Wednesday 20 March 2019
Guest Blog: Haydn Young – Northampton kicks off the return of The Energy Club
Northampton kicked off the return of the Energy Clubs on Tuesday hosting the within the fabulous surroundings of St Andrews Healthcare Campus. With Northampton being the original location for the first Energy Club meeting in 2011 it was fitting to restart the Energy Club network back where it started.
Give as gain
Whenever I go to an Energy Club meeting, I’m always impressed by how wide-ranging and useful they are. Members quickly buy into the ‘give as gain’ philosophy behind the clubs and are always generous with sharing their experiences; both the successes and the challenges. At Tuesday’s meeting, members debated a wide array of topics and challenges including:
- Combined Heat and Power systems
- Smart Metering and Data Quality
- The merits of Science-Based Targets and the Carbon Disclosure Project
- The benefits and pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence with energy data
- Dealing with Biomass Boilers
The ‘Legislation slot’ focused on the final round of the Carbon Reduction Commitment Scheme, the re-run of Energy Saving Opportunity Schemes with Phase 2 and preparing to comply with Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR). Legislation typically provides lively debates, with members debating the positives and pitfalls of the legislation within their own organisation. The challenge for all is how we comply and methodologies chosen. For SECR a question still remains as to the intensity metrics chosen and the merits for sectors to use a common measure.
Our ‘Presentation slot’ covered the UK Governments Clean Growth Strategy. Using a presentation, provided by BEIS, we debated the merits of the plan for the UK to meet its 20% improvement in energy efficiency by 2030. With an increased focus on SMEs to cut energy costs, there’s a need for many more organisations to proactively manage energy. SECR may incentivise SMEs to manage energy better with the legislation affecting approximately 12,000 organisations.
Join our movement:
If you’re responsible for reducing energy consumption in your business and would like to meet fellow energy management professionals then request to join one of our UK clubs. All clubs are free, meet quarterly and are open in Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, London, Manchester, Northampton and Oxford. New clubs are also being formed in Sheffield and Cardiff.
Simply email your request to join any club at info@theenergyclub.org. All Members must register in advance for any meeting.
