1. New opportunities in local energy
Local Flexibility Markets
Jodie Giles
CARES conference, Perth, 9 May 2019

2. Jodie’s Jargon Buster
SO/TSO/ESO/NETSO: UK System Operator (National Grid), look after the electricity transmission network and system in the UK, working with DNOs
DNOs: Distribution Network Operators, the 6 regional companies licenced to distribute electricity within 14 defined licence areas across GB
DSOs: Distribution System Operators, the evolving role of regional DNOs to “…operate and develop an active distribution system comprising networks, demand, generation and other DERs”
DERs: Distributed Energy Resources, assets connected to the distribution network that could be called upon to provide flexibility services.
Flexibility services: Modifying generation and/or consumption patterns in reaction to an external signal for a financial reward (revenue).
Revenue stacking: Using assets to access multiple incentive programmes, paid for services or contracts – i.e. national balancing & local flex services
Aggregation: ‘Bundling’ smaller loads into a portfolio, which can participate in programmes with entry thresholds that are too high (i.e. 1MW)

3. What is flexibility?
Flexibility services: Modifying generation and/or consumption patterns in reaction to an external signal for a financial reward (revenue).
This means a lot more engagement with customers …
Flexibility is not new – power stations ramp up/down
Includes power quality, voltage.
Deferring network upgrades by turning to flexibility instead
Saving customers money

4. Why is flexibility important?
New revenue streams - Payments are marginal but support new business models and revenue stacking
Enable more low carbon electricity generation to connect
Step towards local supply – same skills set and platforms could be used for local energy trading
Manage demand on the network to avoid peaks
Customers will be asked to:
reduce their demand for electricity (a bit like Economy 7 but more dynamic)
turn up their energy generation
discharge power they have stored
Energy and electrons are plentiful, there is value in scarcity
If we aren’t engaged as the market develops all the value will be hoovered up by the incumbents …

5. Additional flexibility needed
Levels of additional flexibility-providing capacity required for 2030 carbon intensity targets
Flexible technology
By 2020 (GW)
By 2025 (GW)
By 2030 (GW)
Low
Central
High
New flexible generation 1 3 5 2 6 10 9 15
Storage
0.8
2.9
3.2
11.6 20
5.6
20.3 35
DSR
2.1
6.3
10.5
2.76
8.28
13.8
3.42
10.26
17.1
Interconnection
3.4
4.45
5.825
7.2
5.5
8.25 11
Source: Roadmap for Flexibility Services to 2030, Poyry and Imperial College London, 2017
3-15 GW of additional capacity of flexible technology needs to come onto the network for the UK to meet 2030 carbon intensity targets
Domestic and community flexibility could be a key area of growth
Depends heavily on smart meters

6. Things to think about
Demand is the driver: These services are about managing demand (i.e. gen turn-up, demand-down, storage discharge)
Entry thresholds: notably lower than that of national balancing services potentially 100kW - aggregation is also permitted
Non-response: unlikely to pay a penalty, reduction or removal of payments for reduced or non performance
Technology: Agnostic on approach, but if you are given a 15min notice, need to sustain for 2 hours and at any time - some technologies will be better placed than others
Contract length: likely to be 2-4 years

7. Who could easily participate?
‘Dispatchable’ (thermal?) generation
variable generation with storage
Generation Turn-Up
Storage ‘discharge’
Demand reduction
Commercial & industrial equipment switch off or process ramp down
Quick response standalone storage (various techs)
Tangible domestic flexible loads

8. How
SSEN’s Social Constraint
Managed Zones
SPEN - Glenrothes

9. Background to ECAS
Regen won innovation grant with Carbon Co-op and Community Energy Scotland
Aim to look into feasibility of service which aggregates flexible loads at the household/community level to participate in local flexibility markets
Study based on Carbon Co-op’s concept of an ECAS

10. What is the ‘OpenDSR’ project
Assess the feasibility and demonstrate the real-world potential for an open source, standards-based approach to a demand side response (DSR) management service. This project demonstrates controllable, flexible demand in real domestic environments, with the potential to scale up, via replication through the UK’s widespread existing community energy sector.
Aim is to try and reduce cost and barriers to domestic participation in DSR – achieving this through interoperability, open source and off the shelf hardware.
60 CC homes – smart EV chargers installed
40 social housing – immersion heaters, solar panels and solar divertors
A partnership led by Carbon Co-op will deliver ‘OpenDSR’ a project assessing the feasibility and demonstrating the real-world potential for an open source, standards-based approach to demand side response (DSR) management services. Our specification is flexible enough to map to a variety of anticipated DSR business models and contractual relationships, such as aggregator intermediary, DNO active network management, and ESCo (energy service company) and to integrate a variety of sizeable distributed domestic and flexible loads such as electric vehicles and direct electrical heating. Some market actors favour a ‘walled garden’ approach of proprietary systems and platforms to the management of DSR devices. Our experience and research suggests DSR business models will be based on small, tight margins and the need to integrate systems with a wide range of flexible assets. Attempting to monopolise value via intellectual property and market capture adds to these margins, reducing viability and interoperability. The ‘Open DSR’ project seeks to unlock the value within the ‘long tail’ of flexibility of the existing electricity network in homes across the UK by promoting an open and standards based approach to automated demand side response. Successfully doing so will bring in to viability a number of proposed aggregator/ESCO
business models as well as reducing capital cost outlays for DSR devices such as batteries, EVs and electrical heating systems, lower costs and will support new Ukbased manufacturing, supply and retail supply chains as well as possible exports to North American markets.
WP7: Business Model Development - Market research and testing to develop a Community Owned DSR aggregator
WP8: Evaluation and monitoring - Developing project KPIs and collecting data to evaluate progress against these.

11. Any questions? …Thanks for listening
Regen, Innovation Centre, Rennes Drive, Exeter, EX4 4RN T: