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Top News from Electrical Review in 2022

Which stories have resonated most with readers on ElectricalReview.co.uk in 2022? We’ve rounded up our top 10 to celebrate our 150th Anniversary, with small snippets from these must-read stories. As always, you can read the full stories along with thousands of others on our website.

10

Moto Medway to receive 48 new EV chargers thanks to electrical upgrade

Moto Medway, a motorway service station situated along the M2 near Gillingham, is undergoing an electrical upgrade to make room for new EV charging stations.

UK Power Networks, the local electricity network operator, is upgrading power capacity for new EV charging infrastructure, including GRIDSERVE’s high-power chargers, at the motorway services near J4 of the M2 in Rainham, Kent, as part of its £66 million Green Recovery Fund.

The company is halfway through a project to install 4km of new electrical cabling from a nearby substation to EV charging points located in the car parks of the Moto Medway east and westbound motorway services. The work will enable the connection of a planned 48 new high-power charge-points (24 westbound and 24 eastbound) to support the growth in electric vehicles, reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.

The ‘green recovery’ investment is delivering low carbon energy projects that will help achieve the Government’s Ten Point Plan towards Net Zero by 2050.

A total of 86 schemes are being fast-tracked by the electricity company across a range of sites including electric vehicle charging hubs at motorway service stations, fleets of electric buses, community energy schemes and heat pumps.

9

Rolls-Royce begins search for new nuclear reactor factory

Rolls-Royce has begun its search for a location to build its new nuclear reactor factory, with the company inviting those with suitable sites to bid.

In November 2020, Rolls-Royce announced plans to construct a fleet of 16 small modular reactors (SMR) across the UK, which it noted at the time would help the country achieve its net zero goal by 2050 ‘without breaking the bank’. That’s because the smaller reactors are expected to cost significantly less than the large-scale nuclear power plants the UK Government has so far thrown its weight behind, like those at Sizewell C.

However, the UK Government clearly sees potential in these small reactors, with it awarding a consortium of firms led by Rolls-Royce with £210 million in funding to build the factory that will churn out these nuclear reactors.

While the Rolls-Royce-led consortium has yet to decide where to build its factory, it’s clearly eager to hear from site owners. Thus far it has written to the Scottish government and several regional bodies asking them to submit their proposals for the manufacturing site.

Read the full story at: bit.ly/ERsmrfactory

8

Sweden overtakes France as Europe’s biggest net power exporter

Sweden was the biggest net exporter of power in Europe during the first half of 2022, overtaking France, according to a new report from EnAppSys.

France has long been a major exporter of power in the European market, with a fleet of nuclear power stations generating a stable surplus of electricity. However, that’s beginning to change, with France shifting from a net exporter earlier in the year to a net importer.

This fall from grace for France has, ironically, been blamed on its nuclear power station fleet, which is beginning to show signs of age and unreliability. In fact, the country has found several structural problems at its nuclear power stations, which means it’s had to plug a significant gap in its electricity supply with power generated elsewhere.

With France unlikely to be able to fix its nuclear fleet anytime soon, it’s also unlikely to make it to the top of the net power exporter list anytime soon either. Instead, the top honour goes to Sweden, which exported a total of 16 TWh during the first half of 2022. Most of that power, 7 TWh and 4 TWh, went to neighbours Finland and Denmark, respectively.

7

Renewables met 100% of global electricity demand growth during the first half of 2022

There is a growing demand for electricity across the world, and in the first half of 2022, renewable energy was capable of meeting 100% of that increase.

As the world moves to electrify everything, whether it’s their means of transport or their heating, demand for electricity is growing at a rapid pace. In fact, according to the Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2022 from Ember, a global energy think tank, there was a 389 TWh increase in the demand for electricity in the first half of 2022 compared to the first half of 2021.

Thankfully, the growing demand for electricity isn’t putting an increasing amount of pressure on our fossil fuel generators, with the growth in renewable generation exceeding the growth in electricity demand.

In fact, according to Ember, while electricity demand increased 389 TWh, the onslaught of renewables coming online in the first half of 2022 meant that generation from solar, wind and hydroelectric grew 416 TWh.

Read the full story at: bit.ly/ER100renew

6

How the UK’s EV charging network could be about to explode

There are already more electric vehicle charging points than there are petrol stations, but it’s still not enough. That’s why the UK Government has announced major new investment to spur the development of even more chargers.

The UK Government has set a target of reaching 300,000 public electric vehicle chargepoints by 2030 – which it notes is equivalent to almost five times the number of fuel pumps currently on the road today. To reach that figure, however, the network will need to increase tenfold.

According to Zap-Map, on March 29 there were 30,345 individual electric vehicle chargers in 19,101 locations. That means almost an additional 270,000 chargers will need to be installed between now and January 1, 2030, which is just 93 short months away.

With just 730 public chargers installed in the last 30 days, at the current pace it will take 346 months to reach the 270,000 additional chargers required – blowing past the Government’s target and landing us in 2050, ironically the target the UK has set for net zero.

In fact, to meet the 2030 goal, nearly 3,000 electric vehicle chargepoints are going to need to be installed between now and 2030. That’s equivalent to the total number of chargers currently installed in Scotland, installed every single month.

5

Legrand acquires UK-based UPS specialist Power Control

Legrand has announced the acquisition of Power Control Ltd, a UK-based specialist in uninterruptible power supplies.

Both Legrand and Power Control have had a close working relationship since 2019, when the two firms announced a strategic partnership. That saw Power Control become the first to offer Legrand’s Trimod HE, Trimod MCS and Keor MOD modular three-phase UPS ranges in the UK.

However, while the partnership was seen as an opportunity for Legrand to bring its UPS technology to the UK, the company is now embarking upon a mission to grow its market share. It believes that an acquisition of Power Control, which already has a strong foundation within the UK UPS market, will help it achieve that aim.

Read the full story at: bit.ly/ERlegrandpc

4

The Kickstart Scheme ends March 31, 2022, so what’s next?

The first phase of the Government’s Kickstart Scheme, which aimed to create job opportunities for 16 to 24-year-olds, is set to come to an end.

Announced as part of the UK Government’s Covid-19 recovery plan, the Kickstart Scheme offered cash grants to companies that took on young people who were on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term employment.

All that was required from the companies that offered Kickstart jobs were that they offered a six-month job placement and in return would receive enough money to cover the employee’s pay at national minimum wage for a 25-hour working week, the employer’s National Insurance payments and automatic enrolment contributions.

While the jury is still out on whether the Kickstart Scheme has been a success or not; it is believed that up to 300,000 young people have received a placement through the scheme since it began in August 2021.

The Electrical Distributors’ Association and its partner Cirencester’s Apprenticeship Management Group, which helps run the EDA Apprenticeship Plus, set up Kickstart Support to aid companies they work for in understanding and getting the most from the scheme. However, now with the scheme set to end, the organisations have some advice.

Read the full story at: bit.ly/ERkickstart

3

2

National Grid installs world’s first T-pylons as part of Hinkley Connection

The Hinkley Connection project has achieved a major milestone, after National Grid Energy Transmission (NGET) installed the world’s first T-pylons.

T-pylons are a newly-designed style of overhead electricity lines, boasting a single pole and T-shaped cross arms, which feature suspension diamond insulators – like earrings – which hold the wires, or conductors. These lines have never been installed on a project of this scale before, with the Hinkley Connection project being the first to utilise the design.

A total of 48 of the T-pylons have now been constructed between Bridgwater and Loxton in Somerset and engineers have been putting in place the conductors that will carry the low carbon energy onto the electricity network.

The conductors are transported to site on large drums, weighing up to 7.5 tonnes and 2.5m high. Teams of engineers first pull a steel braided rope between sections of up to 12 T-pylons through circular running blocks suspended from the diamond-shaped insulators. The heavier conductors are then attached to the rope via a rectangular headboard, which is then pulled back through the running blocks using large winches. Engineers control the speed of the winches to guide the conductors into position before they are fixed to the insulators.

T-pylons form part of a suite of technologies and approaches to mitigate visual impact, including alternative lattice pylon designs and different types of underground and subsea cable systems – with each approach chosen where it’s operationally possible and cost efficient for electricity consumers.

Read the full story at: bit.ly/ERtpylons

Amendment 2 of the 18th Edition agreed, set for March 28

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and BSI have signed off the content for Amendment 2 to BS 7671:2018 (18th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations).

Proposals for Amendment 2 were first announced in September 2020, with the industry being able to consult on the changes since then. Following extensive consultation, Amendment 2 is finally set to come into effect.

The IET and BSI have confirmed that the new regulations will come into effect immediately upon publishing on March 28, 2022, with the previous version, BS 7671:2018+A1:2020, to be withdrawn six months later.

Amendment 2 introduces a new requirement for Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDDs), updated requirements for the fire safety design for buildings and a new chapter on Prosumer’s Low Voltage Electrical Installations.

This essential update to the IET Wiring Regulations will form the national standard to which all new electrical installations and additions, and alterations to existing electrical installations in the UK are to comply. The IET and BSI are now urging all electrical professionals to ensure they become familiar with the changes.

1

VAT scrapped for energy efficiency improvements including solar panels and batteries

Following the failure of the Green Homes Grant scheme, the UK Chancellor is hoping to spearhead a new era of energy efficiency improvements in homes across the UK. It hopes to do that by removing VAT from all energy efficiency improvements, which includes the installation of solar panels and batteries.

Currently the UK Government charges 5% VAT on many energy efficiency improvements as long as the cost of materials does not exceed 60% of the total installation cost. That means most households are currently paying just 5% VAT to install a standard solar array.

However, for those whose projects lead to the cost of materials exceeding 60% of the total installation cost, they would have to pay the standard rate of VAT of 20% for those materials, while only paying 5% for the cost of installation. Those people are likely to see this new measure have a greater impact, as the 60% test has been removed, meaning there is no limit to how much the products cost versus the installation.

In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Rishi Sunak noted that energy efficiency improvements were a great way to reduce household bills during the current energy crisis. That’s why he wanted to reduce the price of these improvements, although not through a scheme like the Green Homes Grant, but by giving these products a direct tax cut.