Energy flexibility:

In this scenario, grid expansion and diversification is key to supporting decarbonization, guaranteeing electricity supply, and effectively integrating renewable sources. By 2040, countries around the world will have to add or renew a total of more than 80 million kilometers of grid.

Thanks to Demand Response, these investments can be contained. A significant initiative in this respect was implemented in New York, the world’s most energy-intensive habitat. Among the initiatives undertaken as part of the Big Apple’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) plan, the energy efficiency and load reduction program called Brooklyn-Queens Demand Management (BQDM) made it possible to avoid overloading the Brownsville substation, which would have needed a 1.2-billion-dollar upgrade to handle the stress created by the expected overload. All by integrating distributed technologies into the grid and supporting everything with Enel X’s DER Optimization Software and a demand-side management program to optimize substation load management by combining solar energy, fuel cells, building load, and batteries.

Electrical grids have always been based on a one-way flow, from producer to consumer, and on the classic market logic of supply and demand (if demand grows, supply must be increased).

Today, we are moving toward a more sustainable and circular paradigm, based on the logic of demand that can be adjusted and adapted to supply. In this paradigm, consumers – individuals, public administrations, and especially businesses – become main players together. Digitalization now allows companies to adjust their energy demand according to grid requirements, reducing it, for instance, when the grid is overloaded, and putting surplus energy from their assets on the market in exchange for compensation.

This is the simple and useful mechanism at the foundation of Demand Response programs, which we at Enel X Global Retail are among the world’s leading supporters of, and which are now a pillar in our offering for B2B.

DR programs are not only a useful tool for responding to the growing demand for electricity, improving grid stability, and managing the impact of renewables. They are also an advantageous solution for businesses wanting to increase their profits using sustainability, and for grid operators, who save on the expenses required to install new capacity.

At Enel X Global Retail, we’ve accumulated significant expertise in this field, becoming a go-to partner that offers businesses targeted consulting and points them toward the best solutions. Enel X Flex is a cloud platform created by Enel X that provides C&I customers with various services to optimize consumption, maximize efficiency, and empower flexibility in an even more straightforward way.

DR programs are perfect for many different kinds of businesses. The only requirement is that companies be able to adjust, that is, reduce their consumption at certain times. Any company that does not use continuously operating machinery, for example, can participate. Enel X Flex protects the continuity of operations first and foremost, while guaranteeing participation in the best demand response programs, allowing companies to receive compensation in exchange for their surplus energy.

Demand flexibility appears to be the ideal solution for the massive industry of commercial refrigeration. Last July, Enel X Australia received financing of 3.7 million dollars from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to support demand flexibility solutions in the refrigeration sector.

There is an immense energy treasure trove hidden in cold storage that can be used be used: in Australia alone, it is estimated that over 500 MW of potential flexible demand can be fed back into the national electricity market. Through the "Unlocking Flexible Demand in the Commercial Refrigeration Sector" program, Enel X Australia is recruiting 440 commercial refrigeration plants to supply the flexible demand capacity needed to support the renewable energy transition.

Small changes in energy use can have a huge impact if aggregated at scale, without obvious changes for users or, more importantly, any impact on product quality. Decarbonizing the grid, avoiding costly investments to modernize, and earning from the energy made available. Demand Response is the most surprising and immediate ally for achieving Zero Emission goals. For a business that is sustainable twice over.

He is now in charge of the Demand Response Global Business Line for Enel X, managing the P/L of the business with a portfolio of more than 9.5 GW of flexible assets spread in 18 different Countries worldwide.

He is an engineer with a Master's in Business Administration completed at a German university