Page 8 - Gi June/July 2019

industry & Government news

A STADIUM FULL OF SAND point, there’s only 15 meters separating
the Bacton terminal from the cliff edge.
“Any disruption at the Bacton terminal
NEEDED TO PROP UK’S would have huge ramifications,’’ said
Wayne Bryan, Senior European Energy
and Commodity Analyst at Alfa Energy Ltd.
“On the wholesale market, price increase
TEETERING GAS LINK would be astronomical. The energy
security of the UK would be threatened.”
This summer, Royal HaskoningDHV
will pump enough sand onto the coast
in front of Bacton to fill half of London’s
Wembley Stadium. That should protect
the facility for at least another decade.
Bacton’s role in the UK is central
GOOGLE EARTH
because it’s the only place where
pipelines from the more liquid markets
in the Netherlands and Belgium
connect to the British grid. The terminal
also takes in supplies from a number
of production fields in the North Sea.
During winter, and in periods of peak
demand, it handles tens of millions of
pounds of gas a day, then sits idle when
there’s a lull. That flexibility makes
THE BACTON SITE FROM THE AIR it a buffer for fluctuations in flows
elsewhere in the system.
BACTON PIPELINE HUB is in danger away at its foundations. The facilities, Bacton “gives Britain an indirect
of tumbling into the North Sea with run by companies including Royal access to Russian and North African
erosion consuming the Norfolk coast, Dutch Shell Plc and Perenco SA, draw in gas,” said Elchin Mammadov, an analyst
reports Bloomberg. gas from offshore fields and from two at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Maintaining
Britain’s only link with continental interconnector pipelines. that link to Europe will be very
Europe’s natural gas network is Yet erosion at the site is increasingly important as our domestic production
at risk of tumbling into the North dangerous, with an average of about one will probably decline in the future.”
Sea, prompting a rescue involving meter of earth tumbling into the sea every Shell says it’s committed to continuing
thousands of tons of sand. three years. A single storm in December operations at Bacton and is spending
For five decades, the Bacton terminal 2013 wiped out 10 meters of cliff, £300 million to upgrade its facility. It
on England’s Norfolk coast has served according to Royal HaskoningDHV, the contracted for new flows into the terminal
as the nation’s most important energy- Dutch company hired to fortify the beach as recently as November. Shell and
supply hub even as waves and wind eat in front of the terminal. At the narrowest Perenco both declined to comment.

UKRI ALLOCATES £30M FOR SMART ENERGY SYSTEMS INNOVATION

UK RESEARCH AND INNOVATION smart appliances and electric vehicles
(UKRI) has outlined intentions to become part of the fabric of everyday
allocate £30 million in funding for life. A future built on digital, data-
innovation and solutions for smart driven smart systems will transform
local energy systems in the UK. the way society interacts with the grid
The UKRI is calling for innovators – delivering cheaper, greener and more
to present concepts and ideas in order flexible access to energy for everyone.
to win a share of the £30 million fund, “This competition will help to give the
according to Edie.net. UK’s makers and innovators the tools to CLEAN GROWTH MINISTER
The UK government believes make this vision a reality, and seize on CLAIRE PERRY
innovation in the area of local energy the business opportunities ahead.”
systems will spur an industry that The Prospering from the Energy The solutions should enable the
could be worth billions of pounds Revolution Challenge Fund aims UK to further decarbonise the power
in the 2020s, supporting tens of to support public bodies and local sector, while making progress in heat
thousands of jobs. communities develop smart local and transport – two sectors that have
Energy and Clean Growth Minister energy systems in the UK that utilise historically struggled to adopt clean
Claire Perry said: “We are at the start renewables, energy storage, ultra-low technologies. A requirement for access
of a smart energy revolution, which emission vehicles, low-carbon heat, to the fund is for each technology to be
will see technology like energy storage, data and digital infrastructure. replicable and scalable across the UK.

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