The UK will need to upgrade the current networks infrastructure if it is to create a low carbon energy system, according to a new report from the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).
Current governance and regulatory frameworks are not designed to enable and incentivise the radical transformation that will be needed to move to a low carbon solution, the report argues, as the UK will need to adapt and enhance existing networks, create efficient and effective new networks to deliver energy in new ways and all energy networks should be integrated to work alongside each other effectively.
The report’s authors recommend the following actions to allow for a transition to a low carbon energy system with a network infrastructure that delivers for future generations:
- The UK should incentivise and target investment to allow it to adapt and enhance existing networks
- Clear decisions are required on what new networks are needed and where they should be located to allow investment decisions to be made
- The UK should design network infrastructures to ensure they work together efficiently across multiple vectors in real time – providing an economic and consumer solution to the delivery of low carbon energy
The new report also looks in more detail at the specific challenges faced in delivering heat, electricity, gas and hydrogen.
Liam Lidstone, ETI’s strategy manager for energy storage and distribution, said: “Most of the UK’s energy is currently moved around the country, and sometimes beyond, by electricity and gas networks together with the liquid fuel supply system e.g. petrol and diesel. The role of these networks will inevitably change as the ways in which the country provides and consumes energy evolves and as other networks emerge, not least those carrying heat and hydrogen. It is imperative that all of these networks are fit for purpose and robust enough to respond to future uncertainties.”
He continued: “Choices need to be made soon about which networks to build, develop, maintain or decommission, as well as where and when to do so. As networks can take years or even decades to build, the right decisions must be made ahead of need because once they are built they cannot easily be moved or changed. This means the decisions taken need to be right for the long term. It is also likely that there will need to be significantly more interaction between different parts of the energy system in the future. This means there will need to be more interaction between the respective networks.”
Read the full report: UK Network Transition Challenges – A Systems View.
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