The Future of Tidal Power

,

Tidal Power is Set for a Commercial Breakthrough in the UK

by Simon Waldman

Tidal energy has long lurked at the back of the UK’s renewable energy arsenal, outshone by its wind and solar counterparts due in part to early issues with technology readiness and high costs.

Yet with recent research showing it could provide 11 percent of the UK’s electricity needs – and with significant government investment in the pipeline for UK projects – its future is looking ever brighter.

Tides are large movements of water around the Earth, powered by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon. In areas with particularly strong tides, we can harvest some of this power using turbines – similar to wind turbines, but underwater – that turn as water flows past them. This approach is more popular at present than previous ideas of using tidal barrages which are similar to dams, mostly because its environmental impacts are less severe.

In the last decade, the global tidal energy industry has demonstrated that siphoning energy from the sea works predictably and reliably. Around a dozen experimental turbine designs have been generating electricity in Scotland, Wales, Canada, China, France and Japan, many of them supplying power to homes and businesses.

The UK’s first “commercial” tidal energy projects, led by developers SIMEC Atlantis and Nova Innovation, both have multi-turbine arrays in the water in Scotland. The largest of these can currently produce six megawatts of power: that’s about the same as two or three onshore wind turbines, providing enough energy to run a few thousand homes. Expansion of the project is already underway. Over in the Faroe Islands, tidal developer Minesto has just announced plans for a 120 megawatt array which would supply 40 percent of the islands’ energy needs.

Tidal turbine designs tend to be divided by one big question: whether it’s best for them to float, or to be mounted on the seabed. Floating turbines are easier to access for maintenance, and they benefit from faster-flowing water near the surface. But those on the seabed are less affected by storms and – in deep enough water – could allow ships to sail freely above them. It’s not yet clear whether one approach will win out, or whether the choice will depend on the location.

Either way, now that it has working technology in its hands, the tidal power industry needs to demonstrate that it can bring costs down. Luckily, there’s precedent here in the story of offshore wind. With the help of government support in the UK and elsewhere, offshore wind developers around the world have cut costs by close to a third over the last decade, and further reductions are expected thanks to ongoing research and development.

Money matters

The cost of tidal energy may never be as low as that of wind. That’s partly because tidal turbines can’t be scaled up in size in the same way as wind turbines (in a limited depth of water, you can only build so big), and partly because doing things under the sea is usually more expensive than doing them on the surface (it’s a harsher, less accessible environment). But matching costs may not even be necessary.

As critics are keen to point out, the wind does not always blow, the sun does not always shine, and the tide is not always flowing: so to build a resilient low-carbon electricity system, we’ll need to use a range of different energy sources rather than relying only on that which is cheapest.

Tidal power offers the unique advantage that while its output will vary over time, that variation is predictable years in advance by understanding the orbits of the Earth and Moon. This means that grid operators will be able to plan for the varying output of tidal turbines, and schedule other sources to fill in the gaps.

Fortunately, the UK government seems to be stepping up to help the tidal industry. The latest round of the UK’s “Contracts for Difference” renewable energy funding contains a “pot” for tidal energy, so that it doesn’t have to compete with cheaper technologies like offshore wind – for now. And the recently published British Energy Security Strategy promises rather fiercely to “aggressively explore” tidal and geothermal energy technology.

Tidal energy is never going to be a big player at the global scale in the same way as wind or solar, because only a few parts of the world have strong tides. And unfortunately, it won’t be ready in time to help with the energy price crisis that we face right now.

But for those places with strong tides, including the UK, it has significant prospects, with a global market estimated by some analysts at $170 billion. And there may be potential in developing turbine tech further to take advantage of slower, but more consistent, ocean currents like the Kuroshio current off the coast of Japan.

Tidal energy technology works, and it’s here to stay. Now, the most efficient way to get it powering our homes and businesses is to build more of it.

Simon Waldman is a Lecturer in Renewable Energy at University of Hull.

 

Source: The Maritime Executive

/0 Comments/by

We must upgrade our existing built environment

,

Did you know that 80% of the homes that people will inhabit in 2050 already built and up to 75% of today’s buildings likely to still be in use by 2050? These statistics alone indicate the importance of retrofit in delivering a healthy and vibrant built environment fit for the future. Buildingspecifier.com Editor Joe Bradbury investigates:

As carbon emissions continue to accelerate global warming, an ever-increasing need for action to be taken to mitigate climate change has emerged.

Buildings currently account for the highest percentage of worldwide energy-related carbon emissions (39%) in both operation and construction, with operations emissions accounting for 28%.

With 80% of the homes that people will inhabit in 2050 already built and up to 75% of today’s buildings likely to still be in use by 2050, the construction sector must prioritise renovating existing buildings on a large scale to if we are to have any hope of meeting the Paris Agreement’s energy-saving targets.

The message is plain and clear; in order to reach carbon-cutting targets, the building industry must prioritise retrofitting existing assets.

While climate change is definitely a global concern, the path to decarbonisation must take regional differences into account. More than half of the building stock required in developing countries by 2050 has yet to be constructed, reducing the requirement for retrofits in those areas. As a result, more industrialised countries must bear the burden of addressing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions connected to the built environment, as much of the future building stock is, in fact, already in place.

However, existing issues, as well as a variety of other impediments in these areas are currently blocking the large-scale retrofitting so sorely required to reach global decarbonisation ambitions.  From financial and skills-based barriers to concerns with inadequate building rules and underperforming buildings overall, these obstacles vary in complexity from region to region. While some progress has been achieved in overcoming these obstacles, it is evident that more urgent action is still required.

What role will technology play?

Technology may hold the key to bolstering our efforts to cut carbon emissions and overcome current roadblocks preventing us from achieving our aims at present. Furthermore, technology enables better network interconnection among areas, which is critical for a worldwide strategy.

The recovery and reuse of materials, which is a critical component of the retrofit process, can be aided by establishing long-term circularity in the built environment through the formation of a circular economy and the widespread use of material passports.

Smart technology integration will also aid the industry in meeting its decarbonisation goals. Smart buildings and smart grids, for example, use information and communications technology (ICTs) to collect activity data and allow components to “speak” with one another and to a central system, so we can run our buildings more efficiently and lower their environmental effect.

Buildings needn’t be new to be efficient

It is a common misconception that older or outdated buildings need to be replaced entirely with more modern counterparts in order to achieve any tangible results with energy efficiency. In reality, a building needn’t be new to be efficient.

Anyone can create something from the ground up, but Great British values are based on a “make do and mend” approach. It has served us well in the past, and it continues to serve us well in the present. While many building owners work diligently to improve particular technologies such as heating or lighting, a holistic strategy to energy consumption is eventually required to combat inefficiency and increase savings. This is where we, as industry professionals, must take the lead and educate the sector about the products and technologies that we as refurbishing and retrofit professionals have at our disposal.

It is our responsibility to convey that, while the initial cost of incorporating numerous technologies and processes into a refurbishment may be higher, the upgrades are more than offset by energy savings over time.

Take lighting, for example: doing a lighting upgrade alone can save your organisation up to 50% on energy costs. It’s simple to understand where money may be saved when you consider that lighting accounts for 30-40% of a business building’s electric cost. These savings would be substantially greater if other energy-saving strategies were implemented alongside.

Time is critical

Commercial properties alone account for a large component of the built environment, even before housing and private sector structures are taken into account. They provide a platform for most of the country’s key sectors, as well as locations for the general population to work, shop, socialise, study and rest. In the 21st century, commercial buildings are undeniably important. Despite the fact that investment in this burgeoning industry is on the rise, commercial buildings are among the worst performers in terms of energy efficiency.

The commercial sector is responsible for roughly 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions from buildings in the UK, according to the Committee on Climate Change. The world’s population currently consumes 1.6 planet’s worth of resources every year. According to the Global Footprint Network, if we continue to consume at our current rate, we will deplete the global carbon budget and lock in more than 2 degrees of global warming in around 17 years… The entire world requires a retrofit!

It starts at school

The proposed national funding formula attempts to ensure that funding in schools across the country is consistent. However, there are fears that if this were to be implemented, it would cause huge financial changes for some schools, potentially making them worse off.

When you throw in the apparent education funding problem, as well as teacher retention and recruitment issues, it’s no surprise that many schools are under pressure to cut money wherever they can.

In light of this, there are a variety of ways that schools can adjust their energy usage to save money while also becoming more environmentally friendly. Retrofitting schools so that they were not only better for the environment but also cheaper to run would be a fantastic lesson to teach our children; one they could carry on into the future as we gradually take more and more responsibility for our planet.

In summary

A productive building is one that is efficient. We can help counteract manmade climate change while also reaping a slew of profitable ancillary benefits as an industry, simply by being thoughtful in how we generate and use energy. We can also set an example for future generations, ensuring that professionals in the built environment continue to work in a healthy, dynamic environment for many years to come. The act of retrofitting is to look back and learn from our mistakes and improve upon them, to keep moving the industry forward to a brighter future.

/0 Comments/by

Wind vs. skyscrapers

Britain is being hammered by wind at the moment. Storm Franklin, which hit the UK on Monday, brought hurricane-force winds and flooding in the wake of the devastating Storm Eunice, causing travel mayhem and power outages over most of the country. During this windy period, Buildingspecifier.com Editor Joe Bradbury takes a look at the interaction between wind and skyscrapers in our built environment.

Hundreds of people were told to flee their houses in south Manchester on Sunday night, while thousands of homes remained without power as a result of the worst UK storm in decades. Franklin brought wind gusts of up to 80 mph, resulting in two severe weather warnings in effect in south Manchester, indicating a life-threatening situation, as well as over 300 flood warnings and alerts across England, Scotland, and Wales.

According to a study published in the journal ‘Nature Climate Change’, wind speeds are increasing over the world, which is excellent news for renewable energy production – at least for the time being. However, wind also causes much destruction and can be a blight to the construction industry overall.

Winds have been rising quicker across most of North America, Europe, and Asia since roughly 2010. The global average wind speed has increased from roughly 7 mph to about 7.4 mph in less than a decade. This amounts to a 17% increase in potential wind energy for the average wind turbine. How does this challenge our built environment?

The effect of wind on skyscrapers

Skyscrapers are obviously built with wind in mind. Many of them can sustain high force winds for prolonged periods of time, with safety features built in to reduce and damages that may occur in a storm. However, they do affect the direction of wind, and this in of itself can cause many problems.

Although skyscrapers are among the most recognisable structures in modern cities, they can have a negative impact on local wind patterns. Skyscrapers create two types of wind disturbance, which when combined result in high wind speeds at street level.

The downdraught effect occurs when a single building is hit by the wind directly in the face, causing it to stretch out in all directions. The wind shifted downward towards the street speeds rapidly since it is constrained to small gaps between buildings.

When multiple tall buildings are built along both sides of a street, channelling or funnelling develops, emulating a natural canyon. High wind speeds, turbulence, and noise result as a result of this.

Skyscrapers can cause wind disturbance, making it harder for pedestrians to walk, and fast wind can also chill people in cold weather. Strong winds at street level can also knock down signs and other things with a big frontal area, sending them flying at tremendous speeds. This has been responsible for both casualties and property damage. Therefore, on-site weather and wind monitoring is critical for safety.

 

 

The Walkie Talkie, or 20 Fenchurch Street Building, is a massive 37-story tower with 660,000 square feet of office space, 23,000 square feet of retail space, and a rooftop garden. The building is known for the windy microclimate it creates around its base, which is due to the significant downdraught effect caused by its design.

Workers have fallen down, food trolleys have been overturned and signs have been dislodged from neighbouring buildings as a result of the wind disruption around the Walkie Talkie. Furthermore, the structure produces a loud whistling sound and required the installation of sunshades to reduce glare from reflected sunlight.

The glare was apparently so intense that it created localised heating that damaged parked vehicles.

Skyscrapers are also prominent in New York City, but their downdraught impact is mitigated by the city’s vast streets and avenues. London, on the other hand, still has many small mediaeval alleyways that result in a more severe downdraught effect surrounding towering buildings.

The 32-story Bridgewater Place, Leeds’ tallest building, has a noticeable downdraught effect as well. Since the building’s construction in 2007, high winds have caused numerous mishaps resulting in injuries.

How to reduce wind disruption around skyscrapers

According to the City of London Corporation there have been many cases where wind studies for high-rise construction underestimate wind conditions on the street after the project is completed. So, more accurate tools and data are needed to plan for the wind effect of tall buildings.

According to field evidence, the downdraught effect is worse when a building has sharp corners and is mitigated somewhat when a structure has smooth shapes. The Gherkin is a building that provides an example of this: although it is 41 storeys tall, its rounded shape results in minimal wind disruption compared with the Walkie Talkie.

Weather monitoring systems can be used to analyse wind conditions in the streets around tall structures, and the data acquired can be utilised as a reference when developing future projects or while they are being built. A ‘live’ monitoring solution can provide automatic warnings when wind conditions on the street are severe, allowing sensitive operations like building activity to be suspended promptly.

In summary

Although sometimes an unyielding beast, wind holds enormous potential. Wind energy is a popular, renewable energy source that has a far lower environmental impact than burning fossil fuels. Many individual wind turbines are connected to the electric power transmission network to form wind farms, which generated almost 1600 TWh of power in 2020, accounting for nearly 5% of global electrical generation and 2% of global energy consumption.

New onshore (on-land) wind farms are cheaper than new coal or gas plants,[7] but expansion of wind power is being hindered by fossil fuel subsidies. Analysts say it should develop far quicker – by more than 1% of annual electricity generation – to help fulfil the Paris Agreement goals for limiting climate change.

Perhaps there is even more untapped potential blowing past our windows, who knows? Until then, the construction industry is forced to contend with and make allowances for, the increasing number of storms in Britain today. Stay safe… and if you are the owner of a high rise building, ensure you have the correct wind monitoring procedures in place.

/0 Comments/by

Will There be Cities on Mars?

A lot goes into a building’s design and construction. Engineers labour over each single detail for weeks or months, applying a science that we’ve refined brick by brick over the course of many years. …what if we took this industry off the Earth? Many people still think of permanent human settlements in space as science fiction, but we don’t realise how close we are to making this a reality. Buildingspecifier.com Editor Joe Bradbury discusses:

It’s no secret that Tesla’s Elon Musk has his eyes on the skies. He expects to transport one million people to Mars by launching three Starship rockets every day and generating “a lot of jobs” on the red planet. Musk has repeatedly stated that he is “very convinced” that SpaceX will land humans on Mars by 2026.

Prior to Christmas, Elon revealed that he has a new timeline for his big Mars project — and it’s sooner than you might think. “I’ll be surprised if we’re not landing on Mars within five years,” he told Time Magazine last year. Musk, the 50-year-old SpaceX founder and CEO has big plans for the Red Planet: namely, a self-sustaining city with solar-powered hydroponic farms where humans can permanently live, 34 million miles away from Earth.

Obviously, to achieve this we will need to achieve some impressive architectural feats, pushing the boundaries of what construction is capable of. 3D printed projects, automated systems, and construction technology will all be needed facilitate building on Mars.

What would the role of “space architect” entail? How can we take what we have learned as an industry on planet Earth and build upon it in extreme, hazardous, alien environments? Where does space construction intersect with terrestrial construction?

Space construction

Space construction, sometimes known as ‘off-earth construction,’ is a very difficult task in and of itself. The absence of gravity and the inapplicability of physical rules as we know them on Earth will undoubtedly raise new challenges for even the most experienced architects and specifiers.

Lack of atmospheric pressure, high levels of radiation, extreme temperature changes and alterations in gravity levels render most typical construction materials and procedures obsolete, thus making the process of construction difficult, to say the least. The lack of pre-existing services and infrastructure on Mars, such as electricity, water, and waste treatment, will also present concerns. With this in mind, several organisations and research centres have already begun devising innovative solutions to overcome these unique problems.

A need for new methods of construction arises

Following the declaration of Mars as our closest habitable planet, missions to colonise there have sprung up in abundance from a number of countries in recent years. Reputable organisations have been tirelessly striving to develop the most practical and practicable suggestions for living on the Mars, including mind-blowing designs for the building of habitable spaces that can endure the harsh conditions without compromising the quality of life for the inhabitants.

The Mars Ice House was a winning proposal for one of NASA’s habitat design challenges, recognising water as one of the key building components of human life. The design is comprised of two 3D-printed structural ice domes with living space running through the centre in the shape of a vertical lander, utilising in situ materials for a more sustainable design. While the construction and materials have been chosen to maximise thermal comfort and defend against the severe environment, further information about the building’s more technical aspects, such as electricity distribution and ventilation, have yet to be released.

 

AI Space Factory’s MARSHA is another interesting habitat concept. The construction is enabled by in situ resource utilisation – the concept of employing indigenous Martian materials to assist human exploration rather than earth-manufactured things – with sustainability and self-sufficiency at the forefront of this endeavour. The construction is a four-story dual-shell vertical tower housing laboratories, leisure rooms, and an in-house garden. Power and data inputs from an external source, as well as sanitary pods, have all been factored in.

Innovative solutions are necessary

NASA recently revealed their ability to synthesise a polymer called acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a plastic that could be used to make numerous construction materials off Earth, during one of the many experiments undertaken on-board the International Space Station (ISS). ABS could be used to 3D print construction components in space, offering a potential long-term solution for building a new life for humanity on what was previously known as a “dead planet.”

Made in Space’s Archinaut One, a system that combines 3D printing and robotic arms to produce and install huge structures in space, is another new answer to space construction. The Archinaut is supposed to be able to receive digital files from Earth and ‘print’ necessary buildings with extreme precision, albeit it is still in the testing phase. Candarm, CSA’s space crane, is one of the older and more perculiar pieces of space gear. The Candarm was built on normal earth-cranes and might potentially contribute considerably to automated space-construction. It is currently mounted to the ISS and effectively executing maintenance procedures.

 

 

The issue of energy

Currently, solar power is the primary source of energy for most space missions. This has led to the installation of Li-On batteries alongside the photovoltaic system on the International Space Station to power the station’s functions when it is not in direct sunlight. To protect occupants from excessive temperatures, the station also has an Active Thermal Control System.

However, although a number of robotic probes sent to the explore the Martian surface have successfully utilized solar arrays for their power needs, such an approach would have trouble scaling to support human habitation. The principal concern with using solar power to support a mission is intermittency: solar panels only provide power when there is sunlight. This is a familiar problem on Earth, and a major obstacle to wider integration of renewables into the grid. The intermittency problem on Mars is more pernicious: enormous global dust storms envelop the planet typically once a year from 35 to 70 or more Martian days (sols). These dust storms tend to have an opacity, or optical depth, of at least 1 – meaning that the solar flux at the top of the atmosphere is attenuated to less than e-1 = 0.37 (37%) of its original value when it reaches the surface. In addition, because Mars is farther from the Sun than Earth is, it already only receives roughly half the average solar irradiance. This intermittency introduced by multi-month dust storms, combined with the usual diurnal oscillation in solar flux, would necessitate a considerable amount of energy storage.

Nuclear power is an attractive alternative to solar for several reasons. Its power output is constant in time, meaning less risk of prolonged power shortages that could prove hazardous to a human crew. It also weighs less per nameplate capacity than does solar when considering a Mars operating environment – a 2016 NASA study found that about 18,000 kg of solar power generation equipment would be needed to match the output of a 9000 kg fission system.

The night time temperature on Mars as measured by the Opportunity rover reach as low as -98°C with diurnal temperature variations of up to 100°C, so even a temporary power loss in such an environment could quickly become life-threatening as the heating systems fail. This presents another advantage of nuclear power: even in the event of an electrical fault, the passive heat from the reactor or radioisotopes could be used to warm the habitat.

In summary

Despite its early origins in science fiction, space settlement is becoming significantly more feasible and is rapidly becoming humanities next attainable aim. While there is still a long way to go, technological improvements and a surge in interest in the topic suggest that we may soon be designing buildings intended for extra-terrestrial use.

Finally, the idea that humanity is looking for a “Plan B” planet perhaps reveals the sheer magnitude of the pending environmental catastrophe on Earth. Perhaps this is one of the most important lessons we can learn from all this. After all, technology would have to work so hard to provide on Mars what already exists on Earth in abundance. Perhaps we should all learn to treasure it. Would we even need a plan to preserve our species from extinction on another planet if we modified our lifestyles here on Earth? Perhaps not…

/0 Comments/by

Building a 2022 that works for everyone

With 2021 finally behind us, a year marked by major problems that few of us could have predicted, what is the present mood of our industry? What mindset should we adopt as we take our first tentative steps into the New Year? Buildingspecifier.com Editor Joe Bradbury discusses:

Many of us have been left bruised and battered by a year of material and labour shortages, as well as supply chain disruption. Understandably, some of us will likely be nervous about the approaching issues that 2022 will inevitably bring. However, there is also much to remain positive and optimistic about, for just as the coming year will bring challenges, so too will it bring forth opportunities. A global crisis in the form of a pandemic has stirred things up; hopefully reform and creativity will increase over the coming 12 months as we put some of the lessons we have learned from navigating COVID-19 into practice.

“Demand has never been higher!”

This is of course of great news to the construction industry professional, however it’s a rocky road to success! The housing and construction boom seen throughout the world, which was driven in part by the pent-up demand produced by the early uncertain months of the epidemic, actually increased material shortages in 2021. As people struggled to make space in their homes for both work and personal life, the UK government’s stay-at-home orders resulted in increased consumer buying, selling, and therefore expenditure on larger houses and home upgrades.

While this was of course very exciting for the housing industry, it did cause problems for builders trying to obtain materials and many UK firms also struggling to meet demand. Builders have often been left unable to complete projects on time due to increasingly tight supply chains. This will undoubtedly have a considerable impact on the number of houses that the UK can actually build.

So whilst demand being high is great, we must ensure across all of the sectors comprising the construction industry that we work together and support one another, to deliver the built environment fit for 2022 and beyond, efficiently and effectively.

Adaptability is key

In 2021, the construction industry’s skills shortage grew even worse. Existing supply problems have been exacerbated by Brexit, COVID-stressed supply networks and demand for more homes. Not only does this have ramifications for the sector, but it also has ramifications for the entire country. Increased pay expectations, lengthier project delivery schedules, and an increasing number of unfilled openings are all signs that the problem is gradually worsening.

2021 finally saw the release of the government’s long-awaited Heat and Buildings Strategy, a huge moment for the construction industry. The strategy demonstrated a clear acknowledgment that the built environment will play a vital part in the next stage of the UK’s decarbonisation drive, as the UK pushes on with its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Whilst the plan is far from perfect (it lacks a national retrofit strategy and a specific plan for training and retraining personnel), it does also contain much to feel positive about, such as a clear path for the transition to low-carbon heating.

So as afore mentioned, yes, there are many problems ahead… but will also be numerous opportunities. Following a year of preparation for COP26, a strong focus on sustainability will be placed in 2022, particularly when it comes to the types of materials used.

The construction industry will need to be responsive to change and keen to employ new materials and technologies, to speed up the inevitable transition away from carbon-heavy concrete etc.

Going above and beyond

One of the big themes for 2022 will be the pressure placed on companies to go above basic needs and standards as the UK government attempts to deliver an infrastructure revolution, improve building-safety legislation and build momentum in addressing climate change. The more responsibility we take as an industry, the more we will innovative and create more efficient approaches for embedding safety and sustainability in our built environment. We must strive to be smart and assure that new legislation will not only provide safety, but also promote innovation and raise standards above and beyond the bare minimum. 2022 could be a great year of change.

Despite the fact that 2021 was a difficult year, the future is looking challenging but bright. We must continue to step up to the plate as an industry and up our game. For us to overcome the challenges ahead, we need to level up as an industry and ensure we are comprised of individuals with innovative, diverse, responsible and collaborative mind-sets.

/0 Comments/by

The impact of snow on construction

The winter has landed. Storm Arwen slammed into the UK on Saturday, wreaking havoc with gusts of nearly 100 mph and heavy snow, leaving tens of thousands of homes without power. Strong winds blew down trees, killing three persons and causing damage to buildings and disrupting transportation. How does snowfall affect construction? Buildingspecifier.com editor Joe Bradbury discusses:

Following recent cold temperatures, the Met Office has issued yellow warnings of severe ice throughout huge swaths of England, including Newcastle, Manchester, London, and Cardiff.

It seems the snow is affecting everyone. Heavy snowfall caused lorries to become trapped and ploughs to be used in several areas, and left bar workers and Oasis imitation band Noasis stranded in the Tan Hill Inn in the Yorkshire Dales since Friday.

…even ‘I’m a Celebrity was cancelled!

But how does snow affect construction?

Although snow and freezing weather make building more difficult, construction workers continue to work anyway. Work is sometimes rescheduled when temperatures drop below zero, but the cold and snow aren’t usually the main worries.

Construction workers are typically more concerned about the mud and runoff than the snowfall itself. Erosion is a major worry, so when the snow melts, it causes water to run, which collects silt in the midst of the project.

Winter materials such as concrete blankets and composite wattles will currently be brought out by workers on site up and down the country.

Often, when snow is predicted, construction workers may stake a giant sock of fabric packed with wood chips down to the ground to protect the work beneath.

Concrete can be poured in the snow, but it cannot be poured on ice. On a frozen subgrade or with frozen aggregates, concrete cannot be laid. To place in cold temperatures at concrete temperatures between 10ºC and 29ºC at the time of placement, the water, aggregate, or both may need to be heated to a temperature of between 21ºC and 65ºC. The contractor must consider how the completed concrete will be protected from freezing and cracking, as well as how curing will be regularly monitored.

When the temperature drops below 4ºC degrees, the contractor will usually cover the concrete with the afore mentioned blankets, and sometimes even heaters. Under the covers, temperature recorders are frequently placed as well. This process can drastically slow down work.

Snow on the project is, in general, an inconvenience. It hides what you’re working on, and getting it out of the way takes a lot of effort. If the snow is only expected to last a few days, the contractor will usually take a few days off. The contractor will move it if it is going to be there for a long period. Contractors are typically given a specific number of weather days every month in their contract. They will normally take the time off if they haven’t previously used these days.

A matter of safety

Wind, freezing rain, and ice can make construction sites risky, increasing the number of accidents and injuries on the job.

Cold stress

Low temperatures, especially those at or below freezing, can be hazardous to one’s health. They have the potential to lower skin and internal body temperatures. Furthermore, if rain causes the skin to become damp, heat will be lost from the body, and the body may not be able to warm up. All of this can result in catastrophic illnesses, including irreversible tissue damage or, in the worst-case scenario, death. If workers are not appropriately protected from the elements when working outside, they may develop trench foot, frostbite, or hypothermia.

Falls

Falls are one of the most common construction site mishaps, and they can occur at any time of year. Winter weather, on the other hand, increases the chance of falling due to ice, damp and slippery surfaces. Ice can form on scaffolding, ladders, walkways, stairs, and work platforms when surfaces become cold. Workers may slip and fall, sometimes from great heights, resulting in injuries such as broken bones, fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and even death if these locations are not properly treated.

Winter driving accidents

Accidents on construction sites can happen just as easily as they do on the road. When working on a construction site, it’s easy to forget that the road’s winter driving restrictions still apply. It’s also worth remembering that, due to their size and weight, construction vehicles aren’t always as agile as cars.

Staying safe on site this winter

We can ensure our workers stay safe this winter by limiting any exposure to the elements by safeguarding construction personnel from injury by covering particular work areas from the elements.

It is also wise to keep up with weather updates and allow adequate time to carry out any necessary procedures to keep workers safe. The following measures can also be taken:

  • Protecting any areas of the site that may be harmed by the weather
  • Keeping construction workers warm by creating comfortable break rooms
  • Scheduling outdoor work to be completed in shorter periods of time, so that workers are not exposed to the elements for prolonged periods
  • Providing appropriate clothing so that while employees work outside, no part of their skin is exposed and they are adequately insulated to preserve body heat and avoid being affected by the cold
  • Educating employees about how to work safely when the cold weather hits and what they themselves can do to avoid mishaps
  • Examine the site for any new dangers that may have arisen as a result of the recent harsh weather

In summary

The construction industry has withstood many changes during the coronavirus pandemic, and now there is no shortage of projects to keep up with. However, as businesses strive to meet their deadlines, it’s critical to take the time to ensure that employees are safe throughout the colder months.

As diligent building specifiers and construction professionals, you most likely have safety procedures in place at all of your locations, but these procedures should be evaluated and updated specifically for the winter to ensure that your employees are as safe as possible.

Remember that finishing projects in the same amount of time as they would normally take in dry summer weather is neither feasible nor safe. It is therefore critical to create realistic schedules that take into consideration the reality that locations may be slippery, snowy, or wet. If necessary, give teams more time to accomplish their duties and remind them not to rush. Having workers trip and injure themselves on-site will simply add to the delay in meeting deadlines, therefore it’s far more productive to stay to a safer pace.

/0 Comments/by

An update on fuel poverty

We are living in trying times. The rapid rise in energy prices pulls good people into bad debt in order to pay for basic essentials like heat and water. Despite living in an age of enormous luxury, many people appear to be surviving Britain on a day-to-day basis. According to recent surveys, food bank use has risen significantly in the last year, indicating how pitifully welfare funds fail to meet basic living expenses. For many people, the option between heating and eating is a very real one. Buildingspecifier.com’s Joe Bradbury investigates:

What is fuel poverty?

Fuel poverty is defined as a family’s inability to afford to heat their home to a safe and healthy temperature.

Fuel poverty now affects one out of every ten households in England. Low income, high fuel prices, poor energy efficiency, exorbitant housing prices, and poor quality private rental housing are all contributing factors.

According to the most recent definition, the number of families in fuel poverty is 3.66m.

488,000 households are expected to fall into fuel poverty as a result of the current price cap increase, which came into effect on 1st October 2021.

Nearly half of low-income households continue to live in energy-inefficient houses, with activists warning that progress is falling well short of what is required to bring people out of fuel poverty by 2030.

How is it measured?

Fuel poverty is measured in England using the ‘Low Income, Low Energy Efficiency’ indicator. A family is termed fuel poor if they live in a home that has a fuel poverty energy efficiency grade of D or lower, and if they are left with a residual income that is below the official poverty threshold after they spend the needed amount to heat their house.

The fuel poverty gap, which is a measure of the additional fuel expenses a fuel poor family confronts in order to be judged non-fuel poor, is used to determine the level of fuel poverty.

Fuel poverty in a pandemic

Fuel poverty puts households at greater risk of Covid-19’s harshest consequences. Mold and dampness are linked to a 30-50% rise in respiratory issues.

There is “strong evidence on the links between low temperatures and respiratory disorders,” according to Public Health England (PHE). Cool temperatures reduce resistance to respiratory infections and raise the likelihood of respiratory disease.”

Warm homes, on the other hand, assist immune systems fight viruses more effectively, increase the possibility of those with viruses only experiencing ‘mild’ symptoms, and speed up the recovery process.

In order to protect the NHS and care services, it will be critical to reduce preventable ill health caused by cold homes.

 

The economics of fuel poverty

96 percent of fuel poor homes are poorly insulated.

The government has set a deadline of 2023 for improving energy efficiency in our houses in order to help avoid disastrous climate change. However, it is estimated that at this current rate, the Government will miss its target of upgrading all fuel poor homes in England to an EPC Band C by 61 years.

How much would it cost per year to meet the government’s goal of upgrading all fuel-inefficient homes in England to a Band C EPC rating by 2030? The answer is approximately £1.2 billion, significantly higher than the £640 million set aside by the government each year to make the coldest homes more energy efficient.

However, tackling fuel poverty effectively would see a return on our investment. Economists suggest that the return on investment from insuring the UK’s housing stock could be as high as £8.7 billion. Plus, 26% of gas that could be saved if all residences were made more energy efficient (at least Band C).

Heat and Buildings Strategy

The Government’s new Heat and Buildings Strategy was announced last week and has had a mixed reaction, with many anti-poverty and climate change campaigners pointing to significant shortcomings in the final announcement.

The headline announcement in the strategy is a grant to help cover costs of heat pumps up to £5,000. The current cost of a heat pump is between £6,000 and £18,000.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented “For millions of households who desperately want and need to improve their energy efficiency by switching to heat pumps, the promised government money won’t be enough. While costs for heat pumps will come down in time, the level of grant available at present is nowhere near enough for households already in fuel poverty.

“Coming on the back of the damning Committee for Fuel Poverty report, which suggested that government investment is not targeted at those who need it most, it would appear that the Government has yet to learn lessons from the past.

“The government also needs to confirm what has happened to the missing billions, which is the gap between the investment announced and the levels of investment promised in the Conservative Party Manifesto at the last election.

“We hope the Comprehensive Spending Review will offer more support for families in fuel poverty and plug the gap between funding that has been promised and that which has been delivered.”

In summary

Fuel poverty is a yearly cycle of misery for those who are affected. In order to get through the winter, many tenants resort to intermittent use of their central heating or the use of modest space heaters instead. Unfortunately, this frequently results in significant amounts of condensation in a home, with tiny areas of the house being warm while the rest of the house is cold. Mould and moisture thrive in the optimum environment when cold air meets warm surfaces, resulting in ill health and property damage.

Fuel poverty puts a huge strain on hospitals and doctors’ offices all around the country. This is not just due to the physical and mental effects of living in a cold home, but also because it can lengthen the time a vulnerable patient spends in the hospital, with some patients not being freed until their home is refurbished to a habitable state. The NHS is expected to be burdened with £1.36 billion in annual costs as a result of the impact. It’s also a known cause of the 25,000 extra winter fatalities in England and Wales each year. As the population ages and pensions dwindle, so will the health risks and costs associated with it.

Unfortunately, coupled with the price cap, the gap between action and aspiration to provide warm homes appears to be widening. Something must be done. Everyone is entitled to a warm house.

/0 Comments/by

Building new cities that are fit for our future

It is predicted that we will see an additional 2.5 billion people seeking a place to call home within the cities of our world within the next 30 years, which poses the question – should we expand existing cities or start afresh? Buildingspecifier.com editor Joe Bradbury discusses:

The oldest city on Earth, Jericho dates back 11,000 years. But not all cities grow from ancient roots. Nur-Sultan, the now capital of Kazakhstan was merely an outpost in the early 1900’s. It did most of its transformation into the futuristic metropolis that it is today throughout the 1990’s.

From the ancient city of Jericho, over 11,000 years old to Nur-Sultan the capital of Kazakhstan, just 21 years young

For millennia, people have been constructing new cities from the ground up. Building new cities is a natural human activity.

Typically people establish new cities when countries develop and markets flourish. Today, however, we’re taking it to new heights. We’ve never spent so much money on so many new cities in so many areas as we are right now.

Since the late 1990s, new dots have appeared on the maps of countries such as China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and India at an unprecedented rate, and more than 120 new cities are currently under construction in 40 countries around the world.

We’re on the verge of a new city construction boom unlike anything we’ve ever seen historically. People and nations from East Asia to the Middle East to Africa have ambitions and aspirations in these gleaming new metropolises. Will they usher in a bright new urban future or a historic-scale debt-fuelled bubble? Only time will tell.

Why build anew?

Overcrowding, pollution, traffic congestion, housing shortages, lack of green space, and economic stagnation are just a few of the urban and economic difficulties that rising economies face around the world in 2021. Governments seek to move on from their current crowded and dysfunctional metropolitan centres by starting from scratch and developing new economic sectors that will help them leapfrog other nations. For some, city construction can be a tremendously profitable endeavour.

Many new cities appear to openly contradict economic realities at first glance. What are emerging markets, or “poor countries,” doing with some of the world’s most technologically advanced and expensive cities?

The main reason for new cities is that there is so much migration. People from all over the world are flocking to cities in search of work.

By 2050, the UN estimates that 68 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities. This translates to 2.5 billion more city people, with Asia and Africa accounting for 90% of the increase. Alarmingly, half of the required urban area has yet to be constructed.

…In order to meet burgeoning demand, the world might need a few more Delhis, Shanghais, and Lagoses!

We must change the way we build

In the next 100 years, we will generate more metropolitan space than there is now on Earth. If we keep doing things the same way, much of it will be disorganised and less functional than what we already have.

Cario – Designed to house 1 million, currently supporting 20 million

Many of Asia’s and Africa’s existing cities are simply not equipped to handle the influx of people experienced by the cities over recent years. Cairo was originally designed to house a million people, not the current population of 20 million. Subsequently, rings of informal developments (slums) encircle cities like Mumbai, Nairobi and Rio de Janeiro. It’s more difficult and expensive to retrofit these cities with modern infrastructure and utilities than it is to remove a swath of ground and start afresh.

When you develop a new city, you don’t have to move or work around existing infrastructure, rivers, factories, or houses. You also don’t have to work around established political procedures, community groups, civic organisations, or even rules and regulations.

Building new cities is considered by many leaders as more profitable and effective than retrofitting old cities. Land sales contributed for nearly 74 percent of local governments’ revenue in 2011, when China’s new city building boom was at its peak, and parcels of urban construction land were selling at a 40-fold profit. The real estate and construction sectors tend to drive economies in emerging markets that are actively recreating themselves — both physically and in terms of their global image. Building a totally new metropolis is the pinnacle of their ambitions.

Acquiring large swaths of property and then using that area for whatever purpose, including urban and commercial, is easier now than in prior decades. Technology businesses, construction companies, and the real estate industry are using the various issues that cities in the global south face to persuade people that building new cities is a better option than mending old cities, which is less profitable.

The amount of money being thrown at new cities is incredible. The King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia costs $100 billion (£78 billion), whereas the country’s Neom megalopolis is expected to cost five times as much. Forest City in Malaysia was initially valued at $100 billion, whereas Ordos Kangbashi was valued at $161 billion.

Cities must be functional

It’s not enough to build a sparkling jewel of a city, they must have a deeper reason to exist. It’s a classic mistake that has been made time and time again for centuries, to build some structures and palaces and just see what happens. The new cities that are having difficulty are those that are defying market forces – the very economic impulses that give new cities their energy and reason for existence are built-in.

Some new cities could easily be classified as unnecessary, merely custom-built cities for the wealthy. Some of these developments are envisioned as privileged gated communities. Things like that are guaranteed to fail, once the bubble bursts. The streets of Dubai are lined with abandoned, dusty supercars.

They’re also an unsuitable reaction to the true demand, which is for people to obtain a first position on the kind of urban, modern escalator that can help propel them and their children to a better life, not for the rich to have a somewhere to retreat to.

Many of the new cities being planned in Asia and Africa are clearly intended for the emerging middle class. This well-educated, high-spending, and highly mobile segment of society can be a motivating force for almost any country if given the correct opportunity. If those possibilities are not supplied, people are more likely to flee, immigrating to the United States, Canada, and Western Europe in search of better jobs and lifestyles.

The new city construction boom is almost as much about retaining and attracting high-value talent as it is about making room for the hordes of rural migrants looking for their first footholds in a city.

Many new communities are scrambling to attract these global elites by building luxury houses, luxury shopping and restaurants, and infrastructure for their extravagant hobbies, particularly boat docking facilities.

The developer’s purpose is to maximise profits, which he achieves in part by developing luxury condos and villas. Developers aren’t interested since there isn’t much money to be earned in inexpensive family housing.

In summary

Overcrowding is a complicated issue, but statistics can be used to effectively estimate our needs as a society.

If overpopulation appears to be a possibility, efforts to relieve housing pressure can be implemented. Relaxing development restrictions by increasing the amount of multi-family units available for development, allowing single room occupancy through zoning law amendments, and boosting affordability by partnering with organisations to assemble land and write down prices are just a few examples. Cities can build housing policies that address problems before they occur by employing this data-driven preventative approach.

Cities must work smarter, not harder, to achieve their goals. Existing cities must carefully manage their housing supply in order to grow sustainably without risking unsafe occupancy levels that endanger lives. Residents are protected through joint efforts to collect housing data and innovative data analysis to enable proactive action and more effective resource allocation once an issue has been discovered.

And the cities of the future must be built on a bedrock of vision, to promote cultural change. The world doesn’t need more gaudy accessories, it must be treated with love and respect and everything we build should be suitable for purpose.

/0 Comments/by

The evolution of energy

A potted history of the evolution of energy by Joe Bradbury

From fire to water, how mankind’s hunger for manmade energy has evolved from the first spark of flint on stone to process of nuclear fission taking place in nuclear power plant reactors.

 

Life is strange. So strange, in fact, that in a bid to prevent us from freaking out at every little thing, our survival instincts trick us into thinking that everything is perfectly normal. “Keep calm and carry on!” urges the human mind.

Adjust the angle of Earth’s axis by a couple of degrees and the planet wouldn’t sustain life. But set it just right… and see flora, fauna, fish, reptiles, mammals, MacDonald’s Drive Thru’s, cream teas, cars, planes, cities and reality TV stars spring into existence. It’s hard to appreciate the complexity of universal precision and synchronicity that is required for a chicken nugget to happen.

Homo erectus first stumbled upon fire around 2 million years ago. If this early version of man were to stand in the middle of Times Square NY now, all lit up at night, he would not even begin to comprehend the concept of shopping, let alone know how his humble discovery would lead to such an electrified spectacle. His simple world is now a circus.

For reasons outside of our understanding, the development of the human brain coupled with the harnessing of energy and the cultivation of its power has propelled apes to where we stand now, upright, as normal everyday gods.

There’s deep truth immortalised in the Greek myth of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. And lessons to be learned from his fate.

…how on Earth did it all happen!?

In the beginning there was light

Energy has existed since the beginning of time. During the day, the sun provided heat and light, therefore it was the initial source of energy. People rose and slept with the light, relied on wood and dung burning for heat, and water power to generate basic mills.

People lived this way for many years. Things started to change very quickly with the advent of the industrial revolution.

Industrial revolution

Our use of human-generated power at scale began with the Industrial Revolution. The majority of people credit Benjamin Franklin with ‘discovering’ electricity in 1752, when he realised that the sparks created by lightning strikes could be used to generate electricity.

Industrial Revolution, in modern history, can be defined as the process of change from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. This process began in Britain in the 18th century and from there spread to other parts of the world.

What has come to be known by modern historians as the first Industrial Revolution lasted from the mid-18th century to around 1830 and was mostly confined to Britain. The second Industrial Revolution lasted from the mid-19th century until the early 20th century and took place in Britain, continental Europe, North America, and Japan.

Coal use becomes the norm

Coal has been used to power tools and machines since 1750, and James Watt patented the world’s first coal-fired steam engine in 1769. Steam engines grew more powerful and efficient as a result of this equipment, making them ideal for use in factories and mills where production rates could be increased.

A lot of the lessons we learned from coal generation led to widespread use of gas and its myriad applications.

The gas industry springs up

The gas industry in the United Kingdom began in 1812. When Frederick Winsor founded the first corporation in the world to develop a public gas works and deliver gas to clients through a network of subterranean pipes, Britain was still at war with Napoleon. This company opened up the gas industry, which would change the lives of millions of people as they had their first taste of dependable energy.

 

 

Gas was used to light London’s streets, and ancient gas-powered lamp posts may still be found in St James. By 1827, London’s network had supplied about 70,000 gas street lights.

 

 

 

What did the Victorian’s ever do for us?

When it came to energy, the Victorian era was a time when the world saw tremendous progress. In 1878, the first hydroelectric plant was built in Cragside, England, whilst in 1888, Cleveland, Ohio, saw the first windmill generate electricity. The Edison Electric Light Plant, the world’s first coal-fired power station, was erected in London in 1882 with the goal of providing light and warmth to London residents.

20th Century Toy

Into the 20th century and we see a flurry of electrical ingenuity. John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of the television in 1926 and the BBC then opened its doors in 1927. Electricity was now pumping to people’s homes and thanks to pylons, stylishly designed by architect Sir Reginald Bloomfield, the country is linked with electricity.

This leads us to the opening of The National Grid. A bold ambition, when you really think about it.

The National Grid

In 1935, the world’s first integrated national grid went live. Rather than having a slew of tiny power plants, the UK was divided into seven grid zones. Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham, Bristol, London, and Glasgow were among them. Energy supplies became more affordable and reliable thanks to the National Grid.

From past to present

Coal and gas continued to provide the majority of energy in the UK as the twentieth century progressed. Coal still provided 90% of all electricity in 1960. At the turn of the century, energy became more environmentally friendly, and the terms climate change and climate crisis became buzzwords. The world’s first windfarm was built in New Hampshire in 1980, while the UK’s first windfarm was built on the windy Cornish coast in 1991.

The push to renewables

All of this advancement (astounding as it may be) came at great cost. We’ve made a royal mess of our planet and now it’s time to clean it up.

The year 2019 marked a watershed moment in history. After years of relying on coal for energy, zero-carbon sources generated more energy than fossil fuels for the first time in both the UK and the US.

We now have a 2050 UK target of net zero total emissions by relying on renewable energy…

…something that wouldn never have even occurred to a 19th century industrialist!

Efficiency is becoming a much larger focus, and as such our energy need to be cost-effective, durable and low impact on the environment. A challenge, no doubt; but one that will benefit us greatly should we overcome.

Wherever next!?

Industrial revolutions continue to take place, hidden in plain view. The third revolution changed the world even further than the previous two, bringing about the rise of electronics, telecommunications and computers. These new technologies altered our reality drastically, opening the doors to space expeditions, digital research, and biotechnology.

Then, in 2017, something historic quietly happened; data finally surpassed oil in value. A new age?

The fourth industrial revolution underway

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is now well underway, and can be described as the coming together of multiple advances within the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, quantum computing, etc.

The term itself describes perfectly the ever-dissolving boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological. As technology and digitalisation gains pace, so too does our newfound dependency upon it; as such many products and services of modern life are quickly becoming indispensable. Where would we be now without GPS, virtual reality, BIM, robotics and social media? Are we hooked on innovation? Will it be the making of us or our undoing? …Only time will tell!

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is definitely paving the way for hugely transformative changes in not only our perception, but also the way we live and work on a day-to-day basis. Change is underway, radically disrupting almost every aspect of life.

It’s in the air. It’s tangible. It can be felt.

In summary

Each generation inherits the world from the last. We are now standing on the shoulders of giants. Our world incorporates vast towns and cities and a population of 7bn, most of which are entirely dependent upon manmade energy for survival. The ethics of this are becoming irrelevant. Responsible management of it is now key.

In order for life on Earth to survive and thrive, we must be open to change.

We’re living links in a chain; turning pages in the ever unfolding human story. Our role in it must not be that of a luddite. I believe we are smarter than that.

We must rise to meet life and take on the challenges of the day with respect and a sense of responsibility.

Right now one of the biggest challenges facing us is how we continue to use energy. Will it spell our doom? That would be the ultimate tragedy, for all of our progress to just stop. Especially when one considers that the rewards and benefits that energy and technology can bring to our lives could be countless.

If we’re here for all but a few blinks of the cosmic eye, we might as well attempt to get it right. Hadn’t we?

 

 

 

/0 Comments/by

The Risk of Watery Reclaimations

,

Buildingspecifier.com’s Joe Bradbury takes a look at the growing issue of coastal erosion around the UK coastline, which is causing untold damages to homes and communities around the country.

Over the next 10 years, it is estimated that around 2,000 UK homes could fall into the sea due to coastal erosion. The wider forecast predicts we will lose over 7,000 properties (some worth over £1bn) will be lost to coastal erosion in England and Wales over the next 100 years.

The county where most homes are expected to be lost from over the next 20 years is Cornwall, with 76 properties considered high risk. Cornwall has also lost the most amount of homes to sea erosion over the last 50 years, with 132 properties collapsing or having to be abandoned due to erosion.

Throughout the course of the next century, six local authorities are expected to lose more than 200 homes each:

  1. Great Yarmouth – 293
  2. Southampton – 280
  3. Cornwall – 273
  4. North Norfolk – 237
  5. East Riding of Yorkshire – 204
  6. and Scarborough – 203

The east coast of Britain, in particular (from Yorkshire down to Essex) is earmarked as particularly soft and vulnerable, due to the composition of the ground and the stronger storms experienced on that side of the country.

Climate change is expected to accelerate the rate of coastal erosion overall.

An estimated 3000 km of UK coastline is eroding at an alarming rate. The UK is considered particularly vulnerable due to the fact that it has around 2300 km of artificially protected coast – the longest in Europe. Annual damages due to coastal erosion are expected to increase by 3-9 times, totalling up to £126 million per year by the 2080’s. Some 28% of the coast in England and Wales experiences erosion at rates higher than 0.1 m/year.

What can be done to help?

The answer to the increasing problem of coastal erosion is anything but simple. There are coastal defence strategies in place up and down the country, protecting 1000’s of UK households from a watery fate. However, coastal defences, such as building a wall of rock to stop waves lapping at a cliff’s base, are expensive and can have unintended consequences, such as hastening erosion elsewhere.

Unfortunately, this often means that for smaller communities in general, it’s often considered not worth the damage to the adjacent sections of the cliff or the damage to the environment that can be caused by building coastal defences.

In Britain, Shoreline Management Plans (introduced in England and Wales in 1993) serve to provide a strategic framework for decision making along the coast, especially with respect to defence, taking account of the natural coastal processes, human and other environmental influences and needs. Today the whole length of the English and Welch coast is covered by such plans; for Scotland only a part of the coast is covered by these plans. In Wales, the extent of enhanced erosion due to climate change affecting sea levels and waves is uncertain and the current view is not to build higher defences, but to utilize risk management approaches and work with nature wherever possible.

 

The approach to coastal protection in the United Kingdom focuses now on ‘sedimentary cells’ to reflect the adaptation needs of a regionally-varying coastline in terms of landscape, sedimentology and coastal dynamics. There are four Strategic Coastal Defence Options:

  • do nothing
  • maintain the existing protection line (while possibly adjusting the protection standard)
  • advance the existing protection line
  • retreat the existing protection line (subsequently referred to as ‘managed realignment’)

The intention is that the Shoreline Management Plans provide a ‘route map’ for local authorities and other decision makers to identify the most sustainable approaches to managing risks to the coast in the short term (0 – 20 years), medium term (20 – 50 years) and long term (50 – 100 years), recognising that changes to the present protection structures may need to be carried out as a staged process.

Methods of defence

There are multiple methods for physical management of the coast to help prevent or slow erosion.

Hard engineering are often considered to be expensive, short-term options. They also have the potential to highly impact on the landscape or environment and can be considered unsustainable.

Building a sea wall

Pros: Protects the base of cliffs, land and buildings against erosion. Can prevent coastal flooding in some areas.

Cons: Expensive to build. Curved sea walls reflect the energy of the waves back to the sea. This means that the waves remain powerful. Over time the wall may begin to erode. The cost of maintenance is high.

Building groynes (a wooden barrier built at right angles to the beach)

Pros: Prevents the movement of beach material along the coast by longshore drift. Allows the build-up of a beach. Beaches are a natural defence against erosion and an attraction for tourists.

Cons: Can be seen as unattractive. Costly to build and maintain.

Rock armour or boulder barriers

Pros: Absorb the energy of waves. Allows the build-up of a beach.

Cons: Can be expensive to obtain and transport the boulders.

Sustainable alternatives

Soft engineering options are often less expensive than hard engineering options. They are also considered more long-term and sustainable, with less of a negative impact on the environment.

 

There are two main types of soft engineering:

Beach nourishment

As well as being attractive to tourists, beaches are our best natural defence against erosion and coastal flooding. Beach nourishment involves replacing beach or cliff material that has been removed by erosion or longshore drift.

It’s relatively inexpensive, but requires constant maintenance to replace the beach material that is being constantly washed away.

Managed retreat

Managed retreat means that certain areas of the coast are allowed to erode and flood naturally. Usually this will be areas considered to be of low value – i.e. places not being used for housing or farmland.

The advantages are that it encourages the development of beaches (a natural defence) and salt marshes (important for the environment) and cost is low.

Managed retreat is a cheap option, but people will need to be compensated for loss of buildings and farmland.

Progress has been made

Back in March, the Environment Agency’s announced that it had reached its target of better protecting 300,000 homes from flooding and coastal erosion since 2015.

The story was picked up in The Yorkshire Post, in East Anglian Daily Times and Ipswich Star, and highlighted that the £2.6 billion investment in 700 projects had better protected nearly 600,000 acres of agricultural land and thousands of businesses and saved the economy more than £28 billion in avoided damages.

The milestone was reached with the completion of the Hull: Humber Frontages scheme, a £42 million project which will better protect the city of Hull from the devastation of tidal surges which caused flooding to hundreds of properties in 2013.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said “The success of this programme is measured in numbers 700 projects, 300,000 homes, nearly 600,000 acres of agricultural land, thousands of businesses and major pieces of infrastructure, on time and within budget. But the sense of security these protections bring to people, and the benefits to nature, can’t easily be demonstrated on a spreadsheet.”

George Eustice, Environment Secretary, added “This important milestone means that 300,000 households are better protected against flooding and coastal erosion. I commend the hard work of the Environment Agency and its partners in supporting flood-hit communities.

“We know there is more to do, which is why a record £5.2 billion is being invested in 2,000 new flood and coastal erosion schemes over the next six years, to protect thousands more people, homes and businesses.”

 

Work is already under way on the delivery of some of the 2,000 new flood and coastal defences that will better protect a further 336,000 properties from flooding and coastal erosion by 2027, which will also see the implementation of the Environment Agency’s Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy.

In summary

Perhaps the biggest threat to coastal villages, towns and cities over the next 100 years is the rising sea levels due to climate change. Popular holiday destinations and vital roads in the UK could be wiped out by floods due to climate change, with many coastal and low-lying areas that could be completely submerged in water in thirty years’ time if action is not taken.

Parts of North Wales and eastern England are already predicted to be underwater by 2050 due to rising sea levels and in the south, coastal areas and river valleys would be badly affected with the M4 motorway submerged close to the Severn Bridge.

Coastal defence strategies tackle the symptoms, not the cause. In order to slow the rate that the sea level is rising we must lower our carbon footprint, protect our wetlands and allow enough natural space for rain water to soak in, rather than run off and contribute to the ocean.

Over the next 100 years we will be forced to take greater responsibility for our environment, if not for its protection then for our own!

/0 Comments/by