Local Authority Case Study Highlights Need for Focus on Site Power Management to Help Tackle Air Quality and Carbon
Generators on construction sites are typically oversized or underloaded. A bigger generator means more fuel consumption, and lower load means less fuel efficiency, a perfect recipe for high CO2 emissions. However, decarbonising generators is no easy task, as they provide power to site when grid connections are not available.
The Regulatory Services Partnership of Merton, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils carried out an independent case study into the potential carbon and air quality savings in managing site power through Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). The study recognises that these machines will remain reliant on fossil fuels and HVO for some time to come and highlights the need for a new focus on power management on construction and demolition sites to minimise consumption of these fuels. It recommends power management as a key consideration at the planning stage, having independently estimated a 57% fuel saving and 85% reduction in engine run time on this particular application.
Other key findings from the study include:
- Generators are more polluting than any other type of NRMM, representing 11% of the fleet, but 36% of the tailpipe CO2 emissions
- Telematics is an extremely helpful tool to monitor and optimise fuel savings
- Engineered solutions to conserve power, such as timed sockets, further reduce fuel consumption and make it easier for sites to transition to these battery systems
- The use of BESS brings generator loading up to a much healthier level, reducing the risk of maintenance issues.
The report concludes that power management on construction sites is a logical progression on the pathway to cleaner equipment, but requires external drivers to ensure demand, and provides recommendations on how this could be implemented through Local Authorities.
The CPA welcomes this case study as a significant first step in the acknowledgement of efficiencies and pragmatism in the journey to decarbonise. There are a broad range of options to reduce fuel consumption that can be included in these considerations, such as;
- Being more mindful of generator sizing
- Reducing power consumption so a smaller generator can be used
- Load on demand, with two or more smaller generators coming on and off as required instead of one big generator running all the time
- Using flybrid to cover spikes in power demand
- Using BESS to hybridise a regular generator, or enhance a small grid connection
- Using transportable battery systems to replace traditional trolley generators
- Generating power with on-site renewables such as wind or solar, to reduce dependency on conventional fuels
- Fuel additives that improve fuel efficiency
- Using a combination of the above.
Public sector could lead by example by exploring these options in their own procurement and pricing them into jobs.
These solutions are site specific, there is not one solution that will fit all sites and some approaches are more advanced than others. Expectations must be reasonable, taking into account availability, suitability and cost. Power management will usually save sites money, but not always, and some options still require substantial up-front investment. The current economic environment makes any such investments very challenging for most businesses.
We encourage local authorities to include CPA and the wider industry in the formation of any guidance and frameworks being considered, to ensure that those proposals are deliverable.
The full case study can be downloaded below.