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SMART INFRASTRUCTURE & CONNECTED ASSETS however, presents a number of challenges and opportunities." ESB has framed its Innovation Strategy into eight roadmaps to provide the company with a balanced portfolio of pilot projects. "Each one is based on an opportunity resulting from the challenges we face," explains Duffy. These eight roadmaps include connecting renewables; customer engagement; electrifi- cation of heat and transport; asset optimisa- tion; flexibility on the networks; operational excellence; network resilience; and working with the TSO. "The Dingle Project and +CityxChange [see case studies] are just two examples of the exciting smart pilot projects we are currently undertaking," adds Duffy. While there is a plethora of examples of the industry successfully driving the smart infrastructure agenda, the road ahead is not without its challenges. From regulatory barri - ers to data concerns, Randolph Brazier, head of innovation and development at the ENA NETWORK / 22 / MARCH 2019 Case studies – ESB Networks Dingle project The Dingle project is a three-year programme that will allow ESB Networks to explore all opportunities a lower carbon economy can unlock for local communities across Ireland. The €5 million project will deploy a number of smart technologies in a defined geographical area – the Dingle peninsula, which has a population of 4,700 – to enable their evaluation with respect to the delivery of a cost-effective, secure and sustainable distribution system. The company is investigating the impact of the deployment of electrified heat and transport and solar PV, the capability of flexibility solutions, such as batteries and demand side response (DSR), and the potential for peer-to-peer trading solutions. ESB is installing smart devices on its network to help monitor and predict network events more accurately, making the network more resilient and ensuring security of supply for customers into the future. +CityxChange +CityxChange (positive city exchange) is a €20m smart city project comprising a consortium of 32 partners, including ESB Networks, Limerick City and Limerick County Council, from 11 countries. This five-year project is led by Limerick City, along with the city of Trondheim in Norway. They will work with five other follower cities, Alba Iulia (Romania), Pisek (Czech Republic), Sestao (Spain), Smolyan (Bulgaria) and Voru (Estonia), to develop a series of demonstration projects on how to become smart positive energy cities. A community energy system will be trialled in Limerick city. Heat pumps, intelligent meters, innovation in new energy sources (including hydrokinetic energy/tidal), electrical energy storage, digital tools and citizen participation will be used to create a Distributed Positive Energy Block and District (DPEB) in Limerick city centre. In addition, smart chargers and a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charger will be installed in the Limerick DPEB. ESB Networks will support the integration of the DPEB in the distribution network and observe and provide oversight of the "regulatory sandbox" that could enable concepts such as peer-to-peer energy trading and the Energy Community Utility (ECU) to be trialled. stresses that these issues present a potential risk to the delivery of smart, connected energy networks. "There are a number of issues including a lack of clarity on decarbonisation policy, particularly on heat, and also a regulation sys- tem that is not fit-for-purpose – for example, a system that does not sufficiently support innovation," says Brazier. "A lack of visibility of data and inconsist- ency across the country would also pose a barrier to the transition." In a bid to confront these challenges head on and facilitate the transformation of the UK's energy networks, ENA launched the Open Networks Project in 2017. The initiative unites electricity grid operators, academics, NGOs, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Ofgem. According to ENA, the project "will enable the UK's local distribution networks to move from their traditional role of simply delivering electricity in one direction from centralised power plants to our homes and communities, to one where they act as a smart platform that enables a whole range of new energy tech - nologies that generate, consume and manage electricity". As part of the project, network operators have committed to "rapidly increase" the use of markets for energy innovation. Examples of this commitment include using new smart energy efficiency technology to adjust con- sumption remotely and buying electricity from battery storage. Key stakeholders are working together to lay the foundations of the smart grid in Great Britain, while informing future developments in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Initiatives like the Open Networks Project are a reminder that progress requires a whole- system approach. Cross-sector engagement and collaboration from a range of stakehold - ers, is essential to ensure the smart, con- nected networks of the future are delivered and serve consumers for generations. The electrification of transport is a key focus for ESB Networks. Credit: Valerie O'Sullivan