19 DIGITALIZATION IN ENERGY SUPPLY W
ith the energy industry accounting for almost a quarter of all carbon emissions in the UK, the sector is embracing some
fundamental shifts in the way it generates and distributes power and is looking to smart technology to provide some of the solutions to achieving net zero (see The UK’s net zero commitment). BSI has been working closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in areas that make the most of the new technologies that are available, putting clean growth at the heart of the UK’s modern industrial strategy. “The work we are doing rests on three
pillars,” said Sebastiaan Van Dort, Associate Director of Energy at BSI. “The fi rst is our focus on doing everything we can to support industry to make the transition to net zero. “The second is to develop standards that support a smart, fl exible and interoperable energy system. The third pillar is linked to that and is to support and drive innovation in the energy sector by developing standards in emerging areas, using agile standards where appropriate.”
BSI has summarised the drivers forcing change in the 21st century energy industry as ‘the four Ds’: decarbonization, digitalization, democratization, decentralization. Whereas decarbonization speaks for itself, the other three take more explaining. “With the increasing importance of
renewables to the energy mix, there is a move to a different operating model, with top down and offsite generation moving to a two-way fl ow, incorporating solar and wind electricity
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generation combined with battery storage,” said Sebastiaan. “It’s changing from a one directional to
bi-directional fl ow, becoming decentralized. Network Operators will need to become System Operators, balancing a smart and fl exible grid which takes into account the increasing proportion of microgeneration from businesses and individual households. This is the democratization of energy generation.” Digitalization is critical to all aspects of operating a smart grid and is behind two developments which are fundamental to this evolving scenario: Demand Side Response (DSR) and Energy Smart Appliances (ESAs). ESAs are described by BEIS as being
‘communications-enabled appliances able to respond automatically to price and/or
other signals by modulating their electricity consumption’. In the home this would include domestic ‘smart’ appliances, smart enabled white goods and electric vehicle (EV) charge points. ESAs actively manage demand by responding to signals to either switch off or change to an alternative energy source. The entry of electric vehicles into the UK’s
energy supply scenario is signifi cant. The transition from combustion to electric for vehicles is central to the Governments plans to achieve net zero by 2050, so EV charge points are inevitably going to become a fi xture in the majority of UK households. The impact of this on domestic energy usage will be significant, making it even more imperative that the UK has a robust and flexible network that is able to take
full advantage of renewable sources of energy.
ESAs will operate within a Demand Side Response framework linking System Operators and consumer/generators. DSR works by adjusting consumption to soften peaks in demand and fill in the troughs when more capacity is available, especially from renewable sources.
Sebastiaan Van Dort
“ESAs and DSR raise important questions on the interoperability of systems, on cyber security and data privacy, and grid stability,” said Sebastiaan. “We are working with BEIS and the Offi ce for Low Emission vehicles (OLEV), leading the ESA Programme to facilitate the uptake of safe, secure and interoperable ESAs, including EV charge points.”
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