What is distributed energy?
In the UK, 66% of energy usage is associated with electricity and heat use. A combination of UK government targets to cut carbon emissions by 2020, ever dwindling sources of fossil fuels and the emissions created by transporting energy means that increasingly, there is a real need to look for alternative methods of both generating and supplying energy, on a local scale.
Just as in the food industry, where there is a movement towards producing local food for local people, so in the energy industry, distributed energy is all about the local supply of electricity and heat which is generated on or near the site where it is used. The system covers a range of technologies at varying scales from the household to the community, which can generate electricity and heat from renewable or fossil fuel energy sources. The ethos of distributed energy is local ownership of local energy: encouraging working partnerships between local businesses and local people, to share in the production and supply of energy to the local community.
Features of distributed energy
A key feature of the system is the fact that distributed energy can be generated from renewable sources integrated into everyday buildings which are part of any local community, such as supermarkets, offices and hospitals. This includes renewable microgeneration technologies, in other words energy generating devices or systems in homes or in small, single buildings such as a school, which can provide heat and electricity, as well as larger on-site or near-site renewable heat and electricity technologies.
Examples of renewable distributed energy technologies include:
Heat
Solar water heating– uses heat of sun to produce hot water or to supplement space heating
Air-source heat pumps – uses warmth in the air to heat water for space heating
Ground-source heat pumps – uses warmth in the ground to heat water for space heating
District heating – uses heat generated from biomass and/or waste to heat local properties. Can also be used in combined heat and power mode to provide electricity
Electricity
Solar panels - generate electricity from daylight
Micro and small scale wind – converts wind energy to electricity
Micro-hydro – captures energy in flowing water and converts to electricity
According to figures from the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, distributed energy currently contributes over 19GW to the UK’s electricity capacity which equates to just under 10% of electricity supply. At present, the contribution of renewable community distributed energy (electricity and heat) is not high. However, in the future, it has the potential to make a truly beneficial contribution to meeting renewable energy and carbon reduction targets, given the number and variety of sites that could be used for generation.
Benefits of distributed energy
Local Ownership of Energy
Choosing distributed, local solution for their own energy needs, householders, communities, businesses and schools can gain a sense of ownership of their energy, becoming energy producers rather than just consumers. This is already a norm in many parts of northern Europe, in particular, where local communities routinely generate electricity and heat for their towns.
Reducing the carbon impact of the built environment
Energy generation technologies are extremely versatile. They can be integrated into the fabric of buildings during construction or retrofitted to existing buildings. A real benefit is that they can be installed near the point of use on wasteland or ‘idle’ sites, such as nearby roofs or outdoor spaces such as car parks.
Addressing fuel poverty
Distributed energy can help tackle fuel poverty, particularly as the fuel poor tend to be ‘heat poor’. Household heat technologies cut the amount of energy the consumer needs to buy, so also cutting their bills.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Seminar on Distributed Energy Systems
The Institution recognises that Distributed Energy Systems (DES) can contribute to the development of a sustainable energy future for the UK, and are working with expert engineers from industry and academia to exploit the potential and find ways to bring about a more rapid implementation. The Institution is currently undertaking a series of consultations to create a strategy to generate and disseminate new learning via a set of research initiatives to fill gaps in knowledge and develop implementation plans for Distributed Energy Systems. The results of these initiatives will be presented at a seminar in Woking on 17 November 2009.
An initial experts’ preliminary meeting considered three questions:
- Why are Distributed Energy Systems important?
- What has gone well with the development of Distributed Energy Systems so far, and what has been difficult?
- What are the best opportunities for research/development projects amongst the experts for taking the DES agenda forward?
Learn more about the outcomes
Learn more about the experts
Key Distributed Energy projects for the experts and Institution
The experts have identified seven distributed energy scheme projects to take forward between March – September 2009, whose results can be published at the November seminar and accompanying Institution report.
These are the key projects:
- What package of measures is needed to facilitate the easy replication of heat distribution networks in the UK?
- How do we make use of communication tools, eg the BBC and OU, to make DES a want item for consumers and communities?
- How should Energy Islands be designed and managed?
- What are the practicalities and potential for bio-methane injection into the gas network?
- How can we better educate and inform planners of the potential for DES?
- What future network scenarios are feasible and what actions are needed to bring them about?
- What are the practicalities and potential for local energy storage?