Flexibility is the concept that is reshaping the energy business as it shifts its focus to energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Customers are the main players in this new world where renewable energies are going to be far and away the most important energy source of the future. By 2050, almost 80% of energy produced is expected to come from green sources. Demand Response, which rewards users for flexibility in the demands they make on the grid, is the answer to the requirements posed by a market that is being refashioned by the struggle against climate change and the move to sources that depend on the weather.
Demand Response programmes pay large users that agree to reduce non-essential energy consumption in response to signals from the grid. Everyone gains -- companies because they get paid for the energy saved at the same rate as a producer would be paid for generating that amount; the grid operator, who is spared the huge capital expenditure of installing new capacity; and the public, who benefit from a cleaner environment.
Eliano Russo, head of e-Industries at Enel X, and Mike Storch, head of Enel X North America, comment on how the array of services offered by Enel X, the global leader in demand response, has developed.
Demand response programmes provide opportunities that create value for both the customer and the electrical grid, according to Russo. These generate economic benefits for the consumer and contribute to the stability of the grid, while the client actively participates in the benefits through the programme. The penetration of renewable energies in the North American market has tripled in just 20 years, according to Storch. Today, with services providing greater grid flexibility and stability, concern about volatility of supply in response to weather conditions is a thing of the past.
Over 6,000 companies worldwide have now turned to Enel X to gain the maximum benefit from their participation in demand response programmes. Those clients can also benefit from Fast DR, which allows them to take part in programmes that have a quicker activation time. Storage systems are another essential tool in this energy revolution, and the focus of a significant investment in the field by Enel X through 2021, alongside e-mobility, smart lighting and, of course, demand response.
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