Northern Powergrid and partners publish Community DSO innovation project's five interim design phase reports

Northern Powergrid and partners LCP Delta and TNEI have submitted to Ofgem and published online five Interim Design Phase Reports to disseminate key learnings and considerations, conclusions and next steps for Northern Powergrid’s flagship network innovation competition funded Community DSO project.

These follow February’s single initial design report.

• Community DSO Networks & Analysis Interim Design Report
• Community DSO Controls & Systems Interim Design Report
• Community DSO Business Models Interim Design Report
• Community DSO Regulatory & Policy Interim Design Report
• Community DSO Summary Interim Design Report – this summarises the three months interim design phase works by all partners and signposts further content within the four full-length deliverable reports.

The outputs of this project will provide a foundation for communities to adopt the Community DSO approach easily and at scale, as well as distributing industry insight and understanding about the effectiveness and performance of the Community DSO approach. This will be achieved by developing a framework to support the establishment of a coordinated, decentralised energy system in which energy communities can emerge, develop and thrive.

In order to realise the full value of the Community DSO concept, the project must generate an understanding of how a Community DSO cell would interface with the existing network and identify any barriers that must be addressed to enable successful deployment across the wider energy system. The outputs from this stage of the project are as follows:

• Development of modelling capabilities: throughout the design phase of the project, TNEI have developed the first iteration of the modelling framework. This will be leveraged to generate insight into the impacts that the implementation of a Community DSO cell could have on the host section of the low voltage network. Additionally, the modelling framework will determine the effect on the broader DNO system to which a Community DSO cell is connected. This model will be optimised on an iterative basis throughout the remainder of the design phase and throughout the four network trials.
• Definition of controls and systems functional specification: a suite of desired capabilities and characteristics required for both the DNO and the participating energy community to ensure effective operation of Community DSO. This has been developed by Northern Powergrid during this period of the design phase. Options for within-cell interactions between the community’s energy management system (EMS) and participants at an individual household level have also been explored. However, at this stage, it is assumed that within-cell operations should be dictated by the Community DSO itself to deliver the most optimal solution.
• Research and analysis into the broader regulatory challenge: the implementation of a replicable and scalable solution is wholly dependent on the current policy and regulatory landscape that governs the UK’s energy system. Initial conversations have taken place with a range of policymakers, industry experts and community representations to delve deeper into the challenges associated with the Community DSO concept. Insight has already been captured through this activity and will be explored further throughout the remainder of the design phase. This will enable hypotheses to be tested during the iterate and demonstrate phases of the project.
• Assessment of different business model options: value creation and distribution is an underpinning success factor of the Community DSO concept. Further exploration has been undertaken by LCP Delta to refine the list of potential business model options that could maximise the incentives for participation within a Community DSO.
• Development of an accessible version of the Community DSO concept: engagement with a broad spectrum of community groups, local authorities, social housing providers and community benefit societies has enabled the concept to evolve in a way that can be understood by anyone; not just industry experts. Feedback is being continuously gathered from these groups to support the identification of barriers that need to be overcome. Additional value and learning comes from relevant groups sharing their own perceptions of the concept as potential trial participants.

Please share any feedback via emailing [email protected] before September 30, 2024 to contribute comments to the partnership team in time for publishing the Final Design Reports at the end of October 2024.