March 29, 2024
Global Renewable News

Beyond Tunnel Vision
Volume 4 - Issue 27

December 3, 2013

In the early eighties I lived in England and worked for a large international civil engineering, construction, and project management firm. Serious mutterings abounded in the industry about the prospect of building a tunnel under the English Channel to carry passengers and freight, by rail, between Folkestone, Kent, in England and Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais, France. Having taken the cross-Channel service many times, I knew a tunnel would be a welcomed alternative.

At the time, oil was abundant, renewable energy technologies were just getting off the ground, and the idea of a carbon footprint had yet to enter the popular lexicon. A glut of oil notwithstanding, an all-electric train service was living in the minds of farsighted Eurotunnel engineers. To this day, their designs embrace the concept of energy efficiency and environmental friendliness including:

  • Constructing the tunnel fully underground 40 metres below the sea-bed to ensure no aspect of marine life was, or is, disturbed
  • Using electric locomotives that generate low atmospheric pollution and produce extremely low greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs)*
  • Vegetation removed from major building sites (i.e., terminals) and borrow-pits was returned to original areas under the management of Eurotunnel experts to restore the natural vegetation and maintain the pristine feel and look of the original location
  • Electricity purchased to run the huge operation produced in France that is derived from 90% nuclear and hydroelectric sources. This decision means that:
  1. Energy is virtually GHG emissions free
  2. More competitive pricing keeps costs lower
  3. Power delivery is independent of fluctuations in hydrocarbon supplies
  • Generation of a regular carbon footprint profile to gauge success in achieving energy efficiency goals year over year
  • Fifty percent of all waste produced is recycled including more than 50 tonnes of fat from terminal restaurants, which is converted to methane and used to generate renewable power

Today, the ‘Chunnel’ is by far the most environmentally secure transport for large numbers of people and cargo moving between the UK and continental Europe.

As a commitment to the development of renewable energies, a three turbine wind farm has been constructed on the terminal property at Coquelles. The 2.4 MW output provides enough power to supply 2000 homes. Part of the profit from the windmills goes to a charity supporting families trying to bear up under energy poverty.**

Recently, tunnel engineers developed a means of collecting the air heated by the friction of the trains pushing vast volumes of it as they travel through the tunnel. The warmed air is then used as a drying agent to get rid of any excess dampness that collects in the more than 39 kilometres of under-sea structure.

The progress made by the operation has been recognized by the Carbon Trust Standard that, in 2011, renewed Eurotunnel’s certification as an energy efficient transport operator based on the group’s long-term energy efficiency strategy and application of energy consumption reduction methods.

Today, with oil supply more uncertain than ever and prices rising due to increased demand from the Far East and political instability in the Middle East and Africa, keeping an eye on fuel-efficient ways to move goods around is vital. Not only is a Eurotunnel crossing more carbon efficient than a ferry (20 times less carbon emission per truck crossing), but it also crosses closer to London and can therefore save hundreds of kilometres per year of fuel and truck wear and tear as well as hours of driver time. Eurotunnel has added a Carbon Counter to its website to help companies calculate the savings that can be made on a journey by shuttle compared to travelling by ferry.1

The following table shows traffic volumes from 2005 to 2012.2

EUROTUNNEL SHUTTLE SERVICES

HIGH SPEED

TRAINS

FREIGHT TRAINS

Year Trucks Equivalent
tonnes of
freight
(millions)
Cars Coaches Equivalent
passengers
(millions)
Passengers Tonnes of
freight
(millions)
Rail freight
trains
2012 1,464,880 19.0 2,424,342 58,966 8.3 9,911,649 1.23 2,325
2011 1,263,327 16.4 2,262,811 56,095 7.8 9,679,764 1.32 2,388
2010 1,089,051 14.2 2,125,259 56,507 7.5 9,528,558 1.13 2,097
2009 769,261 10.0 1,916,647 54,547 6.9 9,220,233 1.18 2,403
2008 1,254,282 14.2 1,907,484 55,751 7.0 9,113,371 1.24 2,718
2007 1,414,709 18.4 2,141,573 65,331 7.9 8,260,980 1.21 2,840
2006 1,296,269 16.9 2,021,543 67,201 7.8 7,858,337 1.60 3,786
2005 1,308,786 17.0 2,047,166 77,267 8.2 7,454,497 1.60 3,902

Temporally, Eurotunnel uses its expertise and leadership to assist its heavy-hauler customers in reducing the carbon footprint of their activities. Customers are made aware of sustainable development issues through campaigns displayed throughout the transport shuttles. Eurotunnel invites all of the group’s employees and staff from its subcontractors to take part in campaigns and exhibitions to raise awareness on this subject. Their electronic newsletter also includes a dedicated section on sustainable development news such as how to be an eco-citizen, findings from the carbon footprint review, and presentations from experts on energy savings and waste reduction.

Finally, Eurotunnel is getting its suppliers and subcontractors more involved in its approach. The group has drawn up a list of criteria measuring each supplier’s relationship on an environmental level. This analysis is taken into consideration in the selection process for new business partnerships.

A few months ago, Britain’s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), a non-ministerial department and independent National Regulatory Authority recognized by European Union (EU) Directives, warned the UK it could face a squeeze on its electricity generating capacity by 2015. This could cause crippling blackouts and problems ensuring a secure power supply. This prediction has prompted experts to look closely at connecting the UK to Europe’s electricity grid using the Channel Tunnel as the gateway. On the continent, a ‘super grid’ is already in the making as more and more EU countries are tying into a main grid to buy and sell electricity in order to balance supply and demand and equalize prices. The UK would only be reliant on an interconnection to import power during peak demand. Conversely, with the three time zones that exist across the region, British generated electricity would be a viable supply for EU countries to ease their peak consumption that would occur during the UK’s lower demand hours.

Using gas as a source to produce electricity is becoming increasingly unworkable as the price is simply not competitive. The nation currently has plenty of coal and although it’s undesirable as an eco-friendly source, it is winning the war over gas on price alone. Other elements working against coal include a natural decrease in supply and increase in costs and the fact several coal-fired electricity generation plants around the country are slated for closure and demolition in the near future.

As in many cases, however, political will stands in the way of practicality. Objections to the UK interconnection to a super grid scheme are boiling over in Europe, which remains critical of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland for not joining the EU. Obversely, for years, the UK has not bent over backwards to keep its European neighbours happy. I witnessed, first hand, examples of this hostility during my tenure working in the world of large construction projects. With so much at stake, it can only be hoped, for the sake of a workable energy union, that attitudes improve going forward.

* By 2008, reduction of GHGs was 45% and the following year was a further 20% less compared to

over water cross-Channel services

** Energy poverty was explained in Global Renewable News submission entitled ‘It’s a Gas, Gas,

Gas…’ Visit the Global Renewable News archives to see Volume 4, Issue 25.

1 Business Reporter. “Tunnel Vision for the Future.” The Daily Telegraph Industry View (June 30 2012):

2 https://www.eurotunnelgroup.com/uk/eurotunnel-group/operations/traffic-figures/

For more information

Terry Wildman

Terry Wildman
Senior Editor
terry@electricenergyonline.com
GlobalRenewableNews.com