Transcript 2013-Cambridge-Presentation

The Social Life of
Smart Grids
Stephen Potter
Design Innovation Group
The Open University
Transition in the UK energy sector
• The UK’s 2011 Carbon Plan
focuses on new low carbon
electricity generating capacity
• Grid capacity is a big issue if
decarbonised (or even low carbon)
electricity is to provide for home
heating and transport as well as
growth in existing uses
• Grid extension and
reinforcement is expensive
(£15 billion to 2021) and could
be inefficient
Photos: Western Power Distribution
• So ‘Smart Grids’ are about having a better managed
network
• One of the aims of Smart Grids is to understand and
manage decentralised systems involving distributed
production
• This is seen as a critical part of the transition to a costeffective and sustainable system of electricity
production, transmission and consumption
Low Carbon Network Fund
• The Future Networks Programme with the Low Carbon
Network Fund (LCNF) supports smart grid
implementation trials to enable industry learning
– Western Power Distribution (WPD) is one of the UK power
distribution network operators participating in this programme
• The OU team is part of the WPD Project FALCON –
(Flexible And Low Carbon Optimised Networks)
• This presentation draws upon an analysis of LCNF
projects to inform knowledge dissemination in FALCON
– For details see www.lowcarbonuk.com and OU podcast at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHxJyIukRlQ&feature=youtu.be
Supply-side skills
• District Network Operators (DNOs)
are rooted in the function of
transmitting electricity from
generators to users
• They have no need to have strong interactions with
consumers (retail companies do that – industry
structure)
• They have a socio-technical regime built around a
supply function for an exogenously-determined demand
• This is a system of professional expertise, organisational
structures, relationships with contractors, regulatory
frameworks, practices and skills etc.
Demand-side skills
• Emerging Smart Grid designs
for network management involve:
– Engaging with new producers
(CHP, micro-generators,
commercial back-up contracts etc.)
– Engaging with users to manage demand – chopping
peaks (commercial/domestic)
– A context in which consumers are also producers –
‘prosumers’
• The traditionally supply and engineering solution-oriented
culture of DNOs finds this difficult to relate to.
Smart Grid ways of doing…
• There much emphasis given to the technical elements of
smart grid designs like network cables, control/
monitoring equipment, WiFi communications and energy
storage systems
• This is central to smart grid approaches and involves
skills, practices and ways of working with which the
DNOs are familiar
• Little attention is given to the changes needed in
practices and skills as a result of greater user interaction
• But the industry is becoming aware of this need
Technical and institutional
innovation
• Backlash against smart meters in
USA seen as a warning
(‘Spy and Fry’)
• Technical innovation usually
requires organisational
innovation as well
• There are dangers in trying to implement Smart Grid
designs within current culture and practices
• Simply retaining existing approaches and introducing
technologies and pricing systems to cut peak load has
been very problematic
PV impact on
Suburban
networks
Project SoLa
BRISTOL
33kV
Lincolnshire
Low Carbon
Hub
Future Networks Programme
11kV Project
FALCON
Networks
LV Network
Templates
Demonstrating alternative
investment strategies to
facilitate the UK’s Low
Carbon Transition
Customer
Performance
Testing innovative
solutions to make it
simple for customers to
connect Low Carbon
Technologies
Developing new
operational practices and
identifying service
improvement
opportunities
Stakeholder Engagement and Knowledge Management
Community
Smart Grid –
Smart Hooky
Early learning
from LV estate
PV cluster
Voltage Control
Demonstration
Project
Interconnect
WPD +
National Grid
Systems
Seasonal
Generation
Deployment
Network
Management
on Isles of
Scilly
Tier 1: smaller projects
Tier 2: larger strategic projects
Exploring Smart Grids
•
A preliminary exploration of three
LCNF Smart Grid projects:
–
–
–
The Low Carbon Hub in Lincolnshire
The SOLA project in Bristol
Smart Hookie in Hook Norton
Lincolnshire
Hook Norton
Bristol
The Low Carbon Hub project in
Lincolnshire
• The Lincolnshire coast is good for the development of
onshore and offshore wind-farms
• See: http://www.westernpowerinnovation.co.uk/Lincolnshire-Low-CarbonHub.aspx
• This £3m project was for offshore wind farms to have a
new 4.5km OHL connection to the distribution network
to create the active ring network.
• Was treated as a technical project – contracts prepared
and planning permission sought for new works
Technical response to a social
problem
• However, local opposition to wind farms in the region
spilled over and planning permission refused
• Response was to find ways to circumvent the opposition
through technical means
• E.g. Utilising existing circuits and existing
powerline structuresfor optical fibres.
• Performance poorer
• Still to be implement – 3 years late
• Has led to a practice of avoiding
planning permission by technologies (e.g. using pole heights that
do not need planning permission etc.)
Project SoLa in Bristol
• This project is about residents optimising power from
solar PV
• Explores in-home battery storage and energy storage in
hot water to optimise PV for the user
• It also involved installing a DC network homes (AC to
DC converters are inefficient)
• Users are not the usual PV cognoscenti
• See http://www.westernpowerinnovation.co.uk/So-La-Bristol.aspx
The unusual partnership
• Western Power Distribution (WPD) identified a number
of project partners: Bristol City Council, Siemens and the
University of Bath
• Additionally, WPD included a local media centre (Knowle
West Media Centre)
• The Knowle West Media Centre had the skills,
understanding and status to engage domestic
participants in the project
• Smart Node and data Hub on four
substations monitoring home energy
– All the technical features that led to big
protests in the USA
• But has had massive community support
• WPD works with Hook Norton Low
Carbon Limited - a Community Benefit
Society, set up by residents
• WPD took ‘back room’ technical deliverer role
• See Smart Hooky page at http://www.hn-lc.org.uk/what-weredoing/smart-hooky and Hook Norton Low Carbon at www.hnlc.org.uk/
User Assurance and
‘buy-in’
• Hook Norton Community Society
was the public interface
• Even the brewery produced a special
Smart Hookie ale!!
• Hook Norton Low Carbon website:
“This new and innovative project will allow you to view your data on
a web portal and compare it with the highest, lowest and average
usage across the village for similar types of properties and number
of people in the house. This will help you assess whether you can
save money and reduce your electricity consumption. Only you will
be able to view and access your data and your personal information
is protected.”
Some insights and issues
• Smart Grids require new ways of organising production
and consumption, and in the relationship between the
two
– Not just new technologies but new relationships and
partnerships
– Having knowledge about technologies alone is not enough
• The partnerships are different to the traditional
contracting procurement relationships of DNOs
• They are about devolving control – but DNOs are used
to being in control
Alternative responses…
• The default response can be to seek a technical way to
circumvent user/social issues
- To try to design out or reduce the role of the consumer
- This is to implement Smart Grids within current industry
regime
• Alternatively, to develop partnerships with organisations
that have engagement skills – this works well
• DNOs may seek to internalise such skills or could move
to developing the ability to identify and manage
partnership working
• The latter results in relying on partners for performance
– Whereas DNOs have previously had high level of control
Mainstreaming experience
• The engagement with ‘unusual’ partners has worked,
but could be difficult to scale up beyond the LCNF trials
• Issues of how to get benefits through internalising into
DNO systems is starting to be discussed
• Mass data systems have been implemented elsewhere
to engage and empower users (as in internet and
service-oriented companies)
• The danger is if DNOs use mass data systems in Smart
Grids in the same controlling way as in the past – that led
to USA problem.
Emerging Issues
• Overall new partnerships and relationships with new
industry actors, consumers and ‘prosumers’ will need to
be part of a Smart Grid future
• We are in a fluid period exploring such new
configurations
• Even successful trail examples may not be viable for
mainstreaming – but crucial to identify what’s needed
• But ways of working, practices and comprehension of
issues will need to change
• OU seeking to develop a Social Life of Smart Grids
network to research and explore this issue.
Thoughts, questions and
observations?
Methods to explore issues?
How DNOs might develop new approaches?
[email protected]