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THE huge power station at Drax, North Yorkshire, is the UK鈥檚 largest: a forbidding concrete structure with 12 enormous cooling towers. It sits inside a 1000-hectare site and produces 4 gigawatts of electricity 鈥� almost enough to power London. Conceived in the 1960s as a coal-burning power station, Drax has been forced to adapt or die.
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The UK government has committed to phasing out coal-burning stations by 2025, and so Drax鈥檚 operators are refitting this behemoth, which has been in operation since 1973. It has begun to burn wood pellets as well as coal. But there are more radical moves being considered, like the plan to build a giant set of batteries that will store electricity for use at times when supplies across the grid are low. Such ideas are testament to the fact that the UK鈥檚 21st-century energy grid will be entirely different to the one that received Drax鈥檚 first output 45 years ago.
This change is happening because the day of the dinosaurs is over. Small, agile generators are suddenly seizing control, according to Matt Setchell who leads the energy investments arm of Octopus Group. 鈥�10 years ago, most of the energy generated in the UK came from around 50 large power plants,鈥� Setchell says. 鈥淲e now have a million generating assets of different sizes, distributed around the grid.鈥�
One example is the Octopus-owned Fraisthorpe wind farm 80 kilometres north-east of Drax. It generates 30 megawatts of electricity 鈥� not much by itself, but powerful as a part of the growing network of green energy suppliers.
Consumers have been the driving force behind this transition towards green energy. For the first time, top-down provision is making way for bottom-up demand: people-power is shaping the electricity market. Concerns over climate change have encouraged governments and consumers to demand that electricity is decarbonised 鈥� which means no more burning of coal and gas wherever possible. Businesses have had no choice but to respond. 鈥淭hey need access to green power, and this need will drive the increasing roll-out of renewables,鈥� Setchell says. Hence Octopus has invested in distributed renewable technology, such as solar and wind farms.
The tide is certainly turning. In 2017, renewable generation in the UK was three times higher than the output of coal power stations. But the transition from firm, controllable power 鈥� the sort that comes from coal or gas plants 鈥� to green technologies is not without its wrinkles. After all, wind and solar energy, the backbone of this revolution, can鈥檛 produce power 24/7. But Setchell isn鈥檛 too concerned. 鈥淭here are lots of ways we can solve the problems associated with intermittent renewables,鈥� Setchell says.
One is installing batteries, as Drax鈥檚 operators have noted. In the case of renewables, these store energy created when conditions are sunny or windy, and pump it into the grid when there is demand for it. Another, arguably more fundamental, solution is to use available power wisely, channelling it to exactly where it is needed, when it is needed 鈥� and making sure it isn鈥檛 sent where it isn鈥檛 needed.
鈥淐onsumers are the driving force behind the transition towards green energy鈥�
When Drax was built, this simply wasn鈥檛 possible. But the technologies of the 21st century have changed that. Take, for example, Reactive Technologies, a UK-based company with a smart solution for controlling electricity supply.
Reactive鈥檚 technology recasts the energy supply problem as a communication issue. It looks at where and when electricity will be generated by wind, solar and other plants, and at the demand from large users such as supermarkets. It can then bridge the gap by turning the supermarkets鈥� freezers up or down, as well as charging or unloading battery banks.
Octopus was so impressed by the possibilities that it made significant investments in Reactive Technologies in 2016. Reactive now partners with a number of companies, including the French hypermarket chain Carrefour, to balance supply and demand across national electricity grids.
鈥淭his access to flexibility is what we think is going to solve the intermittency problem,鈥� Setchell says.
鈥淲e鈥檙e building a green infrastructure for our children and grandchildren鈥�
Matt Setchell, Octopus Group
Progress has been so strong in this area that renewable energy is making financial sense even without government assistance. Solar power initially became viable in the UK because it was heavily subsidised. This has allowed companies to scale up their technology, which in turn brought costs down. The UK government has played this game well, Setchell says, slowly and carefully cutting subsidies as the market began to stand on its own two feet. The same happened with onshore wind and other renewables are likely to follow a similar pattern.
However, it is unlikely that we will entirely ditch fossil fuels any time soon. Until we have enough carbon-free flexibility and storage capacity on the system, there will always be a place for ultra-reliable, on-demand 鈥渂aseload鈥� power, even if it does create greenhouse gases.
But that doesn鈥檛 have to come from a Drax-like behemoth. One alternative is to use small, efficient gas-burning plants such as reciprocating gas engines. These are like super-sized car engines that take just a few minutes to switch on, compared with conventional power stations, which take much longer. The engines can run for several hours at a time, responding quickly to surges in demand then shutting back down, minimising their emissions and the resulting impact on the environment.
鈥淥ctopus Energy has already been named 2018 uSwitch energy supplier of the year鈥�
Although Octopus sees the devices as a necessary part of the infrastructure, and has invested in the technology, the company is content to consider it a short-term solution. 鈥淲e hope these things aren鈥檛 going to be needed in future,鈥� Setchell says. 鈥淥nce we鈥檝e got all the things that we鈥檙e talking about in place, we鈥檙e going to have a lot of carbon-free flexibility.鈥�
Octopus has placed itself firmly within the energy market now, operating as a virtual integrated utility 鈥� an energy supplier that can pull together the elements to supply green electricity and gas, all controlled by smart digital technology. The supply business, Octopus Energy, has already been named 2018鈥檚 uSwitch energy supplier of the year and is winning other accolades, such as the coveted 鈥淩ecommended Provider鈥� status from Which?.
Setchell is pleased at the part Octopus is playing in this revolution. 鈥淲e鈥檙e building a green energy infrastructure that is going to create a positive legacy for our children and grandchildren,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t sounds sentimental, maybe, but it is also a hard-nosed investment decision. It actually works for everyone.鈥�
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This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淭he flexible future of green energy鈥�
Further reading
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