It’s time to build a smart energy network ecosystem

It’s impossible not to feel concerned about the accelerating impacts of climate change on our planet. This month’s UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid is being held amid a growing sense of crisis, with the World Meteorological Organization reporting that greenhouse gas concentrations reached their highest ever levels in 2018.

Only a huge increase in the carbon reduction ambitions of governments will limit global warming to 1.5 per cent above pre-industrial levels, said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, describing the global response to date as “utterly inadequate”.

As the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) first global partner, Capgemini joined discussions in Madrid on electrifying mobility and building smarter cities, to help develop the strategies to deliver a 45 per cent global cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and net zero emissions by 2050.

In the UK, the transition to new, smart, flexible and distributed energy networks is a vital component of our own journey to a zero-carbon system, while also ensuring the secure and affordable energy that our communities and economy demand.

New technologies are becoming central to the way we generate, consume and manage energy, with huge amounts now coming from renewable sources connected at a local network level. Consumers are adopting new technologies at pace, such as electric vehicles (EVs), smart meters and solar panels.

Leading our national effort to design and implement Britain’s smart grid of the future is the Energy Networks Association, bringing together the government, grid operators, Ofgem, academics, NGOs and other stakeholders. Good progress is being made, but it’s a huge and complex challenge – and each step forward throws up fresh issues.

The speed at which new technology is embraced can be exponential and have profound impacts. Who could have predicted the explosion in popularity of the iPhone, or the way it changed people’s daily habits? Millions of UK households now have solar panels. These events are often game changers and accepted norms have to be reset.

The UK’s commitment to EVs is the latest example. As charging vehicle batteries becomes a daily routine for millions of people, this would place substantial and potentially unmanageable new demands on energy networks under our current arrangements. Building smart energy networks at a distribution level, as part of a wider smart energy network ecosystem, will be fundamental to securely and cost-effectively enabling this paradigm shift in energy for transport.

This year, Britain recorded its first week of electricity supply without using any coal-fired generation since the 1880s. So, we’re heading in the right direction, but as Greta Thunberg said to the UN, as we enter perhaps the most important decade in our planet’s history, we will be judged on actions, not words – and energy network companies will be under the spotlight.

For more about ­Capgemini’s partnership with the UN IPCC, visit www.capgemini.com