Study quantifies benefits of Demand-Side Flexibility for 2030 targets

As the EU shifts away from the traditional energy system and moves to clean and renewable sources of power like solar and wind, new solutions are needed to manage supply fluctuations and ensure continued affordable and abundant energy. Demand-Side Flexibility (DSF), the ability of customers to change their consumption and generation patterns based on external signals, is a crucial tool to help achieve these goals. Yet DSF is often overlooked as a reliable, efficient and climate friendly solution to allow consumers to take an active part in achieving the EU’s goal of a 55% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030.

There are many benefits to taking part in a Demand Response program. It is a way for companies or institutions to earn money by monetizing flexible energy use, creating a new revenue stream. It can lead to lower energy costs by limiting consumption at peak times when energy is more expensive. Demand Response participants are notified of grid instability in advance, enabling them to prepare proactively against potential outages and therefore protect the continuity of their operations.

The benefits of Demand-Side Flexibility and DR programs for individual companies are clear. But no attempt has been made to quantify the benefits on an EU-wide scale. For a better understanding of the role DSF can play in the EU energy transition, smartEn, the European business association integrating the consumer-driven solutions of the clean energy transition, commissioned the first study on the topic from DNV, an independent assurance and risk management provider. Called “Demand-Side Flexibility in the EU: Quantification of benefits in 2030”, the study quantified how the EU would benefit from fully deploying DSF as the region moves forward with its goal to achieve a 55% GHG reduction by 2030.

"We sponsored this study because as a global leader in Demand Response, we see a lack of awareness about the potential of DSF. We therefore believe that this pioneering study on quantifying the benefits of DSF can fill this gap and motivate the market to increasingly embrace DSF resources, creating value for both the electricity system and consumers," Enel X Head of Flexibility Solutions and smartEn Vice President Daniele Andreoli at a conference on September 28 to present the study. 

As Daniele Andreoli explains in an interview readable here, “huge progress has been made” in the speed of Demand Response technologies thanks to digitalization over the last decade.

The study’s findings demonstrate that DSF can have a huge potential impact in meeting energy needs and sustainability targets. In terms of supply, the study’s model suggests that in 2030 the energy system would lack at least 60 GW of generating capacity needed to cope with peak demand. Load shifting and load curtailment (which are components of DSF) could compensate for the lack of supply. Moreover, enabling 60 GW of DSF would save €2.7 billion annually compared to installing 60 GW of new capacity.

 

For the electricity grid, DSF at the EU27 level would result in €11.1–29.1 billion savings in investments annually between 2023 and 2030. This represents between 27% to 80% of today’s forecasted investment needs in low and medium voltage distribution grids to integrate new loads and RES capacity.