NEWS
develops Lego-style solar panels
Brunel University
Kingfisher to install battery energy storage in Swindon
milestone in Kingfisher’s strategic roadmap for sustainable growth to 2025 and moves the company towards its goal of becoming
Kingfisher plc, the international home improvement company, has unveiled plans to install energy storage batteries at B&Q’s Swindon distribution centre. The installation is the latest
a net positive business by 2050. Solarcentury, Kingfisher’s
renewable energy partner, will manage the installation with batteries supplied by Samsung. The system will complement an existing biomass boiler and chipper which will provide renewable heat for the site. These installations form a key part of Kingfisher’s
aim to reduce grid energy consumption across its UK property portfolio. They will help the company
reduce its overall carbon emissions whilst controlling its cost base and delivering commercial returns. Kingfisher already
distribution centre uses 3.5MW of power per year on average and is already powered by solar energy from 552 rooftop solar panels. Currently, around 35% of
batteries will mean that this energy can be stored and released back to the building to provide power during periods of peak pricing, says the company.
Solar panels designed to click together ‘like Lego’
are being developed at London’s Brunel University as part of £10m sustainable energy scheme. Funded by Horizon 2020, the project aims to perfect a
flexible, solar-powered renewable energy system that generates heat from hot water and electricity. The ‘PVadapt’ hybrid panels combine photovoltaic (PV)
cells with flat heat pipes, which transfer unwanted heat away from surfaces. PVadapt aims to use the heat pipes to cool the PV cells to make them more efficient and longer lasting – with the removed heat being reused. “There is no waste heat with our system,” explains
technical coordinator Professor Hussam Jouhara. ‘The approach focuses on low-cost, high-efficiency and modular prefabricated, Lego-type construction elements for near- zero-energy buildings.’ PVadapt is a team effort involving 18 organisations from
11 countries. Click-in-place hybrid solar roof panels are to be installed into eight buildings – including homes, offices and shops – in Spain, Greece, Austria and Portugal. The International Energy Agency has said: "The
development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries' energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and mostly import-indepen- dent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating climate change, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global. Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments; they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared".
An award-winning Consultancy has launched a free online tool to help companies in
the power sector really understand where they are currently stand in terms of their diversity and inclusivity journey and what additional steps they might need to take to improve their organisational culture. Jungle Diversity, part of the Jungle HR group, is on a mission to help over 10,000 companies
create an Inclusive workplace culture. The Diversity & Inclusion scorecard forms part of the tribe5 Diversity & Inclusion ™ range which includes accelerator workshops, a boardgame ‘Your Tribe’ and Teresa’s forthcoming book which provides a blueprint for HR directors and Board Directors to create an Inclusive workplace culture. A culture where a sense of belonging is created and where everyone feels respected and valued for their unique difference. The free Scorecard is a quick and easy way for any organisation to measure themselves
against the 5 key areas required to build an Inclusive and Diverse workplace culture. Teresa Boughey, CEO of Jungle HR, said: ‘Having a diverse and inclusive workplace culture
is important for all organisations - not just those large companies which now have to report on their Gender Pay annually, but any organisation which wants to attract and retain top people. “In my experience, organisations have a desire to create a more inclusive culture however
they are just not sure where to start. That’s why I created tribe5 Diversity & Inclusion™ which sets out the five key stages required to build an Inclusive and Diverse workplace
culture.The Diversity & Inclusion scorecard is the essential business tool for any organisations equality strategy and I wanted to offer it freely.” Teresa Boughey concludes: “I would urge all companies to take the scorecard regardless of
where they are on their Diversity and Inclusion journey.” Answer 40 ‘Yes/No’ questions and receive a 15 page report on how you score against each
of the five areas, together with recommendations for how you can improve. The Diversity & Inclusion Scorecard is available via
https://scorecard.junglediversity.com/ and is completely free of charge to undertake. Jungle HR is a National Award Winning, Strategic HR Consultancy practice working with
Executive Boards and Leadership Teams during times of change and business transformation. Jungle work across several Industry sectors and have proven experience of delivering successful and impactful business transformation programmes as well as Leadership and Management Development programmes. More information:
www.junglehr.com
12 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2018 UK POwER NEwS
Free Online Tool to help organisations create a Diverse and Inclusive Culture
the power generated by the solar panels at the site is exported back to the grid as surplus. The energy storage
purchases 100% of its UK electricity from renewable sources. Kingfisher’s Swindon
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
