Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, has revealed that the Tube network will be powered solely on renewable source electricity via the new Power Purchase Agreement tender
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced the environmentally friendly news on Monday the 27th of June which also marked the start of London Climate Action Week.
The Mayor revealed that Transport for London (TfL) had launched a Power Purchase Agreement tender which will support aims of using 100% renewable source electricity for all operations as soon as 2030 and generating investment into renewable infrastructure. The first tender hopes to see the purchase of around 10% of TfL's electricity needs from renewable energy sources and new build assets.
TfL is one of the biggest users of electricity in the UK and needs approximately 1.6TWh per year which can be compared to the amount of electricity used by around 420,000 homes or 12% of homes across London. The tender will ensure that electricity being supplied to the Tube and TfL's operations will come via renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power. The huge demand that TfL will create for renewable source electricity will see an increase in demand for new solar and wind farms and will support the creation of new green jobs and in turn, the economy.
Sadiq Khan also revealed that London has signed the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty which is a global plan that aims to phase out fossil fuels production and push forward a just and fair transition to clean energy. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change revealed that coal, oil and gas are responsible for 86% of CO2 emissions over the past 10 years. The world is set to produce more than double the amount of coal oil and gas by 2030.
As COP27 approaches later this year, London is leading the way by being the largest global city to sign up to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Mayor is also making efforts to move away from fossil fuel companies such as working with the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) to divest from all extractive fossil fuel companies from their listed equity portfolio, and co-chairing with the Mayor of New York the C40 Divestment/Investment network, which now has 18 C40 cities signed up with pension funds worth more than $400 billion committed to divestment.
The Mayor of London and Chair of C40 Cities, Sadiq Khan, said: “When it comes to tackling air pollution and the climate emergency, I'm determined to ensure that London continues to take bold action. As many national governments around world dither, cities have a responsibility to act and to show what's possible. We are the doers, not the delayers.
“The main cause of the climate emergency is fossil fuels so I'm calling on cities around the world to follow London's lead and to commit to phasing out their use.
“The cost of inaction to our economies, livelihoods, the environment and the health of Londoners is far greater than the cost of transitioning to net-zero – and we simply don't have time to waste. This first step to powering the Tube network and TfL's wider operations with 100 per cent renewable source electricity is another crucial part of reducing carbon emissions and building a better, greener London for everyone.”
Lilli Matson, Chief Safety, Health and Environment Officer at TfL, said: “As one of the largest electricity consumers in the UK, we are absolutely committed to doing what we can to decarbonise London through clean, renewable energy. TfL is already a world leader in many environmental initiatives, and we are pleased to have now started procurement on our first Power Purchase Agreement which forms the next major step in our quest to make all our services powered via renewable electricity by 2030.
“Once in place, approximately 10 per cent of our required electricity will come from renewable energy sources, delivered by ‘new build assets'. These will support the wider UK economy by creating green jobs in construction and operation.”
Tzeporah Berman, Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty: “By endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, London is embodying the kind of leadership that the national government must follow to become a true climate leader. Phasing-out coal, oil and gas and investing in renewable energy would enable the UK to address both the source of the climate crisis and the rising energy prices that are putting thousands of lives at risk. London's support for the Treaty, which complements that of seven other cities across the country, can only inspire the government to stop expanding oil and gas projects and make way for a future based on renewable energy, security and health for all.”
When the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow . . . .
what then?
If the Tube gets its electricity from the National Grid then this electricity will be generated from the same mix of sources as everyone else supplied by the grid, whatever the supply contract says. At the moment about 50% of this on average is generated from natural gas.
If the Tube is really going to be powered 100% from wind and solar sources (which would required dedicated supply lines from source to the trains) then expect all Tube trains to stop running and the stations to go dark when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining!
This is just Kahn virtue-signalling again.
Wrong! These will be newly-constructed solar/wind assets. They will feed ‘X’ amount of kWh into the National Grid each year. TfL will remove the same ‘X’ amount of kWh from the grid each year. The Grid is just a transport mechanism. The %age of energy in the Nat Grid which is from renewable sources will increase. It’s simple logic. But I understand the politics of needing to attack clean energy and promote dirty energy! Clean energy = communism after all. Dirty energy = true patriotism.