Innovating for energy resilience: How businesses can shape the Isle of Man’s sustainable future

As the Isle of Man works towards a net zero future, energy resilience is a vital element to its strategy. The Isle of Man Energy policy focuses on investing in onshore renewables, securing electricity imports, and developing additional on-island generation to ensure security of supply. At the same time, demand-side management and innovation are crucial to balancing sustainability, affordability, and resilience.

To inspire businesses worldwide to take part in the Isle of Man Innovation Challenge, we spoke with Graeme Hatcher, Executive Director at Manx Utilities, the Island’s only multi-utility providing power, electricity, processing wastewater, to explore the role of innovation in shaping the Island’s energy future and how businesses can contribute.

What does energy resilience mean for the Isle of Man?

Having the capability to reliably meet demand at all times via our generation and network assets. Resilience is also about having sufficient capacity to provide continuity of supply during both planned and unplanned outages. It is also the capability to restore, in appropriate timescales, power supplies following all credible faults to minimise the impact to our customers and economy. 

Can you share examples of innovative energy solutions or demand-side management (DSM) strategies being explored locally?   

DSM refers to a collection of strategies and programs aimed at optimising energy use by managing the consumption patterns of electricity consumers. Traditionally, utilities have focused on increasing generation capacity to meet growing demand, but DSM offers an alternative approach by reducing or shifting energy use during peak demand periods, improving energy efficiency, and encouraging consumers to adopt energy-saving behaviours. These efforts not only lower overall energy consumption but also enhance grid reliability, reduce operational costs, and support environmental sustainability by decreasing reliance on fossil fuel-based power generation.  Typical DSM strategies focus around Tariffs and most recently flexibility provided by Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Internally work continues to further assess these capabilities as indicated in our recent Pricing Strategy. 

There are opportunities for innovation in the following areas:

1. Community and customer engagement strategies
2. Financing options to get BESS systems installed and associated control and pricing signals to maximise the benefits for all stakeholders.
3. Further consideration as to the capabilities of EV for DSM
4. Control systems which are essential to manage the system for discharging and charging to support the grid.

How can businesses contribute to balancing sustainability and resilience in the Isle of Man’s energy landscape?

Businesses should consider their overall energy needs.  A fabric first approach should be considered as improving the efficiency of their premises will not only reduce their expenditure but lead to an overall reduction in Island energy demand.  Beyond that, businesses could consider energy options appropriate to the scale and time of the demand, such as behind the meter Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). 

What challenges does the Isle of Man face in achieving energy resilience, and how can innovation help overcome them?  

This is reflected in the often-discussed energy trilemma:

1. Affordability: the economic supply of electricity at the point of delivery to consumers
2. Security of supply: the ability to meet Island demand in a safe manner, providing layers of resilience and maintaining compliance with statutory limits at all times
3. Environmental Impacts of Supply: meeting any relevant Government target relating to climate change as well as considering any adverse impact on the local environment.

There is a challenge with the potential scale of the capital investment required to provide secure generation and network assets and the associated timescale of climate targets. The use of innovation to manage peak demand and ensure a better match between supply and demand will be key. For example, one way to reduce capital expenditure is to minimise peak demand either by targeting energy efficiency or by moving some demand to non-peak times. This not only reduces the amount of primary generating assets, but it also reduces the expenditure required to maintain security of supply.

Businesses could significantly help the Island if they invested in technologies that helped minimise power consumption at times of peak demand. Innovative solutions to control and manage demand along with novel energy storage concepts are required, but we should not forget that if we can improve the energy efficiency of our buildings and processes, energy demand will reduce. 

What advice would you give to businesses considering entering the Innovation Challenge, particularly in the Cleantech category? 

As a vertically integrated and wholly public owned and operated power system, unlike in the UK and Ireland, there is an opportunity to be able to demonstrate innovative technologies in a collaborative environment. In addition, as the sole provider of electricity to the Island with smart meters installed in approximately 50% of properties, there is access to a dataset to validate trials which simply isn’t available in other jurisdictions.   

However, businesses should also consider the nuances of the Island’s power system, how it is operated and indeed how we are linked to the GB Grid. This does mean that there are some regulatory challenges and indeed there are some technology requirements that the Island doesn’t need, including there is no electricity market. 

Innovation will be key to achieving the challenge of the energy trilemma whilst ensuring the net zero power system meets the requirements of our local economy and population. 

Join the Isle of Man Innovation Challenge!

Innovation will be key to achieving the challenge of the energy trilemma whilst ensuring the net zero power system meets the requirements of our local economy and population. The Isle of Man Innovation Challenge provides businesses with a platform to develop real-world solutions in Cleantech. With expert mentorship and industry collaboration, this is an opportunity to contribute to a more sustainable and resilient energy future.

Applications close on 28th February. Apply now!