Energy & Environmental Technologies
Energy & Environmental Technologies is one of the
Northwest’s key business
sectors. The sector covers a number of energy
generation sub sectors - renewables, nuclear, conventional fossil,
distribution and use - as well as waste management and recycling,
and water treatment and supply.
The Northwest will not successfully adapt to climate change and mitigate
further damage to the planet without focusing on the need to use
low carbon sources of energy. Currently, over 40% of the UK’s
carbon dioxide emissions come from energy usage. Both renewables
and nuclear are low carbon energy sources.
Nuclear - which is the biggest sub-sector of Energy &
Environmental Technologies - employs 25,000 people in the region,
with seven nuclear sites and over 300 companies in the supply
chain. The Northwest nuclear sector has technological expertise in
engineering, generation, decommissioning and environmental
remediation.
Nuclear power plays a key role in UK Government energy policy,
and companies in the region will be playing a pivotal role in the
design, construction and operation of new nuclear power plants.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which was established by
the Government and is based in the Northwest, is responsible for
the decommissioning of the UK’s publicly-owned civil nuclear
liabilities. This work - which is open to competition - offers
economic and investment potential for the global supply chain.
Renewables - such as wind energy, tidal energy, biomass and
biofuels - are key low carbon energy sources in the region. The
renewable energy sector in the Northwest supplies parts,
components, products and services across the range of renewable
energy technologies.
Nuclear and Renewables are two of the sub-sectors within Energy
& Environmental Technologies. Work funded by the NWDA focuses
on several key sub-sectors where particular strengths within the
Northwest have been identified: Biomass; Energy
Management/Efficiency; Remediation & Reclamation of Land;
Renewable Energy; Waste Management; Recycling & Recovery; and
Water and Wastewater Treatment.
Business Support, Innovation and R&D
The NWDA supports innovation and research & development with
the Northwest’s Energy & Environmental Technologies sector as
well as supporting businesses within the sector:
Northwest Energy Council
The Northwest Energy Council is a high level strategic advisory
body to the NWDA. The Council undertakes scoping
studies to assess future regional risks, opportunities and
priorities of a range of energy technologies and provides advice
and support for regional energy infrastructure development.
Energy Innovation Centre
The Energy Innovation Centre - which is funded by the NWDA and
the private sector - attracts innovative research, development and
commercialisation activity to the Northwest in order to build a
global reputation in the field of electricity transmission and
distribution.
Through research and industry consultations, the Centre
identifies product and service ideas with commercial potential. It
provides start-up business development and technical support to
businesses seeking to introduce products and services as well as
providing incubation space, comprising a mix of laboratory and
testing facilities to assist the development of products and
services.
The Centre also assists access to the Investment Forum -
supported by five private electrical utilities companies - which
can provide financial support for the further development of new
product and service ideas.
The project is targeted to bring £3 million of research spending
to the region, create incubation space, create 18 new businesses
and 60 new jobs by 2013. European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) support to the
project will create up to 12 new businesses and attract £1.5
million more in investment and research funding and create 40 new
jobs by 2011.
Joule Centre
The Joule Centre - which is funded by the NWDA - helps develop
the Northwest energy cluster, which employs 53,000 people and has a
combined annual turnover of £5 billion.
The Centre delivers multi-disciplinary energy research to
support the work of the Northwest Energy
Council as well as encouraging interdisciplinary
energy research in the region across the public and private
sectors.
It assists the region’s participation in UK, EU and
international research funding programmes and helps expand the
region’s research capacity in the key disciplines and skills that
are needed to deliver the research programme.
Envirolink Northwest
The Environmental Technologies sector is supported by business
cluster Envirolink Northwest. Funded by Government, local
authorities, industry and the NWDA, the not-for-profit organisation
supports the development and growth of the sector and works to:
increase the levels of technology transfer and innovation within
the sector; increase the level of knowledge and skills in the
current and future sector workforce; and promote the sector in
regional, national and international markets.
Environmental Technologies Academic Network
The Environmental Technologies Academic Network is a group of
leading environmental academics from the region’s universities,
which is supported by Envirolink Northwest. The Academic Network
helps Northwest businesses access the expertise of the region’s
universities.
In partnership with the Northwest Universities Association,
Envirolink Northwest has produced
Environmental Capabilities in England’s
Northwest - a guide for the region’s businesses
to inform them of what university-based environmental technology
expertise is available in the Northwest.
Northwest Waste Technology Virtual Centre of Excellence II
The Northwest Waste Technology Virtual Centre of Excellence II
project is hosted by Envirolink Northwest. The project coordinates
and delivers activities to support development of the waste
management, recycling and technology industries within the
Northwest.
The programme aims to provide technical support to the region’s
recycling and waste sectors. Support is provided through provision
of technical advice, partnership working and referrals
Following on from the first phase of the project, which was
completed in March 2009, this second phase is running from 2009
until 2012.
Northwest Biomass Programme
The Northwest Biomass Programme is being run by Envirolink
Northwest. Despite the focus on wind and solar power, biomass is
still the major source of renewable energy in the UK. The £750,000
Northwest Biomass Programme plans to promote the efficient use of
biomass for energy, by encouraging the early deployment of biomass
fuelled heat and biomass combined heat and power (CHP)
projects.
The programme - which is hosted by Envirolink Northwest and
funded by the NWDA - aims to: increase the uptake of biomass energy
systems by the region’s industries; strengthen the biomass supply
chain in the region.
Low Carbon Market Development Programme
Run by Envirolink Northwest and funded by the NWDA, the Low
Carbon Market Development Programme is increasing the market for
renewable energy in the region and helping grow renewable energy
companies within the environmental technologies sector. The
Programme is looking to expand market opportunities giving advocacy
and research support for low carbon technology projects that
could increase demand.
The Programme also offers specialist planning process support
and grid connection technical support. It also offers financial
advice, including: establishing and partnering with Energy Service
Companies; innovative funding models; and signposting existing
funding programmes.
The low carbon technologies which will be developed include:
onshore/offshore wind; microgeneration; small scale renewables; and
energy from waste.
Environmental Advice Service
The Business Link Northwest environmental advice service is
called Improving Your Resource Efficiency. The service is free and
confidential, and connects the region’s businesses to a whole range
of resource efficiency support, making accessing the right kind of
support simple.
The support offered can: reduce energy, waste, water and
material costs; cut carbon emissions; access new technologies;
increase productivity; increase access supply chains and new
markets; aid eco-innovative design; enhance corporate image; reduce
the impact of your product and processes; and reduce the impact of
construction.
Lancaster Environment Centre
The Lancaster Environment Centre, based at Lancaster University,
allows cross-disciplinary research teams to work together to
address 21st century environmental challenges, including those
related to environmental change and sustainable water and energy
resource.
A recent expansion of the centre was funded by a combined
investment from the NWDA and the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) of £3.5 million
in addition to University funding.
Sector Skills Councils
The NWDA works in partnership with Summit
Skills, Cogent and
Energy & Utility
Skills Sector Skills Councils to ensure the Northwest
benefits from low carbon technology.
Summit Skills - the Sector Skills Council for Building Services
Engineering, Cogent - the Sector Skills Council for Science Based
Industries (including nuclear), and Energy & Utility Skills -
the Sector Skills Council for the gas, power, waste management and
water industries - give employers the opportunity to influence the
strategic planning of skills and education.
Grant for Research & Development
The Grant for Research & Development assists businesses
introducing innovative products and processes. The NWDA has made an
additional £2.2 million funding available to extend the grant’s
remit to cover the development of low carbon technologies
The Grant for Research & Development is funded by the NWDA
and available through Business Link
Northwest. The grant covers 35% to 60% of the project
costs up to £500,000.
Energus: National Skills Academy for Nuclear
The Energus Centre is the delivery arm for National Skills
Academy for Nuclear and an integral part of the University of
Cumbria's Energy Coast campus.
Funded by the NWDA, the National Skills Academy for Nuclear is
the leading body for an employer-led strategy to develop a
standardised and coordinated approach to education, training and
skills in the nuclear sector. It includes the entire nuclear sector
(excluding health), from power generation, decommissioning, cleanup
and waste management, to fuel processing, defence and new
build.
Energus is a company limited by guarantee and overseen by a
partnership between the NWDA, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority,
West Lakes Renaissance and Sellafield Ltd. Additional
representatives from local industry make up its board of
directors.
Dalton Nuclear Institute
The Dalton Nuclear Institute is fast becoming a world leading
centre of nuclear research and education. The Institute is growing
the region’s nuclear expertise base, paving the way for greater
supply-chain collaboration in both decommissioning and the design
and construction of new nuclear power stations.
The Institute is currently establishing the Centre in Nuclear
Energy Technology (CNET), with an anticipated investment of £25
million over the next five years, including £4 million from the
Northwest Science Council.
Tidal Energy
A study by Liverpool University and the Proudman Oceanographic
Laboratory, which was funded by the NWDA through the Joule Centre, found that
tidal energy from the region’s estuaries could be capable of
meeting approximately half of the region’s electricity needs.
The Northwest Tidal Energy Group brings together both supporters
and developers of the region’s proposed tidal energy schemes. The
aim of the group is to share best practice, provide a forum for
discussions with key stakeholders, and raise the national profile
of the Northwest as a location for tidal energy.
The NWDA is supporting a feasibility study on harnessing tidal
energy from the Mersey estuary, which is being carried out by Peel
Energy Holdings. The aim of the study is to identify a single
preferred tidal power scheme which stands the greatest chance of:
being granted the necessary consents and licences; and being
supported by appropriate funding bodies.
The timescale for the study is to have achieved a preferred
option by the end of 2010, with a view to submitting relevant
planning applications by the end of 2011, and commissioning of the
scheme by 2020. The feasibility study builds on the Mersey Tidal
Power Study - jointly funded by the NWDA and Peel Energy Holdings -
which was completed in June 2007.
In conjunction with Scottish Enterprise and the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority, the NWDA has commissioned a consortium
led by the Halcrow Group Limited to carry out a feasibility study
on harnessing tidal energy from the Solway Firth, known as the
Solway Energy Gateway.
The study will investigate whether a tidal range barrage along
the route of a former rail viaduct between Bowness and Annan -
which crosses the Firth at its narrowest point - is feasible as a
significant energy resource.
Northern Wind Innovation Programme
Through The Northern
Way, the NWDA is funding the Northern Wind Innovation
Programme, which will bring industrial and technological capacity
for Offshore Wind energy from across the North of England together.
The North of England holds a strong position in the sector with
world-class research facilities, industry expertise in heavy
manufacturing and strong engineering capability in offshore and
power engineering.
The programme will:
- Drive innovation in the offshore wind sector
- Increase knowledge transfer between academia and industry
- Enable northern companies to realise offshore wind
opportunities
- Enhance the reputation of the North of England as an
international centre for wind technology research and
development
Carbon Abatement Technologies
Carbon abatement technologies enable large fossil-fuel power
plants and carbon dioxide-intensive industries to operate with
substantially reduced carbon dioxide emissions. As well as being
part of the solution to climate change, they make a major
contribution to the UK economy and security of energy supply.
The Northwest has an energy-intensive economy, but the region
also strengths in many of the industries with the potential to
diversify into the development and supply of carbon abatement
technologies.
Working with regional partners, the NWDA in investigating the
potential threats and opportunities to the regional economy from
the development of carbon abatement technologies, including carbon
capture and storage.
Carbon capture and storage involves the capture of carbon
dioxide from a large-scale stationary power source or industrial
emission process, its transportation via pipeline or ship and
injection into suitable underground geological layers.
Building
a Low-Carbon Economy: The UK’s Contribution to Tackling Climate
Change states the use of carbon capture & storage
at fossil fuel electricity plants is highly likely to be a
necessary element of the global abatement strategy, but that urgent
action is needed to demonstrate and prove the technology at
production scale.
Through The Northern Way, the NWDA has commissioned a report
looking at: the potential for deployment of carbon capture &
storage in the North of England; the potential of carbon capture
& storage deployment to contribute to economic development in
the North of England; and the resulting global supply chain
opportunities of carbon capture & storage to contribute to the
GVA of the North of England.
Working with the Government and TSB, The Northern Way is
supporting a £15 million collaborative national investment. The
project, which is currently out to tender, will:
- Enable companies and universities to gain "first-mover"
advantage and develop their expertise and knowledge in these
emerging technologies
- Position companies to prepare for the recovery and diversify
into emerging, growing markets
- Create a strategic partnership between the Government, TSB and
the North of England, enabling a strong Northern voice on a key
national initiative
- Demonstrate leadership of the North in delivering a low carbon
economy
New Nuclear Build
The Government is establishing a National Nuclear Laboratory in
Cumbria. The NWDA lobbied for the Laboratory, which will be an
international centre of excellence in nuclear research and
development. The Laboratory will play a vital role in cleaning up
the UK's nuclear waste legacy and contribute to the programme of
nuclear new build - which is part of the Britain’s Energy
Coast™ masterplan.
The publication in January 2008 of the Government’s White Paper,
Meeting the
Energy Challenge, stated that a new generation of
nuclear power stations were an essential component of the UK
meeting its climate change goals.
In 2010, the Government will publish a National Policy Statement
on nuclear power. The National Policy Statement is expected to
identify preferred locations for these new nuclear power stations.
The sites will be chosen from the 11 nominated sites as identified
in the Strategic Siting Assessment process, four of which are in
the Northwest (Heysham, Braystones, Kirksanton and Sellafield).
The Nuclear Industry Association’s Nuclear Supply Chain
Development Programme - called SC@nuclear - was launched in March
2009 to strengthen and promote the capability of the UK supply
chain so that UK companies are able to play a full role in future
nuclear development at home and overseas. The NWDA is a member of
the Nuclear
Industry Association.