Edel Christie

Thames Water is engaging the market on an £840M infrastructure overhaul programme, featuring plans to improve nine key water and sewage treatment sites in London and neighbouring counties. The UK’s largest water provider, is preparing to nearly double its infrastructure spending to enhance water quality, increase treatment capacity and reduce environmental pollution between 2025 and 2030. The scope covers upgrades to wastewater treatment works at Riverside, Beckton, Crossness, Didcot, Wantage, Bicester and Hogsmill, alongside the replacement of Beckton’s sludge-powered generators and water asset assurance improvements at Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. Additionally, two water treatment sites – Ashford and Hampton – are slated to receive new ultraviolet water treatment systems designed to bolster purification processes. Thames Water’s supply chain and procurement team is now starting the formal process of engaging interested businesses to refine the commercial approach that will stem from the planned infrastructure programme. Thames Water is seeking feedback on the proposed terms and views on how the Framework can ensure efficient and collaborative working relationships for the company and its appointed contractors. The water company said it is looking for “innovative partners who align with our ambition to deliver these essential projects. Through this framework, we plan to award contracts for works, goods, and services needed for AMP8, with an option to extend into AMP9 based on delivery success,” it added. www.newcivilengineer.com

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What does an all-electric town look like in practice? Otterpool Park in Kent is planned as one of the UK’s first large-scale, all-electric developments: 8,500 homes designed to run without fossil fuels - and to act as a virtual power plant for the wider grid. Each home will be equipped with: • Rooftop solar and batteries to generate and store clean power • Electric hobs, heating systems, and EV chargers as standard • Access to a new solar farm, covering around half of the town’s demand • 34 MW of renewable capacity in total • One communal grid-scale battery per 300 homes • Smart flexibility services - e.g. pausing EV chargers for seconds to help balance the National Grid By generating and managing much of their own electricity, the development will also avoid costly grid reinforcements that delay so many housing projects. It’s still subject to planning, but could this be a glimpse of how new communities will be built in the 2030s?

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✨ We're proud to announce that BWB Consulting has become a member of RenewableUK! 🌿⚡ As one of the UK's leading integrated consultancies, we've long been committed to sustainable engineering, environmental excellence, and community-focused design. Our experience in renewable energy infrastructure matches perfectly with RenewableUK's mission to accelerate the UK's transition to clean energy. This membership marks a significant step in our journey to drive innovation in clean energy. We're ready to: ✅ Contribute our expertise to national energy discussions ✅ Partner with industry leaders on innovative solutions ✅ Drive forward projects that power healthier, more sustainable communities Find out more about our experience working on energy projects here: https://lnkd.in/e37f9kpy #PeoplePlacePlanet #RenewableUK #CleanEnergy #SustainableEngineering

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Women in power ♀️ - leading the charge towards #netzero Across industries, and particularly in the energy sector, women remain underrepresented in senior leadership roles. At SSE, we believe that must change. We’re committed to building a gender-balanced leadership team and celebrating the incredible women already driving impact across our business. Through our Women in Power series, we’re spotlighting female leaders who are shaping the future of energy and inspiring the next generation. 🎥 Next up: Ritika Wattan, Head of Strategy and Strategic Planning at SSE Energy Solutions. Ritika shares her journey, why she chose SSE, and what it means to be part of an organisation powering the UK's transition to net zero. Let’s champion more women into leadership within energy and beyond. 👇 Link to Ritika’s story in the comments #WomenInLeadership #DiversityInEnergy #InclusionMatters #WomenInPower

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Expanding the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to include the waste sector will be key to driving #decarbonisation, but how does the scheme actually work? Our Chief Sustainability Officer, Tim Rotheray, explains how both ETS and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) are poised to transform the way we think about waste in the UK. #Viridor #ETS #EPR

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Heat pumps will struggle to compete with fossil fuel boilers until we fix electricity pricing. I spoke with the Financial Times for their article out today about this exact issue. My colleagues and I have researched this extensively. Our work on the total cost of ownership and the policies needed to make heat pumps affordable reveals several key findings: 🔹 Cost parity with gas boilers at SCoP of 3.3 in the UK with current grant support 🔹 Shifting levies from electricity bills to general taxation significantly lowers costs 🔹 Moving levies from electricity to gas creates the strongest incentive for switching 🔹 Time-of-use tariffs & heat pump-specific rates further improve affordability 💡 The right policies can make heat pumps cheaper compared to fossil fuel heating systems Paper coauthored by me at the Environmental Change Institute (ECI), University of Oxford, Oriel College, Oxford & Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), Jake Barnes at the Environmental Change Institute (ECI), University of Oxford, Ray Galvin at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), Sam O'Mara & Dr Richard Lowes at the University of Exeter and the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). Read our full paper here: https://lnkd.in/efkVbuE9

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If we’re serious about #decarbonising, not #deindustrialising, #foundationalindustries like #cement, then policy certainty and clarity must be prioritised. Recent moves towards linking the UK and EU Emissions Trading Schemes (#ETS) and funding support for #CCUS projects are steps in the right direction. But they’re not enough on their own. In a piece for BusinessGreen, I unpack where current policy gaps are slowing sustainability progress. I make the case for ensuring the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is watertight – one that prevents carbon leakage and offshoring of emissions, alongside aligning funding with that of the EU so that UK industry doesn’t fall behind. #UKcement could be a net zero success story – but only if we back it with the right policy framework.   Read the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/eYrKzECu Mineral Products Association HM Treasury Department for Business and Trade Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Breedon Group plc CEMCOR LtdCEMEX UKHeidelberg Materials UKHolcim UKTarmacPeak ClusterHyNet

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