Sector spotlight: Energy

It is the ultimate David and Goliath battle – a challenge to the ‘big six’ energy giants that have dominated the market for decades, and Bristol is leading the charge.

A surge in publicly-owned and renewable energy companies across the city are evidence that the winds of change are blowing across the sector, as ethical concerns sway consumer preferences and alternative options become not only economically viable, but preferable.

In the second quarter of 2017, the UK renewables share of electricity generation was a record 29.8 per cent and this trend is accelerating fast.

Bristol Energy Cooperative install solar panels at Easton Community Centre.  Photo by Chris Speller

“The sector has changed hugely in the last 10 years,” says Andy O’Brien, co-director of Bristol Energy Cooperative, a community-owned organisation founded in 2011 that invests in renewables and feeds profits back into the community.

“Not long ago, England got its power from 50 large power stations. Now there are over 900,000 renewable energy installations across the country. Renewables are now breaking record after record.”

And the change is not just driven by ethics, but also economics.

The cost of offshore wind has halved in the last two years alone and the most recent Government energy auctions awarded a record low strike price of £57.50 per MWh to the biggest offshore wind farm in the world, off the North English coast, making it cheaper than both nuclear and gas.

“Bristol companies have had a significant part in the renewables industry,” continues O’Brien. A recent example is the rollout of a 15MW battery storage scheme in Lockleaze by a Bristol-based developer – one of the first of its kind in the country.

He adds: “The future is the ‘dolphin world’ of smart, speedy, nimble energy projects. One where we do proper, large-scale energy efficiency, and combine it with the rapid, large-scale roll-out of the full range of renewables. Then we add in energy storage, smart grids, and demand side management. All under-pinned by community-owned local energy generation.

“The massive drops in the cost of renewables added to the huge advances in energy storage are transforming our energy system at a speed no one expected a few years ago.”

And this ‘dolphin revolution’ is bringing a wave of jobs to Bristol as more companies choose to set down roots in a city at the forefront of change.

Dan Goodall of Ecotricity

Dan Goodall, technology and transformation director for Ecotricity and head of its new Bristol office, explains why the company chose the city.

“We wanted to tap into the world-renowned Bristol tech ecosystem, especially to be amongst the movement regarding the connected city and the connected home,” says Goodall.

“The city is at the forefront of digital innovation and design outside of London and there’s an army of talented developers who live here.”

On changes in the sector, he adds: “Energy is becoming less of a commodity for individuals following the introduction of smart meters and connected devices, but we’re only at the start of that journey as the emergence of electric cars and in-home battery storage will revolutionise the industry over the coming years.”

The title of European Green Capital in 2015 may have helped steer Bristol’s eco drive, but the city has been at the forefront of sustainability for decades and one man has played a leading role in its growth.

Andrew Garrad, renewable energy pioneer since the 80s

Andrew Garrad has been a pioneer of renewable energy since the early 80s when, in a distinctly inhospitable environment, he and his colleague Unsal Hassan took a leap into wind turbines.

Garrad Hassan – now part of DNV GL – is the world’s leading renewable energy consultancy employing more than 370 staff in Temple Quay. Bristol-based companies design almost 30 per cent of the world’s energy from wind today.

Now retired, Garrad reflects on the changes in the industry. “For around 30 years of my life, I have been patronised and told that when I grow up, I will realise that the way energy is produced is by burning coals. Renewables have been seen as some sort of eccentric hobby and then a subsidised political indulgence.”

Garrad says the dramatic drop in the cost of wind power has been amazing and influenced a different attitude to renewables almost overnight.

“It’s not just environmentally good, but also commercially beneficial,” he continues. “There has also been a drop in the price of solar. In contrast, look at the likes of Hinkley nuclear power station in Somerset – the prices are rising.

“I think we are at a turning point both technologically, environmentally and politically because we want to have a secure supply, so we are not reliant on the Middle East and Russia.”

Fat cat, faceless energy corporations fuelled by commercial greed may be the familiar way of life for many, but Garrad points out that the surge of local and publicly-owned companies actually represents a return to the days before privatisation.

And Bristol is very much a hub of smaller, independent and publicly owned companies with a strong ethical focus.

OVO’s quirky Bristol office

OVO, a national company with its distinctive HQ near Temple Meads, has been awarded Energy Supplier of the Year, for three consecutive years by the uSwitch Energy Awards and has been recognised for its fairer, more customer-friendly approach.

Founded in 2015, Bristol Energy is one of the UK’s first council-owned energy companies, launched to provide an income stream for Bristol City Council and offer an alternative to the ‘big six’.

The business operates nationally and pours profits back into the city, while also working to address issues such as fuel poverty.

“We do not sell a lifestyle product, we sell the stuff that heats your home and cooks your food and there is a social responsibility that comes with that,” managing director Peter Haigh told Bristol24/7.

“The energy market is broken and people are being quite frequently ripped off. It’s about how we change things to make a difference. The fact that we are ethical and responsible is the attraction for many of our customers, but we also save customers hundreds of pounds.”

Peter Haigh, managing director of Bristol Energy

The growth of an alternative energy sector has brought with it an influx of organisations helping to drive energy efficiency and low carbon use across the private and public sectors.

Low Carbon South West (LCSW) supports has been running the Go Green scheme since it was launched in 2015 which helps businesses and organisations to become more sustainable, resilient and energy and resource efficient.

“The energy sector has definitely changed, and the change is accelerating, driven by both market forces and consumer demands,” says LCSW chairman Alan Bailey.

“Bristol is a hot-bed of demand for change. There’s also an increasing focus on energy demand reduction, as prices rise and fluctuate and the future looks somewhat uncertain (at times) in terms of energy security, security has to be based on efficient use as well as long-term provision of generation.

“At the moment in the South West, infrastructural changes are now one of the key elements of contention for more community and renewable generation. Western Power Distribution is working to remove capacity restrictions in generation in the coming five years or so, which may well lead to a further blossoming of renewable energy projects and community energy innovation.

Alan Bailey of LCSW

“Bristol-based Pure Planet are definitely one to watch at the moment – they have a unique model, with support and accounts built for mobile and providing 100 per cent wholesome power at really competitive prices – I switched recently.

“It’s not just about the environmental benefits though – new ways of delivering energy services that provide better service are just as important in creating lasting change, so trendsetters like Pure Planet, who have turned the whole customer experience on its head, are going to be leading the way in the coming years.

“The Bristol region has also seen some of the largest investments in waste re-processing and energy recovery in the UK and innovation in this area of activity is among some of the most exciting developments happening in the sector globally from companies like GENeco in Avonmouth.”

Avonmouth has become a hub for renewable energy (photo by Matt Buck)

Jack Roberts of ESOS Energy says companies are increasingly seeing a move to sustainable solutions as an important part of their corporate responsibility and jobs are being created to help facilitate this.

ESOS is one such business and has worked on major projects for the likes of UWE Bristol, the Royal Mint and also local schools. Its recently-launched TreeSOS initiative helps clients reduce their impact on the environment by planting trees to offset carbon emissions.

As ethical energy and economics finally go hand in hand, the future of the sector in Bristol is looking bright.

Main photo: Bristol Energy Cooperative install solar panels on Coniston Community Centre. 

Read more: £53k granted to green projects around Bristol