The UK’s net zero transition is set to be determined by homes and businesses adopting low carbon technologies (LCTs) in a bid to reduce energy bills amid the cost-of-living crisis.
That is according to a new report released by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution, which states that consumers are taking action to avoid being locked into technologies that rely on costly fossil fuels.
The report states that, due the concurrent crises of climate, energy and cost of living, it was believed that there would be a pause in the public appetite for LCTs such as electric vehicles and heat pumps.
This would primarily be due to consumers looking to save money amid the cost-of-living crisis with less disposable income to spend on introducing LCTs.
However, the findings from the report recognised that the uptake of LCTs, particularly electric vehicles (EVs), appears to be accelerating. EVs have seen growing popularity amid the energy crisis and just last month, the UK registered its one millionth plug-in car.
This year alone represented a quarter of total plug-in EVs registered, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) also registered its second highest monthly volume in history with 38,116 units, a 16.5% rise year-over-year (YoY).
The growth in uptake of heat pumps however continues to be slower, but the expense of fossil fuels is improving the economic justification for all types of LCTs for households. This means the pipeline of projects seeking grid capacity has increased significantly over the past year.
Heat pump installation troubles are not a new finding. Governmental targets for energy saving upgrades had recently been labelled as “woefully off track” with 2020 heat pump sales per household the lowest in Europe, according to a report from Cambridge Econometrics.
The report, commissioned by Greenpeace UK, found that the governmental push to provide heat pumps for the British public is far behind other countries in Europe.
“The research that we have published today indicates that the next stage of Great Britain’s decarbonisation may be driven from the grid edge: by the 3.8 million homes and businesses that our networks supply. This underlines the urgency for strategic network investment to make sure we can deliver a safe, secure and resilient supply of electricity,” said Andrew Roper, DSO director at SSEN.
“Investment in our network is central to economic growth, as well-planned electrical capacity supports the electrification of transport and heat, construction of new housing and industrial facilities. We will continue to work to deliver the infrastructure that supports a just transition to net zero for all our customers.”
Despite the positives in adopting LCTs and transitioning away from fossil fuels, it is important to note the impact it could have on the energy networks. Findings from project DINO has indicated that local energy networks could see peak electrical loads increase by 80% by 2040 due to heat pumps, EVs and domestic batteries.
Identified by Evergreen Smart Power via comprehensive modelling, the increasing number of EVs and heat pumps could bring significant strain to local networks with the firm indicating peak electrical loads could increase by 80% by 2040.
