provided through social networking, enabling them to seek assistance or help resolving a problem, if needed.

Having the tools and capabilities to work more collaboratively, and having access to real-time insight, empowers the workforce to make more strategic decisions. The speed of communication via social and mobile allow them to solve problems more quickly and ensures resolution is not delayed because of lack of information. They can easily recruit help from peers and are better enabled to reach appointments on-time and achieve first-time case resolution, leading to increased customer satisfaction and worker productivity whilst reducing operational costs.

An additional advantage of recruiting workers that are already well equipped to use mobility solutions, such as smartphones and social networking, is that they are well placed

to provide teach and learn sessions for other workers. The adoption of mobility solutions can then be replicated throughout the entire workforce.

According to the Aberdeen Group, the next generation of workers will be different and when it comes to the evolution of excellent service, they may just be what is needed to wow future customers.

It is now widely regarded that customers of today are much more demanding, expecting a quick fix on the first visit and a valued experience as standard. For the field service technician, who is often the only contact a customer will have with the business, there role is therefore more than one of just operational necessity; it is a role of strategic significance. Ultimately, it is they who are regarded as being the hero when job resolution is reached.

As a result, field service organisations seek field workers who have desirable attitudes and attributes for customer service. In particular, there is a strong focus on the importance of emotional intelligence as an enabler to deal with the wide variety of changing customer service relationships and interactions. Aberdeen Group found that the top performing field service organisations outperform their

peers in regard to retaining the field heroes that they have, but almost as importantly, they are able to find, hire and train the next field service heroes.

These top organisations achieve this by capturing as much knowledge from seasoned workers before they retire so that they can pass it on to the up and coming youths of the industry. Indeed, 70 per cent of top performing field service organisations are more likely to provide technicians with a knowledgebase of recorded training videos and images. Furthermore, they understand what values/skill sets are required to be a great service technician. Fifty per cent have competency profiles in place for service worker categories most impacted by retirement in order to improve the future recruitment and training of the next wave of field service workers. u

John Cameron is general manager, Trimble Field Service Management (FSM). As part of Trimbles ongoing spotlight on mobile worker empowerment, it recently commissioned a paper for the Aberdeen Group titled, Emerging workforce in the field: Tech-savvy to technician. To download a copy of the paper, visit: www.pages05.net/trimblefieldservice/emerging-worker-paper.


AQE 2015 to focus on air quality & emissions monitoring

The organisers of AQE 2015, the international Air Quality and Emissions show, have announced a comprehensive conference programme for the event, which will take place in Telford, UK, on 22nd and 23rd April. Organiser Marcus Pattison says: The event could not have been better timed. Just before Christmas, the Government issued a consultation that, if adopted, could result in a dramatic reduction in ambient air quality monitoring, and this is causing uproar in the sector. The messages surrounding the enormous numbers of premature deaths resulting from air pollution are starting to gain traction in the mainstream media, so it is astonishing that Defra should propose less monitoring, and this is bound to be a hot topic at the Conference!

AQE 2015 (www.AQEshow.com) is the 8th in a series of Air Quality & Emissions events, attracting visitors from all over the world, each with a professional interest in air quality. In common with AQE2013, this years event will focus on issues relating to the measurement of stack emissions to air on the first day, and on ambient air quality on the second day.

Day 1: Emissions monitoring challenges facing operators and manufacturers Wednesday 22nd April The first days conference will commence with David Graham from E.ON Technologies explaining how stacks are defined under legislation that aggregates units together. He will also provide a regulatory update on the Industrial Emissions Directive and the Medium Combustion Plant Directive. Jonathan Clark from Syngenta will then outline the challenges facing operators with small stacks in relation to periodic monitoring and compliance with standards. Continuing this theme, Dan Jones from E.ON Technologies will address issues facing

the operators of large stacks, particularly in relation to Health & Safety, sample representativeness etc.

In the afternoon, Derek Myers from REC will provide an overview of the challenges facing test laboratories and others, when sampling dust from wet stacks, and finally, Rod Robinson from NPL will explain the measurement and calculation of stack flow rate for mass emissions reporting purposes.

Day 2: Ambient Air Quality - Latest developments and toolsThursday 23rd April The second days conference will focus on issues relating to the monitoring of ambient air quality, with presentations spatial distribution of monitors, traffic management, and software for the analysis and visualisation of air quality data.

In addition to the Conference and Exhibition, there will also be over 50 free walk-in workshops, mostly provided by exhibitors, addressing a wide variety of air quality monitoring themes including

ambient air, stack emissions, occupational safety, nuisance dust, fugitive emissions and boundary monitoring.

Visitors will have to plan their visit carefully in order to ensure that they attend the most relevant workshops and conference presentations, whilst also allocating time to visit the exhibition. Many of the exhibitors will utilise the workshops to launch new technologies. However, the workshops are designed to provide an informal environment in which process managers are able to share information, much of which involves practical case studies. u

AQE 2015 will take place at the International Centre in

Telford and in addition to the Conference, visitors will

also be able to attend Workshops providing practical

advice and case studies, and an Exhibition featuring

almost all of the worlds leading providers of monitoring

equipment and services.

The charge for attending the Conference is 55 +VAT

per day or 100 for both days. However, entrance

to the exhibition and workshops is free and pre-

registration guarantees free lunch, free refreshments

and free parking. Online registration for AQE 2015 is

now open at www.aqeshow.com.


Regulation is constantly extending its reach into the operational nooks and crannies of the utilities industry. Executives and energy

traders are constantly being challenged by new legislation, unclear definitions and shifting deadlines. Playing by the rules is also becoming more complicated thanks to overlaps between national and EU-wide regimes and, occasionally, US regulations with extraterritorial reach.

Ensuring that utilities abide the requirements of a growing compliance burden is obviously essential to minimising exposure to business risk. How to do it in the age of regulatory hyper-complexity, however, means adopting new approaches and jettisoning traditional ways of tracking and hedging risk.

EU regulators created the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) to increase competition and consumer protection in financial services. Bearing in mind that the costs of not complying are huge, from government fines to loss of reputation, the challenge is how to balance the seemingly ever-increasing number of compliance issues with the running of a business.

In addition to MiFID, EU regulators introduced a bifurcated regime (EMIR and REMIT) to address potential manipulation in commodity trading. These last two are rolling out now but even as they complete their implementation phase, MiFID II threatens to add to the compliance burden for commodity traders, whilst making it harder for businesses to operate under

businessRisky

As regulation of energy trading grows and grows, is automation the only answer to utility sector compliance? By Rainer Landgraf

Many different factors have to be accounted

for, including the recent drop in oil and natural gas prices and shale gas development and, in spite of green

energy being widely backed by Governments, uncertainty seems to be

the biggest problem


business

SPECIAL FEATURE

a hedging strategy. The implications are far reaching and require a technology response.

Besides, utilities have to manage trading activities, which expose them to several risks. Purchasing from multiple grids, accounting for environmental activism and committing to the use of often unreliable renewable sources are just some of the variables that need to be factored in when gauging risk.

To complicate things further, when it comes to green energy, utilities are exposed not only to regulatory but to business risk too. The main problem is managing volatility, changing patterns of consumption and the ability to anticipate problems in supply before they occur.

Many different factors have to be accounted for, including the recent drop in oil and natural gas prices and shale gas development and, in spite of green energy being widely backed by Governments, uncertainty seems to be the biggest problem. So how can utility companies and traders best deal with something so intangible?

Failing to comply and to assess risk in real time can result in loss of business, fines and negative publicity. The best way to minimise business risk is to take a bottom-up approach to interpreting data and records from various sources using automated systems like rules-based engines, business process models and

quantitative analytics. This type of approach will at least rule out human error.

Managing hyper-complexity in energy regulationThere are alternatives in terms of what utility company traders can do now to prepare for regulatory regimes like MiFID II. Managing the process by spreadsheet is not one of them. There are electronic reporting and data storage requirements involved in each set of regulations that will quickly overwhelm manual processes.

Outsourcing may be a solution, but it comes with its own costs and risks: do you really want to outsource a liability you will ultimately be held accountable for should any errors or delays in compliance occur?

That leaves accepting higher energy prices by abandoning a hedging strategy altogether, or automating the process by employing a flexible, comprehensive software that allows you to upgrade and manage your regulatory compliance process quickly and manage risk.

Another qualifier to consider is the ability to install software on a captive system and maintain it internally, or purchase a software-as-a-service (SaaS) contract and maintain it virtually in the cloud. Implementing this option could affect your overall total cost of ownership as you integrate the system into other areas of the business.

Direct connectivity to trade repositories

should also be a core capability, including all required regulatory identifiers and formats. The system should be able to simplify the threshold monitoring for non-financial counterparties (e.g. energy intensive businesses operating a hedging strategy) and facilitate risk mitigation obligations, including EMIRs requirement for periodic portfolio reconciliations.

ConclusionTodays regulatory environment is defined by evolving standards and shifting timelines. When implemented intelligently and integrated with existing systems, automation seems to offer the more accurate and fastest approach to meeting the requirements and determine a higher level of risk assurance. There are obviously challenges to being compliant and to managing risk but educating your staff on the latest regulatory guidelines and engaging your IT department to enable technology would be good places to start. u

Rainer Landgraf is product manager, EMEA at Allegro Development. With more than 30 years of deep industry expertise, Allegro is the global leader in commodity trading and risk management (CTRM) solutions for multiple commodity types, including petroleum, natural gas, power, and coal. www.allegrodev.com

Bridging the gap between what if and when...

In a market where asset assurance is a fundamental principle, Exova has a proud track record of supporting organisations at the forefront of globaloil and gas exploration, productionand distribution.

Exova can help you get to where you're going, get in touch for a chat. t. + 44 (0) 330 222 0321e. [email protected]. www.exova.com

Testing, calibrating, advising.

Eurpoean_Oil&Gas_Magazine_2014.indd 1 31/03/2014 13:41:51


the energy industry

Europes power sector is experiencing radical and permanent change. The conventional model of supplying electrical energy to customers from

central power plants via one-way systems is becoming increasingly challenged as a direct result of policies to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and decrease the dependence on energy from fossil fuels. Europes power industry professionals are responding to this challenge to the status quo and will be debating the issues raised in this article at their industry conference later in the year.

The pace of change looks set to increase

as the new package of climate and energy policies unveiled by the European Commission in early 2014 drives a fresh wave of clean tech investment. Designed to cut GHGs by 40 per cent against 1990 levels by 2030, the proposed framework includes a binding target for EU member states to source at least 27 per cent of their energy from renewable sources by the same date. A non-binding target to encourage countries to improve their energy efficiency by 25 per cent through the 2020s is also being considered.

The financial and operational implications of accommodating renewable energy and meeting emissions targets mean utilities must

europes energy

transitionnigel Blackaby outlines the key developments and issues to be examined in detail at the POWer-gen europe and renewable energy World europe conference and exhibition being held in Amsterdam in June 2015

Delegates at POWER-GEN Europe 2014

Nigel Blackaby


become a lot smarter in the way that they operate. This has driven the development of innovative business models, new technologies, and a new range of services that are radically replacing the traditional way of simply selling kilowatt hours (kWh).

Utilities and investors are now focusing on smart meter rollouts and deployment of technology at a distributed local level rather than making 30-year commitments to large power plants. But there is life in conventional plants yet, as state-of-the-art co-firing technologies allow biomass to be used as fuel alongside coal, with some plants now burning a mixture of both or even converting from coal to biomass completely.

Waste to energy Biomass is derived from living or recently living organisms. It takes carbon out of the atmosphere while it is growing and returns it as it is burned, thus maintaining a closed carbon cycle with no net increase in atmospheric CO2 levels.

More importantly, it means that the by-products of industrial, commercial, and domestic consumption that would previously have been discarded as waste can now be reused as fuel for power. The use of biogas is rising, and technology manufacturers are responding accordingly with solutions around gasification and pyrolysis, where the fuel is heated with little or no oxygen to produce syngas. The latter can be used to generate energy, or as a feedstock for producing methane, chemicals, biofuels, or hydrogen.

The significant carbon and energy benefits of converting waste to energy (WtE) has seen plants established as an essential part of both the waste management and energy supply network. There are now more than 450 WtE plants in operation across Europe, with countries such as France, Germany, and Italy leading the way. Frost & Sullivan analysts predict that global revenues in WtE plants will reach $29 billion by 2016.

Harnessing energy from waste has many benefits. It helps nations reduce their dependency on energy imports, and contributes towards reducing carbon emissions and meeting renewable energy targets. Crucially, these types of technologies have a steady and controllable output i.e. baseload power when used for electricity generation.

Baseload power remains a necessity given that the energy derived from renewable, such as wind and solar radiation, shows a high degree of volatility. Moreover, full integration

of renewable energy sources means not only wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and tidal power into Europes energy mix, but also the integration of energy supply for heating, chilling, and transportation.

Smarter citiesThe need for a more sustainable approach to energy management and tighter integration is being driven by the global trend of urbanisation. In 2010 more people lived in cities than in rural areas for the first time in history, and by 2025 it is estimated that about 60 per cent of the worlds population (4.6 billion people) will live in urban areas. This poses serious challenges for city planners who will need to re-think how they provide basic city services to residents.

Municipalities across Europe are already developing district schemes to provide both heat and electricity to thousands of homes. This offers a diversity and independence of power generation rather than relying on national utilities. Known as urban energy integration, this activity is underway within metropolitan areas in Genoa and Copenhagen for example, who are looking at their overall energy management and services to integrate electricity, heat, water, and waste water at city level.

According to Frost & Sullivan, there will be 26 smart cities and 90 sustainable cities globally by 2025, presenting market opportunities worth $1.5 trillion in areas such as infrastructure development, technology integration, and energy and security services. Smart cities are cities built on smart and intelligent solutions that will lead to the adoption of at least five of the eight following smart parameters: buildings, citizens, energy, mobility, healthcare, infrastructure, technology, and education and governance.

With smart energy the fastest growing market segment, major cities such as Hamburg, Vienna, and Amsterdam are now starting to work with the energy sector and end users to co-ordinate the energy supply issues in their area by mapping local needs and finding optimum solutions. They are developing smart grids by introducing smart meters that enable an overall improved service to their customers, and a more efficient grid operation, which could eventually include the development of electric vehicle and energy storage infrastructure.

A successful rollout of electric vehicles depends on a responsive smart grid to allow mobile charging facilities for these new modes of transport. Furthermore, the integration is

cyclic: utilities manage waste collection, which is then used to generate electricity, heating or chilling in combination with energy storage solutions.

Storage technologiesA viable and cost-effective energy storage mechanism would help manage the peaks and troughs of demand, and would therefore become a potential game changer in the integration of renewables. Although storage technologies are developing fast, they have yet to attain a level that would make them commercially viable.

Storing energy in the form of heat is one option that holds great potential. The concept is to store surplus electricity on a sunny or windy day by heating up water, and either storing it in that form or using it to heat or chill buildings. The latter can be achieved using thermally activated absorption chillers, adsorption chillers, or desiccant dehumidification systems.

For example; absorption chillers for example, produce chilled water by separating two different substances that are in thermal equilibrium using heat, then reuniting them through heat removal. Two substances that may be used for this process is water (acting as the refrigerant) and lithium bromide (the absorbent). This process is driven by heat from natural gas combustion or a waste-heat source. Absorption chillers can be used in conjunction with combined heat and power (CHP) or cogeneration projects to provide tri-generation or combined heat power and cooling (CHPC) schemes that are typically embedded close to the end user. As such, they help reduce transportation and distribution losses to improve the overall performance of the grid.

The ability to store the electricity generated by renewable energy in sufficient quantities and at a cost that makes commercial sense would open the door to an even greater penetration of renewable energy sourced power than is currently technically feasible. Much development and research is being undertaken in a variety of storage mechanisms such as lithium-ion batteries, compressed air systems, and chemical and electrical energy storage. Projects incorporating large-scale storage are starting to emerge but there remains some way to go before these technologies become widely used.

The carbon questionCarbon capture and storage (CCS) may have received a fair amount of negative press, but


the energy industry

In the renewables arena, there is now greater attention being given to operating and managing renewable energy assets more efficiently. This will be essential as the technology matures and reaches a critical mass on the grid

Nigel Blackaby is the Conference Director of POWER-GEN Europe and Renewable Energy World Europe. The POWER-GEN Europe and Renewable Energy World Europe conference and exhibition will take place on 9th to 11th June 2015 at the Amsterdam RAI in the Netherlands. It remains the destination of choice for stakeholders to gain and exchange key insights and learning as all aspects of Europes energy transition come under the spotlight. Utilities, equipment producers, service providers, city energy co-ordinators, consultancy firms, financiers, data handlers and grid operators will share their experiences and knowledge, and discuss the industrys current and future needs. For more information visit: www.powergeneurope.com or www.renewableenergyworld-europe.com.

the fact remains it is a necessity, given that both coal- and gas-fired plants will be required for the foreseeable future to provide base-load or instant power when needed.

The European Commission sees CCS, or carbon capture and reuse (CCR), as an important tool for energy policy. In Europe, the UK has two pilot projects operating at commercial scale, while the ROAD project in the Netherlands is waiting for financing to be agreed.

As of November 2014, there were 14 CCS projects globally at the advanced planning stage, including nine in the power sector, expected to be in a position to make a final investment decision in 2015, according to the Global CCS Institute. Certainly if stricter policy on carbon emissions is enforced for coal- and gas-fired plants as expected, it is a compelling driver for Europes power industry to bring CCS technology to fruition.

In the renewables arena, there is now greater attention being given to operating and managing renewable energy assets

more efficiently. This will be essential as the technology matures and reaches a critical mass on the grid. But while there has been a great deal of focus on renewables, it remains important for conventional power generators to continue advancing their efforts too.

Gas turbine manufacturers and operators are working closely with grid operators to make their equipment more flexible so that it is able to respond quickly to variations in demand. At the same time, distributed generation via smaller gas turbines, diesel and gas engines is going to be increasingly employed in the infrastructure and in cities in particular. Ultimately, the emphasis will be on clean and flexible power generation, and the efficient and optimised operation of plants.

Fortunately, the energy technology sector has always responded well to challenges, whether that be developing nuclear technology, designing highly efficient gas turbine machinery, or harnessing renewable energy. So while the current changes being brought about by Europes energy transition

are disruptive, they also represent an opportunity to which the energy industry is responding. With policy now such an important driver for technical decisions, regulation and investment also form a key part of the debate for plant operators, decision-makers and specifiers facing tough choices about when and how to adapt, modernise and optimise Europes energy infrastructure as advanced technology emerges. u


The operation of the new plant will be subject to

strict controls imposed by the Environment Agency (or other environmental

regulators in the devolved jurisdictions) through

an environmental permit that will control many of

the activities that have the potential to have a negative impact on the

environment

fuel?Future



BIOMASS

The use of biomass as an alternative fuel source has seen rapid growth in recent years with the drive at a global, European and national level to identify and shift to less carbon intensive sources of energy.

UK Government policy makes it clear that biomass has an important role to play as part of the UK energy mix, alongside gas (both conventional and unconventional), nuclear, and other traditional renewables such as solar, tidal and wind.

New biomass power stations are being consented and constructed in the UK every year (Anglesey and Port Talbot). There is now a pipeline of older power stations that want to convert to use biomass instead of coal. Examples include the Drax plant in Yorkshire and also the Lynemouth facility operated by RWE. New anaerobic digestion plants are also springing up on a regular basis.

So what is biomass? Biomass is organic material derived from living or recently living things. There are two main biomass fuel types, virgin fuels which are those grown specifically for the purpose (fuel cropping), and secondary fuels, those that are being recovered, such as agricultural residues, waste woods and waste food. Many forms of biomass require some type of processing to maximise their value as a fuel, such as drying, chipping or being transformed into pellets to maximise their calorific value and to make them easily transportable.

How is biomass used to create energy? Biomass can be used in a number of ways. Often it is burnt to generate heat in biomass boilers. The heat generates steam, which turns turbines that generate electricity. Biomass is also used in anaerobic digesters to generate methane gas that is then burnt to generate energy. The excess heat generated from the process is then captured through combined heat and power plants and is put to beneficial use.

The use of biomass is said to have a number of environmental benefits such as energy generation diversification and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The use of biomass as an energy source receives support through the UK Governments renewable energy subsidy schemes renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) and contracts for difference (CfD). In some instances the reuse of the heat generated by plants means facilities

can also qualify for support further to another Government incentive scheme - the renewable heat incentive (RHI). The availability of these incentives and the mix in which they are available depends on the scale of the biomass plant and also the fuel sources and types.

Its not all plain sailing. The use of biomass can be a contentious issue with action groups such as Biofuelwatch doing all they can in the UK and US to raise awareness of what they allege are the negative impacts of industrial biofuels and bioenergy on biodiversity, human rights, food sovereignty and climate change. In addition many new biomass plants in the UK have faced strong objections from local resident groups concerned about the potential impact of emissions from biomass plants.

In the UK there are strict controls in place regarding the construction and operation of biomass power plants. The construction of a new plant or the conversion of an old plant will either be subject to detailed consideration by a local planning authority, or at a national level by DECC. The forum depends on the capacity of the new plant. The planning process will impose strict controls on the design and layout of the new plant.

The operation of the new plant will be subject to strict controls imposed by the Environment Agency (or other environmental regulators in the devolved jurisdictions) through an environmental permit that will control many of the activities that have the potential to have a negative impact on the environment.

In addition to controls focusing on the plant itself, there is a growing focus on the controls that apply to the imports and sources of biomass from developing countries. The majority of this work has stemmed from the need to ensure biomass fuels are sustainably sourced. In terms of the virgin fuels, concerns relate to the use of land for biomass cropping where that land could have been used for other purposes such as food crops. There are also concerns about the destruction of forests to facilitate the growth of biomass crops. There are also concerns over the techniques used to enhance and accelerate the growth of these crops. Often the techniques can involve the use of fertilisers to increase crop yields and to accelerate growth rates.

In relation to waste materials, objectors

BIOMASS

Simon Colvin is partner and national head of Environment Team, which is part of the Regulatory Services Unit at Weightmans LLP. Weightmans is a top 45 law firm with over 1300 people across offices in Birmingham, Dartford, Glasgow, Knutsford, Leicester, Liverpool, London and Manchester. Weightmans is dedicated to providing results for its clients and success for its people.www.weightmans.com

are concerned that the use of biomass to generate energy places the focus too far down the waste hierarchy. According to objectors the primary focus needs to be on preventing the generation of the material that becomes biomass fuels and the reuse of material where possible, rather than recovery for the purposes of energy generation.

There are limited controls in place at

the moment in relation to the sources of biomass other than voluntary arrangements and guidelines. There has been a lot of research undertaken at an EU level in the last 12 months examining the need for stricter controls. While the outcome of that research is to do nothing for now, the growth of the biomass sector will inevitably mean the introduction of binding rules. It is likely the rules will

initially deal with virgin fuels and that they will set out where materials can be sourced from and how they should be grown. In relation to secondary fuels, it is likely we will see the stricter enforcement of the waste hierarchy to ensure that the use of certain materials as biomass fuels is an option of last resort. u



+Gyr is the leading global provider of

integrated energy management products, which are tailored to energy company needs. The company is unique in its ability to deliver true end-to-end advanced metering solutions, and today offers the broadest portfolio of products and services in the electricity metering industry. Landis+Gyr is an independent growth platform of the Toshiba Corporation and 40 per cent owned by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan.

Innovation is one of the core values of Landis+Gyr - its programmed into the organisations cultural DNA from services to marketing, sales to office administration. As a result of this dedication, the company is continuously researching and developing

new technology to the market, which is designed to move the industry forward.

It is thanks to this approach that Landis+Gyr is recognised in the industry as a leader and respected as an innovator. In fact, in February 2015, and based on its recent analysis of the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) market, Frost & Sullivan recognised Landis+Gyr with the 2014 Global Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year Award.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in devising a strong growth strategy and robustly implementing it. The recipient has shown strength in terms of innovation in products and technologies, leadership in customer value as well as speed in response to market needs. In short, the award looks at the emerging market players in the industry

solutionsAdvanced

Landis+Gyr operates in 30 countries across

five continents, and employs 5500 people with the sole mission

of helping the world manage energy better

Landis+Gyr

Landis

The PulsesPlus technology was developed for the smart metering industry

mum: Tadiran has been working with Landis+Gyr for 30 years. What has Tadiran contributed to this successful working relationship?

Shapira: During the mid 1980s and beginning 1990s, Tadiran invested in the development and qualification of a battery with extended operating life ideally suited for the British gas meter market. This included not only high end testing technologies such as the so-called micro calorimetry. It was also necessary to have the endurance to confirm the results by real life testing. Today, Tadiran is able to answer questions referring to batteries powering one and the same gas meter for more than 15 years, not only based on prediction and extrapolation but on real life. Tadiran has continuously been monitoring the various developments of gas meters developed by Landis+Gyr over the years and understands the technical needs of the power source of the meter. Therefore, Tadiran is able to provide the best solution in each step and for each model. In addition Tadiran is supporting the on time deliveries to Landis+Gyr and is open for new requirements either related to research and development or to logistics.

mum: The UK Smart Metering programme is forecasted to increase the demand for products. What is Tadiran doing in this respect?

Shapira: Tadiran is gradually and continuously increasing its production line capacities according to forecasted market demand. Tadiran is collecting information from major loyal customers like Landis+Gyr and others in this market segment. At this point in time, Tadiran has over capacities compared to battery quantities needed in this market.

mum: Tadirans PulsesPlus battery has played a major role in the development of Smart Meters. Why is this technology the best solution?

More and more countries in Europe are now planning smart meter roll-outs. Batteries play an important role, especially as a power supply for the communication module but also to power the meter circuit in ultrasonic gas meters. As more and more competitors enter the market, Tadiran continuously improves its technology and expands its lead in the market. Dr. Dan Shapira, Applications and Business Development Manager of Tadiran Batteries Ltd., answered MUMs questions.

Shapira: The PulsesPlus technology was developed following many years continuously monitoring the requirements of this market segment and understanding the specific requirements of the smart metering industry. At the moment, most of the large manufacturers of smart meters are implementing the PulsesPlus technology as part of their power sources. Even small manufacturers of smart meters are now approaching Tadiran for this technology. All other battery solutions offered for smart meters are inferior in performance and endurance compared to the PulsesPlus technology.

mum: How can Tadiran, during the design stage, predict a service life of 15 or 20 years?

Shapira: Tadirans predictions are based on laboratory tests leading to an extensive data base which is continuously updated. Tadiran also has access to more than 30 years of field experience in the market.

mum: How does Tadiran ensure reliability and limit the failure rate?

Shapira: Tadiran has a control plan in place in the battery assembly which is based on a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). It includes worker self-inspection tests. Tadiran predicts the reliability of each battery based on the field reliability of the individual component cells. Tadirans shipment inspection includes screening each battery for voltage, both on open circuit and under load. Tadiran has also developed a method allowing for the assessment of self-discharge during shipment inspection of each battery cell.

mum: Technical support is a major factor in any design process. Is Tadiran investing in the required technical expertise required to maintain its position in the market place?

Shapira: Certainly. Tadiran assigns an applications manager for each market territory, who is supporting the sales force in the design-in of the batteries. This person is a qualified engineer with many years of experience in the battery technology. He is in close relations with the R&D group of the company.

mum: Transportation has and is becoming a critical factor for manufacturers. How can Tadiran assist manufacturers with this element of distribution?

Shapira: Tadiran is continuously monitoring transportation regulations for lithium batteries and provides the necessary solution for each customers requirements. The applications manager for the European market is trained as required for persons being responsible for dangerous goods transportation under regulations such as the ADR. Tadiran issues and regularly updates Technical Notices on the transport regulations for each transport mode, road, air and sea.

mum: Cost is always a major factor in an ever increasing competitive market. Is Tadiran aware of this and what is Tadiran doing to remain competitive?

Shapira: Tadiran has implemented a yearly program and target for cost reduction of purchased materials and increased production efficiency.



and recognises their best practices that are positioned for future growth excellence.

Landis+Gyr has been relentless in its pursuit of higher energy management goals through constant innovations in AMI. It delivers cutting-edge solutions to not just utilities, but also energy consumers all over the world.

Landis+Gyr has been highly successful in

helping utilities improve the efficiency of their energy networks, reduce energy costs, aid in the sustainable use of resources and ultimately, realise the full potential of the smart grid. It has a comprehensive product portfolio, which is among the largest in the industry, and provides solutions that address current and future AMI needs. A case in point is its Gridstream

Landis+Gyr


solution, which is a modular, end-to-end smart grid solution that combines metering, communications, network management, software, grid and consumer applications, and professional services in a single secure and integrated platform.

In addition to its organic growth, Landis+Gyr has also been creating ripples in the mergers and acquisitions space. Soon after Bayard Capital purchased the company in 2004, Landis+Gyr made 14 different investments in the utility sector, channelling more than $1.2 billion in capital to grow beyond the confines of a pure metering company into the networking and communications space. These technologies and capability propelled the company to the top spot in the AMI market, and under Toshibas ownership since 2011 Landis+Gyr has remained active in acquiring complementary know-how.

Significantly, in 2014, Landis+Gyr acquired PowerSense, a smart grid technology company, and GRIDiant, a company that specialises in grid connectivity technologies, said Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst Gautham Gnanajothi. The integration of industry-leading connectivity models of GRIDiant; high-quality supervision and control systems, and the optical sensor technologies of PowerSense; along with the existing portfolio of Landis+Gyr

is expected to result in groundbreaking next-generation products.

The companys success and resonance with customers can be attributed to its unique two-pronged approach to innovation. The first is innovation in its standard product offering, and the second is innovation in customised and tailored solutions. This method helps it achieve a balance between market requirements and customer requirements regarding innovation.

Landis+Gyr presents top-notch value to customers by enabling superior price-performance ratio, meter quality, network capability and attributes, operational capability of the vendor, and security. By focusing on innovation in all business fields, it ensures interoperability along the value chain. It has the industrys largest installed meter base of 300+ million devices, deployed approximately 49 million fixed network advanced meters, and provided managed services for 14 million endpoints.

Landis+Gyr delivers an industry-leading ownership experience, starting with research and product development excellence all the way through to high-quality after-sales service and effective maintenance and operation, noted Gautham. It partners with the worlds best suppliers to optimise value for its customers, fostering a collaborative, innovative,

Landis+Gyr

Landis+Gyr delivers an industry-leading ownership experience, starting with research and product development excellence all the way through to high-quality after-sales service and effective maintenance and operation


and sustainable procurement process.In 2013, Landis+Gyr retained leadership of

the global market (excluding China) with a 44 per cent share, which is an increase of 11 per cent on 2012, and more than five times the share of its closest competitor. The success of its solutions and services has earned it a reputation for technology excellence, innovation, and customer focus.

The Frost & Sullivan report highlighted Landis+Gyrs Gridstream solution, and the same day that the award was announced also saw the announcment of the commercial availability of a new product from Landis+Gyr the S610 Line Sensor for the Gridstream RF network.

The S610 Line Sensor is an intelligent fault circuit indicator that further extends the distribution monitoring capabilities of the Gridstream network. It delivers fault location and accurate load logging from any point on the distribution network, improving visibility of distribution grid performance. Additionally, the device is a power-harvesting sensor that generates necessary power from the current flowing in the distribution line making installation simpler and less expensive than traditional devices

The S610 was designed to be easy to deploy and maintain, while providing fault analysis at the point of installation, said Kent Hedrick, director of grid management solutions at Landis+Gyr. The intelligent radio in the device reports fault-specific alerts that enable a utility to pinpoint location and analyse cause resulting in faster outage restoration. This makes the sensor a useful addition to the other grid management tools supported by Gridstream.

In addition to sensing current, conductor temperature and voltage characteristics, the S610 also feature GPS location identification and a precision clock. Since it attaches directly to the distribution line and can be installed with a hot stick, the sensor requires no secondary attachment or power source. A super capacitor in the sensor allows operation during periods of very low current flow in the line and can quickly recharge when current increases.

Landis+Gyr partnered with Sentient Energy to develop the product for the Gridstream network.

In addition to the Gridstream Meter Data Management System, Landis+Gyr has a long history of hosting metering data for utility customers and continues to expand its cloud

Morgan Advanced Materials have been a key supplier for Landis and Gyr for over 15 years.Morgans expertise includes: Piezo ceramic components Full ultrasonic sensor and transducer assemblies Custom and unique solutionsAt Morgan, we understand the quality and consistency is key which is why we have a dedicated engineering team, just for flow sensors.Morgan Advanced Materials specialises in ultrasonic technology, producing piezo ceramic as well as top quality sensor assemblies.

morgan advanced materials


service offering with smart grid software applications. The company recently announced the addition of advanced grid analytics to its software as a service (SaaS) offerings, enabling utilities to access a variety of useful analytical tools from a secure, hosted environment.

Landis+Gyrs advanced analytics package provides visualisation, planning and grid management capabilities using near real-time metering and grid sensor data. Utilities can now choose a number of deployment and support options to begin using analytics applications for revenue protection, asset management, optimisation of renewable integration and improving reliability and power quality.

Landis+Gyrs proven grid analytics software engine provides for a flexible delivery model that gives utilities options for addressing resource challenges or IT infrastructure needs, said Gina Garner, senior director of analytics and strategy at Landis+Gyr. Utilities can choose self-directed, hosted or consultative support. Our people provide the processes, tools and expertise from installation to data integration.

Advanced analytics help utilities correlate data collected from the smart grid network with other enterprise data to improve asset management and efficiency, streamline operations as well as facilitate a more rapid decision making process. Mapping and visualisation tools enhance usability.

Hosting analytics through our cloud services allows the utility to offload the IT burden of infrastructure acquisition, management and MongoDB database support to our network

operations centre, Garner said. For many utilities, this allows faster delivery of the solution to engineering and operations personnel which improves return on investment. uwww.landisgyr.com

Landis+Gyr

www.modernutilitymangement.co.uk

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