Grid Access Solutions for Energy-Intensive Industries

India’s rapid renewable expansion is creating increasing variability and grid stress. While supply-side investments (solar, wind, batteries) continue, demand-side flexibility—especially from industry—remains underdeveloped. Global experience, particularly in Spain, Germany, and France, shows that industrial loads can play a central role in balancing grids while improving economic efficiency. India’s Real-Time Market hit Rs.0.00/kWh on 1 May 2026 across two consecutive 15-minute blocks at 10:30 and 10:45. Sell bids were nearly 7.7 times higher than buy bids Prices stayed near-zero for 4+ hours. Similarly some days back there was 80% curtailment of VRE in Rajasthan Rajasthan Solar Plants Ordered to Slash Production Amid Power Wastage Crisis, ETEnergyworld https://lnkd.in/gbzaPqbj Also there have been rising peaks recent week like India met 256.1 GW peak https://lnkd.in/g9SuHXrp India is sitting on a massive, underutilised asset in its energy transition: industrial demand flexibility. The next phase of energy transition won’t be won only by adding more renewables. It will be won by making demand smarter, flexible, and valuable. Across Europe, a quiet shift is underway—industry is no longer just a power consumer, but a grid-balancing partner. Countries like Spain and Germany are already moving in this direction: Flexible grid access → industries connect with the condition that they can adjust demand Lower grid charges → if you help the grid, you pay less Flexibility markets → thermal storage (not just batteries) gets rewarded Stackable incentives → efficiency + carbon + flexibility = better ROI Priority Actions: For Government & Regulators: Define “flexible industrial load” category Reform tariff structures to reward flexibility Expand market mechanisms for ancillary and demand response Enable policy stacking across schemes For Industry: Invest in thermal storage and load automation Participate in demand response programs Align operations with renewable generation cycles India has the opportunity to move beyond a supply-centric energy transition toward a balanced system where demand actively supports the grid. Industrial flexibility—supported by the right regulatory and market framework—can become a cornerstone of India’s net-zero pathway. Reducing cross-subsidy burden from industries making electricity cheaper for industries. With leadership from CEA,CERC, Ministries,Niti Aayog, India can leapfrog: ✔ Turn industrial loads into virtual power plants ✔ Use thermal storage as a low-cost flexibility backbone ✔ Reduce renewable curtailment without overbuilding grid infrastructure ✔ Make electrification of heat economically viable 💡 Industry is not the problem—it is part of the solution. #EnergyTransition #IndustrialDecarbonization #Flexibility #Renewables #IndiaEnergy #NetZero

🔋One of the most interesting results of the DC Industrie-2 project was demonstrating a reduction in the peak power rating of the grid-connecting active front end (AFE). The figure shows the demonstration “production line” with two robots, two machines, AFE, and a battery energy system (BESS).   🍃The comparison of the power fed from the AC grid with and without the BESS system on the DC bus shows the peak power reduction. Reducing the peak power rating of the grid connection eases 1️⃣ the strain on the AC grid, reduces 2️⃣ the initial investment (lowering grid charges), and reduces 3️⃣ the operational costs as it increases self-consumption.   💡The droop control ensures load sharing, and the figure also includes the droop curves. In the first zone, both AFE and BESS supply power to the load. However, in the second zone (marked with grey borderline), AFE supplies only the base load, and BESS supplies the peak power. The direct connection of the battery to the same bus as robots and machines also increases recuperation in Zone 5. The last zone is reserved for the option when the BESS system is fully charged and energy needs to be returned to the grid.   🎯DC distribution systems are protected by solid-state circuit breakers, which reduce the transferred fault energy and peak fault current several times compared to using fuses. Since operating efficiency is crucial, Infinitus delivers a 0.9 V drop at 1000 A.  https://lnkd.in/dZjf3dcW #directcurrent #solidstatecircuitbreaker #renewable #cleanenergy #bess #energystorage #gridmodernization

🔴 Oxford just confirmed what our clients have known for three years. The new "High Voltage" report from the University of Oxford — led by Professor Jan Rosenow — analysed 1.600+ global climate scenarios and reached one conclusion: up to 90% of industrial energy demand can be electrified with technology that already exists today! That's not a future state. That's a present-tense commercial decision. The report frames it as a security question, not just a climate one: every industrial process still running on gas or fuel oil is exposed to the next Hormuz closure, the next pipeline shutdown, the next price spike. We've had two major fossil fuel shocks in three years. The question is no longer whether to electrify — it's how fast, and who pays for it. (Spoiler: it doesn't have to be you!) Our clients in food & beverage, chemicals and manufacturing cut their energy bills by 15% to 30% — without putting a single euro of CAPEX on the balance sheet. A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) or Energy-as-a-Service model covers the investment. You capture the savings from day one. There's a second benefit the Oxford report touches on but underplays: grid congestion. The behind-the-meter approach — combining rooftop and ground-mounted solar, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and smart load management — means you generate, store and consume your own energy on-site. Less grid dependency. Fewer capacity requests. You simply step around the queue. An integrated Energy Management System (EMS) does the heavy lifting: it shifts load, optimises self-consumption in real time, and reduces your exposure to wholesale price swings — automatically. CFOs and operations leaders: if your energy bill is a line item your board asks about every quarter, this paper is worth 20 minutes of your time. So is a short conversation. Drop a comment or send me a DM — happy to share what this concretely looks like for your type of operation. 📄 Full Oxford report in the comments. #IndustrialElectrification #EnergyIntensive #CFO #EnergyStrategy #BehindTheMeter #PPA #EnergyAsAService #Decarbonisation #PerPetumEnergy

The utility grid is struggling to accommodate gigawatt-scale data centers. This was highlighted by Michael Stadler, CTO of Xendee, in the latest episode of Clean Power Hour. The core issue lies not in energy availability, but in power delivery. AI data centers require between 1-10 gigawatts of power around the clock. Unfortunately, utility interconnection queues can extend up to 5-10 years, and the aging US grid is already at capacity in many areas where these facilities seek to establish themselves. A viable solution is the implementation of microgrids that integrate natural gas combined heat and power (CHP) systems, batteries, and solar energy. CHP units not only generate electricity but also utilize waste heat to power absorption chillers for cooling, significantly reducing overall electricity demand. Michael explains how Xendee assists developers in sizing these systems, optimizing the technology mix, and deploying control strategies that enhance savings. The platform also models growth over time, indicating when to incorporate new technologies as facilities expand. For a deeper understanding of why microgrids have become essential for large-scale development, watch the full conversation here. https://lnkd.in/dG9MHC3Z #CleanEnergy #Microgrids #DataCenters

"Make grid connections faster" is not as splashy as building renewables or drilling for oil, but is essential for delivering growth and cost of living promises - in our Centre for British Progress paper out today, Ed Hezlet and I explain how to do it. The binding constraint for Britain's energy system isn't how fast we can build renewables or data centres - it's how quickly they can be connected to the grid. This can take several years to over a decade, leaving projects on hold even if permitting and construction could be completed faster. The rise of renewables has reduced grid utilisation but increased the number of connections we need each year. At the same time, incentives drawn up after grid privatisation have driven under-investment in the network. Speculative connection applications in response to frustrations with delay have made the queue even worse, making it hard for networks to plan ahead. Grid connection reforms have so far focused on generation, re-ordering the queue to bring the highest priority projects to the top of the list. This doesn't help all that much to move projects through the queue faster. Reforms also focus on providers of electricity, but we need faster grid access for users too. One solution is auctioning off grid capacity to the highest bidder. In my view, placing a market value on a resource that is structurally scarce is like throwing more subsidies to buy homes without fixing the housebuilding problem. It also risks housing developments getting crowded out by data centre investment, as happened in West London a few years ago. Instead, we propose four simple policy changes to address the supply problem and make getting a connection easier and faster: 📜 Clarify a regulation that explicitly allow large demand projects to run a transmission cable to their site, avoiding unnecessary substation upgrades. 🏗️ Allow customers to build their own connections more than an arbitrary 2km away from the grid if they find it economical to do so. 👷♀️ Let independent private companies build out the transmission grid to sites if customers are willing to fund it, instead of relying on the network monopoly 👀 Provide visibility on where demand connections are planned, so that energy developers can make more informed decisions on where to build. Read more in our piece (link in comments). Is this enough to speed up demand connections or do you think we need to go further? Thanks to everyone who spoke to us as we were researching this piece. Curious to hear what others think about our proposals - Adam Bell, Clementine Cowton, Alex Howison, James Axel Grey, Alex Labrom, Amit Gudka, Paul Domjan, Keith Inglis, Alex Read, Imran Shafi OBE, Jack Pardoe, Ben Noone, Oxana Dankova, PhD, Maurice Berns, Bas Sudmeijer, Isabella Borshoff.

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 As data center demand accelerates, the race for “speed to power” is reshaping how and where capacity comes online. While behind‑the‑meter and off‑grid solutions can unlock near‑term speed, long‑term value depends on grid interconnection that preserves reliability and affordability. New research from EPRI outlines four innovative strategies as stakeholders scale AI infrastructure. ·   𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗱-𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲: The traditional model—data centers rely on the grid for primary power, with on-site backup for emergencies. This approach offers reliability and cost efficiency, but in some locations can face long interconnection delays. ·   𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗱-𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲: Data centers support grid needs by providing flexibility through adding on-site or nearby generation and storage. This can shift workloads in time or location, or both. This can also accelerate grid connection and improve overall system stability. ·   𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲-𝘁𝗼-𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗱: Some centers start operations off-grid or with limited grid access, using temporary or permanent on-site generation, while awaiting full grid connection. Once connected, they can operate flexibly or inflexibly. ·   𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱: A fully off-grid approach, where data centers are powered entirely by on-site resources. This can reduce power delays and offer direct control but often comes with higher costs and reliability challenges. The path forward isn’t speed 𝘰𝘳 reliability—it’s designing power strategies that deliver both at scale, while ensuring affordability for all. 🔗 Read more in the EPRI white paper: https://lnkd.in/e9k6ZUq8  #datacenters #AI #energy #grid