NEWS UPDATE COMMERCIAL KITCHENS In Brief


● The Zero Carbon Forum has launched a Corporate Carbon Calculator and Toolkit for brewing and hospitality organisations to measure and reduce emissions across large estates, chains, and franchises, helping them become more sustainable and resilient. The tool has already been rolled out by Greene King Pub Partners to help pub operators achieve better outcomes.


● The Viking Link Converter station, part of the world’s longest land and subsea electricity interconnector, has been awarded BREEAM Infrastructure ‘Very Good’ certification in recognition of its commitment to sustainability and environmental performance. Stretching 475 miles, the Viking Link project is expected to provide power for up to 2.5 million homes and connects Bicker Fen substation in Lincolnshire with the Revsing substation in Denmark.


● Droitwich-based company Solar Select has announced the expansion of its operations with the opening of a new facility in Worcester. The new unit will enable Solar Select to expand its service area and better serve local energy needs. With expertise in solar products and services, the company aims to empower homes and businesses to take control of their energy usage.


● SSE Energy Solutions has announced plans to establish a new regional HQ in Newcastle, as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at advancing decarbonisation, innovation, and job creation initiatives across the city. The aim is to accelerate the delivery of Newcastle’s Net Zero Action Plan and foster a green skills workforce to support the £2.7 billion low carbon economy.


● CIBSE and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero have partnered to make the CP1 (2020) heat network code of practice accessible to all for free. CIBSE and DESNZ will also work together to continuously update the Code of Practice, ensuring it remains aligned with the evolving regulatory landscape, including the development of the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS) standards.


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Push for widespread transition to electric-only kitchens


The Global Cooksafe Coalition (GCC) recently launched in London, on a mission to accelerate the transition away from cooking with gas towards electric alternatives – powered by renewable energy. It brings together property groups, chefs, and public health and climate experts around a shared vision for more sustainable kitchens. Two major property companies


– Lendlease Europe and Grosvenor Property UK – have pledged to phase out gas from all new kitchens in their developments by 2030, and to retrofit existing properties with electric power by 2040. They join a growing movement of leaders around the world, including GCC’s international partners already transitioning to electric-only kitchens


across combined property portfolios exceeding £120 billion. The group argues that kitchens


are important because they are often a catalyst, or ‘gateway decision’, encouraging the installation of gas- fired heating systems in new buildings. The electrification of kitchens


is backed by some of Britain’s top chefs who’ve joined the GCC as Chef Ambassadors, including Chantelle Nicholson and John Chantarasak, who together delivered a master- class of cooking with electric- powered induction hobs during the launch event – demonstrating how modern induction hobs offer precise control for both commercial and domestic use. “The removal of on-site fossil


fuels and electrification of our assets, coupled with the purchase of renewable electricity, is key to us meeting our target to reach Absolute Zero by 2040,” says Matt Buntine from Lendlease Europe. “This is already an active part of our development strategy with our latest building at Stratford Cross, an example where we’ve actively worked with the incoming retailer to reduce gas demand via the specification of electric cooking equipment.”


Pledge to scrap green levies threatens energy efficiency


Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has confirmed that after the General Election the Conservative party intends to scrap all ‘green levies’ on fuel bills. Almost half of these green levies, officially known as


‘policy costs’ by regulator Ofgem, help to pay for both social and environmental policies that are not purely ‘green’ in intent. These policies help to install energy efficiency measures into low income and vulnerable households via the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) upon energy suppliers and are currently the only measures in place designed to remove English households from fuel poverty. In contrast, all three devolved nations continue to run


taxpayer funded programmes aimed at improving low income housing. The green levies also fund the Warm Homes Discount, which gives elderly people £150 tax free off their winter heating bill. Initially, such levies were designed to augment other government funded programmes intended to


Investment in heat network for


Worthing The seaside town of Worthing, West Sussex, has launched an ambitious decarbonisation project – The Worthing Heat Network. The scheme aims to provide climate-friendly heating to every building in the town by 2050, funded by up to £500 million in investment from partner Hemiko, a heat network specialist. The Worthing Heat Network Energy Centre will initially operate using an air source heat pump system, with plans to gradually integrate more locally- sourced waste heat sources over time.


improve energy efficiency standards in housing, long acknowledged to be the worst in Western Europe. Over the past decade these programmes have all vanished, because in 2012 then Prime Minister David Cameron ordered OFGEM to “cut the green crap”. The impact has been stark. Between 2008 and 2013,


around 420,000 homes received cavity wall insulation each year on average, but after 2013, insulation rates fell by around half to just 230,000 homes. Similar trends are seen for solid wall insulation, which fell from 60,000 homes per year to a mere 4,000. Loft insulation has seen the steepest decline. Prior


to “cutting the green crap”, around 800,000 homes were fitted with loft insulation per year on average, but post that just 125,000 homes have been fitted – a fall of around six times. The Conservative manifesto does not propose


diverting tax revenue to enable even these more modest home energy improvement programmes to continue.


created up to 500 jobs by 2050. Construction is scheduled to


The first phase of the network will


connect mostly large public sector buildings and the first phase alone is expected to save over 3,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year, the equivalent to taking 2,000 cars off the road. The project will also create around 40 local jobs, although Hemiko expects the network to have


commence in July this year, with the first buildings expected to be connected by summer 2025, including Worthing Town Hall, Worthing Hospital, the Assembly Hall, Portland House, Worthing Museum & Art Gallery, and the Connaught Theatre. The heat network will then expand from there. “It will be an invaluable piece of


infrastructure for the local community, not only because it will cut the town’s emissions significantly and improve public health, but it will also offer jobs, apprenticeships, and a hub for innovation and investment into the town,” says Toby Heysham, CEO at Hemiko.


EIBI | JUNE 2024


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