The UK Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has launched an Energy Digitalisation Taskforce (EDiT) in partnership with Ofgem and Innovate UK.
Its aim is to continue the UK Government’s focus on modernising the energy system to unlock flexibility and drive clean growth towards net zero emissions by 2050.
EDiT will consider the market design, digital architecture and governance of a modern digitalised energy system and follows the Energy Data Taskforce, which initiated a wave of energy data activity across government, the regulator and industry.
The key objectives of the taskforce include refocussing the energy sector on the challenge and opportunities of digitalisation as a core component of transformation, not just an enabler.
It also aims to accelerate digitalisation of the energy system to enable emerging net zero compatible business models, markets and industry structures.
Furthermore, it will develop target digital architectures and a roadmap which draw on experience from other sectors and provide the energy sector with a focal point to ensure digitalisation efforts are coordinated and effective.
Finally it will identify digitalisation gaps which require innovation support and the governance risks that digitalisation raises and present frameworks to mitigate issues.
This Taskforce, like its predecessor, is run by Energy Systems Catapult and chaired by Laura Sandys.
Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth Anne-Marie Trevelyan (pictured) said: “Digitalisation is vital to reaching the UK’s ambitious world-leading climate change target.
“We need a smart and flexible energy system to harness energy from low carbon sources such as the sun and wind, to power our homes, businesses and vehicles.
“This means technologies – from solar panels and electric vehicles, to heat pumps and batteries – will need to be smarter, sharing information with one another.
“This is especially important with more technologies added every day to an already complex energy system, 600,000 heat pumps could be installed per year by 2028; and with all new cars and vans required to be zero emissions from 2035, the number of electric vehicles connected to the energy network will soar.
“We need to build flexibility into the energy system to enable us to use these technologies to monitor and manage system usage, improve efficiency, and provide lower costs for consumers.
“The Government will help drive the transformation to a digital, flexible energy system through a new Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan and the UK’s first Energy Digitalisation Strategy, to be published with Ofgem later this spring.
“We know digitalisation holds the key to our transition to a decarbonised and decentralised energy system, and we look forward to the recommendations from the Taskforce.”
The Taskforce, which will run until December 2021, will have oversight from a project board consisting of key members of the Modernising Energy Data initiatives across government, innovation and regulation.