The utilities team have recently started to explore the area of renewable technologies and the potential of establishing a national contract in this area. Activity has centred on exploring the market and understanding the existing supply landscape and arrangements.
Examples of some of the renewable technologies are listed below:
- Photovoltaic (PV) solar cells/panels are renewable electricity-generating systems, which are installed at an optimal angle on a supporting roof or wall.
- Solar thermal systems provide domestic hot water using heat from the sun. In the UK, a well-designed solar hot water system can typically satisfy half of the annual water heating demand of a dwelling using approximately 1 m2 of collector and 25 ltr of dedicated solar hot water storage per bedroom. Systems usually consist of a roof-mounted solar collector connected to a hot water storage tank by a pumped circulation system.
- Micro and small wind turbines generate renewable electricity from wind. Rotor blades are aerodynamically engineered to take optimal power and then turn a turbine to generate electricity. The power of a wind turbine increases exponentially in a relation to the speed of the wind and the diameter of the blades. This makes larger turbines with higher wind speeds more cost effective e.g. the energy payback for larger turbines in windy places is multiplied but good wind speeds at the micro level, can also generate considerable energy.
- Micro-CHP is a small onsite technology which uses one fuel e.g. gas to produce heat and also electricity, as a side product, thereby saving on electricity bills. It also saves the losses associated with distribution of centralised electricity. At the domestic scale, micro-CHP products are coming onto the market e.g. to replace gas boilers listed.
A questionnaire was issued in Nov 2011 to over 100 public bodies. The purpose of the questionnaire is to help us gather information on existing renewable contracts, gauge the appetite for a national agreement, and how to best structure any future national contract for renewable technologies. Feedback from the questionnaire will be analysed and this will help formulate the Strategic Sourcing Strategy.