Low carbon infrastructure solutions

Our inquiry has identified a wide range of infrastructure solutions that could be delivered at the scale required in the short, medium and long-term. It was clear that in many areas of infrastructure development, the UK lacks public, political and professional consensus on relative priorities and their effectiveness in abating emissions

There is also ongoing debate, particularly in the energy sector, about the best balance between larger, centralised infrastructure and smaller, decentralised solutions.

Our evidence also highlighted many instances where, to be fully effective, infrastructure solutions need to be accompanied by changes in areas such as policy, technology, finance and demand management.

A summary of infrastructure options in the short, medium and long-term is set out on these pages. Longer summaries of evidence submitted to ICE are available online.

In addition, we identified fo ur overarching findings:

• Across all infrastructure networks increased efficiency is vital. This should encompass demand management via measures such as water metering or road user charging. Efficiency improvements on both the supply and demand sides will also be required, for example by increasing heat capture from electricity generation and thermal treatment of waste.
• Many of the low carbon technologies we need to substantially reduce our CO2 emissions already exist but are being constrained by unfavourable conditions for their delivery. So although research and development into new technologies will be vital to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050, for at least the next decade the UK must make a concerted effort to roll out known technologies that are commercially viable at scale.
• Technologies which appear expensive today need not be so over the longerterm, if foreseeable increases in the cost of carbon emissions and their wider economic benefit are taken into account.
• Carbon abatement on a standard measure must become a key determinant of the appraisal of infrastructure options.

Short term

Onshore and offshore wind can and must be implemented now. These solutions are more advanced and cost-effective than others. But full implementation of the Planning Act 2008 reforms must take place as soon as possible to speed up the delivery of essential additional wind farms to ensure the UK hits its renewable energy targets by 2020.

The energy grid must be upgraded with additional transmission capacity to support large new renewables not served by the current grid. The feed-in-tariff and connection of available micro-generation solutions, such as solar panels and microwind turbines, should be introduced. Power needs to be able to flow from the grid to households and vice-versa to support individual energy production.

A supergrid across Europe is already being developed by some countries. There needs to be cross-border legal and technical agreements to expand these early initiatives across Europe and beyond to provide increased balancing of electricity demand and supply as well as access to lower carbon sources.

In some locations combined heat and power (CHP) plants ensure maximum efficiency from electricity generation by capturing and using waste heat. The most efficient method of heat capture is decentralised CHP and district heating because the heat only has a short distance to travel, thus reducing transmission loss. With many thermal power stations nearing the end of their life, there is an opportunity now to build new CHP plants, downsize and relocate existing power plants and create district heating networks.

Electrification of the rail network would reduce the carbon impact of our railways by eliminating diesel engines. Electric trains emit 20-35% less carbon than diesel locomotives¹. For rail electrification to achieve its potential, full decarbonisation of the electricity generation sector must start as soon as possible.

Medium term

Some infrastructure will take time to reach planning consent (eg nuclear), secure finance (eg tidal barrages) and be technologically proven (eg carbon capture and storage).

The next generation of nuclear power stations will provide a vital long-term, secure and low carbon source of baseload power. The government must remove regulatory barriers and provide long-term certainty.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has the potential to keep the UK and the world´s abundant supply of coal in the energy mix. But we need financial, regulatory, and legislative changes — along with successful demonstration — before it can be implemented on a commercial scale.

Wave and tidal power have significant potential in the UK, but are at an early stage of development. There have been some operational applications in other parts of the world, in Norway, Australia and France. But they are still relatively expensive, are yet to be fully commercialised at scale and do not operate for extended periods to establish performances and rates of return on investments. Greater investment and technological development is needed in the short-term. The proposed Severn Tidal Power Scheme could provide up to 5% of total UK
electricity generation². Current accounting practice makes this scheme appear expensive. Yet at different discount rates which allow for the power to be generated over 100 years to be considered, the cost becomes very low.

Heat pumps have great potential to reduce emissions from heat production, since the net carbon emissions of heat pumps are lower than gas fired boilers. Government can help lower their relatively high purchase costs and expand the UK´s manufacturing capacity to allow widespread use of heat pumps to become a reality.

Plants that produce energy from waste can unlock the value hidden in the waste we cannot recycle or reuse. An ICE-commissioned study in 2005 showed that energy from residual waste could contribute around 10% of the UK´s energy demand³. There are lingering barriers within the planning process and securing acceptance of the need for energy from waste plants must be resolved to allow biomass to contribute its full potential.

Conventional electric or high-speed rail can provide a significantly lower-carbon alternative to short-haul and domestic flights. It could also reduce the number of car journeys between urban areas. Government support, passage through the cumbersome planning process and the right financial mechanisms are all essential if high-speed rail is to play its part in a low carbon economy.

Assuming lower carbon vehicles become the norm, a charging grid for the whole country will be needed in the medium and longerterm.
But similar to the electrification of the rail network, full decarbonisation of the electricity generation sector must commence for a charging grid to contribute its full potential.

Long term

In the longer-term, large-scale solar farms and technologies such as nuclear fusion have the potential to provide a sustainable long term solution to the world´s need for secure base-load electricity – offering abundant, low cost, zero emission and low waste energy.

For instance, at present fusion remains a laboratory technology because the amount of energy required to put into fusion outweighs the
yield. Further research, financial and government support must be continued in the short and mediumterms. Equally, engagement between fusions scientists and the engineering community is essential now so that fusion can advance from simply being a scientific development to an infrastructure reality.

1 Department of Energy and Climate Change (2009) The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan: National Strategy for Climate Change. TSO, London
2 Department of Energy and Climate Change (2009) The UK Low carbon Transition Plan: National Strategy for Climate Change. TSO, London.
3 ICE (2005) Quantification of the Potential Energy from Residuals (EfR) in the UK. Institution of Civil Engineers, London