Building News is an information portal for all professional building specifiers. Here you can find all of the latest construction news from around the UK and the rest of the world.

Costa Rica running on renewables for 121 days and counting!

Costa Rica is setting the precedent for other nations looking to utilise green energy and reduce their carbon footprint.

The small Central American nation has generated 100% of its electricity from renewable sources for the past 121 days, and the run isn’t over yet. The country, which draws clean energy from a variety of renewable sources, still has its sights on a full year without fossil fuels.

With a 121-day stretch of 100% renewable energy under its belt and several months left in the year, Costa Rica appears to be edging closer to its admirable target. Costa Rica could be on track to match the record set with its renewable energy production last year, which accounted for 99% of the country’s electricity. That included 285 days powered completely by renewable sources, according to the Costa Rican Electricity Institute.

Costa Rica is able to take advantage of a multitude of renewable energy sources because of its unique climate and terrain. Most of the nation’s renewable energy comes from hydropower, due to its large river system and heavy tropical rainfalls. Solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal energy also play key roles.

Green ambitions

Costa Rica have shown great ambition in the field of renewable energy over the past few years and according to the government they are aiming to be entirely free from fossil fuels by 2021. However, with large sums of money currently being invested in geothermal energy projects, it is anticipated that this impressive target could indeed be met much sooner than originally expected.

In comparison, some countries (ourselves included) could be perceived as simply not doing enough to tackle climate change and improve our energy habits. Costa Rica achieving 99% renewable energy usage this year sends a stark message to the rest of the world of what is possible when a country unites to make a concerted effort to fight global warming using sustainable energy sources and technologies already at our disposal.

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Hinkley: Plans to scale back nuclear cooperation with Chinese government emerge

A new plan regarding the future of Hinkley Point C is currently being considered following last month’s delay by Theresa May in approving the £18bn Hinkley Point project.

The government is currently considering a proposal to detach development of Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor from a previous agreement, whereby China is responsible for the delivery of the Essex-based power plant.

China became controversially involved in the project 12 months ago, offering to fund a third of the costs in a deal meant to ease financial pressure on French Energy firm EDF.

However, concerns were raised by Theresa May, who soon called for a project review shortly after becoming Prime Minister.

Putting the project in jeopardy

Experts suggest that any attempts to detract from the agreement whereby China build reactors in Britain risks endangering the whole deal; the primary reason for China’s involvement from their perspective was in order to showcase their nuclear technology in Europe. Otherwise, they would have little interest in being involved in such a project.

This news comes as another knock to overall confidence in the future of Hinkley Point C. Serious doubts plague the proposals regarding the financial and environmental cost of the project – it seems to be losing what little support it had in the first place. Last month, Stop Hinkley Spokesperson Allan Jeffery commented “Now even the financial press says Hinkley Point C has become a laughing stock.

“The cost keeps rising while the cost of renewables is falling rapidly, and the potential to make savings with energy efficiency is huge. We could replace Hinkley much more quickly and cheaply without the safety fears and without producing dangerous waste we don’t know what to do with.”

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Colleagues pay tribute to Hueck UK sales director, Robert Bright

It is with great sadness that HUECK UK is announcing the passing of its Sales Director, Robert Bright. Robbie died in an accident in France, during a charity cycle ride that was raising funds for PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide, in memory of his beloved son, George.

He was part of the senior management and business development team for the UK arm of global supplier of aluminium building systems, HUECK, and an industry veteran with many years’ experience. His professional leadership and personal friendship will be dearly missed by all those who knew him.

The entire team at HUECK both in the UK, as well as Germany, has paid tribute to Robbie Bright. His colleagues have released a message to clients, business partners, and the industry at large about Robbie’s career at HUECK.

Leon Friend, HUECK UK Project Director, said: “Robbie has been pivotal in HUECK’s establishment in the UK. He has won, project-managed and successfully delivered some of HUECK’s most impressive projects in London and across the UK.

“He had nearly three decades of experience, and his knowledge, passion and dedication have been truly inspiring for all of us at HUECK since he joined the team, in June 2013. Aside from a great personality, he was an exceptional business man and had a strong ability to identify and maximise opportunities.”

Crispin Jedrzejewski, HUECK UK Technical Director, commented: “Robbie was much more than a colleague to me. His personality and friendliness quickly led me to consider him a good friend and confidant – his tragic loss will be acutely felt by all who knew him.”

Ralf Schrader from parent company in Germany said: “To me, Robbie was both the honest English gentleman and a trustworthy and reliable businessman, as well as a friend. It was my honour and privilege to support him and his family in the charity ride, organised in memory of George.

“To lose him under such tragic circumstances is unthinkable and very saddening. But although we will miss him very much, he will always be remembered by all who were fortunate enough to call him a friend.”

Adrian Price, Area Sales Manager at HUECK UK also paid tribute to his colleague: “Robbie Bright, this gentleman, exceptional work colleague and most of all one of my closest friends, will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Robbie was one of the nicest people I knew, who truly wore his heart on his sleeve, and gave his all in everything he did. I will miss the support he gave me, and also the conversations we used to have, but most of all I will miss my friend.”

Leon added: “He was a real team player and worked tirelessly to promote the company and its products in the UK construction market, while proactively sharing his knowledge and in-depth understanding of the sector with his fellow colleagues at HUECK. I owe him a great deal both professionally and personally, and he will be greatly missed by all.”

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The regeneration of London’s 2012 Olympic Stadium

Balfour Beatty, working with Populous, Buro Happold and the London Legacy Development Corporation, have repurposed the iconic London 2012 Olympic stadium, originally built to host London’s 2012 games. Their latest video (see below) talks us through the redesign, highlighting how they are championing sustainable practices throughout the project.

According to the video, the stadium, which is now home to West Ham United FC, will have a capacity of 54,000 people for football matches and 80,000 for athletics events and music concerts.

Sustainability and skills building

Sustainability has been at the very heart of the redesign. So far the work undertaken has included the reuse of 19,000 tonnes of recycled demolition materials, 6,000 m of cable, 3,800 lights and 1,000 mechanical and electrical components. This will undoubtedly help send a message out to the refurb and retrofit industry of what can be done to try and push the industry towards reducing the volume of waste to landfill. (According to a report by the Wates Group, the UK construction industry sends 36 million tons of waste to landfill sites each year.)

The regeneration project has also been doing its bit to tackle the skills shortage, with Balfour Beatty creating 50 local apprenticeships and over 300 training opportunities across the site.

Continuing a legacy

Stephen Tarr, Managing Director of Balfour Beatty’s Major Projects business said, “From the very beginning we were focused on continuing the legacy of this historic venue, transforming it from its original use of a single-purpose venue to a multi-functional world class venue providing numerous opportunities and uses for generations to come.

“We have utilised some of the most complex engineering techniques on this project, capitalising on our in-house capabilities and expertise to ensure the project was delivered safely to a high specification whilst boosting the local economy through employment opportunities; it’s a project we are all immensely proud of.”

Watch the video below:
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New figures show increased demand for bricks

New statistics released today by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) indicate good news for the building industry.

In the second quarter of 2016, brick deliveries were 10.4% higher than in the first quarter. Brick deliveries in June 2016 are also 7.4% higher than May, the previous month.

These changes are significant and point to the increased demand for bricks in the housing and construction.

The results correlate with recent positive news in the house building industry. 41,222 new homes were built in the UK in Q2, an increase on the same period in 2015 and the highest number of houses built since Q4 of 2007.

Andrew Eagles, CEO of the Brick Development Association (BDA) says “This is encouraging. Manufacturers have geared up supply to meet demand. It is heartening to see an increase in house numbers and increased deliveries of brick to help get those homes built with quality durable materials.

“We welcome the recent House of Lords report pointing to the need for more homes and greater diversity of mechanisms to get more homes built, and hope this leads to more action and further rises in home building.”

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Skills, not Brexit, the main threat to construction industry

Worsening skills shortages, rather than uncertainty over Brexit, are the main threat to the UK construction industry, according to leading recruitment company for the construction industry.

A number of commentators have suggested that the main threat to the industry is the knock on effects of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. However, an analysis by the construction and rail recruitment specialist found that a lack of skills poses the biggest potential risk to future productivity.

Paul Payne, managing director of One Way, comments “While numerous people have suggested that Brexit presents challenges to the construction industry, the idea is actually a bit of a red herring and we’ve seen little change since the result except for some natural hesitation brought on by the ‘Armageddon scenarios’ being pumped into the market. We’re as busy now as we were before the referendum and the real issue – the crippling lack of skilled professionals in this country – is being overlooked because of all the noise around Brexit.

“Yes, the construction industry has benefited from being part of the EU as it has given the sector access to a lot of workers who have moved over and have filled lower skilled roles, however we’ve never seen any great influx of skilled professionals who can work as design managers or quantity surveyors, for example. These people are needed across the entire industry and in related fields like civil engineering and currently there are far, far too few of them. More robust and well prepared hiring firms like ourselves will always have the resources to be able to pluck individual experts from the EU regardless of changes to freedom of movement laws, but in reality there is no quick fix. The only solution is to focus on ‘growing our own’, for example, through targeting more apprentices and youngsters at school level as well as widening the scope of people who are potentially interested in working in the industry to include more women and professionals from diverse backgrounds. Even at the moment when there are a number of major projects being put on hold there simply aren’t enough people in the market to meet demand. Imagine what the situation will be like when the economy picks up and they’re given the green light. Ultimately, something needs to happen quickly as we’re rapidly approaching a breaking point where productivity will be affected.”

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Plans unveiled for UK’s largest sustainable urban drainage network

An ambitious new project designed to dramatically cut the amount of clean rainwater becoming contaminated in London’s sewers is set to be launched this summer across the Nine Elms on the South Bank regeneration area.

Rainwater landing on an area the size of 20 football pitches will be channelled back into the Thames to stop it entering the capital’s overstretched sewers where it would mix with raw sewage.

This will reduce flood risks and save the huge amount of energy and cost involved in treating rainwater after it combines with waste from sinks, toilets and washing machines.

The £14m project will be the biggest sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) in the UK and has been developed through an innovative partnership between Thames Water and the Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership, which includes Wandsworth Council, Lambeth Council, the GLA and local developers including Ballymore.

New developments in Nine Elms have pioneered design features in new buildings and landscaping that capture rainwater, and increase evaporation before directing flows to a surface water network.

The rainwater will then drain into large underground pipes buried beneath the new Nine Elms Park, which will be a new green channel through the area from Vauxhall to Battersea Power Station.

After heavy rainfall the water will be gradually pumped from this underground reservoir into the Thames via an upgraded pumping station in Ponton Road.

Thames Water sustainability director Richard Aylard said: “By keeping the rain out of our combined sewers we are reducing the risk of flooding, pollution and pressure on our sewers, this will become especially important in the long term as London’s population continues to grow rapidly and the climate changes. It is about putting surface water back where it belongs – in the river. Development and regeneration across London is a major opportunity to do something different with surface water – to take it out of sewers, create additional capacity for new homes and businesses and allow areas like Nine Elms on the South Bank to thrive. Initiatives like this will also help to prolong the life of the Thames Tideway Tunnel.”

Leader of Wandsworth Council and co-chair of the Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership, Ravi Govindia, said: “This is the city’s most ambitious sustainable drainage network and a real step forward for London’s green infrastructure. The project is another major achievement for our regeneration partnership as it transforms this old industrial part of the South Bank into a modern city centre business hub and cultural quarter.

“In Nine Elms we are creating up to 4,000 affordable homes, two new Tube stations and 25,000 new jobs. In the months ahead we will see the opening of the new US Embassy, a new Riverbus pier and the launch of the new ‘village hall’, shops, restaurants, bars and public spaces on the Battersea Power Station site. There is much to look forward to.”

Tristan Stout, Senior Development Manager at Ballymore, which has been heavily involved in developing the project, said: “We have ensured that Embassy Gardens integrates effective water management throughout through green roofs and rainwater gardens in the new streets of Embassy Gardens and through the landscape design of Nine Elms Park. Collaboration with Thames Water has enabled these features to be integrated into a strategic surface water network, which does not just reduce the flow, but removes it entirely from the existing network. This collaborative approach is one we hope will be replicated throughout London to make the city more resilient to the future climate change challenges.”

The unique drainage network will interact with a variety of eco-friendly rainwater design features included in new developments across Nine Elms. These include green roofs, swales – ditches containing vegetation used to remove pollutants – and streets with rainwater gardens which allow water to evaporate into the atmosphere, irrigate plants and generally reduce the volume of rainwater flowing back into the river.

Other cabling for amenities to serve the area’s new businesses and homes will be laid above the new drainage system at the same time, reducing future disruption to the road network.

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New Minister for Construction

Following the creation of the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) the full list of ministerial responsibilities within the department has now been confirmed and Jesse Norman, Hereford MP has been given government responsibility for construction and infrastructure.

Norman, who was elected as the MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire in May 2010, is one of several MPs brought into the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, led by business secretary Greg Clark.

His responsibilities include:

  • infrastructure/construction
  • rail supply chain
  • industrial policy (supporting the Minister for Climate Change and Industry)
  • professional services
  • technology
  • aerospace
  • energy policy (supporting the Minister for Energy and Intellectual Property)
  • nuclear
  • oil and gas, including shale gas

His role will also include ministerial responsibility for rail supply chains, technology, and assisting the energy minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe with nuclear policy.

On Twitter the MP said “very sad to be leaving @CommonsCMS, but honoured and delighted that I have been appointed as a Minister at the new DBEIS.”

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Hinkley Point C delayed – meanwhile renewable energy outperforms coal in new statistics

Controversial plans to construct a nuclear power plant in the UK have been delayed following the government postponing any final decision until early autumn. Meanwhile, new official UK electricity statistics indicate that renewable technology is currently outperforming coal in terms of energy generation.

Prior to today’s announcement that the project would be delayed, French firm EDF were financing the majority of the £18bn Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, and final contracts were due to be signed this week.

However, Business Secretary Greg Clark has now said that the government will have to “consider carefully” before backing the original plans.

The project has raised serious concern over both environmental impact and ever-rising costs, which make it a costly carbuncle rather than a real asset to Britain. There are also questions being raised about the fact that the plant is being built by foreign governments. For example, around 30% of the £18bn cost is currently being provided by Chinese investors.

Stop Hinkley Spokesperson Allan Jeffery commented “Now even the financial press says Hinkley Point C has become a laughing stock.

“The cost keeps rising while the cost of renewables is falling rapidly, and the potential to make savings with energy efficiency is huge. We could replace Hinkley much more quickly and cheaply without the safety fears and without producing dangerous waste we don’t know what to do with.”

Renewables

In other energy news, the Government’s new annual energy statistics show that renewable energy sources are replacing coal as mainstream technologies generating power for British homes, offices and factories.

Renewables-BS-article

Today’s figures confirm that 25% of the UK’s electricity was generated from renewables last year – an increase of 29% on 2014. Nearly half of this (48%) came from wind power alone. 1 in 8 units of electricity generated in the UK came from wind.

In comparison, coal generated 22% of the country’s electricity – down from 30% in 2014.

RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Maf Smith said “The Government took the right decision when it announced the phasing out of coal. Now we can see renewable energy filling the gap, replacing old technology with new. 2015 was the first year that renewables outperformed coal.

“A quarter of Britain’s power is now coming from wind, wave and tidal power and other renewable energy sources. Renewables are now part of our energy mainstream, helping us modernise the way we keep the lights on by building new infrastructure for the generations to come.”

The contribution of offshore wind grew by 30% in 2015, while onshore wind grew by 23%. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which published the figures, said this was due to increases in capacity, load factors and higher wind speeds.

The Government’s latest poll on the public’s views on energy, the Public Attitudes Tracking Survey, was also published today. It showed that 76% of people support renewable energy. 70% of people also said renewable projects provide economic benefits to the UK.

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Construction workloads continue to grow slowly, post-referendum

The pace of increase in workloads in the construction market continues to slow, according to the latest RICS UK Construction Market Survey, extending a trend that goes back to the middle of last year.

This flatter picture is visible across all sectors; 17% more respondents reported a rise in activity over the previous three months compared with 28% in the first quarter, with the most pronounced slowdowns being seen in the private commercial, industrial and housing segments. That said, 27% more contributors still reported a rise in private housing activity – down from 36% in Q1 – while 17% more respondents saw their workloads in the private commercial sector rise rather than fall in Q2.

Significantly, for the second successive quarter, the biggest constraint on output according to respondents is finance with more than two-third of contributors highlighting this as the principal challenge. In breaking down the term financial constraints, 36% of respondents reported that a lack of funding was restricting new developments. Meanwhile, planning and regulatory delays also remain a key issue with 60% of respondents citing that these are constraining growth.

Despite the slowdown in activity in Q2, skills shortages remain a problem with 56% of contributors reporting that a lack of appropriately skilled labour was a constraint on growth. Bricklayers and quantity surveyors remain in particularly short supply with 59% and 57% of respondents citing difficulties in these areas.

The more uncertain prospects for the economy have led to a less optimistic outlook for the sector over the year ahead. Although, putting this in perspective, 23% more contributors still expect activity to rise rather than fall over this period. On average, contributors foresee their workloads increasing by 1% over the coming 12 months, down from the 2.8% growth predicted in Q1.
Expectations for employment growth have also moderated significantly with a rise of 0.6% anticipated, down from 2% the previous quarter.

Aside from in Scotland where activity flatlined relative to Q1, respondents in all other parts of the UK continue to report a rise in workloads.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, commented “The latest results from the RICS Construction Market Survey suggest that the second quarter of the year saw a further moderation in the growth trend which is not altogether surprising given the build-up to the EU referendum. Significantly, the biggest issue at the present time alongside uncertainty looks to be credit constraints with over two thirds of contributors highlighting this issue as a concern.

“Encouragingly, the swift actions of the Bank of England in creating additional capacity for the banking sector to provide funding to meet demand should help alleviate some of this pressure. Nevertheless, anecdotal evidence does indicate that the challenge for the British government in establishing a new relationship with the EU could see some investment plans in the construction sector scaled back.”

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