Eight companies and their collaborative partners have been given grants by the British Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on March 26th to explore smart technology.
The grants are part of the UK’s plan to move to smarter energy supplies including smart meters in every home, a smart grid and entire smart cities.
The projects are spread across a range of various technologies supporting smart grid development including storage, distribution load management, demand response controls and a network platform for a future smart grid site in Glasgow. The grants are part of $11.3 million (£7.6 million) available for DECC for smart grid development.
Energy Minister Lord Hunt said, “Smart technologies will help manage the massive shift to low carbon electricity such as wind, nuclear and clean fossil fuels. They will mean more efficient and reliable delivery of electricity, reducing the costs and emissions from electricity generation and transmission. These projects will place the UK on a solid platform to pursue larger scale and integrated projects in the future.”
“Globally the business of developing smart grids has been estimated at $40.2 billion (£27 billion) over the next 5 years and the UK has the know-how to be part of that. We want to give companies the opportunities and the support to make sure we develop the technologies we need. Smart grids are a highly transferrable technology and have the potential to generate significant export earnings for the UK,” said Lord Hunt.
The grants DECC awarded total $4.1 million (£2.8 million).
The UK Government has released ‘Smarter Grids: the opportunity’ to demonstrate the UK’s commitment to the development of a Smart Grid, which is a key plank in the United Kingdom’s transition to a low carbon economy. Smart Grids will transform the way electricity is supplied and used, saving consumers money through greater efficiency and contributing towards a low carbon energy system. The document is available below: Smarter Grids: the opportunity
The Electricity Networks Strategy Group (ENSG) has also released A Smart Grid Vision. ENSG is an industry led policy advisory committee co-chaired by DECC and Ofgem. The Smart Grid Working Group within ENSG has produced this vision as industry led ambition for the development of a Smart Grid.
By 2050 Britain will need to transform its entire electricity system, with major changes to the way electricity is generated, moved and consumed. By 2050 Britain will need to produce more electricity than is produced today but must be done largely without emitting greenhouse gases. Britain will need to generate electricity from low carbon sources such as renewables, nuclear and fossil fuel plants fitted with carbon capture and storage.
To support these changes, the UK will need a modernized electricity grid with larger capacity and the ability to manage greater fluctuations in supply, while maintaining security of supply. But this larger, smarter grid, together with other elements of the new electricity system, such as smart meters, microgeneration of electricity by individuals and businesses, smart appliances and electric vehicles, will also offer consumers a whole set of new opportunities for greater control over and choice in how electricity is used.
The smart grid therefore lies at the center of this vision for a transformed low carbon electricity system. It forms the backbone of the new system, but it will be intelligent, flexible and responsive.
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