Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

“Electrifying York”: Urban Electrification: A Breath of Fresh Air or a Hidden Hazard?

Professor Volker Pickert, Director of EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Electric Propulsion, School of Engineering, Newcastle University

While UK cities have seen general air quality improvements in the past decade, driven by reduced road transport emissions and pandemic-related decreases, challenges persist. Many areas still exceed WHO guidelines, and exposure inequalities remain. Electrification, encompassing electric vehicles, heat pumps, solar power, batteries, and smart devices, promises pollution-free air. But is this a genuine solution, or merely a profit-driven agenda for select stakeholders?

Join us at this novel Café Scientifique event from 5.30pm at the De Grey Reception Area and Lecture Theatre, York St John University.  We are grateful to Professor Volker Pickert for bringing nine of his PhD students to join in this networking and debate session.  These are the areas for discussion:

The pros and cons under the following themes:

Public/Commercial Transport.
Private Transport.
Domestic Property Energy.
Commercial/Industrial (Property) Energy.
Networking from 5.30pm to 6.30pm with Cash bar followed by presentations and debate at 6.30pm with further drinks interval.  

Free event – all welcome.

With thanks to Yorkshire Philosophical Society and York St John University for support for this event.

Member’s report

Led by Professor Volker Pickert, Director of EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Electric Propulsion, School of Engineering, Newcastle University.

Ably assisted by 9 PhD students from Newcastle University and Nottingham University.

Overview

The innovative format of this event, involving a great deal of audience participation, touched on a surprising range of competing factors that could influence the best solution for electrifying York. These included technological and economic factors particularly relevant to York, as expected, but also national and international politics, global supply issues, exploitation and ethical considerations, artificial intelligence, side effects of ‘green’ solutions, and the increasing instability of complex electrical grid systems. No attempt was made to agree specific solutions for York, as these would clearly require more detailed technical and economic analysis.

Introduction by Professor Pickert

The World’s 5th industrial revolution is underway – electrification. In particular, 20% of the world’s electricity will be consumed by information and artificial intelligence centres. Currently, York consumes 2.1 Gigawatts per hour. This could be provided by a local nuclear power station at a cost of about £13,600 per head.

Pros and Cons of electrification for different interest groups in York

The PhD students split into groups of 2 or 3, to highlight possible approaches and considerations for each interest group. Although different students nominally presented either the pros or cons, in practice there was considerable overlap. Highlights included-

*Private sector

Pros – battery operated cars give clean air at the point of use.

Cons- York’s narrow streets limit convenient charging points – should we take over public parks? The existing local power network would be overloaded. The high initial costs limit accessibility to the relatively well-off.

* Public/Commercial Transport

Pros- electric vehicles give no local pollution or noise, and cost less. All-electric buses could help get cars off the roads in the city.

Cons- all-electric buses will strain our local power grids. More expensive infrastructure will be needed, and this could be destroyed in increasing flood events.

Possible compromise solution – reduce reliance on transport, by providing shops and other important facilities within a 15 minute walk of every home. Encourage more working from home.

* Commercial and industrial property

Pros- as York’s electricity grid is ageing, we should generate electricity on-site for major users.

Cons- Why electrify? –  it is expensive as solar panels should follow the sun; solar panels on roofs increase weight and windage problems. Large areas of solar panels can distort the power grid. Maintenance costs are high. There will be a need for large electricity flows into and out of York.

* Domestic Properties

York special case – of the 65,000 houses in York, 50% were built pre-war, are thermally inefficient,  and would take about £15k each to fix. This is about 4 times the cost of a new-build. Relatively few people in York succeeded in obtaining grants to upgrade – two were in the audience, and reported it was a very good financial deal!

Audience Participation – very brief summary

*Introductory comments – electronic equipment is getting ever more complex. For example, a modern mobile phone contains about 150 different materials, many with problematic supply issues. Many critical elements come mainly from China. The tantalum required for capacitors and lithium used in batteries are both mined using child labour in dangerous conditions.

* Our Meeting Chair, Catherine Brophy, asked why there was the recent catastrophic power failure in Spain and Portugal – this prompted heated debate. There was a comparable power loss in Texas during a cold snap. Professor Pickert noted that we are now injecting more electricity into our grid systems from many different types of generation. A major problem is that all the major sources must have the same frequency. Frequency from some sources is currently easier to alter than others. Nuclear power stations provide a particularly stable base load.

* How do we make use of the surplus energy overnight? Possibilities include using hydrogen cells and pumping water to higher levels. Fridges, freezers, and washing machines could be programmed to turn on at times of cheap prices – but the manufacturers are currently resistant to this. The energy efficiency of all appliances is critical. Climate change will make this area more important.

* Throughout this session, the PhD students made many positive contributions. Of particular interest, were the different approaches in many of their home countries, which have different climates to that of the UK- and are probably a good marker for the UK as temperatures rise in the future.

Rod Leonard