A revolution in the way the energy sector shares information needs to take place, according to the UK government.
Responding to the ‘digital spine’ feasibility study, it said without secure system-wide access to data, the UK’s ability to decarbonise the power sector by 2030 is at risk.
The energy system ‘digital spine’ data sharing infrastructure concept was first put forward by the Energy Digitalisation Taskforce (EDiT) in January 2022. A consortium of Arup, Energy Systems Catapult and the University of Bath was then commissioned by government to deliver the study, funded by the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP).
The study includes three recommendations to progress data sharing infrastructure: develop a minimum viable product; establish a task group; and publish a progress update in 2025.
In 2024, the ESO (soon to be NESO) will deliver a pilot data sharing infrastructure based on an outage planning use case.
“Exchanges of data must be dynamic, accurate, and appropriately secure,” the government stated. “Getting this right for the UK will be challenging, and will require technical, security, governance, and regulatory compliance considerations. People are crucial to this too – how we interact with data and digital technologies will require new processes and organisational structures.”
As the energy sector evolves, the government and Ofgem need to establish how to encourage the sector-wide collaboration needed to deliver data sharing and digitalisation. “Our energy security and our contribution to global decarbonisation depends on it,” it added.
Various challenges such as poor data interoperability, a lack of common data sharing practices and disconnected approaches to digital energy could be addressed by a data sharing infrastructure.
Across the energy sector, digitalisation can help cut costs, improve efficiency and resilience, and reduce emissions.
Grid-related investment in digital technologies has grown by over 50% since 2015, and forecasted to reach 19% of total grid investment in 2023, according to the IEA.
“However, further efforts by policy makers and industry will be necessary to realise the full potential of digitalisation to accelerate clean energy transitions,” it states.
“This includes the implementation of enabling standards, policies and regulations that prioritise innovation and interoperability while addressing risks to cybersecurity and data privacy.”
