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DNV GL partners with SP Energy Networks to develop local flexibility market and reduce carbon emissions by over 3 megatonnes

The flexibility market will be based on the Universal Smart Energy Framework (USEF),

Project FUSION set to deliver customer benefits in excess of GBP 200 million by 2050, and reduce carbon emissions in Great Britain by more than 3 megatonnes

LONDON, United Kingdom – 6 December 2017 – DNV GL, the world’s largest independent energy advisory and certification body, secured a leading role in advising the British utility company SP Energy Networks on the adoption and implementation of a local flexibility market in East Fife, Scotland.

The UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets and National Regulatory body Ofgem has approved funding for SP Energy Networks five-year innovation project, called FUSION, a submission under the 2017 Electricity Network Innovation Competition (NIC). FUSION plans to implement and trial an innovative smart energy network solution, as an economic alternative to manage DNO network constraints. The project is set to deliver customer savings in excess of GBP 200 million, as well as reduce carbon emissions in Great Britain by more than 3 megatonnes.

The flexibility market will be based on the Universal Smart Energy Framework (USEF), which is the only comprehensive flexibility market framework and was developed together with energy experts from DNV GL. It provides an open and consistent framework, defining market roles, processes and agreements, and specifying data exchange, interfaces and control features.

FUSION’s open and structured flexibility market will operate as an electrical network management system which will reduce local network constraints and complement the UK’s balancing requirements within the existing regulatory framework. FUSION will develop, implement, and trial the USEF framework, and will inform wider policy development around flexibility markets through the development of standardised industry specifications, processes, and requirements for transparent information exchange between market participants accessing market-based demand-side flexibility.

Prajeev Rasiah, Executive Vice President and Regional Manager, for DNV GL’s Energy business in Northern Europe, Middle East & Africa, said “As the UK energy transition accelerates, the system needs to be able to accommodate the growing impact of renewables and low carbon technologies. Demand-side flexibility is emerging as a principal enabler for network companies to achieve this aim, but needs to be unlocked economically and efficiently through an appropriate market mechanism. FUSION will implement the USEF framework, co-founded by DNV GL, which provides a common standard for smart energy systems to optimise the allocation of flexibility across the industry, while allowing maximum freedom of choice for all industry participants.”

Other FUSION partners include Origami Energy, PassivSystems, Imperial College London, SAC Consulting, The University of St Andrews, Fife Council and Bright Green Hydrogen.