The year is 2023, and we have an opportunity to make a real difference.
It's clear that our present energy systems are archaic and inflexible. We need to change at lightning speed to ensure our energy systems can adapt and handle rapid changes such as the electrification of transport and industry, and the explosion in integration of unpredictable renewable energy technologies. However, we must ensure that energy remains a fundamental right rather than a luxury.
One way to achieve such flexible energy systems is to use what we've already got in smarter ways.
The good news is that we already have what we need to achieve this revolution. There are countless energy assets that have not yet realized their potential in flexibility, many of which have historically been too small to be interesting for their owners or flexibility markets.
A recent study* found that participation in flexibility initiatives could be improved through simpler participation processes, developing automation, and the presence of aggregators who can support potential flexibility service providers. Digital, automated systems such as Distributed Energy Solution, DES, tackle these obstacles that so far have prevented potential market participants from taking part.
For example, heat pumps, electric vehicles, and other privately owned small energy storage assets can be aggregated into Virtual Power Plants and deployed as flexibility resources with little to no noticeable effort from or impact on their users. This can lead to reduced costs, finer control, increased grid stability, and improved resilience.
End customers’ expectations for digital services and their ease of use have only risen in the last years; clients expect effortlessness combined with custom-made solutions empowering their personal sustainability journeys.
Automation allows consumers to become active participants in the energy market. Energy market actors have an unprecedented opportunity to create new revenue streams by developing consumer products that allow every household to become an active participant in the new flexible system.
Tietoevry Nordic Energy Industry Study 2022 showed that for the Nordic energy industry, digitalization is a key focus, with 30% naming it as a key part of their work to adapt to forthcoming changes. Further, 89% of retailers and 76% of distribution system operators (DSOs) have a plan to promote customer participation in decarbonization and energy transition activities.
New business models are already emerging to capitalize on these new opportunities, offering customers the ability to monitor their energy usage in real-time, adjust their energy consumption to optimize efficiency, and even sell their excess energy back to the grid. Companies that can offer innovative solutions, including solutions that use DES functionalities, which meet customers’ needs have the potential to be successful in this new market, pushing companies that fail to innovate to the sidelines.
DES makes energy market actors, from DSOs and retailers to energy asset owners and consumers, more active participants in energy constellations without being active. This paradox is explained by automation: you don’t need to log in and manage anything, just install DES, adjust any settings if you are aware of any particular user needs, and let it do its magic.
The year is 2023, and we have an opportunity to make a real difference. We need to embrace change and seize the opportunity to create a new, better future. So, are you ready to be a trailblazer or would you rather remain a fossil? The choice is yours. Let's work together to create a better future for ourselves and for generations to come.
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* Drivers and barriers to participation in Sweden's local flexibility markets for electricity, Utilities Policy, Volume 82, 2023, 101580, ISSN 0957-1787, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2023.101580)