It has been revealed that Britain’s vast gas network still relies on a fleet aging aircraft engines. Some of these engines were removed from RAF Lightning fighter planes built in the 1960s.
Jon Butterworth is the chief executive at National Gas. He said that many of the engines used to drive the gas through the system are older than a decade, some even dating back to the Cold War. They need millions of pounds in replacement.
National Gas is responsible for the 7,800-kilometre-long pipe network that transports gas to 23 million homes, 500,000 businesses and the UK’s terminals.
Mr Butterworth stated: “I have turbines that compress gas from the North Sea all the way to London. They are converted RAF Lightnings.”
They have served their purpose for a long time, but it is time to replace them.
The English Electric Lightning is one of the most renowned RAF fighter jets. It entered service in 1960 at the height Cold War to protect Britain against Soviet nuclear bombers.
The Rolls Royce Avon engine was so powerful, the aircraft could achieve twice the speed sound. Pilots often compared it to flying a missile.
The engineers who were building the network grabbed the engines when the decommissioning coincided with Britain’s conversion to North Sea Gas.
Mr Butterworth stated that the engines are a testament to British engineering but now it’s time to replace them. They are old, so new parts must be made to order and have high emissions.
Mr Butterworth stated that cost is still an issue. The network, which is powered by 68 wind turbines, spread over 21 pumping station, costs around £40m to upgrade just one.
National Gas must justify all major expenditures to politicians and regulators. Investors are turning away from gas, as net zero targets is a growing trend.
The Government’s National Infrastructure Assessment, published in the autumn of last year, suggested that the entire network be decommissioned.
Mr Butterworth stated: “We are having a real old battle, because everyone believes that gas should be shut off by 2035.
It means that I am struggling to replace key assets that provide us with the resilience we need.
National Gas, a relatively young company, was spun off from National Grid which once managed both the UK’s gas and electricity transmission systems.
Mr Butterworth stated that he expects the network to transport natural gas throughout the UK for many decades to come, despite Government’s net-zero pledges.
He warned, however, that the UK’s offshore oil and natural gas fields are rapidly running out. Around 180 of the 284 existing active fields will shut down by 2030. This will mean that gas supplies in the UK will drop 80pc, and will be dependent on imports.
He said: “I’m really sad we are bringing LNG from all over the world. The energy it contains is amazing, but it has to be frozen to a liquid before it can be transported halfway around the world on a boat.
“But we have gas in the North Sea on our shores.” It makes me sad to think that we are not using the gas we have and would rather import it from elsewhere. We need to be mature enough to realize that importing LNG from around the globe is more harmful to the environment than exploring the North Sea to import gas.
“When I speak to the chief executives from the nine other transmission firms around the North Sea, they are envious about the energy resources within our territorial waters. We need to be resilient and secure in our supply. “We still have plenty of gas.”