The design of our electricity grid is out of date The grid was - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The design of our electricity grid is out of date

• The grid was designed to optimise fossil fuels, using checks and balances that existed

before the internet and smart technology. It served us well.

• 60 years ago, user demands couldn’t be controlled, only predicted and met; producing a

pattern of peaks and troughs.

• The grid becomes unstable if supply isn’t enough to meet demand or exceeds it. So power

stations or diesel generators are ‘switched on’ to during the peaks and then turned off

• again. The peaks and troughs are getting steeper as we electrify transport and heating.
• Balancing supply and demand by adjusting the ‘supply side’ is getting more challenging

because, in contrast to coal or gas, renewable energy has flux and changeability.

If 5% of peak demand was met by demand side solutions the grid would be £200 million a year

cheaper to run

In 2015, we paid £90 million

to wind farms not to produce

electricity when the wind blew, because the surge of power would be too much to handle

12.7GW of demand-led flexibility

would improve the efficiency of the system by at least £3 billion a

year

We need to imagine better

• But for many it’s hard to imagine an alternative design that

could work differently or better than the current 20th century design

• Complex ecosystems are beautifully adapted for storing,

using, transforming and delivering renewable energy - 3.8 billion years of evolution in the living systems around us can inspire an energy system fit for the 21st century.

• What if we applied nature’s design principles to innovating
• ur energy system so it is locally attuned, dynamic, resource

efficient, self-organising, resilient and adaptable? What if our energy system was life- friendly, rather than contributing to problems like climate change that threaten health?

Welcome to The Living Grid

A growing community of pioneering organisations forming a new energy system that takes inspiration from nature to deliver, store and use electricity. We aim to spark a change in the design of our existing grid to make it more efficient, resilient and adapted for renewable energy, using emerging technologies and new ways of working. To do this, we’re looking to demonstrate how a nature-inspired approach can work, to show what is possible and inspire a change in mind-sets.

Clear signals of change…

Smart power – principally built around three innovations, interconnection, storage, and demand flexibility – could save consumers up to £8 billion a year by 2030, help the UK meet its 2050 carbon targets, and secure the UK’s energy supply for generations. National Infrastructure Commission, March 2016 We are at a moment of real change in the energy

• industry. From an historic perspective we created energy

in big generating organisations that sent power to houses and their businesses. Now we are producing energy in those places - mostly with solar power. Nicola Shaw, National Grid Executive Director, 2016 Over the next decade, the UK's energy system will see a profound shift towards a more flexible and dynamic

• system. Consumers - both businesses and households -

will become much more engaged in how they use, manage, and even produce energy. Michelle Hubert CBI Head of Infrastructure, 2016

affordable affordable

Tailor-made for optimising fossil fuels, the design of

• ur current grid can’t use energy generated from

renewable sources in an efficient way For a grid that’s low carbon as well as secure and afford we need a new design that can optimise renewable energy

Our grid is linear and centralised It can be flexible and interactive

• +

Our journey so far…

Phase 1 – Concept development. Phase 2 – Collaboration with Open Energi, kick-start the DSR demonstrator and begin wider communications (soft launch). Phase 3 – (Now) Further outreach, building a collective vision of our energy system and explore other parts of The Living Grid. We’re talking to:

• Community energy groups
• Energy managers and corporate users
• System designers
• Built environment experts
• Communication platforms
• Universities and research institutions
• Local Authorities and public agencies

…we want to collaborate and build this together!

What if our energy system were made up of dynamic relationships that continually self-

• rganised and are

locally attuned, like ecosystems in nature?

We want to:

Accelerate the uptake of diverse technologies by empowering energy users to ‘push’ for the growth of related markets. Prove the large scale viability of demand-side management and the significant role it can play in our energy future. Challenge accepted wisdoms that tell us demand-side management (and

• ther technologies) can’t be mainstream, that a grid powered almost entirely by

renewable energy is not a credible possibility. Galvanise the voice and influence of energy users using a new narrative that reimagines the design of our grid in ways that work well for everyone.

Peer-to-peer community Network of diverse, internet- enabled technologies Big picture story for change

Building The Living Grid

We are searching for pioneering individuals and organisations to build The Living Grid: Design partners, Corporate partners, Learning partners, Champions and Technology partners Our key partner, Open Energi, shares The Living Grid’s conviction that large energy users, acting together, have the potential to transform our energy system into one that is more efficient and sustainable. Open Energi has expressed its commitment by donating a portion of its proceeds to an Innovation Fund that will help catalyse a radically new energy ecosystem. We hope to grow this fund as new partners join the community.

The Living Grid: a growing number of possibilities

Peer-to-peer communities and local markets Demand-side response Storage and battery technology Block chain Electrification

• f mobility

Community energy Integrated urban design

Our first demonstration project: DSR

Demand-side management in practice

Applying ‘Intelligent demand response’ technologies Open Energi – Steven Clarke

First Phase Technology Partner

Open Energi

First Phase Technology Partner

Open Energi

Dumb Energy consumers

usually operate in isolation.

Connected the first phase is

focused on enabling larger consumers to interact and adjust their individual use of electricity to benefit the system as a whole. Tiny, automated adjustments to electricity use, without affecting performance.

Open Energi | Timeline

Open Energi | Portal

Open Energi | Platform Development

Open Energi | Innovation

A new energy economy is emerging in which energy supply and demand are both dynamic and connected:

Living Network

Dumb Energy consumers usually operate in

isolation, their energy demands overlap unnecessarily, causing peaks.

Connected the first phase is focused on

enabling larger consumers to interact and adjust their individual use of electricity to benefit the system as a whole. Tiny, automated adjustments to electricity use, without affecting performance.

United Utilities has implemented intelligent demand response technology at 10 of its larger wastewater treatment plants By 2020, it will:

• free up to 20MW of power capacity for National Grid,
• saving the UK 45,520 tonnes of carbon per year AND
• further increase its revenues: currently £200K a year.

“Energy is one of our biggest costs and it’s vital that we get smarter at how we use it. In supporting the Living Grid we’re proud to show the huge scope for the water industry to use electricity in a more flexible way – meaning sustainable lower bills for our customers and a move towards a lower carbon economy.”

Jonathan Dobson, United Utilities

United Utilities has implemented intelligent demand response technology at 10 of its larger wastewater treatment plants By 2020, it will:

• free up to 20MW of power capacity for National Grid,
• saving the UK 45,520 tonnes of carbon per year AND
• return >£5m cash to UU.

“Energy is one of our biggest costs and it’s vital that we get smarter at how we use it. In supporting the Living Grid we’re proud to show the huge scope for the water industry to use electricity in a more flexible way – meaning sustainable lower bills for our customers and a move towards a lower carbon economy.”

Jonathan Dobson, United Utilities Aggregate Industries has fitted intelligent demand response technology to 40 of its bitumen tanks on its asphalt plants.

• Bitumen tanks are ideal for Dynamic Demand because their

consumption of electricity is not time critical

• Equates to 11,380 tonnes of carbon savings for the UK per year
• Also identified significant energy savings in the region of

350,000kWh per year Recently begun equipping pumps at quarry sites

“Through our partnership with the Living Grid network, we’ll share our experience of this emerging technology and encourage others to take up the

• pportunity too, to create a positive change in the energy system.”

Donna Hunt, Head of Sustainability

Time for you to explore further

Carousel exercise: 2 groups, 20mins, swap 1.Deeper dive into The Living Grid as a way to reimagine our energy system …with Heidi in breakfast room 2.Deeper dive into DSR and OE proposition …with Steven in this room

Final reflections and how to get involved

Key themes and reflections on what you’ve heard this morning

• The energy system is already in transition, rapidly changing environment
• New technologies and more receptive policy makers
• There are opportunities to engage and support new ways of working
• We need to demonstrate art of the possible

How to engage with The Living Grid:

• Think about the roles we’ve mentioned, are there others?
• Get in touch with us
• We welcome further feedback once you’ve had more time to absorb, or talk to others in your
• rganisation

www.livinggrid.net #livinggrid @Forum4theFuture @openenergi @heidihauf @martinhunt info@forumforthefuture.org