Volume 54 | Issue 5 | May 2016
Hydrogen gas could be in UK homes within 10 years Gas distributor Northern Gas Networks has revealed plans to convert the gas network serving the city of Leeds from natural gas to ‘green’ hydrogen gas within the next 10 to 15 years. Hydrogen gas could be used to provide heating in UK homes if plans to convert the gas network in the Leeds area prove successful. Northern Gas Networks (NGN), which is responsible for distributing gas across northern England, has received funding from energy regulator Ofgem to develop the idea. It is hoped that Leeds could be fully converted by 2025-2030 and that the model could then be replicated in other parts of the country. Hydrogen is more environmentally-friendly than natural gas because it produces only water and heat when burnt. NGN says that it is working to build a series of plants around the city that would take methane from the national gas grid and convert it into hydrogen by removing the carbon. The carbon would then be disposed of using carbon capture and storage technology. A new supply network would need to be constructed because the UK’s high-pressure gas distribution pipes are made of steel,
Leeds could be the UK’s first ‘hydrogen city’
which is thought to be unsuitable to transport hydrogen. However, this isn’t considered a major obstacle because old metal pipes are already being replaced by polyethylene and such an overhaul has happened before when the network was converted from town gas following the discovery of North Sea reserves. Switching to hydrogen would require changes to heating and cooking appliances as well as the gas network, mainly because the combustion velocity is higher for hydrogen
than for natural gas. Hydrogen ignites more quickly, so modifications to spark ignition and burner heads would be needed. A key driver of the project is the Climate Change Act which requires the Government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by 80%, relative to 1990 levels. Many argue that the use of ‘green’ gas is a relatively cost-effective way to achieve this target. Speaking after a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Energy Studies, Mike Foster, CEO of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, said: “The group were fascinated by the very real potential offered by hydrogen. We all know that decarbonising heat is tricky, but necessary if we are to meet our climate change obligations, and gas has a critical role to play in the process. The gas grid currently delivers gas into the homes of over 84% of the UK population and there is little appetite to simply abandon gas and start again with a new system, not to mention the costs involved.”
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On the ball
Guilty of fraudulent gas safety checks A businessman operating in Cornwall has been found guilty of illegally performing annual gas safety checks at tenanted properties despite not being a registered gas engineer. Sven Biesterfeldt, aged 41, who uses a number of other names including Tom Williams, potentially put tenant’s lives at risk by carrying out the safety checks and fraudulently filled out a landlord’s gas safety document using another company's Gas Safe Register number in May 2014. He was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at Bodmin Magistrates Court after his work was investigated following a complaint from a landlord. The court heard that Mr Biesterfeldt used
the Gas Safe Register logo on his work vehicle and also told the landlord that he was a member of Gas Safe Register and could carry out the gas safety checks at the landlord’s tenanted property in Troon, near Camborne. The landlord became suspicious when he checked on the Gas Safe Register number that Mr Biesterfeldt had used on the safety certificate that he produced and discovered that it was for a company in Essex. Sven Biesterfeldt pleaded guilty to two breaches of gas safety legislation and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for one year, and ordered to undertake 180 hours unpaid community work. He was also disqualified from being a company director for three
years and ordered to pay £4000 in costs. HSE Inspector Simon Jones, speaking after the hearing, said: “Mr Biesterfeldt should never have carried out gas safety checks and compounded this by fraudulently using the Gas Safe Register logo on his work vehicle and by using a properly Gas Safe registered company’s details on safety documents he produced. This was a calculated and deliberate attempt to deceive the public into believing he was competent and registered to undertake gaswork and this could not be further from the truth. “Mr Biesterfeldt put the lives of tenants at risk as he has no training or skills when it comes to gas safety and essential gas safety checks.”
If you've given up on dreams of becoming a professional footballer, then it could be time to rekindle them! Fiat Professional, official partner of the The Football League, has launched the Fiat Professional Tradesman Trials where the winner will receive a £2000 prize and a one month trial with a football league club. Geoff Horsfield (builder), Dean Windass (hod carrier) and Stuart Pearce (electrician) – pictured above – are just three former tradesmen who have previously hit the big time. If you think you have what it takes, then you have until 12th June to showcase your skills by submitting a video to www.tradesmantrials.co.uk
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