INDUSTRY VOICE
UKIFDA spring update – is there a future for liquid fuels ?
WE ARE DELIGHTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE HERE ENERGY INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL KEN CRONIN WHO , AS THE NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF UKIFDA , WILL BE SHARING HIS THOUGHTS WITH US IN A QUARTERLY COLUMN .
In this , his first Fuel Oil News ‘ Industry View ’, Ken considers the heating fuel issue
The biggest issue on the lips of most people working in energy is net zero . The way we create , deliver and use energy is going to change over the next 30 years .
Change is not that unusual for the energy sector – we have seen the switch from town gas to natural North Sea gas , the move from coin meters through to credit meters and now smart meters and the move from coal to renewable power . The one key thing though is that it takes time and good policy .
What has not changed is the expectation of our customers – they simply want energy delivered to their home reliably , cost effectively and without disruption .
They also want hot water and heat when they want it and they want to have the ability to choose how they get it . None of that seems unreasonable to me .
A need for fairness and transparency There are also other considerations . We are living in a global pandemic , with most people working from home and , for now , times will be tough . We must not forget that one in nine households are in fuel poverty and cold homes are a major contributor to health issues .
I was pleased to see , in the recently published energy white paper , that the first government commitment centred around fairness and transparency . A one size fit all solution which is imposed on customers will not work because it will not be fair , it will also cause unintended consequences .
Finding the right solution Both the Climate Change Committee ( CCC ) and the National Grid Future Energy Scenarios ( FES ) predict c900,000 of our customers will require some form of biofuel by 2050 to help meet the UK ’ s net zero commitment .
This make sense as these homes tend to be rural and therefore difficult to reach for grid purposes and / or of an age and construction that make retrofitting for heat pump compliance difficult technically or economically .
The Government mantra has to be finding the right solution at the right cost with the least amount of disruption for each home and we should be under no illusion that some homes currently heated by kerosene will be able to be converted to other solutions .
But , for the majority of our customers , replacing kerosene with a low carbon liquid heating fuel will provide them and the government with a decarbonisation solution which is relatively painless . In addition , the use of new efficient condensing boilers , if encouraged , will also play an additional important role .
I was very impressed when I entered the industry to see that , through UKIFDA , OFTEC and the TSA , the industry had taken a stand and started the winter fuel trials using a low carbon liquid fuel which has been substantiated on a CO2e per kWh basis as having a near 90 % reduction compared to kerosene , is certified as being fully sustainable and has a very favourable cost per tonne of carbon saved compared to other technologies .
There is more technical work to do and there is an ambition to extend those trials . Cost to the consumer and the security of supply will need to be addressed and that can only come based on the industry engaging with government on good policy . There is however one big advantage – the immediate cost of change is much lower for the consumer than other solutions .
None of these issues are insurmountable and many are common with other heating technologies . The demand needs to be built and the incentives put in place .
I started this piece talking about customers and ultimately they are the ones that will decide . They will be the ones that indicate to government that they want their heat when they want it , with a lower impact on the environment at a cost that is fair and affordable , with limited disruption making decisions based on transparent information .
I was therefore delighted at the initial customer responses to the trials and the enthusiasm to take part , it shows that we are working on a solution that they want and the industry is trusted to provide . That provides a much stronger message to Government .
So does liquid fuel have a future ? Yes , but is has to sit within the expectations of our customers and that is worth fighting for .
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Fuel Oil News | March 2021 17