Rural Energy and Community Heat (REACH)- Alpha

The project has evolved to include two main innovation streams with greater emphasis on the Challenge Theme of supporting customers making cost effective decarbonization choices:

1. Techno-Economic Innovation for the REACH Energy Centre: This stream aims to refine the design of the REACH Energy Centre, focusing on the techno-economic aspects to ensure effective and efficient energy solutions.

2. Social Innovation for Community Engagement and Support: This stream aims to develop tools to help a broader cohort of communities understand their options for decarbonisation. This includes creating the architecture for a Community Guidance Tool (to be developed in the Beta phase) to assist communities in making cost-effective choices, interpreting techno-economic data, and navigating the complexities of implementing decarbonisation technologies. The tool will assist communities through the process of determining their requirements and specification of a modular solution and will output indicative carbon reduction metrics, physical install requirements, project costs and other key data.

The tool will also evaluate the current enabling BAU activities (reinforcement, demand side flexibility, connect and manage etc.) and consider where the REACH energy centre would be commercially and technically viable in delivering this capacity ahead of conventional means.

Problem(s) 

Our understanding of the problem has significantly deepened through more extensive engagement with rural communities. Key insights include:

• A greater than expected level of community engagement, revealing a widespread aspiration for decarbonisation.
•  Diverse stages of progress across communities toward decarbonisation goals.
• The need to assess REACH in comparison to other network interventions
• The need for a commercial model to ensure techno-economic feasibility e.g. How do you price connection ahead of need & how is that financed? Many communities require substantial guidance on:
• Effective combinations of technologies suitable for their specific contexts.
•  Optimal siting of these technologies.
• Appropriate business models and ownership/governance structures.
• Interpretation of techno-economic modelling results.
• Engagement with landowners and households.

Innovation Justification 

REACH will deliver novel and ambitious innovation across the following innovative areas: Energy Centre Design:

The REACH Energy Centre will develop a new hardware-based product that offers electrical capacity, supply-side flexibility, and enhanced network resilience. This product will be tailored to the specific needs of both the local network and the communities who lead its development. The modular design of the energy centres is a key innovation, enabling a standardized approach that provides numerous benefits. For instance, the use of typeapproved switchgear known to NGED will simplify the grid connection process. During the Alpha phase, we will work with NGED’s connection team to establish a standardized connection agreement. Additionally, the modular configurations will simplify the selection process for community groups, reducing the need for bespoke solutions. Through detailed feasibility studies with the eight selected communities, we will optimize local configurations and outline a process for other communities to tailor their designs to their specific needs, which will be the focus of Beta.

Technology Readiness Levels (TRL):

The current TRL for the REACH Energy Centre is 5. By the end of this phase, we aim to reach TRL 6, with a target of achieving TRL 9 by the end of the Beta phase.

Commercial Model Development:

Building on the work led by Regen in the Discovery phase, we will develop a commercial model that optimizes funding streams based on the energy centre’s revenue capabilities. This model will take into account various revenue-generating activities, such as electric vehicle charging and DSO flexibility services, ensuring that each energy centre is financially sustainable and tailored to its unique context.

Innovative Carbon Assessment Methodology:

Cranfield University will develop a novel carbon assessment methodology to calculate the avoided emissions across various low carbon technology (LCT) scenarios. This methodology will include an assessment of environmental impacts, including carbon and nitrogen greenhouse gas emissions, and a temporal analysis of how these impacts may change as the grid's carbon intensity decreases. Key uncertainties and sensitivities, such as changes in rural travel and energy demand patterns, will be identified. A comprehensive life cycle assessment of sustainability impacts, considering environmental, economic, and social trade-offs, will be conducted.

Community Engagement:

Discovery phase highlighted the lack of clear delivery routes for communities to follow when executing decarbonization targets outlined in LAEPs, the Alpha phase will focus on preparing the input data and architecture for the web-based application built in Beta that can guide communities and networks. This application will help users understand the most efficient ways to deliver electrical capacity to rural areas, emphasizing the value of providing capacity sooner than through conventional means. Detailed feasibility studies for two to three selected communities, along with higher-level studies for all eight communities, will generate insights applicable to other communities seeking similar decarbonisation pathways. This holistic approach will ensure that the project addresses the specific needs and challenges of rural electrification. Continuous stakeholder engagement has been integral to the project, allowing us to promote, challenge, and refine our approach beyond incremental improvements in collaboration with existing community groups, with the goal of sharing learning that is applicable to all. This collaboration has ensured that the project remains relevant and impactful, addressing the real needs of the communities involved.

Key Output 

The key outputs from the Alpha stage can be categorised into two product lines:

Community Guidance and preparation for Beta Guidance Tool

• High level architecture of the community guidance tool and collection of the required data and APIs for development and build in Beta. In addition to technical requirements, Regen are leading a wider piece of community engagement to obtain user requirements for the tool to ensure applicability and user acceptance.
• Detailed feasibility studies for selected communities which will be applicable to other communities wishing to follow a similar pathway. These reports will outline case studies for how communities can make more cost effective choices to achieve their decarbonisation targets of accelerating connection times.

REACH Energy Centre concept

• Establish the specification of the REACH Energy Centre specification, through feasibilities that establish the expected product range.
• The development of a Commercial Model and CBA workbook, which will inform whether to progress to Beta but also provide greater understanding of the financial feasibility of the REACH energy centre.
• Carbon accounting methodology that will be employed in Beta to demonstrate the carbon savings communities can achieve through the adoption of the REACH energy centre. Many communities have targets to reduce their emissions by set amounts, but have little understanding of the most cost-effective ways to do so.