The Green Grid
Published: 23/07/2024
8 -minute read
The Green Grid, the Electrification of Everything, and a Renewable Path to Net Zero...
Welcome to our latest blog, where we delve into the critical themes of net zero such as electrification, digitalisation, and renewables, examining what's required for the UK to meet its decarbonisation goals. As the need for energy grows, we look at what roles are played by various sectors, from industry to policy makers, businesses, and consumers to ensure targets are met.
We’ll shed light on the current landscape of renewables in the UK, address the challenges of intermittency, and discuss the crucial role of storage in ensuring reliability and security of our energy supply. We also explore the future of the green gid, the necessity for grid enhancements to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy sources and the impact of digitalization on fostering innovation. We also introduce the concept of Hourly Matching! A real-time method for monitoring renewable energy usage, enhancing transparency and accountability, empowering knowledgeable choices that aid the shift towards net zero.
Read on to find out what part you can play…
Energy by its very definition, is the 'ability to work'. The lifeblood of modern society, powering homes, businesses, and everyday life. It's everywhere, in everything, and, as the world's population continues to grow, so does our need for energy.
But not just any energy. Clean, reliable, renewable energy through clean power generation and the electrification of everything! This might sound a bit futuristic, the electrification of everything, but if the UK is to reach is 2050 net zero goals and decarbonise electricity by 2035, the need to electrify everything from heating our homes and businesses to transport and industry all using renewable energy is very real.
What does a future with all this new electricity look like? It's worth clarifying at this point that the UK has already made great strides in electrification and climate goals and the future is already 'here' to some extent, with, some may argue, a substantial way still to go. But heat pumps will become common place, in both homes to replace conventional gas boilers and businesses for low and medium temperature heat demand. EV cars, electric buses, and logistics vehicles will dominate our roads, and industry, manufacturing, and construction will switch to process electrification which will shift from fossil fuels to electricity.
The Challenge...
Although already underway, the scale of this challenge is significant and part of complex strategies spanning multiple government initiatives. So, no mean feat, and achieving this means the UK electricity network will need the capacity and grid capability to connect to vast amounts more (quadruple, according to the Climate Change Committee) renewable generation, cope with the intermittency and pressures that come with renewables while improving energy efficiency. This all needs to be done at pace too. The grid, therefore, needs to take centre stage along with the continued uptake of renewable energy.
So, we know the UK needs renewables to displace fossil fuels and we know there's a need for the electrification of everything with a grid that can handle both of these, but what's the state of the grid today and how much of the UK energy mix is from renewable energy? While this green dream is a necessity, how does the industry get there, and who plays what part?
The Current State of Play: Renewables on a Roll
Cast your minds back to the summer of 2017. The UK was experiencing a long, hot summer of record-high temperatures, and renewable energy (plus a bit of nuclear thrown in) was also hitting record highs generating more UK power (29.4%) than coal. This was followed by another key milestone, where for the first time ever, UK electricity was predominantly from renewable energy, with 43% coming from a mix of wind, solar, bioenergy and hydro.
This has steadily been increasing, with renewables taking a lead role in 2023 and into 2024, and an even bigger shift is anticipated with the recent rapid growth of battery storage. Grown in the battery sector outpaced most other clean energy technologies last year and according to the IEA, battery storage will be a key driver in scaling up renewables and offering flexibility to the grid in balancing supply and demand at all times. At all times is the key theme here!
A Green Grid: Flexibly Reliable
The intermittency of renewable energy poses a tricky challenge for the grid, whose primary objective is reliability at all times. There's no margin for error when dealing with the lifeblood of the economy. So how does a green grid operate efficiently to meet consumer demand and bridge the intermittent gap? One way is with cutting-edge energy storage. Excess renewable energy, rather than being wasted (currently around 10% is lost), can be stored for use during periods of low generation, reducing the need for generators to curtail outputs or turn to fossil fuels for backup. This guarantees a continuous and reliable supply to meet growing demand, minimising energy loss and enhancing overall efficiency, security, and cost-effectiveness of supply.
The government pledged over £32 million back in 2022 for the development of new storage technologies such as flow batteries and compressed air storage and the UK has seen huge investment here. These new technologies can be optimised for various processes, from small-scale residential systems to large-scale storage. These are a critical step towards a robust energy grid that can handle the variable nature of renewable sources, however, battery storage is at the start of the journey for demand-side flexibility.
Arguably, a more critical area to look at in the short term is the grid infrastructure itself and how it deals with the current diverse energy mix and levels of renewable generation now. Is the Great Grid Upgrade already underway now to manage new renewable sources and on track to connect to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030 and modernise for a net zero economy?
New Grid Infrastructure: The Whole Nine Yards
The grid upgrade. It's more than the whole nine yards. It's the complete overhaul and expansion of the UK electricity network with strategic reform. Upgrades to the transmission and distribution infrastructure, new cables, power lines and pylons are anticipated to be needed along with new interconnectors. The grid also needs to get smart and digitalise.
This is a huge transformation and National Grid ESO (Electricity System Operator), has set out 'Beyond 2030', a £58 billion investment strategy to ensure the green grid future with a plan to connect to an additional 21GW of offshore wind with more than 86GW capacity. This will see an infrastructure set up to deliver power around the country, in an efficient and coordinated way. A new north-to-south high-capacity electrical spine as well as an expansion to the offshore grid are also proposed. Each corner of the UK will play a role in supplying the country with homegrown renewable energy.
This is a significant overhaul and comes at a pivotal time when new interconnectors have stalled, a backlog of clean energy projects are stuck waiting for grid connection and the very grid itself is reaching its capacity. The plan set out by the ESO clearly indicates a holistic approach with a balance for both major upgrades with new assets and the repurposing and enhanced utilisation of the existing network.
Through digitalisation, the current grid infrastructure can become smarter, and quickly, paving the way for the Virtual Energy System.
Digitalisation & Data: Doing More With Less
The virtual what? ESO's Virtual Energy System - this has the potential to drive innovation through the use of digitalisation and data to support decarbonisation. This will replicate the UK's entire energy landscape, to share information, enhance resource efficiency and integrate renewable energy sources more effectively to respond to changes in demand and supply.
This should then allow for better decision-making through actual data, to cope with the needs of the decarbonised energy sector. Historically, the UK energy system has been centrally controlled and ‘analogue,’ with little granular data available. However, digitalisation has picked up pace over the years and the Virtual Energy System will ramp this up a notch. The energy sector now produces a vast amount of data, all of which can be used to drive forward sustainability and collaboration across the sector with distributed data sharing. Everyone has a part to play. And it will be with collaboration that digitalisation and data can really make a difference with consumers and businesses at the heart of this.
Knowledge: Powering Meaningful Change
Technology is not only innovating across the grid network, it’s also providing additional access to knowledge for consumer and businesses, allowing them to play a more pivotal role in their own sustainability targets. Reducing energy usage and creating an emissions reduction strategy, while ensuring that renewable energy purchased is actually from a renewable source is at the forefront of business decisions. However, it’s difficult to adapt and make positive, practical changes if you don’t know how much energy is being used, when, how, and importantly, where this energy is coming from. Does green really mean green? Things have moved on somewhat from the traditional certificate-based REGO/RGGO ‘matching’ and 24/7 carbon-free energy matching on an hourly basis has arrived!
Say Hello to Hourly Matching
This real-time matching allows consumers to see what proportion of their usage is matched with supply from renewable assets hour by hour, this is then compared to the amount of renewable energy put into the grid from the REGOs purchased. And at TotalEnergies, we’ve invested in technology which allows us to sell products providing this hourly matching, giving customers greater visibility on how their usage is being supported by renewable generation.
This data and increased level of transparency provides a clearer understanding of consumption driving customers to find ways to further support net zero and contribute to a balanced grid. Whether that’s looking to generate renewable energy themselves or adjust their energy usage to align with periods when renewable production is high or by shifting their consumption to times when renewable energy is more abundant, it all counts. Wouldn’t it be nice though to know you’ve got the security of full reporting, accountability and transparency and know where your renewable energy is coming from? TotalEnergies can help.
Explore Our Hourly Matched Products
Our Pure Hourly Renewable (solar, wind, hydro) and Hourly Renewable (solar, wind, biomass) products provide evidence of how use of energy from the grid matches and can be traced to, the clean energy sources REGO are purchased from, down to an hourly level. This includes a monthly report with visuals and percentage matching scores with the option to take advantage of an online dashboard!
Get IN TOUCH with us today to begin your renewable journey with us. We’ve a dedicated team on hand to discuss which options are right for your business.
Check out our Renewables Blog too to learn more about renewable energy and see what’s on offer.