‘What about when the wind’s not blowing and the solar’s not shining?’
We’re requested this age-old query on a regular basis in our quest for a 100% inexperienced power system. The reply? We’d like an power grid match for the longer term. The previous system: “burn stuff when individuals want to make use of energy”, is not sensible sufficient anymore – a variety of issues in our world have gotten extra advanced for the reason that industrial revolution, and power is not any exception. The total potential of renewables will likely be unlocked via a wise, dynamic, interconnected energy system that works a bit just like the web.
The hot button is power flexibility.
Flexibility will assist us profit from the renewables we have already got, and drastically scale back the necessity for burning fossil fuels at occasions when renewables aren’t so ample. It additionally unlocks large potential for individuals such as you and me to save lots of and even earn cash via their power selections. Flexibility might even save the UK £8bn a 12 months by lowering the necessity for costly infrastructure updates.
However what does ‘power flexibility’ really imply?
The everlasting problem of each power system is maintain the grid in steadiness: matching power provide (the ability from the mills) and power demand (the ability individuals and companies are utilizing) to make sure they’re equal at any given second. The power grid must have the wiggle room (flexibility) to adapt simply when both provide or demand adjustments unexpectedly.
That is actually fairly vital: if issues turn out to be unbalanced, there will be energy cuts or system overloads which might harm grid infrastructure.
In techniques designed for enormous coal energy crops, flexibility has been pretty easy. At any time when individuals want extra energy, we have simply burned extra soiled fossil fuels, and that is the system we have all been comfy with for tons of of years. With renewables, issues aren’t so easy. You possibly can’t simply change on the solar to satisfy power demand every time we’d like it.
On the similar time, our power wants have turn out to be extra sophisticated, with electrical automobiles, warmth pumps, batteries and extra turning into the norm.
A system match for at the moment’s world is vastly extra advanced: a wise, dynamic, interconnected grid that works nearly just like the web.
Flexibility within the age of renewable power
In recent times, we’ve come to know the menace that burning fossil fuels poses to individuals and ecosystems all around the world. With that in thoughts we’ve begun to maneuver to cleaner, greener sources like wind and photo voltaic power. Wind generators and photo voltaic farms are fantastic issues. They’ve little or no environmental affect, and so they don’t require any gas to run – so the electrons they generate are remarkably low cost. The truth is, renewable era is already the most cost effective solution to produce power globally.
But wind and photo voltaic power can also be ‘intermittent.’ We are able to’t say for certain when the wind will blow or the solar will shine – we are able to’t simply ‘activate’ renewables every time we would like. On some particularly windy days we already generate much more wind energy than we’d like, and truly need to pay wind mills to ‘flip off’ their generators with the intention to shield {the electrical} grid. It’s an utter waste of low-carbon energy, particularly on condition that when power demand peaks (normally between 4-7pm within the night, when the solar is low) the grid usually has to ask mills to burn extra fossil fuels to maintain up.
So there’s the central problem of the power transition: if we are able to not depend on turning massive, soiled mills on and off to match our ever-changing power demand, then ‘flexibility’ goes to have to return from elsewhere. Solely then can we clean the solar and wind’s spiky, erratic energy right into a steady, controllable, 24/7 provide. Luckily, we’ve acquired some intelligent options.
So the place will power flexibility come from?
Individuals-powered flexibility
In a world powered by renewables, we have to flip flexibility on its head. We are able to unlock enormous quantities of flexibility by encouraging (and rewarding) individuals for altering the occasions they use energy in a method that matches when the greenest energy is obtainable.
Previously, it was assumed that particular person individuals’s flexibility would not have a lot of an affect on the broader grid. But analysis means that our collective power use could make a MASSIVE distinction.
Listed here are just a few of our initiatives encouraging individuals to make use of energy flexibly.
Our Massive Soiled Flip Down trial
On this trial, prospects are given targets to scale back power utilization throughout sure home windows when the grid is below stress – and get free energy for his or her efforts.
Good tariffs like AgileOctopus and Octopus Go
Our sensible tariff costs charges usually match up with carbon emissions by way of low cost ‘off-peak’ occasions or dynamic grid-based pricing: so energy is cheaper when it is greener, and dearer when dirtier…
Rethinking people-powered flexibility
We’re pushing to maneuver away from outdated concepts round ‘Demand Aspect Response’ to a kind of people-powered flexibility referred to as ‘Clever Demand’. Learn on if you need a deep dive…
Good tariffs:
Good tariffs like Clever Octopus, Octopus Go, and Agile Octopus are designed to reward prospects for utilizing power in a method that unlocks flexibility – consuming extra power when the grid is chock stuffed with inexperienced, renewable generated electrons, and utilizing much less when the grid is in demand and at its dirtiest (normally between 4-7pm on weekdays).
Octopus Go and Clever Octopus supply cheaper power over a hard and fast interval within the evenings and early hours of the morning, whereas Agile encourages versatile power use with with variable half-hourly costs primarily based on the wholesale price of power (i.e., what WE pay for it). This works as a result of dirtier power is normally dearer too. The truth is, when there’s a great deal of extra renewable power within the grid and never sufficient persons are utilizing it, Agile’s pricing goes detrimental, and prospects are literally paid to make use of power.
These tariffs work a bit like “peak” and “off-peak” prepare tickets. At peak occasions, when trains are busier, tickets is usually a little pricier, however for those who’re capable of journey off-peak, you possibly can usually snag an actual discount.
Identical to that, prospects are rewarded for being a bit extra versatile with their power utilization. In different phrases, there’s an incentive for travelling “off peak” – shifting your power consumption by a few hours (working washing machines and charging laptops a bit of earlier within the day, or later within the night).
Within the course of, sensible tariff prospects are unlocking unprecedented flexibility – taking a great deal of stress off the grid at occasions when renewables are sometimes a bit of tougher to return by, and utilizing up inexperienced power when it might in any other case go to waste.
To be clear. A wise tariff doesn’t imply you possibly can’t prepare dinner a meal between 4.00pm and seven.00pm. As an alternative, it’s about shifting the power use when utilizing gadgets that may run at any time of day. What’s extra there at the moment are all kinds of home equipment that may be automated, so that you don’t need to rise up late to clean and dry your garments, for instance. Proper now, Octopus’ sensible tariff prospects are saving tons of cash by automating home equipment (utilizing the open Agile API) in line with every day value forecasts.
If most people knew in regards to the @octopus_energy Agile time-of-use tariff, thousands and thousands of individuals would change to it. I switched 2 months in the past and decreased the value I pay per kWh from 14.07p to 10.37p, with solely very restricted load shifting.
— Rik Temmink (@riktem) October 9, 2019
Good Trials:
For the previous couple of years, Octopus Vitality has been working sensible trials with varied operators of various components of the UK’s power system. These helpful trials, together with The Massive Swap On, The Massive Soiled Flip Down, The Windy Day Fund, Equinox, and Crowdflex, have been designed to check the potential for consumer-based flexibility (and take some pressure off the grid within the course of).
Some trials have targeted on prospects who already use sensible tariffs – others have targeted on incentivising versatile behaviour in ‘non-smart’ prospects with ‘regular’ power meters. Consultants are nonetheless poring over the information from many of those trials, however outcomes are trying optimistic. Crowdflex, for instance, urged that home flexibility might simply scale back the UK’s every day ‘peak’ in power demand by a formidable 10%.
I am collaborating in a trial for @OctopusEnergy the place if I can scale back my utilization by 40% between 4.30pm and 6.30pm I’ll get any power I do use without spending a dime.I am going to save pence and doing this extra out of intrigue so that is how I am prepping my tea! 🤣 pic.twitter.com/XlZJicAvzW
— Danielle 🏳️⚧️ (@danih83_) February 24, 2022
Provide-based flexibility
As we go away fossil fuels behind, one other path to power ‘flexibility’ includes discovering new methods to regulate power provide – turning on spare clear sources of energy after we want a bit extra to cowl demand.
Listed here are just a few of our initiatives in power storage, vehicle-to-grid and inexperienced hydrogen.
Investing £3b in inexperienced hydrogen era
Octopus Vitality Technology (Alongside RES) has pledged £3bn in the direction of cutting-edge clear, inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing by 2030.
Making power storage smarter with Kraken Flex
Kraken Flex are utilizing their power experience to unlock unparalleled flexibility from the UK’s greatest batteries
Powerloop lets EV drivers receives a commission for flexibility companies
Vehicle2Grid charging could possibly be central to tomorrows inexperienced, sensible, versatile grid. With Powerloop, Octopus are main the best way.
Vitality Storage:
What it seems like, actually – discovering methods to carry massive quantities of renewable-generated energy to make use of at a later time when the wind isn’t blowing. Storage gadgets, from massive industrial batteries to smaller in-home batteries, can cost up when renewables are ample (and so power is at its very most cost-effective and greenest). We are able to then expend this power afterward, moderately than having to activate soiled fossil gas mills.
Right here then, we’ve managed to search out one other solution to unlock flexibility. By storing renewably generated electrons once they’re out there to be used afterward, we now have one solution to name on inexperienced power after we want it.
Kraken Flex:
Octopus’ Kraken Flex group at present management tons of of huge batteries throughout the UK – sufficient to retailer 1.2GWh of energy: that’s as a lot space for storing as in half the UK’s complete 350,000 Electrical Autos. They use cutting-edge machine studying know-how and unparalleled power experience to assist massive industrial batteries unlock as a lot flexibility as doable, ensuring as little of the UK’s inexperienced energy as doable goes to waste.
Residence-energy storage:
1000’s of Octopus Vitality prospects are already residing in futuristic versatile houses due to house batteries and EVs, storing and discharging power in a lot the identical method that bigger batteries do. In doing so, they’re laying the blueprint for a second large, decentralised community of smaller, smarter in-home batteries.
A trial run by Octopus Vitality and Powervault in 2020 confirmed that even with out having photo voltaic panels on the roof, the typical UK buyer might save as much as £270-580 per 12 months through the use of a ‘Powervault’ battery alongside a wise tariff like Octopus Vitality’s AgileOctopus. Within the close to future, the boffins at Kraken Flex anticipate that they may even group the batteries in individuals’s houses collectively, which might permit these prospects to receives a commission much more for offering a coordinated, native, data-driven flexibility service.
Car to grid charging:
On the same notice, Electrical automobiles have an enormous storage potential – they’re principally large batteries on wheels, and increasingly more of them are being constructed with the flexibility to export energy moderately than simply taking it in. Octopus’ Powerloop scheme helps flip electrical autos into an unlimited community of decentralised batteries – rewarding drivers for storing low cost, inexperienced power in a single day, driving round all day, after which as soon as house, discharging any spare power again into the grid to assist deal with the 4-7pm every day peak.
Early evaluation means that if the UK’s EV’s have been all plugged in on the proper occasions, they may retailer renewables with sufficient capability to satisfy a whopping half of the UK’s power wants.
Discovering flexibility with inexperienced hydrogen:
Inexperienced hydrogen provides one other solution to ‘retailer up’ after which ‘name on’ inexperienced power every time we’d like it. First, you utilize renewables to generate inexperienced hydrogen by way of electrolysis when photo voltaic and wind power are ample, then later, you possibly can burn that hydrogen to generate power after we want it. It really works a bit of like fuel, solely with out the dangerous emissions. To get the ball rolling, Octopus have introduced £3bn of funding in inexperienced hydrogen era. You possibly can learn extra about inexperienced hydrogen in our devoted weblog!
Flexibility: unlocking a less expensive and greener power system
Clients already stand to save lots of critical £££ in change for serving to out with consumer-based flexibility by way of sensible tariffs, home-energy storage, EVs, and sensible trials. And that’s on prime of the £8bn a 12 months the UK stands to save lots of by benefiting from cheaper, greener renewable power, and lowering the necessity for costly infrastructure updates (in line with the Nationwide Infrastructure Fee)!
So what are you ready for? Become involved with a smart-trial, join a wise tariff, or look into smart-home batteries – and also you too might begin flexing on the fossil gas trade at the moment.
