1. Near Zero Carbon Energy Mission - Have we Lost the Plot?
Sustainable Energy and Climate Change have combined to create a paradigm shift in the way energy can be managed in the future with increasing penetration levels of Distributed Energy Resources.
The Electricity System is breaking records in the level of Electricity from Wind that is powering the grid at a given time.  This is wonderful and remarkable but also a distraction from the real issue.
There is a limit to the level of contribution that can be safely secured from renewables in the absence of radical changes to the current Electricity System in Ireland. This is recognised in the recently published "Energy Innovation Ireland" (Energy Research Strategy Group ).
It is time to go public on the level of effort that must be deployed to enable such radical changes on time. 

3. Near Zero Carbon Energy
Thank you for inviting me – Today I am delighted that I can present on my own behalf and not for any organisation or cause. So I hope to enjoy the coming minutes.
The Near Zero Carbon Economy Mission – EU? Irish Government?
Do I want it? Yes I want It
Is it important? Yes its important
Why is it so important? Two very urgent reasons
Climate Change
Energy Security
Climate Change we know is urgent
But if we take renewable energy and energy recycling to their limit I argue that we can achieve both!
But surely we’re not quite on the right road?

4. Sustainable Energy and Climate Change have combined to create a paradigm shift in the way energy can be managed in the future with increasing penetration levels of Distributed Energy Resources

5. Old Ways Under Pressure: Traditional power systems were designed and built around a relatively small number of large power plants which mainly operated on fossil fuels.

6. Flexibility & Balancing: Power Stations could be turned on or off to match the needs of users with occasional imbalances being tolerated by the spinning inertia in the system along with spinning reserve.

7. Base Load

8. Night Load

9. Flexibility & Balancing Power
The Business of, constantly (every second) ensuring that there is just enough power being generated to serve User Needs (Demand), is tricky at the best of times.
The key is in the Flexibility of the overall system to Balancing Supply & Demand.
To this day this still means that the System Operators must have the means available to them to turn something on or off so that supply matches demand – at all times.
The gel of our AC System is Stable Frequency (50 Hz) and Synchronous Power. Too much supply and frequency rises. Too little – it drops.

10. The Arrival of Wind generators: One of the key characteristics of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) is their wide spatial distribution, feeding in power at many points in the network at any one time.

11. Renewables tend to be smaller than Traditional Power Plant: Most Renewables don’t fit well in the Transmission System and tend to lodge in the Distribution System. Many are invisible to the Grid Operator (TSO) and not readily controllable.
Driven by EU Directives, Climate Change and Energy Security Renewable Energy Continues to grow and intersperse throughout the Grid – the Grid situation meanwhile grows in complexity.
In 2017 the Grid Operator is introducing special DS3 System Service: This is in an effort to maintain Grid Stability while increasing Renewables. This could have been a big opportunity for radical change towards User Participation in Grid Stability

12. By now the System is becoming increasingly complex:
The Operator is paying Users to switch on and off electrical devices to provide the needed Flexibility & Balancing Power to keep the Grid Stable through Demand Response Services.
The System is experiencing increasing difficulty dealing with generators that come on and off without any warning or control.
Excessive generation during times of low power usage is becoming a serious problem.
Competition for “Connections” to the Grid have now become contentious.

14. Loss of Flexibility & Balancing Power: In the event of an extreme threat to Grid Stability
The Grid Operator calls on the DS3 System Service Suppliers to respond and provide a return to Stable Conditions.
Results in many small operators providing different necessary supplies from different locations.
Removes power of central command
Needs a smarter way of controlling and dispatching what the grid needs and where.

15. What If full Renewable & Recycling Energy were possible through a Cellular Smart Grid

16. GREAT THINGS ARE BEING DONE IN IRELAND
2050 Big Solar is likely = 4 Times Current Demand
2050 Big Wind Farm Capacity = 3 Times Current Demand
2050 more than 1 Million Buildings in Ireland will be Energy Positive – IEA/SEAI
In one Single Moment in 2050 Intermittent Energy could produce much more than 8 Times Ireland’s Current Demand
How will all this new Intermittent Energy be Balanced?
Community Energy – What Unique Role Can It Play?

17. Ireland Is Breaking All Windpower Records
System Demand
Wind Generation MW
SNSP %
Wind Penetration %

18. This is wonderful and remarkable but also a distraction from the real issue. 

19. The Way Forward
In a near zero carbon energy system virtually all power plant could be relatively small but huge in number with each coming on and off in accordance with the availability of sun's energy or wind.
Times of huge abundances would occur along with other times of huge shortages. We now know that the only hope of keeping such a system in balance is to mobilise the users to provide the flexibility and balancing power to make such a system stable and sustainable.
We also know that users  in local areas could best be organised into smart self-regulated and balanced energy cells. These local Smart Energy Cells would be inter-meshed to form a Grid-wide Cellular Smart grid.
This we know to be the way forward. This is the radical change which must take place in the energy system. But this is just not happening.
A whole new technological system needs to be developed and deployed in the field through willing prosumers who provide the nucleus for each smart energy cell.

20. There is a limit to the level of contribution that can be secured from renewables in the absence of these radical changes to the current Electricity System in Ireland.
This is recognised in the recently published “Energy Innovation Ireland” (Energy Research Strategy Group – March 2016).
The State recognises this need and is moving to support Community Energy but Community Energy without radical changes and new technology solutions will only make the stabilisation problem worse not better.
Right now the main concentration is on short term system services “fixes” such as DS3. But DS3 without prosumer or community involvement will be the lost opportunity.
DS3 System Services could instead form the foundations of a new sustainable development of Smart Energy Cells, at community level, and the backbone of the long term solution - the roll-out of a Cellular Smart Grid.

21. The more we ignore these realities the less prospects we have of ever achieving our Climate Change Obligations and our Near Zero Carbon Energy Future.

22. Community Smart Grids
Modular grid nodes represent future proofing of the grid
No point in fixing the grid – It needs to be ready for a zero carbon future
Community buy-in and mobilisation vital to energy security
Bottom-up grid structure needed
Our EU targets require us to be smarter