Network

NETWORK / 11 / APRIL/MAY 2020 DECARBONISATION Why the DSO transition must accelerate Network leaders must stop overanalysing and start getting on with the job of decarbonisation says Western Power Distribution's Roger Hey T he world is cur- rently facing an extraordinary fight against Covid-19 and, as an industry we are doing everything possible to ensure that power continues to flow while at the same time protecting the safety of our workers. But while we have this battle on our hands in the short-term, we mustn't take our foot off the peddle with the much larger long-term challenge of climate change. The UK is facing a unprec - edented challenge to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions commitment by 2050. Transi- tioning the UK's energy system to cleaner sources of power has been, and will continue to be, a demanding and stimulating test for government, industry "oven-ready" and achievable solutions to the UK's long-term decarbonisation challenges. There are such technologies available now, such as heat pumps and simple EV smart charging, that will help us to achieve our national target but need clear policy direction for their implementation. New innovations will be developed, and technologies improved over the next 30 years, but we should recognise that the core solutions are available now. The time has come to stop debating, and to start implementing our route to net zero. To reach net zero, WPD estimates that the UK's electric - ity networks will need to handle around four times the energy consumption of today. However, this doesn't mean we need a network that is four times big - ger, as the industry has already developed a range of innova- tions and technologies to create smarter, more flexible networks. These are capable of managing peaks in demand without the need for wholesale reinforce - ment. Investment in these types of enabling IT infrastructure will be key. Today, the UK energy indus - try faces three key challenges to which we already have the solu- tions at our fingertips to meet net-zero emissions: Heating the UK's 25 million homes The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's 2018 report 'Clean Growth – Transforming Heating, Overview of Current Evidence' highlighted that domestic heating pro - duces almost one third of all UK carbon emissions. This is one area where we can achieve valuable gains in the coming years by making a clear policy decision to promote the installa - tion of heat pumps as the UK's standard heating system for all suitable homes. Ofgem has underlined the importance of heat pumps to decarbonisation in its recently published Decarbonisation Action Plan, noting, "we expect that heat pumps will be needed to heat many homes, regardless stakeholders and consumers. When government set its target of net-zero by 2050, it was applauded for being the first major economy in the world to legislate a specific decar - bonisation timeframe. However, 2050 remains an ambitious deadline for reducing the UK's carbon emissions, especially for the energy industry. It can take several years to build low carbon distributed generators, such as wind or solar farms, and well over a decade to construct larger nuclear power stations, thanks to the UK's o›en lengthy planning process and consulta - tions. When the next 30 years are broken down like this, 2050 feels a lot closer. If the UK is to hit its mid-21st century target, it is crucial that the industry and government focus on implementing simple,

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