£1 billion will be spent on infrastructure owned by the people and places it powers. Sadly, though, one of Britain’s most plentiful resources will remain untapped.
On paper, we should welcome the latest step in the journey to net zero – £1 billion in funding for community-owned zero carbon energy schemes. This will not only help more people slash their emissions, but also contribute towards lower localised bills and money for social impact initiatives. At Environment Journal, we have regularly covered these types of endeavours with keen interest, from villages in Scotland to London schools.
The transition is both necessary and urgent. But building out is only part of the answer to Britain and the world’s energy concerns. Every piece of infrastructure, equipment, and kit comes with an environmental footprint that must be worked off before it can be considered anything close to ‘clean’, let alone carbon positive. This truth is leading to a dawning realisation: reuse is more important than boosting capacity.
Or it would be if Downing Street weren’t pressing on with some huge greenhouse gas-emitting projects – for example data centres – adding significantly more to national electricity demand. In the same way that campaigns to cut energy consumption should be favoured over those advertising support for new insulation instalments, a genuinely greener future relies on reducing how much interference there is with our natural environment.
It’s for this reason that UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s announcement of the £1 billion community fund should be met with as many questions as welcoming comments. Yes, making people feel a sense of ownership in the transition is vital, particularity at a time when skepticism about climate-related investment is rising on a terrifying wave of misinformation and scaremongering propaganda. More so, delivering cheaper power is a boon.
However, simply focusing on introducing new wind farms, solar arrays and tidal stations massively misses the potential of reclaiming energy – in particular, heat – and redistributing this through neighbourhood networks. Worst still, this isn’t the first time this enormous untapped resource has been overlooked, even at a time when many of the sources of that wasted warmth, such as data centres, are all over the news due to their rapid growth and associated environmental fears for those living close by (and further afield).
‘Around half of the energy used in UK industry is wasted as heat; data centres alone could heat up to 6 million homes by 2035 – so why aren’t we looking at making the most of what we already generate as well as increasing capacity?’ asks Simon Kerr, Head of Heat Networks at EnergiRaven. ‘While community-owned renewables are important, it’s disappointing to see another missed opportunity to take advantage of what’s already there in terms of the huge amounts of heat that we’re wasting every day.’
The logic seems sound. Our electricity grid is becoming so stretched there is significant risk that capacity will be outstripped by demand due to factors such as industrial transformation. This could potentially delay a long list of projects deemed vital for national security and the economy. So why not maximise the current output, take advantage of every possible way to lower demand, and reduce the overall amount of money needed to fund the wider transition?
Answers on a stamped, addressed postcard, please.
Image: Neil Daftary / Unsplash
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