Electricity and the energy transition (Part 1) – Rewiring a net zero future

For over a century our electrical systems have powered homes, industries, and economies through large, centralised generating stations. Now, as we race towards net zero, electricity’s role is expanding fast – not because it is new, but because it has become the backbone of global decarbonisation.

Electricity demand is set to surge as transport, heating, and industry electrify, while AI, data centres, population growth, and development drive consumption even higher. The International Energy Agency expects global demand to more than double by 2050.

This is both a natural evolution and a profound transformation. Meeting climate goals means replacing fossil fuels with clean energy and building the networks to deliver far more power than ever before. It is a step-change in scale, complexity, and interdependence of our electrical systems.

We can build on existing assets, deep expertise, and hard-won experience, but this shift brings major risks to people, the environment, infrastructure, and business. Managing these risks is not optional, it is fundamental to ensuring the energy transition succeeds.

This article is the first of a three-part series examining the role of electricity in the energy transition. It explores what electricity is, why it matters, and how electrical power generation, networks, and control systems must evolve to combat climate change.

Introduction

Electricity has come a long way since it was first observed in the 6^th century BC by the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, who noticed that rubbing amber with fur produced static charges. Today, electricity is one of the most versatile and reliable forms of energy we have ever harnessed. At its core, it is the transfer of energy between electrons in a conductor. It brews your coffee, charges your phone, lights your home, and keeps the world around you moving. Though invisible and rooted in quantum mechanics, electricity behaves predictably at the scale we engineer – safe when respected, dangerous when exposed.

The systems we rely on today were not built yesterday. Much of our electrical power infrastructure has been in place for decades, and it has held up remarkably well. Designed with redundancy and reliability in mind, these assets have powered industries and communities through generations of change.

But outside engineering circles (and often within), electricity can feel like a “black art” especially when compared to mechanical or process systems. Its invisible nature makes it hard to grasp, yet it is one of the most mature and well-understood domains in engineering. That understanding will serve us well in the transition ahead.

Duality of electricity

The energy transition is, at its core, a response to the climate crisis, and electricity lies at the centre of it. To reach net zero, we must both decarbonise how electricity is generated and stored, as well as electrify sectors that currently rely on fossil fuels such as transportation and heavy industry.

We have already made good progress with this. Renewable generation is scaling up, battery storage is increasing, and industries are electrifying, but electricity’s role is not just growing, it is transforming, and at great pace. Electricity is both a vector (how we harvest and move clean energy from source to use) and a hazard (a high-energy system that must be managed carefully). This duality makes it central to everything the transition demands, and everything it risks if we get it wrong.

Evolving the grid: why and how it must change

For over a century, our electricity networks were powered by large, centralised stations – mainly coal, gas, and nuclear. These plants supplied energy that flowed through high-voltage transmission lines, then was stepped down via substations and distributed to consumers – homes, offices, hospitals, and factories. It was a top-down system characterised by stable generation, predictable demand, and a one-way flow of power.

The network functioned much like a conveyor belt sushi restaurant (kaiten-zushi), with a small number of producers (chefs) preparing dishes that were made available on demand to customers.

But now, imagine major changes to how the restaurant is set up and operates. Many more chefs working independently at different stations around the restaurant, each adding their own dishes to the conveyor. The food supply becomes intermittent, requiring greater storage capacity to ensure a continuous service. Meanwhile, there are many more hungry diners needing extra seats and more dishes. Some customers are also bringing their own food and even selling it back onto the conveyor for others to enjoy.

This analogy neatly captures how our electrical systems must evolve to enable the energy transition. Figure 1 illustrates the changes required.

1. Balancing distributed generation

As more renewables such as wind and solar come online, often in remote or offshore locations, power generation is shifting toward the grid’s edges. Areas that once only consumed electricity are now producing it too, transforming the system from a one-way flow into a dynamic, multidirectional network.

Where we once relied on a few large, centrally controlled power stations, we now have a complex mix of large generators and millions of smaller, distributed sources. For example, by 2024, the UK had around 1.5 million solar installations with a cumulative capacity of 15.8 GW, up from 22 MW in 2010 (Ref. 1). Rooftop solar panels, along with community wind farms, battery banks and even electric vehicles are all feeding power back into the grid.

However, these sources are small-scale, weather-dependent, dispersed, and not centrally managed. This makes the system far more dynamic but also harder to balance. To accommodate this, the grid must become smarter, more flexible, and more resilient. Static, one-directional infrastructure is being replaced with dynamic, bi-directional networks capable of adjusting in real-time.

Protection systems that safeguard everything connected to the power network, must evolve too. Network faults can manifest in more ways with an increasing volume of fluctuating decentralised generation. Additionally, the design of the systems must be adaptable to the dynamic changes in supply and demand. They must accommodate the peak loads while remaining efficient to power transmission at lower levels, in both directions.

2. Enhancing grid stability

In the traditional grid, stability was maintained by the inertia of large synchronous generators – steam turbines in coal, gas, and nuclear plants, or hydraulic turbines in hydro stations – directly coupled to heavy rotating generator sets. These machines spin in sync with the grid frequency, and their mass resists sudden changes, providing a natural buffer during faults or sharp swings in demand. Even small frequency deviations can trigger equipment failures, protective trips, or cascading shutdowns.

Most renewable sources, such as solar photovoltaics and wind turbines, connect through power electronics known as inverters. These inverter-based resources convert variable electrical output into grid-compatible power. Unlike conventional synchronous generators, which contribute real, rotating inertia, inverter-based systems are electronically decoupled from the grid.

Even though wind turbines have rotating blades, their mechanical energy doesn’t directly provide inertia – it is buffered through power electronics. Most operate in “grid-following” mode, relying on the grid’s existing voltage and frequency to synchronise their output. As these sources replace conventional generation, the grid becomes more sensitive to frequency disturbances and less able to passively absorb shocks.

Recent events illustrate the risks. In April 2025, Spain experienced a near-nationwide blackout after a fault caused a sudden drop in frequency. Solar assets, configured as grid-following rather than “grid-forming”, disconnected because they rely on a stable grid to operate. Grid-forming resources, such as traditional synchronous generators, can instead set and maintain frequency themselves, providing critical stabilisation. The disconnection of solar assets triggered a domino effect, leaving much of the country without power for 12 to 24 hours.

A similar event occurred in the UK in August 2019, when the loss of two major generators – an offshore wind farm and a gas-fired power station – caused grid frequency to fall below statutory limits, triggering automatic disconnections that affected nearly one million customers (Ref. 2).

The solution lies in engineering stability by design. Renewable plants and inverter-based systems must now provide synthetic inertia, voltage and frequency control, and dynamic response under fault conditions. Increasingly, they are being equipped to operate in grid-forming mode, where they can establish and regulate frequency themselves, supporting the grid even during instability.

Traditionally, only large synchronous stations could perform a “black start” – restoring power to a dead grid using their own on-site generators. Most renewable sources, like wind and solar, depend on the existing grid voltage and frequency to operate, so they cannot restart themselves if the network goes dark. Extending black start to these resources requires grid-forming inverters, advanced control systems, and careful coordination across dispersed assets. Achieving this is challenging, but it enables a more distributed and resilient recovery network, reducing reliance on a few central stations and allowing faster restoration after outages (Ref. 3).

3. Need for storage

Unlike fossil fuels, renewable energy cannot be turned on or off at will to meet fluctuations in demand. Nature decides when the wind blows and the sun shines. For example, wind recently contributed 4% of the UK’s electricity generation one day and 49% two days later (Ref. 4). We must maximise the capture and storage of that energy and hold it for when it is needed.

Energy storage – from lithium-ion batteries to pumped hydro, compressed air, and green hydrogen – is the bridge between variable generation and steady consumption. Beyond simple energy balancing, these systems provide frequency control, voltage support, and synthetic inertia, helping the grid maintain stability in real time.

There is also a growing opportunity to use distributed energy storage to manage local peaks in demand or generation, especially in areas where legacy grid infrastructure, such as long, underrated distribution cables, would otherwise struggle to cope. Instead of upgrading these assets to handle worst-case peak loads in both directions, strategically placed batteries can help smooth out short-term fluctuations. This reduces pressure on the grid, allows for more efficient use of existing infrastructure, and supports local energy resilience. By placing storage closer to where energy is consumed or generated, we can defer costly reinforcements and create a more flexible, responsive system.

4. Grid strengthening and extension

Much of our existing grid infrastructure was not built for this level of complexity nor, indeed, capacity, but that does not mean it is obsolete. Reinforcement and repurposing, rather than wholesale replacement, will be the most pragmatic path forward. Strengthening and reinforcing our networks, upgrading transformers, retrofitting substations, adding advanced sensors and control devices, and using smart grid controls are the incremental improvements needed to help bridge legacy systems with the needs of the future.

As we move electricity across longer distances and from more remote sources, HVDC systems are playing an increasingly vital role. They reduce transmission losses and allow better control over power flows, making them ideal for linking offshore wind farms or connecting distant parts of a national grid. But HVDC brings complexity – new converter technologies, unique protection needs, and integration challenges that must be solved at scale.

5. Interconnection and integration

Interconnectors have reliably linked national electricity systems for decades, with one of the earliest examples, the UK-France connector, going live in 1961. An even earlier example was the Niagara Falls hydro power interconnection established in 1905, supplying electricity between the USA and Canada.

Originally developed to support energy security and balance supply and demand, these high-voltage transmission cables, often laid subsea, are now taking on a much bigger role.

As electricity systems become more interdependent, interconnectors will help share variable resources and maintain stability across regions. But greater reliance also brings complexity – regulatory alignment, market coordination, and real-time data sharing between countries and operators. Achieving this requires stronger international collaboration and interoperable systems.

Ultimately, integration is the real innovation. The technologies of the energy transition – renewables, storage, demand flexibility, and smart grids – only deliver full value when connected and coordinated.

6. Smarter, leaner and more flexible assets

To keep the energy transition cost-effective and scalable, we also need to rethink the design of the assets themselves. Modular, unmanned, and remotely operated systems will become more common. In offshore wind, for example, unmanned substations present significant capital and operational cost savings over fully manned assets, whilst also reducing risk to people. However, to support safe, reliable operation, they require more sophisticated monitoring and control systems which may drive up the maintenance burden. A careful balance must be found between cost, risk and availability.

Onshore, we are likely to see more containerised substations, preassembled modules, and flexible infrastructure that can be deployed quickly and easily in hard-to-reach locations.

The grid of the future will not just be more robust, flexible and dynamic, it will be smarter. As more small-scale distributed assets come online, the system needs intelligence built in to manage load flow, frequency, voltage and inertia. That means deploying real-time sensors, automated control systems, and predictive algorithms to manage generation, storage and loads, detect faults, and optimise performance on the fly. Artificial intelligence and smart grid and demand controls will increasingly support grid operators and consumers in navigating a more dynamic and less predictable energy landscape.

7. Demand optimisation

Balancing the grid in a high-renewable system requires more than smarter generation – it also depends on engineering solutions to actively manage demand. Advanced control systems, automated load management, and “behind-the-meter” energy storage, including EV batteries and thermal storage, allow electricity use to be shifted or modulated in real time.

By integrating these technologies into grid operations, peak demand can be flattened, stress on infrastructure reduced, and renewable energy more effectively absorbed. Predictive algorithms and smart grid platforms enable dynamic response to fluctuations in supply and demand, providing savings for customers while minimising the need for costly network upgrades. Studies suggest that such demand flexibility could reduce peak loads by up to 54% by 2050 (Ref. 5).

Conclusion

Electricity has powered our world for over a century. Now, it must enable our transition to a low-carbon future.

Much of the infrastructure may be ageing, but it is not obsolete. With smart investment and engineering, it can form the backbone of a cleaner, smarter energy system.

What is changing is not electricity itself, but the role it plays. As we electrify transport, heating, and industry, electricity becomes our primary energy carrier. That means evolving our grids into intelligent, resilient, and adaptive systems capable of integrating diverse sources and responding to real-time demands.

It is fitting to conclude with the words of Thomas Edison, inventor and early pioneer of electric power: “What you are will show in what you do.” As we reshape the role of electricity in the energy transition, his words remind us that our actions, how we design, invest, and manage risk, will reflect our true commitment to a sustainable future.

In Part 2, we highlight the challenges and risks this transformation presents, whilst Part 3 explores the critical role risk management must play in meeting these challenges to help enable the energy transition in a safe and effective way.

References

1. Research Briefing Number 7434, Planning for Solar Farms, House of Commons Library, 20 May 2024. https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7434/CBP-7434.pdf
2. GB power system disruption on 9 August 2019, Energy Emergencies Executive Committee (E3C): Final report, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, January 2020. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e0e1fa9e5274a0fa7b4d96a/e3c-gb-power-disruption-9-august-2019-final-report.pdf
3. Black Start from Non‑Traditional Generation Technologies, National Grid Electricity System Operator, July 2019. https://www.neso.energy/document/148196/download
4. https://gridwatch.co.uk/WIND/percent. Daily UK grid data for 17^th and 19^th October 2025.
5. Future Energy Scenarios: Pathways to Net Zero, National Energy System Operator, July 2025 V.4. https://www.neso.energy/document/364541/download