New report sets out how Scotland can achieve more value from its renewable energy
A new report has been published today highlighting how Scotland can make better use of its growing renewable energy supply - helping cut waste, lower costs and create new economic opportunities.
The report, facilitated by public sector infrastructure body, the Scottish Futures Trust, brings together insights from organisations across the energy sector. It looks at how Scotland can use more of the clean electricity it already generates by better linking renewable power with homes, transport, heating and industry.
Scotland now produces large amounts of renewable electricity, particularly from wind power. But because the way the electricity network is currently set up, it cannot always move that power to where it is needed, and some renewable generation is switched off during periods of high supply.
The report says Scotland has a major opportunity to create a more flexible energy system by encouraging greater use of electricity when renewable power is abundant.
This would mean renewable energy is used more productively, while reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering the need to pay wind farms to switch off generation.
This could be achieved using more renewable energy locally by increasing Scotland’s energy demand to electricity in sectors like transport, industrial energy use and heating, as well as through flexible technologies such as battery storage and demand response.
Doing so could:
- Reduce wasted renewable energy
- Lower overall electricity system costs
- Support industrial growth and innovation
- Help tackle fuel poverty
- Create a more flexible and resilient energy system
Andrew Bruce, Senior Associate Director at the Scottish Futures Trust, said: “Scotland’s renewable energy growth is a huge success story, but we now need to make better use of the clean electricity we produce.
“This report shows there is a real opportunity to turn today’s network constraints into economic and social benefits, from lowering costs and reducing waste to supporting businesses and helping households. With renewable energy generation continuing to grow, Scotland is well placed to lead the development of a smarter, more flexible energy system that works better for consumers, industry and the wider economy.”
The report highlights several examples of how relatively small changes could deliver significant benefits:
- Giving households access to ‘free’ electricity during periods of excess wind power could reduce wasted renewable energy while helping households heat their homes more affordably – this could save up to 630 gigawatt hours of power and £44m a year
- A small distillery switching from gas to electric boilers when renewable energy is plentiful could cut emissions, reduce waste and support industrial growth – this could save up to 2.4 gigawatt hours of power and £176k a year to a wind farm
- Large-scale batteries could store excess renewable electricity and release it when demand is higher, helping balance the system more efficiently – this could save 24 megawatt hours of power and £1.7m a year
- Heat pump-led heat networks with thermal storage could better match renewable electricity supply with heating demand in homes
Dr Simon Gill of The Energy Landscape, author of the report, said: “Even relatively small changes in how and when we use electricity could unlock major benefits for Scotland. By better connecting renewable energy with demand from homes, transport and industry, Scotland can reduce waste, lower costs and create wider economic and social value.”
Commenting on the report, Rachel Fletcher, Group Director of Policy and Regulation at Octopus Energy, said: “Britain is paying wind farms to switch off while firing up gas elsewhere on the system - and customers are footing the bill. Almost 10TWh of Scottish wind power was curtailed last year alone - energy that could have been used to heat and power homes and support British industry.
“We need to move fast to introduce regional flexibility markets. These will enable storage and smart demand to soak up cheap renewable power where it’s generated and to fill supply gaps in places with low renewable output. Intelligent use of low carbon flexibility will reduce waste, lower costs and reducing our reliance on gas.”
The work was developed with input from organisations across the electricity sector, including Octopus Energy, Zenobē, Vattenfall, Connected Response, Flexitricity, Statera, Eneus, SP Energy Networks and Steen Engineers.
Reports
The main report, along with a separate executive summary as well as the evidence and analysis report are available from the links below:
Executive Summary - A target model for managing transmission constraints
