It's all in the numbers

We always do our best to look on the bright side. It’s in our DNA and entwined in our company culture. 

After the eagerly awaited update on the government’s Ten Point Plan to reach net zero, we went to bed with a few unanswered questions. Deciding not to make assumptions on the unknown, we’ve turned our focus to the things we DO know, to provide a fresh outlook on points 7 and 10.

Even though we feel a little bit deflated to be left off the PM’s Christmas card list, with solar short of a mention, we’re pretty sure the government realises there is no silver bullet to fix the bigger problem here: decarbonising heat. If we want to deliver on net zero cost effectively, heads should turn to the proven, cost effective technology solar thermal presents - not substituting with heat pumps alone. Nevertheless, it’s an opportunity to change energy for good, as the plan brings further innovation and excitement to the market.

HERE’S A QUICK BREAKDOWN OF THE GOVERNMENT’S TEN POINTS:

Getting to the biggest point

Heating and cooling accounts for over 50% of global energy demand. The identified need to future-proof new buildings, ensuring buildings have high levels of energy efficiency and low carbon heating, is more pertinent than ever. With the government’s new plans set to reduce emissions in schools, hospitals and public buildings by further funding the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, extending the Green Homes Grant by another year and making further commitments towards the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, we’re happy progress is imminent in reducing carbon emissions. 

We are holding out hope that the best is yet to come, with the government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy, due in 2021. We’re expecting to see more detail on integrating renewables, especially solar thermal, as it’s clear to us that it will take simple and effective technologies working in harmony to support the move away from fossil fuel heating. There are huge achievements being made today in decarbonising heat, that go unrecognised against more attractive counterparts, like electrifying vehicles!

Let’s take Boortmalt as an example of what good looks like. They have been committed to reducing its environmental footprint for 20 years in their Issoudun malting facility, where a solar thermal power plant has been built in the grounds of the factory, producing the hot water (<70°C) needed to operate the barley drying units. What a great achievement for our industry - setting a bench mark for cost effective, carbon zero manufacturing! 

District heating, large scale solar thermal and interseasonal storage present many promising projects that are paving the way towards a net zero future. Let’s see what happens next.

Renewable generation – redefining solar

The Ten Point Plan shows commitment for renewables to drive economic recovery, increasing jobs whilst tackling UK emissions. It is promising that the government will be supporting around 50,000 jobs directly linked with making greener buildings (point 7), by 2030. With this unquestionable growth in renewables, delivering net zero will become increasingly about economics, which should help drive down industry costs. And with solar already proving its worth, with enviable figures across the data tables, we envisage solar thermal and hybrid innovations like VirtuPVT at the forefront of this inevitable boom of emerging energy technologies. These innovations have the welcomed support of the government, in Point Ten of the plan. 

With recent forecasts from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, it’s clear solar provides the most cost-effective solution for the immediate future, and after being crowned ‘the new king of electricity’ by the IEA (International Energy Authority) we’re confident it hasn’t dropped off the grid. We look forward to seeing solar thermal incorporated into the more detailed white papers in coming weeks. 

Naked Energy CEO, Christophe Williams explains, 

“As recipients of Government support to develop our globally unique solar technology, the next critical phase is having access to the right capital to rapidly scale the clean solutions. This is the catalyst that is needed and it is encouraging to see the financial innovation and refocus of investors towards a low carbon economy.”

What now?

If we are to be able to cost effectively deliver on a net zero future, solar heat will need a great deal more support. 

In the words of Thomas Edison,

“We are like tenant farmers, chopping down the fence around our house for fuel, when we should be using nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy—sun, wind, and tide. I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait till oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”

So, as long as the sun keeps shining, we’re also putting our bets on solar thermal.