Journey to Green Annual Sustainability Report 2023
As sustainable technologies within the temporary power industry continue to develop, so has our fleet of environmentally friendly equipment. In 2023, we continued to invest heavily in the next generation of temporary power solutions so we could lower not only our own impact on the environment but also that of our customers.
Whether we’re powering critical utility infrastructure or a hospital, the reliability of temporary power is paramount. As such we’ve chosen technologies that will lower emissions while maintaining the dependability of traditional temporary power equipment and the high quality of service we offer.
Our Sustainable Power Solutions
Battery Energy Storage (BES) Units
You’ve most likely heard of Battery Energy Storage units, or BES units before – sometimes they’re called hybrids, or hybrid power solutions, or BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) or simply batteries. That’s essentially what they are, very large batteries that can store energy – whether produced from a solar panel, a wind turbine or a generator. This energy can then be released when needed – like at night, if there’s no wind or if you’re looking to limit the amount a generator is running.
Using a BES unit to reduce generator runtime can result in a significant reduction in emissions, fuel consumption and noise pollution. BES units are incredibly versatile and effective, and for this reason, we’ve continued to grow our fleet of them, which now stands at over 200 sets.
Stage V Generators
Cities naturally have a high population density and with that comes an increase in cars, buses and lorries – as well as other engines that don’t run on the road. The rather uninventively named Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) legislation dictates the emissions levels of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter allowed for these engines within the UK’s Clear Air Zones.
As part of the NRMM legislation, Stage V is the latest engine emissions standard applicable for diesel generators and marks a large jump in equipment complexity to achieve these ultra-low emissions targets. We’ve continued to invest, growing our current fleet of Stage V generators to over 100 sets.
HVO Fuel
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is a fuel that can be used instead of diesel in our generators. By using HVO instead of diesel, our customers can reduce emissions of CO2, nitrogen oxides and particulates. In 2023, Power Electrics provided its customers with 4.4 million litres of HVO fuel as an alternative to diesel.
Emissions Savings
Our Customers’ Savings
Through investing in the sustainable temporary power solutions mentioned above, we have managed to significantly reduce the environmental impact of our customers’ projects as well as our own operations.
By pairing our BES units with generators to create highly efficient hybrid power systems, we have helped our customers reduce their CO2 emissions by an estimated 29,000 tonnes in 2023 alone.
Similarly, by replacing diesel with HVO fuel in our generators, we have allowed our customers to cut over 12,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions from temporary power last year.
Our Emissions Savings
In addition to cutting emissions for our customers, Power Electrics is also dedicated to lowering its own operational impact on the environment. In 2023 we secured the ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management Accreditation, which looks at continual improvement of energy efficiency and lowering usage.
As part of this process, we replaced hundreds of lightbulbs with LEDs, installed a new highly-insulated roof on our Bristol Headquarters, new lower-energy security gates and many other changes to improve the energy efficiency of our operations. We also ran our transport fleet on HVO fuel instead of diesel, and this one change resulted in a reduction of 600+ tonnes of CO2e in the last financial year.
Savings Equivalencies
By working with us, our customers have saved a total of over 42,600 tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere in 2023. When combined with Power Electrics’ own operational emissions savings, this is the equivalent CO2 production of driving the average UK car to the moon and back 404 times, or the emissions from over 5,200 houses for a whole year. We could even launch 126 Falcon 9 rockets and still have cut our CO2 emissions!
2024
Don’t think we’ll rest on our laurels though, in 2024 we plan to continue investing in our Battery Energy Storage solutions and our Stage V generators, as well as continuing to use HVO fuel as an alternative to diesel.
If you have any questions about our sustainable power offerings or about how we can help you cut emissions on your next project, please reach out to us via the link below.
