Conrad Energy

Last week, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC), published their new report addressing “Rapid decarbonisation of the GB electricity system”.   They stressed the need for focus, such as that given to the vaccines task force, in driving the major infrastructure and system transformation that is intrinsic to reaching the government’s 2030 clean energy goals. Transmission timelines and planning, grid connection queue delays and supply chain constraints were all highlighted as priorities.     The report also looked at changes to a future energy system beyond 2030, that requires action this decade, including expanding carbon capture and storage projects and achieving progress on hydrogen transmission.   Conrad Energy is proud to be a part of that solution, investing in batteries and exploring the opportunities offered by hydrogen. The full report can be found at https://lnkd.in/eSiVxujn #energy #decarbonisation #energytransition

Philip Silk, Conrad Energy’s Development Director, has contributed an article to Energy Intelligence. In the article entitled “Collaboration Required for UK Grid Transition Challenges”, he discusses the backlog in connections across both transmission and distribution, which is expected to exceed 800GW by the end of this year. To put that figure into context, that is more than four times as much as the installed capacity that the National Grid ESO expects to need by 2050. Whilst that might possibly sound like a good problem to have, the queue is actually clogged by “zombie” projects. Phil looks at how they may be identified and removed from the queue to expedite connection times for viable projects. To find out more about the proposed TM04 process and how it may help, have a read of Phil’s article in Energy Intelligence https://lnkd.in/etihFARx. #energy #energytransition #gridconnection

This is great news! Happy to be able to support the national grid.

The organisers of the Paris Olympics have vowed they will be the “greenest ever Games”, aiming to halve the carbon footprint of London 2012 and Rio 2016 from their average of 3.5m tonnes of CO2 to about 1.75m tonnes. This is partly being delivered through their decision to avoid building lots of new venues.  Only one new competition venue, the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, is being built for the 2024 Olympic Games. It is solar-powered, uses natural bio-based building materials and is fitted out with recycled materials.  The athletes’ village has been built to a low carbon specification and has dispensed with the air conditioning that so many of the athletes depended upon in Tokyo.  Long term strategies are being implemented, with the athletes village destined to be low carbon residential, with around a third ringfenced for social housing. The venues are to run on 100% renewable energy.  Whilst some venues including the Place de la Concorde where crowds will gather for skateboarding and BMW Freestyle are open air, others have useful roofs.  The Stade de France, Roland-Garros and Parc des Princes have solar panels.  Marseille’s Orange Velodrome is the largest 100% LED stadium in France. The shift towards sustainability in sport has been marked in recent years, with venues going far beyond the obvious energy efficiency measures to save money.  The Paris Olympic committee are expected to link up a 60km network of cycle paths between all the venues, with 10,000 bicycle parking spaces.  The best way to facilitate a change is, of course, to make it easier. Conrad Energy aim to make shifting to renewable energy easier for our clients by fully funding their solutions, completely removing the capital funding hurdle.  This was crucial for one of our clients, Riversmeet Leisure Centre, who had done a phenomenal job with their holistic sustainability and decarbonisation upgrades but found themselves vulnerable to fluctuations in the electricity market.  We funded the addition of solar panels on the roof of the leisure centre and competitively fixed the price of their electricity supply. Having energy and price security for the long term enables them to keep providing award winning sport and leisure facilities for their community. #sport #leisure #olympics2024 #sustainability #decarbonisation

The UK is one of the most heavily invested countries in wind power, both off and on shore. Wind comes and goes and is difficult to predict, so creates issues with both intermittency and inertia. National Grid ESO uses flexible power as a solution to address this.    Steven Hardman, Conrad Energy’s CEO, has taken a look at how other countries are learning from the UK’s grid management practices in @The Energy Industry Times. His article “Watching and learning: how the UK is teaching others how to upgrade the grid” goes into greater depth about how we are leading the way in this vital element of the energy transition. You can read the article here: https://lnkd.in/em-Qtz5A #renewableenergy #energytransition #grid

From the team at Conrad Energy to all the athletes who took on one of the challenges at the Conrad Energy Felixstowe Triathlon, whether it was one leg of a sprint relay, or the individual full tri, a huge well done.   Thanks also to the team of organisers and their amazing volunteers – over a hundred of them!    #triathlon #athletics #felixstowe

Rhys Kirk, Conrad Energy’s Chief Technology Officer, has recently written an article for ESG Investor magazine entitled “Why the energy sector is now a leading industry for digitisation”.   In it, he credits the role of renewable energy in driving the technical modernisation of how the energy industry operates. Change was required in order to integrate these new inputs to the grid. Through a combination of desire and necessity, the energy industry has started leading from the front when adopting new technologies. This move has created new investment opportunities, as well as greater value for asset owners and energy users alike.   His thought-provoking article is available to read here https://lnkd.in/eKE_yuNy.   #digital #energy #renewableenergy #assetoptimisation #technology

The King’s Speech last week reinforced the new government’s manifesto pledges around planning reform, with a view to accelerating the “delivery of high-quality infrastructure and housing”. Conrad Energy is keen to see how that reform will be rolled out and to understand how it will impact our current and future generation and storage projects as they move through the planning system. His Majesty also touched on “the global climate challenge”, the government’s commitment to the energy transition and to the setting up of Great British Energy, “a publicly owned clean power company”. Whilst no specific mention was made of solar or batteries, His Majesty did mention expediting investment in “renewable energy, such as offshore wind”. He also went on to reference energy security through independence and unlocking investment in energy infrastructure. Conrad Energy welcomes the proactive tone of the government’s policies in relation to the energy transition and was pleased to see that reflected in the King’s Speech. #energy #renewables #energysecurity

The Conrad Energy Felixstowe Triathlon is this weekend, with registration and transition happening between 6 and 7.30 on Sunday morning. As very proud sponsors of the event, we’d like to wish all the competitors the best of luck as they swim, ride and run their way to the finish line! If you’re keen to spectate and cheer them along, please check out the course maps for where to grab your spot.  The Felixstowe event won the Triathlon England Large Event of the Year award in 2022 – will it win again this time? #triathlon #sport #felixstowe

Conrad Energy is #hiring. We’re looking for three operations engineers with experience of asset optimisation and extensive, hands-on experience of reciprocating gas generators, including extensive knowledge of maintenance and troubleshooting of assets. Our energy solutions directly address the energy trilemma (security, sustainability and affordability), facilitating the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy. Each of our projects deliver critical power and services to the National Grid as well as industrial and commercial customers. Our expertise, technology and flexibility play an important role in the UK achieving its ambitious net zero targets. Our new operations engineers will be responsible for safe and efficient operation and maintenance of the company’s flexible power generation plant and associated equipment. This will include health and safety, optimisation, reporting, management and supervision of external suppliers and contractors working on specific sites. The roles are around the following three areas: . Chelmsford, Southend-on-Sea, Sittingbourne/Chatham  . Oxfordshire, St Albans and Stevenage  . Peterborough, Milton Keynes and Lowestoft We offer a competitive salary and bonus scheme, pension, life insurance, private health, training, development and a dog friendly office. If this sounds like your next move, please check out the full job description on our website. Link in the comments. #recruiting #hiring #engineers #energy #energyjobs