NEWS


Ministers warned about energy crisis impact on cold chain


T


he Cold Chain Federation has urged the Secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng to prioritise cold storage operators in any plans to protect British industry from ill effects of soaring energy prices. The Federation represents the businesses across the UK which store and move fresh and frozen food and other goods. It has warned of the risk that without support some cold chain businesses could fold under the massive increase in electricity costs, which would have serious consequences for the continuity of the food supply chain. In a letter, the Cold Chain


Federation has asked the Business Secretary to include cold storage operators in any support packages and to treat cold storage as a


priority in the event of an energy shortage due to its critical role in sustaining food and pharmaceutical supply chains.


The letter stresses that storing


food safely and reliably at controlled temperatures requires constant energy use and that some cold storage businesses are now seeing huge increases in the cost of their electricity, in some cases 50- 200%. This could add millions of pounds to the annual running costs of larger cold stores and threatens the existence of individual businesses, further destabilising and reducing the capacity of an already fragile food supply chain. In situations where increased costs could be passed on through the supply chain, this would amplify the food price inflation which is already anticipated


due to increases in labour costs throughout the food supply chain. Tom Southall, Cold Chain


Federation policy director, said: “The challenges of the past two years have shown time and time again why the cold chain is so crucial for food supply. Cold storage operators are resilient, experienced and incredibly hard working but the soaring electricity costs on top of the labour shortage, Brexit and the pandemic is creating an overwhelming burden. If the


crisis continues and Government needs to step in to prevent widespread failures in energy intensive industries, cold storage must be a high priority or we will all feel the effects of major disruption to fresh and frozen food supply.” Read the full letter from the Cold Chain Federation to the Business Secretary here - www. coldchainfederation.org.uk/wp- content/uploads/2021/10/CCF- Letter_Energy-25.10.21.pdf


CIBSE team awarded BEIS contract for new guidance for large heat pump installations


C


IBSE is working with an authoring team from Arup and a cross-industry steering


group on a contract awarded by BEIS to produce new guidance on the installation of heat pumps in larger non-residential buildings. The UK has set a legally


binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Achieving this will require virtually all heat in buildings to be decarbonised, and heat in industry to be reduced to close to zero carbon emissions. The transition to clean heat


needs to enable installers to deliver high quality heat pump installations to robust standards to protect businesses and consumers from sub-standard installations. There is currently a lack of current UK focused technical


guidance specifically for heat pumps in larger buildings. The project aims to:


Q Produce new guidance for large heat pump installations in non- domestic buildings, in both new and retrofit settings.


Q Contribute towards delivering high quality design, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of heat pump systems.


Q Increase the awareness of common issues faced in delivering effective systems in larger buildings and seeking to reduce instances of ineffective systems.


The guidance will be free to use for designers, installers, and consumers, and will enable installations to follow best practice


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and be delivered safely, legally and to a high quality.


Arup, who developed the new,


and recently published, CIBSE AM16 on heat pumps for apartment blocks will work as technical authors under the direction of the CIBSE Technical team supported by a Steering Group comprising of industry stakeholders and representatives including developers, landlords, occupiers, designers, installers, operators, manufacturers, and other specialists.


Dr Hywel Davies, technical director of CIBSE highlighted the timeliness of this work: “We are delighted to be appointed to lead this project, which aligns with our drive to link knowledge development and best practice to support the technical improvement and through life performance of low


carbon commercial and industrial buildings.”


Mike Edwards, associate director at Arup highlighted the importance to net zero targets “Heat pumps will play a crucial role in the UK’s net zero carbon transition. We are very pleased to have been appointed to lead the authoring of this best practice guidance, continuing our strong working relationship with CIBSE and other industry partners. “Arup have been designing heat pump systems for large non- domestic buildings for several years- serving developments from Lords Cricket Ground to our own London offices. Our in-depth knowledge of these systems, and experience of their real- world operation will enhance our authoring of AM17.”


www.acr-news.com • December 2021 7


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