Turner & Townsend’s Post

Future Cities Forum was delighted to have the Infrastructure and Projects Authority's Director of Project, Programme and Portfolio Management, Karl Fitzgerald to our 'Infrastructure, construction and energy' forum yesterday hosted by the leading law firm RPC LLP. Read our blog on what Karl had to say on the challenges for the UK's transition to net zero and green energy. https://lnkd.in/dDcDjTpz Karl commented: 'The big challenge we are facing is about infrastructure connectivity, especially in regard to utilities, energy and water, particularly in the east of England. The energy challenge is a multi-facetted, four dimensional chess problem and our colleagues in the Department for Energy and Net Zero are wrestling with that because there is a transition to a low carbon grid, and a decentralised generation context coming out now with more solar distributed in different places and expansion of off shore wind farm connectivity. 'The growth in the transmission system to meet that is at a level which is comparable to the investment made in the 1950s to the 1970s but it is twice that, and it needs to be delivered in the next 20 years. It's a huge challenge both in terms of supply chain and figuring out where it needs to go because of balancing the grid and balancing the sources, inter-connection, generation and demand, and where it comes to communities. Joining the discussion facilitated by @HeatherFearfield: @alisterkratt @LDADesign @IPA @KarlFitzGerald @nationalgrideso @CnnaCarolinaTortora @edfrenewables @MarianneCostigan @LondonCouncils @DiannaNeal @westyorkshirecombinedauthority @HelenEllerton @MEPC @RossFittall @HOK @GaryClark @burohappold @AlasdairYoung @BDP @TomHewitt @Grimshaw @ChrisPatience @NicholasHawkes @northernpowerhousepartnership @HenriMurison @RPC @ArashRajai @LizAlibhai

Future Cities Forum was delighted to have the Infrastructure and Projects Authority's Director of Project, Programme and Portfolio Management, Karl Fitzgerald to our 'Infrastructure, construction and energy' forum yesterday hosted by the leading law firm RPC LLP. Read our blog on what Karl had to say on the challenges for the UK's transition to net zero and green energy. https://lnkd.in/d6KtgV6W Karl commented: 'The big challenge we are facing is about infrastructure connectivity, especially in regard to utilities, energy and water, particularly in the east of England. The energy challenge is a multi-facetted, four dimensional chess problem and our colleagues in the Department for Energy and Net Zero are wrestling with that because there is a transition to a low carbon grid, and a decentralised generation context coming out now with more solar distributed in different places and expansion of off shore wind farm connectivity. 'The growth in the transmission system to meet that is at a level which is comparable to the investment made in the 1950s to the 1970s but it is twice that, and it needs to be delivered in the next 20 years. It's a huge challenge both in terms of supply chain and figuring out where it needs to go because of balancing the grid and balancing the sources, inter-connection, generation and demand, and where it comes to communities. Joining the discussion facilitated by @HeatherFearfield: @alisterkratt @LDADesign @IPA @KarlFitzGerald @nationalgrideso @CnnaCarolinaTortora @edfrenewables @MarianneCostigan @LondonCouncils @DiannaNeal @westyorkshirecombinedauthority @HelenEllerton @MEPC @RossFittall @HOK @GaryClark @burohappold @AlasdairYoung @BDP @TomHewitt @Grimshaw @ChrisPatience @NicholasHawkes @northernpowerhousepartnership @HenriMurison @RPC @ArashRajai @LizAlibhai

🌟 And it’s here: https://lnkd.in/eMd63qVw Consultation now live until 24th September 2024. Some key points I’ve picked out from todays news: 🏡 mandatory housing targets to achieve 370,000 homes per year 🏡 updating the standard method 🏡 sequential approach -> Brownfield -> Grey Belt -> Green Belt 🏡 more emphasis on delivery of affordable homes 🌇 Spatial Development Strategies 🛤️ focus on building more labatories, gigafactories, data centres, freight and logistics networks, and the electricity grid ☀️💨 focus for onshore wind and solar developments 💡 more weight to renewable policies 🧩 reform to the NSIP regime That’s a lot of welcomed updates 🌟

Empower in the Northern Emirates in the Near Future Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure signs MoU with Empower to enhance future partnership opportunities for providing District Cooling Services to the Northern Emirates The MoU was signed by Eng. Sharif Al Olama, Undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, and Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, at Empower’s headquarters in Dubai, in the presence officials from both parties. Objectives of the MoU between the Ministry and Empower: - Strengthening the strategic national partnership between both parties - Commitment to joint efforts in conducting technical and economic studies to expand the environmentally-friendly district cooling systems to more cities across the UAE, particularly in the Northern Emirates. “The Ministry is committed to collaborating with local stakeholders to achieve sustainability goals. Empower is a valuable national partner with a strong commitment to environmentally-friendly practices. The MoU is an important step in decarbonizing the utility sector and will contribute to the UAE’s 2050 zero-emission target” Eng. Sharif Al Olama, Undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure “This national collaboration with a partner as prominent as the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure aligns with the UAE’s vision and strategic plans for comprehensive sustainability, particularly in energy and its efficient use. Empower continues to develop its unique business model, which has enabled the company to play a vital role in providing environmentally-friendly district cooling services, contributing to resource and environmental conservation” Ahmad Bin Shafar CEO of Empower

If the UK is to transition to a clean energy future it needs to build 5x more electricity infrastructure in the next 6 years than has been constructed in the last 30 years. That’s why we’re particularly thrilled to be appointed as a design and consenting service partner for National Grid’s Great Grid Partnership, together with our joint venture partner AECOM. Working collaboratively, we’ll be playing a critical role delivering infrastructure to transition the energy system and reach net zero. The Partnership will deliver a design and construction programme to connect clean energy to homes and businesses, ultimately leading to cheaper energy and less reliance on fossil fuels. Let’s go to work! Read more here: https://bit.ly/3QmmZFG #WeAreArup #EnergyTransition #CleanEnergy #Engineering #SustainableDevelopment #ClimateAction

The first issue of 2025 is now available. Check out profiles of #Top100Projects that reached completion last year, including the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation's BMO Centre expansion and the Wataynikaneyap Power Transmission Line. Also in this issue: How proactive #Indigenous community engagement leads to better outcomes. The path to strengthening Canada's #municipal water #infrastructure. Cutting road #construction emissions and costs. READ THE FULL ISSUE: https://lnkd.in/gJM3nQ6c RJC Engineers, Populous, Fortis Energy, Colas Rail Canada, Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Canada (ACEC-Canada), Ontario Sewer And Watermain Construction Association (OSWCA), Calgary Construction Association, Associated Engineering, HDR, Concert Infrastructure, EXP, WSP in Canada, Green Municipal Fund, Canadian Network Of Asset Managers, PCL Construction, Accenture, CIMA+, Egis, Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, Maple Reinders, HKA, Stantec, ACCIONA, EllisDon, Entuitive, RCCAO, Brandt Group of Companies

The construction of new infrastructure projects took a relative ‘back seat’ in Australia’s recent federal budget, with major initiatives focusing on renewable energy, social housing and defence. Mark Waddell reports on the highlights for infrastructure in the budget: https://lnkd.in/eJzQRF4Z #PinsentMasons #Infrastructure #Construction #FederalBudget24

Infrastructure Australia has released a new paper on building, transport and energy project decarbonisation this week. 🔦 My highlight is the hopeful observation that a 23% reduction in upfront carbon emissions by 2026-27 is possible simply through like-for-like material replacement strategies ❓ One question arises for govt agencies and contractors though - how will you measure and report the impact of these strategies, while understanding and balancing cost impacts? 🟢 For that, Benchmark Estimating can help The full IA report can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gHNnj27z

Really pleased that we have won this commission. From a personal perspective, currently being actively involved in both onshore and offshore renewable energy projects is great. However, I have been acutely aware of the fact that while delivering new hydro-power or off shore wind is contributing to the net zero journey, if we can't transmit this power from the generation source to where it is needed, a vital piece of the jigsaw is missing. Helping to deliver this vital infrastructure will be key to providing a complete clean energy system. #WeAreArup #NetZero #Energy

A really important piece of work to ensure our electricity system is able to scale to meet our decarbonisation targets. Having contributed to the digital elements of this bid, it highlights the ever present need to have right underlining data strategy in these complex, large scale infrastructure projects. This enables the project to scale and reuse important data assets over and over again while using digital infrastructure to join all the disparate parts and stakeholders together. #WeAreArup #EnergyTransition #CleanEnergy #Engineering #SustainableDevelopment #ClimateAction