40. Decarbonising the City of London, January 26, 2022


The January 2022 webinar drew a large audience from the Company, City and beyond, as Water Conservator Professor Simon Spooner, Principal Consultant, Infrastructure at Atkins, presented The Future Potential Of District Heating Systems For Major Cities - how new and existing cities can deal with the Climate Change challenges of supplying water and energy and achieving net zero. Simon discussed a number of options drawn from practical experience overseas that may have possibilities in the UK.

He described the potential for district heating and cooling systems to help the City meet its climate change target of Net Zero by 2040, pointing out that a start had already been made. Hidden behind the attractive, listed facades of the Port of London Authority and the Central Cold Store, are tri-generation networks, like E.ON’s Citigen. This hidden power station supplies decentralized district energy, a lower carbon and cost-efficient source of energy, right in the heart of the City.

This is the largest urban combined heat and power plant in the UK.

The webinar was particularly well attended and some follow-up events are planned. My thanks go to Simon for his webinar and for pointing out that there are solutions for the transformation of large cities, but that thinking about how to utilise them was urgent.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

47. The Apothecaries, March 7, 2022

Image
  The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London held its inaugural lecture: Pandemics, Pounds & Partnerships by Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, at its very attractive Hall in Black Friars Lane.   Peter Sands is responsible for the overall leadership and management of the Global Fund’s operational and administrative functions, working under the guidance of the Global Fund Board. The lecture was fascinating and covered the financing - donations from government and individuals, to the programmes running in many countries. The slow progress towards eradication had been interrupted by the Covid19 pandemic, and would take some time to recover. One indirect benefit was that the public health infrastructure supported by the Global Fund had been very important to survival rates in many countries. This was a lesson that some developed countries needed to learn before the inevitable next pandemic. To regard the pandemic a
Read more

73. The Master’s Trip to Venice, May 25-29, 2022

Image
It is customary for the Master to arrange a visit to somewhere that reflects his and the Company’s interests. For the last year, my Consort, Georgina, has been trying to get the Venetian authorities to allow us to visit the flood defences. Due to the pandemic, this was not possible but the boat we stayed on, the Michelangelo , did approach some of them. Mostly tied up near St Mark’s Square, we had the opportunity to visit the main sights using the water buses, as well as taking the ‘secret itinerary’ tour at the Doge’s Palace, visiting the prison cells where Casanova was held – until he escaped!   As usual (for us anyway) we got lost on day 1 – but they say if you haven’t got lost walking in Venice, you haven’t been there! I am grateful for Georgina’s hard work, without which this visit would not have been possible, and the endless good humour of the Conservators and partners who made this visit so enjoyable.
Read more

13. The Michaelmas Lunch, September 27, 2021

Image
On 27 September 2021, the Company held its Michaelmas Lunch at Trinity House. The Master welcomed over 60 Members and guests to the first face to face Lunch since January 2020. The theme was climate action and the speaker was Alderman Sheriff Elect Alison Gowman. Her theme was working with City institutions to acknowledge the pressing need to address climate change and to be prepared to support actions that would lead to reductions in carbon emissions. City Livery Companies have a part to play and Alison had formed a pan-Livery partnership to develop and adopt individual climate action plans in the run up to COP26.  Alderman and Sheriff Elect Alison Gowman, the Master, Alderman Dr Sir Andrew Parmley and the Master’s Consort, Georgina She was pleased to note the significant contribution from Members of our Company, led by Deputy Master Rob Casey, and that our Court had adopted our own Climate Action Plan earlier in the day. Action is everything, and our contributors have been asked to f
Read more