Modest progress is reported in the areas of finance and investment, research and innovation and infrastructure, but minimal progress was made in social engagement and demand management.

In this context, progress is assessed against the recommendations of the last report.

Some of the progress recorded includes a wave of new public and private finance commitments and the development of innovative financial instruments improving access to financing and an increase in participation in key public and private sector research and innovation initiatives and improvements in capacity building.

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At the infrastructure level countries have set clear priorities and roadmaps for regional grid initiatives and have advanced bilateral and regional cross-border power exchange initiatives.

At the social engagement level, however, while several social support programmes were announced there is limited visibility into the alignment of development funding by governments and the multilateral development banks.

There also has been minimal progress on agreement among countries on the agreement of higher minimum energy performance standards.

The report, which in addition to the power sector reviews progress in the hydrogen, road transport, steel, buildings, cement and agriculture sectors, points to the “crucial action” needed during this decade to head off the worst effects of climate change.

While the transition to clean energy and sustainable solutions is accelerating across many sectors, global emissions are still increasing and countries’ nationally determined contributions on emissions reductions are not consistent with curbing temperature rise in line with international climate goals.

“Well-targeted international collaboration is a critical enabler at each stage of the Transition,” states the report, commenting that the ‘Breakthrough Agenda’ is designed to strengthen international collaboration across the major greenhouse gas emitting sectors of the global economy.

Overall the report finds insufficient progress in transitions to clean technologies and sustainable solutions over the past year and while current efforts are improving, they are not yet delivering the levels of investment and deployment required to meet international climate goals.

“The energy transition is moving quicker than many people think, but it needs to move faster still,” insists IEA executive director Fatih Birol.

“Our analysis shows that while some sectors are seeing stronger international collaboration, others are falling behind. Building on innovation, attracting investment and scaling up demand for new technologies are the fundamental building blocks for success. By delaying further, we are simply increasing the risks.”

Francesco La Camera, director-general of IRENA, comments that there is urgency to “overcome the systemic barriers across infrastructure, policy, and institutional capabilities”.

“And we must realign the way in which international cooperation works. A well-targeted international cooperation can determine whether we meet our collective promise to secure a climate-safe existence for current and future generations.”

Power sector recommendations

Recommendations for the power sector for the year ahead are:

1. Governments, working with key institutions and funds, should ensure that international support is available at better terms, including grants at early investment stages. Overall provision of resources should be increased, particularly towards technologies that have not achieved commercial maturity.
2. Governments and the development banks should work together to more strongly align development funding with targeted support for local jobs, skills and investment. Civil society, governments and industry should contribute to creating international centres of expertise on the just transition.
3. Governments should work through relevant initiatives to accelerate the identification of suitable demonstration projects, resource them appropriately and ensure high quality knowledge sharing structures are put in place.
4. Governments should work together to reassess the opportunities for cross-border and regional power interconnection and smart grids to support the transition to clean power systems. Countries and investors should support international efforts to identify top regional priorities for interconnections.
5. Countries, in consultation with industry, should collectively agree to higher minimum energy performance standards for high energy consuming appliances, supported by awareness campaigns and incentives, such as energy efficiency retrofit programmes.

The concept, an approach to managing the vegetation in the spaces beneath power lines – so-called ‘grid corridors’ – has come to be adopted increasingly by system operators but its rollout across Europe remains elusive.

This is according to the Renewables Grid Initiative, which reports engaging with the topic for many years and now taking the next steps to developing and implementing policies to advance it.

Integrated vegetation management is focussed on the ecological health of the grid corridors, while still removing vegetation which could interfere with the system security by touching a line.

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Predictive AI for T&D: How automated inspections optimise electric power systems and contain costs

Typically, this involves the selective removal of fast growing trees and invasive species, while promoting low growing native plants and creating new habitats that thrive among these plant communities, as well as exploring new economic opportunities for local stakeholders.

Resultant benefits have been documented for nature, people and the grid operators alike, ranging from improvements in local biodiversity to the engagement of local actors in vegetation management support.

Indeed, a cost-benefit analysis by Elia of an initiative run together with the French TSO RTE and the Ecofirst cooperative consultancy has estimated integrated vegetation management to be up to almost four times less expensive than traditional management over 30 years.

As the first of the next steps, the Renewables Grid Initiative has launched a series of workshops for European TSOs and DSOs to share experiences and discuss pathways forward.

Outcomes from the first of these in June, which focussed largely on the LIFE Elia-RTE project, were the identification of three key priorities of which one is the need for guidance and potentially standardised methodologies to collect and disseminate the benefits of integrated vegetation management.

A second is the harmonisation of regulatory remuneration and financing mechanisms across the EU and the need for guidance on the funding mechanisms available.

Third is support on balancing nature restoration with access to the grid assets for maintenance purposes and the need for bird protection.

These and other activities will now be addressed further in the second of the Initiative’s steps, a new working group of European TSOs and DSOs, which has been formed with the aim of moving towards a coordinated approach to integrated vegetation management in the region.

Most of these households were in the outlying rural areas, which meant the usual method of revenue collection using post payment was going to be a huge challenge. It was decided to instead use the prepayment meter as the technology of choice to deliver this service.

Meters were manufactured and deployed into the field, but very soon after there were several problems discovered. None of these systems could talk to each other, and they all had varying levels of cryptographic security and functionality.

The solution was to have a system that allowed interoperability between these systems, whilst sharing the same level of state-of-the-art security. This is where the STS, or ‘Standard Transfer Specification’ was born.

It was developed based on an Eskom NRS specification, and essentially it defines the secure transfer of credit into a prepayment meter. One of the requirements for this was to encode every token created with a unique ‘Token Identifier’ or TID, which is then stored in the meter to prevent token replay – 1 Token, 1 Meter, Only once!

The STS system was so successful that it has now become the only globally accepted open standard for prepayment systems, with over 70 million STS certified meters in over 100 countries.

With the latest version of the specification, STS Edition 2, the doors are now opened to an exciting world of ‘Smart STS Systems’ with two-way communication and powerful smart meter functionality, all whilst retaining the proven STS standards.

Watch the video on STS Edition 2 here

STS, the only globally accepted open standard for prepayment systems.

Simple, Trusted & Secure.

Twenty years after the first publication of the IEC 61850 standard in 2003, the utility transmission and distribution businesses and operating environments have changed beyond recognition.

Then the first tentative steps into the digital world were taken with the digitalization of substations.

Though the concept of smartening and automating the grids was starting to emerge with the rolling out of smart meters, successive technological advancements have opened more new and innovative applications.

Alongside this, the transition to net zero is leading to the accelerated integration of utility-scale and residential distributed energy sources to the grids, while wide-scale electrification across sectors such as transportation, heavy industry and home appliances is introducing changes and uncertainties unprecedented for the system operators.

At the same time, the legacy communications technologies that have formed the foundations of power grids today, such as time division multiplexing interfaces, and analogue E&M interfaces used in devices such as relays and remote terminal units, have passed beyond the end of their technology lifecycle, necessitating replacement with next generation devices.

With these developments, IEC 61850 has been expanded to offer a one-stop utility automation framework to meet the complex challenges of operating a dynamic, distributed, intelligent, multivendor grid, both now and in the future.

What are some IEC 61850 use cases?

The first publication of IEC 61850 aimed to enable open and interoperable digital information exchanges for substation automation applications.

Today, with the expansion of the scope of IEC 61850, utilities can use it for automation between substations, for automation between substations, control centres and data centres and for a range of grid-related applications including condition monitoring diagnosis, the transmission of synchrophasor information, power quality and distribution automation.

These are significant developments for power utilities. For example, distribution automation in the feeder domain of distribution grids with the automation of monitoring, protection, and restoration to improve reliability, safety and efficiency at the distribution level.

Similarly, synchrophasor data opens the way to optimizing line capacities and efficiencies and facilitating integration with distributed energy resources.

As an example of such a use case, Dominique Verhulst, Global Energy Practice Leader at Nokia, cites a fire mitigation initiative by a US utility that draws synchrophasor data from several points on the distribution network, which is aggregated and analyzed to recognize breaking conductors and from where a goose message can be sent to the appropriate line switches to de-energize the line “before it hits the ground”, mitigating the risk of fires.

Such new use cases rely on the latest high bandwidth, low latency networks, which also offer the opportunity to implement a true multi-vendor environment.

“With the standardizations in these protocols it opens up the opportunity for utilities to step closer to multivendor interoperability for protection and control systems,” he says.

What are the steps to implementing IEC 61850?

Turning to the practicalities and technicalities of an IEC 61850 implementation, Hansen Chan, Product Marketing Manager for Digital Industries at Nokia, advises that the starting point for a utility is to evaluate the status of its communications infrastructure.

Some issues to consider include the right connectivity to support applications – such as distribution automation – that are both bandwidth intensive and latency sensitive, whether in the substation domain or in the wide area network and down to the last mile to smart meters in the feeder domains.

“With software playing a more and more dominant role in grid operation, communication reliability is key as without connectivity there is no visibility. Then the grid control system just would not function.”

Chan mentions that another key consideration is the “human layer” at the organizational level.

“Implementing IEC 61850 is a multi-disciplinary effort, so you need everyone to be on the same page and to work together towards a single vision. There are different teams that need to be involved not just on the communications side but for example in IT, as new software such as ADMS being delivered in a virtualized compute environment, the data centre network has become a critical part of the communication infrastructure foundation for IEC 61850.”

Verhulst adds that this multi-disciplinary requirement mirrors the trend in utilities of new talent hires who are familiar with these technologies at both hardware and software levels.

This will support the ongoing development of IEC 61850 with their ability to develop new solutions around it.

“Our expectation is that IEC 61850 will keep evolving towards more centralized protection and control and centralized remedial actions schemes that are relying on the more recent variants of the protocols such as the routed goose and sampled values that are becoming popular with utilities.”

What are the components of the IEC 61850 communication infrastructure?

IEC 61850 communications start from the station and process buses in substations and extend to the grid edge via the field area network (FAN) as well as to the network control centre and data center via the wide area network.

Thus, a reliable and functioning communication infrastructure is key.

Chan highlights the “service-centric approach” of Nokia, saying that it is an essential requirement of such a network foundation to support many different grid applications.

“There will be more and more applications coming for which one will need more and more network virtual segmentation and so one needs to have a communication network platform that allows them to be rolled out as required,” he says.

Chan also emphasizes the importance of incorporating broadband wireless access technology such as LTE into the service-centric network in order to deploy IEC 61850-based assets at the grid edge where fiber is not available.

Verhulst states that Nokia’s solutions are very comprehensive with radio access networks that allow individual private wireless infrastructures based on LTE or 5G to be built and are based on a “strong utility focus”, considering elements such as the backhaul requirements and the substation communication elements.

“Our implementation is an end-to-end IP/MPLS solution including a full series of substation and wireless fieldrouters, packet microwave and DWDM optical transport as well as the backbone networking infrastructure.”

He adds that cybersecurity concerns also have been considered and that secure encryption and key cycling are provided to safeguard grid communications.

What are the benefits of an IEC 61850 implementation?

Some of the stated benefits of an IEC 61850 implementation include the ability to roll out applications in a unified manner, interoperability with legacy devices and future-proofing for new technology integrations.

Verhulst says that utilities with which Nokia has worked on network implementations have seen improvements in SAIDI averaging between 30% to 50%.

Further, a JRC study on UK utilities found that they could save around £13 billion (€15.2 billion/$16.5 billion) in grid infrastructure investment with their implementation.

He also returns to the interoperability benefits, saying that Nokia sees IEC 61850 as clearly indicating the trend of utilities being able to “pick and choose” from among the vendors.

“It’s not going to be about whose hardware or software we should buy but more about who has the best to do what we need.

“And added value is going to come with the innovation from the vendors so it’s an interesting move that we will see more of ahead in the next five to ten years.”

While home battery backups have gained popularity for reducing energy costs and carbon footprints, reliance on solar power during daylight hours and grid availability poses limitations. Grid-tied or off-grid solar systems with big batteries allow you to store excess clean energy and maintain power in the case of grid outages or power blackouts. BLUETTI, a top player in the energy storage field, is set to bring out another battery solution–EP800 in September this year. What is it exactly? And how does it differ from its predecessor – the EP900, which uses the same B500 battery packs? Let’s find out.

What is the BLUETTI EP800 & B500?

The BLUETTI EP800 & B500 is a 7,600W modular home energy storage system (ESS), featuring 9,000W PV input and scalable capacity from 9,920Wh to 19,840Wh. Similar to the EP900, it is widely compatible with existing or future solar systems for energy bill saving and blackout preparedness.

Besides their output performances, the main difference between EP800 and EP900 lies in their ability to connect to the utility grid. The former is a pure off-grid system, while the latter also supports on-grid connection, whose installation therefore could take several months with time-consuming paperwork and inspection processes.

With an easy and quick installation of a few hours, the EP800 is a blessing for those in urgent need of complete battery systems to pair with their solar setups.

Key features of the BLUETTI EP800 energy storage system

1. Flexible capacity from 9,920Wh to 19,840Wh
The EP800’s modular design allows users to tailor their energy storage capacity to their specific needs. By choosing two to four B500 battery packs, each providing 4,960Wh, you will have a customised capacity ranging from 9,920Wh to a maximum of 19,840Wh. According to a recent study showing that a small 10kWh solar ESS can meet backup needs for a 3-day outage in nearly all US counties, that energy storage could get you through a blackout lasting almost six days, or two days without solar power.

2. Powerful performance: 7,600W output and 9,000W solar input
The EP800 system delivers up to 7,600W power for the whole household. It can run both your 120V TVs and 240V pumps with ease. With dual MPPT charge controllers inside, the EP800 can maximise solar input at 9,000W, allowing you to easily reach power independence by solar. This also makes it an ideal choice for small businesses, farms and workplaces that are remote from the grid power.

3. Wide compatibility with solar panels
Whether you already have installed solar panels or plan to do so in the future, the EP800 seamlessly integrates into your solar panels with its DC-coupled connectivity. Generally, there are two types of electrical systems to connect a PV system to storage batteries, DC coupled and AC coupled. Rather than converting solar-generated DC power back and forth to AC power with unnecessary energy losses, a DC coupled system converts the DC solar power to AC only once that your home appliances use, making it more energy efficient.

4. Easy and quick installation: Indoor or outdoor
As an off-grid energy storage unit, the BLUETTI EP800 can be set up in a few hours with simple hook and screw steps. Even DIYers or homeowners interested in electricity can handle it. Instead of being mounted on the wall, it can be stacked vertically without damaging the wall or taking up too much space. With a NEMA 4X rating and quiet operation at less than 50dB, you can easily install it indoors or outdoors. Plus, BLUETTI offers an optional global installation team that can handle all the on-site work for you.

5. Durable design with 10 years warranty
Designed to be stylish and long-lasting, the EP800 is encased in a durable and corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy. It boasts a NEMA 4X rating for water, dust, and corrosion resistance. Using the safest LiFePO4 batteries available, the EP800 could have a at least ten-year lifespan. It also comes with an advanced BMS that prevents short circuits, overcharging and other potential hazards. To ensure hassle-free use, BLUETTI also backs it with a ten-year warranty.

6. Intelligent system: smart operation and easy control
The EP800 can adapt to varying weather conditions, regulating its discharging processes based on ambient temperature through its advanced thermal management technology. With the BLUETTI app, you can monitor system performance, track your power consumption and generation, and adjust settings remotely via WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity from anywhere at any time. Moreover, OTA updates are available for added convenience.

How to get the most out of the EP800 energy storage system

Get the power back in 20ms
The BLUETTI EP800 provides a stable and seamless power supply during emergencies and power failures. It takes less than 20ms to switch from grid power to its battery, providing stored power for all your essential appliances, large and small, such as refrigerators, dryers, water pumps, electric stoves, lights and medical equipment. An EP800 with two battery packs can power an average refrigerator for four days, or eight days with four packs. That means you can rest easy knowing that those steaks and ice creams will never again end up in the trash.

Enjoy power freedom
The EP800 could connect to solar panels for a maximum of 9,000W of solar charging. Even during power outages, there will be enough power in reserve to run your entire home. Two B500 packs, 9,920Wh of energy, equivalent to 3.3 hours of use of 2500W air conditioner, 140 hours of lighting (60W), and uninterrupted network connection. If you have a large family or experience a prolonged power cut, four B500 batteries will provide up to 19,840Wh of power, giving you peace of mind that your family will still live comfortably. This stronger battery system could power your 200W freezer for 84 hours, 500W washer for 33.5 hours and 2,000W oven for 8 hours. For others, power failures may mean disaster and hardship, with stinking piles of laundry and limited use of electronics. However, with the EP800 backup system in your home, a blackout is nothing more than a chance to show off your independence from the grid.

Benefit you and the Earth
The BLUETTI EP800 is an eco-friendly and quiet backup power source that runs on renewable energy instead of the fossil fuels of traditional generators. Unlike gas-powered generators that emit harmful gases into the environment when used, it produces no emissions or noise pollution, making it an environmentally friendly option for powering homes or businesses.

Availability
The BLUETTI EP800 energy storage system will be available on September 15 with a debut price starting from $5999.

Try BLUETTI EP800 free for 30 days! BLUETTI is currently running an Energy Freedom programme to help households reduce their energy bills and achieve power independence. Thirty households with monthly bills over $100 can apply for a free trial of the EP800 system for a full month. After the trial, they can either return the product at no cost or keep it for an incredible 40% off the retail price. Give it a try as the trial is totally money and worry free. All it takes is a few clicks to sign up, and BLUETTI will take care of everything from shipping to installation.

Limited offer, grab it now!

Conclusion

Some homeowners are still waiting in line for the pricey home backup solutions from Enphase, LG, Panasonic, FranklinWH and Tesla Powerwall. Others, however, have their eyes on affordable backup systems like the BLUETTI EP800 that are within easy reach. With this powerful device, you can keep your entire home running smoothly during a power outage, reduce your energy bills, and contribute to a more sustainable and greener planet.

About BLUETTI

BLUETTI has been committed to promoting sustainability and green energy solutions since its inception. By offering eco-friendly energy storage solutions for both indoor and outdoor use, BLUETTI aims to provide exceptional experiences for our homes while also contributing to a sustainable future for our planet. This commitment to sustainable energy has helped BLUETTI expand its reach to over 100 countries and gain the trust of millions of customers worldwide.

Put simply, smart metering is key to managing energy, water and gas consumption effectively. And critically, Lightweight Machine-to-Machine (LwM2M) technology plays a pivotal role in making smart metering more efficient and responsive. Let’s explore how.

Understanding smart metering

Smart metering solutions provide valuable, real-time insights into resource consumption. In contrast, traditional metering systems suffer from a host of limitations. These include infrequent data collection, reliance on manual readings and limited visibility into real-time consumption. These systems also often fail to detect anomalies or leaks promptly, leading to wastage and higher user costs.

But how does LwM2M fit in here? LwM2M both facilitates and improves smart metering. It has the capability to enhance its efficiency and accuracy (if the LwM2M data model is in use) while boosting its real-time monitoring capabilities.

Through IoT device management, LwM2M ensures seamless smart metering connectivity, transforming how we monitor resource use.

LwM2M: Unveiling the technology

At the heart of today’s smart metering revolution is the Lightweight Machine-to-Machine (LwM2M) technology, designed for efficiency, scale and interoperability. Key features and advantages include:

• Lightweight: Consumes less bandwidth and power, making it cost-effective and ideal for large-scale IoT deployments. With LwM2M, IoT-based smart metering systems can offer massive benefits without bloated hardware and data storage.
• Efficient: Enhanced transmission rates enable swift and accurate data flow.
• Remote management: IoT device management is seamless, offering real-time monitoring and control.

In smart metering, LwM2M has a capability to foster robust machine-to-machine communication. It may simplify data transmission, making it faster and more reliable, and amplifies remote management capabilities, transforming how we monitor and control infrastructure elements such as routers, gateways and last but not least smart meters.

LwM2M in energy consumption monitoring

LwM2M supercharges smart metering systems, boosting their capabilities in energy management:

• Real-time data: LwM2M enables instantaneous data collection and analysis, offering immediate feedback to consumers. The result? Smarter, more efficient energy use.
• Demand response programmes: LwM2M can integrate with these programmes, allowing utility providers to adjust power production based on real-time demand, reducing waste and improving service reliability.
• Predictive maintenance: Leveraging LwM2M, IoT-based smart metering systems can predict maintenance needs, preventing malfunctions before they occur.

In essence, LwM2M transforms cellular IoT smart meters into proactive, precise instruments for energy monitoring and management, offering yet more benefits of smart metering.

LwM2M in water metering

LwM2M is a game changer in the field of smart water metering, driving accuracy and sustainability:

• Accurate measurement: By enabling precise data collection, LwM2M ensures consumers are only charged for actual water usage.
• Leak detection: The technology allows for early detection of leaks, preventing wastage and reducing utility bills.
• Remote monitoring: With LwM2M, consumers have real-time insight into their water consumption, promoting conscious usage and sustainability.

Essentially, LwM2M empowers consumers with the data they need to make informed decisions, optimizing water use.

LwM2M in gas metering

LwM2M transforms the landscape of gas metering, heightening safety and efficiency:

• Real-time monitoring: LwM2M enables live tracking and analysis of gas consumption, ensuring optimal usage and cost-efficiency.
• Anomaly detection: The technology excels in spotting irregular gas usage, helping prevent wastage.
• Leak prevention and safety: LwM2M enhances safety by promptly identifying potential gas leaks, helping to prevent accidents and property damage.

By integrating LwM2M into gas metering systems, users gain a more detailed, real-time understanding of their consumption habits. It’s a leap forward in gas safety and efficiency.

Final thoughts on LwM2M

LwM2M isn’t just a step forward in smart metering; it’s a leap. Revolutionizing energy, water, and gas management delivers real-time insights, enhanced safety and waste reduction. It’s not just about better resource management; it’s about smarter, more sustainable living. The future of smart metering is here, powered by LwM2M.

About AVSystem:

At AVSystem, we pride ourselves on being a trusted and reliable partner for IoT deployments. We understand that proper device management is crucial to the success of any IoT project, which is why we have built our reputation on providing best-in-class solutions to ensure that our clients achieve scalability, interoperability and security.

Website: https://www.avsystem.com/coiote-iot-device-management-platform/ 

Anjay IoT SDK: https://www.avsystem.com/anjay/

Coiote IoT Device Management Platform: https://www.avsystem.com/coiote-iot-device-management-platform/

The forecast demand is a new challenge surfacing for the US, which now needs to face exponentially increasing demand for critical minerals.

This is according to the New York-based financial information and analytics company’s study, Inflation Reduction Act: Impact on North America metals and minerals report, which finds that the historic policy is accelerating demand for critical minerals and copper that are vital to energy transition technologies.

They add that ensuring enough qualifying supply to meet that demand faces ‘considerable challenges’.

Accelerated demand

Namely, US energy transition demand from clean tech such as EVs, charging infrastructure, solar PV, wind and batteries, will continue to accelerate and be materially higher for lithium (+15%), cobalt (+14%) and nickel (+13%) by 2035 than was projected before the IRA was enacted in August 2022.

According to the study, demand for copper will be 12% higher by 2035 than pre-IRA projections. Copper is not currently listed as a critical mineral in the United States and does not qualify for IRA tax credits. However, its role as the “metal of electrification” makes it vital to the energy transition and demand for it will rise as it is used alongside critical minerals in energy transition applications.

Adding the post-IRA demand increases on top of demand growth that was already expected prior to the IRA becoming law means that total combined energy transition-related demand for lithium, nickel and cobalt will be 23 times higher in 2035 than it was in 2021. Total demand for copper will be twice as high, the study finds.

Have you read:
Critical minerals investments surged by 30% finds IEA
IRENA warns monopoly of critical materials market a risk to energy transition

While post-IRA demand is expected to be materially higher, securing enough supply under the law’s sourcing requirements faces considerable challenges, the study says. To qualify for IRA tax credits, processing and/or extraction of critical minerals used must be in the US and/ or in a country with which the US has a free trade agreement (FTA); and that sourcing cannot involve a “foreign entity of concern.”

Commenting on the study was Daniel Yergin, S&P Global’s vice chairman: “This new comprehensive analysis shows that the Inflation Reduction Act is indeed transformative on the demand side.

“However, challenges remain in securing supply of critical minerals needed to meet growing demand and achieve its goal of accelerating the energy transition.”

Material breakdown

Of the four materials analysed in the study, only lithium is likely to be sufficiently supplied to the United States under the IRA’s domestic content requirements, given already-planned capacity additions in the United States and other FTA countries such as Chile, Canada and Australia, the study finds.

Cobalt and nickel were both found to be unlikely to be sourced at levels high enough to meet demand.

While there is enough cobalt produced in FTA countries to meet the IRA domestic sourcing requirement, the United States does not currently source most of its cobalt from those countries. Doing so would require a challenging reorientation of trading patterns across several countries given intense international competition for resources, the study says.

Nickel was found to be the most challenged in terms of supply. There does not appear to be enough nickel supply in FTA countries to meet demand under the IRA requirements—even if all primary nickel production in FTA countries was exported to the US.

While copper is not subject to sourcing requirements under the IRA, ensuring access to enough supply to meet US demand post-IRA is also at risk, the study says. The United States will become more reliant on imports as growing demand for energy transition-related end markets outpace domestic supply.

Also of interest:
US and EU to coordinate critical mineral strategy
What’s in the Net Zero Industry and Critical Raw Materials Acts?

For example, the United States relies on one country, Chile, for 60% of refined copper imports. However, for Chile the United States accounts for only 20% of its refined copper exports. The United States could struggle to secure additional supplies from Chile if other markets that represent a larger share of Chilean exports also compete for that supply.

The increasing reliance of the United States on imports as energy transition demand grows places new emphasis and urgency on challenges such as long lead times and permitting complexities that prolong development of domestic resources, the study says. S&P Global data on 127 mines across the world that began production between 2002 and 2023 shows that a major new resource discovery today would not become a productive mine until 2040 or later.

Copper represents a particular opportunity in the United States, which country possesses more than 70 million tons of an untapped copper endowment, equivalent to more than 20 years of US copper demand, even at the level of peak energy transition-related demand in 2035, the study says.

“Timely and transparent permitting is a fundamental operational challenge to supplying metals for the energy transition, particularly in developed markets such as the United States that have high levels of transparency and both political and civil society scrutiny of policy,” said Mohsen Bonakdarpour, executive director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“Expediting permitting reform while meeting environmental and community concerns has become a central topic in boosting mineral supply for the energy transition.”

Also on the radar is significant growth from Chameleon Technologies, which announced their 10 millionth smart meter IHD as well as Greenbird’s acquisition by energy giant GE Vernova.

Nikola Motors shares on the fall

Nikola Motors, an Arizona-headquartered electric truck maker, has voluntarily recalled 209 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) after reporting a coolant leak as the cause of an EV truck fire at their headquarters earlier this year.

A temporary hold has been placed on Nikola’s BEV sales.

“The safety of customers, dealers and team members are Nikola’s top priority,” stated the company in a press release last Friday as days later the company’s stock plummeted.

According to Bloomberg reportage, the company’s shares fell by up to 20% at the start of the week, a trend signalling another nail to the coffin after the company’s shares were recorded as falling 98% from their peak reached in June 2020.

Internal investigations from Nikola’s safety and engineering teams indicated a single supplier component within the battery pack as the likely source of the coolant leak.

Have you read:
Hawaiian Electric accused of mismanagement in Maui wildfire wake
The utility’s role in wildfire mitigation

“At Nikola we take safety very seriously,” said Steve Girsky, Nikola’s CEO. “We stated from the beginning that as soon as our investigations were concluded we would provide an update, and we will continue our transparency as we learn more.”

The company’s initial statement on the fire in June alluded to foul play as a possible cause, although a review has since suggested foul play or other external factors were unlikely.

Although the Class 8 Tre BEV’s have been recalled, the company has stated that their hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), which are currently in production, will not be affected as they make use of a different battery design.

According to the company’s Q2 2023 report, 18 customers placed orders to Nikola and dealers for over 200 hydrogen FCEVs.

Nikola Corporation designs and manufactures heavy-duty BEVs, FCEVs and energy infrastructure solutions, such as energy storage systems and hydrogen charging station infrastructure, through its brand HYLA, which was launched in January this year to oversee the company’s energy products for producing, distributing and dispensing hydrogen.

The BEV case follows the company naming a fourth CEO after Michael Lohscheller stepped down earlier this month due to family concerns, leading to the company losing more than a quarter of its market value, states Reuters. Lohscheller was replaced by former General Motors executive Stephen Girsky.

Nikola has flagged “substantial doubts” about its ability to continue as a going concern for the next year, reiterating its warning for the third time since February, as it awaits “critical” additional capital.

The news from Nikola also comes as concerns rise over fires caused by EV batteries.

Research released in February this year, Full-scale fire testing of battery electric vehicles, finds that although the characteristics of BEV fires are similar to those of traditional passenger vehicles, jet flames caused by thermal runaway – a result of exponential increases in heat within the battery cell – “accelerates the fire spread to other combustibles of BEVs”.

Thus, states the researchers, thermal runaway and reignition mark major risks to first responders.

Also from Smart Energy Finances:
How the faltering grid drives investment
IMServ’s strategic smart metering acquisition to tap MHHS

GE Vernova acquires Greenbird

Energy major GE Vernova’s digital business has acquired Greenbird Integration Technology AS, a data integration platform company focused on utilities.

The acquisition comes 10 years after Greenbird’s launch; the company’s platform will accelerate GridOS, which the company calls “the world’s first software portfolio designed specifically for grid orchestration, adding new capabilities for connecting systems and integrating data across the grid more easily and at scale”.

The financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

The Greenbird acquisition is hoped to expand the capabilities of GE Vernova’s data fabric, eliminating data silos to make it faster and easier to connect and aggregate energy data, reducing the time and expense of data integration projects.

Responding to Smart Energy International was Frederik ten Sythoff, Greenbird VP of communication and marketing, who commented on the company’s outlook after the successful acquisition:

“As a company, we are proud that we have contributed with our thought leadership to highlight the importance for utilities to move into a data-driven future and with our technology to simplify this transition for them.

“We see the challenges in the industry are getting bigger and bigger. We need a much bigger focus and bigger solutions to make an impact. We’re using data to accelerate the industry and world to sustainable energy.

“GE Vernova has a legacy and proven track record to address these unique challenges we are facing in the energy sector. The acquisition is a strong signal and commitment to utilities, partners, and the industry of the strength of GridOS and the important role it’ll play in accelerating a more sustainable energy grid.”

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Chameleon Tech’s 10 millionth IHD and significant growth

UK-based smart energy technology business Chameleon Technology has announced the manufacturing and delivery of its 10 millionth in-home display (IHD), a record they state for the industry, enabling insights into energy consumption for consumers through “visible, transparent, real-time data” they state in a release.

The IHDs connect to energy providers’ smart meters to help consumers track their energy use and costs. By the end of the UK smart meter rollout, two in every three homes are projected to have a Chameleon Technology IHD, according to the company.

The announcement of the milestone was followed by the opening of new offices for the clean tech company in the UK, after being awarded over £3.6 million ($4.6 million) in government funding for additional projects, including the Green Home Finance Accelerator (GHFA).

The GHFA aims to make available innovation funding for the development of green finance products which can enable the uptake of home energy efficiency, low carbon heating and micro-generation retrofit measures in the UK.

Through their award, Chameleon Technology’s HTC-UP project will aim to help domestic homeowners looking to improve their home’s energy efficiency, with initial support tailored to the needs of landlords.

The funding will be used to assess the viability of a “one-stop-shop for energy efficiency improvements” they state, from initial assessment to financing.

Heat Transfer Co-efficient (HTC) technology will be used to provide homeowners with an accurate measurement of a property’s energy efficiency rather than having to rely on the survey-based method used to produce current EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) ratings.

The HTC algorithm takes smart meter data and internal temperature readings, collected through the ivie Bud in-home display, and combines these with external temperature readings gained from third party weather data.

This combination of data is hoped to create a much more accurate measurement of how much heat is escaping the home, leading to a more precise carbon-efficiency score for the property.

What are your thoughts about the financial insecurities that come with investments in new technologies?

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Yusuf Latief
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Smart Energy International

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And with the UK government aiming to generate 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, I believe the sector’s technology needs to undergo significant modernisation efforts if it’s to adequately support the rollout of sustainable energy solutions.

By Stephen Magennis, Head of Energy & Utilities, EU at Expleo

It’s a sentiment that resonates across the industry. For instance, our recent Business Transformation Index research found half of energy business leaders believe digital transformation is crucial for enhancing access to affordable power amid our current energy crisis.

However, the research also revealed that E&U organisations face several key barriers to adopting transformative technologies, such as technology immaturity, exposure to cybersecurity risks, and the skills gap. In this piece, I’ll explore these challenges and discuss how they can be overcome.

Technology as a vehicle for change

Over the past few years, the energy sector has demonstrated that technology can be a driver of sustainable change. This is exemplified in the numerous eco-friendly breakthroughs we’ve seen – from industrial heat pumps to solar powered trains.

In a sector that has traditionally been difficult to digitalise, the rate of transformation is picking up pace, a trend I expect to continue. For example, energy leaders now see the modernisation of data management as a key business priority. With its potential to provide flexibility, balance demand for intermittent renewables and drive efficiencies for suppliers, the benefits of accurate real-time data are evident.

On the infrastructure side, modernising data management can help facilitate the roll-out of smart grids to deliver data-driven operations, and enable better decision-making, predictive maintenance, and energy distribution. This translates to a more reliable and resilient system as E&U decision-makers utilise real-time data to improve planning and efficiency.

However, despite all this progress, nearly half (44%) of energy business leaders believe they will miss deadlines to deliver digital change in 2023 – up from 17% in 2022.

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The barriers to digital transformation

Among our clients, we’re seeing resources and attention being diverted towards the effects of the energy crisis. It has heavily interrupted the delivery of transformation projects, including efforts to decarbonise or pivot away from hydrocarbons.

For instance, energy sector business transformation plans are still being hampered by the immaturity of certain key technologies, such as batteries, energy storage and carbon capture solutions. And the volatile investment climate and uncertainty around government support for these technologies in some markets is only exacerbating the issue.

Cybersecurity is also causing concern, with 65% of energy leaders expect their organisations to be victims of cyber-attack or data breaches in the next 12 months. There appears to be greater awareness around critical infrastructure vulnerabilities and the risk of attacks from cyber criminals, but there are still defensive gaps that need to be plugged.

Finally, 83% of leaders agree they’ve under-invested in the technological skills base of their employees. This has hindered transformation plans, as skilled professionals are integral to rolling out new technology across an organisation.

Looking to the future

For E&U companies, the focus must be on overcoming these barriers to technology deployment whilst addressing the sustainability agenda.

It starts with a focus on modernising technology they use, so they’re able to maintain accurate and up-to-date data. With existing operational models relying heavily on legacy systems and complex assets, it’s re-assuring that data management, quality, and governance are energy leaders’ top priorities.

At the heart of this solution lies talent. Addressing the sector’s skills gaps will require both internal training and external support to equip workforces with digital skills and encourage innovation. To ease the pressure in the short term, businesses can look to increase engagement with temporary or contractual labour who are experienced in the adoption of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI).

And it should all be underpinned by a robust cybersecurity strategy. When working to modernise their technology infrastructure, businesses must create and maintain robust cybersecurity measures such as regular vulnerability assessments, strong encryption, and continuous threat monitoring. Energy organisations should also focus on implementing employee cyber awareness and best practice.

Overall, these technological challenges need to be overcome quickly to develop solutions that benefit consumers and meet net-zero targets. Because if these issues can be addressed, businesses will also improve their operational resilience as they will have clearer understanding of their vulnerabilities. As such, they’ll be more adept at plugging these holes and better optimise their operational functions – significantly increasing their competitive advantage in the process.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen Magennis has been managing director and head of energy & utilities, EU at Expleo since 2019.

According to the Group’s 2023 ISG Provider Lens Power and Utilities – Services and Solutions report for Europe, European governments are seeking to blunt the impact of unprecedented energy inflation and utilities are stepping up investments in upgrading infrastructure.

“Utilities are under constant pressure to reduce operating costs and improve customer service,” said Ola Chowning, ISG partner, North Europe. “That is why many of them are turning to providers that offer digitally managed intelligent solutions.”

The growing shift toward clean energy is fundamentally changing the dynamics of the European power and utilities sector, ISG says, and in addition to pursuing self-reliance, the goals of achieving net-zero and decarbonisation are now driving investments in the sector.

Have you read:
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Specifically, states ISG’s report, the following trends are impacting Europe’s power and utility industry and its quest for self reliance:

Industry convergence

The need for sustainable energy sources and net-zero targets has started to blur the distinction between oil and gas or power and utilities industries. Oil and gas and power generation companies have begun moving toward becoming new energy companies through green and sustainable efforts like renewable and hydrogen projects.

‘Brown industries’ have started to invest in clean tech as utilities are moving away from being ‘only’ transmission and distribution companies or retailers. They are starting to invest in sustainable technologies like e-mobility or its related infrastructure needs, with decarbonisation a critical factor. Such industry convergence has led to unlocking newer revenue streams for these companies.

Aging infrastructure and rising costs

Many nuclear and thermal power generation units are nearing the end of their lifetime and require upgrading or replacement with new-age units. Compared to initial asset installation, the demand has also increased multi-fold, resulting in the maximizing the lifecycles of these assets and infrastructure.

Even first-generation sustainable power generation equipment such as wind and hydro turbines have almost reached the end of their lifecycle to be decommissioned. The current transmission and distribution infrastructure and its supporting grid infrastructure also face the challenge of needing an upgrade or replacement.

Given the current energy needs in the region, power generation companies and utilities are compelled to run the assets at maximum output, resulting in faster wear and tear of the infrastructure. The cost of replacing the entire asset at once is next to impossible, therefore power generation companies are incurring increased costs.

Asset resilience and rising operating costs

As noted, power generation companies and utilities are becoming more concerned about asset resilience.

Due to the age of these assets, there are increased possibilities of unplanned outages. The average load uncertainty due to volatility in hourly demand also creates possibilities for unplanned outages and sub-optimal asset performance.

This results in increased operational costs and an inability to meet the demand; therefore, asset resiliency services are much sought after so providers can maintain their current generation and distribution output.

Energy consumerism and customer expectations

The choice of selecting an energy supplier rests with the end customer. This has led to market reforms, linking the retail and the wholesale markets closer as consumers are provided access to information, especially on the costs and the source of energy generated, which is reaching the end customer.

The open market policy in Europe has brought competition onto the wholesale market to keep a check on pricing levels. Given environmental concerns, some customers prefer energy supply from a sustainable source, and some have even installed greener energy sources (solar PV) in their individual properties.

This trend has increased consumer expectations for an enhanced experience from the initial touchpoint.

Self-reliance for the future utility

Digital has been the buzzword for the future of the utility.

To address the above-observed trends and other business challenges, power and utility companies have started their digital transformation journeys by adapting new-age and next-generation technologies.

Digital transformation in the power and utilities sector would enable the move toward sustainable sources, increase asset performance and improve customer experiences while also meeting regulatory requirements.

With increasing levels of variable renewable energy generation being added, the management of the grid is becoming increasingly complex – and especially so in the case of extreme weather events or other disasters, natural or otherwise, requiring increasingly advanced modelling and computational techniques.

While investigations are starting on the use of quantum computers for certain power grid problems, the next generation of supercomputers emerging are exascale computers, which bring a significant increase in performance able to perform more than a billion, billion or a quintillion operations per second – or 1 exaflop in computing parlance.

In the initiative, part of the ExaSDG project, LLNL-developed software capable of optimising the grid’s response to potential disruption events under different weather scenarios was run on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Frontier supercomputer, believed to be the current fastest in the world.

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The open-source optimisation solver, HiOp, was run on 9,000 nodes of the Frontier machine.

In the simulation, the researchers were able to determine safe and cost-optimal power grid setpoints over 100,000 possible grid failures and weather scenarios in just 20 minutes.

In it security-constrained optimal power flow was emphasised, as a reflection of the real-world voltage and frequency restrictions the grid must operate within to remain safe and reliable.

For comparison, system operators using commodity computing hardware typically consider up to only about 100 hand-picked contingencies and up to 10 weather scenarios.

LLNL computational mathematician and principal investigator Cosmin Petra says the goal was to show that the exascale computers are capable of exhaustively solving this problem in a manner that is consistent with current practices that power grid operators have.

“Because the list of potential power grid failures is large, this problem is very computationally demanding. We showed that the operations and planning of the power grid can be done under an exhaustive list of failures and weather-related scenarios.”

With this the software stack could be used for example, to minimise disruptions caused by hurricanes or wildfires, or to engineer the grid to be more resilient under such scenarios.

A key issue for the wider use of the optimisation software is the cost benefit for grid operators.

Petra says in a statement that while a cost-benefit analysis was not done due to confidentiality restrictions and is not yet known, it is likely that a 5% improvement in operations cost would justify a high-end parallel computer, while anything less than 1% improvement would require downsizing the scale of computations.

Other participants in the project were the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

With the demonstration completed, the LLNL research team hope to engage more closely with power industry grid stakeholders and draw in more HiOp users for optimisation with the goal of parallelising those computations and bringing them into the realm of high performance computing.

ExaSGD project

The ExaSGD project is developing algorithms and techniques to address the challenges of maintaining the integrity of the grid under adverse conditions imposed by natural or human-made causes.

ExaGO, the power system modelling framework, the latest version of which was released in February 2023, is the first grid application to run on Frontier.

Frontier was built in partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and AMD and was the first computer to achieve exascale performance in 2022 – at the time being 2.5 times faster than the next fastest ranked.

It is comprised of 74 cabinets with over 9,400 CPUs and almost 38,000 GPUs along with 250PB of storage and achieves its speed essentially with parallel processing of information.

With imposed and self-imposed deadlines drawing nearer, consumer concerns about the seriousness of climate change remain high with over half of consumers (56%) stating the climate change is serious or very serious.

“Our sustainability index highlights how much work there is to do help consumers understand clean energy goals and the plans in place to meet the goals,” said Andrew Heath, senior director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power.

Why is this a problem?

The electric grid will require an increased level of customer participation as renewable energy adoption continues. Customers will need to charge electric vehicles at specific times and avoid using excess energy during times of high stress on the grid. This requires an educated consumer who understands how their own energy use impacts the grid and understands the reasons they are being asked to use energy differently. In short, customer buy-in about (or at least awareness of) utility sustainability targets, will help them understand the ‘why’ behind any requests to alter energy use in any way.

“Sustainability is now a strategic focus for electric utilities, and an increasingly critical focus for public policy makers at all levels. Utilities are not in an enviable position, to say the least,” added Heath.

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Communication and customer education is a winning strategy to foster greater customer engagement around sustainability.

“Clear communication about their clean energy goals and plans will build the customer support needed to deliver on these plans,” Heath said.

Following are some key findings of the 2023 index:

Low customer awareness for utility climate initiatives: Overall, just 19% of electric utility customers are aware that their utility has declared a goal to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. The overall sustainability scores for electric utilities evaluated in the study—which are based on customer awareness, engagement and advocacy for their local utility’s climate initiatives—is 28 (on a 100-point scale), unchanged from 2022.

Few customers feel utilities will reach their goals: Just 26% of electric utility customers say they believe utilities will reach their goal of 100% clean energy. Moreover, the number of customers who say they believe a lot can be done to reduce climate change has declined steadily to 37.3% this year from 40.3% in 2020. More than half (52.7%) of customers say they believe climate change is serious or very serious.

Highest-scoring utilities: Sacramento Municipal Utility District has the highest score for a third consecutive year at 35. Other top performers include NextEra Energy (34), Portland General Electric (34), DTE Energy (32) and Southern Company (32).

Following is the full list of electric utility companies and cities that were evaluated, along with their index score:

“In the long run, an inability to deliver on stated carbon reduction targets will negatively affect credibility and will give regulators and politicians a foothold for increased intervention and closer oversight. Now is the time for utilities to capitalize on widespread customer concern about climate change to proactively share the steps they are taking,” said Heath.

The Sustainability Index evaluates electric utility customer awareness, support, engagement and advocacy for their local utility’s climate sustainability programs and goals. The index applies to the 35 largest U.S. electric utility companies and cities, each serving 500,000 or more residential customers. The study is based on responses from 70,486 business and residential electric utility customers and was fielded from June 2022 through May 2023.

Originally published on Power Grid.

Substation automation is a method of using data from intelligent electronic devices to control and automate substations and controlling power systems devices through commands from remote users.

The overall demand for the tech, as forecast by Future Market Insights in Substation Automation Market Snapshot (2023 to 2033), will grow by a CAGR of 6.7% between now and 2032.

The key driver of this market, states the research company, is to reduce human intervention and improve the operating efficiency of the system. Increasing developments in SCADA and communication technologies, along with rising demand for renewable energy projects, are also determinants in the market’s growth.

Smart grid investments

The report outlines how heavy investments within the smart grid space have been developing, indicating the growing recognition of this tech as much needed. Namely, it will help reduce operational as well as maintenance costs, increase plant productivity and ensure high performance, reliability and safety of electrical power network performance.

For instance, in May 2018, they state, Natural Resource Canada announced an investment of $949,000 for a next-generation smart grid project.

The grid project focuses on promoting the adoption of renewable sources of energy and the implementation of technology to integrate new sources of clean energy without compromising the stability and reliability of existing grids.

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Key market players

The North American substation automation market was forecast by the market report to accumulate the highest market share of 36.0% in 2022. On a geographic basis, North America is anticipated to be the largest market for substation automation, owing to the increasing popularity and adoption of advanced intelligent electronic device and communication technologies.

Factors such as increasing investment in energy infrastructure by different governments due to increasing urbanisation and higher energy demand is one of the major factors that is expected to boost this growth over the report’s forecast period.

In addition, increasing dependence on electricity, demand from the power system for advanced technology, requirements to reduce maintenance and operating costs and implementation of government incentives are primary drivers for the country’s market size.

In the Asia Pacific, the market is expected to accumulate a market share of 32.5% this year and is expected to continue to maintain the trend over the forecast period.

The Government of India in particular was found by the research to have launched several schemes to revive power distribution utilities and electrify villages, indicating a strong smart infrastructure vision for the country.

Such rural electrification and the presence of companies bringing in advancements in electrical equipment are expected to strengthen regional growth in the market for the Asia Pacific.

According to the report, in Europe, the market is expected to accumulate a share value of 30% this year. Specifically, the research lists increasing demand for smart grids and increasing adoption of renewable as resulting in major revenue-generating countries across the continent.

By John Kalthoff, Corteva Agriscience

Part of the issue at hand is driven by ecological and environmental factors. While earlier snowmelt and delayed rainfall have led to extended drought in recent years, tree mortality and the spread of invasive plants have provided more fuel sources for wildfires.

But what’s igniting wildfires in the first place? Although unattended campfires, acts of arson, and lightning are common culprits, a recent five-year study conducted by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention found that electrical power causes nearly 10% of wildfires annually.

In addition to posing a threat to electrical transmission reliability, fallen trees can impact energized conductors and lead to downed powerlines, both of which can ignite wildfires. To make matters worse, woody plants and other brush species can be ladder fuels, which carry low-burning wildfires to taller vegetation. These issues alone give utility vegetation managers reason to prioritise brush control as part of their annual right-of-way (ROW) management programmes. However, industry research has shown that not all brush control strategies deliver the same results.

Considerations for Brush Control

The best way for electric utilities to reduce wildfire risks is to selectively control incompatible trees and brush species throughout their right-of-way corridors. This selectivity is crucial, as it allows vegetation managers to eliminate threats to utility infrastructure without causing harm to desirable plant species that strengthen wildfire mitigation programmes.

Despite the benefits selective control strategies can provide, some electric utilities still use mechanical mowing practices to manage incompatible plant species. As a nonselective approach to vegetation control, exclusive mowing practices decimate all plant species, stimulating costly regrowth and spreading incompatible seeds along the way.

Fortunately, utility vegetation managers can use Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) strategies to avoid these detrimental issues. That’s because IVM programmes, using industry best management practices, complement mechanical and biological control methods with targeted applications of selective herbicides, which strengthen woody plant management and minimize off-target control issues. As a result, industry practitioners can successfully yield landscapes that are compatible with not only utility infrastructure but also wildfire mitigation programmes.

Supported by Environmental ROW Research

Findings generated by the State Game Lands 33 (SGL 33) research project in central Pennsylvania, which has analysed the ecological impact of different vegetation control methods since the early 1950s, have indicated the benefits of using IVM strategies to manage incompatible plant species throughout utility rights-of-way. For example, when SGL 33 researchers with Pennsylvania State University recently tested five common control methods on 2.5 to 3-acre plots to determine which strategies best support the establishment of tree-resistant cover types throughout utility rights-of-way, selective applications of nonselective herbicide chemistries yielded the most promising results.

Each plot included a 95-foot wire zone and 30-foot border zone on each side of the transmission line corridor. In addition to hand-cutting and mechanical mowing practices, three herbicide-based control methods were tested:

• High-volume foliar
• Low-volume foliar
• Low-volume basal

Three years after treatment, SGL 33 data showed that low-volume and high-volume foliar herbicide applications predominately yielded lower incompatible stem densities in the wire zone and border zone than their mechanical counterparts. (See Graph 1)

Lower stem counts were observed on plots treated with low-volume basal applications. It’s worth noting that no incompatible trees were recorded in the wire zone of one of the plots treated with a low-volume basal application, and a second low-volume basal plot yielded stem counts lower than mechanically treated sites.

“Reducing incompatible stem counts throughout utility rights-of-way provides multiple benefits to electric utilities and their vegetation management partners,” said Jerome Otto, market development specialist, Corteva Agriscience. “You’re not only enhancing electrical service reliability by protecting utility infrastructure; you’re also achieving results that can help safeguard adjacent communities from the devastating effects of wildfires.”

As a longtime funding partner of SGL 33, Corteva Agriscience shares findings from the long-standing environmental research study to help industry partners understand how different vegetation control strategies can help them improve cost-efficiency, enhance environmental sustainability and reduce the risk of wildfire. As far as the brand’s industry experts are concerned, electric utilities and their vegetation management partners have a significant opportunity to achieve these benefits through IVM, especially if they prioritise selectivity.

“SGL 33 research has indicated the benefits of integrating various herbicide applications as part of an IVM-based approach,” said Darrell Russell, market development specialist, Corteva Agriscience. “Industry practitioners can further enhance these positive results and reduce incompatible stem counts by selectively treating targeted vegetation with selective herbicide chemistries. By only controlling plant species that represent the greatest threats, vegetation managers can help beneficial plant communities thrive, which positively impacts right-of-way management programmes, the environment, and surrounding communities.”

In addition to reducing incompatible stem densities — which eliminates flammable trees and creates ample spacing between less flammable plant species — targeted applications of selective chemistries can complement IVM-based programmes by supporting the development of beneficial grasses and forbs. In turn, these low-growing plant communities yield multiple benefits for ROW management and wildfire mitigation programmes, including:

Fewer ladder fuels

High-risk fire areas are often riddled with numerous ladder fuels, such as low-lying trees and brush species. By supplementing mechanical and biological control methods with selective applications of selective herbicide chemistries, IVM programmes can prevent the establishment and growth of ladder fuels, which reduces the risk of flames reaching canopy heights.

Fuel break establishment

Selective herbicide treatments can help vegetation managers establish fuel breaks throughout utility rights-of-way, which can impede the spread of wildfire. Starting in the wire zone, vegetation managers can use herbicide treatments to control trees and other forms of tall-growing plant species to help establish fuel breaks composed of grasses, herbs and small shrubs. These low-growing plant communities reduce the risk of power line interference and inhibit flames from spreading, which allows firefighters to suppress the flames more safely and effectively.

Reduced maintenance input costs

Put simply, using IVM practices to reduce the amount of incompatible stems and ladder fuels throughout utility ROW can effectively lower maintenance costs over time. With less vegetation to maintain, industry practitioners can reallocate resources to at-risk sites or other programme needs. 

Biodiverse habitat support

By supporting the development of beneficial grasses and forbs, IVM programmes also enhance habitat biodiversity for bees, butterflies and a variety of other native wildlife species. Intentionally managing both compatible and incompatible vegetation also can qualify IVM programmes for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting when associated practices prove to yield no net loss or net positive impact on biodiversity.

Partnership Opportunities

Electric utilities aren’t the only entities that can positively impact wildfire mitigation efforts. While foresters and federal agencies can complete fuel-reduction projects to support timber harvest plans, city and state agencies can establish fuel breaks along roadsides to improve transportation routes during wildfires and related emergencies. State and national parks also can remove dead and hazardous trees to reduce the amount of flammable vegetation throughout at-risk areas.

“We’ve seen electric utilities assist private companies and federal agencies with logging activities near their right-of-way corridors,” Otto said. “This work includes the removal of controlled trees that otherwise interfere with line-clearance requirements. Instead of increasing fuel loads by leaving that brush on site, some entities use chippers to manually broadcast woody plants at lower levels throughout previously treated areas.”

Put simply, building relationships and effectively communicating with like-minded entities can help utility vegetation managers synchronize their treatment cycles, enhance fuel break establishment and mitigate wildfire risks throughout ROW corridors and adjacent land. While some landowners are skeptical of certain IVM practices, including herbicide applications, this cooperative support can improve public perception concerning best practices for wildfire mitigation efforts.

“We care for the land as much as the people who live on or adjacent to it,” Otto said. “The more vegetation managers and their industry partners can educate landowners on the benefits and objectives IVM-based strategies achieve, the more we’ll be able to drive communal understanding. What’s good for utility infrastructure also can be good for the land and surrounding communities. We’re working to spread that message far and wide.”

Originally published on Power Grid International.

About the Author

John Kalthoff is a portfolio marketing lead with Corteva Agriscience. In his role, he leverages more than 30 years of experience to provide product marketing leadership for the U.S. Land Management (non-crop vegetation management) business. He is based out of Indianapolis, IN.

The Association, which was launched formally in May 2022 and now counts 32 members, was founded to bring together industry players within an open environment to share and develop standards and technologies for grid components that can support the delivery of net zero carbon emissions.

Through the Associations, members are able to access the global standards that Enel uses for its tenders, as well as to propose new standards or modifications to the existing ones.

Among the benefits envisaged by Enel at launch is the potential for an increased supply of components that conform to its standards, increasing the market reserve and lowering the costs through both competition and economies of scale.

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This convergence is then expected to provide an accelerator to the energy transition beyond that which a company such as Enel could deliver alone.

The work of the OPGA is carried out through ten technical committees made up of more than 120 representatives. These include transformers, HV lines, HV equipment, MV/LV lines, MV/LV equipment, protection and control devices, emergency equipment, HV and MV/LV systems and standardisation of sustainable certifications.

With its growing membership, the Association is focused on aiming higher, in particular on expanding the network of collaboration among distribution operators, component and technology suppliers and consulting and engineering firms, alongside its other core activities.

Most recently the Association was also promoted at CIRED 23, where Francesco Amadei, Head of Engineering and Construction in Enel Grids and OPGA President, highlighted the significant involvement of members in its work.

“A year since the launch of the OPGA, the skilled and major efforts of stakeholders will soon materialise in the issuing of its first functional specification,” he announced.

“The OPGA’s co-design approach, aimed at reducing costs, increasing efficiency and economies of scale not only preserves high quality standards for distribution grid components and devices but backs up the decarbonisation process.”

The Association was founded along with Enel by the Italian DSOs Areti (Rome), Inrete (Bologna), Deval (Aosta Valley) Edyna (Bolzano), Ireti (Genoa), SET Distribuzione (Rovereto) and Unareti (Brescia), as well as the industrial and technology groups ABB, CESI, Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel and Tratos

Since then, new members have included Spanish distributors e-distribución and Ufd/Naturgy, the multiutility AcegasApsAmga, Italian research organisation RSE and manufacturers Matelec, Ormazabal, Prysmian, Leon Bekaert, Schneider Electric, Zaphiro Technologies, Italcementi, Tesmec Automation, SEA, Hitachi Energy, Col Giovanni Paolo, Getra Power, Powering, Repl Italia, Siemens Energy, Sipa and TS Conductor.

This is according to Aurora’s Down To The Wire: The Role Of Networks In Delivering The Energy Transition, a strategic insights report released to Aurora Energy Research subscribers.

Closing the curtailment gap

The report finds that the UK’s electricity transmission system has not expanded at the same pace as its renewable generation portfolio, necessitating curtailment to fill the gap between generation and grid capacity, so as to avoid grid malfunction.

Closing this gap, states Aurora, will be crucial for the UK’s net zero pathway; expanding renewable capacity alone will not suffice.

Their studies show that, if Britain were to install the needed 40GW of offshore wind power without adequate transmission system upgrades, power sector emissions from now to 2050 would surpass the total required to reach net zero by 55%.

By contrast, delivering all of the grid upgrades currently planned by energy market regulator Ofgem and TSO National Grid would cause power sector emissions in 2023-2050 to fall 9% below the same level required.

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Ashutosh Padelkar, GB research associate at Aurora Energy Research, commented on the UK net zero modelling: “Delivering the grid upgrades planned by Ofgem and National Grid would require nearly 10,000km of additional transmission lines: a very tall order.

“Long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies could provide a useful complementary solution to rising curtailment alongside grid expansion, but the lack of a route to market for these technologies is a barrier to investment.”

Costs will even out

Within their report, Aurora emphasises that costs should not deter action to expand the grid.

Delaying grid buildout, they state, would not reduce costs for consumers. And failing to deliver all the grid upgrades currently planned by Ofgem and National Grid would not cost any less than deploying the required infrastructure in time, their modelling shows.

The buildout envisaged by Ofgem and National Grid would cost an additional £49 billion ($62.7 billion) compared to Aurora’s inadequate upgrades’ scenario, but the increase would be offset by lower grid management costs due to reduced curtailment.

Total power system costs, ultimately borne by consumers, under both scenarios are roughly equal, whereas the “upgrades delivered” scenario costs just under 1% less.

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A not-so-straightforward conundrum

However, Aurora adds how deploying the necessary grid infrastructure to reach net zero will not be straightforward.

Specifically, planned transmission upgrades in the UK would cause cumulative steel demand for the transmission system to rise by 450% between 2025 and 2035.

Britain will also face strong competition globally to meet this demand—Aurora forecasts Germany and Spain each to deploy more than three times as much additional grid infrastructure by 2050 as Britain, for example, likely straining global supply chains.

Expansion projects in Britain also face the challenge of securing planning permission, with projects typically taking 6-8 years to obtain all of the required permits to begin construction. Growing backlash from local residents poses a key obstacle to streamlining the process.

Richard Howard, global research director for Aurora Energy Research, commented: “Great Britain has made great strides in building wind and solar projects over the past decade and has ambitious targets to deploy more renewable power generation.

“This is necessary but not sufficient to deliver our net zero targets: we also need to accelerate investment in grid capacity to link these projects to our cities and towns. Britain already faces a growing problem of having to turn off significant amounts of renewable power when the grid is constrained and this will increase sharply unless we deliver the required grid upgrades in time.”

Renewable power generation represents one of the UK’s “greatest successes in the race to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050,” states Aurora in a release announcing the findings from their Down to the Wires report.

The country’s installed renewable power generation capacity was found to have more than tripled from 2012 to 2022, allowing renewable power plants to account for 41% of total electricity generation in 2022.

The energy transition is bringing profound changes across the sector and not least to the networks, with the need for their significant expansion for large-scale electrification and clean energy integration coupled with the universal adoption of digital smart grid technologies towards 2050.

With this in mind ISGAN, in partnership with IRENA and a group of experts from across the sector from 12 countries, has undertaken an evaluation of grid planning practices with the aim to cut through the complexities and uncertainties for policy makers and sector stakeholders.

“Overcoming these different complexities and uncertainties necessitates planning processes that are efficient, transparent, legitimate and guided by sound principles and effective steering mechanisms,” states ISGAN.

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Moreover, a key consideration was that the grid planning should align with and act as an enabler of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals of which the energy goal on access to clean and affordable energy is SDG 7.

Key recommendations of the policy brief for grid planning in uncertain times are as follows.

1. Cohesive scenarios, nationally and where possible regionally coordinated, should be developed that show the necessary electrification measures required to achieve net zero emissions.
2. Grid development plans should be ensured to enable deep decarbonisation in line with the developed scenarios, with political guidance likely to be necessary to balance conflicting goals between local and national levels as well as between economic, social and environmental considerations.
3. Cost-benefit analyses should be updated to properly capture the values of sufficient grid capacity and account for social, environmental and resilience metrics, based on a clear and transparent grid planning assessment framework.
4. Regulatory frameworks should be ensured to foster both conventional and smart grid solutions contributing to the clean energy transition. Tools such as regulatory sandboxes could be extensively used to support the deployment of innovative solutions.
5. Workforce strategies should be developed to recruit and train the skills to satisfy the short and long-term competence needs. These include policy and regulation, engineering, environmental impact assessment, behavioural sciences and urban and rural planning.
6. Stakeholder interactions between government, industry, research and other players including local communities should be promoted at all levels of the grid planning process.
7. Awareness and understanding of the role of the grid for meeting the SDGs should be increased, with clearer linkages of energy to supporting other goals such as poverty reduction and climate action.

The initiative was led by Helena Lindquist, director of the Swedish sustainability knowledge sharing company LightSwitch from ISGAN’s Communication working group, and Susanne Ackeby, an R&D engineer at the Swedish research institute RISE from ISGAN’s Power Transmission & Distribution Systems working group.

The UK has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, in accordance with its obligations under the Paris Agreement.

All eyes are on utilities providers as we transition to this net zero future, but it’s not as simple as flicking a switch and swapping to renewable energy generation.

Heat mapping

2022 was one of the hottest years on record in the UK, highlighting the effects of climate change on air temperature.

The UK is already leading the way in climate adaptation by using space data to monitor and understand the impact of climate change. For example, in a project backed by the UK Space Agency, Ordnance Survey is using satellite data to monitor and map heat in locations at greatest risk.

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Revealing locations that are at greater risk allows local governments to plan better and implement effective policies to deal with extreme weather events. Accurate location data can also be used to optimise tree planting and land management, ensuring that planning is resilient to future change.

In cities, heat mapping can be used to find heat islands. These spots, where land surface is densely covered with roads, pavement, buildings and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat, could benefit from building adaptation. For example, retrofitting green roofs and green spaces could be used for heat pumps and as low carbon heat sources.

Heat mapping can also be used to enable community-driven energy generation, where an entire city or municipality create micro energy grids, powered by solar panels or nearby wind farms to help reduce demand on the national grid and lower its carbon footprint.

Asset planning

By 2030, it’s estimated that there will be between eight million and eleven million hybrid and electric cars in the UK, requiring 300,000 charging points. With just 37,000 existing in 2023, it’s clear that work is required to build this infrastructure.

For example, the Department for Transport, in conjunction with the University of Exeter, undertook a study to estimate the proportion of properties in a certain area that could accommodate private electric vehicle charge points powered by the household. Using Ordnance Survey’s geospatial data, combined with other data sets, an algorithm was developed that could be used to classify residential dwellings as potential locations for private charge points.

As the number of electric vehicles on the road increases, data like this will prove to be vital.

Also, for public use chargers, it’s important to see additional data, like how many houses exist within a postcode and what the electricity supply in that area is like. This will allow chargers to be placed in the most efficient locations.

Avoiding strikes

Around four million kilometres of pipes, sewers and electricity and telecoms cables are buried underground in the UK, accounting for a significant proportion of the nation’s utility, building and transport infrastructure. It’s estimated that every seven seconds a hole is dug to access these assets for repairs, upgrades and new installations.

The vast amount of holes dug, coupled with the unreliability of underground asset location data, means that there are around 60,000 accidental strikes per year, leading to injury, project delays and disruption to traffic and local economies. The total cost of these accidental strikes is estimated to be around £2.4 billion (US$3 billion) every year.

The lack of a single source of location data for underground assets has had a huge impact on the number of strikes over the years. While location data exists, it’s siloed in separate private companies, with data sharing between them often slow and inefficient.

To help combat this, the UK Government has established a Geospatial Consortium, of which Ordnance Survey is a member. The consortium has been working for a number of years to build a National Underground Asset Register as a single, secure data-sharing service to record the location and characteristics of underground assets.

The register will provide workers with an interactive, standardised digital view of the underground assets in a given location, reducing the risk of accidental strikes and resultant delays, costs and disruption.

Better service

With energy bills higher than in previous years, it’s important for providers to be aware of customers that require additional support.

Ordnance Survey is participating in a pilot to overcome this called the Priority Services Register. The pilot brings together data from various utilities providers to build a master list of all residents in Great Britain that might require additional support from their providers.

Once the list is aggregated, it will be disseminated out to all of the utility providers involved so that they can understand which of their customers are vulnerable.

While utility providers will have some insight already, the Priority Services Register will help ensure that every resident is provided with the support that they need, especially as our reliance on fossil fuels reduces and the way that households receive energy changes.

Achieving net zero emissions by 2050 is key to protecting our planet for the future. Accurate location data clearly has a key role to play towards meeting the challenges of this energy transition.

Ordnance Survey, the UK’s national mapping service, is a leading geospatial organisation and experienced geospatial partner for the national government and others around the world.

The current flexibility requirements in the EU correspond to 11% of the total electricity demand but the study indicates the need for growth to 24% in 2030 and 30% by 2050 in order to balance supply and demand with the increasing levels of variable renewable energies to meet the region’s ambitions.

In absolute terms the average requirements for the EU resulting from the modelling for 2030 are 0.79TWh/day, 4.93TWh/week and 14.39TWh/month respectively for the daily, weekly and monthly flexibility requirements.

For 2050, these numbers increase to respectively 2.52TWh/day, 14.6TWh/week and 41.68TWh/month. Summed across all timescales, this corresponds to 2,189TWh – approximately 30% of the estimated 7,300TWh 2050 demand and about 80% of the current (2020) demand of around 2,750TWh.

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The report states that the study has indicated evidence for significant correlations between the daily flexibility requirements and the share of solar PV production on the one hand and between the weekly and monthly flexibility requirements and the share of wind production on the other.

While electricity generated from solar PV plants typically follows a specific daily generation profile, wind production profiles more tend to follow the monthly seasonality. Efficiently integrating both sources of renewable energy sources in the power system thus requires an adequate evaluation of both short-term and long-term flexibility solutions.

Flexibility technologies

In terms of technologies offering flexibility solutions, the study finds that interconnections play a dominant role in addressing the flexibility needs in 2030 on all timescales but particularly on the longer-term timescales.

Storage solutions like batteries, electrolysers and pumped hydro also play a significant role, with the former almost exclusively targeting daily flexibility needs but the latter also targeting long-term flexibility needs.

Demand response from households and industry will also play a role in the flexibility mix and thermal units, of which production can be dispatched, also remain an important contributing factor.

This shows that to address the flexibility needs in the future a combination of technologies is required, including new storage solutions as well as more conventional assets.

Regarding storage specifically, the study suggests that compared to other technologies, it would only be able to recover a modest fraction of capital expenditure from market revenues gained on the spot market by 2030, and would thus exhibit a strong reliance on income streams from other market segments or further sorts of economic incentives.

Looking towards 2030, a relatively limited increase of storage capacity is projected, with additional capacity requested mainly when member states experience congested interconnector capacity over considerable periods of time.

If this interconnector capacity were lower than the current targets, lithium-ion batteries would be a key source of flexibility by balancing short-term system deviations. Further interconnection constraints would increase the importance of longer-duration batteries.

Countries are increasingly preparing their infrastructure for digitalisation and several major economies have announced substantial new funding to modernise and digitalise their electricity grids.

However, further efforts by policymakers and industry will be necessary to realise the full potential of digitalisation to accelerate the clean energy transition, including the implementation of standards, policies and regulations that prioritise innovation and interoperability while addressing risks to cybersecurity and data privacy.

The IEA’s Tracking Clean Energy Progress annually assesses recent developments for over 50 components of the energy system against its ‘net zero by 2050’ scenario trajectory for 2030.

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The report states that grid-related investment in digital technologies has grown by over 50% since 2015, and is expected to reach 19% of total grid investment in 2023.

There is an increasing focus on the distribution segment, which now represents more than 75% of the total digital spend. There has also been a substantial upswing in investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year.

However, overall investment in smart grids needs to more than double through 2030 – from around US$300 billion/year currently to almost US$600 billion/year – to get on track with the ‘net zero emissions’ scenario, especially in emerging markets and developing economies.

The number of smart power meters worldwide exceeded 1 billion in 2022, a tenfold increase since 2010. However, for the first time in a decade, investment slightly decreased, reflecting the plateauing deployment rate as many countries achieve close to full or full rollout.

Meanwhile, connected devices with automated controls and sensors are expected to reach 13 billion in 2023, up from fewer than 1 billion a decade ago. This number could reach more than 25 billion in 2030.

Similar trends are being seen in power grids, with around 320 million distribution sensors deployed globally.

Digitalisation progress

Notable progress in developing digitalisation in 2022 included the European Union with its action plan and the UK with its ‘digital spine’ feasibility study,

The European Commission expects about €584 billion (US$650 billion) of investments in the European electricity grid by 2030, of which €170 billion would be for digitalisation, including smart meters and other digital technologies.

Other examples of recent major grid investments are China with US$442 billion in the period 2021-205, Japan with US$155 billion and India with INR3.03 trillion (US$28 billion).

In North America, in 2022 the US announced the Grid Resilience Innovative Partnership programme with $10.5 billion in funding and Canada is investing US$100 million through its smart grid programme.

Among the needs looking ahead, the report states that further progress is needed on smart EV charging to tap into the major flexibility potential of the growing EV fleet.

At the end of 2022, there were 2.7 million public charging points worldwide, more than 900,000 of which were installed in 2022, an increase of about 55% on 2021 stock. However, only a fraction of these have smart charging capabilities.

If made grid interactive, other technologies such as heat pumps and air conditioners could also provide flexibility.

To get in step with the ‘net zero’ scenario, the global inventory of flexible assets needs to increase tenfold by 2030, which means that all sources of flexibility – including batteries and demand response – need to be leveraged.

Enabling digital technologies such as smart meters and distributed monitoring and control devices are essential to fully exploit the flexibility potential of the growing number of connected devices.

In addition to ramping up deployment of key digital technologies, existing data and digital assets need to be better utilised to provide benefits for consumers and the energy system.

In 2019, it was estimated that utilities were leveraging only around 2-4% of the data collected.

The report also points out the importance of international collaboration programmes for smart grids as a key enabler for their sustainable development, while also large scale interconnectors are highlighted as of vital importance for decarbonisation in certain regions such as the EU, sub-Saharan Africa and China.

This comes courtesy the market researcher’s report Smart Energy Communities, which pools their value within the smart cities technology market, anticipated to grow from $36.7 billion in annual revenue in 2023 to $73.3 billion by 2032, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.0%.

Growing demand and drivers

“SECs offer a more modular, more resilient, and cleaner approach to how residents interact with the energy infrastructure around them. Active SECs have proven their success at improving the quality of energy for vulnerable communities,” says Grant Samms, research analyst with Guidehouse Insights.

“While SECs today are generally considered a novel approach to meeting energy challenges, growing emphasis on the need to improve energy performance will drive considerable adoption in the coming decade.”

Reducing costs and improving energy stability, especially for isolated or otherwise vulnerable communities, continue to be the largest drivers of SEC adoption, finds the report.

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Expensive and unreliable energy connections often coincide with such geographic or socioeconomic vulnerability due to historic underinvestment.

Addressing energy reliability issues through microgrids or community heating districts were also found to present a prime opportunity to meet sustainability goals, which are themselves a strong driver of SECs.

Governments and communities are also using opportunities presented by electric vehicle (EV) adoption, like vehicle to grid (V2G) services, to improve SEC performance and sustainability. Found to be financially supporting these drivers are large infrastructure and climate investment packages that have been passed by numerous governments.

Barriers hampering growth

In many ways, SECs are a strong tool for governments that have set goals for improving sustainability and lessening social vulnerabilities.

However, as is predictable for a developing market space, there are also many barriers to SEC adoption, states the report.

In particular, they pose challenges in cost and complexity owing to unfamiliarity and lack of standardisation around installation. This is hoped to lessen as governments, vendors and grid operators become more familiar with SECs and installation methods become more standardised.

Additionally, the surrounding grid may not be robust enough to allow for the addition of new smart energy technologies that accompany such communities.

And while the public is becoming more aware of the benefits of things like home battery storage and smart meters, there may still be public pushback against SEC development over a variety of concerns, from privacy to a loss of local autonomy.

The white paper points to the issues such as intermittency, inertia deficits and grid congestion that have arisen with the introduction of renewables to the grid and the classical response being to build bigger and more infrastructure.

But with their costs and scalability issues, blockchain as a distributed architecture is seen by many as the sensible alternative – and according to the white paper, is the only option that will prove to be better and more efficient.

“The rapidly emerging and more complex energy landscape demands a shift from traditional centralised databases to blockchain and the new and decentralised markets they unlock. Realising this is fundamental to saving lots on battery capacity by using the existing resources better.”

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The white paper continues that there is also a stronger claim to be made about the appropriateness of next-generation blockchain to mitigate the problems of the grid with new functionalities anticipated such as peer exchanges in real time and forward booking of electricity slots with time ahead cost dependencies.

With forward booking, auctioning and re-booking slots with penalty clauses and bonus offers, a real-time high-volume Gen 3 blockchain will be needed to manage this market.

Gen 3 blockchains

Gen 3 blockchains are the latest evolution providing significant advances in terms of scalability, interoperability and transaction throughput and cost.

Whereas Gen 1 blockchain, or Bitcoin, with its proof-of-work consensus, is energy intensive and Gen 2 blockchains introduced smart contracting, Gen 3 blockchains use the more energy efficient proof-of-stake or proof-of-history consensus mechanisms.

Examples are Polkadot, on to which Energy Web is moving for its next-gen Energy Web X, and Solana, which Powerledger – one of the white paper’s contributors – has adapted for its blockchain, while others include Cardano, Avalanche and Algorand.

The white paper points out that the high throughput and low latency of Gen 3 blockchains capable of processing thousands of transactions per second make them suitable for handling the high volume of data generated in energy systems in applications requiring near real-time settlement, such as energy trading and grid management.

Other features detailed of Gen 3 blockchains include transparency and security and trustless and decentralised operation.

Gen 3 blockchain use cases

Blockchain technology is best suited for environments where trust is especially important, where there is a need for a secure and transparent record-keeping system, supported by the automation of complex transactions through smart contracts, the white paper states.

Some examples cited among those that have been introduced include renewable energy tracking and energy attribute certificates and transactive approaches including peer-to-peer trading and demand response, while emerging examples are real-time electricity billing with smart metering and electric vehicle-to-grid transactions.

In conclusion, the white paper says that while centralised database systems are working well right now by and large, as countries reach their renewables goals or net zero goals, the grid will need to engage traditional consumers to help balance supply and demand. And in order for it to work well a very agile energy market is needed.

“While sceptics argue that existing technologies can fulfil the same functions, blockchain represents the culmination of advancements in mathematics that have revolutionised everyday activities like communication and online shopping.”

A new report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency, Geopolitics of the Energy Transition: Critical Materials, suggests that there is no scarcity of reserves for energy transition minerals.

However, limited capabilities for mining and refining them, as well as supply disruptions could hinder the energy transition.

Currently, the supply chain is particularly vulnerable to “external shocks, resource nationalism, export restrictions, mineral cartels, instability, and market manipulation could therefore increase the risks of supply shortages,” states the report.

IRENA’s director-general, Francesco La Camera said in a statement: “The risk of supply chain disruptions is less about energy security and more about the potential slowdown of the transition, which must be avoided. On the road to COP28, my message is to urgently strengthen collaboration on critical materials to minimise the geopolitical risks of concentrated supply chains and accelerate the deployment of renewables to limit rising temperatures to 1.5°C.”

A diverse supply chain is more sustainable

In terms of mining and processing of critical materials, it is geographically concentrated, with a few countries and a few major companies playing a dominant role – an “oligopolistic” market situation according to IRENA.

For example, in terms of processing, China accounts for more than 50% of the world’s refined supply of (natural) graphite, dysprosium (a rare earth), cobalt, lithium, and manganese and the top five mining companies control 61% of lithium output and 56% of cobalt output.

According to the report, addressing vulnerabilities within the extractive commodities supply chain will directly lead to an opening up or diversifying of the supply chain, thereby building a more inclusive, ethical, and sustainable value chain.

This could include opening up opportunities for mining and processing in developing countries, as well as ensuring policies to support the realising of business opportunities in those regions.

According to La Camera, “redefining the narrative of extraction” will ensure developing nations can capture a larger share of the value chain, making the market more inclusive and resilient.

The report also emphasises the risks associated with extractive industries such as labour and other human rights abuses, land degradation, water resource depletion and contamination, and air pollution. La Camera calls for greater international cooperation “to raise and enforce standards and longer-term corporate views are essential for sustainable development and social license.”

This was the second report released this week on the topic of critical materials. Yesterday the IEA released their Critical Minerals Market Review which highlighted the significant surge in planned clean tech projects, leading to a 30% rise in investments centred around developing critical minerals in 2022.

Originally published on Power Engineering International.

During a webinar discussing the report’s findings, Lauren Stuchfield, energy analysis and insights manager for ESO, commented: “Policy is not always enough. We must see the action on [the] back of this policy in order to achieve net zero.”

Added Fintan Slye, executive director of the ESO: “The world is heating up and the clock is ticking; the time for action is now.”

The 2023 report makes the following recommendations:

1. Policy and delivery

Net zero policy: The Government must continue to reduce investment uncertainty around the business case for net zero-critical technologies such as Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES), transport and storage of hydrogen and CO2, low carbon dispatchable power and negative emissions technologies. A clear plan is needed for the funding and development of hydrogen and CCUS projects beyond delivery of the first industrial clusters.

Focus on heat: There is a need to accelerate both the uptake of heat pumps and the decision on whether hydrogen will be used for large-scale heating. While some progress is being made through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, further policy support and incentives are needed to increase the uptake rates of heat pumps. Alongside this, a clear decision on hydrogen for heating should be accelerated and heat pump targets and incentives reviewed accordingly.

Negative emissions: Negative emissions technology is required to enable a net zero energy system. Robust emissions accounting standards are needed to ensure both investor and public confidence in a negative emissions market. Further demonstration of innovative emissions removal technologies is required to reduce uncertainties over technology and commercial readiness.

Although these movements in policy are needed, caution should also be taken to look beyond. So stated Lauren Stuchfield, energy analysis and insights manager for ESO: “Policy is not always enough. We must see the action on [the] back of this policy in order to achieve net zero.”

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2. Consumer and digitalisation

Empowering change: There is a need to instil trust for consumers and they must be advised on how they can best engage in the energy transition. This could be delivered through an information campaign, supported by a national advice service.

Digitalisation and innovation: Innovation and smart digital solutions are required to enable consumers to further benefit from energy savings at times when they are not able to manually adjust their demand.

Mandating technology manufacturers to include smart capability in their products is key to the delivery of smart homes. Further incentives and grants can encourage greater innovation and implementation of smart digital solutions. Successful delivery of Market wide Half Hourly Settlement will enable consumers to participate more readily in demand flexibility.

Energy efficiency: Further emphasis is needed to harness the potential of efficiency improvements in reducing energy demand. Energy efficiency improvements to the construction and technology within our homes must be accelerated. Radical overhaul is required to achieve this both in new build and existing housing stock. Targets for minimum energy efficiency standards should extend beyond the private rented sector. Additional incentives and grants must be considered to ensure energy efficiency improvements are available for more consumers.

3. Markets and flexibility

Distributed flexibility: The growth of distributed flexibility (flexible energy demand resources, such as storage, EVs, heat pumps and thermal storage, connected at distribution level) is a key enabler to achieving net zero. A market-wide strategy, including government targets, policy support and market reform is required to facilitate the significant growth in distributed flexibility. This can also provide incentives for consumers to provide Demand Side Response, such as smart charging of EVs.

Transport flexibility: Across all future scenarios, cars are primarily electrified, increasing electricity demand and requiring strategies to manage how they are charged and how system costs are recovered. Increasing implementation of smart EV charging is a no regret action to help reduce the impact on peak demand and reduce curtailment of renewables.

Commercial trials of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) business models are required to explore their viability and contribution system services. It also requires current challenges to be addressed, such as the slow rollout of charging infrastructure.

Locational signals: Market reform is needed to provide the real-time locational signals required to optimise decisions on when and where flexible energy sources are used. Improving locational signals has the potential to deliver significant cost savings to consumers and support the delivery of decarbonisation targets.

4. Infrastructure and whole energy system

Strategic network investment: Strategic and timely investment across the whole energy system is critical to achieving decarbonisation targets and minimising network constraints. Accelerated coordinated planning and delivery of strategic, whole system investment through Centralised Strategic Network Planning (CSNP) will require continued collaboration and engagement with the Government, Ofgem, local communities, industry and the supply chain. Strategic network investment should be enabled through reforms to the planning system, while also balancing social and environmental impacts.

Connections reform: Connections reform is required to facilitate quicker, more coordinated and efficient connection to the GB electricity system to deliver net zero. Continued collaboration between Government, Ofgem and industry is critical. The process must be future-proofed to facilitate potential prioritisation of connections for delivery of whole system benefits and net zero in line with strategic network planning.

Location of large electricity demands: New large electricity demands, including electrolysers to convert electricity to hydrogen, will be required for net zero. This demand has significant potential to deliver whole system flexibility and reduced network constraints alongside decarbonisation. A coherent strategy is required to ensure large electricity demands are located where they provide the biggest benefit to consumers and the whole energy system.

Industry response

Responding to the report, Jon Ferris, head of flexibility and storage at LCP Delta, commented: “The report is a transformation from a few years ago, where scenarios largely failed to meet the net zero target. Three scenarios describe three different, plausible pathways to get there by 2050, but also highlight the risk that we don’t – electrification of heat and heavy industry, grid reinforcement, market reform and supporting demand side flexibility remain challenges that need to be addressed.”

“EVs are clearly winning in transport decarbonisation, but only a small proportion of the capacity is seen as providing flexibility…It confirms the direction of travel in some areas (especially EVs, storage and flexibility), but also highlights outstanding questions (such as for hydrogen, LDES and market design).

Also commenting was Energy Savings Trust, whose head of policy Stew Horne said:

“Crucially, alongside enabling renewables and storage technology, people must be actively engaged with the energy system and incentivised to use energy more flexibly. The success of the Demand Flexibility Service last winter shows that people are willing to change their everyday behaviour to reduce their own energy demand, in turn helping to deliver flexibility in energy demand on a large scale.

“But this must be sustained. As we’ve highlighted in our new research for the Climate Change Committee with Green Alliance, behaviour change campaigns and the provision of impartial advice seen around the world are empowering people to understand how to best manage their energy use and insulate their homes. They are proving successful in reducing energy demand.

“While the solutions outlined in the scenarios today raise questions over who pays, when, and how to ensure it’s fair for all, we do know that a clear, long-term plan is needed to create certainty for industry and consumers to enable the net zero transition. There are still opportunities for the UK Government to provide such clarity this year, not least in its Autumn Statement.”

Germany-based European Energy Exchange (EEX) has acquired Nasdaq’s European power trading and clearing business, subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals.

The transaction to EEX will involve the transfer of existing open positions in Nasdaq Nordic, French and German power futures as well as European carbon emission allowance futures (EUAs) to EEX’s clearing house European Commodity Clearing (ECC).

No financial details of the deal have been disclosed.

Nasdaq Clearing AB, along with the clearing infrastructure to support it, is not part of the sale.

As part of the agreement with Nasdaq, EEX will update the current Nordic power market structure, replacing Electricity Price Area Differential (EPAD) contracts with zonal futures contracts.

Until the receipt of regulatory approvals, Nasdaq will continue to operate its European power trading and clearing business as usual.

Stated EEX on their website: “EEX is confident that overall liquidity in the Nordics can be improved by offering zonal futures, as the market will be accessible for a wide pool of pan-European power traders who can execute geographic trading strategies and capture cross-margining efficiencies. Nordic participants can also hedge using the existing Nordic System Price products offered by EEX.”

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Svenska’s EPADs

Responding to the announcement was Swedish TSO Svenska kraftnät, which has since February this year, they state, conducted auctioning of EPAD contracts corresponding to 10% of the Swedish grid’s capacity to transmit electricity between electricity price areas SE2, SE3 and SE4.

State the TSO: “The auctions are part of Svenska kraftnät’s pilot project, with the aim of supporting liquidity in the financial electricity market and [facilitating] the opportunities for market participants to hedge their production or consumption.”

The pilot, which runs in 2023 with a possible extension until 2024, can only auction EPAD contracts if they are traded on the financial electricity market.

One month prior – a Baltic acquisition

One month prior to the Nasdaq announcement, EEX Group acquired Gas exchange GET Baltic, which has become part of the Group.

The deal was signed between EEX and Lithuania’s gas TSO Amber Grid, under which EEX will take 66% of the shares in the regional gas exchange GET Baltic.

As a result, the gas exchange operating in the three Baltic countries and Finland will become part of EEX Group. Amber Grid will hold the remaining 34% of the shares and will continue to support the further development of the gas business in the dynamic Baltic Sea region.

The short-term and long-term contracts of GET Baltic will be offered under EEX’s German exchange license, making use of the EEX trading infrastructure- and clearing services provided by the ECC.

Once admitted at EEX, the GET Baltic Trading Participants will be able to trade not only the current spot and futures contracts but also other hubs and asset classes offered by EEX.

Said EEX CEO Peter Reitz: “We aim to create a harmonised European gas trading platform based on EEX’s trading infrastructure. The acquisition of the majority shares in GET Baltic extends EEX Group’s offering for the pan-European gas markets as well as our customer base. As a result, this creates new opportunities to increase liquidity in all gas markets operated by EEX and GET Baltic.”

GET Baltic is a significant market player in the region; in 2022, a volume of 7TWh of natural gas was traded on the GET Baltic exchange.

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A Floridian energy exchange

Other trading news was spotted across the sea in Florida.

A week after the EEX’s Nasdaq acquisition, and seperate from their Western Europe Expansion, the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) initiated trading with four new Florida energy companies added to their roster, including Duke Energy Florida, JEA, Tampa Electric Company and Gainesville Regional Utilities.

The platform allows the US utility companies to buy and sell power through the SEEM platform., which launched operations supporting enhanced energy trading in November 2022. The initial announcement was made in October.

Duke Energy Florida, JEA and Tampa Electric Company have joined as members, whereas Gainesville Regional Utilities, will be a non-member participant.

Members have a seat on the SEEM Board and related committees and pay all operational, audit, administrative and legal expenses, which allows non-Members to participate in SEEM at no cost.

“Adding new Participants creates more opportunity for everyone in the market, enabling more matches,” said Nelson Peeler, SEEM board chair and senior vice president of transmission and fuels strategy and policy at Duke Energy.

“Expanding the SEEM footprint into Florida will also create more market diversity empowered by zero-cost transmission and further facilitate solar and renewables integration.”

During the first seven months of operation, there have been more than 45,000 transactions representing more than 1TW of power transacted across all participants including transactions in 73% of all hours since market launch.

The SEEM platform facilitates automated, sub-hourly trading, allowing participants to buy and sell power close to the time the energy is consumed, utilising available unreserved transmission.

The SEEM footprint includes 23 entities in parts of 12 US states with more than 180,000MWs during summer (winter capacity is nearly 200,000MWs) across two time zones.

For the latest finance and investment announcements coming from the energy industry, make sure to follow Smart Energy Finances Weekly.

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Yusuf Latief
Content Producer
Smart Energy International

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During a storage solutions session at European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), experts in the field discussed how policy has been developing when it comes to storage and how it will need to continue to develop as the tech becomes more recognised for its role in a net zero future.

“The energy system of the future, which delivers on targets for climate neutrality, is a system that is going to have new needs, special needs. It’s a system that is going to need stability, flexibility and reliability in a different manner than the system that we know.”

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So said Beatriz Sinobas, team leader for energy security and electricity at the European Commission, DG Energy, who was joined in the session by moderator Patrick Clerens, Secretary General of The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE), CEO of SolarPower Europe Walburga Hemetsberger, European Affiliates’ Managing Director for Malta Inc. Michael Geyer, Head of Policy and Regulation (Brussels office) at Iberdrola Marta Navarrete Moreno and Chief Policy Officer for WindEurope Pierre Tardieu.

The needs for flexibility, reiterated Sinobas, are going to increase significantly, “particularly if we have a higher penetration of variable renewables, for which we have very ambitious targets. There are studies that suggest the need for flexibility increases exponentially as the penetration of renewables passes 74%.”

Storage for flexibility

According to Sinobas, there are several tools that can deliver flexibility, energy storage being prime among them.

And for Hemetsberger, this is especially true when we look at how “renewables are catching up with fossil fuels very quickly.”

Earlier this year, the International Energy Agency released their World Energy Investment 2023 report, which found that low-emissions power is expected to account for almost 90% of total investment in electricity generation this year, surpassing fossil fuels for the first time.

Increasing renewables equate to an increased need to balance intermittency and Walburga spoke on the needs of energy storage when it comes to future-proofing the grid:

“We need to have all those renewables 24/7 and we need to integrate them into the grid with solutions [for intermittency].”

Specifically, she states, “we need massive assets – flexibility and storage.”

According to Walburga, for PV specifically, 200GW of energy storage will be needed in the EU by 2030.

She referenced a whitepaper from SolarPower Europe, Electricity Storage for EU Renewable Deployment and Energy Resilience, which calls for the 200GW, that they state would cover 18% of REPowerEU renewable capacity.

According to the whitepaper, which was released earlier this year in January, key policy actions that would be needed for this include the setting of non-binding EU electricity targets for 2030 and development of storage strategies.

When it comes to grid stability, there is also the need for large co-located solar and storage installations, which Walburga refers to as ‘grid-intelligent solar’.

“We have seen the European Commission in the market design regulation proposing to have DSOs establishing flexibility needs and demand response targets, which is great.

“We also see improved rules when it comes to the participation of flexibility into capacity mechanisms and the development of prosumer models with a new right of energy sharing.

“So what’s missing? Two things: [To remove the] double charges for battery storage…This is really something that needs to be urgently tackled. The second is to allow solar and storage and wind and storage to charge from the grid. And to fully live up to this functionality, we [also need] to have proper metering.”

According to the organisation’s white paper, a behind the meter, co-located storage system that forms part of a renewable generation unit receiving financial support is prohibited from withdrawing electricity from the grid.

A consequence of this, they add, is that such a unit, “cannot provide grid services that involve charging from the grid, such as bi-directional frequency response.”

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A matter of policy

This, as well as the role of flexibility and how much it is utilised, has become a matter of policy in Europe.

Earlier this year in March, the European Commission announced revision of the electricity market design, alongside a set of comprehensive recommendations for storage systems, with flexibility a driving theme.

Stated Moreno: “As said by Beatriz, there will be a tipping point where flexibility needs are huge and where storage will be important.”

Specifically, she states, there is one key need: “the need to have a stable and predictable regulatory framework.

“Unfortunately, during the last year we have seen a multiplication of uncoordinated interventions across member states in the EU and this has fragmented the international energy market…and eroded investment confidence.”

Moreno related this to project bankability and the difficulties of financing projects without a stable framework to work off of.

“The international energy market is the backbone in which companies like ours operate. In Europe, most of the investments (85%) will come from the private sector. We can only get those projects through if we have a stable regulatory framework.

“We are looking at a lifetime of 20, 30, sometime 50 years for these projects. When we go to ask for money, we need to make sure that we can see where the regulatory framework is headed and that there are no sudden changes.”

This is especially true for major storage projects and it is here, where the European’s proposed market design can be seen, added Moreno, as a major positive:

“From this point of view, the Commission’s proposal on the market design gives us a lot of very good elements.

“It restores investment confidence, builds on the good points we have already developed over the 20/30 years of the liberalisation of the markets…and now’s the time to adopt this legislation and ensure the negotiations get it right and move ahead.”

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At the heart of TheBattery Mobile X lies Alfen’s dedication to innovation and sustainability. Drawing on over five years of expertise in mobile battery storage backed by more than 85 years of innovation in the electricity grid, Alfen has developed a solution that meets the growing demand for temporary clean power supply across a wide range of applications.

Compact yet powerful, TheBattery Mobile X packs a punch with up to 70% more energy than its predecessors, delivering up to 720kWh of reliable and sustainable power, in the same 3m container. This enhanced capacity ensures that even the most energy intensive projects can operate efficiently without compromising on environmental responsibility.

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www.alfen.com

Elia’s 2024 – 2034 Adequacy and Flexibility Study for Belgium outlines how the expected spread of electrification across society is happening both earlier and at a faster speed than anticipated, namely in the mobility, heating and industrial sectors.

However, the transmission system operator for Belgium states that the speed of change is not synchronous across the electricity system, which is causing tension both on the supply and demand side.

According to Elia, as electricity needs rise, a number of structural measures will be needed to complement the country’s Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM), which is a short term measure that EU countries can introduce to remunerate power plants for medium and long-term security of electricity supply.

Over the coming decade, they state, extensive electrification will change the very nature of the Belgian electricity system.

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Specifically, the study espouses four key messages:

1. Electrification is spreading across society both earlier and at a faster speed than predicted.

The war in Ukraine and rising gas prices have resulted in new targets and action plans linked to ensuring an independent, resilient and climate-neutral energy system.

This is creating additional capacity needs, which can be addressed by the CRM. Electrification combined with the accelerated expansion of low-carbon electrons will be one of the main levers for decarbonising society over the next 10 to 20 years. The implementation of these two measures is gaining momentum in three key sectors: mobility, heating and industry.

This is having a direct impact on the country’s supply and adequacy needs. The expected spread of electrification across society will create additional capacity gaps from 2027 onwards, which can be addressed by Belgium’s CRM.

The rules and principles to this mechanism are governed by national and European regulations, and are rightfully aimed at avoiding over-procurement. Against the background of electrification and Belgium’s increasing electricity demand, the CRM process involves yearly adjustments to auctions and the stepwise contracting of required capacities

2. Flexible consumption has the potential to flatten consumption peaks and manage RES variability, so directly contributing to security of supply.

Until now, flexibility has mainly been used as an in-the-moment ancillary service that helps grid operators address imbalances between supply and demand.

For example, it has been used to manage operational security challenges linked to the variability of RES and large-scale generation unit outages. In the future, the intrinsic flexibility of new electrical appliances will deliver new opportunities for end users, without adversely impacting their comfort levels.

By primarily consuming and storing electricity when it is abundant and re-injecting it back into the grid when needed, consumers will lower their energy bills whilst delivering benefits for the overall system: consumption peaks will be flattened, meaning flexibility will contribute to adequacy.

End user flexibility is therefore an important lever for improving the efficiency and affordability of the energy transition.

3. Electrification reduces primary energy consumption levels whilst maintaining consumer comfort.

This significant efficiency improvement therefore delivers large benefits in terms of CO2 reduction – an effect that will become even more prominent as the share of renewable energy in the energy mix grows.

Electrification, combined with the accelerated integration of renewable energy into the system, creates the opportunity to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. This, in turn, leads to significant reductions in direct domestic CO2 emissions.

In addition to these climate-related benefits, electrification will deliver economic and geopolitical advantages.

Industry will be given access to affordable electricity, meaning that it can be anchored in Europe, and jobs can be preserved. Moreover, the shift to an energy system with a high amount of renewables will make this system more independent and resilient.

4. Any delay in unlocking flexibility or realising grid infrastructure will result in additional capacity needs.

If Belgium’s security of supply is to be achieved in the most (cost-)efficient way possible, investing in accelerated digitalisation is as important as investments in the timely build-out of grid infrastructure.

Accelerated digitalisation and the timely realisation of grid infrastructure will have a major impact on the volume of new capacities that need to be contracted in future CRM auctions. Further delays in implementing these will place Belgium’s approach to electricity policy in a state of constant crisis management.

If Belgium fully harnesses industrial and residential flexibility and realises its planned grid investments, capacity needs in 2034 will decrease by 3,000MW compared with a situation where these key moves are delayed.

Digitalisation covers both the necessary IT infrastructure and end-to-end connectivity between assets and service providers, which are linked to an adapted market design. Successfully implementing these will make the system more resilient in the face of electrification and renewable integration, will have a significant effect on CO2 reduction and will allow system costs to be kept under control.

According to the report, published by the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA), European heat pumps sales grew by +38.9% in 2022. With 3 million units sold across Europe, the Association states this is a new sales record.

France, which yet again saw strong heat pump growth last year, was found by the report to be leading the way in terms of avoided greenhouse gas emissions through heat pumps, at over 16Mt. It is followed some way behind by Germany and Italy at over 5Mt avoided each.

Still not on track

Although the figures are promising, more is yet needed, states the Association.

In a press release announcing the report, they stated:

“If things were to stay this way, the buildings sector would be off track to decarbonise heating and cooling by 2050, as the EU climate law requires. This is because the playing field is still tipped massively in favour of fossil fuels, in terms of subsidies and taxation.

“However, the issue is very likely to be addressed soon by the European Commission in their upcoming EU Heat Pumps Action Plan, which should help make the situation fairer for clean solutions.”

Jozefien Vanbecelaere, head of EU affairs at EHPA, added that “heat pumps have a leading role to play to reach net zero emissions, but to bring them centre stage governments must give clear policy signals. They can do this by addressing distorted pricing which favours gas over electricity and supporting the EU Commission’s proposed phase out of standalone fossil fuel boilers.”

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European heat pumps figures

With approximately 120 million residential buildings in Europe, the report finds the heat pump market share in the building stock at over 16%.

According to the report, all heat pump markets across Europe experienced substantial growth. Specifically:

• The strongest relative gains were achieved in Belgium (+118.0%), Poland (+112.0%) and the Czech Republic (+105.9%).

• 87% of the European market volume was sold in only ten countries. The five biggest European heat pumps markets in 2022 were France (621,776 units sold; +15.8% growth vs. 2022), Italy (513,535; +35.2%), Germany (275,697; +59.0%), Sweden (215,373; +61.3%), and Poland (207,992; +112.0%).

• The biggest absolute gains were achieved in Italy (133,564), Poland (109,890), Germany (102,310), France (84,665), Sweden (81,875) and Finland (66,984).

• The Nordic countries show the biggest market penetration for heat pumps in the building stock and also experience significant shares of the technology in the renovation sector.

• Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland grew by 40,092 units, although figures for the Swedish market in the report do not include the growth in air-air heat pumps.

• While Finland’s market is maturing, it revealed a significant growth perspective for Europe. If all countries had the same market penetration as Finland, they state, the annual sales number of heat pumps in Europe would be more than seven times bigger than today’s, resulting in 15 million units sold per year and – if maintained until 2030 – reaching a stock of 106 million units in that year.

• In aggregated terms, 19.79 million heat pump units were installed since 1996. This amounts to an installed thermal capacity of 173.6GW.

• All installed heat pumps produce 325TWh of useful energy, 205.2TWh of which being renewable. Their use saved 262.6TWh of final and 117.6TWh of primary energy.

For policymakers, states the report, the findings mark a good forecast, as it reveals significant untapped potential to reduce Europe’s energy demand for heating, cooling and hot water production.

However, they add that achieving it by 2030 would require an annual 21% growth rate and a tremendous effort with regards to framework conditions, efficiency requirements for buildings, upskilling of installers and planner/architect qualifications as well as the development of flanking measures.

Over in the UK

Responding to the release of the EHPA’s report was The Heat Pump Association, which are members of the EHPA, who commented on the report and its signals for the market in the UK.

Stated the Association: “The European Heat Pump Association’s latest market report showcases the positive impact heat pumps are having across Europe to mitigate emissions and grow European economies. We welcome these figures and believe the UK can afford to be equally ambitious provided the Government takes swift and decisive action to support the market.”

According to the Association, the UK is showing significant progress in its heat pump rollout, with the first half of 2023 projecting a sales growth of 10%.

However, they add that the country is still falling behind, “with one of the lowest heat pump penetration rates across Europe despite high forecasted growth.”

The Association related this back to the correlation between decreasing ratio of gas to electricity prices and increased heat pump sales; “it is concerning that the UK has one of the highest ratios of electricity to gas prices out of 27 countries analysed in the report.”

Charlotte Lee, chief executive of the Heat Pump Association, also commented: ” We believe the UK Government’s projected deployment target of 600,000 heat pumps installations per year by 2028 remains achievable provided it moves swiftly and decisively to introduce the Future Homes Standard, provide early clarity of a date for the full phase out of 100% fossil fuel boilers, and takes steps to reduce the price of electricity.”

According to the World Green Building Council, buildings are responsible for 39% of global energy-related carbon emissions; 28% from operational emissions from energy needed to heat, cool and power them.

This is according to the WEF’s report Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2023, which finds that equity is being side-lined as countries continue shifting their focus to energy security.

States the report: “The window of opportunity for the energy transition is closing fast. The limited number of countries simultaneously advancing across all aspects of the energy triangle highlights the challenges that countries face in progressing along their energy transition pathways.”

The report, published in collaboration with Accenture, draws on the Energy Transition Index (ETI).

This year’s WEF report used an updated framework to benchmark 120 countries in the trilemma triangle of equity, energy security and environmental sustainability; as well as the readiness of the enabling environment for the energy transition.

Muqsit Ashraf, senior managing director and global strategy lead for Accenture, commented on the report’s findings: “The window of opportunity for reaching net-zero targets is closing and countries must move urgently to cleaner energy systems. Leveraging technology – both physical and digital, including data and AI – will be essential.

“By pushing the boundaries of disruptive technologies, like generative AI, countries and companies can realize what was previously thought impossible and simultaneously bolster not just sustainability but also better enable energy security and affordability.”

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ETI rankings

Over the past decade, states the report, global ETI scores have improved by 10%, supported by an increase of 19% in transition readiness scores, but only a 6% increase in system performance scores.

According to report, Nordic countries, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, continue to maintain their top ETI rankings, scoring highly on both system performance and transition readiness.

Despite their diverse energy system structures, states the report, the countries share common attributes. These include high levels of political commitment and stable regulatory frameworks, investments in research and development, increased renewable energy deployment and carbon pricing schemes to incentivise investments in low-carbon solutions.

A few countries, such as Kenya and Azerbaijan, jumped significantly in rank this year for making aggressive efforts and improving their regulatory environment and infrastructure.

Importantly, adds the report, in the last decade the world’s largest energy consumer, China, gained 43% – approximately double the global average – in its transition readiness scores, making its way into the top 20 as the only Asian country.

An equitable window is closing

However, only two countries – India and Singapore – were found to be making advances on all aspects of energy system performance. Broadly speaking, ETI scores have plateaued in the past three years; the WEF warns that this speed of transition is not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement targets in an inclusive and secure way.

Geopolitical and macroeconomic volatilities that prompted the recent global energy crisis, they cite, have shifted countries’ focus to maintaining secure and stable energy supply at the expense of universal affordability and challenge progress observed in the past decade.

ETI scores declined for approximately 50% of the countries in the past year, which has disproportionately impacted vulnerable consumers, small businesses and developing economies, finds the report.

“The recent turbulence in energy markets has exposed how interconnected energy prices are with macroeconomic and social stability. This can, and has, put developing countries at risk of losing their momentum gained before the energy crisis on access to affordable, sustainable energy,” said Roberto Bocca, head of energy, materials and infrastructure for the World Economic Forum.

“It further demonstrates the importance of balancing improvements in energy security, sustainability and equity – at the same time – to enable an effective energy transition.”

High fuel prices, the report adds, have affected the cost-competitiveness of energy intensive industries, and the rising subsidy burden poses a risk to economic growth.

Additionally, low-income countries have been disproportionately affected, facing simultaneous challenges from fuel price inflation, food inflation and rising debt burden.

The WEF report states that, while performance on environmental sustainability has grown the fastest and countries are prioritizing energy security after lessons from the energy crisis, inclusiveness and equity considerations need to be addressed for a robust and resilient transition.