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Smart Grid Opportunities

Smart Grid Opportunities. A presentation for Birmingham Science City Matthew Rhodes September 2014. Agenda. What are ‘smart grids’ and why are they important? What are the opportunities and issues? Why is this an area of opportunity for Birmingham science City?.

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Smart Grid Opportunities

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  1. Smart Grid Opportunities A presentation for Birmingham Science City Matthew Rhodes September 2014

  2. Agenda • What are ‘smart grids’ and why are they important? • What are the opportunities and issues? • Why is this an area of opportunity for Birmingham science City?

  3. Smart grids are the outcome of technical, commercial, regulatory and political drivers coming together A deeply inefficient UK energy system Pressure on energy costs Reducing cost of IT and smart homes Benefits Distributed generation and storage technologies UK Community Energy Strategy New revenue streams Fuel poverty reduction Community assets Public engagement Jobs

  4. New technologies enable a more efficient market structure (in theory) • Procurement and switching - £10-£50 per customer (not prepayment meters) • Efficiency and renewables £0-£300 p.a. variable (shared). • Eliminate structural market overhead £200-300 p.a. Source: Ofgem 2013 Encraft analysis

  5. In practice, this means a fundamentally different system Energy supply and demand is optimised within a community first. 1. The national system works at a higher level to balance demand and supply between communities 2.

  6. This is about transforming infrastructure to put users* in control Present “The way I can manage my home is limited by inflexible infrastructure and negligible information” “The way I can manage national energy supply is constrained by limited information and pesky, unpredictable consumers. It’s a tough job, but the consequences of failure are huge.” * most efficient decision-making entities, when properly informed!

  7. Smart grids should mean more opportunities all round, a bit like connecting computers Future “There’s a lot more flexibility and resilience in the network. Our job’s more about making markets now, and less about despatching power stations.” Community energy co. “There is so much more I can do with and in my home, my bills are lower and I’m earning good money. It’s great to own part of a community energy company too.”

  8. Technology opportunities and issues • Local energy generation • Local energy storage (incl. automotive, thermal, inter-seasonal) • Grid protection • Distribution • Smart meters • Smart plugs (and appliances) • Smart controls • User interfaces • Business models • Privacy and data protection • REGULATION

  9. Why is this an opportunity for Birmingham Science City • Existing strengths in Universities and local SMEs • Existing projects to build on • EPSRC, Innovate UK, EU, OFGEM • These are infrastructure projects • Local authority and LEP leadership • Intrinsically local • Integration of multiple technologies • Significant opportunity and need for partnership • There are opportunities for SMEs and ‘accessible’ innovation • Sustainable, skilled and new local jobs • Substantial financial flows involved • Short-term innovation funding (LCNF, Innovate UK, Horizon 2020)

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