Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has teamed up with distribution network operators from the around the world to launch a new global knowledge-sharing initiative led by the University of Oxford.
The International Community for Local Smart Grids will bring together electricity networks and community energy groups to share findings from innovation projects and examine the relationships between smart grids and local communities.
Other founding members include Australia’s Ausgrid and Italy’s Enel. Japan’s TEPCO Power Grid has also joined the initiative as a partner.
SSEN said community energy groups will have a critical role, guiding and informing discussions to ensure they reflect the challenges and opportunities they face. The five-year partnership will be launched at the UK Presidency Pavillion at the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow starting at the end of this month.
Chris Burchell, managing director of SSEN Distribution, said: “Achieving net zero is a global challenge that will be delivered locally through people and their communities. Electricity networks have a critical enabling role in making opportunities accessible and easy to understand.
“From ensuring electric vehicles can connect, to supporting the electrification of heating, to helping customers become electricity generators of their own; we’re planning now for how we’ll power communities to decarbonise in a smart, secure and fair manner at a time they need and wish to.
“Whilst project partners experience different climates and cultures, we are facing shared challenges and as we’ll see at COP26, the only way to tackle the climate emergency and take action is through collaboration.”
Another partner is the Low Carbon Hub (LCH) – a social enterprise that develops community-owned energy scheme across Oxfordshire. Other community energy groups participating in scheme will be announced in 2022.
LCH chief executive Barbara Hammond said: “As we transition to a zero-carbon energy system, the changes required will be as much about people and the way they interact with it as it is about technology. That’s why we need zero carbon energy systems that are not just digitally smart, but people smart too.
“Variations in local geographies, communities and the capacities of local networks will mean that zero carbon energy solutions will be as varied as the communities they serve. By working together, we can prioritise solutions that are welcomed by local communities because they are designed to meet local needs.
“Grounding the network in the real world, working with real communities, is crucial to ensuring that we create an energy system that is fair – fair in terms of who pays, who gets to benefit – and which ensures that no one is left behind.”