Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Centre for Net Zero

Jaap Burger @jaapburger.eu · 5d

This recent working paper by @rmetcalfe.bsky.social e.a. for @centrefornetzero.bsky.social shows how effective automated EV smart charging is:

"42% reduction in household electricity demand during peak hours, with 100% of this demand shifted to low-cost, low-emission off-peak periods."

Figure shows electricity consumption throughout the day for a baseline and with an EV tariff. During the off-peak period in the middle of the night, consumption is much higher with the EV tariff, while during the peak in the early evening it is much lower.

1 4 14

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 13d

Check out our key recommendations 👇

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 13d

🌍 These findings show how renewable-powered data centres could mitigate the cost, time and risks that hyperscalers are seeking to avoid. Renewables are a proven and deployable option that can contribute to quickly meeting the demands of AI - and the broader energy transition.

1 1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 13d

4️⃣ Our model outputs a microgrid that meets consistent yearly data centre demand without needing the grid. To further minimise risk to data centre operators, no/low-utilisation grid ties can provide additional microgrid reliability.

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 13d

3️⃣ Renewable microgrids could be deployed in around half the time of nuclear SMRs (~5 years vs 10 years) and with much greater certainty.

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 13d

2️⃣ It is cheaper by almost a third (31.7%) to power a data centre with 95% renewables (in line with the CP30 target) vs a nuclear SMR.

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 13d

Headline findings:

1️⃣ It is cheaper by approx 43% to power a data centre with a largely renewable microgrid vs a nuclear SMR. Renewables can meet the majority of the constant demands of a large data centre - but gas is still required as a stopgap source of power today, with batteries supporting.

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 13d

💡 Can the UK leverage renewables to power data centres at speed and low cost?

🆕 Our latest analysis compares the cost & speed to power data centres in the UK by leveraging renewable microgrids versus nuclear small modular reactors

Check it out 🔗 + 🧵 microgridai.centrefornetzero.org

1 1 2

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 21d

🙏 Thanks to the King Climate Action Initiative @j-pal.bsky.social for funding the trial, @octopus.energy for the partnership opportunity, and to everyone who contributed @rmetcalfe.bsky.social @the-scheining.bsky.social

2

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 21d

🌍 AI can be good for consumers and the grid - helping households save money, integrating more renewable supply, and making the power system more resilient.

1 1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 21d

💡 AI-managed charging can...

1️⃣ Provide significant load-shifting, reducing peak household electricity by 42%.
2️⃣ Work for consumers, with manual overrides accounting for 2.3% of total electricity consumption.
3️⃣ Cut bills by £343/year - or £650 when compared to a standard tariff.

1 1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · 21d

🚗 Can AI make EV charging cheaper and greener?

CNZ ran the world’s largest AI-managed EV charging trial with 13,000 UK households. Check out the results 👇

Summary & working paper 🔗 www.centrefornetzero.org/papers/ai-in...

1 3 4

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Sep 1

🔗 Have a read: www.economist.com/letters/2025...

Don’t ditch Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa | Aug 30th 2025 Edition

Also this week, Israel and Gaza, net zero, playback speeds, “Moby-Dick”

www.economist.com

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Sep 1

💷 As Rob points out, despite recent narratives, gas sets the price of electricity in the UK, contributing to inflated costs for consumers. Resolving this market flaw would bring down bills and help make better use of the cheap renewable energy that we're producing in increasing volumes.

1 2

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Sep 1

⚡ Britain's high electricity costs aren't a net zero problem — they're a legacy of outdated markets designed for fossil fuels

🖊️ CNZ’s Chief Economist @rmetcalfe.bsky.social wrote to @economist.com about the root causes of high UK energy prices

👇 Check out this week’s print edition or see link in 🧵

1 4 5

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Aug 6

👏 Thanks to RTE & Cresym for contributing to our growing energy data ecosystem - and to @lfenergy.bsky.social for their continued support of OpenSynth

2

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Aug 6

📢 Open data community OpenSynth is expanding beyond demand data. Our first grid topology dataset, RTE7000, is now live!

It contains a series of snapshots in node-breaker topology of the 7k nodes across the 🇫🇷 transmission grid

👇 Learn more via our blog: www.centrefornetzero.org/news/opensyn...

1 1 1

Reposted by Centre for Net Zero

Jessica Bristow @jessicabristow.bsky.social · Aug 1

A thread, a working paper, a chart, all from real user data!

(𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥! 𝘵𝘢𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 #𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 + #𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 🙌)

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Jul 29

🤔 What happens when homes switch to heat pumps?

🌡️ Check out NEW updates to our HP paper - ft additional temperature analysis: www.centrefornetzero.org/news/what-ha...

🔗 Working paper: www.centrefornetzero.org/papers/decar...

@rmetcalfe.bsky.social @lbernard.bsky.social @the-scheining.bsky.social

1 2

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Aug 1

Find out more 👉 www.neso.energy/news/crowdfl...

CrowdFlex publishes latest results and insights from large-scale domestic flexibility trials | National Energy System Operator

CrowdFlex, is a NESO led innovation project, funded by Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), w

www.neso.energy

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Aug 1

Overall, we found strong causal evidence that financial incentives effectively drive demand flexibility among households, with a range of insights to inform the design of events as they scale in future.

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Aug 1

🧠 Non-financial behavioural nudges also showed promising results for cost-effective behaviour reinforcement. Weekly email reminders boosted plug-in sessions and hours.

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Aug 1

🚗 Payments significantly increased plug-in frequency and duration, which translated to ~16-52% increases in demand for turn-up events, and ~18-39% decreases for turn-down events.

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Aug 1

2⃣ What happened when EV drivers were paid to plug in and be available to respond to system needs, by turning up or down their charging?

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Aug 1

⬆️ Higher incentives, including a consistency bonus, increased response. Lower incentives delivered more flexibility per pound spent, while higher incentives delivered greater volumes, with a trade-off between maximising response and minimising cost.

1

Centre for Net Zero @centrefornetzero.bsky.social · Aug 1

💸 Successful shifts in electricity use, with effect sizes of ~8-12% in turn-up events and ~3-5% in turn-down events.

1