IPlantE News

Plants in danger of missing CRC deadlines

2nd Aug 2010

Energy firm npower is among several warning that plant managers are risking financial and reputational penalties unless they act fast to meet the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) deadlines.

The deadline for registration is 30 September, but latest Environment Agency figures reveal that just 10% of full participants had registered for the scheme at the half way point of the six-month registration window.

Any participant that misses the final registration deadline of 30 September will incur an immediate fine of £5,000, plus an additional £500 per working day past the deadline, up to a maximum of 80 days. Non-compliance will also be published.

Dave Lewis, head of business energy services at npower, warns that the slow rate of registration so far indicates that many organisations may not have been tracking their energy use from 1 April this year in preparation for their year-end footprint report.

“The longer organisations take to track this, the more challenging the task will become,” he advises. “Compiling all the data needed to register for CRC is no small task and, while many are working hard to bring this together, time is running out,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Mark Chrimes, product manager for Siemens Automation & Drives, suggests that plant managers galvanise action by looking at the opportunities arising out of energy efficiency investments.

Beyond the obvious – such as switching off lights and turning down heating – he encourages them to consider the Energy Technology List (ETL – an element of the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) scheme), which offers tax relief for investment in equipment that meet energy-saving criteria.

“An example of parts that bring energy-saving benefits to a site is variable speed drives and these feature on the list,” advises Chrimes.

Steve Ruddell, manger of the ABB’s automation and motion division in the UK and Ireland, agrees and adds that his company has launched a drives and motors ‘swappage’ scheme, allowing plants to trade in their old products from any manufacturer for new ABB drives and motors, and get at least 17.5% off published list prices.

The deal applies to new drives from 0.12kW to 400kW and new motors from 0.75kW to 710kW. “A new drive alone can save as much as £1,000 per year in energy,” he says.

ABB is also offering a free, no obligation on-site energy appraisal to identify areas of plant capable of yielding the greatest return through motor and drive upgrades.

“The reliability of well maintained drives gradually declines once they get to between 15 and 20 years of age,” asserts Ruddell. “To avoid costly downtime towards the end of the product’s life, our scheme identifies the older drives, gives advice on the installation issues and recommends a drive replacement programme,” he says.