Obtaining a 100% renewables capacity is not possible all the time. There is a load factor that regulates the ratio of aggregated generation capacity burden. Load factors have been affected by climates like wind velocity on wind turbines, sunshine duration on solar panels, and rainfall effects hydropower. Load factors in 2019 were 26.7% on onshore wind and offshore wind, 10.7% effect on a generation of photovoltaic panels, 31% on bioenergy, and 4.9% on hydropower in the U.K [61].
3.3.2 U.K generation data from August 2019 to August 2020
Concerning investigating and study on day-ahead and intraday market, generation data by various kinds of generation in 2020 is desired. Figure 12 demonstrates the actual generation of the U.K from August 2019 to September 2020 including diverse kinds of production. This chart mentor thesis for understanding the reason for price variation in electricity markets of the United Kingdom [63]. According to the figure, several key points can be comprehended. Coal fuel is used mostly in winter and autumn. Nuclear energy usage is decreasing gently. It is expected to gain more wind during winter and extra sun in summer. This is visible on the diagram vividly. Imports rates are higher in winter too, because of the energy gap due to the extreme demand for electricity on cold days.
Average generation of U.K from August 2019 to September 2020 [63]
3.3.3 Electricity demand and consumption
The absolute electricity demand in the U.K was 346 TWh in 2019. This was a little less than last year. Among these 295 TWh (85.4%) were consumed by terminal users. The rest of that absorbed by necessitating of industry (24 TWh). 26 TWh was wasted for losses. Amongst the most factors that determine electricity demand is temperature particularly in winter because consumers fine-tune heating levels in their accommodations. 2019 had more gentle weather than 2018 in winter. This reflects lower demand towards last year [61]. So it means that one of the elements that should be considered for anticipating demand is the temperature pattern in each area.
Domestic, industrial, and commercial consumptions were diminished from last year in the U.K. The reason behind it is raising efficiency and load shedding in domestic parts, curtailing industry productivity in industrial users, and changing temperature patterns for all of them. Electricity usage in transportation climbed 10 % which is caused by the increasing operation of electric vehicles inroads. Sharing demand for terminate users was 30% by domestics, 21% commercial, 27% industry, and 2% transportation in 2019 in the U.K grid [61].
3.3.4 Energy storage in the United Kingdom
Electricity generation faces intermittent and fluctuation due to green energy productions in advance. Energy storages and demand response are aids to cope with these challenges and provide stable frequency and voltage in the grid. By installing appropriate energy storage in the world preventing global warming is possible too. The U.K predicts that installing storages curtail costs to 7 billion pounds until 2030.
Storages cooperate and fall off renewable technology expenses and promote the performance of other grid assets [64]. U.K carries 5.4 GW capacity of storage in 2018 which consists of 4.8 GW batteries.
Energy storage is mixed of several technologies. It could be expanded on various levels of electricity gird for instance transmission or distribution side or even in-home applicants. For installing storages in residential areas some legislation is desired.
Setting demand to react time-of-use tariffs and fees in grid is needed. All in all public and social approval is a key point in the U.K.
UK has some projects to assemble novel battery storage between 30 to 50 MW each and 1.3 GW in total in near future for the grid. After that whole storage provided by batteries will be 13.5 GW. Replacing gas power plants with green power plants like rising solar projects and onshore and offshore wind turbines is need batteries in the U.K. Several companies act mainly in England’s electricity market for supplying power and granting some ancillary services in the grid. This is including EDF energy, Pivot power, Stetera, and RES Company. Other enterprises like Simens and High Power are promoting some compressed air, ammonia, and hydrogen technologies for numerous storage applicants. Capacities are around 600 MW in liquid storage ventures recently.
RhwEnergise Company also is constructing dense liquid to pumped storage. Graviticity and OXTO energy are proposing gravity-core and flywheels storages respectively in the U.K.
Pumped hydro storages are mainly in Scotland which is part of the U.K. In the future, this kind of storage will install by an intelligent land investment company. There will be three different pumped hydro storages installed with about 2 GW capacity bulk.
Wärtsilä is another company that aids the U.K grid by manufacturing energy storage for electric vehicles charging terminal inroads. Wärtsilä and Pivot power is providing 100 MW storage for the U.K. The main part of installations is in Oxford and Kent. There were 39 finished projects to construct energy storage in the U.K recently. Table 3 reveals some important ones that maintain high capacity storage for U.K’s grid. Also, it shows that each of these storage projects were used in various cases in the grid.
Technology type and capacity have been demonstrated too. There is other energy storage in the U.K too, but this thesis is only brought the ones that have more than 5000 kWh capacity [65].
UK energy storage high capacity projects [65]
3.3.5 Demand response in the United Kingdom
Demand response by consumers is settled by shifting consumption of consumers from peak hours or decreasing load in the U.K. Demand response has been more urgent in the grid which has plenty of intermittent generation. DR procedures need customer’s active load in the terminal. Recent researches reveal that population-related factor has a part in enthusiasm for shifting loads. In [66] scientists find some results that socio-demographic elements, possession of some special devices. Caring for saving and curtailing energy consumption affect demand response in the U.K. This can help market engineers to develop a more accurate program.
Breakthrough in novel technologies like photovoltaic panels and contributing to electric vehicles in power grid influence on electricity market tariffs and sustainability in the U.K. Power regulators face some challenges during these changes in the grid. In [67] it is concluded that as much as solar panels install on household areas, the distribution price rate enhanced for whole clients. There is no difference that each household possessed solar panels or not. The outcome by entering electric vehicles in the grid is vice versa and rising the number of electric vehicles curtailing tariffs for all.
Consuming electricity is declining from 2018 to 2019 by domestic customers. This shrinkage started in 2005. The reason is referred to using demand response by customers from that time. This is caused by reducing demand and rising energy efficiency. Demand response in the U.K by shifting load from high peak hours to low peak hours has been rewarded by reduction of costs due to droop of blackout feasibility [61].
3.3.6 United Kingdom electricity market
The electricity market is so competitive in the U.K and the mechanism is divided into four sectors: Generation, power market, transmission and distribution, and retail market. There were 37 main suppliers in 2013 which more than 60% of this production was from six vital companies. These are including Centrica, Scottish Power, RWE, SSE, EDF Energy, and E.In the U.K. Less than 10% of the generation is based on independent power producers. Producers are joining in both retail and wholesale markets. The energy market is divided into two parts terrestrially which are Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The formation of the Great Britain market and transmission preparations (BETTA) has been started in 2005. This runs the unification of the electricity system in three areas: England, Wales, and Scotland. BETTA determines prevalent rules to permit free trade in this zone and foreign transmission network and state the operator system for Great Britain. Northern Ireland designs a whole-island electricity market and the rules and organization are done by the Republic of Ireland.
The transmission system is carried out on by one administrator association called national grid electricity transmission (NGET) in the U.K. This works only in England and Wales. Whereas the distribution network is possessed and cultivated by local companies. In total there are fourteen various distribution agents that dominate in six groups. Ofgem company has the duty of managing gas and electricity fees in the U.K network. TSOs and DSOs are working separately and contacting suppliers are autonomous in the electricity grid of the U.K.
Competition in market happens by six major supplier companies. It is starting from 2014 and is impelled by the community and governmental matters to change energy fees for end-users in current years. It proposes to intensify retail benefits. Electricity market reform (EMR) has developed measures to curtail usage of carbon energy and diminish payments for customers.
U.K market mechanism can be seen in figure 24. It summarizes the network briefly and