Author: Ben Debski

Saving for a pension has always been a paradox.  Everybody pretty much knows you should in some form or other, but there are always several different obstacles in the way, the main one being that the best time to start this exercise is also the time in your life that you have the least chance of doing so (when you’re young).  Then when you near retirement age, more often than not, it’s too late and you rue not putting enough money aside in a pension vehicle of some sort in the first place.

The above will ring true for some, but this can only be so for those who were conscious of these facts at a time when they could take action.  Two things can alter this state; the first could be receiving some sort of financial education in younger years. The second is having someone else make the decisions for you before it’s too late.  The British government has gone with the latter route.  Well, sort of, because people will be able to ‘opt out’ if they wish, but more on that later.

From 1st October 2012, new employer duties are planned to come into force, whereby employers will have to enrol eligible workers into a qualifying workplace pension arrangement (Auto-Enrolment), and thereafter choose the qualifying pension scheme which comes with the new duty.  The choice will be to either make a minimum three percent contribution towards a defined contribution scheme (overseen by the company and their consultants/client managers from an asset management company for example) or NEST (the National Employment Savings Trust).

NEST will be a new, supposedly simple, low-cost defined contribution-occupational pension scheme. Defined contribution (or money purchase) is the transitional focus of the pension industry from defined benefit structures due to the transfer of risk from the employers to the employee. It will be trust-based, i.e. has a board of trustees, who superintend its functionality, and the NEST Corporation is a non-departmental public body that operates at arm’s length from government and is accountable to Parliament through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The charges for being forced into NEST will be 1.8 percent of the value of each contribution to cover NEST’s start-up costs,
and an annual management charge of 0.3 percent of the value of the individual’s pension fund.

If the employer decides to be more paternal or already has a company pension scheme in operation, Auto-Enrolment will direct eligible employees (which is an employee aged between 22 and state pension age and earning above the income tax personal allowance (£7,475 in 2011/12)) automatically into their employer’s qualifying pension scheme (which has to meet certain minimum standards) without any active decision on the employee’s part.

The reasoning behind this idea is that there is a significant shortfall in pension saving in the UK. Many workers do not join their company pension scheme because they simply do not apply. It’s too difficult and unmanageable to place a pension saving duty on each individual in society, as not everyone can make decisions that require knowledge about complicated financial products. Furthermore, not everyone is in a position to contribute in the first place.

However, the way around this is seen as requiring employers to act as the conduit through which retirement saving is forced. Through tax records, Government can see those employees who they know legitimately earn sufficient amounts as they deem appropriate to save for retirement, and thereafter impose on them the duty to put money aside for themselves, rather than the State pay the bill for their pension/care needs when they stop working.

Auto-Enrolment brings positives and negatives in my opinion. I’ve written and presented items on financial education in the past, and I am indeed still passionate about this matter. Yet it is much easier said than done. In my opinion, the place to make people become more comfortable with financial matters is the place we all become more comfortable learning information, in school, when the pupils reach an appropriate age. At the moment, this is still something mentioned in passing every now and again when people discuss financial matters and why the population finds them confusing.

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are incredibly popular due to the fact that they are deemed simple savings products with tax advantages over normal savings accounts. In truth, although pensions are more complex, the bare bones of them are that you have a savings or investment vehicle with better tax advantages, you just can’t access your money until you reach a certain age. But until characters in soap operas start talking about them, the public will not begin to be engaged because they are not made to. You can take an ISA out at the age of 16, but you have to teach yourself about it unless your parents do it for you. So, we have the situation being proposed now, whereby everyone joins whether they initially want to or not. Interesting fact: at the start of 2008, there were an estimated 4.8 million private sector enterprises in the UK. Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 99.9 percent of all enterprises. 99.3 pecent of this 4.8 million had less than 49 employees, and drilling even further, almost 4 million of these SMEs were actually self-employed entrepreneurs. The owner/manager of a small business started the business because she thinks she can earn more money than she can in her current job. She’s thinking about putting food on the table and enjoying a better lifestyle now, not when she retires in x number of years. Even for those that are thinking about a pension, that’s still only a luxury for the future. Equally, for the businessman running a reasonable enterprise with seven staff, he now has to take the time and pay the fees for ensuring the people working for him, bearing in mind very few jobs are for life nowadays like in generations previous, receive retirement benefits when perhaps the SME has long disappeared (either through sale of the company, dissolution etc.). Is this fair? Is this workable?

I mentioned earlier that opting out is an option.  Workers who give notice that they do not want to participate during the formal opt-out period will be put back in the position they would have been if they had not become members in the first place, which may include a refund of any contributions taken following automatic enrolment. So after all of this, they can leave after a period of time anyway? Could be a nice earner for the pension consultants!

Apologies if I seem over cynical. I like pensions, I really do. I understand people’s distrust of them; defined contribution pensions are not guaranteed, and can therefore seem like a gamble, a gamble with a large amount of savings. Yet this need not be so. Auto-Enrolment has its heart in the right place, and people often need others to take control of matters like pensions on their behalf as there are always reasons to put it off – that’s life sometimes.  But for the SMEs, will it be a help or a hindrance? My fear is the latter. My opinion is that education and empowerment are the foundation to the pension gap Britain faces. I always relate pensions to smoking or drugs, except in the reverse. Not putting money aside for old age can cause long-term damage. The play The Iceman Cometh is about empty promises and pipe dreams. For some, NEST and Auto-Enrolment will work. For the rest, it may just be Much Ado About Nothing.

Let us begin at the beginning: why grids need to become smarter. We can sum it up in a simple equation: three drivers + three accelerators = a smarter grid. The three drivers are: growing electricity demand; the need to reduce CO2 emissions; and the constraints on today’s electricity networks.

Electricity demand is growing all over the world. In new economies, this is driven by demography, industrialisation and urbanisation; in mature economies, it is driven by consumption (from appliances to electric vehicles) and is making it harder to manage the peak.

In addition, in order to fight climate change, we need to reduce our CO2 emissions. This will come mostly from energy efficiency (in homes, buildings and industrial facilities) on the one hand, and the development of renewable energy sources on the other. Lastly, the constraints on existing networks, such as limited generation capacity, limits on network extension, ageing infrastructure as well as the difficulty of integrating intermittent and distributed generation (eg. wind power), call for new solutions to solve the energy equation.

At the same time, three other changes are accelerating the ‘smartening’ of the grid: all sorts of new technology are now available; governments and regulators are taking an increasingly active role in the energy sector; and end-users are no longer satisfied with being passive consumers.

New IT technology is now widely available. Although it is making cyber-security a bigger threat, it is at the same time providing huge opportunities to add intelligence into more or less everything. Energy storage is no longer a distant dream, power electronics are becoming ubiquitous – and electricity networks are certainly a prime market for these new technologies.

Governments are taking a new, harder look at their energy sector. Whether for reasons of security of supply, price stability, opening of markets, pricing transparency or economic cost of blackouts, they are investing, regulating, supporting this industry. President Obama even made Smart Grids one of the cornerstones of America’s stimulus plan, with $3.9bn earmarked for their development. And last but not least, all of us, as consumers and citizens, want to know how much energy we use and to pay the right price for it and we want to contribute to CO2 emissions reduction through energy efficiency, electric vehicles, solar panels on our rooftops etc.

Electricity networks are becoming more complex and less stable all over the world. To continue to efficiently balance supply and demand, the grid needs to become smarter. The question is – how do we get there, how do we make the Smart Grid happen?

Today’s grid functions in a top-down way. Tomorrow’s smart grid will be bi-directional: electricity will flow out of homes and offices as well as into them.

Today, centralised, supplier-controlled power is fed into the grid based on consumption predictions and then adjusted at the margin according to peak demand. Tomorrow, demand and supply will interact intelligently in an efficient, decentralised interoperable grid.

Today, intermittent renewable generation is not always efficiently integrated. Tomorrow, smart grids will efficiently integrate intermittent energy from both renewable power plants and decentralised distributed renewable generation.

Today, providers must come and check meters on a regular basis. Tomorrow, consumption data may transfer automatically, giving pro-consumers and utilities a real-time estimate of electricity consumption.

Today, most people don’t know how much electricity they consume until they get their electricity bill. Tomorrow, consumers will be able to adjust their energy demand to moments when prices and demand are at their lowest.

Today, the causes of power cuts have to be manually identified on the grid. Tomorrow, software will detect where cables or equipment are damaged, making blackouts, which carry such a high economic cost, much rarer.

All this sounds great – but it also means that there can be no smart grid until all connected players are smart-grid ready. Schneider Electric is smart-grid ready. And we believe that energy-efficient buildings and facilities, together with  active end-users will drive smarter demand, which will help push smarter supply, and bring on the full development of the smart grid. This is why we are helping our customers in homes, in buildings, in datacentres, in industrial facilities and on the network be smart-grid ready too, by providing them with smart grid-enabling solutions for energy management and energy efficiency, demand-side management, flexible distribution and renewable energy integration.

And because smarter grids represent such a step change for the electricity network, it is creating a totally new business environment. In addition to traditional technology providers, energy producers and suppliers, system and network operators, and of course governments and regulators, smart grids also bring together active end-users, facility managers, small and large renewable energy producers, energy traders and aggregators, IT enterprise integrators, Energy Efficiency providers, data management suppliers etc.

This is why we, at Schneider Electric, support smarter interactions for a smarter grid – we not only connect our customers to the smart grid, but also connect them with each other. Facilitating these new connections, bringing value to these new relationships, is what will allow our customers to fully leverage the huge business opportunities of a smarter grid – and to mitigate the risks. And because we all recognise that smart grids are a whole new, complex space, we are collaborating and partnering with other, complementary providers – in particular IT enterprise integrators, which are playing a major role in making the grid smarter.

Together, we will experiment in new technology and new business models, to create new opportunities for our customers, to add intelligence in every part of the network. New demand- and supply-side management capabilities are just around the corner. ‘Software as a service’ will offer everything from data exchange, price signal and demand event response management, to 24/7 market and demand monitoring, carbon tracking and reporting, market monitoring, aggregation etc.

Together, we will make today’s grid greener, more efficient, more stable, easier to navigate – and smarter.

further information: schneider-electric.com

FR-EEandSolutions-Communications@schneider-electric.com

Developing common standards within industry leads to greater availability, operational reliability, personal safety and thus also increased sustainability. SSG Standard Solutions Group has so far drawn up more than 450 technical standards.

For Sweden the forest industry, which accounts for a quarter of the country’s total industrial investment, is of incredible strategic importance. The country will not be able to survive as a nation without ensuring long-term profitability for the forest industry. However, survival requires the Swedish forest industry to continue cutting costs and making its production more efficient. This is where SSG (Standard Solutions Group AB) comes in.

“Our owners and customers have amassed enormous experience in making investments. Our task at SSG is to refine that knowledge and transfer it into standards that can be used to support procurement, planning and design,” says Jonas Berggren.

SSG is owned by the seven biggest forest industries in Sweden, but the company’s services are also used by other process industries.“Our customers are now located in 26 countries around the world,” adds Berggren.

Major savings
A good example is the way that SSG has designed a common standard for how to plan pipe systems. “By reviewing the needs of the industry and its experiences, and making use of the best solutions on the market, we have created a standard that cuts the cost of purchasing pipes and parts for pipe systems by 30 percent through a manufacturing process that consumes fewer resources. In a recent project, the customer’s investment costs were reduced by SEK 1.8 million,” says Berggren. In total there are no fewer than 450 standards in the six technical areas of pipe systems, mechanics, construction, electrics, instruments and surface protection.

Lifecycle economy
Where there have previously been a number of different standards – since manufacturers have been able to set their own – it has been difficult to compare and contrast products with each other. SSG’s standards have enabled the industry to put pressure on suppliers more easily.

Those who want a chance in the procurement process need to meet the requirements set.

“And here it is important to stress how significant the concepts of sustainability and lifecycle economy are. Whatever the area in which we produce a standard, the emphasis is on meeting a need, but naturally with an eye on creating energy efficiencies and using as few resources as possible in the production process. In addition, the number of stock items can be reduced,” says Berggren.

In many cases, the biggest manufacturers are also on the committee that draws up a standard. That has been the case in the area of surface protection, for example, with regard to producing paints that can last for many years under tough conditions. Being able to bring the ideas and expertise of the paint manufacturers to bear has been important. In other words, common standards are a key stop on the necessary road towards increased sustainability.

Safer life for the contractor
Launched four years ago, SSG Entre – interactive safety training for industry contractors – is taking Nordic industry by storm. SSG Entre is helping to make major savings out at the industrial facilities, while also ensuring safer workplaces.

SSG Entre continues to grow and is now well on its way to becoming an industry standard. At the current time, 39 of Sweden’s pulp and paper mills require their contractors to have completed the SSG Entre Basic Training Course and to be equipped with an Entre passport. In addition, the concept has spread to a large number of other industrial sites in the steel, mining, chemicals, energy, engineering and sawmill industries.

“Almost 70,000 contractors have been approved since the start in late 2006. Many more industries are also in the pipeline. Large swathes of Swedish industry now take part in the collaboration. At the same time, a close partnership has been established with Finnish and Norwegian process industries,” states Johan Nylander, Business Area Manager for Health, Safety and Environment within the SSG.

Greater safety
The background to this massive focus on an industry-specific interactive safety training course is that contractors have previously been over-represented in accident statistics.

Traditional safety training has proven time-consuming, costly and ineffective. Contractors have been forced to go through similar briefings at several different mills before every large-scale maintenance session, which has unfortunately created low motivation and poor focus. At the same time, the industry usually pays for the contractors to attend these safety briefings. A lot of time has also been spent on keeping the information up to date, and on checking that the information has really reached everyone concerned.

Saves both time and money
SSG has also built up a web-based product database that holds around 600,000 articles with unique article numbers, descriptions and classifications.

The SSG Product Database is a strategic resource for uniform product data within the company, the group and the industry as a whole. Maintaining order in the article structure is crucial, helping companies signed up to the SSG Product Database to reduce tied-up capital, lower purchasing costs, increase plant availability and cut administration.

The article description is the same for all linked units and allows cooperation with other units, both within and outside your own company. Today, the concept is used in much of the Swedish forest industry, in an increasing part of the Swedish steel industry and in the energy sector.

Environmental certificate
The SSG Personal Environmental Certificate is an interactive, web-based environmental training course adapted for and aimed at all personnel in the forest industry. The purpose of the course is, at a low cost, to give all employees a basic level of environmental knowledge as well as an insight into the environmental effects of the plant’s activities.

The Personal Environmental Certificate comprises three different modules – The Landscape, The Forest and, if required, The Mill, which is an industry-specific module.

Having all the modules activated increases the scope to raise employees’ awareness of and expertise in the impact of their operations on the wider environment.

The strategies for climate change mitigation are based on the company’s vision of becoming one of the five major integrated energy producers in the world, with the mission to operate both profitably and safely, with social and environmental responsibility and committed to sustainable development.

As the biggest company in Brazil and in Latin America, Petrobras has an important leadership role for sustainable development. Petrobras’s 2020 Strategic Plan emphasises the importance of climate change mitigation, establishing objectives in order to achieve standards of excellence in the energy industry with regard to the intensity of emissions in processes and products. Petrobras believes that climate change mitigation requires a comprehensive strategy focusing on energy efficiency, flaring reduction, renewable energy production, and research and technological development.

In 2002, the Company implemented a System for Atmospheric Emissions Management named SIGEA®, which integrates all company activities with more than 30 thousand source entries registered, providing a detailed inventory of greenhouse gases (GHG) and regulated air pollutants and assists, with the data gathering, consolidation and report assessment, a critical analysis of emissions and the optimisation and continuous improvement of processes.

Petrobras reports its GHG emissions inventory, which is verified by a third party, every year in the Company’s Sustainability Report, as well as the initiatives taken to reduce GHG emissions. In 2005, the company incorporated the climate change issue into its corporate strategy and set voluntary goals. In 2007, the Strategic Climate Change Project was created, setting guidelines to increase the energy efficiency and to identify opportunities in new technologies to reduce emissions and new energy sources. With the measures adopted over these years, Petrobras will invest $200m in research and technological development on climate change mitigation over the 2010-2015 period. This is a voluntary commitment, and considers an attenuation of the emissions growth curve, without limiting business expansion. These objectives are attained with the deployment of energy efficiency projects, through operational improvements, flaring reduction, implementing new technologies and by using renewable energies. 

Recently the discovery of over 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in recoverable volume (Pre-Salt Cluster) has been announced, which represents the increase of one million boe per day installed capacity production until 2017. Petrobras has assumed a pro-active stance and, prior to any regulatory requirement, voluntarily defined as a basic directive for the production development project in the Pre-Salt Cluster not to release the CO2 associated with the natural gas produced, by the use of CO2 reinjection techniques. To achieve this ambitious target, several technological paradigms need to be overcome, including offshore CO2 capturing, its separation from the natural gas produced, and finding the adequate alternative for the final destination of the CO2 produced.

Petrobras has set up two technological programmes to tackle the challenge of CO2 capture, transportation, and geological storage: PROCLIMA (the Technological Programme for Climate Change), created in 2007, which is both wide-ranging and long-term in nature, and PRO-CO2 (the Technological Programme for the Management of CO2 in Pre-Salt Development), set up in 2009, and focused on the issues raised by CO2 in developing the Pre-Salt Cluster and, therefore, with shorter-term goals. Also in the area of R&D, Petrobras is contributing with the Climate Network, a technical cooperation and financial support initiative for science and technology entities throughout Brazil.

Created in 2008, and currently composed of 12 research institutions, the network seeks to develop national qualifications and infrastructure to capture, transport, and store CO2. It also researches issues such as impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation to climate change.

A total of $30m was invested between 2006 and 2009 in the areas of carbon sequestration and climate change, and an additional $200m will be invested over the 2010-2015 period.

Energy efficiency and flaring reduction
An Internal Energy Conservation Programme has been in place since the 70s. The Programme has its implementation through 48 Internal Commissions for Energy Conservation. Projects of energy efficiency enhancement are implemented and they have the purpose of both reducing fuel and electricity consumption in all company units. Over the past five years, more than $170m has been invested in energy efficiency projects, achieving savings of approximately 3,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

In relation to flaring reduction, the Company invested $200m in the Programme of Optimising Associated Gas Use, seeking the reduction of gas flaring in 24 platforms. With 93 initiatives implemented, including installation and adaptation of compressors, new gas pipes and optimisation of processing units, the company achieved significant improvement in the recovery of natural gas in recent years. The potential gain in the gas utilisation was 4.2 million m3/d. Apart from the programme mentioned above, $98m was invested in two reservoir injection projects in the Campos Basin, enabling storage, in the reservoir rock, of up to 2.4 m3/d of associated gas in the case of upset in the processing, transport or in the market.

Petrobras has adopted as a corporate strategy the plan to “act globally in the biofuel segment, with significant participation in the biodiesel and ethanol businesses.” In 2008 a Biofuel subsidiary was established to be responsible for the development of production and management of biodiesel and ethanol projects. The Biofuel Company owns four biodiesel plants. A total of $3.5bn will be invested over the next five years, with a substantial part of this – $530m – earmarked for the research and development of new technologies including second-generation biofuels. The production of bioethanol and biodiesel, in addition to contributing to climate change mitigation, is in line with company’s directive to support sustainable production by applying its R&D resources in species of biomass that are native to the Brazilian semi-arid regions, and will increase the use of family-run agricultural businesses. Since the 70s, the Company has operated in a number of industrial production stages of ethanol, through the National Ethanol Programme – Proalcool – which allowed Brazil to avoid the emission of approximately 800 million tons of CO2 from 1975 to 2007. The company was also the first one to convert its fleet to ethanol, using engines with components that had been developed and tested at its Research Centre.

In addition to investing in the improvement of process and products, Petrobras sponsors projects aimed at the conservation of natural resources and at the raising of ecological awareness. These projects are included in the Petrobras Environment Programme, which will invest about $250m by 2012. Besides supporting projects related to the theme water, the programme includes issues relating to carbon fixation and avoiding emissions. Considering the area planted and the area of avoided deforestation, the projects avoid the emission of up to 6.8 million tons of CO2.

Further information: www.petrobras.com

The developed world is in the first phase of a major transformation as to how buildings are designed, constructed and operated. The reason for the change is obvious; energy and sustainability concerns have finally pushed design professionals, engineers, architects and building owners to make creative leaps in building design. The repeated, reused and legacy designs – the business realm of some designers – are history. While energy concerns may be the impetus for the transformation, technology is its primary enabler. The technical advances in building materials, use of three-dimensional modelling and design and new power generation systems at building sites are notable. However, the innovations and evolutions in building systems are especially impressive given that it is these systems that will provide the tools to properly manage building performance. Not only are these systems managing and monitoring energy usage, they also have a significant role in how the building is operated and the level of satisfaction of the occupants’ experience in the building. Given that about 75 percent of the lifecycle cost of a building is in the operations phase these systems not only affect energy use but also ongoing operational costs and ultimately the value of the building.

Transformative periods in the building industry have occurred several times in the twentieth century with the introduction of mechanisms and devices such as plumbing, construction cranes and elevators. Thirty years ago, just prior to the mass introduction of personal computers for businesses, the amount of technology in a building was meager. It consisted of the local regulated public telecommunications utility installing services in a building, a mechanical contractor installing a pneumatic control system for the heating, cooling and ventilation system, a fire alarm system and maybe a dedicated word processing system. While we’ve come a long way since those days, we’re still in a very early stage of fully deploying and integrating sophisticated building technology systems.
 
In due course, buildings will become full of technology: walls and ceilings will be embedded with sensors; every aspect of a building’s performance and use will be metered and measured; software tools will be used to automatically optimise building systems without human intervention; real-time information on the building will be provided to occupants and building management relevant to their particular needs; buildings will be fully interactive with the power grid; cars will be efficiently parked via conveyers and geo-spatial location systems will be deployed for every building asset. One of the effects of energy concerns is manifested by new and existing buildings installing more sensors and meters, thus taking more measurements of the building and other attributes, such as weather and sunlight, thus affecting the buildings performance. We now have building systems and devices to sense occupancy, sunlight, weather, motion, CO2, temperature, water flow, power consumption, humidity, air flow, signals from the utility grid, door openings and closings, window breakage, location of the sun, etc. Given the increase in data, more software analytical tools have entered the marketplace to assist building managers in sorting through and analysing the granular data in order to transform it into actionable information.

The integration of  building technology systems does bring several benefits, most importantly, enhancing system functionality that can’t be attained with separate systems. For example, an access control system or video surveillance system can provide data on building occupancy which can be used by the energy consuming systems (HVAC, lighting and electrical plug load) to properly align energy consumption to the actual building occupancy, thereby avoiding over ventilation or unnecessary lighting. In addition, integration allows for more efficient management of data shared between systems. The whole idea of integrated automation was legitimised and given credence with the release of the most recent MasterFormat (the guidelines for building construction specifications) and the creation of a specific “Division” for integrated automation. Integrating building systems is technically done at the physical, logical and application level of the networks. Integration also means that not only are systems integrated “horizontally” to interact with each other, but relevant data and information is shared “vertically” within an organisation; for example, energy information generated from data in the buildings systems is provided to facilities management, the procurement department, C-level executives, tenants, etc. While the integration of building systems is not the “Plug-and Play” of a personal computer, it is facilitated by the use of structured cable plant, open standard network protocols and standardised databases.

The move to smart buildings is accelerated by general energy concerns and specifically by the initiatives around the “Smart Grid”. Intuitively we know that a smart electric grid without smart buildings would be a greatly diminished deployment and a very expensive lost opportunity. Buildings will need two-way communication with the grid and be able to automatically react to signals from the grid. This is the case with demand responses schemes, integration of demand-side energy and resources, and timely information and control options for occupants and consumers. The nirvana of energy consumption is net-zero buildings (somewhat open to definition though). These low-energy-consuming buildings generally have on-site power generation and are operated with automation software and granular sensors that adjust to every change and movement within the building. Some prominent organisations have projected that net-zero buildings will be the building standard 15 to 20 years out; that timeframe is understandable given the difficulties of designing and constructing a net-zero building. However, they may have underestimated the global reach of the transformation, the rapid pace of technological evolution and the vast numbers of innovative intellects collaborating around the planet.

Sophisticated integrated building systems are on the right side of building cost, energy conservation and technology. If there are any concerns it is on the people side. The skill sets and knowledge base to design, construct and most importantly, operate buildings is rapidly changing. There’s no doubt that the challenges in building management have intensified over the last several years. Aside from the overall financial condition, there are tremendous pressures to address energy consumption, deploy technological solutions and work out internal organisational challenges. Moreover, the number of new systems and applications that  need to be managed have grown rapidly. These include such systems as electrical switchable glass, exterior shading systems, demand response planning, sun tracking systems and personal rapid transit systems; systems that only a few years ago either did not exist or were marginalised to a few specialties. However, these are challenges that can be addressed with education and training, they are inherent in any such transformation and will present tremendous new opportunities. Buildings will become smarter. If the ancient Egyptians achieved engineering excellence constructing some of the world’s most iconic structures with primitive methods, our technology-laden world certainly has the means and motivation to dramatically transform the spaces where we live and work.

If the past decade was defined by design innovation, the future will have a greater focus on functionality, as every aspect of building design now begins to require a secondary purpose. Glass has always been at the forefront of building development – allowing businesses and homeowners to create visual impact, extend, brighten and add an extra dimension of comfort to their properties. In the past, glass was used mainly for windows to admit air and light, but now it is integral to interior and exterior architecture. From façades, skylights and walkways to revolving doors and glass box extensions, it does so much more than just let light in – it provides architects with solutions for heat, energy efficiency and lighting requirements.

For many years the Pilkington brand has been at the heart of architectural glazing innovation. It was Sir Alastair Pilkington’s invention of the float glass process that gave birth to modern methods of glass manufacture, and the Pilkington brand, now part of the NSG Group, continues to build on this pedigree with advancements in glass functionality. The Group now operates or is involved in 49 float glass lines worldwide, selling its vast range of functional glazing in more than 130 countries.

Architectural glass is now heralding a new era, powering the green homes revolution, using more sustainable means to manufacture and helping governments meet carbon reduction targets. With its extensive range of high performance, value-added products, the Group brings benefits to its customers and the environment, capitalising on the modern role of glass by embracing functionality and fashion. It hopes to inspire the next generation of interior and exterior designers to create even more beautiful, sustainable environments in which billions of people live and work.

Vice President, Technology Building Products, Philip Ramsey, outlines the Pilkington brand’s future vision. The key, he explains, is how the shift from primarily aesthetics to performance and energy-efficiency informs his working, and he reveals how he is looking forward to finding new ways of developing further sustainable, functional, and aesthetically-pleasing glazing. “What’s important to remember is that glass is extremely versatile and has many applications. As consumers sit down to enjoy the view from a restaurant window, the glass used in that window preserves the view by reducing condensation and glare, while keeping diners comfortable by maintaining building temperature and providing safety. We have strong R&D programmes here to further improve the performance of our energy-saving products, both in terms of a reduction in heating requirements for cold climates and cooling for hot climates. Most of these developments are related to improving glass coatings, but the glass itself is also being modified, for example to allow even higher solar heat gain in cooler climates. The Group is also a leader in vacuum glazing technology with Pilkington Spacia™, the world’s first commercially available product offering the thermal performance of conventional double glazing within the same thickness as a single sheet of glass.”

Globally, the architectural glass market is trending more and more towards these types of functional glass. Architects, regulators, tradesmen and consumers are asking for more from glass, and glazing is now required to work harder in buildings. Pilkington has driven this shift, with a wide variety of glazing ranges including solar control, thermal insulation, fire resistant, safety/security as well as its revolutionary self-cleaning glass. Pilkington Activ Suncool™, for example, is an industry-leading range of high performance glass, designed to maximise natural light whilst ensuring solar control, low-emissivity, and self-cleaning properties, all in one product.

Guy Roberts, Business Planning Manager at Pilkington Building Products said: “Trends in the global architectural glass market are essentially driven by two things; building regulations and architectural fashions. With more and more countries pledging to cut their carbon emissions, and the energy lost through windows making up a significant part of a building’s average consumption, energy efficiency is becoming more of a key factor in glazing. Couple this with the long-term trend for more of a building’s skin to be glazed, and you’ve got the perfect scenario for global glazing innovation.”

With the recognition that buildings need to exist in synergy with their surroundings, energy efficiency is a huge driver for innovation in the industry. Buildings account for 50 percent of all the energy consumed in advanced countries, and since the Kyoto Agreement, glass manufacturers have been proactively working to produce ever-more efficient products in anticipation of the changes to building regulations. Glass for Europe studies show that the CO2 saved by replacing just one square metre of single glazing with low-e double glazing in a typical European building is 91kg per year. This means that in less than four months, Pilkington low-e glasses will have off-set the CO2 emitted during their manufacture, making them one of the industry-leading performers on sustainability and an excellent investment for any building purpose.

The Group is also one of the leaders in photovoltaic (PV) technology used to generate electricity via panels for domestic or commercial purposes, and is seeing this once-niche market expand very quickly. Solar energy panels offer alternative solutions for a range of energy requirements, from small-scale domestic applications to large scale-solar power stations, from cloudy northern rooftops to hot sunny deserts. Glass is an integral and important element of these solar panels, and the Group offers a wide range of high-quality products that are used in the three leading solar technologies aimed at converting solar energy into electricity: thin film photovoltaics, crystalline silicon photovoltaics and concentrated solar power applications.

The technical capabilities of the Group will enable the Pilkington brand to explore new possibilities for functional glazing and continue to extend its range of high-performance, value-added products. In the future, it is likely the industry will focus on the ability of glass to perform in more extreme conditions whilst continuing to optimise energy saving and cost efficiency. Improvements in energy performance will continue to be required as the demands of building regulations increase. Furthermore, the role of glass is likely to become more multi-functional. For example, a business may require glass to play a bespoke role in energy generation, as well as being self-cleaning and non-reflective. Digital touch screen panels will control the multi-functionality, ensuring the glass performs at optimum efficiency in its environment.

The role glass can play will become increasingly varied – technological advancements in the development of OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) are likely to play a large part in architectural design in the push for ever-more environmentally friendly ways of working in the modern world. The possibilities such technology affords have the potential to revolutionise the way buildings are constructed, energy is used, and even the way in which people work. The NSG Group is committed to developing technology to enhance glazing performance and optimise functionality. As energy resources and efficiency continue to play a more important role in government and business agendas, glazing will play a larger role in reducing both costs and impact on the environment.

Further information: www.pilkington.com

They haven’t lodged firmly in the public consciousness – yet. But smart grids are coming. Increasingly they will be a big part of how we all consume – and rely upon – our electricity supply far into the future, whether we’re customers, manufacturers or energy providers.

They’re badly needed. Just about all developed (and developing) countries demand the kind of flexibility, efficiency and resilience to cope with an increasingly diversified power generation source and demand, not to mention changing use patterns. Throw in increasingly stretched transmission and distribution networks and it’s easy to see the advantages of smart grids.

“They give a high level of control over energy networks and that’s fundamental to curbing wasteful energy use and integrating intermittent renewables and small distributed generators into the grid,” says Dr Aijuan Wang. “Smart grids play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions too.”

Dr Wang knows what she’s talking about. She’s a chartered engineer with over twenty years of technical and commercial experience in the energy sector with wide experience of project development, commercial contract negotiation and power asset expansion and strategy.

A smart grid is a new generation of the electric power transmission and distribution networks which will last deep into the 21st century. A smart grid can intelligently coordinate the behaviour and actions of all users connected to it – generators and consumers – and interact with them seamlessly. It’s not all about large infrastructure projects; smart grids have what you might term apps; these apps can regulate and direct energy where it’s needed, intelligently and quickly, so established systems don’t become overloaded. A smart grid is also about multiple power system operators, in particular distribution networks employing a broad level of communication and control. Much of this is manually controlled today. A smart grid is about how to supply and use electricity cost-effectively. But first, let’s look at the broader picture – and how smart grids fit into it.

Electricity supplies have been around for more than 100 years. However, the amount of energy we consume and how it is used today is very different to what it was one hundred years ago. That’s why many countries around the world struggle to keep their supply reliable. The existing infrastructure is simply not coping. “Just think about the California black-outs,” says Dr Wang. “It’s not just in California, of course. But it doesn’t give you confidence in the quality of the infrastructure when this happens.” Of course, in the developing world, the challenges are more critical. “Many existing networks are simply overloaded and can’t cope with the fast demand growth,” says Dr Wang. “The supply is often congested, unreliable and sometimes even unsafe.” To its credit, Dr Wang says the US administration is taking a hard look at how it can secure its energy supplies for the next 100 years – and is willing to do what is necessary. “The US is moving ahead in terms of not just the concept of how to bridge this gap but to move onto the next generation of power supplies.” It needs to. The vast distances between power bases means that the US, like other large countries, needs to ensure supply is reliable and network control is automatic. The expense will be considerable. But smart grids are cost-effective from day one. That’s because they save capital investment and offer consumers flexibility of energy use.

“The smart grid will allow operators to route electricity from supply source to point of demand via the most economical way,” says Dr Wang, “preventing local overload in the transmission and distribution system. If a line has a disturbance or outage the smart grid will find alternative paths and self-heal.”

There’s also a whole host of benefits to smart grids. Improved power quality and security. A dramatic lowering of outages. Lower maintenance and running costs. A far smaller CO2 footprint.

“Just think of some power plants,” says Dr Wang, “they don’t run regularly throughout the year; just during peak hours. It simply doesn’t make economic sense to build them in the first place. It is an expensive method of power provision. But we do have the dilemma of having to keeping lights on during the peak hours.  A smart grid can provide solutions by getting supply from demand response and control.”

So it’s a question of standing back and really looking at your load profile. What is really needed here? Well, smart meters could help for a start.There are also a load of client drivers that will be pushing for changes. “Energy customers will increasingly be given freedom of choice over when they use things, like their washing machine. Do they use it in the daytime when energy is expensive, or at night time when there’s less load?”

Of course, it’s hard to give concrete numbers for smart grid cost savings. They vary largely from one country to another depending on types of generation sources, locations of power plants and demand centres.  But when you build less generation to serve the same amount of demand, you effectively save on capital costs of power plants.  “This means that the transmission infrastructure requirement is subsequently reduced; you also save on distribution investment.  So it’s also about the overall efficiency of the investment in the electricity value chain,” says Wang.

Government investment is coming, but how much and when remains cloudy. For example, the UK’s Committee on Climate Change reckons the UK needs to invest between £300bn and £500bn by 2025 in order to meet its clean energy bill targets. That’s from both private and public sectors. Bottom line? This means an investment of at least £20bn to £30bn a year. These numbers are not insignificant, by any stretch of the imagination. The Low Carbon Network Fund also helps transmission and distribution companies to invest in smart grid projects and innovations.

Smart grids though are not just about technology for technology’s sake. The ‘smart’ bit is how this technology makes our energy go further – a lot further. “We have multiple energy challenges,” says Dr Wang. “The supply side is severely constrained. We’ve also got increasingly tougher emissions targets. The core technology to control and develop the infrastructure is already here.”

So really it’s a question of priorities and budgets. “We know that utilities are working very hard to squeeze what they have from current assets, which is where smart grids come in,” says Wang.

However, looking 10 years ahead, things will look very different. “Conceptually, it’s a kind of revolution in terms of how electricity is supplied and used. A quiet revolution. Large scale applications of new technologies will be happening.  Demand and interest is building. Electric vehicles are coming, and in a big way. That will not just put additional demand on our energy infrastructure but also place the issue of generation supply more publicly.”

She adds: “But I would say it’s about intelligently mobilising what we have already got. Customer engagement will also play a key role in achieving the goals of a smart grid although the challenges remain. It’s going to be a very exciting period.”

Further information: www.mottmac.com

With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), more than $11bn (USD) was allocated for the creation of a bigger, better, smarter electric grid. The combined total of these investments will allow for the integration and use of greater amounts of renewable energy, increased utilisation of innovative efficiency technologies, and a reduction in the electric congestion that costs consumers billions of dollars each year. As a result, utilities now have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage public funds and become the “utility of the future”. But, in the meantime, while utility executives sort out the implications associated with the stimulus funding, they continue to tackle issues confronting their industry during this period of economic volatility – energy inefficiencies and costs, complex regulatory requirements, and ageing infrastructures. 

Most utilities use robust meter, network, and customer service infrastructures designed to support processes and systems for well-defined work routines and functions. In many cases, they use conventional meters with life cycles of up to 40 years – devices that worked well when energy markets were largely regulated and characterised by price regulations, easy access to energy resources, and sufficient infrastructure capacity. In that environment, organisations could rely on manual processes for everything from checking meter readings to determining future demand for electricity, without as much concern about margins, ensuring customer retention, energy efficiencies, and sustainability. But changes in the utilities industry in recent years are making it increasingly difficult to compete using traditional infrastructures and processes. Resources and infrastructures capacities are becoming more marginal and inelastic demand is restricting revenue growth. Then there’s a heightened focus on reducing carbon footprints. In addition, new legislatively mandated market rules demand that utilities compete for customers on the open market, so utility executives must find new ways to differentiate their services and capture additional revenue while increasing operational efficiency. And because customers can switch retailers relatively easily – especially in electricity markets – utilities need innovative processes to improve sales and customer service performance.

The reality is that current assets are ageing and a more adaptable infrastructure is needed going forward. For the near term, utilities must optimise current asset efficiency and availability. Downtimes must be limited to planned shutdowns and necessary overhauls only. Stringent maintenance processes can help ensure high levels of equipment reliability. Additionally, proactive planning can establish a stable environment where resources such as personnel, contractors, parts and tools can be optimised. Future increases in bulk transmission capacity, however, require significant improvements in transmission gird management. A smart grid, for example, can upgrade the use of capital assets while minimising operations and maintenance costs.  Smart grids precisely limit electricity power down to the residential level. Optimised power flows reduce waste and maximise use of lowest-cost generation resources. But how can utilities – and consumers – better understand and manage energy use? Enter technology. Because technology in itself is seen as a critical enabler for implementing the Economic Stimulus Plan, with billions in funding globally to be spent incrementally over the next five years, it can help utilities see, think, and act more clearly as they develop and execute the necessary strategies to:

Optimise energy efficiencies. New energy-grid technologies can help utilities balance supply and demand while improving the efficiency of energy delivery and consumer usage. These metering and data-exchange systems, however, require real-time communications and greater system interoperability.

Respond to sustainability concerns. Increasingly, the adoption of sustainable energy practices is becoming a business imperative. Today’s utilities are challenged to take a holistic approach to sustainability that simultaneously addresses compliance, globalisation, environmental impact, and energy politics. Visibility into all aspects of a utility’s operations and end-to-end process control are keys to success.

Develop higher-performing assets. Managing today’s ageing infrastructure for peak efficiency while making the energy investments that will deliver maximum value tomorrow are basic tenets of the stimulus programme. Utilities must be able to maintain existing equipment, model current and future assets, and analyse complex energy scenarios.

In regard to optimising energy efficiencies, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technologies can help utilities and consumers alike better understand and manage energy use. With AMI, energy consumption is recorded at regular time intervals (e.g., every 15 minutes) and then billed at different rates based on peak and off-peak hours. As a result, consumers and suppliers can collectively lower overall energy requirements and reduce carbon emissions. With these technologies, energy providers can improve the balance between demand and supply. The data collected through AMI helps utilities better profile energy requirements during both peak and off-peak hours and predict energy usage spikes due to environmental changes. Smart-grid technologies are also supported. These improve the delivery of energy by providing greater control over load shedding, energy leakage, and outage management.

AMI technology can also help utilities stay competitive in ways that older metering and data-exchange technologies simply cannot. But without a proper IT infrastructure that enables companies to implement and work with AMI in a cost-effective manner, utilities find it difficult to deliver the flexible pricing options that the market demands. AMI requirements for data management and real-time information exchange call for improved communications and collaboration between customer and utility. It also requires far greater interoperability of systems within the utility’s IT landscape and across enterprise boundaries. Upgrading metering and data-exchange infrastructure can increase the quality of a company’s sales and customer service processes. In addition, automated business-control processes can help utilities manage the variations between peak and off-peak production, thus reducing the overall cost to serve while lowering the cost per kilowatt hour.

As utilities develop and execute the necessary strategies that can help them see, think, and act more clearly to wisely spend the billions in economic stimulus  funding over the next five years, they need to execute those strategies decisively and effectively to endure the current environmental conditions and emerge in a stronger, more competitive stance. To gain this clarity, utilities need visibility to refocus business strategies and streamline operational execution and transparency to demonstrate compliant and sustainable business practices. Such “clear” utilities understand what is going on in every aspect of their business and business networks. They operate with increased speed, relevance, and accuracy. They are prepared for risk and uncertainty and can adjust operations nimbly as market conditions change. In short, they are transparent and accountable, lean and agile, customer-centric and collaborative.

further information: www.sap.com