Modern Utility Management Issue 2 2013

Setting a storeGas storage needs to be a

part of the future energy mix for the UK going forward

Under pressureA step change in real time IT and

the quality of the information behind these technologies

is important

Look to the bottom lineThe total cost of ownership

of mobile computing systems is more complex than simply

operating a device

New option

ManagementMODERN UTILITY

Issue Two 2013

Why major fleet operators are making the commercial and strategic decision to switch

from diesel to Bio-LNG

The power and utilities magazine

http://www.res-offshore.com

Chairman Andrew Schofield

Group Managing DirectorMike Tulloch

Editor Libbie Hammond

Art Editor/Design David Howard

Production Manager Fleur Conway

Staff WritersMatt High, Jo Cooper, Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs

Editorial AdminEmma Harris

Sales DirectorDavid Garner

Advertisement SalesDave [email protected]

Head of ResearchPhilip Monument

Editorial ResearchMark Cowles

Business Development ManagerMark Cawston

Circulation ManagerClaire Hewitt

Office ManagerTracy Chynoweth

Published by:Schofield Publishing10 Cringleford Business Centre,Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich NR4 6AU

Tel: 01603 274130 • Fax: 01603 274131

www.modernutilitymanagement.co.uk

© 2013 Schofield Publishing Ltd

News

Products and Services 2Industry Reports 3HSE and Renewables 4

Features

6 Lead story - Bio-LNGBio-LNG can cut HGV fuel bills by 25 per cent compared to pure diesel equivalents. It can also cut CO2 by up to 70 per cent

10 Special feature - Water treatmentWhy it’s so important to get the right data from your portfolio of assets to the right people in your company

12 Case study - Metering pumpsQdos metering pumps solve a turbidity testing dilemma for Welsh Water

14 Fleet technology - TechnologyFleet management technology cannot only help improve customer service, it can reduce operating costs and increase productivity

18 Health & safety - Gas storageGiven the nature of underground gas storage facilities, it is only natural that health and safety is a huge priority for E.ON

20 Special feature - CCTVAn integrated system can be set to detect a combination of data and alert CCTV operators

22 IT - Rugged solutionsMobile computing in field service operationsand the need for due diligence when calculating total cost of ownership

Libbie Hammond [email protected]

Profiles26 RES Group30 Envac 33 Weltec Biopower36 Strukton Hollandia JointVenture 39 Landis+Gyr46 TuuliSaimaa

www.modernutilitymanagement.com 1

This issue of Modern Utility Management represents rather a milestone for us here at Schofield Publishing. It’s going to be our first digital issue of MUM, which will be sent our subscribers via email, and we are very excited about it. However, we appreciate that some readers like to get hold a hard copy of the

magazine, and as at heart we still love the printed word too, there will also be a paper version. So if you prefer hold a traditional magazine in your hands, please drop an email to: [email protected] with your name and full postal address, and one will be sent out to you. PS: Our sister magazines European Oil and Gas, European Supply Chain Management, Shipping & Marine and Railway Strategies are also going digital, so if you’d also like to receive a copy of any of those titles, send your email address to Iain Kidd as above!

PLEASE NOTE: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Contents

Editor

46

24

24 Maintenance - Maintaining Wind Turbines Those at the forefront of the wind energy industry need to realise that the long-term maintenance is an investment in the sustainability of the business

2 www.modernutilitymanagement.com

l NetSuite, the industry’s leading provider of cloud-based financials / ERP software suites, has announced that Global Water Solutions, a leading global distributor of pressure vessels, doing business in 110 countries, has laid the foundation for continued worldwide growth with an implementation of NetSuite OneWorld to support eight international subsidiaries with multi-currency conversion capabilities and automated tax compliance at the local country level. Live as of November 2012, the NetSuite OneWorld implementation builds on the core NetSuite ERP system that Global Water Solutions has used since 2008 to run financials, CRM and multi-location inventory management. The company, headquartered on the island of Jersey, is among a growing number of wholesale distribution companies to turn to NetSuite OneWorld to fuel global growth with superior scalability, visibility and efficiency in the cloud and without the expense and ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting required of on-premise ERP systems to run multi-entity operations. The NetSuite OneWorld solution for Global Water Solutions’ subsidiaries, and its original NetSuite implementation, replaced a QuickBooks system that was unable to meet the company’s need for efficiency and real-time consolidated visibility with scalability to accommodate rapid business growth. NetSuite has given Global Water Solutions personnel in dozens of countries around the world anytime, anywhere access to critical business information, helping to speed processes, eliminate manual work and errors, and make informed data-driven business decisions. NetSuite has eliminated the need to manually recreate sales orders and purchase orders in QuickBooks while giving the company advanced multi-location inventory capabilities to manage stock and distribution from warehouses in Taiwan, Guatemala, the UK, Puerto Rico, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, China, India, France, Italy and Spain. NetSuite supports Global Water Solutions’ full lead-to-order-to-cash cycle with NetSuite CRM capabilities being rolled out to give internal and external sales representatives a comprehensive view of prospects and customers.

New system

l Quartzelec in Manchester has secured its first ever multi-utility contract with Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust. Valued at £1.4m, the Wrightington hospital project involves both high and low voltage electrical infrastructure, gas, water and telecommunications.Being delivered as part of a three-stage process to improve the efficiency of the site services operation and ensure the security of a continuous supply, the existing on-site facilities have been considered functionally unsuitable and are therefore being completely replaced. The contract includes the installation of new high voltage substations and ring circuits across the perimeter of the hospital and will be delivered over the next six months. This will provide the required infrastructure for the Trust to deliver the new P21+ surgical block in 2014 and on-going service and site redevelopment over coming years.“Our team put together an outstanding tender that clearly demonstrated our ability to deliver a quality solution that represents real value for money for the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust,” explained Martin Broughton, General Manager for Quartzelec in Manchester. “The hospital stands in a pleasant stretch of open countryside near Wigan, and the Quartzelec bid incorporated topography surveys to assess the impact on the immediate surroundings – including how local farms and residents may be affected by traffic, noise and any other disruptions. We also clearly outlined our previous experience of working within the healthcare arena and provided confidence in our offer with details of all our external accreditations, most specifically our National Electricity Registration Scheme (Ners) accreditation for LV cable laying and jointing up to 33kV as well as substation installation up to and including 11kV.”

Multi-utility contract

l Nexans has been awarded an 11 million euro contract by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) to supply a high voltage power cable system that will help the Beijing Electric Power Corporation support the future development and extension of the power transmission infrastructure in China’s capital city.The new powerlink in the Haidian district, known as the ‘Pilot project’, will be Beijing’s first intra-city installation of 500 kV cables using state-of-the-art XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) insulation. Nexans will design, manufacture and install a seven km circuit that will be laid in an underground tunnel, including the supply of all the related high voltage power accessories such as joints and terminations.The single-core XLPE cable will feature Nexans’ largest copper cross-section to date at 2500 mm2. A total of 21 km of cable will be laid as three separate 7 km lengths, one for each phase of the 3-phase electricity supply.The Beijing project is set for completion towards the end of 2014.

Cable contract

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES NEWS

l With the latest SebaKMT EasyLoc line location system from Megger, the route and depth of buried cables and pipes can be determined quickly and accurately, making it much easier to avoid costly and disruptive accidental damage to underground services. For maximum versatility, the EasyLoc system offers a choice of operating modes, making it equally suitable for use with energised or dead power cables, along with metallic pipes.The EasyLoc system has two main components: a transmitter and a handheld receiver. When tracing energised cables, the receiver is used on its own and looks for power frequency signals radiated by the cable. The user simply scans the likely route of the cable with the receiver until a clear signal is indicated, and then by positioning the receiver at the point of highest signal strength, the cable location is indicated.For convenience, the signal strength is indicated audibly via the built-in loudspeaker as well as visibly by the instrument’s large backlit display panel. Once the location of the cable has been determined, its depth can be measured and displayed by simply pressing a button on the receiver.The procedure for tracing pipes and unenergised cables is very similar, but in this instance the transmitter is used to inject a unique test signal into the pipe or cable. This can be done by direct connection of the transmitter, or by using induction to couple the test signal. As the transmitter has a mains voltage proof output, it can also be used with energised cables to provide improved accuracy in difficult operating conditions.

Buried treasure


l Tripwire has announced the results of a survey of 1000 UK consumers on smart meter privacy. The research revealed that British consumers believe utility companies will only install smart meters in high-earning households, creating a class division, despite widely publicised benefits that include reduced energy bills and improved environmental consciousness.Commenting on the research, Dwayne Melancon, chief technology officer for Tripwire noted: “Consumer fears about smart meter privacy are well founded. In a recent survey, energy industry security professionals identified metering infrastructure as one of the highest risk areas in smart grids. Smart grids - the energy infrastructure connected to smart meters - comprise of an enormous range of technology, each of which introduces many potential vulnerabilities that may be susceptible to cyber attack, and we are adding new technologies all the time. This ever-increasing rate of network complexity, combined with the lure of easily monetised consumer data, will inevitably draw the attention of a wide variety of cyber attackers.”Dwayne continued: “Without adequate security controls, our critical infrastructure will continue to be at risk, and this is uncharted territory for many utilities providers. Fortunately, there is readily available guidance on critical security controls that can quickly mitigate or reduce these risks.”

Class divide?l Business electricity prices have spiralled by more than 11 per cent on average in the past 12 months, according to figures released by the Energy Advice Line. Firms that signed up to one, two and three year energy contracts in the first quarter of 2012 paid an average 9.98p/kWh for electricity, compared to 11.12p/kWh during the same period in 2013.According to Julian Morgan, managing director of the price comparison, switching and advice service for business energy consumers, said that firms should now consider longer-term contracts because energy prices were set to rise further.However, the Energy Advice Line’s review found that most UK firms

– 87 per cent – continue to opt for the cheapest short-term deals. “With tough economic conditions continuing to bite and drive profit margins down, businesses seem to be grabbing the cheapest deals possible and that means short-term contracts,” Julian said.“However, our advice continues to be that they should not disregard the longer-term options. Taking a short-term view in a market where prices are rising could be the wrong decision.”

Longer-term deals

l More of the funds held by institutional investors would be invested in energy projects if there was a clear EU policy about how to deliver secure, affordable and low carbon energy, says the House of Lords EU Sub-Committee for Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment and Energy in its report, published in May.Following an eight-month long inquiry, during which the Committee heard from a number of individuals and organisations including the European Commission, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the CBI, WWF and power companies, the Committee’s alarm at the degree of uncertainty and complacency about affordable, secure and low carbon energy supplies has grown.Commenting on the report, Lord Carter of Coles, Committee Chairman, said: “It is clear to us that investment is urgently required, notably in a low carbon, interconnected and innovative energy system, that makes us less reliant on imports of highly volatile and dirty fossil fuels. Such investment would help to deliver secure and low carbon energy, boost European economic growth, and stabilise household and industrial costs.“The value of energy companies has slumped since 2008, the public purse is severely constrained, but more than enough money is around in the investment community. This should be a great time to invest in long-term assets, such as energy, but clear policy is needed in order to release it. No country is an energy island, so EU policy is particularly important. We need leadership and direction from the EU and its Member States in developing and agreeing an energy policy framework through to 2030.“At the heart of that framework, we see two core policies. First, a revised EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The ETS has failed but it is not dead. It needs to include a minimum price for carbon, providing governments and investors with the confidence to support innovation through investment. Second, and contrary to UK Government policy, a target for the proportion of energy to be delivered through renewable energy until 2030 is required.“There are no easy answers to meeting these challenges and keeping Europe competitive in the global market. But unless we find a way of doing this, our future energy could well be highly polluting, unaffordable and insecure.”

Investment crisis

INDUSTRY REPORTS NEWS

l Energy Networks Association (ENA) is fighting a dangerous proposal that threatens Europe’s energy security and which could add billions to consumers’ bills. The threat comes from an amendment to an EU regulation designed to manage the use of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), which is used to insulate electricity switchgear. The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulation Rapporteur for the European Parliament Environment Committee Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout has tabled an amendment that will ban the use of SF6 from 2020 onwards.David Smith, Chief Executive of ENA said: “This amendment will have a profound impact on the ability of the EU electricity network to operate after 2020. It will potentially lead to a catastrophic failure of large amounts of the network, in effect a ‘lights out’ scenario across Europe. Furthermore, it could also cost the UK electricity bill payer in excess of £1.4 billion in replacing otherwise healthy and reliable assets. This will also have a similar impact across other EU member states.“The ban simply makes no sense as there is no conceivable threat from the use of SF6 in electricity switchgear. In addition, for a range of uses there are no alternatives. We are taking our argument to the European Parliament at a series of meetings with MEPs. We have also raised it at Ministerial level both in DECC and DEFRA.”

Amendments could cost billions


HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT AND RENEWABLES NEWS

l Energy supplier npower has been awarded the prestigious Carbon Trust Standard in recognition of the company successfully reducing its carbon footprint year on year.The Carbon Trust Standard was awarded to npower for measuring, managing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This was accomplished using the same products and services npower provides to help its business customers be more energy efficient. The certification provides a robust framework for assessing corporate carbon performance. It also reflects the energy cost savings made within npower, ultimately enabling the energy supplier to help manage costs for its own customers.npower achieved a 16 per cent reduction in electricity consumption in 2012, putting it on track to meet its 2014 target of a 38 per cent reduction in carbon intensity of its offices compared to 2008 levels. These savings have been made through ongoing upgrades to lighting, heating and ventilation systems, combined with a rigorous approach to measuring, monitoring and minimising energy use. The steps have been implemented with services developed by npower, which are also used by business customers looking to make their own energy savings.

Carbon Trust certification

Expanded solar farm

l Following a successful test project, Lockbolts manufactured by Alcoa Fastening Systems (AFS) have been selected for use by renowned German steel construction specialist Butzkies GmbH in the production of three new wind turbine towers. At a height of 100m each of the towers will be built using the maintenance-free Huck BobTail system with the aim of providing durability and stability and a reduced lifetime cost in comparison to conventional threaded fasteners.Detlef Bengs, MD of Butzkies Stahlbau explains: “No conventional threaded fastener is permanently resistant to extreme mechanical tension or vibration. Threaded fasteners loosen over time, which can culminate in considerable problems with a wind turbine tower. To fully comply with the regulations for operational stability, the threaded fasteners must be repeatedly checked, re-tightened and, if required, replaced. This can cost the operator large sums of money over the years. From the start, we wanted to avoid this problem with our tower construction. This is why we took a deliberate decision to build our test plant by fitting the Huck BobTail Lockbolts from Alcoa Fastening Systems.”“We are delighted that our Lockbolts from the Huck BobTail series are now also used for construction of wind farms,” comments Alexander Petri, key account sales manager at AFS. “Our solution enables us to offer a convincing alternative to an important industry of the future. The operators of wind farms are assured the necessary safety over the longer term and reliable operation of their power plants, while we can simultaneously contribute to significant cost savings.”

Convincing alternative

l Conergy, Europe’s biggest supplier to large-scale solar projects, has announced the completion of a 4.5 megawatt solar park near Portsmouth for the UK’s largest solar PV developer, Lightsource Renewable Energy, ahead of the opening of the BRE National Solar Centre in St Austell, Cornwall by Greg Barker, Minister for Energy and Climate Change.The solar farm is part of a wave of large-scale solar projects connected before the end of March, a trend that is expected to continue to meet government ambitions of deploying 22GW solar capacity by 2020, equivalent to a third of country’s peak demand. The National Solar Centre aims to address challenges to achieving those targets. As a Founding Partner, Conergy has invested in the Centre and will participate in related projects.The new solar farm is located on 35 acres of grade three arable land just outside Lovedean, Hampshire. Lightsource Renewable Energy developed the project, and will own and operate the plant for the next 25 years. Conergy was the general contractor, responsible for engineering and layout, construction and component supply.The system comprises 18,500 solar panels on Conergy SolarLinea mounting systems and will produce around 4600 megawatt hours of clean solar power per year, enough to supply around 1350 homes. The project brings Conergy’s participation in UK solar farms to around 30MW in power output.

(Left to right) Alexander Petri, key account sales manager, Alcoa Fastening Systems and Detlef Bengs, managing director of Butzkies Stahlbau GmbH.

Future energy system l Eleven leading companies in Europe have joined forces in the newly established North Sea Power to Gas Platform to further develop the concept of Power-to-Gas (P2G): the conversion of renewable power into gas. P2G will play an increasingly important role in our future energy system, as it reduces temporal surpluses of renewable power by converting these surpluses into gases. As these gases can be used for different purposes such as transportation, domestic heating, as feedstock for the chemical industry, and power generation, the potential value of P2G is considerable.“The establishment of the North Sea Power to Gas Platform is an important step in the transition towards a sustainable energy system,” says Lukas Grond, P2G expert at DNV KEMA and secretary of the Platform. “I am pleased that this group of reputed companies has joined forces to bring this technology a step further into the global energy market.” The Platform is an initiative of energy consulting and testing & certification company, DNV KEMA, and includes Fluxys Belgium and Hydrogenics (Belgium); Energinet.dk and Maersk Oil (Denmark); Alliander, Gasunie and TenneT (Netherlands); ITM Power and National Grid (UK); and Open Grid Europe (Germany).


Moving to a low-carbon economy while keeping the lights on is a key priority for the government and it will impact every single one of us.

Minimising greenhouse gas emissions and becoming a more energy efficient economy will help to safeguard our global climate in the future. There is also a good commercial reason for this. The closure of the older coal and nuclear plants in the near future means that investment of some kind is necessary for the future stability of the UK energy market.

As part of the new Energy Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament, new schemes are being proposed to ensure the momentum of low carbon power generation projects is maintained.

Initiatives such CfD are designed to offer revenue certainty for anyone building up a new low carbon power generation facility. These long-term contracts will provide confidence to investors while also ensuring we meet future decarbonisation targets and future-proof our power supply. Crucially, CfDs ensure generators are not subsidised unnecessarily because they do not reward generators when the energy price is high.

At Haven, our priority is to see electricity bills remain stable and to keep costs down for our customers. In order for suppliers to do this most effectively we really need to know well in advance the costs that we will incur to support these initiatives.

Under the current Feed in Tariff for small renewable generators the costs are not known until well after the event. This makes

it difficult for suppliers to know what their costs of supplying a customer will be and this uncertainty tends to lead to average-to-higher charges for customers.

Having early visibility of the cost of these initiatives will allow suppliers to provide customers with the pricing arrangements that they are asking for while avoiding the need to pay any additional premium for budgetary certainty. u

For more information visit: www.havenpower.co.uk

Antony Badger, head of supplier management from Haven Power looks at the proposed Contract for Difference (CfD) scheme from a supplier’s perspective

http://www.havenpower.co.uk


Narrow margins, fierce competition and the demands of cutting pollution make commercial transport a challenging sector.

Every advantage can make a difference, especially if it has the twin-capacity to shrink both costs and emissions.

That hunt for a business head-start is bringing increasing numbers of operators to embrace the array of benefits already being delivered for some big name multi-national customers by Gasrec, Europe’s only provider of a unique bio-fuel, Bio-LNG.

Bio-LNG is a proprietary, future-proof blend of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquid biomethane (LBM) – a natural, green source of renewable energy produced from organic matter such as household food waste and sewage.

It can cut HGV fuel bills by 25 per cent compared to pure diesel equivalents. It can

also cut CO2 by up to 70 per cent, with at least an 85 per cent reduction in NOx and 90 per cent less particulate matter emissions.

Its significance for individual companies, the wider sector and the UK as a whole is put in stark relief by the national figures: commercial vehicles are responsible for some 30 per cent of transport emissions. HGVs represent less than one per cent of total vehicles by number – but generate over 17 per cent of emissions.

HGV operations also cover the highest mileage and use the most fuel in the logistics sector, according to the Freight Transport Association, with fuel representing more than one-third of all costs.

These facts highlight Bio-LNG’s crucial capacity to deliver future-proof price stability because the unique mix partially severs the link with oil prices that can have such a sudden and dramatic impact on businesses.

Newoption

Choose the right bio-fuel to seize a head-start in the commercial transport business race. By James Westcott

In fact, if the UK’s entire HGV fleets ran on Bio-LNG it could cut haulage emissions by 65 per cent


Bio-lng

Extra advantages include proven reductions in engine noise, full compliance with the Renewable Energy Directive, suitability for gas-powered or dual-fuel vehicles, and an inexhaustible supply from a secure delivery chain.

In fact, if the UK’s entire HGV fleets ran on Bio-LNG it could cut haulage emissions by 65 per cent, according to a report by consultants Ricardo-AEA. Many of the users and operators in the sector, including blue chip retailers and manufacturers, have already pledged to deliver the most significant emissions reductions.

Gasrec’s solution comes at a crucial time because there are very few ways for this sector to achieve its self-imposed targets, as most technologies or fuels are not commercially or economically robust enough to meet the needs of transport operators, where profit margins are thin and investment opportunities are limited.

The UK government is also trying to reduce road transport emissions by promoting the use of renewable fuels, such as Bio-LNG, via the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). Some of these fuels can be used in a number of different ways, namely for heat, power or as a vehicle fuel.

Gasrec’s LBM production plant in Albury, Surrey can produce more than five million diesel litres equivalent p/a


Given that there is a finite amount of UK biomass, it is important that each fuel is utilised to deliver the greatest emissions savings on investment.

Lower bills, less pollution: how does it work?Natural gas (NG) and its renewable equivalent, biomethane, are chemically similar and can be used as a vehicle fuel in a combustion engine. The fuel burnt in an NG engine mainly consists of methane. The gas is either fossil natural gas or biomethane produced from renewable resources, or some combination of the two.

There are about 12 million gas vehicles operating worldwide, with the majority deployed in Asia. Natural gas vehicles have been operating in Europe for almost 100 years.

Biomethane, natural gas and their various combinations represent a ‘fuel suite’ which is commercially available now and can be deployed in OEM-manufactured vehicles


bio-lng

utilising conventional combustion technology. The potential is clear from the interest

in gas vehicles shown by a number of large fleet operators and the projected rate of uptake within the sector. The fuel suite delivers emission reductions, both in CO2 and other GHGs, at a commercially attractive discount to diesel fuel.

The further advantage of natural gas engines being up to 50 per cent quieter than diesel engines allows vehicles to operate in urban areas outside normal business hours, easing congestion, pleasing residents and making fleet operations more flexible.

Dedicated or dual fuel: a versatile choiceMethane can either be utilised as a dedicated fuel in a spark ignition engine (suitable for small- and medium-sized vehicles due to fuel efficiency) or combined with diesel in a compression ignition engine (suitable for large vehicles). This means that the fuel is suitable for use across the commercial vehicle spectrum, making it very versatile.

Methane is only combustible at a mixture of between five per cent and 15 per cent with air. It is also lighter than air, so that it rises if released – bringing an intrinsically high safety level.

Gasrec and Bio-LNG: a unique offeringBio-LNG is Gasrec’s proprietary fuel that blends the carbon and pollution reductions of Gasrec’s own liquefied biomethane (LBM) with the cost competitiveness and widespread availability of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The standard blend is 15 per cent LBM (which in pure form reduces CO2 by up to 65 per cent compared to diesel) and 85 per cent LNG, which is widely available and cheaper than diesel.

Gasrec’s LBM production plant in Albury, Surrey, is capable of producing over five million diesel litres equivalent per annum. The plant is next to a large municipal landfill site and the gases created by organic waste decomposing are cleaned and liquefied at the plant. The fuel produced is guaranteed to be at least 96 per cent biomethane and no more than four per cent nitrogen.

The ‘bio’ content in the Bio-LNG is derived from waste: it is sustainable, it is not imported, and it meets all the criteria contained within the Renewable Energy

Directive. It has also achieved end-of-waste accreditation, meaning that the fuel is at least as good as the alternative fuel LNG.

A range of commercial vehicles able to use Bio-LNG are available direct from original equipment manufacturers and there is a strong after-market conversion supplier base. All benefit from manufacturers’ warranties and are operating in ever increasing numbers of fleets.

The fuel is fundamentally cheaper than diesel and is able to deliver significant CO2 savings today. And it’s proven: it has been tested and used for a number of years by major fleet operators like B&Q, Coca-Cola, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

With logistics experts leading the way, it’s a straightforwardly commercial and strategic decision to join them and seize the business advantage offered by Bio-LNG’s price and performance. u

James Westcott is Gasrec commercial projects manager. Gasrec was established in 2003 to develop the system to produce Bio-LNG. Today, the organisation also supplies, installs and manages dedicated on-site refuelling facilities for its transport customers. For further information, visit: www.gasrec.co.uk

B&Q has 50 dual-fuel lorries powered by Gasrec’s Bio-LNG


UK water companies are under pressure to increase output, reduce operational and capital expenditure, balance the

objectives of OFWAT and their stakeholders, improve customer service and comply with EU directives, all while operating in these challenging economic conditions.

OFWAT expects water companies to be doing more with less, making existing assets work harder and more effectively ahead of building new treatment or sewage works. This can’t be done at the expense of providing good quality customer service either, which also needs to be improved. Added to this is the drive to reduce their energy usage and carbon footprint.

But that’s not all as there are the environmental considerations as well, such as flooding and pollution. Companies also need to comply with EU legislation, like the Bathing Water Directive and the Water Framework Directive. Commercial opportunities like Water Hub, moving water from wetter to dryer regions, also drive

business planning. Underpinning all of this are the general factors associated with operating in the difficult financial conditions facing the UK.

So where do you start in trying to address all of these things? New technologies are emerging all the time, from aeration techniques or the upgrading of drives (to variable speed drives, for instance), to high-pressure network management through closed loop control. But while these will help, you also need to ensure there is a sound IT infrastructure behind them.

What do I mean by this? Well, at Capula we think information is vital to good business, and it is critical to turn this information into action. I’m talking about getting the right data from your portfolio of assets to the right people in your company for them to make the right decisions and take the necessary actions at both operational and management level.

Fundamentally, to achieve this means implementing the appropriate Instrument, Control and Automation (ICA) and IT

pressureUnder

Intelligent IT is the key to accessing the information your technology is giving you. By Steve Braund

The benefits of real-time information are numerous.

For instance, providing quality live data to

operators allows them to react quickly to situations

in the field


WATER TREATMENTsystems, but it’s also about people and processes, their capacity and capability. By bringing these elements together in real time, whilst focusing on the benefits and desired outcomes and continuously striving for improvement, you will optimise your activities, thereby reducing your operational and capital expenditure.

The benefits of real-time information are numerous. For instance, providing quality live data to operators allows them to react quickly to situations in the field. It might be that a sensor needs replacing, or there’s a mains leak somewhere that needs to be addressed immediately. You are giving operators the right information for them to make the appropriate decision and react quicker to situations, which need an urgent response. If there’s water gushing ten feet into the air and flooding somebody’s garden, the quicker you can fix the problem, the happier the garden’s owner will be, which brings us back to maintaining good levels of customer service. We all know things can go wrong occasionally, but when they do, the ability to quickly identify the problem and then fix it is crucial.

There are other benefits from better, faster information, such as enabling you to more proactively maintain your assets. Just like with a car, if a warning light flashes on your dashboard, you know that if you ignore it, you’re going to be hit with a hefty bill sooner or later. Reacting quicker can extend asset life and optimise performance, which in turn reduces your operational expenditure and gets you more from less.

So how do we do it? We gather real time performance data from a water company’s

assets together into a central historian, where it can be combined with other business information and external sources, such as weather and environmental. There we filter it and display meaningful, quality information for operators and management via intuitive, user-friendly dashboards. These solutions are scalable, giving access to more data than before, and faster than before.

We’ve delivered end-to-end solutions like these to water companies and similar industries, such as power and oil exploration. This provides them with greater visibility across their assets and access to timely and accurate information to support the

management of business critical and safety issues. What’s more, it has helped optimise performance due to early warnings in the solution’s monitoring system, and contributed significantly in reducing their annual energy consumption and carbon footprint.

New water treatment technologies will help in addressing the issues facing water companies today. But why wouldn’t you want to get as much out of these technologies as you can? A step change in real time IT and the quality of your information behind these technologies is what’s really important. And therein lies the rub. To effectively make such a step change you must address the skills, capabilities and capacity of your people, while focusing relentlessly on the benefits and outcomes of the strategy. It’s a fundamental change in approach for some, but the advantages for your business are many. u

Steve Braund is marketing manager for Capula Limited. Capula is an Imtech UK company specialising in advanced automation and

real-time business intelligence. Capula works across the energy and utilities spectrum, including nuclear, power generation, water, renewables & waste treatment, and oil & gas. For further information, visit: www.capula.co.uk.


Until recently, turbidity testing at the Pontsticill Water Treatment Works in the Brecon Beacons National Park relied on the use

of bellows pump technology. However, the inherent introduction of air in the samples was undesirable and led to false readings. Now though, relief has arrived in the shape Watson-Marlow’s new Qdos 30 metering pumps, which not only provide excellent suction lift, but do so without air locks.

“This is a clean water site and the quality of sample is very important,” states Marek Cegielski, a process scientist and manager at Dwr Cymru Welsh Water. “In the past we’ve tried other types of turbidity monitoring devices, such as dip probes, but without much success. We’ve even used bubble traps in conjunction with our bellows pumps, but we still fell short of 100 per cent reliability. Of course, eliminating the need for bubble traps was one of the attractions of replacing one

of our bellows pumps with the new Qdos 30 from Watson-Marlow.”

Upstream benefitsLocated around three miles north of Merthyr Tydfil, the Pontsticill Water Treatment Works draws its water from the Pontsticill Reservoir, a large body of water measuring some 102 hectares in surface area, and holding up to 3400 million gallons of water for supply to industry and the populous of South Wales. Completed in 1927 and served by the Taf Fechan river, Pontsticill is among the biggest and most important resources in the Dwr Cymru Welsh Water portfolio. With this in mind, successful turbidity testing is vital.

Turbidity is a key test of water quality. It is defined as the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles (suspended solids) that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. Water can contain suspended solid matter

Qdos metering pumps solve turbidity testing dilemma for Welsh Water

Turbidity is a key test of water quality. It is defined

as the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles (suspended solids) that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to

smoke in air

advantageClear

^

^


case study

consisting of particles of many different sizes. While some suspended material will be large enough and heavy enough to settle rapidly to the bottom of a container if a liquid sample is left to stand (the ‘settleable’ solids), very small particles will only settle slowly or not at all if the sample is regularly agitated or the particles are colloidal. These small solid particles cause the liquid to appear turbid. In drinking water, the higher the turbidity level, the higher the risk that people may develop gastrointestinal problems.

crystal clear solutionThe Qdos 30 metering pump at Pontsticill is taking elutriant from a DAF (dissolved air flotation) filtration plant and lifting it approximately three metres before it passes through a turbidity meter and returns by gravity back into the flow. At this point the water has already been subjected to coagulation, flocculation and flotation, and is

ready for final filtration processes.Capable of delivering flow performance

from 0.1 to 500 ml/min, the Qdos pump gives Dwr Cymru Welsh Water a steady flow speed of 280 ml/min – and the emphasis here is very much on ‘steady’.

“Our main requirement is for a constant, pulse-free flow,” says Marek. “Previously we had tried fitting back valves to bellows pumps to stop the pulsing but in truth we couldn’t properly buffer the effect and still ended up with false readings.”

Plain sailingInstalled in July 2012, the Qdos 30 is working well without any signs of air introduction or flow variation. Watson-Marlow’s innovative new Qdos range has been purposely designed to eliminate ancillary equipment and enhance productivity by delivering more accurate, linear, and repeatable metering than typical solenoid or stepper driven diaphragm pumps.

“So far, so good, as far as we’re concerned – when new technology comes along that has a clear advantage over existing market solutions, then we are always willing to give it a try,” concludes Marek. “In total we have four streams to monitor at Pontsticill, so if our existing Qdos 30 continues to meet expectations then we’ll place an order for a further three pumps.”

Featuring all-new hardware and software, other water-related applications for Qdos 30 include disinfection and pH adjustment of drinking water and industrial process water, flocculation, and industrial cooling water preparation to list but a few. u

Part of the Spirax-Sarco Engineering Group, Watson-Marlow Pumps Group is an international operation based in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK. For further information, visit: www.wmpg.co.uk.

^


Utility companies are actively reviewing their systems and processes as they strive for operational excellence. Although

service standards among utilities companies are improving, the sector remains resolutely rooted to the bottom of the UK Customer Satisfaction Index.

Faced with unfavourable public perceptions, fuelled by political rhetoric and negative media coverage, the industry faces a considerable challenge to climb this performance league table.

It’s a challenge, however, that firms are setting out to tackle with a vengeance. SSE, for example, is offering a £20 cashback to compensate customers if it fails to meet self-imposed service commitments. Npower, meanwhile, has set its stall out with a target of achieving number one status for customer

service in its sector by 2015.Realising such targets will require

concerted efforts to boost service performance in key operational areas. Progressive businesses such as Forefront Utilities have recognised this and the role that effective fleet management can play.

The gas infrastructure specialist deployed a combined tracking and fuel management technology system to provide greater visibility of its mobile workforce across its 164-strong vehicle fleet. Bradley Beard, the company’s chief executive, told how excellence in customer service was a top priority for them and that the system was needed to ensure its teams were on site, on time.

Traffic is one of the biggest obstacles to this, preventing firms from attaining first-class standards of customer service, according to TomTom research. Ninety per

moveA strategic

Giles Margerison considers how effective fleet management technology can help tackle the sector’s emerging business challenges


fleet managementcent of van drivers admitted to arriving late for customer appointments in the recent study – with traffic cited as the major cause by 93 per cent of respondents.

Conducted among mobile workers operating as part of a company fleet, the study found that 27 per cent of drivers are regularly late. All of those questioned claimed traffic had an impact on their weekly job schedule, with 81 per cent stating congestion was a regular source of disruptions.

Although traffic cannot be controlled, its effect can certainly be mitigated. Advanced fleet management systems, incorporating live traffic information, allow companies to plan around delays and dispatch employees to jobs based on quickest arrival times, not simply who is closest to the customer.

The technology provides the tools needed to alleviate driver stress and make employees’ jobs easier. Smarter routing means less frustration, while workflow planning can take into account journey times for specific routes or times of the day, meaning customers are provided with accurate ETAs and are quickly informed in the case of delays or changes to the job schedule.

The importance of this cannot be underestimated – particularly given that in a separate TomTom study a quarter of consumers said unspecified appointment times are the biggest failing of service companies. Ninety-six per cent of British consumers are not typically given precise appointment times by delivery and service companies, with three-quarters usually being given morning or afternoon timeslots at best.

Utility companies will be mindful that improving standards of customer service must be balanced with managing costs and optimising productivity. From the perspective of a mobile workforce, achieving these goals can go hand-in-hand.

Fleet management technology can not only help improve customer service, it can reduce operating costs, improve administrative efficiencies, increase productivity, an organisations’ green credentials and its duty of care to its employees.

With a requirement to attend emergencies quickly to meet stringent regulatory requirements and to protect the public, an investment in a TomTom Business Solutions’ system for utilities giant Scotia Gas Networks (SGN) was a logical step.

Knowing the exact location of its 1500 engineers and getting them from job to job as efficiently as possible, was a major challenge for the utilities giant. Not to

mention the essential task of locating key network installations, especially at night and by engineers who are outside of their normal territory.

What’s more, having the ability to give customers accurate ‘expected times of arrival’ was regarded as key for the company to successfully manage expectations and provide a high level of service. The fleet management system has enabled

the company to do this consistently and effectively, not to mention helping it to minimise vehicle mileage, cut fuel usage, reduce the overall level of fleet emissions and ensure the safety of its engineers on the move.

The SGN control room can now allocate jobs to the nearest available engineers, who are guided to their destination with an in-vehicle device that is constantly updated with traffic information.

As for realising a speedy return on investment – a 14 per cent reduction in overtime claims alone was enough for this to be demonstrable. Overtime, paid at the premium hourly rate, was costing the company dear. By making significant reductions in this area, SGN has saved a considerable amount of time and money.

The potential financial gains that can be achieved from adopting fleet management technology are colossal. These were recently revealed in an independent survey, carried out by research agency Environmental Resources Management. Analysing the operations of a 61-strong vehicle fleet belonging to Zenith Hygiene Group, it calculated an annual reduction in fuel costs of £222,660 and maintenance costs of £50,000. This equated to reduced CO2 emissions of 28 per cent, or 597 tonnes over the same period.

The company uses TomTom technology to monitor driving style and encourages drivers to meet achievable performance benchmarks, using incentives and extra training where necessary. Fleet management technology now puts drivers at the heart of performance improvement programmes, feeding live performance information back to drivers’ sat nav devices and enabling them to change their behaviour in real time.

The Zenith scheme, implemented with the involvement and co-operation of the drivers themselves, dramatically reduced instances of speeding, idling and harsh braking, which can have a significant impact upon fuel consumption. By demonstrating an improved risk profile, motor insurance premiums for the company were also slashed by £78,000 over the course of a two-year period.

Despite facing unprecedented change and challenges, the utilities sector will continue to invest heavily in network, plant and supporting mobile business assets. To ensure their optimal performance, companies require the right data, systems and processes, delivered by appropriate technologies. Evolving, intelligent, fleet management solutions will play an ever-increasingly role in industry’s strategic future. u

Giles Margerison is TomTom Business Solutions’ Director UK & Ireland. TomTom Business Solutions is a leading provider of fleet management solutions and professional telematics services. Its products are designed to help deliver greener, safer and more efficient fleet operations for businesses. Online management platform WEBFLEET is highly scalable and offers the highest standards of reliability and security. For further information, visit: www.tomtom.com/business.

A lighter racking system that does not compromise on safety and robustness could have been a difficult equation for many, but not for Tevo Limited.

“By introducing ultra-high strength steel into our vehicle racking systems, we have reduced the weight even further but still retained the system’s strength and load capacity,” said Paul Railston, commercial director of Tevo.

The trend in the racking system industry for light commercial vehicles is only going in one direction i.e. lightweight. A lighter system means reducing the total weight of the vehicle, which in turn means lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions. This is positive for cost savings and also protecting the environment. Another advantage is increased load capacity as more equipment can be loaded into the vehicle.

“The customer surveys we conducted have all resulted in the same conclusion; our customers want a lighter system without compromising on strength and load capacity,” explains Paul.

Ultra-high strength steel In Tevo’s new lightweight range, most of the products will be made from advanced steel. Tevo has become a pioneer in their industry by choosing to work with this variant of steel.

“After careful consideration, we came to the conclusion that ultra-high strength steel is the optimum material to use if you want to achieve the combination of reduced weight, high strength and crash protection”, said Paul.

Ultra-high strength steel is four times stronger than mild steel and is often used in the automotive industry, for example in doors where you need to safeguard the driver or passenger by providing

a high level of protection in the event of a side impact. It also requires significant engineering skill to achieve products that are as strong using a thinner material. You need to know exactly how the material in your design will behave i.e. the new design of the shelf edge (patent pending) adds stiffness which prevents excessive bending.

“If we take our shelves for example, the new design in combination with the thinner steel plate means that we have been able to significantly reduce the weight,” explains Paul.

Tevo’s new concept has been developed in collaboration with the Swedish based steel producer SSAB, experts in high strength and ultra-high strength steels, along with a number of prominent research institutes and universities.

The new product was comprehensively exhibited on Tevo’s stand at the CV Show in April 2013 and was very well received by existing and potential customers alike.

The lightweight journey continues Working with weight optimisation is nothing new for Tevo. The company launched their first weight optimised products at the end of the 1990s, and a couple of years later the first lightweight racking system was produced.

With the introduction of ultra-high strength steel, it will be the next generation of lightweight racking systems. It will not be the last however. “Our quest to find ways of improving our product range is an on-going project and technologies and materials are always evolving too”, said Paul. u

For further information on Tevo’s products and services, please visit Tevo’s new website at www.tevo.eu.com.

Tevo launched their new lightweight racking system in April 2013


The customer surveys we conducted have all resulted in the same conclusion; our

customers want a lighter system without compromising on strength and load capacity

http://www.tevo.eu.com

http://www.tevo.eu.com


Gas storage facilities are becoming increasingly important to secure future supplies of gas for the UK’s power stations, customers, and

for the UK as a whole. UK North Sea gas production is declining and UK gas demand may rise as it provides a cleaner back up source to renewable energy than other fossil fuels. This decline is leading to an increasing reliance on imported gas.

As a result, gas storage facilities, including E.ON’s Holford facility, will play a crucial role in the gas supply chain as Britain’s energy market seeks to achieve a stable supply-demand balance. Furthermore, the UK Government is currently looking at whether there is a case for intervention to support further investment in gas storage.

Jo Vizor, managing director, E.ON Gas Storage UK Ltd, explained the history behind E.ON’s involvement in this area: “During 2007, E.ON announced some restructuring of its businesses. As part of this, E.ON Gas Storage GmbH, located in Germany, was created to bring together all of the gas storage development, construction and

operational expertise from across the E.ON Group.

“E.ON Gas Storage UK Ltd was formed as part of this process in 2008. It is a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of E.ON Gas Storage GmbH and has responsibility for development, construction, operation and marketing of UK projects.”

She continued: “In the UK, we have been able to access the benefits of E.ON’s experience within Europe where we have over 30 years experience in the development, construction and operation of gas storage assets. This has given us an ability to draw on the right specialists’ knowledge and support at the right time.”

E.ON’s gas storage activity in the UK has focused on two major sites. Jo gave some more details about the Holford site: “Holford is a salt cavern gas storage facility with a storage capacity of over 160 million cubic metres (mcm). Salt caverns offer the highest degree of flexibility as they can be utilised to balance gas supply against demand on a day-to-day, week-to-week or seasonal basis.

“Holford has fast withdrawal and injection

storeSetting a

Gas storage needs to be a part of the future energy mix. One of the major players in the UK market is E.ON Gas Storage. Libbie Hammond talks to Jo Vizor about the industry

We have been able to access the benefits of

E.ON’s experience within Europe where we have

over 30 years experience in the development,

construction and operation of gas storage assets


Gas storaGerates of up to 22mcm/day which means that it can cycle its full capacity in less than a month making it one of the most flexible gas storage assets in the UK market. This provides real flexibility to the UK energy system, as we expect the need for fast response and flexibility to grow as the UK moves towards a lower carbon future, for example with increasing renewable penetration. We believe that responsive and flexible gas supplies are important for the UK achieving its energy policy objectives.

“We are proud of the way we have managed the construction project to deliver as much benefit as possible to the local economy. Approximately 70 per cent of our total budget has been spent with UK companies and 47 per cent of our overall budget has been spent with local contractors and vendors during the project. Around 2.5 million man-hours have been expended here in the UK on project development and construction.

“We have also invested to maintain or improve the local Cheshire countryside where we are planting more than 115,000 trees and shrubs to create over 50,000 sq metres of new woodland and 13,000 metres of new hedges.”

Given the nature of underground gas storage facilities, it is only natural that health and safety is a huge priority for E.ON. As Jo explained, this area receives a great deal of effort and attention from all E.ON staff. “The safety of the process is ensured by maintaining the integrity of the plant, having robust and thorough procedures for any work carried out and also by ensuring the competence of all persons involved in the operation and maintenance of the asset,” she said. “Regular training to maintain the competence of staff is planned and delivered and we are constantly checking the effectiveness of our arrangements to ensure they meet the stringent requirements of legislation that is applicable to a top tier COMAH site like ours. Our safety, health & environment management systems are certified to ISO 18001 and ISO 14001 and maintenance of this level of certification requires that we continually improve our performance by measurement, audit and review.”

This health and safety policy also extends to the wider community and includes the health and safety of the environment and wildlife. “Our management systems consider all persons who may be affected by our operations and legislative requirements ensure that we are managing hazards that may affect the wider community. We liaise closely with our neighbours on all matters

including safety, health & environmental issues and have invested heavily in landscaping projects around our asset to ensure we return the land back as close as possible to its original habitat. As an example of how we look to ensure zero impact on wildlife, since the beginning of the project, we have taken specific measures to protect the welfare of Great Crested Newts that inhabit the land,” added Jo.

As well as balancing demand fluctuations, gas storage can help to ensure that disruptions in the long distance transportation of gas do not prevent UK customers having access to the gas they need to heat and power their homes and businesses. It appears to be a critical part of the energy mix for the UK going forward and therefore an area that will likely see growth – indeed, to meet this need E.ON has already received the necessary permissions for a new site at Whitehill. It is an exciting area, and E.ON is ideally placed to help the UK become a leading exemplar of best practice in the market. u

For further information, visit: www.eon-gas-storage.com


The utilities sector is critical in so many ways. As well as servicing our homes, businesses and industries, the sector employs around 600,000,

and since 2007 has invested over £43 billion within the UK – boosting our economy.

With such influence comes responsibility. The sector is tasked with reliably supplying the utilities we’ve come to depend on, and do so safely, with a constant awareness of both employee and public safety. Fulfilling both these requirements is essential for any utilities business and a key reason why sector interest in integrated security solutions is on the up.

The past influencing the presentInitially, however, it’s useful to look to the past in order to fully understand the current security state-of-play within the utilities sector, and to appreciate why integrated information may have such a role to play in its future.

Historically the sector has looked to individual, separately implemented and

monitored systems to keep assets secure. Perimeter security, intruder detection systems, access control, ANPR, emergency incident alarms, and general site surveillance may all be present on many utility estates – but they are traditionally disparate elements.

Similarly, as utilities businesses and their respective networks have grown over time, an infrastructure of diverse security technology - some analogue, some digital - from a wide range of manufacturers has emerged.

The net result is potential security inefficiency. Monitoring disparate systems independently takes time. It also limits potential information capture because information received is isolated and not presented in the broader context of other events.

Today’s technologyIntegrated security solutions are now available that address these specific issues. Today’s open protocol integrated security solutions mean that CCTV (analogue and digital cameras), intruder alarms, fire

Integrationis the key

Karen Churchill explains why information integration is much more than enhancing security

It’s useful to look to the past in order to fully

understand the current security state-of-play

within the utilities sector, and to appreciate

why integrated information may have

such a role to play in its future


CCTVdetection, access control, critical asset tracking and building management systems can not only communicate with each other, but can also be monitored and controlled on one system platform, from one location – a central security control centre for example.

Utilities companies using these solutions are equipped to detect potential threats more quickly, and with greater accuracy (due to information from multiple sources providing context). For example, an integrated security system of this nature can not only detect ‘obvious’ isolated incidents, but can also be programmed to ‘look for’ specific circumstances which individually may not mean anything, but together signify threat.

A scheduled movement of assets such as cable drums, for instance, may seem ‘normal’ but in conjunction with unusual or unauthorised staff ID access, this could indicate a potential issue. An integrated system can be set to detect this combination of data and alert CCTV operators – immediately streaming live footage from cameras nearest the cable drum location and at the ID breach.

Combined with improvements in, and increased appetite for, camera technology - including long range, thermal and hazardous area cameras - the facility for rapidly capturing quality information is dramatically enhanced.

The ‘one platform’ approach to security monitoring and control is also particularly suited to the utilities sector due to the size and scope of estates - remote, unmanned sites are common across water, electricity and gas networks.

An integrated, networked security solution means that video, audio, PIR activations and other alarm inputs, from such remote locations, can be easily streamed directly to offsite operators, again ensuring any incident triggers appropriate visual and, if needed, audio data that enables immediate reaction to potential or actual threat.

The importance of threat detection and rapid responseAnd rapid reaction time is important. One of the biggest issues in managing so many sites is the ability to speedily implement actions to prevent threat or limit the damage caused – delay in doing so can potentially result in lengthy breaks in supply e.g. if site equipment is damaged or stolen.

With OFGEN empowered to fine utilities businesses for supply disruption (based on Customer Minutes Lost or CML), particularly where it is deemed that supply ‘interruptions’ were reasonably preventable – this is a business critical concern for the sector.

Here, the ‘two way’ nature of security information integration really comes into its own. You see as well as detecting and alerting operators to threats, accompanied by live visual/audio feed - these systems can also be programmed to trigger reactive protocols that guide operators though ‘next steps’, and enable remote actions to be taken such as immediate area/perimeter lockdown or ID card cancellation.

Similarly, the system can be programmed to immediately alert local emergency responders should certain data sets be captured, ensuring that on-site assistance – say in the case of a metal theft attempt, protestor attack or indeed a fire – is in place as quickly as possible.

Improving capacity to react quickly to potential or actual threat correlates directly with limiting any potential site downtime and CML. Supporting this essential KPI is a clear draw for the sector.

Keeping people safeBut as I mentioned earlier, the potential for integrated security systems goes beyond site security. It also offers significant benefits in terms of improved safety.

Integrating access control - and associated systems - with CCTV monitoring and control, provides a much clearer picture of who is on site at any one time, what their status is and how that relates to other site processes/incidents.

The following scenarios would therefore be possible:l The system could detect when one worker remains on site and ensure that electrified perimeter fences could not be armed until the employee in question has safely left. l Sensors at a gas plant could be set to alert security operators to dangerous gas levels and stream footage of cameras in the immediate vicinity. Individuals identified in those areas from the footage could have their site clearance immediately upgraded to enable them to evacuate via nearest exits. l Metal thefts can result in exposed wires, damaged batteries and various potential

threats to staff wellbeing. The system would enable operators to put potentially hazardous areas on lockdown until a visual sweep, using standard/thermal cameras, has been conducted. l Such systems are also particularly relevant to lone worker scenarios. Many utility businesses, particularly water suppliers, employ a wide range of lone workers for monitoring and maintaining estate assets. Such staff could be issued with sensors that, for example, monitor heart rate or simply whether the individual is vertical or horizontal (signifying potential collapse).

These sensors can feed directly into the security system and, should wellbeing be at risk, alert control room operators to their location and stream footage in order to assess potential injury. Emergency responders can then be alerted as required.

The futureLooking at applications such as these it becomes clear that information integration is about much more than stopping break-ins or thefts – it’s about utilities businesses being able to streamline their operations in a way that improves their capacity to supply and protect.

But there is still a long way to go. At present, this approach to security has only been adopted by a minority of utility providers out there. But this figure is now rising at a much faster rate than ever before. Looking at the advantages offered – it’s not hard to see why. u

Karen Churchill is critical infrastructure specialist for surveillance solutions business Synectics. Synectics is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative and integrated security systems with 25 years’ experience providing surveillance solutions across the globe. Delivering protection for national, civil and commercial critical Infrastructure, Synectics is the system of choice for the world’s most demanding security environments. For further information please visit www.synx.com.


There is no doubt that the rise of the smartphone and tablet consumer product categories are causing field service IT and operations leaders

to rethink their mobile computing strategy. These consumer-oriented devices combine a new capability of form factor and user interface, changing how people perceive mobile computing ease-of-use, convenience and personal productivity.

But for all the buzz today around ‘BYOD’, allowing mobile workers to ‘bring their own device’ to the job, according to Aberdeen Group’s Field Service 2013, Workforce Management Guide, the bottom line remains how to deliver customer satisfaction, retention and profitability performance. Aberdeen’s study cites that ‘80 per cent of revenue is driven from current customers on existing

products or new products and services’. Given the critical nature of these key

metrics to service business performance, one need only look to the performance of the mobile computing solutions, the real-time interface between service technician and the field support infrastructure and back office systems, to understand why choosing the right mobile computing solution is so important. It is in this context that total cost of ownership (TCO) as a means to evaluate the mobile computing investment should be applied.

Many people think that mobile computing TCO is a simple and straightforward measure of the cost to own and operate a given device and maybe the added software licenses. But cost can and should be interpreted in several important ways. The most common way to

bottom lineLook to the

Mobile computing in field service operations and the need for due diligence when calculating total cost of ownership (TCO). By Tim Eusterman

measure cost is the ‘hard’ cost associated with purchase or lease price, maintenance fees, data and voice plans, time and material repair costs per incident, batteries and replacement costs, chargers, accessories, etc. These measures of cost are the easiest to compare side-by-side for given devices, accessories and associated services. But they tell far from the whole TCO story.

Another area of cost to contemplate, admittedly a little harder to compare and generally requiring side-by-side real-life testing, are those underlying system performance costs associated with time-centric workflow measures. Examples of such operating or workflow costs are things like first time scan read-rate, signature capture time, mobile system to host application data transfer (upload/download) response time,


IT

image focus/capture response time, battery recharge cycle times, etc.

These areas of performance related costs are often very closely tied to the underlying mobile computer technology architectures and how well it is built to match specific use case needs. They impact user workflow performance in many ways, but often only seconds at a time. The downside to seconds at a time is they add up to minutes, hours, days. As Aberdeen Group points out in the above-mentioned study, best-in-class performers had an ‘increase of 11.4 per cent in workforce productivity over the prior 12 months.’ This is why seconds matter to workforce productivity.

This workflow-oriented view of service level performance above suggests another important factor of TCO – that of opportunity cost. Opportunity cost in this case is based on understanding and assessing the value of an incomplete service call, a late or missed appointment, or the lost productivity of compiling manual logs sheets, time-and-attendance or other workforce management related activities. Aberdeen Group’s assessment of ‘Best-in-Class’ service companies found that these leading companies achieved an 89 per cent first time fix rate, a 78 per cent workforce utilisation rate, a 92 per cent compliance with stated response times, and are 35 per cent more likely than companies who are not best-in-class to have automated multiple

workforce management capabilities. A primary source of damaging costs in the

above categories can be directly attributed to device reliability. Or put a different way – device reliability and the costs of unexpected damage or down-time including time to reboot a device, or reload software, and/or the physical repair and/or replacement of a device needs to be a ‘hard number’ assumption in the TCO analysis. All these factor into the very real costs of lost opportunity that impact customer satisfaction and retention, top line revenue and overall profitability.

And finally, considering that one of Aberdeen Group’s primary recommendations in the above noted study to companies not yet in their ‘best-in-class’ category is to ‘empower field agents with mobile tools and devices and real-time access to information’, it is clear that other support related costs will be critical in this TCO calculation.

Understanding the impact of deploying and supporting the operating system, browser, host application, client-side application, predictive device health monitoring, help desk, and other real-time management of field-based mobile computing solutions is no trivial matter. Yet, it is critical to add to the TCO calculation. There are simple questions like – how often does one expect the operating system of the mobile device to be upgraded and how will that impact my host application and database integration and client-side

Tim Eusterman is senior director, industry marketing at Intermec. Intermec is a workflow performance company that design’s the leading data capture and information management solutions at the interface between mobile workers, assets, and customers. For further information, visit: www.intermec.com.

application? How will one redeploy the upgrade when it happens? And this does not speak to new workflow specific applications that companies will need to deploy within the lifetime of the mobile computing devices. These costs are especially important when field technicians rarely if ever visit a company location where IT services can be provided and in companies are using independent agents or other contract labor. So carefully understanding the interdependencies of all these elements on the overall IT system and support costs as part of the TCO is a critical and often underappreciated calculation.

In summary, TCO needs to be treated as a complex, but ultimately powerful investment decision tool – alongside other considerations like technician preference/acceptance, change management processes, vendor expertise and support, etc. But ultimately, the decision on a mobile computing solution has to address the bottom line - delivering customer satisfaction, retention and profitability performance – to be successful. u

The marketplace in which Royal Mail operates is changing. As well as increased competition within the postal market, the ways in which businesses and individuals shop communicate is changing, and as new technologies emerge, traditional letter volumes are declining.

In order to move away from paper-based tracking systems and achieve growth, Royal Mail focused on heightened visibility of the supply chain in order to meet new customer needs. The ability

to demonstrate reliability through transparent delivery methods was

key to achieving this.Royal Mail’s decision

was to invest £67 million into a mobile wireless

initiative that has enabled the company to

stay better connected with its mobile workforce and increase

visibility across all operations.

The solution, using Intermec’s CN3 portable computer, instantly delivered increased quality of service for existing and new products, improved efficiency and increased revenues.

The CN3 is known within Royal Mail as the Postal Digital Assistant (PDA) and allows real-time barcode scanning and communications throughout the company’s network. Satellite navigation and voice/text communications provide a world class and industry leading operational and safety tool for the company’s 35,000 delivery drivers.

All of Royal Mail’s 325,000 daily collections are now scanned and customers can track their goods in real-time and are able to access proof of delivery online — usually the recipient’s signature — within minutes, not days.

Armed with the up-to-the- minute management information, Royal Mail has been able to enhance performance, exceed its regulatory targets, cut costs and drive sales growth. The benefits of the integrated solution are reaching right across the company, ensuring that packages reach the right destination at the right time and helping staff to work more efficiently. One driver said: “It’s the best thing that’s happened in my job for a long time.”

Case study - Intermec CN3 delivers the complete customer package for Royal Mail


potentialMaximising

Alexander Hill asks: Can our wind energy sector prove the sceptics wrong?

There is no denying the start-up costs involved

with condition monitoring are still high – with a price tag upwards of

£20,000 per wind turbine, a huge investment when

considering that offshore farms typically have many

hundreds of turbines

A recent prediction that wind farms will soon be able to generate greater income will be welcome news for many investors in the

technology.1 With the introduction of a new tax on energy from gas and coal-fired power stations expected in 2016, wind farms will be able to charge more for the power they produce – which in turn will provide a much-needed increase in their revenue.

Wind turbines have never had an easy ride; with the public in constant opposition to giant wind farms and recently the National Trust commenting that wind farms are ‘a widespread and persistent danger to the countryside.’2 Nevertheless, governments across Europe are starting to recognise the very real need for investment in alternative energy, and are currently ploughing money into companies that manage alternative energy projects. The potential for large growth with a constant need for greater efficiency in the wind power industry has led to the development of increasingly larger turbines and offshore farms, which in turn comes with a greater maintenance burden.

When things go wrong, the cost of hiring a maintenance ship to reach an offshore wind farm and correct any problems can be upwards of £100,000 per day – a significant impact upon the cost of generation. Not only this, but if the trip proves to be unwarranted,

with ‘no fault found’ or an incorrect replacement part specified, it is a dire waste of resources. Through the use of Critical Asset Management, engineers may identify weaknesses in systems and the surrounding maintenance processes, pre-empting issues with components, supply chain or even weather conditions. It can improve the efficiency of a maintenance trip by highlighting other pre-emptive actions that could be performed at the same time and it also ensures that they are only called out to the wind farms when absolutely necessary, maximising the all-important ‘availability’ metric.

Critical Asset Management is the application of condition monitoring technology, together with advanced data engineering and visualisation techniques. It has the ability to resolve the growing wind power industry’s need for better maintenance management and increased reliability. By continuously monitoring the performance of wind turbine parts, operations processes and the surrounding organisation, it can help to determine specific maintenance timing and actions. This is particularly crucial to offshore wind farms, which are continuously bombarded by the elements and are rarely easily accessible. There is a clear case for condition-based maintenance based on continuous, automatic and intelligent


potential

Maintenance

remote monitoring software that can identify issues before they become problems.

One of the main causes of failure in advanced composite materials like a wind turbine blade is delamination and de-bonding of layers. Condition monitoring systems are capable of detecting, localising and quantifying the severity of damage in the material. Vibration methods, which are sensitive to changes in the stiffness, mass and damping characteristics of materials, are widely used for damage diagnosis on critical structures.

There is no denying the start-up costs involved with condition monitoring are still high – with a price tag upwards of £20,000 per wind turbine, a huge investment when considering that offshore farms typically have many hundreds of turbines. This is an enormous turn off for companies looking to keep their expenditure to a minimum in the first few months of production. Nevertheless, companies need to start seeing condition monitoring and critical asset management as a longer-term investment. Renewable energy companies that rely upon manufacturer-prescribed solutions can find the decision coming back to haunt them when the warranty period is over. They will find themselves in situations where they are alerted to problems too late, when thousands of pounds worth of damage has already been caused. Such failures

already prove disastrous and costs run into the millions when associated, knock-on losses are taken into account.

The aerospace industry is the world leader when it comes to the use of critical asset management. Engineers working in the sector fully appreciate the dangers of relying on scheduled maintenance alone. They understand that taking a traditional, reactive and simplistic approach to monitoring and maintaining the health of critical equipment and systems would drive them out of business through the lack of availability.

Those at the forefront of the wind energy industry need to realise that the long-term maintenance of critical systems, such as those in wind turbines, is not only an essential part of its up keep, but an investment in the sustainability of the business. While the initial costs are high, the long-term effects of not having a comprehensive critical asset management plan can be catastrophic. The industry now has the option to bring wind energy into the 21st century and stop relying on age-old practises that simply do not stand up in today’s market. By taking a leaf out of the aerospace industry’s book, they will help to save the wind energy sector millions of pounds. The savings made over time could then be passed on to customers, ensuring that wind energy becomes an effective and

affordable energy solution when it is needed over the coming years.

Having now proved its business case, we need to stop trying to prove the worth of critical asset management and instead work on how to maximise its potential. The government has gone some way to improve conditions for the wind energy sector by providing some much needed funding, but this won’t last and the industry needs to do everything it can to help itself. By looking for help and advice from more mature industries, the wind energy sector now has the capacity to really come into its own and prove all the sceptics wrong. u

Alexander Hill, UK Energy Business Development, Critical Software Technologies. Critical Software specialises in design and development services relating to complex, software intensive, mission-critical systems. The UK subsidiary is based in Southampton and focuses on data engineering as well as mission-critical systems in the energy, avionics, space and defence industries. For more information, please visit www.critical-software.co.uk.

1 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/windpower/9934846/Green-tax-boost-for-wind-farm-profits.html 2 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289392/Wind-farms-widespread-persistent-threat-countryside-warns-National-Trust.html


Winds of

Offshore is the rapidly growing offshore arm

of the renewable energy company RES. RES has been at the forefront of the wind energy industry for over three decades and its core activity is the development, design, construction, financing and operation of large-scale wind farms worldwide, both onshore and offshore.

RES Offshore has seen rapid growth to over 100 staff with offshore expertise, seeing it spill into a new office and expand into other regions in the UK, France and USA.

We interview RES Offshore CEO Chris Morgan to learn more about RES Offshore and what the future holds for the company and the industry

RES Offshore is both a project manager and services supplier and provides the focus for offshore wind and marine energy activity within RES. From offshore wind to wave and tidal, RES Offshore brings the considerable skills and experience that RES has acquired in the renewables industry to maximise the value and profitability of offshore projects. RES Offshore can deliver each of the project phases as defined packages of work, or as an integrated part of the owner’s delivery team. Services include integrated advisory services, project development, engineering, construction management and asset

RES

change


operation & maintenance (O&M) services for utility-scale wind and marine energy projects.

RES Offshore CEO Chris Morgan explained that the company’s history is an incredibly useful resource in the wind energy market: “We have been in this sector for three decades or so, and involved right from the early days of thinking about offshore projects in the UK twenty years ago. RES Offshore has a dedicated team of offshore experts located worldwide but it also benefits from being able to draw on other expertise within RES to deliver the best quality projects.”

RES Offshore

He continued by explaining that RES Offshore takes a slightly different approach to its offshore projects compared to the onshore wind and biomass projects undertaken by the rest of RES: “In onshore wind and biomass we have all the capabilities and scope to create a development project and take it onto construction, and we do that primarily for ourselves. However, in the offshore business we take a different approach. This is a sector that requires partnerships, because the scale of projects is so great. RES Offshore has the ability to play an important partnership role and can do

so as either a JV partner or as contractor - depending on the needs of our partners and of RES Offshore in any given situation.”

Alongside working partnerships, Chris highlighted that the company also provides other services. “In some cases we provide the necessary skills and capabilities to people who are looking to develop, operate or build their projects. Within RES Offshore we have a whole range of skills and environmental expertise and in the majority of cases provide those services to our large client list.”

The experience mentioned by Chris has

Below: photo courtesy of SMart Wind


been built on RES Offshore’s participation in UK offshore wind licensing Rounds 1, 2 and 3, as well as in the development of projects across Europe and America. RES has developed and/or built over 7.5 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy capacity worldwide and RES Offshore is participating in the development of over 5GW of offshore projects alone. RES is also an independent power producer, owning and operating a growing portfolio of wind farms, currently totalling over 700 megawatts (MW). Exciting projects in the pipeline for RES Offshore include First Flight Wind - a 600MW offshore wind farm off the south east coast of Co. Down in Northern Ireland as part of a consortium with B9 Energy and DONG Energy, and Ailes Marine - a 500MW offshore

wind project with Iberdrola off the coast of St Brieuc, France. RES Offshore is also providing development and engineering services for the 4.2GW Celtic Array in the Irish Sea for Centrica.

Looking to the future, Chris explains that the UK has an excellent offshore wind resource that is unparalleled anywhere else in Europe. The UK has some key targets approaching that must be addressed, including the 2020 initiative, which contains three targets for 2020: a 20 per cent reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions, raising the share of EU energy consumption produced by renewable resources to 20 per cent, and a 20 per cent improvement in the EU’s energy efficiency. These targets are ambitious but achievable. RES Offshore believes that wind power has as essential part to play in the UK’s energy mix.

Chris noted that there is however some current uncertainty in the market: “I think that offshore wind has the capability to provide a significant portion of the renewables generation that we require to hit the 2020 targets but it is no longer clear at this point exactly how much offshore wind can and will be supported by Government. This has an effect on the timings of projects and the process of financing, as developers are more cautious in their approach. For the industry I think it is something that needs to be addressed urgently - the offshore wind sector in the UK can be very successful because it’s a market that has significant scale but the level of investment that is required to make that work needs confidence and investors need to see that degree of certainty in the long term. 2020 is an important milestone but we need to see what happens beyond 2020. The 2030 renewables target is going to be important for the sector to have the confidence to undertake the long term investments.

“Investor confidence requires vocal government commitment to a long-term sustainable offshore wind industry, clear targets, at both national and EU level, and a support system that attracts investment,” concludes Chris. “The UK has more installed offshore wind capacity than the rest of the world and the best offshore wind resource in Europe. Exploiting this will present a unique opportunity to create a strong industry in the UK; it will bring jobs and generate wealth. The UK offshore wind sector can compensate for the decline in the North Sea by clearly defining the UK as world leaders in this new and emerging industry.” u

Photos courtesy of SMart Wind

RES Offshore


Not only does RES Offshore develop its own projects but it can

boast a client list that includes the likes of Centrica, DONG Energy,

Iberdrola and SMart Wind. One facet of RES Offshore’s capabilities

is its asset O&M services. We interviewed Mike Bean, an Offshore

Turbine Engineer working within the RES Offshore O&M team

based in Grimsby to get an insight into what this team do.

“RES Offshore has the expertise to be involved in every stage of an

offshore wind farms life cycle. This allows us to develop cost-effective,

innovative solutions that can make the difference between project failure

and success,” Mike begins.

The RES Offshore O&M team is rapidly becoming a major focus

for the RES Offshore business. As the Round 2 wind farms come into

operation and the Round 3 projects start to take off, this team are well

positioned in Grimsby (a growing renewable hub in the UK) to service

the offshore industry. The RES Offshore O&M team can manage the

logistical and safety challenges of weather and sea conditions, isolation

and working at height to provide complete asset management, specific

advisory services or maintenance campaigns for wind farms or met masts

for their clients.

SMart Wind has been a major focus for the O&M team this year.

SMart Wind is the only supply chain-led consortium in the Round 3

offshore wind programme, and is developing the huge 4000MW (4GW)

Hornsea offshore wind farm off the Yorkshire coast.

“Seeing our success providing O&M services for Round 1 and 2

offshore projects, SMart Wind awarded us with a five-year contract

to maintain their Hornsea met mast – making RES Offshore the only

company with Round 3 met mast O&M experience,” said Mike.

“Like most of the Round 3 offshore wind farm projects, Hornsea is still

in the early stages. In fact the met mast is the only thing out there in the

Hornsea region in the North Sea at the moment. The mast is gathering

weather and sea condition data and it is vital that it gathers sufficient

reliable data before SMart Wind can proceed further with the design and

installation of the wind farm.”

The RES Offshore O&M team are responsible for the whole 80-metre

mast from a structural integrity point of view. They also look after the

instrumentation which needs to be fully functioning and maintained

appropriately to ensure that the data is clear and accurate.

The logistics of maintaining a met mast of this nature is not easy and

the O&M team face many practical and safety hurdles. The Hornsea met

mast is about 60 miles out into the North Sea. This means that the O&M

team need a certain type of vessel, personnel, equipment and training

just to get to site.

The O&M team recently completed the spring inspection of the

Hornsea met mast. The trip, made up of 17 personnel including various

engineers and climbers was deemed a huge success.

“Prior to any deployment, a lot of work is carried out in preparation

so we utilise our time at the mast as much as possible. Following the

Humber Gateway mast failure, checking structural aspects and structure

integrity suddenly became much more of a focus and is quite a hot topic

in the industry at the moment. Simply checking the bolts might not

sound particularly essential but it is - within the industry this point is

key,” Mike said. “In preparation for our recent trip we had to carry out

and verify many calculations in-house before we could even set foot on

the platform. On our first day at the met mast, the entire structure had to

be fully inspected and over 100 bolt torques checked before some of the

more typical instrumentation changes could be made.

“Health and safety considerations are a major priority for us,” Mike

added. “The rescue equipment that we need to carry and take with us on

every trip is particularly important. It is essential to have a multi-skilled,

multi-disciplined team out there and we spend a lot of time making

sure everything is done in a safe and responsible manner - that is, and

always will be, our priority. We prepare all the risk assessments, method

statements, rescue plans and so on ourselves to enable us to go out there

fully prepared.”

Mike highlighted that they also pay particular attention to the

method of personnel transfer from the vessel to the mast. On the recent

inspection, they used the Ampelmann offshore access system for the first

time. The Ampelmann eliminates any relative motion by taking instant

measurements of the ship’s motions and then compensates them by

using six hydraulic cylinders. “This made access to the mast easier, safer

and it meant that works could be carried out more effectively,”

he said.

The importance of the work the O&M team do cannot be

underestimated. Maximising the energy yield of an offshore project

whilst optimising energy costs presents a whole new range of challenges

for project owners. It requires the integration of the full range of

commercial, technical, environmental and project management skills.

Mike added: “We can provide support to projects and to owners

when they are looking to set up their initial asset management strategy

and can help in a number of areas, plus we also provide assistance on

the engineering side, which entails looking at projects, looking at their

condition, seeing how the turbines are performing, looking at the data

we gather from the turbines to see whether we have got problems and

so forth. In terms of the reliability of the turbines, we can assess whether

there is a problem that is coming in the future, so clients are able to

schedule maintenance or major repairs before the equipment fails.”

Chris Morgan, CEO for RES Offshore says that asset management

would continue to be an area of focus for RES Offshore in 2013: “We can

see that this is very important for the future,” he said. “One of the reasons

that asset management expertise is going to be important to the sector

is linked to the long term financial aspects associated with wind power.

Offshore wind so far has been built very much on utility balance sheets

but increasingly they are looking for longer term financial investors who

want reassurance that the projects are going to be reliably operated and

maintained. So independent asset management expertise is something

we think is going to be important for the sector and we can provide that

with our offshore development, construction and operations experience

as well.”

Mike and the rest of the RES Offshore O&M look set to continue

to prosper. The offshore industry in the UK is booming with over

3GW installed and a further 7.8GW in the planning system. Industry

projections see a total of around 8GW of capacity installed by 2016 and

around 18GW installed by 2020. RES Offshore will no doubt be at the

forefront.

Focus on: Offshore Wind Farm O&M

inventing the vacuum waste

system in the late 1950s, Envac AB today has its systems installed in residential areas, business premises, industrial kitchens, town centres, hospitals and airports around the world. Its innovative vacuum technology efficiently transports large amounts of waste and drastically improves living and working environments.

Using only electricity to operate facilities, Envac’s solutions reduce the use of fossil fuel and the issue of carbon dioxide emissions caused by waste collection vehicles; the energy conscious company annually invests in developments to reduce its own energy consumption, enhance technology and further encourage recycling.

Envac AB is one of the leading environmental technology

companies in Sweden


“We can handle 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the daily waste in a city and, as the inventors of the system, are the only company with this level of expertise. Our high quality installations are still in place from as far back as the 1960s and we are active in 21 countries today,” explains Jonas Tornblom, senior VP marketing & public affairs at Envac.

Organised in four business regions; North Europe, South Europe and the Americas, the Middle East and India, Asia Pacific and Australia, it has 35 offices in 20 countries in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. A global leader in the vacuum waste collection industry, Envac is also one of the leading environmental technology companies in Sweden, where its solutions in Hammarby

Since

Envac

&Suck itsee

Envac outdoor waste inlets


The product is meant for areas with a lot of footfall and difficult access for waste collection; so far there have been two installations here, in Stockholm and Copenhagen, with fantastic results

Sjostad are a critical part of the district’s sustainability programme.

The objectives for the district’s waste management required an automated vacuum waste collection system, which resulted in the traffic from heavy waste collection vehicles being reduced by up to 90 per cent. By November 2012 Envac had delivered three stationary vacuum systems to Hammarby Sjostad. These serve 8500 apartments that hold approximately 20,000 residents. “Up until now 90 per cent of interest was for new urban residential developments but we are now seeing more interest for the system to be put in denser city centres,” says Jonas.

Users of the underground vacuum technology throw their waste into accessible inlets installed on the pavements, in the

‘‘backyards or inside the buildings. Here the waste and recyclables are stored temporarily above a closed storage valve. When the valves are full they are automatically emptied by a control system in the waste collection station. When the control system senses it is time to empty the inlets, Envac’s fan system is initiated, creating a vacuum in the pipe network. A supply air valve is opened to air into the pipe system to transport waste to the waste collection station at speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour and distances as far away as two kilometres from the waste inlets. Once the waste reaches the collection station it is sucked through a cyclone and separated from the transport air before it is compressed and fed into a sealed container.

“The latest product we have added is the self-emptying litterbins, a spinoff of our vacuumwaste collection system,” highlights Jonas. “The product is meant for areas with a lot of footfall and difficult access for waste collection; so far there have been two installations here, in Stockholm and Copenhagen, with fantastic results.” The self-emptying bins are ideal for densely crowded public areas, such as parks and entertainment venues. The self-emptying litterbins prevent issues such as overflowing waste, pests, and unpleasant odours. On top of this, the high cost of manually emptying litterbins

Stationary vaccum system

Envac waste inlets


Envac

is a thing of the past as the ‘level sensor’ inside Envac’s bin senses when the bins are full and vacuums the litter through an underground pipe network all the way to the collection station. As mentioned, the litterbins can be used either with the stationary automated vacuum system, or

alternatively as a stand-alone system. With a great deal of benefits from using

the system demand is growing, particularly in areas such as China, India and Brazil, as Jonas explains: “We have had success with a contract last year in Brazil and a few weeks ago we were awarded our first

contract in India, Gift City, based in the state of Gujurat. Here, the customer wants a two waste stream system; the first waste stream is food waste and the second residual. The residual waste goes directly to a waste segregation plant that will segregate out paper, plastic and metal.” The initial system will handle six tonnes of waste a day. There are aims to have the system working by April 2014 and there is potential for up to seven systems in the future.

Further expanding its product offering around the globe, Envac has joined forces with YIT Kiinteistoteknikka Oy, part of YIT Building Systems, to launch its advanced pneumatic waste collection system in Russian and Finnish markets. Keen for Envac to develop in emerging markets, Jonas concludes: “We aim to strengthen our activities and grow quickly in emerging markets and we are looking at commercial waste handling in areas such as hospitals, senior homes and retail over the next few years. We have a lot of business in the EU, but demand is not as strong as it was five or six years ago; despite this we are confident that we have a bright future ahead of us.” u

Waste inlets

http://www.envacgroup.com


Weltec Biopower

important topic of today is the sustainable energy supply and a key aspect of

renewable energies are biogas plants, which can produce continuously storable energy regardless of wind and sun.

One of the pioneers of AD plant manufacturing is Weltec Biopower. Since 2001, the company has planned and built biogas plants made of stainless steel, and now there are more than 300 Weltec plants in 25 countries. However, a particular market is the UK, and so a few years ago the German parent company decided to create its own company in England. Today managing director Wilhelm Bonse-Geuking’s team is operating from the office in Stoneleigh (Warwickshire) and this proximity to the customer is paying off.

The main strength of Weltec Biopower UK is the material that is used in its constructions - Weltec systems are built from stainless steel. “Quality is important to us, so our biogas plants are made from stainless steel, which is a highly

valuable material that is resistant to corrosion; it therefore provides a long useful life for the

entire system. In addition, approximately 80 per cent of the components used, such as tanks, pumps and agitators are produced in-house by the parent companies. They are operated via a specially developed control system, which ensures the optimum interaction of the components. This manufacturing depth guarantees a consistently high standard regardless of the location,” highlights Wilhelm.

In addition to the quality also the individual requirements of the customers are important for Weltec Biopower UK. Therefore, the plants will be built in a modular design, since these flexible systems can be realised within a very short construction period. “Our customers come from both the agricultural sector as well as from industry. Depending on the input material specific components are therefore required. A waste facility for example often needs sanitation, separation or shredding techniques. But also different ways of using heat and fermentation residues need special technologies. We advise our customers on which solution is best for them and then plan the system

AnopportunitiesPlanting

Weltec Biopower UK offers a full range of

biogas services - from planning and building plants up to servicing

the operators


compilation,” explains the managing director.But Weltec Biopower not only focuses on

the planning and construction of AD plants. “After the commissioning of the plant our customers are supported by our competent service team,” says Wilhelm. “Our range of services is diverse. For one, we support our customers through biological substrate analyses. Without a stable biological process,

the optimum gas production and thus the economy is at risk. Similarly, we also take care of the maintenance and repair of the CHP and other technical components and train operators so that they can run their plant more efficiently. “

The total package of the manufacturer seems to be paying off. Weltec Biopower UK is one of the leading AD plant suppliers in the UK and can already point to several references in the relatively young biogas market in the country.

One customer of Weltec built a 1.5 MW waste facility near Kettering in Northamptonshire in 2010, to supply around 3000 households with power. Approximately 30,000 tons of bio and food waste per annum are converted into electricity. “We had equipped the biogas plant for the operator to include food unpacking, separation and pasteurisation systems. The efficient operation and the overall concept were so convincing that the plant was recognised as the best biogas plant last year by the UK AD & Biogas Association,” says Wilhelm.

Another successful waste-to-energy plant, which was built by Weltec Biopower UK, is

DEUTSCHE BIOGASAerial view of the biomethane refinery in Konnern (Germany)

http://www.dbds-gmbh.de


located in Dorset. In late March 2013 the 500kW AD plant was rewarded with the REA Organics Recycling Award in the category ‘Best AD Output’. The plant is fed by local authority collected food waste as well as out of date food products which prior to digestion are unpackaged, sorted and pasteurised at the site. The energy usage of this plant is exemplary: The heat generated from the process is recovered and sent via a pipeline

Weltec Biopower

to be used at an adjacent feed mill. Electricity generated at the Weltec plant is also fed to the neighbouring mill, when this is not operational, the power is fed to the national grid. The digestate produced by the plant is collected and used by local farmers.

Wilhelm also tells of interesting projects abroad: “In Koennern, in East Germany, our parent company has built one of the largest biomethane refineries in the world. After the production of biogas, the biogas is upgraded to biomethane in natural gas quality and fed into the public grid. Another exciting project is in Uruguay: An entrepreneur, who produces milk powder for the Asian market, is currently building a new site with stables for about 8000 dairy cows and its own dairy. Simultaneously, a biogas plant will be built by Weltec Biopower in order to use the electricity as well as the accumulated exhaust heat in the manufacturing and packaging processes and to ensure a self-sufficient energy supply.”

Over the coming years, Weltec Biopower UK intends to enhance its market position in the UK by continuing to offer high quality and flexible designed biogas plants - for

agricultural customers as well as for industrial clients. With an expert team able to find individual solutions to different requests on a global scale, the company has built a solid foundation for success. u

For many years, C-deg has delivered gas flares to WELtec Biopower, one of the leading companies for biogas technology. C-deg provides standard products as well as special gas flaring systems for individual, more complicated applications. C-deg standard flares are completely designed in stainless steel according to WELtec Biopower’s specification. C-deg’s scope covers low- and high-temperature flares, which are all equipped with safe, state-of-the-art gas trains and electrical control equipment.

C-DEG

After upgrading the biogas to biomethane, the gas is fed into the national grid In 2012 Weltec client Fernbrook Bio won

the UK AD and Biogas Award for the ‘Best AD Project’ with its 1.5MW waste utilisation plant

http://www.juelicher-systemtechnik.de

http://www.c-deg.eu

wind farms continue to be an important factor in increasing sustainable

energy for worldwide energy consumption, international contractor Strukton Systems and steel construction firm Hollandia joined forces in 2009 to design, manufacture and install offshore transformer substations on a turnkey basis.

Strukton Systems is an international electrical contractor with in-house engineering and consultancy. It has a long track record for design, construction, maintenance and economical rehabilitation of electrical installations, especially high voltage substations. Strukton Systems has an extensive knowledge and experience in Medium- & High Voltage Solutions.

Hollandia, an expert in European Steel

Strukton Hollandia JointVenture connected

its strengths in 2009 to offer wind farm developers

and operators first class expertise in offshore wind

energy projects


construction with a solid and consistent track record based on performance and knowledge, has its focus on the steel side of the operations. Hollandia is active in a wide range of markets and segments like Infrastructure, Living and Working, Offshore, Petrochemicals, Oil and Gas, Cranes, Industry and Special Projects.

The construction yard is strategically located in the port of Rotterdam and has more than 30 hectares of construction yards and over 70,000 square metres of indoor production space. Production hall ten, constructed in 2008, is 3116 square metres and has three sliding doors, at a height of 38 x 17 metres, to enable large objects to be fabricated as a whole in the facility. There are five cranes, with a capacity for five tonnes and a concrete floor with

forcesAs

Joining

Strukton Hollandia JointVenture


The scope of services provided by Strukton Hollandia JointVenture include electrical, mechanical and structural engineering, installation of all electrical and mechanical plants, construction of foundation and topside structures; transport and offshore installation of foundation and topside and onshore and offshore testing as well as commissioning and maintenance services

steel stringers to give the most accurate measurement readings of structures; these include mono pile, jacket, self-installing and gravity based. Production hall eleven, erected in 2009, is 4000 square metres and has three sliding doors, at 40 x 38 metres. There are two radio controlled 32 tonne cranes and several five tonne cranes. Indoor sandblast and painting facilities are also located at the yard.

The scope of services provided by Strukton Hollandia JointVenture include electrical, mechanical and structural engineering, installation of all electrical and mechanical plants, construction of foundation and topside structures; transport and offshore installation of foundation and topside and onshore and offshore testing as well as commissioning and maintenance services.

‘‘

Recent projects for the consortium include the turnkey delivery of the offshore high voltage substation for the Riffgatt wind

farm, located 15 km northwest of Borkum, Germany. The turnkey project involves the engineering, fabrication and offshore installation of a 33/155 kV Offshore High Voltage Substation to connect 30 pieces 3.6MW wind turbines with the German grid. The topside of which was completed in February 2013. The hook up is currently in process and offshore commissioning is due for completion now. It is an important milestone in the project that was awarded to the company in March 2011. The wind farm, with a power of 108 MW, is expected to provide renewable energy by the summer. The turbines will be connected once Strukton Hollandia JointVenture has commissioned the substation.

In 2010 the consortium signed a contract with DanTysk wind farm to deliver and install


Strukton Hollandia JointVenture

a fully operational 155/33 kV offshore substation. Located 70 km west of the North Sea island of Sylt, Strukton Hollandia JointVenture will anchor the substation, constructed in the conventional jacket/topside design into the sea floor. The substation, consisting of three decks, a petrol station and a helicopter deck, will transport power created by DanTysk’s 80 wind turbines to a HVDC

converter station which forms part of the grid connection point with a whole capacity of 288 MW. The whole windfarm is due for completion in 2013/14. Strukton Hollandia JointVenture won the tender for this contract by producing the best concept and for its mutual expertise in the design, construction and installation of open sea substations. It uses high quality equipment and materials on all projects and both companies are

certified to international standards.Proud of the services it offers, Strukton

Hollandia JointVenture was also selected by Energie Baden Wurttemburg (EnBw) as its preferred supplier for the turnkey delivery of the offshore substation Hohe See, which will consist of 80 wind turbines and an installed power of almost 500 MW located 90 km. north of Borkum, Germany, after it proposed three state-of-the-art decks, a fully enclosed substation equipped with four power transformers and a high voltage switchgear with polygon connection; but a lack of unconditional grid connection confirmation from TSO has led to construction at the Hohe See windfarm being postponed.

Looking to the future, Strukton Hollandia JointVenture is putting out tenders for new projects in the wind industry and is keen to continue developing as a joint force to become a reliable partner for wind farm developers and operators in relation to the design, construction, installation and maintenance of offshore transformer substations. u

http://www.van-dam.nl

smartA

futureLandis+Gyr is focused on developing an integrated approach to smart energy

Landis+Gyr


http://www.covpress.com

http://www.nsfcontrols.co.uk

http://www.telit.com


global leader in energy management, Landis+Gyr has developed one of the broadest portfolios in the industry over the last century, with products,

solutions and services that give consumers and utilities the necessary data to make informed decisions on energy usage. Since 2011 the business has been a subsidiary of Toshiba, sitting in the Japanese giant’s infrastructure division and focusing on metering, transmission equipment and the software that manages gas and electricity grids.

“Through the acquisition, Landis+Gyr can supply a much wider range of energy solutions from generation parts and the transmission piece, right through to the consumer goods and activities that Toshiba is involved with,” highlights Steve Cunningham, CEO of Landis+Gyr UK and Ireland. “It is great for our customers, as it means there is one sole organisation that can look at all aspects of energy delivery, consumption and management.”

Operating in more than 30 countries, with nearly 8000 utility customers and boasting an installed base of over 300 million electricity meters, Landis+Gyr has the highest AMI meter sales in Europe, North America, Brazil and Asia Pacific and is participating in the biggest smart meter and smart grid projects in the world.

Its ground breaking technology and service offers led to the

A

Landis+Gyr

Covpress Holdings (Covpress Ltd & NCJ Pressings Ltd) are established suppliers of pressed and welded assemblies to both the automotive and non-automotive industries. Our association with gas meters extends over 30 years and we are proud to have Landis+Gyr as one of our valued customers. The application of our automotive principles to non-automotive business, coupled with continued investment in both people and equipment has enabled us to support Landis+Gyr continued growth and we wish them continued success for the future.

TeliT Wireless soluTionsTelit Wireless Solutions has been a Landis & Gyr partner for many years. Its machine-to-machine communication modules have reliably carried cellular connectivity for L&G products such as prepaid energy meters, C&I meters, and energy management systems (EMS). Besides the reliability and ruggedness of the Telit modules, L&G has taken full advantage of the very small footprint in its GL865 2G module family and wireless broadband speeds with its UE910 and LE920 3G and 4G modules.

Covpress Holdings


Tadiran lithium batteries have powered electronic gas meters since the early 1990’s. Today, they are required to run for 20 years. For verification, a study was initiated by Netbeheer Nederland where gas meters were taken back from the field after five years of operation. In this study, the residual capacity of the batteries was determined by electrical discharge and chemical titration. Titration is a chemical reaction completely consuming the residual lithium in a battery even if it is not accessible to electrical discharge because of an increase of the internal resistance of the battery. The resulting capacity values (5) matched or exceeded the nominal battery capacity (8) reduced by the consumption of the gas meters (1) and by the self discharge loss (6). Numbers in brackets refer to the chart, where two levels of electrical discharge (3, 4) and titration results are accumulated, on top of each other. Twenty batteries were investigated but, for clarity, the chart shows only the minimum, maximum, and median. Example: the median battery delivered 3.5 Ah to the gas meter. 15.0 Ah were found by electrical discharge in two steps. Titration yielded another 0.3 Ah. A calculated 0.4 Ah were lost to self discharge during field operation. Addition yields a total 19.2 Ah, perfectly matching the nominal capacity and proving that losses were less than anticipated.

The electrical current of the meter (2) and the self discharge loss (6) were extrapolated until, after reduction by the calculated impedance loss (9), no residual capacity was left. This corresponds to the anticipated battery life (10), exceeding 20 years. The study should be repeated after ten and 15 years of battery life.

1 Machiel Joosse, Horst Reuning: Battery Research Study. How reliable are

theoretical battery lifetime calculations compared with reality? Metering Europe

2012, Oct. 9-11, Amsterdam.

Battery life study

http://www.tadiranbatteries.co.uk

Landis+Gyr


Landis+Gyr is focusing on developing software solutions that allow utilities to look into how they match ever-growing consumer demand with limited energy production

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company winning the Frost & Sullivan 2013 Global Company of the Year Award as well as the 2013 IBM Beacon Award for Best Industry Solution for Energy & Utilities. “That award was based on our grid stream portfolio, the systems that helps eco companies manage their grids more effectively, from generation through to consumption. IBM are an absolutely critical part of helping utilities to stabilise their environment and we are very proud to be a part of that,” enthuses Steve.

Indeed in recent years the company has partnered with IBM and Ecological Analytics, the most experienced MDM provider in North America and now owned by Landis+Gyr. Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC’s (Oncor) project aimed to implement a Meter Data Management System (MDMS) and deploy smart meters across its grid as a way to modernise its operations and meet more sophisticated energy needs.

As the largest regulated electric distribution and transmission company in

Texas, and sixth largest in the US, Oncor has over three million customers and a service-area spread across nearly 117,000 square miles. The partnership with Landis+Gyr succeeded in providing consumers with the data needed to actively participate in their own power consumption and allowed individual households the opportunity to reduce their usage by between five and ten per cent.

Currently paving the way for the next generation of smart grid across the globe, Landis+Gyr is focusing on developing software solutions that allow utilities to look into how they match ever-growing consumer demand with limited energy production.

“In 2013 there will be an increasing focus on trying to align and bring the best of the benefits from our acquisitions, to develop a much more integrated approach to the market,” says Steve. “For example, Landis+Gyr now have a software suite within the business that allows customers to register devices with their utility or energy retailer and subscribe to a service,

Since 2001, Tri-T has been a leading Far Eastern manufacturer of LCD modules, LCM, PCBA and Box Build. Tri-T carries a line of character display modules (alphanumeric displays) and graphical display (LCM Liquid Crystal Modules) which can be customised. A vast knowledge of product experience has been gained, in markets such as, consumer electronics, equipment meters, industrial equipment, transaction machines, sporting equipment, medical equipment and communication.

Tri-T

Founded in 1999, Line One Sales is a UK technology sales company, based on the North American rep model. It offers sales, marketing and application support office for a select number of US and European based semiconductor manufacturers as well as Far Eastern sub assembly suppliers and finished goods manufacturers.

Line One SaLeS

http://www.lineonesales.co.uk

http://www.3t-lcd.com


in exchange for different tariffs for high road items they wouldn’t mind having switched on or off during different times of the day,”

“The US market has been very active for the last four to five years and continues to perform strongly. Europe is on the cusp of starting to roll out smart metering, and smart energy solutions as a whole, so that is a key market for us over the next few years,” enthuses Steve.

The company has also seen an increasingly strong pull from South America and India due to their rapid economic growth. “It is anticipated that these two regions will effectively leapfrog a lot of the grid stablisation that has gone on in Europe and the US over the last 15-20 years. Our aim is to get to a point where they will have a highly stable grid that is well managed and able to keep pace with the expected boom in their economies,” adds Steve.

Following a transitional period, Landis+Gyr is now focused on developing a truly integrated approach while also finding a way to bring smart energy into a consumer

market. As Steve concludes, “Getting people to genuinely believe that they can proactively do something about their energy management is our long-term aim, but it is a critical one.

“The one silver lining of the economic situation at the moment is that people are looking to save money, so now is the best possible time to take our cost effective message and solution out into the market; there needs to be a big shift in society’s thinking and we can play a major part in that.” u

Landis+Gyr

AML, as a vertically integrated manufacturing service provider, supports its customers in various stages from concept design to mass production. AML’s robust capability enables the company to provide expedited development cycles, professional project management, excellent design assurance and lean manufacturing services to global customers. Landis & Gyr, as one of the long-term partners of AML, believes that both companies can enjoy the benefits of this partnership and continuous growth in the future.

AML

http://www.automatic.com.hk


Generatingsuccess


TuuliSaimaa

Established in 2009, TuuliSaimaa provides its customers with wind energy expertise, identifying the profitability and potential of wind power

in the development and construction of wind power

projects in Finland, TuuliSaimaa was founded in 2009 by Lappeenranta Energy Ltd and six individuals with strong energy and financial backgrounds. With superior expertise in wind energy production, the company has approximately 360 MW in the development pipeline and aims to achieve ten per cent of the market. Core competences of the company include the procurement of suitable areas for wind power, permission procedures and the planning and delivery of projects. It is currently working on the Muukko wind farm in Lappeenranta via TuuliMuuko Oy (under installation), a joint venture project with TuuliTapiola Ky, alongside onshore wind farm designer and installer Alstom, which is supplying seven 3.0 MW ECO110 wind turbines to the project. TuuliMuuko Oy awarded Alstom the contract due to its 30 plus years experience in wind turbine design.

Specialising

The agreement between the two companies involves Alstom’s supply, transportation and installation, as well as 12 years of operation and maintenance service of the turbines, as Juha Tuominen, director of TuuliSaimaa, elaborates: “All of the components have arrived and all seven turbines have been installed and are under commissioning. Commissioning and testing will follow in seamless co-operation with Alstom Finland Oy. The other parts, such as

the electric substation by ABB Finland, the cabling by Sahko-Aunola Oy, and foundations and roads by KSBR Oy, which were purchased separately by TuuliMuuko, were ready by the end of 2012.”

The Muuko wind farm will have a total installed power of 21 MW, an impressive ten per cent more than the current wind capacity in Finland. There were 130 wind turbines in Finland, with a total capacity of 197 MW by the end of 2011, a number that is set to rise drastically as the country continues to meet the government target of six TWh of wind energy by 2020. Currently there are over 7800 MW wind power projects in development in Finland, with approximately 3000 MW offshore, but despite this demand there have been difficulties, as Petteri Laaksonen states: “The issue in Finland is that it is a highly regulated country with complicated and ever changing official requirements. There are also issues because there are so many different rules to follow in different parts of the country, so strong local knowledge of the requirements is necessary. It is becoming a major challenge to manage the rules and


“Project execution requires seamless co-operation with the customer,” says KSBR Oy project manager Mr. Simo Särkelä. This was especially important in the turnkey supply of civil works where accurate and fast information exchange between parties like turbine supplier, electrification supplier, engineering, end customer and authorities, was required. Despite a tight schedule, all the works were finished on time in the TuuliMuukko construction. “The quality of all works and keeping promises are the ways we gain customer satisfaction and trust,” says KSBR Oy managing director Mr. Tuomas Skantz. Utilizing KSBR’s own technology in wind turbine foundations with a reliable sub-supplier chain enabled a cost effective and fast project.

KSBR

http://www.ksbr.fi

http://www.abb.com/windpower

TuuliSaimaa


administrations for each project.”On top of being highly regulated, the

Finnish wind power market has long lead times, with up to two to three years development, and involves a wide range of diverse players with different targets, thus causing intense competition among companies. “The turbine side of the market is changing a lot and there is fierce competition,” says Petteri. “There will be opportunities to acquire half developed wind farms in the near future, which will bring new issues with it as to how these wind farms will be valued and priced. So far we have made some offers but the prices have been a bit too high.”

Although there are challenges surrounding the Finnish wind power market, TuuliSaimaa is thriving, with a number of projects and ventures in the pipeline, as Petteri highlights: “At the moment we have 14 projects active, with one that is almost up and running and due for completion on the 15th June 2013. These are various projects in locations including the South and North coasts with a total capacity of 360 MW roughly. So yes,

there is competition in the market, but we do have plenty of work to keep us busy for some time into the future.”

In such a competitive market, there is

http://www.assetvision.fi/en

http://www.etec.fi


little doubt that it is the skill and expertise of TuuliSaimaa that sets it apart from many of its competitors. The company has exceptional expertise in wind energy production and considers its main competitive advantage to be the knowledge and experience that runs throughout the organisation. The company has a number of core competency areas, loosely divided into permitting processes, wind measurement, and site assessment and optimisation.

For the former, the company has experience of various studies (for EIA, city planning, building permits etc.) at more than 30 sites across Finland. Typical work in this field includes environmental reports, network connections, wind farm and substation studies, radar issues, scenery and perception modeling, noise and flickering modeling, environmental impact assessments, and co-operation with an extensive network of subcontractors.

When it comes to wind measurement, TuuliSaimaa is the largest LIDAR operator in Finland, owning four Natural Power ZephIR 300 LIDAR devices and renting LIDAR equipment from the Finnish Meteorological institute. “We have used the ZephIR LIDAR’s at several locations to evaluate the wind

conditions at potential new sites,” explains Juha. “We currently have measurements using the equipment going on at four sites, and in addition, the LIDAR was used to ensure the liftings in the Muuko project as well as to provide additional information.”

“Essentially, we have all the key skills for developing and building wind farms in Finland,” confirms Petteri. “So, we have developed deep skills in planning wind measurement and analysis, as well as developing the sites themselves by making land-based agreements and subcontracting additional services from other companies. We have also managed the building of our first wind farm recently. So, that covers everything from turbine delivery and installation, erection and connection to the network, and finally approval from Fingrid.”

With this level of competence, there is little doubt that despite a competitive market Petteri remains confident for the future: “At present we are securing our finances to ensure the required working capital for the development projects. The opportunity to acquire half developed wind farms seems to be arising too. This will provide a number of new opportunities for us, which is certain to happen in the near future.” u

TuuliSaimaa

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ManagementMODERN UTILITY

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Documents

Modern Utility Management Issue 2 2013