As Edina celebrates a monumental milestone, it remains dedicated to solving the energy trilemma
With over 35 years of experience in the power generation industry, Edina aims to build long-lasting partnerships that help customers to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions as they prepare for their global energy transition. As a leading engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) solutions provider, the business installs and maintains gas-fired distribution power plants, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants, mission-critical standby generation, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
Since its foundation as a service provider for diesel generators in 1985, Edina’s philosophy has always revolved around supplying a solution, not just a product. Although the business has always provided EPC solutions, it has adapted and diversified its operations to cater to evolving customer demands. It entered the gas market in 2006 by becoming an official distributor for MWM, which led to the containerization of MWM gas engines at Edina’s purpose-built engineering facility.
Having established new links and partnerships across the globe, Edina was purchased in 2018 by EPAL, a joint venture between India’s Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) and UK-based, EnergyPro Asset Management, in 2018. With an aim to help clients manage the energy trilemma – the need to balance affordability, resiliency, and sustainability – the business has since diversified into the BESS market with the launch of its system-integrated, EPC one-to-two-hour duration solution in 2022.
Monumental milestone
As Edina celebrates its biggest milestone to date – reaching one gigawatt (GW) of electrical distribution generation across the UK and Ireland – Hugh Richmond, Edina’s CEO, joins us to discuss the company’s evolution and its journey to such a monumental achievement. “Edina prides itself on being an EPC solutions provider that puts customers first through energy solutions that add value to projects,” Hugh opens. “Achieving the one-GW milestone is a remarkable achievement and is a testament to our team’s efforts and working relationships, especially with MWM.
“We have an incredible relationship with MWM that spans almost 20 years, and Edina is one of few distributors in the world to achieve the one-gigawatt milestone. MWM is owned by Caterpillar, one of the largest and most renowned construction and engineering equipment manufacturers, and by association, has lent kudos and legitimacy to our brand over the years.
“As part of the one-gigawatt milestone, we’ve reached 300 customers across several operating sectors, including commercial buildings like MediaCityUK, industrial manufacturing sites for Pfizer, Coca Cola, and BAE Systems, and the public sector with work completed for the NHS and several universities. By installing decentralized generation, these companies have taken a significant step towards a more sustainable future while reaping the benefits of cost and carbon savings and improved efficiency and resilience.
“Our customers have shown utmost trust in both the MWM product and our ability to deliver the technical solution, and in return, we’ve had the privilege to work on some exciting and complex projects. As smaller, decentralized power facilities have developed, the concept of working with a single contractor to mitigate any potential challenges has been attractive to these developers; this has been the secret to us achieving a large portfolio of installed generational capacity.
“Customer trust remains paramount to our success and growth,” he reiterates. “Without the support of our customers, we wouldn’t have been able to reach this milestone, nor would we have experienced a high adoption rate for our BESS solution upon its launch. As some of our projects can take up to two years, we develop relationships with customers to better understand their needs and challenges, ultimately providing a solution that addresses their pain points. From here, we work with them throughout the 15-year asset life cycle and provide ongoing technical support.”
Bespoke solutions
Turning to current operations, Hugh explains how Edina is working with MWM to develop hydrogen solutions. “Since the UK Government announced its hydrogen strategy in 2021, we’ve been working with MWM to offer a blended hydrogen solution,” Hugh states. “Hydrogen fuel isn’t new to MWM, as they have over 20 years of commercial and operational experience of working with hydrogen blends of up to 60 percent volume. At present, MWM gas engines can accept ten percent hydrogen blends, but they can be easily upgraded using a simple retrofit conversion kit to accept 25 percent blends, which reduces site emissions by eight percent.
“Today, less than one percent of the gas in distribution networks is hydrogen, but new proposals announced in December 2023 offer potential for blended hydrogen with other gases in the network to strengthen the wider energy system. As hydrogen and renewable natural gas becomes more readily available, we expect to see more customers making the switch to improve their carbon positioning using MWM engines.”
Aside from hydrogen, Edina has taken strides in the BESS solutions market, as Hugh explains. “We’re actively working with Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) and other Tier 1 battery chemistry manufacturers to deliver the Edina BESS solution. It incorporates lithium-ion chemistry and inverter technologies, which are controlled by our proprietary Energy Management System.
“Our system integrated solution is predicated on our 35 years of technical capability in delivering large-scale grid interfacing infrastructure projects as an EPC contractor. This is particularly important when delivering BESS projects, as not only do we have the grid interfacing expertise, but we can also deliver solutions from a single point of contact.
“BESS deployment within commercial buildings and industrial manufacturing sites offers asset flexibility and resilience. The system maximizes renewable integration by utilizing energy generated from other renewable sources like solar, wind turbines, and intermittent generators. Our diversification into the market allows us to work with customers to realize a hybrid solution, co-locating gas CHP, energy storage, and other low-carbon or renewable technologies.”
Energy security
To reflect its success, Edina was a finalist in the ‘System Integrator of the Year’ and ‘Grid-scale Co-located or Hybrid Energy Storage Project of the Year Award’ categories at the 2023 Energy Storage Awards. “As a finalist, this recognition is especially significant considering that we’re a newcomer to the BESS industry,” Hugh reflects. “Since launching our BESS offering in 2022, we’ve completed three projects: a ten-megawatt grid balancing project for ForePower, an infrastructure developer in Doncaster, and two hybrid power solutions co-locating CHP and standby generation.
“An example is our project for Holme Bioenergy, a renewable producer of biomethane from organic food waste that until recently, was powered by diesel generation. Working collaboratively, we proposed an island mode, microgrid solution encompassing CHP, BESS, and standby power. The results have seen a 50 percent reduction in energy costs, which is equivalent to 2500 tons per year, as well as improved efficiency and resiliency. In fact, this project was so successful that it led to a similar installation at a neighboring site in Yorkshire, England.”
As our conversation draws to a close, talk turns to how Edina is supporting its clients to embrace a future where renewable energy is the norm. “Power requirements vary from one business to another, so it’s crucial to find the right balance through a blend of technologies,” Hugh says. “Here at Edina, we’re committed to offering low-carbon solutions that add value to customer projects and support the energy transition. We work closely with each customer to recognize their challenges and requirements in balancing the energy trilemma.
“Should a site be constrained by the grid, for instance, CHP can help to fill the gap by delivering a microgrid solution co-locating non-renewable and renewable technologies, which ultimately maintains resilience in the event of a grid failure. In most cases, Net Zero cannot be reached via a single technology, so a hybrid solution that combines energy storage, on-site generation, and standby power offers a credible pathway to a more sustainable future.
“While we’re strengthening our presence in the UK and Ireland, we have a great desire to expand overseas,” Hugh concludes. “As other countries across the globe start to experience grid instabilities, they will require decentralized, flexible balancing plants to provide security of power. Our ability to adapt, innovate, and add value has led us to where we are today, and our product diversification since our inception as a diesel generation provider back in 1985, will allow us to continue offering compelling solutions that balance the energy trilemma.”