ESTA Viewpoint

ESTA VIEWPOINT For further information on ESTA visit www.estaenergy.org.uk

How to meet our net-zero budget early

This will impact how much peak power we are saving a DNO and defer costly grid investments.

To that extent and to meet the aims of Net Zero, BankEnergi is working on an innovative end-to-end energy and trading framework and specification to look at a whole energy system. Our aim is to realise the full potential of our energy assets and to optimise the whole energy system more efficiently. We are focussing on three main strands in this energy value chain when developing this specification: • asset selection for optimisation based on end user risk profile; • technology deployment – optimisation, microgrids, renewables and storage; and • local energy trading from building to region to grid supply point

The specification will provide the tools that market participants from energy users, to power generators and suppliers, traders and ancillary services, need to use to match supply with demand and for us to optimise the energy system. Developing a common set of standards will also give confidence to end users in industry, commerce and the public sectors. Organisations of all types and sizes will be able to maximise their energy, cost and carbon savings.

Our consortium of eight partners brings T he UK government has set a target of reaching net zero by 2050. That means making better use of our energy system while allowing industrial growth and ensuring a reduction in our absolute energy consumption with any remainder consumption to be 100 per cent true renewables. In addition, many councils are declaring climate emergencies but have privately admitted that they do not have a clear idea on how to execute this. Unless we properly look at the whole system approach, our target will not be achievable. And 2050 is really too late, so the sooner the better.

To look at the whole system, we must look at an end-to-end solution. We must do more to integrate demand side management with demand side response, bearing in mind the intermittent nature of EV usage and renewables. This usage may be buffered by clever solutions such as battery storage or heat dump into thermal stores or aquifers. Also, we must look to design our buildings in a more passive manner; we must look at energy optimisation and we must examine local energy and flexibility trading from building level to national markets. These create real marketplaces and drive costs down. In other words, at the energy value chain throughout.

Although I have a background in ESCO/ Energy Performance Contracting and the measurement of energy efficiency savings, the emergence of new markets such as energy and flexibility trading is giving light to a real need to merge these disparate disciplines in the field of ‘energy’ together. In the last two years, I’ve started to become more involved in ‘smart local energy’, wondering in fact when and how the two businesses will merge.

One example where it recently became obvious, is in the development of ‘baselines’. We need to understand our baseline energy usage to understand how much energy we are saving an asset owner, and we need to understand our baseline to develop the ‘what would have been meter’ when it also comes to flexibility trading. together experts from energy demand management, energy supply, regulation and compliance, information technology and artificial intelligence. We recently have been awarded UK Research and Innovation grant funding of £340,000 to develop this specification and enhance upon the previous design and concepts study that was successfully concluded under my leadership in July 2019, in which we received an initial £140,000.

The team will also liaise with key organisations across the energy system such as the Energy Networks Association, Open Data Institute, Elexon, OFGEM, Energy Systems Catapult and ESTA in order to develop a common set of processes, enabling substantial energy cost savings to consumers throughout the UK, with great potential to export this approach globally. Local energy trading will also reduc e the risks around increasingly intermittent generation, such as wind and solar, and unpredictable charging by electric vehicles. It should also help prevent unplanned power cuts and the need for costly reinforcement of the local energy supply grid by DNOs. One of our partners, Chris Clarke, Wales & West Utilities energy strategy director said: “We’re excited to be part of this project. As the gas network for Wales and south west England, we have significant experience in whole systems research. We look forward to working with the other project partners to help assess the impact of the trading solution on peak energy demand and identifying the contribution we could make towards Net Zero.”

Our local use must, in the end, eliminate the wholesale market as this is largely fossil-fuel based and relies on local generation and storage if we are to become net zero. Brave words. Huge task. Many challenges to overcome. We hope that you are just as excited about the energy revolution as we are.  • For further enquiries – please contact the BankEnergi team at info@bankenergi.com. Please note, we are currently seeking commercialisation stage funding, Interested parties, please enquire to Rajvant@bankenergi.com. Rajvant Nijjhar is director, BankEnergi, and iVEES Net zero by 2050 is a daunting target for many organisations. Rajvant Nijjhar believes that an end-to-end solution is required to take in all aspects of energy use and trading. It is a huge task but not impossible