Local energy suppliers key to ramping up energy efficiency, argues sustainability boss
The Government should promote the development of local energy suppliers and generation sites to boost the efficiency of the country’s energy network argued the boss of one of the UK’s leading energy funds.
Jonathan Maxwell, chief executive and co-founding member of Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL) described the centralised energy system as “pretty inefficient,” and suggested reforms were key to ensuring consumption demand could be met over the coming years,
He told City A.M.: “One of things they can do is promote decentralised energy. This means generating energy much closer to where it’s needed. If you’re generating using thermal generation or even using natural gas, then it’s a much more efficient way of supplying energy.”
He argued reducing transmission distances was a key part of enhancing efficiency – with around 10 per cent of energy wasted during the distribution process – and called for on-site local suppliers to be “much higher up the agenda” with the Government’s energy policy.
Maxwell noted technologies existed today for conventional energy storage also existed, alongside solar and wind power storage for renewables.
In his view, this meant local supplies would both be fundamentally more efficient and could be delivered in timeframes which are much quicker than “large scale centralised supply.”
Commenting on the Government’s recently unveiled supply security strategy, he said: “We can celebrate the fact that the government came out with its plan to build lots of new wind and solar, but the problem with all of these things is that none of it will be ready until well into the 2020s. That’s too late. The problem we are facing is now.”
SDCL is the investment manager which oversees the SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEEIT) alongside other investment vehicles.
It invests in renewable projects and energy efficiency opportunities across the world, and its portfolio is valued at £913m.
The company trades on the FTSE 250, and its shares have enjoyed a strong growth story in recent weeks following a bullish set of results for the SEEIT portfolio earlier this month.
SDCL reported before tax profits of £79.8m for year to 31 March 2022, up from £32.4m for the prior year to 31 March 2021.