Free Energy? How Renewables and Intelligent Energy Management Can Make This Dream Come True

The smarter E Podcast Episode 177 | May 30, 2024 | Language: English

Demand-side flexibility is essential for an energy system, with an increasing number of decentralized and renewable energy resources. Both the energy system and society in general rely on consumers who adapt their energy consumption to the available grid capacity. Digitalization and new technologies such as smart meters and market-based solutions are turning consumers into active players.

So how could demand-side flexibility be incentiviced and what could flexibility marketing look like in different sectors? And which role do home batteries and the aggregation of small producers and consumers play?

Kieron Stopforth, Senior Manager at Octopus Energy Group reveals that and more.

Timeline:

02:04 Why is demand-side flexibility essential for a flexible energy system?
08:55 Which assets have the biggest potential for flexibility?
11:22 What about the homeowners' batteries to store grid electricity when it is cheap so that it can be fed back into the grid at times of high prices?
15:30 What conditions must an electricity market fulfill for a business model like Octopus Energy Group with flexibility to work?
20:25 What needs to be done to make better use of existing flexibility potential and how can people be motivated to make their flexibility available?

About The smarter E Podcast

The smarter E podcast is all about the current trends and developments in a renewable, decentralized and digital energy industry. Our moderators Tobias Bücklein and Zackes Brustik welcome and interview personalities who shape our industry and drive developments forward. A new episode is published every Thursday.

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About Kieron Stopforth and Octopus Energy

Kieron Stopforth, Senior Manager bei der Octopus Energy Group

Kieron is Senior Manager at Octopus Energy Group. He is responsible for delivering new customer propositions making energy more flexible. His work includes creating Saving Sessions, the largest UK customer demand shift programme ever with 1.9GWh shifted over 14.5 hours from 700,000 customers, and Intelligent Octopus, the largest smart charging virtual power plant in the UK with 800MW and 125,000 electric vehicles. Kieron is a Fulbright Scholar and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Octopus Energy is on a mission to profoundly change the universe by building a truly sustainable energy system worldwide. The company strives to make energy greener, smarter and more affordable for all. Customers are at the center of everything Octopus Energy does: with always fair prices, transparency and outstanding customer service. The company is driving systemic change with transformative technology to make renewable energy the norm and end global dependence on fossil fuels.

The Octopus Energy Group consists of 10 companies spanning 6 countries on 3 continents, including Octopus Energy Retail, Kraken Technologies, Octopus Energy Generation, Kraken Flex, Octopus Electric Vehicles and the Octopus Centre for Net Zero.