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NETWORK / 35 / NOVEMBER 2017 DISTRIBUTED ENERGY T he energy market is changing and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is engaging with industry stakeholders to adapt to the changes taking place by working with the Electricity Networks Association (ENA). Barely a day goes by without mention of the rise of distributed energy in the media. Typically this is commentary highlighting the opportunities and risks presented by technology such as solar PV and electric vehicles. The level of excitement around distributed energy systems and so called 'disruptive technology' appears endless, but is well justi€ ed; solar PV supply in the UK now outstrips that of coal on a daily basis and new storage technology is starting to demonstrate its capabilities at scale. The burning issue for policymakers is how the electricity system will cope with and facilitate the continued growth of dis- tributed energy resources, which is moving us away from the centralised system we are accustomed to. It is recognised that a transi- tion towards a smarter system that unlocks ‡ exibility right down to individual devices is one of the most attractive solutions – with estimates of customer bene€ ts running into the tens of billions. Yet by all accounts this is highly complex, as it involves many inter- linked technical and socio-economic factors, in addition to a complete re-think of indus- try roles and responsibilities. Fortunately, the right questions are being asked and there is signi€ cant industry engagement, as demonstrated by the 240 or so responses received by the UK Government via its Call for Evidence published late last year. Government and Ofgem's much-antic- ipated Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan recently gave a clear vision of the emerging electricity system, which is characterised by smart technology o• ering new system Decoding 'peer-to-peer' for electricity networks Dr Daniel Saker, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks policy manager, examines the concept of 'peer-to-peer' energy trading and what it means for network companies. ‡ exibility in a way that is in tune with end customers' requirements. One of the concepts grabbing industry attention is a 'peer-to-peer' marketplace for energy trans- actions. Essentially this allows customers to trade ‡ exibility with one another in a way that could bene€ t both themselves and the wider electricity system. In fact it's not dif- € cult to see how revolutionary peer-to-peer energy trading could be in an increasingly de-centralised system model. Take for exam- ple a street that has seen a rapid growth of solar PV on household roofs and plug-in EVs on driveways; the consequences of which would traditionally either involve upgrad- ing local infrastructure or the curtailment of both EV demand and solar PV generation. This is due to the fact that without interven- tion it is very likely that these new tech- nologies would push maximum supply and demand points above the network limits required to maintain reliability. Local energy balancing through peer-to-peer trading is perhaps closer to reality than many people realise. Trials such as SSEN's NINES project (Northern Isles New Energy Solutions) have demonstrated the bene€ ts of using local ‡ exibility within constrained networks. Shetland is currently completely discon- nected from the main GB gas and electric- ity networks; however, its location is one of the best in Europe in terms of its wind power resource. The high penetration of electric storage heaters and hot water tanks in Shetland provided an excellent ‡ exible resource to make use of wind generation. With help from Smarter Grid Solutions SSEN commissioned one of the € rst active network management systems in the UK. This ena- bled wind generation that the network could otherwise not cope with, to be delivered to household heating systems where it was stored for later use. The next steps towards unlocking the bene€ ts of local ‡ exibility are increasing the visibility and controllability of distrib- uted energy resources, as this will underpin new peer-to-peer marketplaces. Smart metering will go some way to improving visibility and will help drive new innovative business models. Another critical step to facilitating peer-to-peer and local ‡ exibility services is the transition to DSO, as these parties will be responsible for providing information on network congestion to the market in real-time. The ENA's Open Networks Project is working on the detail of this and is ensuring that new DSO func- tionality is € t for purpose, both in terms of continuing to provide network reliability and enabling smart technology to provide customer bene€ ts. "Shetland is currently completely disconnected from the main GB gas and electricity networks." electricity networks."