New data from research consultancy LCP Delta has suggested that the UK could become Europe’s leading market for household electrification by the year 2030.
The firm’s latest publication, The Road Ahead: the European Energy Transition Report, forecasts a 13% compound annual growth rate in household electrification in the UK between now and 2030. In that timeframe, almost as much household electrification capacity (261GW) will be added in the UK as grid-scale renewable capacity (267GW).
Household electrification is defined as substituting fossil fuel-powered electricity and heating for clean electricity-powered systems, including devices such as home heat pumps and home solar PV installations.
LCP Delta credits much of its optimistic forecast for the next five years to the UK’s strong performance in demand-side flexibility. The firm’s latest survey, which encompassed over 7,000 households across Europe, noted that 47% of UK households are aware of demand-side response, compared to less than 40% across the rest of Europe.
A report published by LCP Delta and smartEN in February ranked the UK highly among 30 European markets for demand side flexibility, and the country was particularly praised for its rollout of the Quick Reserve and Balancing Reserve services.
Furthermore, the UK market has expressed significant readiness to engage in the flexibility market, with 52% of UK homeowners expressing interest in participating in future demand response events. Those who participate in flexibility events report strong satisfaction; LCP Delta’s survey states that 95% of European participants in demand flexibility schemes said they would take part in future events.
The UK market has recently been expanding the ability to participate in flexibility events, with the National Energy System Operator’s (NESO) CrowdFlex trial being called “highly successful” by Josh Visser, NESO’s innovation incubator senior manager.
However, while the UK is set to make major strides forward in home electrification, LCP Delta warns that specific and targeted action is needed to make this success a reality. The firm has previously warned that the lack of a cohesive clean home energy strategy poses a threat to the UK’s heat pump installation targets, suggesting that the UK will miss its 600,000 annual heat pump installations per year by 2028 target by over a third, and reach just 400,000 installations annually by the year 2035.
Jennifer Arran, head of residential energy at LCP Delta, noted that public promotion of the benefits of home electrification and participation is essential in order to speed the pace of the transition. She added: “The next phase of the green transition will involve the unprecedented electrification of homes. This will only happen if customers can see the tangible rewards from their participation. Clear communication and customer engagement is therefore the most important step to unlocking green growth that will reward participants.”
Juliette Sanders, chief communications officer at Energy UK agreed, adding that: “Electrifying our economy will not only improve our energy resilience, it’s the most efficient way to power lives and businesses.”
