2 The energy challenge


into the sector. These technologies can gather data that could be repurposed and used to make money at every point along the way, a development that the sector has seen before. Where these changes will lead to, cannot be predicted. But industry must find ways to integrate these developments to today’s energy systems.


Today’s complex energy system faces radical change. Simon Harrison, Group Strategic Development Manager at Mott MacDonald and Chair of the IET Energy Policy Panel, outlines the opportunities and challenges.


The energy system is complex with its evolution entwined with key geopolitical challenges from the last two centuries. From the development of nuclear power and numerous resource wars to the fall of the Soviet Union, we cannot disassociate energy from politics, society and the environment. Climate change is now driving its development in many parts of the world, while cost remains a core concern.


From origins in government and bringing in private sector partners, many national energy systems have now been, at least, partially privatised. Britain has taken privatisation further than many nations, disaggregating the entire value chain in pursuit of greater efficiency and lower consumer prices. But times are changing. Climate change concerns have triggered a shift from fossil fuel generation to renewable power. Indeed, as a recent former National Grid CEO stated: “From the consumer’s point of view the solar on the rooftop is the baseload.” Meanwhile, a shift in consumer


expectations, driven largely by the availability of new technology, promises to change the game completely.


A recent two day power outage in Lancaster, UK, following flooding, brought home urban society’s total reliance on reliable power, as vividly brought to life in Professor Roger Kemp’s report for the Royal Academy of Engineering, “Living without Electricity”. Sadly such situations are routine in some countries, but in nations used to reliable energy supplies, society clearly takes power for granted.


At the same time, the emergence of devices such as the NEST thermostat as well as electric vehicles and domestic-scale storage are bringing innovative technology companies


Opportunities and challenges A world with fewer large generators as well as excellent power system data and communications brings new opportunities. System frequency control, once the domain of large generating plant, can now be carried out via short term interruptions to non-time-critical loads such as refrigeration or air conditioning. Similarly, methods such as Time-Of-Use tariffs, which reward customers for moving demand from peaks, diminishes the need to build costly, high carbon peaking power stations.


But new opportunities bring new challenges, particularly for Britain’s unbundled power sector where components are optimised according to the owner’s commercial position. Without wanting to stifle competition and innovation, an evident need exists for end to end engineering integration. This will demand solutions that cross ownership and commercial boundaries, so who would be accountable for delivering this ‘joined up’ performance? The IET’s Future Power System Architecture Project has already laid the groundwork for answering this question.


Undertaken for UK government in collaboration with the Energy Systems Catapult, the project has identified the functional requirements of the future electricity system, including an assessment of international comparators. This work is ground breaking and relevant to many other countries.


Whole system functionality


Research into whole system functionality has identified 35 new or significantly enhanced functions that the electricity system of tomorrow must perform to enable the transformation ahead. Studies reveal the main functional changes cluster around the consumer’s end of the system, where performance and cost gains will be made if consumers and communities can play an active role in the system. Crucially, the impact of this functionality, and the potential means to deliver it, stretch across the electricity system from top to bottom, and potentially include wider energy systems such as heat and transport. New functionality will enable peer to peer trading on a mass scale, with this managed within the capacities of smart networks. It will also include balancing supply and demand in a more complex energy system.


Here, supply will come from distributed small generators as well as centralised generation, while demand will be a controllable variable on a massively distributed scale. What’s more, distributed storage could also be a key part of this future system.


All this points to the fact that we can no longer consider generation, transmission, distribution and supply in isolation. A cost- effective future electricity and energy system must be engineered and integrated as a total system.


This doesn’t mean we need to plan centrally which power stations to build, and where. Nor should we get involved in the detail of how a company runs its business. But we must develop and manage open standards and protocols, build least regrets investment paths and develop agility to the fast changes that will come with this system. And we must ensure the impact of emerging government policy thinking is understood and, where appropriate, challenged.


Brave new engineering


This is just a start. Not only do the IET and Energy System Catapult’s findings need to be turned into effective policy, which we will help industry and government develop, but we need to widen the approach to consider the entire energy sector. This will include hydrocarbon, renewable and nuclear energy production to end use in transport, homes and businesses as well as the transmission vectors of LNG, pipelines, power networks, district heating, hydrogen and whatever we develop next. Yet we must not forget the most important and challenging system component; the energy consumer. In a world of pervasive data we will increasingly worry about privacy and security.


While many of us trust technology companies with data, we have less confidence in energy utilities and governments. How might trust be built or destroyed? What will persuade us to change behaviour or to invest hard-earned money?


As engineers we must forge new links with social scientists to understand and exploit this consumer-centric world, and put engaged and active consumers at the heart of the energy system.


The world is changing at tech company speed, not the speed that traditional utilities have worked or societies have changed. It’s a daunting yet exciting challenge, but what more interesting and socially valuable career can one imagine to make a positive difference to the world?


Dr Simon Harrison is also Chair of the IET/ Engineering Systems Catapult Future Power System Architecture Project.


“As engineers we must forge new links with social scientists to exploit our consumer-centric world”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24