Grid Lock

I took this photo a few months ago.  It quite nicely illustrates the relationship between the production and supply of electricity to our homes in Scotland. There's been a lot of discussion on the timescales for achieving Net Zero this week.  

However, one thing is sure.  As a nation, we're going to have to stop burning stuff to heat our homes.  Instead, we have to electrify heating.  Whether that's through direct electric heating heat networks or heat pumps we need to have done this by 2045 in Scotland - that's just two decades from now.

My question is, do we have the capacity within our distribution network to move around two million homes from gas to electricity between now and 2045.

There's a lot of generating capacity in the pipeline from reading Scottish Government updates.  But how we take that power from the wind turbine to the front door or an energy centre is a separate matter.

While opinions are welcome, I'm interested in the facts from my old colleagues in ScottishPower and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks on the limitations, how we overcome them. And is enough is being done from a policy perspective to enable the Net Zero future we all need.

The electricity grid in Scotland works based on the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity.  And whilst we've built lots of new electricity generation, mainly through wind farms, have we put the capacity in place that will allow heat pumps and heat networks to be connected to that generation up and down the country.

And also, here's a question.  How will we maintain the gas supply to existing neighbourhoods whilst this transition is ongoing? 

However, one question no one is asking is about the transition away from gas as opposed to the one towards electricity.

Given that all of the policies I read look to organically grow heat pump installations through individual households making individual decisions - accessing soft loans and grants over an extended time frame to install heat pumps. 

Within urban areas, at which point does the local gas infrastructure become too expensive to run and maintain.  When 25% or 50% of their customers have switched from gas to electricity.  And what then for the remainder of customers who remain on that gas network?

I'm being slightly disingenuous about all of this.  I've got a hunch, but I don't know for sure.  But what I am going to try to do is find out by speaking with colleagues across the industry with a view to publishing a series of articles and interviews on LinkedIn between now and the end of the year.

Articles that are a bit of a deeper dive, less about the soundbite and more about the substance, which I hope people find informative and helpful.  If you're interested, then let me know.

#electricitygrid #gasnetwork #gridcapacity #netzero #heatpumps #heatnetworks