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The UK is on a bold path to decarbonize its energy system. With by 68% by 2030 and 81% by 2035 compared with 1990 levels, the country is already over halfway there, having achieved a . But the next phase of this journey will demand more profound, systemic transformation 鈥� and this means thinking about how we consume energy in a totally different way.

A central pillar of this transformation is the (clean) electrification of energy use. In general, the UK must substitute fossil fuels for electricity in heating, transport and industry, while at the same time also shifting electricity production to emissions-free sources like renewables and nuclear.

In fact, this is already happening: Heat pump sales have since 2020 and are thus beginning to replace gas boilers, electric vehicles (EVs) now make up new passenger vehicle sales and this share is expected to triple by 2030, and the government has to replace 50 terawatt hours of fossil fuels used by industrial sites annually by 2035 mainly with electrification.

But is this strategy of massively expanding electricity consumption and backing it by renewable power sustainable? The answer is, 鈥淵es, but it depends on some very important conditions being met鈥︹��

Renewable Grid Dynamics

By 2030, up to of the UK鈥檚 electricity could come from variable renewable sources like wind and solar. But these sources are, by nature, intermittent. When the wind drops or the sun doesn鈥檛 shine, clean energy becomes scarce. If these periods of renewable energy scarcity are not managed appropriately, they can cause a trilemma of negative consequences. First, it is essential that the production and consumption of power are brought back into balance during such moments. If not, the physics of the electricity system means that you have a blackout.

Second, to avoid blackouts, the national electricity system operator (Neso) will offer to pay higher prices to any additional sources of power generation who are not already operating at full capacity to come on line and ramp up production. Consequently, wholesale market prices for electricity 鈥� i.e. the price your electricity supplier pays to acquire and supply your power 鈥� spike during these periods. And of course, these prices get passed on to the final consumer.

Third, typically the kinds of generation dispatched during such periods of scarcity are gas-fired generators. Thus, the more they are used, the more CO2 is emitted.

Demand-Side Management

However, a much smarter alternative way to manage periods of high-power demand and low renewable generation exists: If the weather dependence of renewables makes the supply of clean power less flexible as a means of balancing supply and demand, then why not make demand more flexible to compensate? Rather than having costly, CO2-emitting, gas-fired power plants ramp up and down when wind and solar photovoltaic output fluctuate, why not have electricity consumers 鈥� or, more precisely, their devices 鈥� modulate their electricity use in real time to react to the availability of clean power?

Once upon a time, such demand side response (called DSR in the industry) at large scale was believed to be technically impossible to sustain. (Even the most enthusiastic energy market geek is probably not going to check the wholesale market electricity price every 15 minutes and then obsessively turn up or down their heating and cooling all day, let alone the millions needed to provide sufficient volumes.) However, as a by the International Energy Agency has shown, the advent of the digital economy and artificial intelligence has enabled advanced automation and dynamic algorithmic control at a level that now makes this possible at large scale and with minimal human intervention.

In fact, not only has digital automation made demand side response simpler to do and easier to scale but it has also removed the trade-offs for consumers. With technologies like Voltalis鈥� (DR4.0) millions of distributed energy resources (such as electric heaters and coolers, batteries and EVs) can be managed in a way that is dynamically controlled not only to stabilize the electric system but also to ensure that no individual consumer suffers a loss of comfort or convenience.

An example can be found at The University of Wales Trinity Saint David鈥檚 historic Lampeter campus, where demand response technology has been installed in over 100 student accommodation rooms. A common issue in student halls is energy waste, for instance, when occupants open windows instead of adjusting the heating. The university, therefore, installed a DR4.0 system to help automatically manage students鈥� energy usage, contributing to lower energy bills and reduced energy use while also providing flexibility to the power grid but without loss of comfort for the students.

Building Stock Transformation

The capabilities of demand side flexibility are enormous. According to Neso, by 2030, of flexible power demand could be harnessed from buildings alone. That鈥檚 around one-quarter of peak UK power demand today. This potential will only grow as the electrification of end use intensifies. Coupled with the necessary battery energy storage, very quickly the UK will have all the demand side flexibility it needs to meet each year to run a completely decarbonized power grid.

However, the key to unlocking this potential is that buildings and the energy-consuming devices in them need to become smarter and more connected. The good news is that this is one climate-saving action that will make owners, renters and landlords money since it will save on energy bills. With forward-thinking policies from Ofgem, the UK鈥檚 electricity market regulator, demand response service companies can now install this kind of equipment for free. All landlords and facility managers must do is to be willing to engage and play their role in the energy transition.

So, the UK can manage the transition to an electrified energy system backed by mostly renewable energy, but it will require the cooperation of different sectors of the economy that previously were acting independently.

Oliver Sartor is the chief economist at , a European automated electricity demand response services provider. The views expressed in this article are those of the author.