Plugging gaps

Research during ENW’s recent engagement with stakeholders revealed that most customers see the decentralised, local approach to energy distribution as “the future” and “the right way to go”. They had a preference for improving system efficiency and incentivising user flexibility over traditional reinforcement, but they also had mixed views on what may be needed to encourage behaviour change.

Current uptake of LCTs is typically among people who are more engaged with environmental issues or affluent groups of society able to pay for the technology, so gaps need to be plugged to bring other customers, particularly vulnerable people and those on low incomes, along on the journey.

To this end, ENW has begun the targeted roll out of LCT technologies and services to underserved audiences.

“People lucky enough to have solar panels on their home and a driveway and an electric car can get a lot of your charging done for almost nothing.”

Daniel Heery, CEO, Cybermoor

EV usage is increasing across the UK, but the expansion of charging infrastructure is largely market-driven, risking the exclusion of communities where connections are more costly, such as in remote rural areas.

ENW has worked with the Local Authority and Cumbria Tourism to address this gap by developing 50 sites in rural areas considered unsuitable for independent council development, including libraries, community centres, crematoriums and tourist attractions, to improve EV charging access.

The network provided seed funding and ongoing technical support for a solar charging project, delivered in collaboration with the social enterprise Cybermoor, to install solar-powered charging kiosks at 15 community buildings in the Lake District.

The kiosks and associated flexibility contracts enable EV users to pay a lower rate to charge their vehicles, and community organisations to make money from photovoltaics installed on their buildings.

Daniel Heery, CEO of Cybermoor tells UW: “People lucky enough to have solar panels on their home and a driveway and an electric car can get a lot of your charging done for almost nothing. Using the same sort of technology, we enable EV owners who don't have solar or a driveway to charge at a local charging station for less, because there's more profit margin and we're buying the electricity for less.”

“There are significant technical challenges, both with the vehicle chargers and on the electricity network and regulation side. So it has been invaluable to have ENW specialists supporting us with their technical input.”

Daniel Heery, CEO, Cybermoor

A key aspect of the project was speaking to communities and explaining the benefits of the solar charging model, which aims to maximise the use of solar panels installed on community buildings and empower organisations to make money from them.

In the context of efforts to optimise the network through decentralisation and reduce strain on the grid, this approach can help balance out demand, in turn reducing the need for expensive and disruptive infrastructure upgrades in rural areas, such as extensive cable laying and road closures that impact on businesses and tourism etc.

The network impact of EVs in the Lake District is a particular concern given the vast number of tourists who descend on the area over the summer and on Bank Holiday weekends.

“If people all arrive at their guest house or holiday cottage on a Friday night, and simultaneously plug in and charge because their car battery is low, it will put a huge strain on the network,” says Heery, “Increasing use of our community charging stations means some charging can be done in off peak times to relieve that pressure.”

Plans are now underway to take things a step further and implement vehicle-to-grid charging, using energy in EV batteries to power buildings to benefit system flexibility and improve resilience for local community buildings in the event of a power outage.

The Rural Energy Resilience Project, funded by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and delivered by Innovate UK, has installed AC and DC bi-directional chargers at 10 sites across the area to support vehicle-to-grid functionality.

In related work, ENW took part in the Charge my Street social enterprise initiative, set up by Cybermoor, providing flexibility contracts to test the vehicle-to-grid approach and understand how the system would function in the event of a power shortage or power cut.

“There are significant technical challenges, both with the vehicle chargers and on the electricity network and regulation side,” says Heery, “So it has been invaluable to have ENW specialists supporting us with their technical input."

A Utility Week Intelligence report, in association with Electricity North West