People’s Power Station 2.0: Developing a digital environment that creates value through Smart Community Energy Systems

This report documents the ongoing development of the People’s Power Station 2.0
(PPS2.0), a highly innovative digital environment that acts as an enabler for both
creating and capturing value through a focus on Smart Community Energy
Systems (SCES).

The approach taken is based on the premise that greater overall value can be
created and distributed equitably when individuals, local businesses, community
organisations, network operators, and other local stakeholders cooperate and
collaborate for mutual benefit.

The value created through local interaction can be translated into benefits such
as lower energy bills, improved services or brand image, faster deployment of
electric transport and heat, lower network infrastructure costs, or enabling
individuals who wish to contribute actively to a zero-carbon energy system.
It is widely argued that a zero-carbon energy system will require a highly
decentralised model, with greater emphasis placed on the edge of the network
where energy is used, in combination with increased use of small-scale local
generation, storage, and flexible demand. Smart Community Energy Systems can
be both a vehicle for and accelerate the transition to a mostly electrified energy
system.

Such model would require a radical transformation of the entire energy system,
not dissimilar to the one that changed the internet and telecommunications
systems at the turn of the century, with opportunities until them unimaginable
being opened up in an environment driven by innovation, disruptive
technologies, and entrepreneurial spirit.