Radical thinking required for the Northern Ireland electricity grid

‘Can the electricity grid be used more intelligently?’ in a commodity watch I wrote five years ago for this paper.
Picture: Cliff DonaldsonPicture: Cliff Donaldson
Picture: Cliff Donaldson

This was a reaction to the frustrations experienced by members attempting to connect small scale renewables to the grid over the last decade, specifically the lack of available capacity and associated high costs.

The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), through our rural enterprise committee, provided practical and alternative solutions regarding grid connection, yet this fell on deaf ears.

Northern Ireland (NI) met its 2020 target of 40 percent of electricity from renewables, with the land-based sector providing enough energy to power 150,000 homes, but as we approach 2030 and a highly ambitious target of producing 80 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, further advances will be an uphill task unless we have radical thinking when it comes to the electricity grid.

RP7 – Groundhog Day?

The Utility Regulator recently consulting on initial views of their seventh price control for NIE Networks, known as RP7. As network operator, NIE Networks is responsible for building and maintaining electricity transmission and distribution networks. Since

NIE Networks is a natural monopoly, it is subject to economic regulation. The amount of revenue which NIE Networks earns is determined by the Utility Regulator through periodic price reviews, with RP7 being the latest, running from 1 April 2024 until 2030.

RP7 is central to setting the path to meeting 2030 renewable targets and specifically for ourselves as landowners who are going to be called upon to play a role in renewable energy production. In our response we were critical of the approach, making the case that the improved on-farm energy efficiency is yet to be acknowledged, with the integrated installation of renewable generation. Our long-standing position is that focus needs to be off grid (or beyond the meter), specifically on ‘own use’ and the associated efficiency savings, with less reliance on costly grid connections and for the resulting emissions savings be credited back to farming.

RP7 needs to come with a ‘smart’ grid solution which can not only accommodate further embedded generation, but also improve the efficiency of existing connected renewable generation. This smart solution will look to balance renewable energy suppliers and growing demand emulating from the heat and transport but also improve the functionality and reliability of the LV lines.

Radical Thinking

i. GB

Radical thinking is needed and we made reference to what has happened in GB. Here they are seeing the biggest shake up in the energy market for a generation, with the part-nationalisation of the National Grid. National Grid will sell its Electricity

System Operator (ESO) arm to the government, which will be responsible for day-to-day management and long-term planning of the grid, whilst the National Grid will retain ownership of the infrastructure. Crucially, what has led to this radical approach in GB are the same problems being faced here in NI.

ii. EU

Two weeks ago, the European Commission launched its revised ‘REPowerEU’ plan and they have proposed possible sources for the funds, including the CAP budget.

Similar direction could be considered in Northern Ireland with the new Agriculture Policy.

iii. Role of Utility Regulator

In our response to the DfE Energy Strategy Consultation response last year, we stated that the mandate of the NI Utility Regulator needs to evolve if NI is to have any chance of meeting renewable targets.

In NI there needs to be a forward-looking and broadened regulatory framework.

Currently the decision-making process looks to be the cheapest option, with no consideration as to value, in terms of economic development nor future need, which means innovation and strategic investment is always overlooked. In other words, regulation needs to move on from being a reactionary process to one which mandates for “anticipatory and strategic investment”.

Conclusion

The land-based sector is ready to play our role once again in energy transition, with renewable energy generation and the resulting improved energy efficiency on our farms. However, unless there is a radical change of thinking in how we connect to the grid, grid design and how the grid operates, including an urgent review of the mandate of the Utility Regulator, we are facing a situation whereby we could fall short of the renewable energy targets.