Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
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The Topic: Smart systems UTILITY WEEK | 10TH - 16TH MARCH 2017 | 15 The impact of EVs As the take-up of electric vehicles surges, so the distribution networks need to be adapted to cope, says Jane Gray. T he numbers of electric vehicles (EVs) being registered in the UK is surging. In 2016, 88,809 EVs were registered, 22 per cent more than the year before, and no-one is expecting this trend to drop off any time soon. It is therefore no surprise that the electrification of our transport system has shot up the agenda, and gone from being an outlying issue in conversations about flexible and smart energy, to being the focal point of demonstration pro- jects and innovation investment. Automotive manufacturers, energy suppliers and energy networks are all expecting a piece of the action. Carmakers, while primarily concerned with shiing units, are waking up to the fact that vehicle-to-grid (V2G) energy stor- age propositions could provide interesting benefits to customers and be bundled with commercial fleet deals – note Nissan's launch of a pioneering V2G demon- stration scheme last year. Energy suppliers, meanwhile, have long seen the scope for tailored tariffs for EV owners. With the end of the four-tariff cap under the Retail Market Review, the arrival of half-hourly settlement, and the ever increasing volume of EV own- ers, actually launching such deals is looking more and more viable. For energy networks, EVs are more of a worry. Their arrival en masse could deliver benefits, but more pressingly, it will mean severe system strain and will add complexity to demand patterns that are already difficult to predict. Distribution network operators (DNOs) are therefore investing millions of pounds in schemes seeking to understand in detail exactly what the impact of widespread EV uptake will be. The biggest project planned to date is being led by Western Power Distribu- tion (WPD) and will engage with between 500 and 700 EV owners. The £5.8 mil- lion Electric Nation project will bring together information about all participating vehicles, as well as their owners' charging behaviour, in order to create a plan- ning tool for DNOs. WPD's future networks manager, Roger Hey, describes the project as "critical" to the future operation of energy networks. "The tool will convert information directly into electrical requirements – how many kilowatts are needed at different times," he explains. Electric Nation, unlike previous DNO innovation schemes for EVs – such as My Electric Avenue – will not subsidise EV uptake, in the interests of reflecting a more "genuine" EV user demographic. WPD will, however, supply home charg- ing points, which Hey believes will dominate over on-street charging infrastruc- ture in the future. This is a contentious point – there is little certainty about what the preferred charging locations and timings are likely to be for EV owners as their numbers swell. It's likely they will vary between urban and rural locations – UKPN is tackling London's lack of off-street charging capacity by turning lampposts into charging points – and that they will change as car charging technology advances. These unpredictable and variable factors in the rise of EVs mean all projects exploring their technical and behavioural impact, like the energy system they seek to enable, will need to be flexible, and keep a weather eye to wider market developments. NEXT TOPIC: ATTRACTING INVESTMENT The next Topic will look at the challenge the UK utilities sector has in attracting investment. With the challenges presented by Brexit, subsidy cuts, and an ever-changing energy policy, keeping cash coming is essential, not only for the day-to-day operations, but also to allow for innovation and development of new assets and technologies. supply, so that we can "wean the world off fossil fuels". The Powerwall is available in 10kWh form, aimed at backup applications, or as a 7kWh unit, optimised for daily-use applications. Both can be connected to solar or grid and both can provide backup power. which aims to create future-proof and eco- nomic local heating solutions for the UK. The programme is also looking at how best to tackle the question of decarbonising heat. The collaborative activity with local authorities includes the development of a soware planning tool and design process, EnergyPath Networks, that produces options for cost-effective, local, low carbon energy transition. Enabling long-term success Meeting the low-carbon heat transition objective will mean around 25 years of activity involving almost every household and engaging many thousands of trained personnel. With this in mind, there must be another period of intense activity in the years to the early 2020s. During this time there is a real need to provide a platform for businesses to innovate, and develop, test and demonstrate their ideas at a scale that helps inform the decisions that ultimately affect over 26 million homes and help deliver heat, cooling and comfort for consumers over the coming decades. 16:12 16:30 16:50 17:10 17:20 17:30 17:50 18:00 18:04 18:20 18:40 19:00 19:20 19:40 20:00 20:20 20:40 21:00 21:20 21:30 21:33 21:38 21:42 21:50 22:10 22:30 22:50 23:10 23:30 23:46 ICB switching ICB charging curtailed (Whiteley) December 2014 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Time of day Current (A)