Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | JUNE 2021 | 31 Customers In May the company published the results of a sur- vey that highlighted a "hopelessness" felt by many that, although they want to support decarbonisation, they oen don't know how. In a bid to fill this "energy aware- ness gap" National Grid has produced a smart bulb that glows green when the electricity is at its greenest. Some may see it as a gimmick, but Burt believes it is going to become increasingly important that people see regular signs that the net zero journey is making progress, and feel that everyone has a role to play. He says: "The Green Light Signal picks up the carbon intensity in your local grid. So if you live in Stockport you'll see you live in one of the lowest carbon grids in the world. In places like Perth, Edinburgh, Stirling too, it will be green most of the time. The hope is that it encourages people to take further steps to capitalise on that green power." To give the public the confidence to really engage in decarbonisation, Burt believes a massive communica- tions drive is necessary. He says: "You need to provide a really top-line government-level coordination of the technical transition and the behavioural challenge. "Some of this will only go as quickly as the econom- ics and the appetite of the public will allow it to. You can't force these things down people's throats. "It's got to be a measured way of matching technol- ogy against the way people are going to use it. If you get the message right, the public can be a powerful advocate. You now have electric vehicle [EV] drivers on social media who are talking about how much more comfortable and cheaper EVs are. They are sharing the fact that this is a new cleaner source of transport with savings all round. When you get that combination it's very powerful." Burt says this scenario is possible only because "an awful lot of the groundwork" has been done for elec- trification of heat, allowing costs to come down more rapidly. He believes that the next decade will see mass electrification of transport become a reality but points to even more difficult tasks ahead – "the decade aer that has to be the one where decarbonised heat becomes really big". In the foothills of heat decarbonisation The first step in this journey is the heat and buildings strategy, due to be published this month. Burt says he expects the government to continue its approach of sup- porting "a tapestry of heating solutions". He adds: "We are in the foothills of heat decarboni- sation and it feels very early to make any more precise decisions than that. There may be hybrid or regional solutions but we need to keep putting a lot of effort into the development of both electric heating and hydrogen." He says that while there is little time to waste if we are to reach targets such as the installation of 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028, "it's more important to get it right and build once and carefully a policy framework for heat that can be as successful as the policy frame- work for offshore wind". Burt is passionate about the creation of a body to oversee the decarbonisation of heat – both the technical aspects and the way the message is communicated to "Some of this will only go as quickly as the economics and the appetite of the public will allow it to. You can't force these things down people's throats." the public. "Heat is a multi-layered public engagement challenge for the industry and the government. We see the real need for the establishment of a heat delivery body that would work very much like Digital UK did on the digital switchover. "We need a body that can work both strategically, to plan and work with government policy, but can also then do the heavy liing on public engagement. Without such a body it's very difficult to see how we get the alignment of consumer messaging with the right policy that delivers that really large investment. That's invest- ment not just in assets but the skills and the industries that go alongside that to really deliver a great consumer experience through that transition." Offshore wind presents a unique opportunity While decarbonisation of heat may be the hardest nut to crack, Burt is keen for the pressure to be kept up on all the fronts necessary for reaching net zero. The target of deploying 40GW of offshore wind by 2030 is another vital element of this and Burt says he is keen to see fur- ther action on developing an offshore electricity network – a subject the government is currently reviewing. Once again, Burt sees the involvement of the public as essential, adding that "we have to take local commu- nities around these projects with us". He reiterates his positive view in the progress that has been made so far being a catalyst for further and greater change. This is a theme he believes should be at the centre of COP26. "We have a great story to tell about the huge decar- bonisation of the power grid. We're running at less than 2 per cent of the nation's energy now supplied by coal and there are lessons good and bad on how that has been achieved for the rest of the world. The North Sea and the growth of offshore wind presents a unique opportunity for the UK." On COP26 itself, Burt says he understands the con- cerns of some prominent commentators, such as Greta Thunberg, about holding an international summit while many parts of the world are still in the grip of coronavi- rus surges. "We are keen to see a successful COP rather than a COP in November in particular, but it's a very hard decision for the UN and the UK government to make. It is incredibly important to keep moving towards rapid decarbonisation around the world and we have seen some incredibly positive signs on this around the world." Regardless of whether COP26 does take place in per- son this November, Burt sees no let up in the pressure for tangible signs that the net zero process is on track. "If you look at the graphs the simple challenge for the UK – although of course it's not simple – is to carry on that straight decline we've achieved over the past seven or eight years over the next 15 and we will reach that 78 per cent target. "It is in our hands and there is clearly a collective will to achieve it. We have to keep reminding people this is a positive story." James Wallin, digital editor

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