As global energy demands rises alongside the challenges of climate change, the need for a resilient and sustainable energy system has never been more urgent, according to GridBeyond’s latest white paper Energy trends 2025 – The rise of the demand side.
Now in its sixth edition, the report offers an in depth analysis of the energy systems in the UK, Ireland, USA, Australia and Japan highlighting their shared challenges like aging infrastructure, rising energy demand, and the need for innovation. It concludes that achieving net zero targets – particularly the near-term goal of a 2030 net-zero electricity sector – will require a smarter and more flexible energy system.
Noting that the distributed energy resources market is expected to more than double by 2027, the report emphasises the critical role of energy flexibility in building resilient and adaptive energy systems, such as the role of virtual power plants (VPPs), electric vehicles, corporate power purchase agreements (CPPA), energy procurement and energy storage.
In the road to decarbonisation assets are also moving closer to the grid edge, with EVs, small- and large-scale renewables generation and heat pumps poised to connect into a vast, decentralised network – offering capacity akin to several nuclear power plants. Given significant declines in costs (more than 90% in the last 15 years) battery energy storage systems (BESS) will also play a crucial role in providing flexibility and supporting inflexible technologies (such as solar PV).
While reducing energy consumption or utilising flexibility is often the most obvious way for businesses to reduce impact where it’s crucial for assets or processes to maintain continuous operation (inflexible assets and operations) this may not be possible. As a result, many companies are procuring energy from renewable generation sources as part of their net zero plans, meaning CPPAs, certificate trading and more sophisticated procurement strategies will also play a big role in 2025 and beyond.
Building on the success of its predecessors, Energy trends 2025 – The rise of the demand side offers a comprehensive study of how businesses and grid operators can meet the challenges of an ever evolving, global energy landscape.
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