Utility Week

7. WHAT: RENEWABLE ENERGY ADVANCES What's the deal: Last September the government awarded contracts worth £176 million to 11 low- carbon electricity schemes, with offshore wind the big winner. Offshore wind therefore joins onshore wind and solar in being cheaper than new gas. These auc on results shi ed the conversa on from renewables being desirable but high cost, to being economically compe ve, and moved the ambi on of 100 per cent renewable supply a step closer. Why it ma ers: A drama c increase in renewables is obviously big news for generators and their investors. But beyond genera on, it also has big implica ons for networks, which need to connect and cope with distributed and intermi ent power sources. Energy-intensive water companies are also pursuing renewables to reduce costs. Many water companies now have ambi ous targets for self-sufficiency – as well as extra revenues from selling excess power. TECH: THE RESULTS AND WHY THEY MATTER "This top ten provides a window into the considerable upheaval approaching the u li es sector. The ming of each change, and the extent to which they are realised by these specific technologies, is unclear, but I expect we will see: – Con nued adop on of low-carbon technologies at pace; – A shi towards data- driven business models; – Long-term technology- driven systemic changes across the u li es industry. "The most common disrup ve technology trend voted for was expected advancements in exis ng technologies that support decarbonisa on targets. We have already seen rapid deployment of some of these technologies, such as residen al solar panels through feed-in tariffs, and the sudden growth of ba ery storage in recent capacity market auc ons, but there is definite scope for more. "Trying to accurately predict which of the technologies on the list will be the most disrup ve is a guaranteed way to make yourself look silly. That said, I am very confident that we are entering the most disrup ve period for the sector since priva sa on. This will be driven by con nued low-carbon technology advancement and a shi towards data-driven business models. Whether or not we achieve large- scale deployment of AI or blockchain remains to be seen but, given the speed at which they are developing, I wouldn't want to bet against them." Arthur Mitchell, manager, Strategy&, part of the PwC network "What these disrup ve technologies have in com- mon is a recogni on that the future is much more local and decentralised than ever before and the days of the domina on of centralised large-scale assets, systems and pro- cesses are numbered. The future is one where auton- omous, intelligent devices, operate on a hyper-local basis, aggre- ga ng up to un- derpin the whole system in tandem with large-scale assets – whether it be solar, hydrogen, IoT, renewables, or EVs. "This is driven by a shi in society. In our world people are interconnected, iden fying with commu- ni es never previously imagined; individualisa on and a demand for fair treatment is paramount; control of personal iden - ty, personal data and the ability to transact with others on a one-to-one basis without complex systems of brokerage and trust are essen al. This is profound social change that will not be reversed. "With such a seismic shi in the individual and com- munity, the incumbent technologies, IT systems and business models that exist today are increasing- ly unfit for purpose." Neil Pennington, thought leader in inno- va on through decen- tralised technology P R E S E N T S 14 | 2ND - 8TH MARCH 2018 | UTILITY WEEK P R E S E N T S

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