SSEN at the heart of Newbury’s net zero future

The journey to net zero is underway, with a thousand electric vehicles (EVs) already on Newbury’s streets and a commitment from the town council for its operations to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Decarbonising will require widespread uptake of new, cleaner technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs) and heating systems for Newbury’s homes and businesses. At the same time, communities are turning to home grown energy such as solar power, to help give them greater control over the type of energy they use and to avoid using polluting, fossil-fuelled energy. These new sources of supply and demand mean the local electricity network has a big role to play.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is the distribution network operator for Newbury and surrounding areas of Berkshire and is working hard to support Newbury in the net zero future – including forecasting where and when new supply or demand will emerge. Better information means SSEN can put in place processes to balance the grid or invest in the network.

SSEN publishes Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES) annually that help inform its work and a projection for Newbury has been shared today. Undertaken by renewable energy experts, Regen, the forecasts anticipate major solar generation in the Newbury area of over 100MW by 2050, from both rooftop and ground-mounted solar PV. Solar is likely to be preferred because Newbury typically sees low windspeeds, which make onshore wind less viable.

Co-located battery storage is probable alongside solar generation, to store power that is generated at times when demand is low and to release to it homes and businesses when needed. SSEN’s forecasts anticipate a potential of 3 MW of co-located battery storage in addition to around 14 MW of standalone battery storage sites, delivering services to the grid.

Bryan Puszkar, Customer Relationship Manager for Thames Valley region at SSEN said:

“The electricity distribution network sits at the heart of net zero. We have twin responsibilities: to our customers today to ensure their electricity supply is safe, secure and reliable; and to our customers in the future, to ensure our network is ready to support the huge changes that are anticipated in the net zero future.

“Things are moving fast. There are currently around one thousand electric vehicles on Newbury’s roads, but by the end of this decade that number is due to have increased tenfold. As the electricity network operator, we need to ensure that our infrastructure can support access to charge points for all those vehicles, in addition to meeting the needs of all other new forms of demand and generation. We are committed to supporting a net zero future that is cost effective and fair, leaving nobody behind.”

Laura Farris, MP for Newbury said:

“I welcome this insight from SSEN which give us a snapshot of what a net zero Newbury might look like. High global gas prices are driving up bills and contributing to an unprecedented cost of living crisis. This forecast suggests a strong role for solar power in our area, which could help mitigate the impact of energy prices on households. We can also look forward to a time when more cars on our roads are electric and have less impact on air quality.

“I welcome SSEN’s work in supporting our network today and preparing our infrastructure for the future.”

Click here to read more about SSEN’s Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES) for both licence areas, in the north of Scotland and central southern England.

Table: Low carbon technology DFES projections in Newbury (Consumer Transformation Scenario)