The fight against climate change has reached a critical deadlock. Armed with the information that modernising the grid is essential to significantly cutting carbon dioxide emissions, distribution system operators (DNOs) have the responsibility of bringing this vision to fruition.
Electricity loads are anticipated to double by 2050 due to widespread electrification of homes and businesses, with the proliferation of electric vehicles and heat pumps serving as major catalysts. By 2050, the National Grid is expecting 300,000 new heat pumps to be installed annually, while 36 million EVs may be on the road by 2040. The conventional, one-directional energy model will be unable to meet the demand.
The road to decarbonisation begins with increasing the grid's flexibility. This entails evolving to more effectively balance supply and demand and better account for load uncertainty. The adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs), renewable energy sources and...