• • • NEWS • • •


Budget misses opportunity to support transition to a high skilled, green economy


T


he Electrical Contractors’ Association has applauded the shift to a higher wage, higher


skills economy underlined by Rishi Sunak in this month’s budget. However, ECA said it sees the lack of support for


the transition to a green economy as a serious omission. The widely trailed skills pledge also won’t necessarily deliver the right type of training to produce the highly skilled and adaptable workers necessary to produce the new low carbon homes and infrastructure promised in the budget. Andrew Eldred, ECA’s director of workforce and


public affairs, said: “While we welcome the relief for small businesses installing green technologies, creating a low carbon building is not just about new tech, it’s also about what goes on behind the scenes.


“Highly skilled workers are central to finding the


right solution to make a building function efficiently. A skilled worker finds the right solutions to reduce carbon emissions, rather using a one size fits all approach.”


New £61m data centre to open in Manchester P


California-based data infrastructure firm Equinix is behind the


scheme which would be its fifth data centre in the Greater Manchester area. It will be located in the Agecroft Commerce Park and see a warehouse retrofitted to accommodate the 144,000sq ft data centre. Equinix also received approval for a sixth data centre in Manchester,


which is larger at 255,000sq ft. Lorraine Wilkinson, Equinix’s vice president for sales, UK, said, “The


new site will bring Equinix’s total investment in Manchester to over £130m, and £1billion+ in the UK’s digital infrastructure as a whole.” UK Science and Innovation Minister George Freeman said that


investment in new technologies to support business in the UK was crucial in the post-pandemic recovery plan.


Mr Eldred added that fast-track training routes,


such as bootcamps may be counterproductive, because if an installer doesn’t understand how their technology interacts with the rest of a building, it can prove expensive and even dangerous for the customer. He said: “We’d have liked to see more


about investment in green upskilling, and particularly about increasing our engineering and technical capacity to deliver the transition to a green economy. “We remain concerned about the lack of


nationwide planning for EV charging points, and critically there was little about encouraging the further decarbonisation of the grid with more renewable energy and by abolishing disproportionate levies on electricity.”


lans for a £61 million data centre in Salford, Manchester, have been approved with a potential 2022 start for construction.


Two-thirds of local authorities have no plans to install EV chargers


A


lmost two-thirds of local authorities do not have any


plans to roll out electric vehicle charge points (EVCPs), according to a freedom of information request by leading electrical industry trade body ECA. With government plans to end the


sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2035, the lack of charging infrastructure could prove a significant setback. Luke Osborne, ECA’s energy and


emerging technologies solutions advisor, said that only one-third of local authorities could confirm they had an EVCP strategy in place; 48% said they did not currently operate any EVCPs. Mr Osborne said: “The electrical


and building services industry has the potential to build and maintain the green infrastructure we need to deliver Net Zero Carbon by 2050


and make Government’s promises a reality. “But with public interest in


electric vehicles reaching an all-time high, the worrying lack of plans to install charge points will seriously hold us back in our pursuit of Net Zero – and stunt the growth of a booming market.” “A key focus for local authorities


should be enabling constituents without off-street parking to readily charge with ease.”


6 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • NOVEMBER 2021


electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk


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